Friday, February 9, 2007

• Call to Prayer for the Primates' Meeting
• AAC President Comments on Recent Actions by Diocese and Bishop of Virginia
• Episcopal Parish in the Diocese of Atlanta Departs Episcopal Church, Joins CANA
• Primates Head Into a Storm in Dar es Salaam (Church Times)
• Perspectives on Next Week's Primates' Meeting: Archbishop Gomez & Bishop Wright

CALL TO PRAYER FOR THE PRIMATES' MEETING

The Primates, or leaders, of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion will gather next week in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. According to Archbishop Drexel Gomez (Primate of the West Indies), six topics will dominate the meeting's agenda (as published in a recent Bahama Journal article):

1. The response of the Episcopal Church in The United States to the Windsor Report
2. The ongoing relationship between the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion
3. An Anglican Covenant
4. The Lambeth Conference 2008
5. Theological education in the Anglican Communion
6. Ecumenical relations

 The American Anglican Council (AAC) will offer regular online coverage of the meeting, primarily through our BLOG and Web site. In addition, we will send e-mail updates regarding important developments at the meeting when they occur.

Please join the AAC in praying for the Primates as they gather Monday, Feb. 12 through Monday, Feb. 19 (the meeting officially begins on Feb. 14, but many are assembling early for pre-meetings). Pray for their physical and spiritual safety and for their decisions and discussions to be informed by God's wisdom and guidance.

AAC PRESIDENT COMMENTS ON RECENT ACTIONS BY THE DIOCESE AND BISHOP OF VIRGINIA AGAINST 11 ANGLICAN CONGREGATIONS AND 21 PRIESTS

American Anglican Council Press Release

February 8, 2007
For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jenny Abel
770-414-1515

Last week, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, filed civil litigation against 11 Virginia congregations that recently departed the diocese and joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). Bishop Lee also inhibited 21 priests associated with the churches under the charge of “abandonment of Communion.” The 11 parishes, which have repeatedly emphasized their desire and willingness to meet the bishop and diocesan leaders at the negotiation table rather than in court, called the legal action by the diocese an “act of betrayal” and has requested that the diocese “step back from this precipitous behavior” so that an “amicable and reasonable” resolution may be pursued.

“These actions by the Diocese of Virginia are shameful and un-Christian, and the bishop’s refusal to consider further negotiation appears to be intentionally punitive,” said the Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, American Anglican Council (AAC) President and CEO. “After leading the churches to believe that their disaffiliation decisions would be respected and responded to with Christian charity and without litigation, the bishop and other diocesan officials have indeed betrayed and deceived these churches, plus attempted to shipwreck the ordained ministry of many faithful priests.”

Last fall, before the churches voted to leave the diocese and The Episcopal Church (TEC), their leaders worked together with the diocese to establish a common protocol specifying procedures for disaffiliation and subsequent property negotiation. This protocol, developed under Bishop Lee’s oversight, was received by the Standing Committee, and the churches followed it closely. In particular, the protocol stated that if a church voted by at least a 70 percent majority to retain its property, then a payment for the property by the departing church to the diocese would be determined by agreement between representatives of the church and diocese. In addition, the protocol said, “In approaching their agreement, we urge the parties to be guided by principles of fairness, equity and Christian charity.”

Despite this and other earlier indications of willingness for mutual cooperation, the bishop and Diocese of Virginia have sadly chosen to take a similar path to that of some other Episcopal bishops across the country when confronted with Episcopal congregations leaving their dioceses. Bishop Lee, in a Jan. 18, 2007 letter to his diocese, emphasized that he did not believe the move to seize the churches’ properties through litigation to be dishonorable, but rather “consistent with our mission and with our fiduciary and moral obligations to the Church.”

Canon Anderson responded: “Since when is litigation the only or even the preferred way of Christians resolving disputes over mission, fiduciary or moral obligations? Does not Matthew 18 set out a path of resolution and negotiation? Since these are two international organizations that are in dispute, the resolution needs to be decided by an international Anglican body, such as the Primates.”

Continuing, Canon Anderson said: “Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the turn for the worse in Virginia, though it grieves me deeply. Virginia is one diocese of many where the top leadership of The Episcopal Church is accelerating the promotion of its agenda to punish those who choose not to remain institutionally loyal and instead affiliate with orthodox bishops overseas. This is a trend that began several years ago and is now in full force as the national Episcopal Church attempts to fight its continued membership decline, plus faces opposition abroad that could result in the church’s expulsion from the Anglican Communion.

“Ironically, these kinds of desperate attempts to gain control of individual churches’ assets not only constitutes unbiblical behavior, but also reinforces the very reasons that the churches left the Episcopal Church to begin with, namely abandonment of Scriptural authority and the historic mission of the Church,” Canon Anderson said.

The AAC continues to offer its full support for these 11 churches in Virginia, as well as other parishes that have departed TEC.

“The Scriptures promise that those who remain faithful to Jesus Christ and His Word will ultimately prevail,” Canon Anderson concluded. “I applaud these churches’ costly faithfulness and encourage other orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans to follow their example in standing up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in whatever venue they find themselves, even in the face of opposition.”

ST. ANDREW'S-IN-THE-PINES (PEACHTREE CITY, GA.) TO DISAFFILIATE FROM THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND THE DIOCESE OF ATLANTA

St. Andrew's-in-the-Pines, Peachtree City, Press Release

February 8, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
David Wardell
404-277-6752

The downward spiral of The Episcopal Church (TEC) came home to Peachtree City, Ga., this past weekend when a local parish, St. Andrew’s-in-the-Pines, voted 145 to 67 (or 68 percent) on Sunday, Feb. 4 to separate from the national church and the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. The church’s vestry, or governing board, subsequently voted to honor the parish’s overwhelming desire to depart from TEC. The vestry also voted to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) – the U.S. missionary branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria – in order to maintain the parish’s ties to the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“We simply want to continue to worship Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in the way that we always have,” one church member said after Sunday’s vote. “The vast majority of us still have faith that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that Jesus is the one true Son of God, born of a virgin, crucified until dead, and then resurrected to life. All of that is contrary to what a majority of TEC leadership believes. The authority of Scripture and the issue of Jesus as THE Savior are important to us.”

St. Andrew’s Senior Warden David Wardell said the parish – which intends to retain its property – plans to work with the Diocese of Atlanta to achieve an amicable separation.

“Our decision to disaffiliate is a reflection of our commitment to the biblical faith, which is now in direct contrast with the belief and practice of the majority of TEC’s leadership,” Wardell said. “However, the vestry has a strong willingness to work together with the diocese and Bishop Alexander so that this separation can occur with Christian charity, not hard feelings or hostility.”

The Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, the Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander, tried to short-circuit the church’s internal voting process last week by sending a letter to all parishioners that was clearly intended to disrupt the church’s efforts and sway or prevent the vote. The letter attempted to discredit the church’s plan for a fair and impartial decision by stating that the vote would have “no official standing.” Bishop Alexander, who is well known for his embrace of theological revisionism, also threatened to remove the entire church vestry and replace it with a group that he would hand-pick.

St. Andrew’s joins approximately 250 other Episcopal churches that have split from TEC since 2003 for similar reasons. More than two dozen of those churches have also joined CANA, which is experiencing rapid growth and emerging as a forerunner in the realignment of North American Anglicanism.

Founded in 1975, St. Andrew’s has a current membership of 350 and is presently without a permanent priest since the recent retirement of Father Dan Brigham. The parish has a predominantly orthodox membership, unlike TEC, which has been pursuing a course of increasingly radical theological revisionism for over four decades, during which time the church has lost approximately 40 percent of its membership. Like St. Andrew’s, a majority of the Anglican Communion’s other 37 provinces remain at odds with the direction and top leadership of TEC, which faces the possibility of being disciplined at the upcoming Primates’ Meeting, to be held next week in Tanzania.

CHURCH TIMES: PRIMATES HEAD INTO A STORM IN DAR ES SALAAM

Source: Church Times
by Rachel Harden
Issue 7509 - 9 February, 2007

PRIMATES from the Global South and the new US Presiding Bishop, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, have confirmed their intention to attend next week’s Primates’ Meeting in Tanzania despite reports of disharmony, it was announced on Tuesday.

Speaking from Tanzania, an Anglican Communion spokesman, Jim Rosenthal, said that the only two Primates who have sent apologies were the Archbishop of Wales, who is on sabbatical, and the Moderator of the Church of North India, who had given notice earlier. All the other Primates had registered, he said.

The meeting runs next week, from 14-19 February, and takes place at the Jangwani Beach near Dar es Salaam. It will be chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury. For the first time, Dr Sentamu will attend to represent England. Although the Archbishop of York is a Primate, the convention observed hitherto has been that only one English representative attends.

He will be joined by another newcomer, the Most Revd Paul Kwong, elected Archbishop of the Hong Kong Province on Saturday. Archbishop Kwong, who succeeds the Most Revd Peter Kwong, is aged 54, and has been a bishop only since 25 March 2006.

The Episcopal Church in the US will be in the spotlight at the meeting. Two full sessions of the Primates’ Meeting, as well as two external sessions with presentations by US conservatives, will discuss the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

A report on the Living Church website suggests that Dr Schori is expected to face tough questioning, and is likely to outline what steps the Episcopal Church has taken in response to the Windsor Report.

Mr Rosenthal confirmed that there would also be sessions on the “listening process” proposed by the 1998 Lambeth Conference, the proposed Anglican Covenant, and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Panel of Reference, established for those who are unwilling to accept the direct oversight of their diocesan bishops.

At the weekend, reports suggested that conservative Primates from the Global South were continuing to refuse to sit at the same table as Dr Schori.

An article in The Daily Telegraph suggested that Global South leaders had written to Dr Williams warning him that he had no right to invite Dr Schori to the meeting.

The Primate of Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola, was also reported as saying that Dr Williams was not acting as a “first among equals”, and should have consulted the others before inviting Dr Sentamu...

Continued here

PERSPECTIVES ON NEXT WEEK'S PRIMATES' MEETING

Archbishop Drexel Gomez (West Indies):
Extracted from Feb. 9, 2007 Bahama Journal article

"This meeting is one of the most important meetings that I would be attending during my ministry because to a very large extent the future of the Anglican Communion is dependent upon what we are able to accomplish."         

Bishop Tom Wright (Durham, Church of England):
Ruth Gledhill, The Times Online, February 6, 2007 (full text here)

Interview by Ruth Gledhill:

"There are many in America who are trying to have their cake and eat it, who are doing the schismatic thing and then accusing those who object of being schismatic." This is what Bishop of Durham Dr Tom Wright told me in a wide-ranging discussion we had on the forthcoming Primates' Meeting in Tanzania. He was quite unequivocal. He said too many in TEC are guilty of "doctrinal indifferentism." The Covenant Design Group in Nassau successfully produced a good document, he said. The Primates have little choice but to follow Windsor at the meeting next week. And if Windsor is followed, then Gene Robinson and those who consecrated him should voluntarily absent themselves from the councils of the Communion, including the Lambeth Conference, unless they express regret in the terms set out in Windsor. Only a Windsor-rooted response in Tanzania can save the Communion from schism. "Almost everybody involved  with this question recognizes that there is no way forward from here without pain. It is painful for everybody. There are not going to be winners and losers. There are going to be losers category one, two, three, four and five." In reading his words, it is worth remembering that not only is he the intellectual equal of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the two men are good friends. So I reckon this gives us a good idea of how events might unfold next week.

Tom Wright said: "For the last three years, every meeting has looked like this is the make-or-beak one. There is a bit of this now - yet one more time round the tracks. However, the film is gradually unwinding and we are closing in on the fact that something has got to happen soon. By the end of 2007 the Archbishop of Canterbury will have had to send out invitations to the Lambeth Conference. One way or another, the decisions he has to make in relation to that are bound to have some kind of effect in various parts of the Anglican Communion.

"That is a way of saying that by this time next year, we will certainly not be where we are now. Some lines will have hardened, one way or another. There is so much sound and fury in many different directions that it is a matter of several different pressures from several different corners  - trying to hear them and listen to the voice of God in the middle of it all and make some sense of it..."