I attended a meeting today at my cathedral and I received a little more info on the agenda of the Plano meeting. The latest word here is that it’s officially an opportunity for AAC rectors to “network.” That’s a fuzzy term that I suppose could cover quite a few activities and the general consensus here is that the conference will likely end with a call for a seperate province.
As to whether or not Archbishop Williams will agree to the idea, the sense here seems to be that he’s made supportive noises for such an arrangement. I haven’t been able to find any specific statements that would confirm or deny this but the assumption is that he won’t impede the process.
One new wrinkle that I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread yet – at least a few dioceses have made arrangements to hold back the funds that they would normally be forwarding to the general church until the situation becomes a little clearer. I suppose a small number of dioceses withholding funds wouldn’t mean much in the short term, but if the movement becomes widespread then the general church might feel a pinch.
A fellow Episcopalian who’s on the opposite side of the debate than I, on another board, shared with me a fund-raising letter from the President of AAC, written after General Convention, that at least strongly implies they’re going to try to work within the established church structure if possible.
That withholding of funds thing can go two ways, you know. If parishes and dioceses set a precedent, I can see parishes which disagree with their dioceses’ stance with the AAC against ECUSA doing that. I think it’s a dangerous weapon to break out just as yet, for either side.
I hope you will forgive a gentile for interrupting your discussion, but perhaps you could answer a question? I’ve read this thread with interest, but are there not already two American churches in the Anglican tradition? In my parent’s neighborhood in Atlanta is a church called St. Patrick’s Episcopal. Almost literally next door is another church called St. Barnabas’ Anglican church. I assumed that the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta would not site two different congregations so close to one another, so they must represent two separate communions. But apparently not so. Can you explain? Thanks.
The controversy in the late 1970s over the ordination of women and the rvision of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer resulted in a number of splinter groups, some of which adopted “Anglican” to specify that they were in the Anglican tradition but not part of the Episcopal Church. Raleigh has one; I presume that St. Barnabas’ is the same ilk. I think there are six separate splinter groups, of which the largest calls itself the Anglican Mission in America.
But I know that if I were gay, or an Episcopalian it would be hard to spend my spiritual efforts in praying for those who disagreed with me, and were threatening my expression of faith.
But my faith is in the Lord Jesus, and He specifically told me to pray for my enemies. He told many parables about how little it showed love be kind to my friends. I should be seeking out the Samaritans, and finding the sinners, to make my love known to them.
The part about telling my spiritual leaders exactly who to spend my charity on, and who to refuse it to chills my heart. What I have given away is no longer mine. I am freed of that burden by my charity. Those chains no longer bind me to the earth, unless I lay claim to them again. It breaks my heart to hear that someone stands in a church of my Lord, and suggests such a thing.
Let us not sort ourselves out by sin. Let us join together in love. And let us give where there is need, not where we see justification.
As you can tell from the number of my posts in this and the other thread, this has been on my mind a lot lately and I’ve been distressed at both the results of the convention and the growing division in our church.
However, two things happened this weekend in which I felt God speaking to me. First, I went on a short retreat with some young people from our church (mostly mid-20’s in ages). Most of them were men and I was told by one person that two of the men were a gay couple. I don’t know if it is true; nor do I care. But the person who told me said, “Isn’t it great that because of the stuff that happened at the convention, maybe gays who would not otherwise come will check out the church and hear the gospel?”
And I sort of had an epiphany. Our church has always welcomed everyone; but I realized that that doesn’t mean anything if gay folks think they’re not welcome. And thanks to the stuff played out in the media, some now have heard that they will be welcomed. These guys on our retreat were not members of our church, but they came with us and had a good time and made friends. I hope they stick around. I realized that although I still consider what happened at convention to be a travesty, that God uses these kinds of thing to bring people to Him. Yeah God!
The second thing that happened, and more related to this OP, was this morning in church. For the recessional we sang The Church’s One Foundation. And I really took solace in this stanza:
So, I’m finally at peace with this whole gay Bishop/same-sex blessings/AAC vs ECUSA thing. I haven’t changed my opinions, but my distress is gone. Jesus is Lord; He is ultimately in control and He will be glorified no matter what happens. Whew, that’s a relief!
If this is what the proponents of this Bishop’s ordination do, then this may very well be an act from Christ. If instead, those who support the act cry “Intolerance” and demand that no quarter be given and things be slammed through, then perhaps it is of Satan. By their fruits shall they be known. If their fruits are forebearance and gentleness with those who disagree, then their fruits are worthy. If their fruits are triumphalism and castigation, then I cannot say the same.
The article goes on to talk about the reactions of various Anglican Primates to the events in the USA in the past month.
I’m surprised that the authors of the article find expulsion of the ECUSA from the Anglican Communion to be such a distinct possibility. Has Anglicanism as a whole ever excommunicated a whole province? Does anyone here think there is a chance that this could happen?
Disclaimer: I realize this is a conservative Anglican website, so I recognize their bias; I’m just wondering how realistic their analysis is.
I’m curious to know if anyone heard the story Episcopal Money on NPR’s Morning Edition today.
They talk about how many conservative churches in the ECUSA, which claim to be disproportionately larger and wealthier in the denomination, are withholding or planning to withhold money from the national church. I know my (large, wealthy) parish is planning the same thing.
The story ends with
It’s unfortunate that, as the story points out, the financial victim here will not be the church leadership but the other churches and ministries supported by them.