After sleeping through the past few years of General Synod news and not noticing that the Anglican Covenant was looming, I have promised myself that I will pay more attention in future. So I had a total fit this morning when I read this from Church News Ireland:
A spirited debate by the Church of England Synod saw the newly formed Anglican Church in North America recognized by all three houses – bishops, clergy and laity in an overwhelming vote.
The final vote was 309 in favour, 69 against and 17 recorded abstentions."Yikes.... what have synod done??? I don't remember that on the agenda for synod??? OH Lesley - you should pay more attention...." Were my thoughts. Why do I care so much? Well because it is a really harsh thing that has gone on in America - The Epicsopal Church (TEC) voted to have gay priests and bishops, and those who didn't like it formed ACNA (Anglican Church of North America), but they left without good grace, took buildings with them and it has been very nasty. More than that, bishops from elsewhere in the Anglican Communion have ordained priests in ACNA, which is disrespectful to TEC, as we work a parochial system in the Anglican Communion and ordaining people in other countries than our own seems wrong to me. Whilst I am not completely opposed to ACNA, at some stage, being in the Communion, perhaps, I think now would not be a good time because it is all way too painful, especially for our friends in TEC. David Anderson, an ACNA bishop, has behaved with shocking disrespect towards the TEC Primate, Katharine Jefferts Schori and Rowan Williams, saying this before the Dublin Primates meeting, suggesting Katharine should be 'voted off the island':
If asked my opinion, I would strongly advise the orthodox Primates to 1) organize before the Primates’ meeting, and 2) attend and remove by force of numbers the Presiding Bishop of the American Episcopal Church (not physically, but by either voting her off the “island,” or recessing to another room and not letting her in). The meeting is a place to gather and potentially to settle some of the issues that are pulling the Anglican Communion apart, and to begin to restore health to a most wonderful communion.
In the above case, if Dr. Williams did not go along with Jefferts Schori’s exclusion, then I would suggest having the next-door-meeting without him. I just don’t believe staying home from the field of battle helps win a war over the truth and nature of Christianity within Anglicanism. The Christian Church needs a spiritually strong and muscular Anglicanism to re-evangelize the West; are we willing to make the sacrifices in order for this to happen?Anyway, it is just bad reporting, the debate actually took place in February 2010. The resolutions that were passed were:
This afternoon (2.30pm) General Synod debated the following Private Member's Motion by Lorna Ashworth:
“That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America”
The final amended text that Synod voted for is as follows:
That this Synod, aware of the distress cause by recent divisions within the Anglican churches of the United States of America and Canada,
"(a) recognise and affirm the desire of those who have formed the Anglican Church in North America to remain within the Anglican family;
(b) acknowledge that this aspiration, in respect both of relations with the Church of England and membership of the Anglican Communion, raises issues which the relevant authorities of each need to explore further; and
(c) invite the Archbishops to report further to the Synod in 2011.".Malcolm French reported on this last year At the recent Synod, it did briefly get mentioned (see Thinking Anglicans and the comments here):
From the first day’s afternoon sessionThe exchange is here:Mrs Ashworth [34 minutes into audio]:
Lorna Ashworth - Chichester 287: Synod will remember, with my knocking knees, one year ago that we debated my private member’s motion on the Anglican Church in North America. You may also remember that my motion was significantly altered by an ammendment put by the Bishop of Bristol. However this amended motion was accepted by myself and 308 others including the two Archbishops. To remind you, very briefly, the resulting motion was “...to recognise and affirm the desire of those who have formed the ACNA to remain within the Anglican Family”; to “acknowledge that this aspiration…raises issues which the relevant authorities of each need to explore further”; and finally to “invite the Archbishops to report further to the Synod in 2011”
In supporting the third part of his ammendment, the Bishop of Bristol said quote: “It seeks to make clear by inviting the Archbishops to report back to the Synod next year, that Synod is not kicking this into touch, but wants to follow developments closely, and have the opportunity to think further about things as events unfold”.The Bishop of Dover [Acting Chair of the Business Committee of Synod] replied to Mrs Ashworth’s points in his reply [at 40 mins 10 secs into the audio]:
Well the phrase ‘not to kick this motion into touch’ I did find encouraging, but I do wonder how is it that we come to this agenda and there is no report back? And there is no indication of the forecast agenda for July either that there will be a report back. So I would like to request the Chair of the Business Committee to see to it, that that there is a report - that we will follow this up - and nothing will be kicked into touch. Thank you
..Finally, if I may say to Lorna Ashworth, again I think the question is that she is - not solely in this chamber that that debate takes place, and I am assured that there will be opportunity for her to listen in to, and all of us to listen in to any comments which are made back by the Archbishops and the House of Bishops on that motion which was passed at that last session of Synod