Posted on 11/20/2003 9:14:34 AM PST by Loyalist
B.C. group opposes decision to bless same-sex unions
A group of Anglican churches in British Columbia opposed to the blessing of same-sex unions has become so intransigent that reconciliation is almost impossible, their bishop, Michael Ingham, said yesterday.
He said a task force being established by the Canadian House of Bishops on the problem of the dissenters should now focus on separation.
The dissenters claimed the bishop was persecuting them and accused him of threatening to lock them out of their churches.
In a statement released yesterday, Bishop Ingham of the diocese of New Westminster accused the breakaway churches of trying to tear apart the diocese.
He said a demand this week by the Reverend Trevor Walters, chairman of the group of dissenting churches, that Bishop William Anderson of the diocese of Caledonia, based in Prince Rupert, be appointed their bishop, showed they did not understand the situation.
"Both I and the diocesan leadership will co-operate with the House of Bishops Task Force on Dissenting Minorities when it begins work," Bishop Ingham said in a statement yesterday.
"It is clear, however, that the intransigence of the leadership of the dissenting group may force our negotiations to focus on structural separation (schism) rather than reconciliation.
"In view of this, diocesan officers must exercise both a fiduciary and a stewardship responsibility to preserve the territorial integrity of the diocese, and the assets of its parishes, for the future of the Anglican Church in British Columbia."
Ten churches have formed the Anglican Communion in New Westminster (ACiNW) in opposition to Bishop Ingham's decision to bless same-sex unions, an issue that threatens to split the Anglican Church worldwide.
Lesley Bentley, spokeswoman for the ACiNW, said the group had only requested oversight from another bishop while the mediation process was ongoing.
"We are a group of churches that have been operating now without a bishop for 18 months and it is very difficult for our ministers to operate without any kind of a bishop over them," she said.
She said she was "shocked" at the tone of the bishop's letter.
"The first thing that jumped out at me was the threat at the bottom with regards to taking our buildings again. We were used to that threat but we hoped it had gone away. It sounds to me like they are saying if we are not going to obey they are going to come in and take our property.
"We have felt that [Bishop Ingham] has been trying to marginalize us from the Church from the beginning.
"It starts to feel very much like persecution and persecution by your bishop."
Bishop Terry Buckle of the Yukon had agreed to oversee the ACiNW as a "flying bishop" but withdrew this month at the request of the House of Bishops.
At the same time, the House of Bishops also requested a task force be established to draw up terms and conditions for "adequate provision for Episcopal oversight of dissenting minorities."
Following that decision, Bishop Ingham also wrote to one of the dissenting churches, Holy Cross in Abbotsford, that has had its funding stopped, offering to restore the money if they accepted his authority.
Bill Glasgow, an acting church warden at Holy Cross, yesterday accused Bishop Ingham of being untrustworthy and manipulative and trying to circumvent a mediation process.
"We've had some discussions with him and one thing that has really come out of the discussions is the fact that we don't trust him and we have said that to him," he said. "It's not something we are hiding behind. Things are being spun and being manipulated. We just feel that in all of this we are being manipulated and Bishop [Ingham] is making use of the situation for his own ends."
mhiggins@nationalpost.com
© Copyright 2003 National Post
If your Archdruid of Canterbury doesn't at least make a scathing denunciation of Ingham's letter and attitude, then orthodox Anglicans/Episcopalians better read the writing on the wall and start bringing canonical charges against Ingham and his ilk as well as charges before a magistrate in the Canada.
Furthermore, you all need to get together and elect Archbishop Akinola as the head of your Communion. So far he seems to be the man of God to lead Anglicans through this catastrophe.
You've left out a major element in your thinking on this: the Queen has a vested interest in Canterbury speaking out against bith Ingham and the ECUSA: the Anglican Communion is the last vestige of the British Empire.
The only way that happens is if Canterbury remains "first among equals" within the Communion, which means that Williams must put the preservation of the Communion above all else.
Electing somebody like Akinola to be head of the Communion would be tantamount to moving the capital of Rome to Constantinople, or the capitol of the ancient Church from Constantinople to Rome.
Sadly, it looks like the Anglican Communion will be administered as badly and with as many miscalculations as the Empire was. I simply can't see Williams as doing anything of substance other than retreat to the confines of Lambeth Palace. Oh there will be meetings, commissions, and tea in the garden... but my dear Anglican friends, I fear your Archbishop Williams is the religious equivalent of Neville Chamberlain.
Even Chamberlain had to act in the end, however.
What's happening now is that Chamberlain Williams has been given a choice by the other Primates -- withdraw Communion with ECUSA and Ingham, or the Primates will withdraw Communion with Canterbury -- which would bring about the Akinola scenario you raised before.
Moreover, Williams is already on record as strongly opposing the ECUSA General Convention actions, and Ingham's shenanigans.
The only thing left is withdrawal of Communion -- and I think he's probably going to do that fairly soon. (This is all part of a phased plan, and I think the next deadline for Griswold and Ingham is the day after Easter, 2004.)
(It's more likely, BTW, that somebody like Drexel Gomez of the West Indies would be selected as "first among equals" -- he's more politically adept than Akinola, less confronted by salamikaze extremists, and equally orthodox.)
Thanks for that.
And if you really want to pray for somebody, let me suggest you send one up for my rector, Rev. Don Armstrong. He's utterly in the thick of this, and it's taking a toll on him.
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