Posted on 11/02/2006 5:15:11 PM PST by sionnsar
Another Important Anglican MeetingTM is coming up:
Conservative Anglican leaders are to flesh out plans for a formal split in the worldwide Church at a confidential meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, later this month.
A group of conservative archbishops, including the Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola, will meet Dr Williams at Lambeth Palace to discuss the creation of a parallel body for conservatives in America.
The development follows a summit of 20 "Global South" leaders in Africa last month, which opted for "a separate ecclesiastical structure" to accommodate opponents of the pro-gay leadership of the American Church.Seven dioceses and scores of parishes in the Episcopal Church, the American branch of Anglicanism, have rejected their liberal leadership and have asked to be "adopted" by a sympathetic archbishop from abroad.
Under the Global South proposals, American conservatives would switch their allegiances from their Presiding Bishop-Elect, the Rt Rev Katharine Jefferts Schori, to a leader from the Global South.
Dr Williams is thought to sympathise with their proposals because he is losing patience with the liberal Americans, who brought Anglicanism to the brink of schism by consecrating its first actively gay bishop in 2003.But he is also struggling to avert an unprecedented split that could trigger an acrimonious civil war within the Church of England, pitting bishop against bishop and parish against parish.
The term "overtaken by events" jumped into my head just now. I wish Dr. Williams well but that train has left the station. Whether anything emerges from this meeting remains to be seen but I rather doubt that it will. In the meantime, another Anglican would like to have a meet-and-greet with Dr. Akinola and some of his associates:
While I have not yet had the privilege and honor to meet all of you, I very much look forward to working with you in the coming years as we endeavor to lead the Body of Christ in this portion called the Anglican Communion. I deeply value the possibilities we have in the Anglican Communion for addressing the mission God has given us to reconcile the world he has created. In the spirit of Lambeth 1998, the Episcopal Church has identified the Millennium Development Goals as the framework for our missional work in the coming years. I would hope we might see the common interest we all have for seeing those Goals met, as they provide a concrete image of the Reign of God in our own day, where the hungry are fed, the thirsty watered, and the prisoners of disease and oppression set free.
I understand that you will be in the United States in mid-November for a gathering at Falls Church, Virginia. Considering the difficulty and expense of such a journey, I hope that during your visit you might be willing to pay a call on me, so that we might begin to build toward such a missional relationship. If that is a possibility, I hope you will contact this office as soon as possible. I would be more than happy to alter my schedule to accommodate you.
I look forward to hearing from you, and meeting you. May God bless your ministries and your travels.
Someone, I believe it was at Stand Firm, commented that it sure was nice of Mrs. Schori to be so concerned about the "difficulty and expense" of this journey that she would suggest that these men add to both by making an extra stop in New York. But this is nothing more than grandstanding.
Forget the awkward wording("the thirsty watered?" What are they, plants?). Mrs. Schori knows that these men won't make the trip. Even if they did, any "dialogue" would be a waste of time. Once everyone in the room got done saying how wonderful the Millenium Development Goals were, which would take all of ten seconds, the subject of Gene Robinson and same-sex marriage would come up and the "dialogue" would drop dead right there. As, in all likelihood, would Mrs. Schori's primacy.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. It would sure be fun to be a fly on the wall, though...
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