• A Message from Bishop David Anderson
• Anglican communion a 'train wreck', says bishop
• US Bishops drop bid to have Robinson admitted to Lambeth Conference
• Lambeth rocked as Primate of Sudan calls on Robinson to resign
• Bishop Iker calls for Robinson backers to withdraw from Lambeth
• Common Cause Partnership Welcomes Jerusalem Declaration
• Response of the GAFCON Theological Resource Team to the St Andrews Draft

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A Message from Bishop David Anderson

Dearly Beloved in Christ,

At the AAC, we learned long ago that since the media can help or hurt you, treat them humanely, the way you would wish to be treated. When an event occurs, certainly those present take away their own impressions, but for the vast majority who will only read about it or see it on the TV, the media interprets the event. Why would anyone go out of their way to make life miserable for the media? Although GAFCON in Jerusalem wasn't perfect from a media standpoint, there was a sincere attempt to get the media what they needed: access inside during plenary sessions, interviews with bishops, press conferences, etc. In retrospect, could it have been done better? Absolutely, but there was a genuine attempt to do the right thing for the media.

Contrasted with that philosophy is the view that the media is your enemy and you must a) keep them out, b) choose between good and bad media for access, and c) have everyone so disciplined that their talking points are recited no matter what the question. One has to pity the media, seeing how they are being treated at Lambeth, but then again, it doesn't sound like the bishops themselves are being all that well taken care of, either. The secrecy thing is either hilarious or pathetic: is not everyone there under godly authority? Are some there in defiance of their House of Bishops or their Primate? Are they making a "prophetic statement" by being there anyway? Yet their "prophetic statement" must be kept secret.

Since we know that the Church of England still claims that they have a membership of 25 million souls, and attendance records indicate that in fact they only have 1.6 million, their accuracy with mathematics doesn't seem stellar. Their membership disparity is the spiritual or ecclesial equivalent to the sub-prime loan crisis affecting so many in the USA housing market. Book value of loans doesn't mean much when the money isn't there, and the book value in souls of the Church of England is like a sub-prime loan, overstated, overvalued and under-performing. As the banks have a steep write down on loans, an honest church would acknowledge a steep write down on membership. This of course applies to other parts of the Anglican Communion as well, for example, the American Episcopal Church.

While we are speaking of banks missing money and churches missing people, it is interesting to note that the Lambeth Conference organizers are missing some of both. With a track record of overstating membership, the CofE Lambeth organizers appear to also be overstating the attendance at the Lambeth Conference. Various onsite estimates question the 670 number given by officials, and suggestions of 550 up to 600 are being mentioned by some media sources.

Missing bishops isn't the only thing bothering the Lambeth Conference and Dr. Rowan Williams - there is the lack of money in pounds sterling. In planning a event as large as this, care has to be taken or the event can get away from you and put you in serious debt. Whoever was in charge of this department was apparently busy elsewhere, for Lambeth is between 1 million and 2 million pounds (approximately 2-4 million USD) short. Now, as soon as the Conference closes up shop and everyone departs, the vendors will want to be paid. It is a bit awkward to be short, not just a quid or two, but 2 million. If the bailiff shows up at Lambeth Palace, will the guard open the gate? If he does, will there be a garage sale to raise the funds? If so, there are several pieces in the large waiting rooms that caught my eye, and I might like to bid on them.

Who has that kind of money to bail Dr. Williams out? Who has that much money who would wish to bail Dr. Williams out? TEC? They are still a bit testy over Bishop Gene Robinson's exclusion, and who could forget his exclusion, given his daily pandering to those outside the fence of steel, wanting everyone to see him and know how pained he is at being rejected. Robinson is quoted as saying he is infuriated at being kept out. No, I don't think that TEC is likely to drop a million dollars or more, and if they did, and if Rowan accepted it, he would truly look like a bought man. He won't want to do that; that might be worse than the bailiff coming by. Though, and this is worth thinking about, if TEC did give Lambeth Conference two to four million dollars, it would be that much less money Katharine Jefferts Schori could use to sue devout Christian Anglicans in the United States. So...Katharine, go for it - give him the money, pretend Lambeth is a MDG, and let Dr. Williams worry about his credibility.

Speaking of Bishop Robinson, one has to admire and salute the Sudanese bishops and primate who made such a clear, concise, loving and bold call to Robinson, TEC and the Communion. Their call to Robinson to resign and for all of the TECies to go home and repent was earth-shaking. Bravo!

Dr. Williams has himself called the Lambeth Conference's legitimacy into question, but blamed those who are staying away. One of the three English bishops refusing to come to Lambeth, Peter Broadbent, has invited Williams to put that point to him in person. If Lambeth is itself called into question does that not by inference affect its convener as well? One of the principal rights that the Archbishop of Canterbury has is as a convener of the Church and Communion, and both GAFCON and the large absence of bishops at Lambeth have seriously called into question whether Dr. Williams is still THE convener any longer. He didn't convene GAFCON and it was a huge success, and Lambeth, which he did convene, has come up short of both bishops and money, and seems to be breaking down into contention. Dr. Williams, taking yet another shot at GAFCON, has said, "I think people will have to make the judgment as to whether those provinces who are not here have a coherent alternative to what the Communion as gathered here is saying and wanting to do." Actually, I think people will certainly be making a judgment as to whether the life, vitality and can-do attitude of GAFCON doesn't look a whole lot more inviting and exciting than muddling on with more committees and commissions which meet and talk and write reports.

Ending this week's update on a very positive note, the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) leaders issued a statement today welcoming the Jerusalem Declaration and the statement on the Global Anglican Future, pledging to move forward with the work of Anglican unity in North America.

Drawing from the GAFCON statement where it says that it is now time for the federation currently known as the Common Cause Partnership to be recognized by the Primates Council, the CCP gave notice that they will respond to this invitation. "The intention of the Executive Committee is to petition the Primates' Council for recognition of the CCP as the North American Province of GAFCON on the basis of the Common Cause Partnership Articles, Theological Statement, and Covenant Declaration, and to ask that the CCP Moderator be seated in the Primates' Council."

I can only wonder what this next week will bring. To God be the Glory.

Blessings and Peace in Jesus Christ,

The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council

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Anglican communion a 'train wreck', says bishop

Source: The Telegraph
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones
July 20, 2008

The Anglican Communion is like a "slow moving train wreck", according to a senior Church of England bishop who has given an extraordinary insight into the crisis that is engulfing the Church.

The Rt Rev Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, has revealed that there is deep unease over the future of the communion and an atmosphere of mutual suspicion among bishops.

His comments come as about 650 bishops meet at the once-a-decade Lambeth conference in Canterbury, with continuing division over the issue of homosexuality.

Bishop Wright, a senior figure in the Church hierarchy, expressed concern that the summit was lacking direction and admitted that the Anglican Church was in a mess. "All sorts of forces have built up over the years in the communion through misunderstanding and people doing things differently without really consulting," he said.

"Sooner or later this was all going to meet and hit the buffers. It's been like a slow-moving train wreck."

The bishop, who is highly respected and a close friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury, told The Sunday Telegraph that the presence of American bishops involved in the consecration of Gene Robinson, the first openly homosexual Anglican bishop, was proving divisive.

"A lot of people here have a lot of questions about why the American bishops are here," he said. "Those questions are in the room."

Around 250 bishops, mainly from Africa, have boycotted the conference in protest at Dr Rowan Williams's decision to invite the American bishops, whom they hold responsible for causing the schism. Organisers have drawn up an agenda lacking any major votes or debates in the hope that it will limit conflict.

But Bishop Wright said that there was mistrust between the different factions over who was going to make the next significant move. "It's like a very odd game of cards," he said. "We're all being very civil and talking politely, but people are wondering who is going to play which card next and hence what responses may be possible."

Bishop Wright added that the summit was lacking direction and questioned how effective it would be. ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.

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US Bishops drop bid to have Robinson admitted to Lambeth Conference

Source: Religious Intelligence
By George Conger
July 22, 2008

Canterbury: The push to seat Gene Robinson at Lambeth Conference failed yesterday after the American bishops declined to force the issue. At their July 21 provincial meeting at the Lambeth Conference the American bishops declined to take action on a request by liberal members of their caucus to ask the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to seat the New Hampshire bishop.
 
Bishops attending the closed meeting tell ReligiousIntelligence.com that some bishops pushed for Bishop Robinson to be extended an invitation. There followed a substantive discussion of the Robinson issue with several bishops expressing their anger and hurt over his exclusion.

However, the American leadership declined to take up the issue and a growing number of bishops appear to be distancing themselves from the controversial New Hampshire cleric in a bid to avoid conflict with the conference organizers. ...

Speaking to the media on July 21, Dr Williams defended his ban of Gene Robinson from the Lambeth Conference saying the New Hampshire bishop's presence would have been "questionable." However, the American, Canadian and Central American bishops who consecrated Bishop Robinson were permitted to attend conference because it would have been difficult to exclude them. ...

Asked why the consecrators of Bishop Robinson were present even though the Windsor Report recommended their withdrawal from the international councils of the church, Dr Williams replied, that the "difficulty that I faced and some others faced was of those who consecrated Gene Robinson some or a number later expressed a wish that they hadn't, some are retired and of course a great many American bishops have come into office since then."

The "American House of Bishops corporately asked for forgiveness for offense caused last year. Now you'll remember that I circulated to all the provinces last year with a request as to whether people thought this was a satisfactory response to the concerns expressed and you'll be aware that the Joint Standing Committee and 50 percent plus or more of the provinces said well that's probably all right."

This response was the "basis for saying I don't think I want to go down the list of consecrators and say yes no or possibly and the House of Bishops said something corporately which not everyone thought was adequate, but many did and that was the basis on which I worked with that one," Dr Williams said.

At a Monday press briefing, the Bishop of Indianapolis declined to elaborate on the American meeting, saying the discussions were "not intended to be shared". ...

One bishop told us that the provincial meeting was very much like recent meetings of the House of Bishops, with the issue of Gene Robinson, and disquiet with the proposed Anglican Covenant generating a great deal of passion from some speakers.

However, he added that the majority of American bishops appeared to be tiring of the focus on the travails of the Bishop of New Hampshire, and were not yet prepared to buck the Archbishop of Canterbury on this topic. 

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.

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Lambeth rocked as Primate of Sudan calls on Robinson to resign

Source: Religious Intelligence
July 22, 2008
By George Conger

The Bishop of New Hampshire must resign in order to save the Anglican Communion from chaos, the Archbishop of Juba and  Primate of the Sudan, said today. "If [Gene Robinson] were a real Christian he would resign," Archbishop Daniel Deng said on July 22.

In a statement released on the second day of the Lambeth Conference, the Sudanese church called upon the American church to "respect the authority of the Bible," refrain from ordaining gay priests or bishops, halt gay blessings, and "cease court actions" against traditionalists "with immediate effect." The American Church's experiments with gay blessings and bishops had led to the deaths of Sudanese Christians, Dr Daniel Deng said in an impromptu press conference in the Lambeth Conference media room.

Because of the actions of the American church, "we are called infidels in the Islamic world when they hear of the same-sex blessings," he said. "It will give [Islamist militants] reason to kill" Sudanese Christians he said. Dr Deng's statement, backed by over 150 bishops from 17 Global South provinces presents a significant blow to Dr. Rowan Williams' hopes of averting a crisis at the 14th Lambeth Conference. The American church has been on its best behavior at Lambeth, seeking to mollify criticism from the wider Communion and preserve its place in the Church.

However, the Sudanese Archbishop, Dr Daniel Deng said there was "already a breakdown of the Anglican Communion." To prevent its wholesale collapse, "Gene Robinson should resign."

The Sudanese statement comes amidst a turbulent second day of the Lambeth Conference. Sources within the conference organizing committee report Lambeth is over £1 million in debt, while the conference press office has refused to release the names of the bishops present, alternately citing concerns over privacy and security. ...

The Bishop of Durham and other English bishops met with the primates to formalize a way forward for the conservative amidst the chaos of the Anglican Communion the unfolding train wreck of the Lambeth Conference. The two conservative factions are at odds with the best way of responding to the crisis of doctrine and discipline within the Anglican Communion. The Gafcon wing, led by the Churches of Nigeria and Uganda and comprise over 60 percent of the Communion's members, are seeking to reform the Anglican Communion, lessening the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the existing power structures.

The Communion Partners group seeks to work within the existing power structures of the Communion, to preserve the Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic voice in North America.

However, events within the Conference are moving faster than can be controlled by Dr Williams and the conference organizers. The indaba process of small group meetings of 40 bishops has received mixed reviews. The Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert Duncan said the sessions reminded him of the US House of Bishops' meetings, with the structure designed to produce predetermined ends. ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.

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Bishop Iker calls for Robinson backers to withdraw from Lambeth

Source: TimesOnline
By Ruth Gledhill
July 22, 2008

...The Right Rev Jack Iker, Bishop of Forth Worth, said: "Those Bishops who stand in solidarity with Gene Robinson should withdraw themselves from further participation in the Lambeth Conference. Having failed in several attempts to include Gene in the Conference, his supporters should themselves feel a sense of rejection from the Conference itself.

"Integrity and honesty would dictate that they should stand with Gene — excluded from full participation in the Lambeth Conference. Is this all talk, or is it backed up by action?" ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.

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Common Cause Partnership Welcomes Jerusalem Declaration

Source: Common Cause Partnership website
July 24, 2008
 
The Common Cause Partnership leaders issued a statement today welcoming the Jerusalem Declaration and the statement on the Global Anglican Future and pledging to move forward with the work of Anglican unity in North America . We, as the Bishops and elected leaders of the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) are deeply grateful for the Jerusalem Declaration. It describes a hopeful, global Anglican future, rooted in scripture and the authentic Anglican way of faith and practice. We joyfully welcome the words of the GAFCON statement that it is now time 'for the federation currently known as the Common Cause Partnership to be recognized by the Primates Council.'

The intention of the CCP Executive Committee is to petition the Primates Council for recognition of the CCP as the North American Province of GAFCON on the basis of the Common Cause Partnership Articles, Theological Statement, and Covenant Declaration, and to ask that the CCP Moderator be seated in the Primate's Council.

We accept the call to build the Common Cause Partnership into a truly unified body of Anglicans. We are committed to that call. Over the past months, we have worked together, increasing the number of partners and authorizing committees and task groups for Mission, Education, Governance, Prayer Book & Liturgy, the Episcopate, and Ecumenical Relations. The Executive Committee is meeting regularly to carry forward the particulars of this call. The CCP Council will meet December 1–3, 2008.

The Common Cause Partnership links together nine Anglican jurisdictions and organizations in North America . Together, the American Anglican Council, the Anglican Coalition in Canada, the Anglican Communion Network, the Anglican Mission in the Americas, the Anglican Network in Canada, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas, Forward in Faith North America and the Reformed Episcopal Church represent more the 1,300 Anglican parishes in the United States and Canada. The Common Cause Partnership Executive Committee is: The Rt. Rev'd Robert Duncan, Moderator; The Venerable Charlie Masters, General Secretary; Mrs. Patience Oruh, Treasurer; The Rt. Rev'd Keith Ackerman, Forward in Faith North America; The Rt. Rev'd David Anderson, American Anglican Council; The Rt. Rev'd Donald Harvey, Anglican Network in Canada; The Rt. Rev'd Paul Hewett, Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas; The Rt. Rev'd Martyn Minns, Convocation of Anglicans in North America; The Rt. Rev'd Chuck Murphy, Anglican Mission in the Americas; The Rt. Rev'd Leonard Riches, Reformed Episcopal Church; The Rt. Rev'd Bill Atwood, Anglican Church of Kenya and The Rt. Rev'd John Guernsey, Church of the Province of Uganda.

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Response of the GAFCON Theological Resource Team to the St Andrews Draft Text of An Anglican Covenant

Source: GAFCON website
July 22, 2008

Introduction

The idea of a Covenant as a way out of the difficulties in which the Anglican Communion finds itself has been proposed in several quarters. The St Andrews Draft Text of An Anglican Covenant is one such attempt. The GAFCON Theological Resource Team reviewed the St Andrews Draft Text during pre-conference preparations in Jerusalem on 20th and 21st June 2008.

An Anglican Covenant was intended as a response to a crisis in the Anglican Communion which has been accurately described as 'a rending of the Communion at the deepest level'. Determined departures from the teaching of Scripture on human sexuality by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada are the immediate cause this situation. There appears no prospect of repentance from this repudiation of biblical authority on the part of either of these bodies (or from those elsewhere who have followed their lead in endorsing behaviour which Scripture explicitly forbids). Underlying these actions is a long history of marginalising, avoiding and at last rejecting the plain teaching of the Bible. In other words, the issue which we should expect this covenant to address is one of apostasy. ...

Sadly this new draft of An Anglican Covenant is both seriously limited and severely flawed. Whether or not the tool of covenant is the right way to approach the crisis within the Communion, this document is defective and its defects cannot be corrected by piecemeal amendment because they are fundamental. The St. Andrews Draft is theologically incoherent and its proposals unworkable. It has no prospect of success since it fails to address the problems which have created the crisis and the new realities which have ensued.

This document falls in effect into two parts. Sections 1 and 2 mention some matters of faith, but section 3 is in fact the critical section of the document, because this introduces the thought of Churches as being 'autonomous-in-communion'. It is on this concept that the proposed resolution of Communion disputes rests.

Our response will confine itself to seven areas of theological concern and will briefly mention two other significant issues in its conclusion. ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.