Coalition Plans Next Steps

No Anglican Covenant Coalition

Anglicans for Comprehensive Unity

noanglicancovenant.org

NEWS RELEASE

 MAY 1, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COALITION PLANS NEXT STEPS

LONDON – With diocesan synod voting in the Church of England completed, and with 26 dioceses having rejected the proposed Anglican Covenant, the No Anglican Covenant Coalition is preparing for the next steps in its international campaign, including the appointment of a new Moderator, the Revd Malcolm French, a parish priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. The Revd Jean Mayland, a retired priest, will be the No Anglican Covenant Coalition Convenor for the Church of England.

“We have accomplished what many thought was an impossible task,” said the Coalition’s first Moderator, the Revd Dr Lesley Crawley. “After a full and fair debate, the Church of England has rejected the Anglican Covenant, and it cannot be considered again prior to 2015. As the campaign moves on to other fronts, this is an opportune time for me to hand over the leadership of the Coalition. Malcolm and Jean have been key members of the Coalition from the start, and I am confident the Coalition will experience continued success under Malcolm’s leadership.”

“Lesley stepped up to lead the Coalition with courage and commitment,” said French. “As we move forward, I will look to Lesley’s example of empowering leadership. The defeat of the Anglican Covenant in the Church of England has changed the playing field in the rest of the Anglican Communion. We are confident that a fair debate on the merits will lead to the defeat of the Covenant in several more Communion churches, just as we saw in the Church of England.”

Over the next six months, several more churches will consider the proposed Covenant, including the Scottish Episcopal Church, in June, and The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, both in July. Canadian dioceses have begun studying the Covenant in preparation for General Synod 2013.

A model General Convention resolution has been prepared to assist General Convention deputies in the Episcopal Church who may wish to submit a resolution on the Covenant. The model resolution, along with other supporting material, is available at the No Anglican Covenant website (noanglicancovenant.org/resources.html).

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The No Anglican Covenant Coalition is an international group of Anglicans concerned about how the proposed Anglican Covenant would radically change the nature of the Anglican Communion.

noanglicancovenant.org

The Revd Malcolm French (Canada)	+1-306-550-2277
The Revd Jean Mayland (England)	+44 07966 921247
The Ven Lawrence Kimberley (New Zealand)	+64 3 981 7384
The Revd Canon Hugh Magee (Scotland)	+44 1334 470446
Dr Lionel Deimel (USA)	+1-412-512-9087