tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6740648106647143232024-03-05T15:18:10.260+00:00Comprehensive Unity: The No Anglican Covenant BlogThis is the blog of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition, an international group of Anglicans who oppose the adoption of the Anglican Covenant. This blog will post news about our <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/">Web site</a> and provide a forum to discuss the proposed Anglican Covenant. Readers are also invited to visit our <a href="https://facebook.com/nocovenant/">Facebook page</a>.No Anglican Covenant Coalitionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08621151497981444214noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-17586784922586930382016-01-18T15:37:00.000+00:002016-01-18T15:39:06.793+00:00No Anglican Covenant Coalition on the Meeting of the Anglican PrimatesNo Anglican Covenant Coalition moderator, the Ven. Malcolm French, has commented on the recently concluded meeting of the primates at which the primates declared sanctions against The Episcopal Church for its approval of same-sex marriage.<br />
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The news release is titled “Statement by No Anglican Covenant Coalition Moderator the Venerable Malcolm French Regarding the Primates Meeting 2016 and the Purported Sanctions Against The Episcopal Church.” It is available on the <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/" target="_blank">No Anglican Covenant Coalition Web site</a>, and you can read it <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/pr19.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-17399289015420830362015-07-04T23:27:00.000+01:002015-07-05T02:47:24.870+01:00Is it dead yet?There has been very little significant news about the proposed Anglican Covenant for some time. Already three years have passed since the dioceses of the Church of England failed to vote in favour of considering the Covenant at their General Synod. At the time it was suggested that this did not mean the Church of England had said no to the Covenant, and that it still could say yes. Technically, this is quite true. The Church of England didn't say no because it didn't consider the question. And it hasn't taken advantage of the intervening three years to revisit the Covenant.<br />
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Now, the most recent news is that the <a href="http://blog.noanglicancovenant.org/2015/07/the-episcopal-church-walks-away-from.html" target="_blank">Episcopal Church</a> has similarly not taken advantage of an opportunity to say something about the Covenant - be it no or maybe, though decidedly not yes. At its recent General Convention, the Episcopal Church was offered two equal but opposite resolutions. Both resolutions proposed to affirm the membership in and common identity of the Anglican Communion. But one said that this was described in the first three sections of the Covenant, and the other said that the Covenant did not adequately describe membership and common identity of the Anglican Communion. Neither resolution proposed to adopt or reject the Covenant definitively, merely to comment on the value of the first three sections in describing the membership and common identity of the Anglican Communion. Both resolutions were clear in valuing membership in the Communion, and the common identity (however described) of Anglicanism. And both proposed to communicate the Episcopal Church's appreciation for the Communion to the next meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council. In the end, however, the Convention chose to say all the positive things about the Communion without reference to the Covenant. Not yes, not no, not maybe, not even an unenthusiastic "meh".<br />
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Two things are clear from this outcome. First, the Episcopal Church values its membership in the Anglican Communion and appreciates its shared Anglican Identity. Second, it does not apparently see the need to bring the Covenant into that conversation.<br />
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Like the Church of England, the Episcopal Church has no apparent energy to discuss the project. Both churches seem to have moved on. The only thing missing now is a formal statement from some credible body (such as the Anglican Consultative Council) that the project is officially dead.<br />
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In the absence of such a pronouncement, the Covenant process has ground to a halt, sitting on a long-forgotten list of things to do, gathering dust.<br />
<br />Alan T Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700037716579004059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-30061364459997145632015-07-04T03:58:00.001+01:002015-07-04T03:58:54.044+01:00The Episcopal Church Walks Away from CovenantThe 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church had two resolutions before it dealing with the Anglican Covenant. Resolution A040, while not declaring that the church was adopting the Covenant, declared that most of the Covenant was acceptable and asked the church’s representatives to thank the Communion for the conversation around the Covenant. Resolution D022 was as gracious about offering thanks but categorically rejected the Covenant.<br />
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In the end, the convention passed on both A040 and D022 but reaffirmed its commitment to and financial support for the Communion by way of Resolution A019. That resolution, which received concurrence from the House of Bishops on the last day of the convention, June 3, makes no mention of the Covenant.<br />
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Thus, The Episcopal Church has essentially rejected the Anglican Covenant by simply ignoring it. All this might not be apparent to the casual observer. However, Lionel Deimel, Episcopal Church Convenor of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition, explains what happened in Salt Lake City on his <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2015/07/covenant-what-covenant.html" target="_blank">blog</a>. No doubt, the Anglican Communion Office will not view The Episcopal Church as having rejected the Covenant, but it has.No Anglican Covenant Coalitionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08621151497981444214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-7153516579672975302015-06-13T18:36:00.000+01:002015-06-13T18:39:46.763+01:00A General Convention Resolution to Reject the CovenantNo Anglican Covenant Coalition Episcopal Church Convenor Lionel Deimel has announced that a new General Convention resolution has been introduced. The resolution is D022, and it is not even on the General Convention Web site yet. The new resolution, which can be read <a href="http://deimel.org/commentary/b_pages/d022-2015.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>, goes somewhat further toward rejecting the Anglican Covenant than do Deimel’s earlier suggestions.<br />
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Deimel has written an essay on his blog arguing that The Episcopal Church has gone along to get along with the Anglican Communion long enough and needs to deliver a Covenant rejection once and for all. He argues that doing so will doom the Covenant, as its real purpose is to control Western churches like The Episcopal Church. Rejecting the Covenant will also encourage the Anglican Church of Canada to do the same at its General Synod next year.<br />
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In fact, Deimel has written two essays, titled “Time for a Definitive Response to the Anglican Covenant.” An abbreviated version is <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2015/06/time-for-definitive-response-to.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and the complete version is <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/p/blog-page_11.html" target="_blank">here</a>. The essays not only include the text of A040 and D022 but also trace the troubled relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion since the 2003 General Convention consented to the consecration of the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson.<br />
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Those who will be participating in the Salt Lake City General Convention should definitely read Deimel’s essay and let others know about Resolution D022. It is our hope that the General Convention will pass D022 or something very much like it.<br /> No Anglican Covenant Coalitionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08621151497981444214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-35658053395774604232015-05-16T03:29:00.000+01:002015-06-13T18:37:18.295+01:00Covenant Proposal for Episcopal Church General ConventionA proposed resolution on the Anglican Covenant will be offered at this summer’s General Convention of The Episcopal Church. Episcopal Church convenor Lionel Deimel has written two blog posts about the resolution<a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2015/01/further-thoughts-on-anglican-covenant.html" target="_blank"></a>. Resolution A040 does not adopt the Covenant, but it is kinder than we in the No Anglican Covenant Coalition think appropriate. You can read Deimel’s blog posts <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2015/04/end-of-line-for-covenant-at-general.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2015/01/further-thoughts-on-anglican-covenant.html" target="_blank">here</a>. If you are a bishop or convention deputy, you should definitely read these posts. Deimel suggests amendments that will improve Resolution A040.<br />
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<b>Update:</b> Lionel Deimel had written a third post on Resolution A040 <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2015/01/more-on-anglican-communion-resolution.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<br />No Anglican Covenant Coalitionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08621151497981444214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-57322359884827880252015-01-28T20:03:00.001+00:002015-01-28T20:03:50.919+00:00How Many Churches Have Adopted the Covenant?A recent Anglican Communion News Service story indicates that Melanesia is the 12th church to adopt the Anglican Covenant. Episcopal Church Convenor Lionel Deimel argues that Melanesia is only number 11. His carefully documented blog post is “<a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2015/01/how-does-anglican-communion-office-count.html" target="_blank">How Does the Anglican Communion Office Count?</a>”<br /> No Anglican Covenant Coalitionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08621151497981444214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-53156598862681792872015-01-22T15:40:00.000+00:002015-01-22T15:41:49.636+00:00Melanesia Adopts CovenantAnglican Communion News Service has reported that The Church of the Province of Melanesia adopted the Anglican Covenant at its November 2014 General Synod. The ACNS story is <a href="http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2015/01/anglican-province-of-melanesia-adopts-anglican-communion-covenant.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>. Our own tally of provincial actions on the covenant is <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/background.html#status" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /> Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-82862449357119633092014-12-03T03:39:00.000+00:002014-12-03T03:39:30.480+00:00IASCUFO Still Waiting for Covenant DecisionsNot much has been heard about the Anglican Covenant of late. I suspect that it is significant that Communion churches are not falling all over themselves to act on the Covenant. Despite occasional declarations that the Covenant is dead, it isn’t dead until it is officially dead.<br />
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Chief Covenant cheerleader Alyson Barnett-Cowan, Director for Unity, Faith and Order, delivered a report from the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order (IASCUFO) to the just-concluded meeting of the Anglican Communion Standing Committee. The <a href="http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/12/2014-standing-committee-2-bulletin-days-2-to-4.aspx" target="_blank">report</a> of the second through fourth days of the Standing Committee meeting includes the following paragraph:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Dr Barnett-Cowan told the Standing Committee that IASCUFO was waiting for to hear from all provinces about their decisions regarding the Anglican Communion Covenant. She expected the Covenant to be an agenda item at ACC-16 in Lusaka, Zambia in 2016.</span></blockquote>
(The report on the first day of the meeting, by the way, is <a href="http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/12/2014-standing-committee-2-bulletin-day-1.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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I suspect that some pressure will be brought to bear on churches to make a decision about the Covenant. The best outcome, of course, would be for ACC-16 to conclude that the time for the Covenant has passed and to put an end to this ill-considered project.<br />
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Stay tuned and don’t become complacent.Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-30474178968538512642014-08-05T00:53:00.000+01:002014-08-05T00:53:54.359+01:00Australia Fails to Adopt CovenantWithout fanfare, the following item was added to the <a href="http://aco.org/commission/covenant/responses/index.cfm" target="_blank">page</a> on the Anglican Communion Web site that keeps track of the status of “responses” to the Anglican Covenant:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>The Anglican Church of Australia declined to adopt the Covenant but adopted a resolution affirming its commitment to the Anglican Communion. July 2014.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<ul></ul>
In particular, on June 30, 2014, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia passed the following motion:<br />
<blockquote>
That this General Synod:<br />
<ol>
<li>Affirms the commitment of the Anglican Church of Australia to the Anglican Communion;</li>
<li>Affirms its openness to participating in any further consideration of a covenant proposal; and</li>
<li>Urges upon the Instruments of Communion a course of action that continues to seek reconciliation and the preservation of the Communion as a family of interdependent but autonomous churches.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
In other words, while expressing support for the Anglican Communion, the Australian church pointedly declined to adopt or reject the covenant on offer. This is, of course, standard Anglican politeness. Apparently, Australia has no interest in the present Anglican Covenant and covets its autonomy.<br />
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The motion as passed and the record of amendments that were rejected can be found on page 15 of the minutes of the June 30, 2014, session of the General Synod, which can be found <a href="http://www.anglican.org.au/general-synods/2014/Documents/Minutes%20of%20Day%201%20of%20Sixteenth%20General%20Synod_30%20June%202014_as%20signed.pdf#page=15" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<br />Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-3150377034600012942014-05-13T15:47:00.001+01:002014-05-13T15:47:57.816+01:00Sudan Adopts CovenantIt was reported at the just completed meeting of the Standing Committee in London that the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan has adopted the Anglican Covenant. (See ACNS report <a href="http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/05/2014-standing-committee-bulletin-day-4.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>.) Note that, although the nation of Sudan split into Sudan and South Sudan, the church in that part of the world has remained united.<br />
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The official tally of Covenant reception is <a href="http://aco.org/commission/covenant/responses/index.cfm" target="_blank">here</a>. The accounting by the No Anglican Covenant Coalition, which includes more detail, is <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/background.html#status" target="_blank">here</a>.Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-16261273830032132532013-11-07T14:12:00.000+00:002013-11-07T14:12:13.425+00:00Andrew Brown: The Anglican Communion is Dead Andrew Brown’s <i>Guardian</i> blog offers a provocatively titled essay, “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2013/oct/30/schism-gay-clergy-anglican-communion-dead" target="_blank">It started as a split over gay clergy. But now the Anglican Communion is dead</a>.” That title is a bit of an exaggeration; Brown’s point is better captured in his opening sentence: “What, you gave a schism and nobody came?” He argues that people in the Church of England—laypeople, anyway—are quite indifferent to GAFCON and the Anglican Mission in England.<br />
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I was particularly interested in this paragraph:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-size: 85%;">They [conservatives] feel they are part of the global, “orthodox” mainstream of Christianity. But almost the only decisive act of Rowan Williams’ time in office was the rejection, by a clear majority of committed churchgoers, of his “covenant”–a plan to bind the Church of England into the structures of the rest of the Anglican Communion. No one here wants to be told what to do by the Church of Nigeria, however many Anglicans there are there and however sincerely they seem to hate gay people.</span></blockquote>
From my vantage point in the United States, I cannot be sure that Brown is reading public opinion correctly, but I suspect he is. I certainly hope he is.<br />
<br />Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-2103283724367604912013-10-05T02:21:00.000+01:002013-10-05T02:26:19.934+01:00Southern Africa Completes Covenant AdoptionAs expected, the <a href="http://www.anglicanchurchsa.org/" target="_blank">Anglican Church of Southern Africa</a> completed its adoption of the Anglican Covenant. <a href="http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2013/10/southern-africa-completes-adoption-of-anglican-covenant.aspx" target="_blank">Anglican Communion News Service</a> reported on this today. The church first voted for the covenant three years ago, and the recent action completed the church’s approval.<br />
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See the No Anglican Covenant <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/background.html#status" target="_blank">table</a> showing the status of the Covenant throughout the Anglican Communion. If you know anything that should be in our table but isn’t, please e-mail us with the information. (Addresses can be found <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/contact.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br /> Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-78945981388298443812013-07-06T13:00:00.001+01:002013-07-06T13:01:14.800+01:00Canada Delays Covenant DecisionAs expected—see previous post <a href="http://blog.noanglicancovenant.org/2013/05/canadian-resolution-revealed.html" target="_blank">here</a>—the Anglican Church of Canada has adopted a resolution to delay a decision on the Anglican Covenant until 2016. <a href="http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/anglican-covenant-decision-in-2016" target=""><i>Anglican Journal</i></a> reported the action and quoted our Moderator, the Rev. Malcolm French. Malcolm has blogged about the ACoC action <a href="http://simplemassingpriest.blogspot.com/2013/07/joint-assembly-day-four.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-6534530077697547942013-06-20T18:52:00.001+01:002013-06-20T18:52:58.842+01:00Hong Kong Anglican Church adopts the Anglican CovenantEpiscopal News Service reports that Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, the Hong Kong Anglican Church, has adopted the Covenant. You can read the story <a href="http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/06/20/hong-kong-anglican-church-adopts-the-anglican-covenant/" target="_blank">here</a>.Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-84760166296588893912013-05-31T18:21:00.000+01:002013-05-31T18:27:20.596+01:00Canadian Resolution RevealedThere has been little news about the Anglican Covenant of late, in part, no doubt, because the Anglican Communion has been occupied with installing a new Archbishop of Canterbury and trying to figure out what that means for the Communion. Of course, some have interpreted the lack of news as lack of interest, but that is a thesis that is hard to prove. In any case, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) is about to take action on the Covenant. Well, sort of.<br />
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The ACC will hold its General Synod in July. As expected, a resolution will be put forward that delays action on the Covenant until at least 2016. Resolution A120, from the Council of General Synod, declares that the General Synod “direct[s] the Council of General Synod to bring a recommendation regarding the adoption of the Covenant to General Synod 2016.”<br />
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Of course, a similar 2010 resolution required that the Council of General Synod bring a resolution regarding adoption of the Covenant to the 2013 General Synod. If A120 is passed, the ACC may find itself voting on Covenant adoption in 2016. Or not.<br />
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The text of Resolution A120 can be found <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/docs/canada_a120.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-14418256066764411842013-01-28T16:16:00.000+00:002013-01-28T16:16:25.160+00:00Week of Prayer for Christian DiversityBosco Peters, the Anglican New Zealand priest who writes the Liturgy blog, has declared January 27, 2013 – February 3, 2013, the Week of Prayer for Christian Diversity. The octave of prayer for diversity is analogous to the established Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Unity in the Anglican Communion is taken by some to require uniformity, and Peters’ newly declared week is intended to promote the acceptability of the notion of unity in diversity. His blog post on his declaration is <a href="http://liturgy.co.nz/week-of-prayer-for-christian-diversity" target="_blank">here</a>, and the logo he has designed to celebrate Christian diversity is shown below.<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://liturgy.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Christiandiversity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://liturgy.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Christiandiversity.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-24554302490601345842013-01-23T18:15:00.000+00:002013-01-23T18:19:21.098+00:00Status Update on the Covenant<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UXqPQMCaQ9gRONz5CstBv3PN9u3lMVvaOoOvwZ9RyH5q4_FOh9DltmCUcXoAEYfWYNxL9JekgPvoZc2kXWBdSRYu5R7Hz86Z2LWYvgxwPJVEjeq48UymiSGJfAQviajp77a8oQaVql4/s250/South+Park+Malcolm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="“South Park” Malcolm" border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UXqPQMCaQ9gRONz5CstBv3PN9u3lMVvaOoOvwZ9RyH5q4_FOh9DltmCUcXoAEYfWYNxL9JekgPvoZc2kXWBdSRYu5R7Hz86Z2LWYvgxwPJVEjeq48UymiSGJfAQviajp77a8oQaVql4/s250/South+Park+Malcolm.JPG" title="“South Park” Malcolm" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“South Park” Malcolm<br />
from Simple Massing Priest blog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>News of the Anglican Covenant has been scarce for quite some time. The Anglican world has instead largely been focused on various goings on in the Church of England. The English church now has a new Archbishop of Canterbury, has the potential to consecrate gay (but celibate) bishops but not women bishops (of any sort), and has shown itself to be out-of-touch with the larger society on the matter of marriage equality. No one seems to be talking about the Anglican Covenant.<br />
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The Rev. Malcolm French, the No Anglican Covenant Coalition moderator, noting that he has not written anything about the Covenant since he blogged from the General Convention of The Episcopal Church last summer, has now published a post on his blog titled “Time for the new broom to sweep clean.” In it, Malcolm offers an evaluation of where the Covenant stands in January 2013. He stops short of asking Justin Welby, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, to sign the death certificate (or, perhaps, death warrant) of the Covenant, but he observes that the Covenant “staggers on like some dessicated zombie or reflection-free nosferatu.”<br />
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You can read Malcolm’s post <a href="http://simplemassingpriest.blogspot.com/2013/01/time-for-new-broom-to-sweep-clean.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-23402415149398835962012-11-18T14:07:00.000+00:002012-11-18T14:07:32.278+00:00Moderator French an Episcopal CandidateWe are pleased to announce that the moderator of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition (and convenor for the Anglican Church of Canada), the Rev. Malcolm French, is a candidate to become the next bishop of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle in the Anglican Church of Canada. The list of candidates is <a href="http://quappelle.anglican.ca/index.php/choosing-our-new-bishop" target="_blank">here</a>. Malcolm’s profile is <a href="http://quappelle.anglican.ca/images/stories/PDF/Diocesan_Council_Minutes/french.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Please pray for the selection process in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/images/malcolmfrench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Rev. Malcolm French" border="0" src="http://noanglicancovenant.org/images/malcolmfrench.jpg" title="The Rev. Malcolm French" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rev. Malcolm French</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-27100023637895619182012-10-22T20:25:00.002+01:002012-10-23T18:20:56.208+01:00Blog Comments<div>
Recently, this blog has experienced some odd posts. While I share this blog with my colleagues and do not post my "three rules" here regularly, they are worthy of your consideration.</div><br/>
<div><ol>
<li>Stay within musket range of the topic. Items that are off subject are deleted.</li>
<li>Ad hominem attacks will be deleted period.</li>
<li>Avoid obscure unintelligible writing. While this is often in the eye of the beholder, Lionel and I while tolerant, do mean it.</li>
</ol></div>
<div>
So, if you are wondering why you are not finding some brilliant comment you think really showed the Coalition how wrong it is, consider it it light of those three. We do not claim infallibility, we know we can be wrong. But we do expect guests here to be reasonably polite.</div>
<br />
<br />
Jim B
JimBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17312606954135884910noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-41742796371620844462012-08-12T19:38:00.000+01:002012-08-12T19:40:14.457+01:00General Convention BrochureThe No Anglican Covenant Coalition distributed both buttons and brochures at the recent General Convention. For the benefit of those who did not attend, you can see one of our buttons in a <a href="http://blog.noanglicancovenant.org/2012/05/must-have-button-for-gc-2012.html">previous post</a>.<br />
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Our brochure was a tri-fold affair on glossy white paper:<br />
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<a href="http://deimel.org/commentary/b_images/gc_brochures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="General Convention brochure" border="0" src="http://deimel.org/commentary/b_images/gc_brochures.jpg" title="General Convention Brochure" /> </a></div>
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Click <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/docs/2012_gc_brochure.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> to see the content of the brochure, which was designed specifically for distribution at the 2012 General Convention.</div>
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You can find pictures of Malcolm French and me at our General Convention display on <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2012/07/showing-flag-at-general-convention.html" target="_blank">my own blog</a>. </div>
<br />Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-29344786648933067412012-08-05T02:25:00.001+01:002012-08-05T02:25:17.779+01:00What Would an Ideal Anglican Communion Look Like?The Anglican Covenant would re-engineer the Anglican Communion. But the Anglican Communion was never really engineered to begin with. Instead, it developed in fits and starts with no planning as to what a “mature” Anglican Communion should look like.<br />
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Encouraging the Communion to avoid making the serious mistake of adopting the proposed Anglican Covenant has been satisfying, but Anglicans really should be asking what an ideal Anglican Communion would look like. What would we want to create if we were beginning from scratch?<br />
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Do readers have any ideas to contribute? What should be the underlying principles of an ideal Anglican Communion? How should those principles be incorporated into particular structures and processes?Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-14381675001734968632012-07-11T15:28:00.003+01:002012-07-11T22:59:40.192+01:00ACANZAP says NO, TEC declines to take positionNEWS RELEASE<br />
JULY 11, 2012<br />
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
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<u><b>COALITION STATEMENT ON THIS WEEK’S VOTES ON THE ANGLICAN COVENANT</b></u><br />
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – Two days ago, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia rejected the Anglican Covenant. Yesterday, the Episcopal Church voted to “decline to take a position on the Anglican Covenant,” and to continue to monitor the progress of the Covenant until the next General Convention in 2015. No Anglican Covenant Moderator, the Rev. Malcolm French, has issued the following statement:<br />
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<blockquote>The wind has clearly gone out of the sails of the Anglican Covenant. There was not even a single dissenting vote when the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia declared itself unable to adopt the Covenant. While our Coalition would have preferred a clearer “no” from the Episcopal Church, the resolution passed in Indianapolis is scarcely more than an abstention – and the commitment to “monitor the ongoing developments” rings hollow when we consider that the same General Convention phased out funding for the Episcopal Church staff position for Anglican Communion affairs. Perhaps they will monitor the situation by following #noanglicancovenant on Twitter.<br />
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The next major step in the Covenant process will be at the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, this fall. We understand that there will be an attempt to introduce a ratification threshold and a sunset date to the Covenant process. Depending on the details, our Coalition is likely to be broadly supportive of both initiatives.</blockquote><br />
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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.<br />
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<a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/">noanglicancovenant.org</a><br />
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The Rev. Malcolm French (Canada) +1-306-550-2277<br />
The Rev. Jean Mayland (England) +44 07966 921247<br />
The Ven. Lawrence Kimberley (New Zealand) +64 3 981 7384<br />
The Rev. Canon Hugh Magee (Scotland) +44 1334 470446<br />
Dr. Lionel Deimel (USA) +1-412-512-9087<br />
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<b>Note:</b> A PDF version of this news release is available <a href="http://noanglicancovenant.org/pr18.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-75821619744971531192012-07-10T20:40:00.000+01:002012-07-10T20:42:34.180+01:00Episcopal Church House of Deputies Passes Substitute Covenant ResolutionJust a little while ago, the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church General Convention passed a revised version of Resolution B005. The resolution states that the church is too divided to made a decision on the Anglican Covenant now and asks for yet another task force on the Covenant to report to the General Convention in 2015. An amendment was defeated that would have removed both provisions about being divided and about creating a task force. When it came time to speak to the resolution itself, which the No Anglican Covenant Coalition opposed, five speakers had spoken in favor of B005 and none against when the question was called. Three of the speakers were from the committee that drafted the substitute resolution. Before the actual vote, one deputy expressed disappointment that no dissenting voices had been heard.<br />
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A voice vote only was taken. The ayes were in the majority, but, I think, not by much. It is not at all clear that the will of the majority has been served.<br />
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The resolution now goes to the House of Bishops, where passage seems likely, but by no means is a sure thing.Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-32827678955757695562012-07-09T11:20:00.002+01:002012-07-09T11:32:05.239+01:00A clear "NO!" from AotearoaA report from the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. <br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">ACANZP has </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">"rejected the proposed Covenant </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">based on section 4, </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">but ... subscribed to 1, 2 and 3 </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">as a useful starting point </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">for consideration of our Anglican understanding of the church. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">We have also affirmed </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">the commitment of the ACANZP to the Communion </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">and the Instruments, </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">and to using procedures </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">similar to those in Section 3 </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">if another church raises concerns </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">about what we are doing or going to do. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">The whole motion has been passed in open Synod, </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">with no negative voice."</span> </div>
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Official text and links to follow once we have it. No Anglican Covenant Coalition Moderator <a href="http://simplemassingpriest.blogspot.ca/">Malcolm French</a> and the Coalition's Episcopal Church Convenor <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/">Lionel Deimel</a> are both blogging regularly (ie, more or less daily) about the state of the Covenant debate at the Episcopal Church's 77th General Convention.Malcolm+http://www.blogger.com/profile/08469936715413110334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674064810664714323.post-7913965404775836182012-07-07T17:43:00.003+01:002012-07-07T17:51:45.262+01:00Why Not “Maybe”?<blockquote><span style="font-size: 85%;"><i>The essay below was published today in </i>Issues 2012<i>, a newsletter distributed by the Consultation at General Convention.</i></span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Many deputies are wearing “Yes to Communion/No to Covenant” buttons. Meanwhile, the legislative subcommittee dealing with the Anglican Covenant, chaired by the Rev. Mark Harris, is considering advancing two resolutions, one expressing the church’s commitment to the Anglican Communion and the other saying neither “yes” nor “no” to the Covenant. The first resolution is likely to pass easily; no one is calling for The Episcopal Church to withdraw from the Anglican Communion. A resolution that somehow says “maybe” (or “not now” or “not this one”), however, is not only a bad idea, but a resolution that will invite spirited and possibly divisive debate.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Why is saying “maybe” to the Covenant not a good option? Quite simply, Episcopalians have never wanted a covenant and have no desire to surrender their church’s autonomy to centralized Anglican bodies that include representatives of churches whose theological, ecclesiastical, and moral proclivities differ radically from theirs. Historical ties—often very tenuous ones—do not justify such a surrender to a future Anglican magisterium, which would be the ultimate effect of Covenant adoption.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Episcopalians are understandably queasy about what they should do about the Covenant. They realize that its origin is in the reactionary response to non-“traditional” actions by our church, and they are loath to be seen as defensive or disrespectful of churches in former colonial nations. In short, we don’t like to say “no,” so we accepted the Windsor Report with some grace and passed 2006-B033, though with reluctance and without enthusiasm.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If no church had yet rejected the Covenant, we might do well to defer, as we would indeed seem reactive. But England has rejected the Covenant, rumors to the contrary notwithstanding; Scotland trounced a resolution to adopt the Covenant; New Zealand will likely vote it down; and Australia will almost assuredly be unable to adopt it. It is time for The Episcopal Church to say that the Covenant is a bad idea—indeed, and un-Anglican idea—badly implemented, and one that must be discarded quickly if the Communion is to move forward as an effective instrument of mission and not simply a venue for endless and divisive disputes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We should say “no” to the Anglican Covenant; not only for our own sake, but for the sake of the Communion. “Maybe” is not good enough.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">Lionel Deimel, No Anglican Covenant Coalition </div></div>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0