This Just In From Scotland!

It takes courage to stand for the right. The Scottish Episcopal Church has that courage. They have officially said no to the Covenant and yes to Communion. The news is posted on their official web site at this page.

The address by their primus is worth reading. It is a solid endorsement of the Anglican Communion, not the unwelcome hierarchical "Anglican Church" Dr. Williams and his myrmidons have been so eager to inflict on us. FWIW jimB

Resolution D007 is introduced.

The Coalition is happy to announce that our "model resolution" has been formally introduced to General Convention and assigned identifier, D007. The exact text and format of the resolution are below.

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D007 TOPIC: Response to the Anglican Covenant

PROPOSER 
Russell, The Rev. Cn. Susan

ENDORSED BY 
Hopkins, The Very Rev. Michael; Lee, Ms. Lelanda

SPONSORED BY

Buchanan, The Rev. Susan; Engstrom, The Very

Rev. Marilyn; Gracey, Mr. R. Stephen; Hart, Mr.

Christopher; Kandt, Mrs. Pamela; Leigh , Ms.

Tobyn; Moore, The Rev. Stephen; Russell, The Rev.

Michael; Shaw, The Rev. Lee; Williams, Ms.

Sandra; Bronson Sweigert, The Rev. Cynthia

RESOLUTION TEXT

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 77th General Convention

give thanks to all who have worked to increase understanding and strengthen

relationships among the churches of the Anglican Communion; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention reaffirm the commitment of this church

to the fellowship of autonomous national and regional churches that is the

Anglican Communion; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention recognizes that sister churches of the

Anglican Communion are properly drawn together by bonds of affection, by

participation in the common mission of the gospel, and by consultation without

coercion or intimidation; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention, having prayerfully considered the merits

of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant and believing said agreement to

be contrary to Anglican ecclesiology and tradition and to the best interests of the

Anglican Communion, respectfully decline to adopt the same; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention call upon the leaders of The Episcopal

Church at every level to seek opportunities to reach out to strengthen and restore

relationships between this church and sister churches of the Communion.

EXPLANATION

Churches of the Anglican Communion have been asked to adopt the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant.

The suggestion for such an agreement was made in the 2004 Windsor Report, which recommended "the

adoption by the churches of the Communion of a common Anglican Covenant which would make explicit and

forceful the loyalty and bonds of affection which govern the relationships between churches of the

Communion."

The Windsor Report was produced at the request of Primates upset with the impending consecration of Gene

Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and the promulgation of a liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions by

the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada.

Archbishop Drexel Gomez, of the Anglican Province of the West Indies, was entrusted with leading the

development of the first draft of a covenant. This same Archbishop Gomez was one of the editors of "To Mend

the Net", a collection of essays dating from 2001 and advocating enhancing the power of the Anglican Primates

to deter, inter alia, the ordination of women and "active homosexuals," as well as the blessing of same-sex

unions. Archbishop Gomez's punitive agenda remains evident in the final draft of the proposed Covenant.

Despite protestations to the contrary, the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant attempts to create a

centralized authority that would constrain the self-governance of The Episcopal Church and other churches of

the Communion. This unacceptably inhibits Communion churches from pursuing the gospel mission as they

discern it.

The Church of England has already declined to adopt the Anglican Communion Covenant. The House of

Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines has indicated that they will not support the Covenant, and

the rejection of the Covenant by the Tikanga Maori of the Anglican Church in Aoteroa, New Zealand and

Polynesia renders it virtually certain that those churches will also decline to adopt.

The deficiencies of the proposed Covenant would lead to an Anglican Communion further divided rather than

more unified. Declining to adopt the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant not only avoids permanent,

institutionalized division, it opens the way for new opportunities to build relationships across differences

through bonds of affection, by participation in the common mission of the gospel, and by consultation without coercion or intimidation.

The Secular Media Notice

Here is a link to Thinking Anglicans post recap of English media reporting on the defeat of the Covenant in England. This is very handy reporting and when you visit you might consider thanking them.

Victory in Derby

We are beginning another season of Church of England synods voting on whether to approve sending the proposed Anglican Communion back to the General Synod for final adoption by the church. Needless to say, the No Anglican Covenant Coalition is working to encourage dioceses to vote No on the Covenant.

We received word today that the Diocese of Derby has not only voted No, but has done so rather decisively. The single bishop present voted against. Of the clergy, 21 voted against, 1 voted for, and 2 abstained. Of the laity, 24 voted against, 2 voted for, and 1 abstained.

It is widely assumed that, if the Church of England rejects the Anglican Covenant, the Covenant project will be effectively ended.
 

Good News Continues

In England, many members of diocesan synods have really disappointed the proponents of the Covenant. They have accepted Canon Kearson’s advice, read the Covenant, considered it carefully, and voted no. Voting no is, as we have shown here, the correct response to the document.

The most recent diocese to read and understand the Covenant is St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese in the Church of England. The synod voted to reject adoption of the Covenant last week.

Four diocese in England have voted now. Two have voted no. Given the pull of the “loyalty to Rowan” argument and the determined effort of the proponents not to talk about the document, I think that is remarkable. I recall reading in a novel that there is a reason Americans have juries that are selected in a process while English juries are simply the next 12 on the list, “twelve Englishmen cannot be fooled.” It may be we are are seeing that now.

FWIW
jimB