 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
November meeting for Network members
Network members should have received their registration packages for the landmark November 22-23 conference in Burlington, Ontario. Although the venue can accommodate a limited number of people, we would love to have as many Network members as possible attend – including, we hope, at least five people from each Network parish. If you’ve read the statement from the Common Cause Council of Bishops (issued Friday and discussed below), you know that work has begun “rebuilding the walls”. We are excited to be part of the “new thing” God is doing in North American Anglicanism. See: www.anglicannetwork.ca/events
Common Cause Council of Bishops takes major strides toward union
A total of 51 bishops and bishops-elect representing tens-of-thousands of Anglicans in the US and Canada met September 25-28 in Pittsburgh – bringing together bishops and observers from the American Anglican Council, the Anglican Coalition in Canada, the Anglican Communion Network, Anglican Network in Canada, the Anglican Province of America, Anglican Essentials Canada, the Anglican Mission in the Americas, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, Forward in Faith North America and the Reformed Episcopal Church.
The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, summed up the landmark meeting: “Significant steps were taken toward an emerging Anglican union. A timetable stretching over the next fifteen months, outlining key organizational steps, will lead to a process of recognition by Anglican Primates and Provinces around the world. The recognition sought is of the Common Cause Partnership, or developing Anglican union, as the "separate ecclesiastical structure" in North America called for by the Primates of the Global South at Kigali in September 2006.
“Additionally, the Common Cause bishops present constituted themselves as a College of Bishops. Steps were taken toward regional, national and global ministry together, to interchangeability of clergy, to significant consultation prior to naming bishops, to regular meeting, and to developing an agreed protocol on standards of faithfulness, holiness, and fruitfulness for both diocesan and missionary bishops. Further, consistent with resolutions of the Lambeth Conference, the bishops pledged to work to bring Anglican Continuing Churches, not presently Common Cause Partners, into fellowship, as well as to work to deepen ecumenical efforts locally, nationally and globally."
Earlier, in welcoming the assembled bishops, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh and convener of the gathering, said that before any unified orthodox Anglicanism could be expected to emerge in North America, relationships among bishops and jurisdictions need to be reordered. “Our shortcoming is not ‘right Faith.’ Our shortcoming is ‘right Order’ and ‘right Mission’,” said Bishop Duncan. “Anglicanism appears to be failing in the West. We cannot answer for how others have failed, or are failing, but we must surely answer for what we do – or do not do – here in this place, in this conclave, wherein we hold the key.” Read the full statement at: www.anglicannetwork.ca
The Toronto Star has been covering this meeting in a series of articles. Two articles in the September 29th edition quote Bishop Don and Network parish rector Alex Lewanowicz. Read the series:
Sept 26/07 – www.thestar.com/article/260647
Sept 27/07 – www.thestar.com/article/261042
Sept 29/07 – www.thestar.com/News/World/article/261789; www.thestar.com/article/261788
Diocese of Montreal follows Ottawa in proposing SSB motion for Synod
Falling in line with the Diocese of Ottawa, the Diocese of Montreal synod, October 19, will also vote on a resolution requesting same sex blessing (SSB). (See www.montreal.anglican.ca (select: Motions, Memorials and Petitions - motion L)
In a news release announcing his upcoming visit with the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace (October 16), Archbishop Fred Hiltz, commenting on the motions coming before the Ottawa and Montreal synods requesting bishops grant clergy permission to bless same-sex unions, said these motions reflect "what I call the urgency on the part of some dioceses for providing full pastoral care to all their members, including gays and lesbians." The news release also says “that the upcoming meeting of the house of bishops Oct. 25-30 would include a discussion on developments in the months since General Synod's decisions around sexuality. Bishops and chancellors of the ecclesiastical province of Ontario will also discuss the matter on October 1. See: www.anglicanjournal.com
TEC House of Bishops
The Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops concluded their week-long meeting in New Orleans, 25 September 2007, with a response to the requests made by the Primates of the Communion in the Dar es Salaam communiqué last February. The Primates had given TEC until September 30th to respond. While the Primates requests were clear and specific, the TEC’s response was equivocal and duplicitous. See the TEC’s response here: www.episcopalchurch.org
At this meeting, Bishop Steenson (Rio Grande) announced his intention to resign from the Episcopal Church and enter the Roman Catholic Church – the third TEC bishop to do so this year.
- See a detailed comparison between the Primates requests in the Dar es Salaam communiqué and the TEC House of Bishops’ statement: www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk; www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk
- See a joint statement from the Common Cause bishops meeting in Pittsburgh, which says in part, “We … are committed to remaining within biblical Christianity even as The Episcopal Church once again has chosen to continue on its own tragic course.”
www.acn-us.org
- Archbishop Akinola reacted by saying, “The unequivocal assurances that we sought have not been given; what we have is a carefully calculated attempt to win support to ensure attendance at the Lambeth Conference and continued involvement in the life of the Communion… We also note that while we have repeatedly asked for a moratorium on same-sex blessings – across the Episcopal Church the clergy have continued with these blessings with the full knowledge and support of the Diocesan bishops even if not technically authorized.” See his full statement: www.anglican-nig.org
- The Rev Dr Andrew Goddard, AEC featured speaker at General Synod in Winnipeg this past June, has written a 25-page analysis that concludes: “…what has been offered by its bishops to the Communion is ‘too little, too late’.” Goddard concludes by adding his voice to growing demand for a Primates meeting prior to Lambeth 2008.
See: http://covenant-communion.com
- David Virtue doesn’t mince words, saying, “The verdict is in. The official, and mercifully final statement from the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops is that there will be no retreat, no surrender and certainly an advance of the denomination's pansexual agenda, albeit more slowly, out of deference to Global South leaders who have yet to catch up with the 21st Century post-Christian world of TEC… What the final statement produced was a carefully nuanced change of tone, but no change in substance or direction of the Episcopal Church's position…” Read his full analysis at: www.virtueonline.org
- See the Anglican Journal’s take in an article titled “US bishops echo General Convention in message to Anglican Communion”: www.anglicanjournal.com
- New York Times: “Episcopal bishops reject Anglican Church’s orders”, www.nytimes.com
- The Telegraph: “Anglican Church could split by end of year”: www.telegraph.co.uk
- Time: “The Anglicans get ready to rumble” www.time.com; “Uganda Becomes an Anglican Haven” www.time.com
- Ruth Gledhill’s blog
Is the Church of England on the brink of a split?
The Telegraph reports that a letter will be sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury tomorrow by Reform, a group representing 1,000 evangelical parishes, urging him to make it clear that he opposes the American position and warning that failure to do so would split the Church of England from "top to bottom". Reform also says it will bring in foreign archbishops to ordain priests in dioceses where incumbent bishops refuse to disassociate themselves from the American church. The Rev Rod Thomas, the chairman elect of Reform, said: "The situation in the Anglican communion is so serious now that we have to plan for an inevitable split in the Church of England from top to bottom."
www.telegraph.co.uk
South Africa Elects Conservative as Next Primate
The Rt. Rev. Thabo Cecil Makgoba was elected Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan and Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa on September 25. Originally thought to be too young at 47 to be a contender, ABp-elect Makgoba is said to be a conservative and is expected to try to move the South African church closer to the other African Anglican provinces. See: www.livingchurch.org
Resources for orthodox Anglicans
With church leaders now getting back into harness for the new "church program year", the Rev Dr Archie Pell reminds us that it’s a good time to consider the rich resources available. Written specifically for the issues and circumstances confronting orthodox Anglicans in Canada, the Ginger Group’s Anglican Agenda Series booklets would make excellent study material for a Network parish or for small house groups. For example, "Taking Our Future Seriously" would be helpful as we in the Network approach our November gathering and as some begin to think about church plants to attract Anglicans who have already stopped attending ACC churches. These booklets are valuable for all Anglicans – whether Network members or not. Currently there are nine booklets with booklets 10-12 coming later this year. For more information, see: www.anglicannetwork.ca
Parish profile: St. John’s Shaughnessy
St John’s Shaughnessy, located in central Vancouver, is the largest parish in the Network – as well as the largest in the Anglican Church of Canada. On an average Sunday, up to 700 parishioners attend one of the four services. St. John’s is known for its many vibrant ministries – including youth and children’s ministries as well as conferences – which keep the buildings used to capacity throughout the week. The Rev David and Bronwyn Short came from “Down Under” to serve the congregation in 1991, first as an assistant, then, beginning in 1993, as rector. St John’s was one of the original eight congregations to walk out of the 2002 New Westminster synod when the diocese became the first Anglican diocese in the world to officially permit same sex blessings. See: www.stjohnsshaughnessy.org
Common Cause partner profile: Anglican Communion Network
The Anglican Communion Network is a “biblical, missionary and uniting movement” of US Anglicans in fellowship with the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion Network is reported to comprise over 900 parishes, over 2200 clergy and almost 200,000 members. It’s estimated that over 200 Anglican parishes have either left TEC in recent years or have been planted by Anglican provinces other than TEC in the US. See: www.acn-us.org
Does your email software mistake Network emails for Spam?
Because these newsletters and other emails from the Network (and Anglican Essentials) are sent to mass distribution lists, your software may mistake them for spam. There are steps you can take to ensure your software recognizes these emails as the valuable (dare we say treasured?) messages that they are! The following instructions are for Microsoft Outlook.
1. Open up Microsoft Outlook and on the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, under E-mail, click Junk E-mail, then the Safe Senders tab.
3.
Insert the following Anglican Network in Canada and Essentials email addresses:
mjacobson@anglicannetwork.ca
communications@anglicanessentials.ca
lbryan@anglicanessentials.ca
... back to "Newsletters" main page
|
|
|
 |
