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ANiC now part of Anglican Church in North America |
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Dear Anglican Network in Canada & Anglican Essentials Network members and friends,
The Anglican Network in Canada is now part of a new entity, the Anglican Church in North America, formed by the partners of what has been known as the Common Cause Partnership.
On December 3rd, this new Church was launch in Wheaton, Illinois with a large celebration service involving bishops, clergy and laypeople from Canada, the United States and beyond. The Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership, Bishop Bob Duncan, was named Archbishop Designate.
This Church, which is a “province in formation”, unites 700 Anglican congregations, representing tens of thousands of people. As the Primates of the Global Anglican Future Conference requested in Jerusalem last June, this Church has the characteristics necessary to be recognized as an Anglican province.
The provisional constitution and canons of the new Church make clear that mainstream Anglican Christian belief and mission are central to its identity. These governing documents also articulate that the basis of unity is a shared faith in Jesus Christ and a commitment to bringing that transforming faith to every corner of this continent.
The GAFCon Primates Council met Thursday and Friday in London, England to consider the constitution and canons. Bishop Duncan has also provided the constitution and canons to the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Dr Williams’ request.
Following their meeting, the GAFCon Primates issued a statement earlier today saying,
We welcome the news of the North American Anglican Province in formation. We fully support this development with our prayer and blessing… A new Province will draw together in unity many of those who wish to remain faithful to the teaching of God’s word, and also create the highest level of fellowship possible with the wider Anglican Communion.
The provisional constitution and canons, which have been approved by the Common Cause Partnership Council, now begin to shape our life together. The coming months will be marked by a period of transition that will require much prayer for God’s wisdom and grace and much discussion.
The goal is that the ecclesial ties to various overseas provinces will shift over time to missional relationships – as the relationships and structure within the North American Church take shape. A period of dual citizenship will likely exist for clergy, parishes, and dioceses.
We are all grateful for the care, guidance and leadership these overseas provinces have made for us and we will work closely with the primates and provinces involved to effect a smooth transition.
While there is no definitive roadmap for this transition period, several initial milestones are anticipated:
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The Governance Task Force will begin immediately to work on additional canons required in the near future. |
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By April, various groupings of parishes - dioceses, clusters or networks – will apply to be part of the Church. These do not need to be geographically-based groupings but over time, the expectation is that geography will be the most common theme of these groupings. |
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In late April, the Leadership Council of the new Church will likely meet. |
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The College of Bishops will likely meet in June immediately prior to the Church-wide assembly, called the “Provincial Assembly”, which is tentatively planned for the summer of 2009, where the constitution and canons will be presented for final ratification by all those who choose to be part of the Anglican Church in North America. |
More details will be available in the weeks and months ahead.
Prayer items:
Praise God for this development in the formation of a new North American Province.
Please pray for Archbishop designate, Bishop Bob Duncan, for the Lead Bishops, including Bishop Donald Harvey, and for all those involved in bringing this Province to fruition.
Pray also for Bishop Don who missed the celebration service in Chicago in order to fly to Recife Brazil to represent Archbishop Greg Venables at Recife’s synod. His trip to Recife was an “adventure”. Please pray for a smooth trip home, for health and for a spiritually profitable time in Recife.
And please pray for the Venerable Charlie Masters in his very demanding ministry – both within ANiC and as General Secretary of Common Cause (and now the Anglican Church in North America). Like Bishop Don, his schedule requires extensive travel.
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