An Orderly Account

About the Name

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent The-oph’ilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. -- Luke 1:1-4

Relax, I know I’m not writing the New Testament here, but I will try to follow a few things closely. — Dick Sandlin

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Features

The Anglican Communion, The Episcopal Church and ACNA

There is a huge turmoil going on in the Anglican Communion (AC) right now (that started when Henry VIII created the Church of England). Locally, the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA), which has lately taken to calling itself The Episcopal Church (TEC) has been raising quite a stir. I happen to be a party to one of the factions and I would like to provide a forum for all sides in this brewhaha to state their beliefs, suggestions, concerns, etc..

You can get a taste of the factions by checking out Anglican Curmudgeon, Titus One Nine, Baby Blue Cafe, Stand Firm, or To All the World for the conservative or “reasserters” point of view and Via Media, Integrity, Salon, Towle Road, or The Episcopal Church for the more progressive, or as some call them the “revisionists” or perhaps more kindly the “reappraisers”, point of view.

A number of dioceses and some individual parishes have left the Episcopal Church to join what they hope is a new province in the making, The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). This group is comprised not only of recent Episcopal drop-outs, but includes some Canadian churches and many churches in the USA who left the Episcopal Church when she began to ordain female priests back in the 1970’s and then to consecrate some of them as bishops. Some ACNA members dispute the mandatory institution of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, prefering the 1928 version. The approval of ACNA as a new province by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is a bit dodgy as it would seem to require either the expulsion of the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion or the reversal of a long held practice of territoriality, where the territory of one province cannot overlap that of another.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, ++Rowan Williams, (the not-very-close-counterpart to the Pope in the AC) has just released a statement in reaction to a pair of resolutions passed in the recent General Convention of TEC that reaffirm the resolve to bless gay, lesbian, and transgender (GLTG) unions and to welcome noncelebate GLTG folk into leadership roles in the church. His statement seems to scold TEC for overstepping its bounds and suggests that there may be a “second-track” of membership for provinces who don’t behave properly. The statement has been criticized by both sides as being too much or too little, but it has been seen with a glimmer of hope by ACNA proponents.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/27 at 08:48 PM