Archbishop of Canterbury's Lack of Leadership Puts the Anglican Communion at Risk of Coming Apart

It appears to me that the Archbishop of Canterbury's flip flopping on issues of human sexuality and his choosing sides in the Anglican conflict may lead to total destruction of the Anglican Communion as we know it. Instead of being a leader and staying in the middle and being fair on both sides, he chose to side with the global south and the ilk of Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria. Archbishop Rowan Williams created this mess and now he is faced with the consequences. The American Church cannot possibly do the things requested by the meeting of the primates in Tanzania. We're a democracy. The House of Bishops, House of Deputies and the Executive Council reaches decisions by voting. And besides, our Annual meeting isn't until 2009. ----------------------------------------- Subject: Archbishop losses favor on all fronts Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:59:13 -0400 The Daily Telegraph Leader March 23, 2007 Communion no more: The Archbishop of Canterbury's plan to save the Anglican Communion lies in near ruins. The American bishops have rejected Dr Rowan William's scheme - endorsed by Anglican primates in Tanzania last month - to create a traditionalist enclave for conservatives opposed to liberal bishops. And they have set out their opinions in stinging language: not only is the Archbishop accused of promoting a 'spiritually unsound' project, but it is also implied that he is behaving like a British colonialist. The text of the American bishops' statement is damaging. This is a national Church speaking with an (almost) united voice. The casus belli has shifted from the ordination of Gene Robinson, to allegations of bullying by a group of primates led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr Williams now finds himself out of favour with liberals and moderate conservatives in his own Communion. And, harsh though it may sound, he has only himself to blame. In the past couple of years, he has allowed conservative Anglicanism to be hijacked by extremists. Archbishop Peter Akinola, Anglican Primate of Nigeria, is the leader of the Global South provinces opposed to the ordination of actively homosexual clergy. That is fair enough, but he has also defended new Nigerian legislation that makes 'cancerous' (his word) same-sex activity punishable by up to five years' imprisonment. The deeply divisive figure of Archbishop Akinola was central to Dr Williams's Tanzanian compromise; is it any wonder that it has been rejected? The Archbishop's attempts to hold together the Communion have led him to a theological position so convoluted that he now has few natural supporters. He will find himself exposed at next year's Lambeth Conference - if, that is, it can take place at all without the support of the American Church.

The Episcopal Church: Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori: Compassionate Communicator

There have already been many things written all over blogland about our Presiding Bishop's visit to the Research Triangle in North Carolina where she recently spoke at the meeting of the Episcopal Urban Caucus. One of the things I admire about our Presiding Bishop is that she's a breath of fresh air. She speaks from the heart and is open. No double speak, no lofty platitudes or intellectual airs. Instead, Bishop Jefferts Schori chooses to be a communicator. She does it in an open and warm manner and people leave her presence understanding what she said and where she stands (unlike the Archbishop of Canterbury who goes to an ethereal place whenever he opens his mouth). Rev. Pauli Murray was the United States first female African American Priest. Our Presiding Bishop was honoring her at Chapel Hill, NC last Thursday. This is one of several great interviews reflecting the beautiful way with words of Bishop Jefferts Schori: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1197774/ News reports of the Presiding Bishops visit to N.C. reported, "Jefferts Schori, 52, said Thursday she would not waver from forging a new way forward for the 2.4-million member Episcopal Church. That new way includes a commitment to the full equality of gays and lesbians, which she and many others in the denomination see as a new civil rights issue. "Our labors in this church continue to sing of hope for the full flourishing of all God's children, black, white, native, Asian, women, men, gay and straight," Jefferts Schori said. "As long as any of us is restrained by custom, law, prejudice or bigotry, we all remain in chains." WOW!! Thank you Bishop Schori. There's an important meeting of the Anglican Primates in Tanzania next week. Bishop Akinloa and his buddies most certainly do NOT want our Presiding Bishop seated. Even if it wasn't her support for gay folk, they STILL wouldn't want her seated because she's a woman. The Primate members of the Anglican conservative movement are PWP's (Primates With Penises) and they don't want women preaching in their churches let alone taking good paying jobs in positions of power. Actually, I think that the men want to be primates because they can get away with wearing pretty purple dresses and let's not even discuss the jewelry! So the global south wants The Episcopal Church thrown out of the Anglican Communion. In addition, a small handful of conservative Episcopal parishes in the U.S. want the same thing. But I doubt that anything much will happen. They will talk, discern and agree to meet again. Things in the church move slowly. If some of the churches in the U.S. leave the Episcopal church it won't have any bearing on my manner or worship at all. Besides, I can't see TEC ever becoming a really huge denomination where thousands gather in mega popcorn churches. I'd rather belong to a smaller church where members don't need to check our brains in at the door and aren't intimidated for believing in evolution. Last but not least, The Episcopal Church now has an official church blog. It is worth checking out at: http://episcopalchurch.typepad.com/episcope/ Regards, Gordon