Several days ago, I sent the following email to Lionel Deimel in appreciation of his essay "Reflecting on the Archbishop’s Reflection":
Lionel, I very much enjoyed your reflection on the reflection. That we are in agreement in all that you say, no doubt, added to my enjoyment. You gave me not a few smiles as I read through it.
I believe that the Episcopal Church will not sign on to the covenant. I shall be greatly disappointed should that happen.
12 years ago, when I joined the Episcopal Church, I did not pay much attention to the affairs of my own diocese, much less the national church, and even less the Anglican Communion. Anglophile that I am, I thought that it was nice to be part of the Communion, but the association affected my life in my parish church only marginally, if at all.
Not until the turmoil that resulted from consent to Bishop Gene's consecration did I begin to pay attention to church politics. At times, I feel nostalgia for those times when I wore my blinders, lived in ignorance, and paid little attention to issues in the larger church.
Thanks for taking the time to write your take on Rowan's reflection.
Blessings,
June Butler (aka Grandmère Mimi)
Then, in a follow-up email, I responded to Lionel's comment below:
"I am wondering if it isn’t time to oppose the covenant in principle. I am not so sure The Episcopal Church will reject the covenant, though I am convinced it should."
Lionel, yes! It's time to oppose the covenant across the board. I'm not sure that TEC will reject it, either, although I don't see how, in good conscience, we can sign on without being hypocritical. Too many are going along with the process. The ABC details the aftermath of the covenant even before the final draft of the covenant is complete. I fear that TEC's signing on to the covenant may come to seem inevitable.
We saw what happened with the Windsor Report. As Bishop Martin Barahona, the primate of Central America said:
“The Windsor Report,” he said. “It’s just a report. When did it become like The Bible. The Covenant. Why do we need another covenant? We have the Baptismal Covenant. We have the creeds. What else do we need?”
I have his words on my sidebar, and I read them often. I want a plaque for my blog that says, "No To The Covenant!"
Blessings,
June
And lo! It came to be! Thank you Lionel, thank you, thank you.
And you should all go read Lionel's essay at the link at the beginning of the post.
Grandmere --it does my heart good to see some one saying --just be opposed to the "Covenant" in principle... It's not a covenant that is being touted, it's a pact with centralized power. Nothing more nor less.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post and these links.
Someone the other day tried to sell the concepts of Covenanter and Federalist respectively, instead of Kendall Harmon's Reasirter (sp?) and Revisionst, regarding the Anglican feuds.
ReplyDeleteThe one word found in the Bible, and thus in a sense "biblical", the other not - which I gather was the whole point of the exercise ;=)
To which I wish to say that it is not a n y Covenant that is in question (and which is being questioned) but the "NT" Wright one, and that the Anglican Communion is indeed since ever a Federation of autonomous churches - precisely the the reason for these revolutionary attempts by several sets of "guys with a computer" and flashy acronymes...
Mimi, like you, I've just posted a "No Anglican Covenant" pic on my blog. Like It's M. I agree that it's about power, not a covenant which we are already in and always have been with God and with each other. The exact words we use say a lot about where we stand, and convey so much more that the literal meaning, that I'm suspicious about any words being used as short-cuts to define the other.
ReplyDeleteIt's up on my sidebar.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not a covenant, but a power-grab that's being called a "covenant."
Margaret, it's about power, and if the power is given, it will be used to discipline by exclusion.
ReplyDeleteGöran, I read that federalist/covenant piece, too, but I don't remember where. We already have covenants. Best to oppose the whole idea of an Anglican covenant.
I'm suspicious about any words being used as short-cuts to define the other.
Amelia, I am, too.
Counterlight, the word spreads quickly. I believe there was a pent-up demand for a plaque from a good many bloggers.
It´s up at my blog too...thank you!
ReplyDeleteI managed to make it stuck to mine as well ;=)
ReplyDeleteGood, Göran. The more, the merrier. We're a merry band of bloggers.
ReplyDeleteAnd I added Leonardo's quote from Archbishop Barahona! Wasn't it clever?
ReplyDelete