From Episcopal Life:
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams held a private meeting September 2 with seven Episcopal Church bishops at Lambeth Palace, his London residence.
The bishops attending the meeting were Mark Lawrence of South Carolina, Gary Lillibridge of West Texas, Edward Little of Northern Indiana, Bill Love of Albany, Michael Smith of North Dakota, James Stanton of Dallas, and Bruce MacPherson of Western Louisiana.
A spokesperson in the Lambeth Palace press office confirmed that Williams had hosted the seven Episcopal bishops, but said that the meeting was private.
When asked for his reflections on the meeting, MacPherson told ENS that the bishops will have "something forthcoming soon."
We shall see. As St. Gilda Radner said, "It's always something".
Little, Love, Smith and MacPherson are bishops of dioceses that can hardly keep themselves functioning -- I call them the Not So Magnificent Seven- NSM7
ReplyDeleteSeems that the bloated egos of the self-styled Anglican Communion Institute - who have yet to issue any accounting of the many tens of thousands of dollars supposedly received from the ex-Rev'd Don Armstrong - and of Rambling Tom Wright, absentee Bishop of Durham, have converged to formulate yet another sanctimonious attack on TEC.
ReplyDeleteBullfrogs croaking at the Moon!
Ann, Ormonde Plater said in another comment thread that Smith (ND) may be on our slate of candidates for bishop in the Diocese of Louisiana.
ReplyDeleteLapin, thanks. I bookmarked the link to read later. I noted the following statement:
Thus, in ways not yet properly noted by all, the text endorsed by the Anglican Consultative Council, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Joint Standing Committee in May 2009 has already raised and to a large extent provisionally answered the question “who can adopt this Covenant?”
And we know what their answer is. "Elements" within the provinces will be able to adopt the covenant, if the province does not, or perhaps even if the province has not yet considered the matter of the covenant. The "facts on the ground" strategy is at work here. Say that this is so, and it will be so.
Those folks are mighty long-winded. I'll try to read the whole thing, but I make no promises. They have the bit in their mouths, and they are running. If the ABC thinks he's in control of this team, he's sadly out of touch.
Smith in Louisiana - good grief -- guess it's warmer than NDak.
ReplyDeleteAnn, I just learned that in our diocesan process of electing a bishop, anyone can throw his/her hat in the ring or have her/his hat thrown in the ring by someone else, and there is no weeding out process, aside from moral or criminal checks. All are voted on. Is this how it is in other dioceses, or does each diocese vary?
ReplyDeleteI already know that a woman will not be elected.
Lapin, I will not be reading the whole of the document that you linked to at the ACI. What I did read is nothing more than a wordy load of BS.
ReplyDeleteNo - most have a search committee that takes suggestions - people can put their own name in. Then they try to pick the ones who most fist what we are looking for. Nominations by petition can be done with 8 clergy and 8 lay from different churches and different parts of the diocese. See Wyoming's process here
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Rowan Williams would have met separately with the disgruntled bishops if our Presiding Bishop had been male. Am I paranoid or is this a valid suspicion? Does this smell of sexism?
ReplyDeleteOk, color me confused, but if we have a two tier system of "Covenant Anglicans" and "Non-Covenant Anglicans", and individual dioceses can sign on whether or not the province does, isn't that a schism? So how can Dr. Williams and company say that they are trying to avoid a schism when what they propose is a schism?
ReplyDeleteTwo Auntees, don't get me started. Bishop Katharine has been patronized, snubbed, and otherwise maltreated since she was elected, both at home and abroad.
ReplyDeleteHillbilly, surely you jest. Who can explain the jumbled up mess that the ABC has made of Lambeth, the covenant, etc.? Since he won't lead, others have taken the reins, and they go off in several different directions. What the ABC won't be able to break is relationships. They will stand despite the malfunction of the institutions.
You and big brother take care of that precious bébé and her mama, ya hear?
Yes, Ma'am. Both of them are a treasure for sure.
ReplyDelete