LONDON – No Anglican Covenant Coalition Moderator, the Revd Dr Lesley Crawley, has issued the following statement on the defeat of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant in the Church of England.
“With today’s results from the dioceses of Oxford and Lincoln, the proposed Anglican Covenant is now dead in the water in the Church of England. This also poses serious problems for the Covenant in other Provinces as it seems nonsensical to have the Archbishop of Canterbury in the second tier of the Anglican Communion and excluded from the central committees.
“When we launched the No Anglican Covenant Coalition 18 months ago, we were assured that the Anglican Covenant was an unstoppable juggernaut. We started as simply a band of bloggers, but we would like to thank the hundreds of supporters and our patrons for their dedication to promoting debate. The Covenant needed the approval of 23 diocesan synods, as of today, that result is no longer possible.
“Especially we would like to congratulate people in Diocesan Synods across the Church of England who, despite attempts in many dioceses to silence or marginalize dissenting voices, endeavoured to promote debate, ensuring that the Anglican Covenant was subjected to significant and meaningful scrutiny. We found, as the debate went on, that the more people read and studied the Covenant, the less they liked it.
“Under Church of England procedures , this proposal to centralize Communion-wide authority in the hands of a small, self-selecting group cannot return to the agenda of General Synod for at least three years.
“We are seeing the momentum turning internationally as well. The Episcopal Church of the Philippines has officially rejected the Covenant, the opposition of the Tikanga Maori virtually assures that the Covenant will be rejected in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, and we are seeing increasing opposition in other Provinces of the Communion.
“While today’s diocesan synod results are exciting and gratifying, we are well aware that there is still work to do. However, if the proposed Anglican Covenant does not stand up to scrutiny in the Church of England, we are confident that it will not stand up to scrutiny elsewhere.
“We hope that the Church of England will now look to bring reconciliation within the Anglican Communion by means of strengthening relationships rather than punitive legislation.”
Well, what now? Seems to me the Anglican Communion is as polarized now as our American politics: and of course, it's the women's fault, as it has been ever since Eve held out that apple - and the fault of the other offenders, teh gayz.
ReplyDeleteYou know those righteous, God-fearing straight men who don't want any females or fairies cluttering up their nice, clean churches are never going to give way. So where does the Communion go from here, Mimi?
Russ, my crystal ball tells me the Church of England is scrambling around for Plan B.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Anglican Communion, the ball tells me the dynamics on adoption of the covenant will surely change. Alas, no details.
Good news indeed for the Church of England. It didn't feel possible a few months ago, has come to pass. Hard word, prayer, perseverance and well articulated arguments have won out.
ReplyDeleteWhat now for the Anglican Communion? I anticipate feedback as the Anglican Communion issued a statement this afternoon, listing those provinces that had passed the Covenant, but not those who had declined to accept it. I sense confusion as they retreat to lick their wounds. They might still come out biting, so the No Campaign needs to remain ready for battle.
UKViewer, my heart is full. I'm so thankful to all who worked tirelessly to inform the members of the Church of England on the Anglican Covenant and to the thoughtful members of diocesan synods who voted their best judgements, whichever way they voted.
ReplyDelete