NACC CALLS FOR FAIR PROCESS AND HONEST DEBATE

No Anglican Covenant Coalition
Anglicans for Comprehensive Unity
noanglicancovenant.org

NEWS RELEASE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NO ANGLICAN COVENANT COALITION CALLS FOR FAIR PROCESS AND HONEST DEBATE

LONDON —The No Anglican Covenant Coalition has criticized church officials for attempting to suppress honest discussion of the proposed Anglican Covenant.

"Instead of fostering a free and open discussion, church officials are trying to ensure that this radical document is endorsed without serious debate," according to Coalition Moderator, Dr Lesley Fellows. "Unfortunately, this is entirely consistent with what has been happening throughout the process."

The idea of an Anglican Covenant was first proposed officially in 2004 as a means of addressing divisions among the member churches of the Anglican Communion on matters ranging from human sexuality to the role of women. The current draft, which has been unilaterally designated as "final", has been referred to the Communion churches for adoption. The proposed Covenant establishes mechanisms that would have the effect of forcing member churches to conform to the demands and expectations of other churches or risk exclusion from the Communion. The draft must be either accepted without amendment or rejected entirely; no other options are allowed.

A series of decisions demonstrate a pattern of bias and manipulation designed to facilitate Covenant adoption:

November 2010 — When the Church of England debated the Anglican Covenant, official materials prepared for General Synod members made no reference to the concerns of critics or to the case against the Covenant. This was in marked contrast to what happened in 2007, when the House of Bishops agreed that an additional briefing document presenting opposing arguments should be circulated to all General Synod members in advance of the debate.

November 2010 — When Modern Church and Inclusive Church placed advertisements critical of the proposed Covenant in the church press, and when the No Anglican Covenant Coalition was launched, Covenant sceptics were criticized by senior church officials for going public and "campaigning" instead of remaining silent.

December 2010 — When the draft Covenant was formally referred to English dioceses, the referral document provided a random list of quotations from the last General Synod debate, with pro
‐ and anti‐Covenant remarks mixed up together, followed by a purely pro‐Covenant presentation.

January 2011 — A request by Covenant opponents to the Business Committee of General Synod to circulate material setting out the case against the Covenant was rejected.

February 2011 — The Anglican Communion Office issued an official study guide and list of questions and answers for international use that neither provide a balanced look at the issues nor fairly represent the views of those critical of the Covenant.
"In the history of General Synod, we know of no instance where such an important matter (designated as Article 8) has been referred to diocesan synods without the case for both sides being clearly set out," according to Jonathan Clatworthy, General Secretary of Modern Church and a member of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition. "Both sides were represented regarding the most recent plans for unity with the Methodists. That was the case at every stage of the debate over the ordination of women as priests, and now, as bishops. The material concerning the Covenant falls far short of the ideals of justice, of the Anglican tradition. Even in the House of Commons, all sides of an issue are allowed to be heard."

The No Anglican Covenant Coalition website, noanglicancovenant.org, provides a wealth of resources for those seeking to understand the proposed Anglican Covenant. Material specifically designed for use by Church of England dioceses is also available from the Modern Church Web site at modernchurch.org.uk/resources/mc/cofe.

"Diocesan synods in the Church of England deserve to hear all sides of the debate," said Dr Fellows. "We are not afraid of an open, fair, and honest debate. If the supporters of the Covenant had a stronger case, perhaps they wouldn’t be either."


Revd Dr Lesley Fellows (England) +44 184 4239 268

Revd Canon Hugh Magee (Scotland) +44 133 4470 446

Dr Lionel Deimel (USA) +1 412 512 9087

Revd Malcolm French (Canada) +1 306 550 2277

Revd Lawrence Kimberley (New Zealand) +64 3 981 7384

"THE EFFECT OF THE COVENANT ON MISSION"

As the Ten Reasons Why the Proposed Anglican Covenant Is a Bad Idea circulated around the internet, several persons left comments here at Wounded Bird and at other blog sites pointing out that reason No. 1 was unrealistic, because the churches of the Anglican Communion are not "a vibrant, cooperative, fellowship of churches".

When leaders and members of the churches proclaim their opposing opinions, accuse fellow member churches of heresy, threaten schism, and even, in a few cases, make good their threats, the state of the Anglican Communion may look dire, indeed. But even as the quarrels in the AC continue, we must not forget that mission activities such as Lisa describes below continue between and amongst dioceses and parishes.

Please read Lisa's wise words.

From Comprehensive Unity, the No Anglican Covenant Blog:

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The effect of the Covenant on mission

Deputy Lisa Fox of the Diocese of Missouri reflects on the relationship between the Diocese of Lui in Sudan and her diocese:

My Diocese of Missouri is in a companion relationship with the Diocese of Lui (Episcopal Church of Sudan). Before the governing bodies of Missouri and Lui adopted the covenant between our dioceses, it is my understanding that the bishops had frank conversations.

There are many differences in our dioceses.

The Diocese of Lui uses a Moru translation of the 1662 CoE prayer book, and their translation is a very Protestant one in which the Eucharist is merely a "memorial" of the Lord's Supper.

The Diocese of Missouri celebrates the Eucharist as a sacrament, informed by the liturgical renewal of the past century.

The people of Lui tend to read the Scriptures more literally than do we in Missouri. LGBT persons are ordained in Missouri, while that isn't on the radar in the Diocese of Lui or anywhere in Sudan.

We have very different ways of counting our "members."

However, we have a healthy relationship, between our bishops, congregations, and individuals. There is deep sharing between us as dioceses and individuals. We recognize and accept the differences, but we are brought together by our respect for each other and by our respect for one another's churches.

The current structure of the Anglican Communion allows us to do that. We can differ, but still love and support one another. We can and do respect the different contexts of how we minister in Missouri and Lui.

I believe it has been a blessing to our Diocese of Missouri to understand and walk with the people in the Diocese of Lui. I hope the reverse has also been true.

The proposed Anglican Covenant would, I fear, bring an end to this "diversity within unity." That Covenant would give each province a right of "veto" over any other province's movement. Many other people have written more articulately than I can about the loss of unity in the enforcement of uniformity.

This much I know: I have learned a great deal about Christian faith from my brothers and sisters in Lui, when I was there in 2006 and in our communications since then. We would disagree about some philosophical/theological/theoretical matters. But we are bound together in love, fellowship, and mission.

For the life of me, I do not understand those who support a Covenant that would reduce our respectful and diverse fellowship to a curia demanding "uniformity of belief."

I've been a kibitzer on the Bishops and Deputies listserve (HOBD) since 2003, and hope to contribute to our dialogue now that I've been elected a deputy.

Gratefully --
Lisa

Lisa Fox
L4, Diocese of Missouri

Lisa blogs at My Manner of Life>

ANGLICANS AROUND THE WORLD OPPOSE COVENANT

IT'S HERE!


From No Anglican Covenant:

Anglican churches are being asked to adopt a so-called Anglican Covenant that seeks to bind them more tightly to one another and to codify procedures by which future disputes within the Anglican Communion will be resolved.

We believe that this covenant is ill-conceived. In response to the reputed “crisis” in the Communion, drafters of the covenant have favoured coercion over the hard work of reconciliation. The covenant seeks to narrow the range of acceptable belief within Anglicanism and to prevent further development of Anglican thought. Rather than bringing peace to the Communion, we predict that the covenant text itself could become the cause of future bickering and that its centralized dispute-resolution mechanisms could beget interminable quarrels and resentments.

I'm June Butler, and I approve this message. No good will come of the covenant.

General Synod of the Church of England will meet on 23 and 24 November 2010 and debate and vote on the Anglican Covenant.

This site is the work of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition. The Coalition comprises dedicated Christians, many of them bloggers, from around the worldwide Anglican Communion who believe that the proposed Anglican Covenant our churches are being asked to endorse is, at best, redundant, but, more likely, will do irreparable harm to our churches and to our Communion.

In particular, the members of the Coalition believe that the covenant is likely to change forever the fundamental nature of not only the Anglican Communion, but also of Anglicanism itself. Out of a fellowship of mutually supportive yet diverse regional and national churches tracing their historical and liturgical traditions to the Church of England, there threatens to emerge a monolithic, worldwide church unresponsive to local needs, narrow in its theological outlook, and governed exclusively by bishops most of us will never see.

For me to have been asked to be part of a group which includes such worthies is quite an honor. I hasten to add that my contribution to the hard work of putting the web site together was quite small. Others worked long and heroically, and I believe the result is splendid.

November 3rd is an ideal day to launch a new international organization resisting the proposed Anglican Covenant because it is the day Anglicans commemorate the sixteenth-century theologian Richard Hooker. Hooker argued that the Church should use the full range of reasoning faculties in matters of faith and should develop in light of changing circumstances. New ideas and differences of opinion, therefore, have a proper place within the Church. It is this openness and tolerance that we, the No Anglican Covenant Coalition, wish to defend today against an Anglican Covenant that would suppress differences of opinion.

Click on the link and explore the No Anglican Covenant web site. You'll find all you've ever wanted to know about the covenant and more.



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The statue of Richard Hooker stands before Exeter Cathedral in England. Photo courtesy of Ann Fontaine.