“Who Can Adopt This Covenant?”

From the Anglican Communion Institute:

The Anglican Covenant: Shared Discernment Recognized By All

Written by: The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc.
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009


The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.

The Rt. Reverend Dr. N. T. Wright
Bishop of Durham

The approved text of the Anglican Covenant is already serving as a lens through which individual Anglican churches are inevitably and accurately being measured in terms of their character as “Communion churches.” 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?” It is the purpose of this paper to explain why and how this is so, and to do this in relation particularly to The Episcopal Church, although it should be noted that the Covenant’s defining substance can be applied analogously to other Anglican churches as well.

The substantive sections of the Anglican Covenant, Sections 1-3, are now in final form. They will be sent to the churches of the Communion for adoption within a few months. A fourth section containing procedural provisions will be added to the other three at that time, but it remains subject to further review and “possible revision.” Section 4, however, either as it now stands or as revised, will not change the fundamental substantive commitments given by the covenanting churches. The scope of the fourth section is purely procedural.

This cuts directly against the claim of some “progressive” elements that it would be perfectly possible for The Episcopal Church, as it stands and even with the recent General Convention decisions in mind, to sign the first three sections. Following the recent reflections by the Archbishop of Canterbury on the actions of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, some in the Communion are urging TEC to sign the Anglican Covenant even while continuing to reject the teaching of the communion on same sex ordinations and blessings and the moratoria that now have been affirmed by all four Instruments of Communion:
....

CONCLUSION

An Anglican church cannot simultaneously commit itself through the Anglican Covenant to shared discernment and reject that discernment; to interdependence and then act independently; to accountability and remain determined to be unaccountable. If the battle over homosexuality in The Episcopal Church is truly over, then so is the battle over the Anglican Covenant in The Episcopal Church, at least provisionally. As Christians, we live in hope that The Episcopal Church will at some future General Convention reverse the course to which it has committed itself, but we acknowledge the decisions that already have been taken. These decisions and actions run counter to the shared discernment of the Communion and the recommendations of the Instruments of Communion implementing this discernment. They are, therefore, also incompatible with the express substance, meaning, and committed direction of the first three Sections of the proposed Anglican Covenant. As a consequence, only a formal overturning by The Episcopal Church of these decisions and actions could place the church in a position capable of truly assuming the Covenant’s already articulated commitments. Until such time, The Episcopal Church has rejected the Covenant commitments openly and concretely, and her members and other Anglican churches within the Communion must take this into account. This conclusion is reached not on the basis of animus or prejudice, but on a straightforward and careful reading of the Covenant’s language and its meaning within the history of the Anglican Communion’s well-articulated life.

I've included quotes only from the beginning of the document and the conclusion. I did not read the statement in its entirety. I tried, but I did not finish. It is long. I read enough know that those who wrote the document seem to believe that the Episcopal Church cannot sign on to the covenant, even should it choose to do so, unless GC12 reverses resolutions B025 and D056. The conclusion states as much.

The group's strategy is to create "facts on the ground". (Thanks Doxy!) Say something is true, and it will, in fact, come to be true. That this flies in the face of logic did not prevent the transformation of the Windsor Report into the Windsor Law. The Archbishop of Canterbury seemed to buy into the strategy for the Windsor Report, so will he follow suit and come to the same conclusion as the writers of this document? Has he already done so in his talk of a two-track solution? Has he already consigned the Episcopal Church to the out-of-the-covenant track?

UPDATE: Meanwhile, across the pond, Pluralist is busy.

Gay Pride March In Manchester UK

Have a look at the wonderful post and pictures on the Gay Pride March in Manchester at The Changing Attitude Blog.

Of course, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were there.




See them all at CA.

Thanks to Lapin for the link.

"We Are Echos Of Each Other...."

From Elizabeth Kaeton at Telling Secrets:

This has been a wonderful summer, filled with visits from good friends, good conversations, and GREAT food.

A bitter sweet note has been the visit with my brother. I am so deeply grateful to have had this time with him and to sort through some stuff that had been cluttering the corners of my heart and mind and soul.

I'm no where near done, but I've made a good start. I'm deeply grateful for that.

I did get a note from my sister-in-law this morning. She took my brother to the Eye Doctor yesterday where it was learned that half the vision in both eyes is gone. It seems the plaque that attaches itself to the brain has gotten to the optic nerve and occluded half of it to both eyes.

That's the Bad News. The Awful News is that it will progress.

The Really Bad News is that this sort of wild-fire progression of Alzheimer's is signature of its manifestation in its younger victims.

I will call him Sunday night, as has become our routine, to see how he's feeling about all of this. When we talked when he was here, I saw on his face and in his eyes, and heard in his voice a combination of being overwhelmed mixed in with a bit of disbelief, confusion and amazement, all while attempting to resign himself to his situation with some manner of good cheer and dignity.

"Hey," he would say every so often, "What else am I going to do, right?"

Oh, I don't know. I can think of a few other options that would at least cross my mind as distinct possibilities.

I covet and cherish your prayers for my brother. Go ahead. Put that request on your prayer lists. I haven't wanted to be a bother but now I'm thinking it's time to 'storm heaven' on his behalf.

John. His name is John. He's 56 years old - just turned in July.

Pray for a miracle - without condition or specifics. I don't know what God has in mind in all of this, but I do know that when things get this bad this fast there's usually a miracle just around the corner which often doesn't have as much, if anything, to do with a 'cure' or 'healing' of that which gave rise to the prayer in the first place.

It's about "something else" that needs curing or healing, by which the party of the first part finds hope and strength and solace, through which the parties of the second, third and fourth parts play a significant role - which changes and transforms everyone and everything.

I know that sounds confusing, but I'm actually crystal clear in my head and heart.

I don't know how any of this works. I only know that it does.

So, in these last days of summer, I have been given the unexpected blessing of some stamina and courage to walk into the dyings of Autumn and through the harsh, cold realities of Winter, knowing that the new life of Spring is really only just around the corner and Summer will return again.

I entered this poem in my journal early this morning, after prayer. I think it sums up my state of mind in this:

Echos of Summer

Summer boldly infringes on a day
the calendar claims for Autumn

The sun rises hot in the Eastern sky
a cool wind blows in from the North

Mortals cling to flip flops and bathing suits
the cosmos revolts against the status quo

does not stand still
refuses to feed our fantasies
fuel our anxieties or
soothe our sadness

Two abandoned crab shells cup my ears
listening to the whispers of summer

My sisters' giggles
My brother's taunting
My mother's warning
My father's scolding

We are echos of each other
Very present and near and now

Whispering truths
Telling our tales, one day to the next

I close my eyes and listen
I open my heart to hear

These are not the last days
but days of beginning

All our days
all our livings
all our dyings -
- all miracles awaiting birth.

Listen to the echo
not the calendar

Put John on your prayer list. Pray for a miracle. Put his wife Mary and his sister Elizabeth on your prayer list. Put his children on your prayer list. There they all are in the photo above.

OREMUS.

Please express your sentiments and support at Telling Secrets.

Gov. Jindal, Pay Your own Way To Church - Pt. 2

Once again from the Advocate:

Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday defended his taxpayer-funded visits to churches and dismissed criticism from a national religious organization.

Jindal rejected suggestions by the Interfaith Alliance that he should reimburse the state and apologize for using a state helicopter to worship at Protestant churches in north Louisiana.

Interfaith Alliance, based in Washington, D.C., alleged that Jindal’s taxpayer-funded worship trips blurred the constitutional line separating church and state.

The governor said his trips are “absolutely appropriate.”

Aren't we all surprised that Jindal defends his actions? It seems that yesterday's article from the Advocate went viral in the regular media and on blogs on the internet, including mine. Rachel Maddow invited the president of Interfaith Alliance, the Rev. Welton Gaddy, to appear on her show. The video is here. (Thank you, Pseudopiskie.) Note that the Rev. Gaddy is from Monroe in the Gret Stet of Loosiana. He's a man after my own heart.

Back to the Advocate:

Between March 2 and July 20, Jindal traveled to churches, mostly in north Louisiana, on a state helicopter at a cost to the taxpayers of about $45,000, according to State Police records.

In May, June and July, there was rarely a Sunday when Jindal did not fly a taxpayer-funded helicopter to church services in a remote part of the state. Two aides usually accompanied him along with his security detail and pilots.

The Governor’s Office refuses to tell the media ahead of time about Jindal’s church visits.

The governor rarely pays attention to criticism outside his narrow circle of insider advisers, who rarely disagree with him.

Gov Jindal is a Roman Catholic. Does he never attend his own church on Sunday?

Seven Bishops To Meet With The Episcopal Institute

This announcement was posted by Tom Woodward to the House of Bishops/Deputies listserv on behalf of The Episcopal Institute, and as you can see below he has given permission for it to be published offlist, under the conditions he specifies. I wonder whether any of you might be interested in reposting it on your blogs.

I attach a clean plaintext copy.

Regards,

Paul (A.)

The Episcopal Institute has announced its plan to meet with seven moderately progressive bishops of the Episcopal Church to respond to the current meeting between the Archbishop of Canterbury and seven American bishops who have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with the democratic process in the Episcopal Church.

The two sites under active consideration for the upcoming meeting are the recently dedicated Athanasius Room at the recently reclaimed Diocesan House in Fort Worth and the Starbucks located across the street from the Trinity School for Ministry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The agenda for the consultation is to consider several alternatives to the rumored Canterbury proposal of a "two-tiered" Anglican community. A spokesperson for the Episcopal Institute noted that "The problem here is three-fold. First, the notion of 'two tiers' is more appropriate to a football stadium than an international worshiping community. Second, if the concept of tiers is really accepted, it will not be long before we have between thirty-five and forty-seven different tiers given the nuances of the multiplicity of issues such as human sexuality, social justice, the authority of the laity, and differing styles of ecclesiastical vesture that are before the Church. Third, the notion of a multi-tiered Christian group has been tried before -- with women, racial minorities and others -- and has always proven inadequate to maintaining status quos."

A different and more subdued spokesperson for TEI revealed that two different orderings of the Anglican Communion will be proposed at the upcoming meetings. The first is to divide the Anglican Communion into three different groups: PLATINUM, GOLD and BRONZE. PLATINUM membership would be for those who agree with The Episcopal Institute's goals, including the full inclusion of all Baptized members in all ministries of the church. GOLD members would include those who embrace most of TEI's goals while respecting their differences with TEI as part of Anglican Comprehensiveness. BRONZE membership will be reserved for those who insist on a single interpretation (their own) of key parts of the Bible and who regard all Tradition as Absolutely Binding, except the parts they don't like. There will also be an additional SILVER category for the lay people throughout the Communion who wonder what the problem is when the core doctrine of the historic creeds is not at issue. SILVER members will possess all the rights, responsibilities and regard as Gold or Platinum members.

The second proposed ordering of the Anglican Communion, favored by older members of the Institute, is the radical notion of Comprehensiveness, with differing provinces respecting the differing experience of other provinces while considering the unity of the Communion inhering in a common belief in Jesus Christ and the decision to share with one another in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

The Episcopal Institute has requested that attending bishops be accompanied by several clergy and lay people from their dioceses in recognition of the importance of the full ministry of the Episcopal Church and the uncommon wisdom of the laity.

Does this count as a "press release" for offlist distribution purposes?
Possibly Jake and certainly MadPriest might be interested in promulgating.

Cordially,

Paul (A.)


Yes, this is a document you can use any way you wish. I will try to get it onto Rowan's desk early next week. I'm sure he will be regretting that he hadn't read this before agreeing to meet with the Dissenting 7. You can attribute it to The Episcopal Institute. Let me know who you send it to - the other members of TEI would like to see the responses.

Tom

Thank you, Paul (A.) for forwarding this very important announcement from TEI. I forgive you for not specifically mentioning my name to Tom Woodward, because you were kind enough to forward the press release anyway, after you left my name out.

"What am I doing here?"

When I was in my 50s and folks asked me what I wanted to do in my retirement, I'd say that I want to travel, I want time to read books that I've been putting off for a long time. I'd say that I want to do exactly what I want to do, in other words to be thoroughly selfish. That's right. I'd been responsible my whole life, and I looked forward to a time for myself. In truth, throughout my adult life, I've wanted to run away from responsibility and be a FREE SPIRIT. I'm laughing as I type the words, because my adult life turned out to be so pedestrian and so unlike what I picture as the life of a free spirit.

Ever since our first child was born, I felt burdened with a huge responsibility. Within a few years, there I was with three little ones, me a bookish, absent-minded, dreamy type. My little ones were precious to me, more precious than my own life, but they were an awesome responsibility. I take responsibility far too seriously, and I suspect that's why I so often feel the tug to run away from it. I'd look at my babies and think, "How did this happen? How did I get here?" Of course, how I got there was my doing, my choice, but, nevertheless, I had the sense that I was plucked up and set down in someone else's life. "What am I doing here?"

Mothering was never easy for me. Following my inclination, I took the job too seriously, and, of course, I never measured up to the ideal in my head of what a mother should be. If only I had relaxed and enjoyed my children more. That is the major regret of my child-rearing years. It's not that we never had fun as a family, because we did, but I was too damned serious about motherhood and too messed up in my head with my picture of the ideal mother, who never turned out to be me.

Taking care of children would have been far down on the list of my "What I want to do in my retirement" story. I love all my grandchildren, and I enjoy spending time with them, but anything like major child care for them was not in the picture. And yet, here I am a part time mother again. And although it's not easy, I'm enjoying it far more than I would ever have dreamed. A sense of a late life calling is the best way that I can describe my commitment to the two children. That I care for them with such a good heart, I can only attribute to grace, God's free gift, to do that which he calls me to do. Don't misunderstand. I have my moments of impatience and short-temper, but I'm more forgiving of myself and of the children than I was in my younger days, which, in turn, makes me more relaxed and able to enjoy the good times. Thanks be to God.

God's grace amazes me more and more, the older I get. It's a life-changing free gift which keeps coming, the value of which I can appreciate only in part.

Of course, I still do a good bit of traveling, and I still read, but it's not so much the children who get in the way of more reading but the blog, which is another great surprise in my life, and which I enjoy immensely, but, at times, feels like another responsibility from which I sometimes want to run. Once again, I think, "What am I doing here? Surely this is someone else's life."

The Seven Bishops And Canterbury

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".

Gov. Jindal, Pay Your own Way To Church

From the Advocate in Baton Rouge:

A national group that lobbies Congress on religious issues asked Gov. Bobby Jindal to apologize and reimburse taxpayers for the state-funded helicopter trips he takes on Sundays to visit churches.

The Rev. Welton Gaddy, who is the president of the national Interfaith Alliance, said Jindal is overstepping the line of separation between church and state.

“If you were traveling to these churches to worship with the various congregations, you should have paid your own expenses to get there as did the other worshippers,” Gaddy wrote to the governor in a Sept. 1 letter.

“It appears you owe the people of Louisiana an apology and the treasurer of the state a reimbursement of at least $45,000,” Gaddy wrote. “No taxpayer money should have been used for your travel.”

What the Rev. Gaddy says sounds about right to me. Here's a link to the text of the entire letter.

Gaddy also is pastor of Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe.

I am somewhat surprised that the president of the Interfaith Alliance pastors a church in north Louisiana. I checked out the church's website, and it is, indeed, quite an interesting community. From a sermon by the Rev. Gaddy:

As you may know or surmise, here at Northminster Church, generally the biblical texts that drive Sunday sermons are taken from scripture passages recommended by the Common Lectionary. Such a discipline ensures that a preacher deals with the whole sweep of biblical literature and does not just always gravitate to personal favorites among texts and themes.

From Northminster's church covenant:

The freedom of the individual, led by God's Spirit within the family of faith, to read and interpret the Scriptures, relying on the historical understanding by the church and on the best methods of modern biblical study.
....

The servant role of leadership within the church, following the model of our Servant Lord, and to full partnership of all of God's people in mission and ministry.

As you see, not all Baptists are cut from the same cloth. I lost my focus in the middle of the post, because I was caught up in exploring the church's website, where I found much to admire.

Back to the Advocate:

The Alliance, which Gaddy heads, touts itself as a celebrator of religious freedom and a counter to the “radical religious right.”

"...touts itself"? What does the writer, of the story, Ms Millhollon, imply by that phrase? She sounds a tad doubtful that the group is what it claims to be. What about that Ms Millhollon?

Anyway, I'm with the Rev. Gaddy. Jindal should pay his own way to church. That he schedules a meeting with local officials while he's in town, seems more like following the letter of the law rather than the spirit. One wonders how much of Jindal's helicoptering around the state is really campaigning, which seems a never-ending activity for the governor.

My Friend (?) The Barred Owl

Remember the owl that I've talked about seeing on my walk? Tonight the bird swooped down and was flying head-on toward me. When the bird was three or four feet away from my face, I screamed, and the owl turned and flew up onto a tree branch. On the way back, I saw the owl fly low to the ground a few yards in front of me, apparently after prey. You can believe that I moved past quickly. I searched on the internet to see if the birds attacked humans, and apparently they do, but not deliberately, according to Canada.com. They see something on humans that looks like prey, like a pony tail swinging. "Anything dangly could draw an attack if the owl mistakes it for a smaller bird or a rodent." I didn't have anything dangly, but that owl was coming for me. The solution: wear a cap, which I will certainly do until the season is over. September is the time when most attacks occur.

UPDATE: Image from Wiki

Myron's Day On 9/1 - From Sue

Hello Everyone,

Myron had another busy day yesterday with chest x-rays and a CAT scan of his chest. His pneumonia still has not resolved and he continues with a productive cough.

He had his eyes open and was able t blink when asked, and was moving his right hand and arm and was able to squeeze ones hand.

He was fitted with his back brace, and to do that he had to get out of bed and sat in a recliner. He didn't seem to be any more alert in the recliner than in bed, but doing physical exercises like that are exhausting, so I'm not too surprised. His pain medication has been changed and when he yawned a couple of times Mary and Stephanie noticed that his front 2 teeth (which are caps from a childhood accident) were missing and a tooth was broken, so there will be dentistry in his future also.

There is some new progress made each day, and that is perfect.

I'll be in touch later on,

Sue

Sue, I'm pleased that you were able to visit Myron. Sue is still not able to visit. That's why she said "squeeze ones hand". It was not her hand.