"Americans not part of Church of Uganda"

From Thinking Anglicans:

A further release from the Church of Uganda has been received.

See here for the most recent statement. Also here for an earlier statement.

Now this:

For Immediate Release
12th February 2010

Anglican Churches in America Not Part of Church of Uganda’s Position on Anti-Homosexuality Bill

The Church of Uganda does not have oversight of any Anglican churches in the United States. (My emphasis) Member churches of the Anglican Church in North America that have been in partnership with the Church of Uganda in the past were not in any way involved in the Church of Uganda’s position on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. They were not consulted, nor was their support enlisted. The Ugandan context is different from the American context and it is likely that our American friends will have a different position from that of the Church of Uganda.

- END -

From ACNA's website:

Distressed churches and entire dioceses began to disaffiliate from the established provinces in North America and seek episcopal oversight and spiritual care from Anglican Provinces and leaders in other parts of the world, including the primates and churches of Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South America and Uganda. (My emphasis) Beginning in 2000 with the Church of Rwanda, these leaders have responded by accepting orthodox Anglican parishes and dioceses in North America into their care.

Which is it? Has the relationship between ACNA and the Church of Uganda changed? No episcopal oversight? Nowhere in ACNA's account of Our Genesis is a statement from ACNA saying that the group has withdrawn from episcopal oversight by the above mentioned African and South American provinces. If you read the full version of the Genesis statement, you'll see what a conglomeration of groups came together to form ACNA.

NEW EXPRESSIONS

It's that time of year again. These are the winners of New York Magazine contest in which contestants take a well-known expression in a foreign language, change a single letter, and provide a definition for the new expression.


* HARLEZ-VOUS FRANCAIS

Can you drive a French motorcycle?

* EX POST FUCTO

Lost in the mail

* VENI, VIPI, VICI

I came, I'm a very important person, I conquered

* COGITO EGGO SUM

I think; therefore I waffle

* RIGOR MORRIS

The cat is dead

* RESPONDEZ S'IL VOUS PLAID

Honk if you're Scottish

* QUE SERA SERF

Life is feudal

* LE ROI EST MORT. JIVE LE ROI

The king is dead. No kidding.

* PRO BOZO PUBLICO

Support your local clown

* MONAGE A TROIS

I am three years old

* FELIX NAVIDAD

Our cat has a boat

* HASTE CUISINE

Fast French food

* VENI, VIDI, VICE

I came, I saw, I partied

* QUIP PRO QUO

Fast retort

* ALOHA OY

Love; greetings; farewell; from such a pain you would never know

* VISA LA FRANCE

Don't leave your chateau without it

* AMICUS PURIAE

Platonic friend

* L'ETAT, C'EST MOO

I'm bossy around here

* COGITO, ERGO SPUD

I think, therefore I yam

(OK, more than one letter)

* VENI, VIDI, VELCRO

I came, I saw, I stuck around

(OK, another exception)

* ICH BIT EIN BERLINER

He deserved it.

* ZITGEIST

The Clearasil doesn't quite cover it up.

* E PLURIBUS ANUM

Out of any group, there's always one asshole.


Thanks to Ann. Each time I read the list, I laugh till I cry.

STORY OF THE DAY - PARTIAL ENLIGHTENMENT

The problem with knowing everything's
going exactly as it needs to is that when
you're not having that much fun it
doesn't even do any good to complain.


Oh, I love this story!

From StoryPeople.

"METHODISM OFFERS TO DIE, TO RISE AGAIN"

From Ruth Gledhill:

No-one ever expects much from presentations with titles such as 'An Address by the President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference'.

So it rather surprised us all when we suddenly realised that David Gamble, President of the Methodist Conference, told us that the Methodist Church was prepared to sacrifice its very existence and return to the Anglican fold, for the sake of the greater good of the Gospel.

From the website of the Methodist Church in England on the address to General Synod by President Revd David Gamble and Vice-President Dr Richard Vautrey of the Methodist Conference:

The President and the Vice-President of the Methodist Conference addressed the Church of England’s General Synod this morning, expressing the Methodist Church’s commitment to a covenant relationship with the Church of England and answering questions from synod members in a discussion following their address.

Revd David Gamble and Dr Richard Vautrey said that the Covenant relationship was a “serious, deeply committed relationship” and “not an irrelevant extra”. They said that responses to the challenges of the Covenant should be driven by a desire for mission.

Revd David Gamble said: “Within God’s overwhelming gracious covenant relationship with us and with our churches, we are in a covenant with each other. For better for worse, for richer for poorer, but always for the gospel.”

Dr Richard Vautrey talked about the work that the two Churches do together, referring to the Churches’ joint action on climate change and support for the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign.

“We can and do work together on issues of social justice, on issues that we both know God calls on us to challenge our society and our world,” said Dr Vautrey. “There is more that we could and should be doing together. David and I have just come back from a visit to Israel/Palestine. There can be few other places in the world where the cries for justice and peace strike deeper in to the heart. We know that Archbishop Rowan is shortly to visit Israel, and perhaps on his return we should explore ways that we could jointly work to help Methodists and Anglicans to respond to the increasingly desperate cries for help coming from the Holy Land.”

Revd David Gamble posed the question of how the two Churches could respond to the challenges of the 21st century; a society of different faiths, cultures and histories.

“Methodists approach the Covenant with the Church of England in the spirituality of the Covenant prayer,” said Revd David Gamble. “So when we say to God ‘let me have all things let me have nothing’, we say it by extension to our partners in the Church of England as well. We are prepared to go out of existence not because we are declining or failing in mission, but for the sake of mission. In other words we are prepared to be changed and even to cease having a separate existence as a Church if that will serve the needs of the Kingdom.”

Oh my! This sort of self-sacrificial offering takes my breath away. What a fine example of following Jesus' teaching on the grain of wheat. As numbers continue to decline in the mainline denominations, the churches may be forced into ceasing to have separate existences, but it's lovely to see the Methodists take the initiative to offer to die as a denomination for the sake of the mission of the church.

I have no idea how this offer will resonate with the clergy and laity of either church or whether the offer will bear fruit, nevertheless, I commend the Methodists for taking the first step.

STORY OF THE DAY - ONE US

Today all I could remember was the way
your body held the ocean of my self &
for a moment there was only one us in
all creation


From StoryPeople.

MATT "GETS" THE SYNOD VOTE

Five quick notes prefaced by some requests:

Requests: Please Read The Resolution. Do exegesis; not isogesis. Please resist the temptation to read your wishes and desires into the text.

1. The motion does not "affirm" the ACNA.

2. The motion does not "affirm" that the ACNA is part of the Anglican Communion.

3. The motion "affirms" a "desire" . Translation: Ohhh, how sweet that you want to be my boyfriend. I "affirm" your desire.

4. The motion does not refer to the ACNA as a whole but to the desire of "those who formed" the ACNA.

5. The motion does not affirm the desire of "those who formed the ACNA" to remain in "the Anglican Communion", but rather, it affirms their desire to remain a part of the Anglican "family". Arguably, anyone who prays with a prayerbook and wears a robe of some kind could be considered a member of the "Anglican Family".

Matt Kennedy at Stand Firm "gets it". I'd like to have responded at his website, but I am banned as a troll for a comment which I did not believe was offensive. Sarah Hey thought differently. I won't link to his post for the same reason.

I'd also have liked to comment to the very poignant post by Matt on the experience of his family moving out of their home. However the situation came about that the family had to move, I wished to express my sympathy at his site, but I could not.

THEY HAVE NO SHAME!

A marijuana bust along the U.S.-Mexico border revealed 30 pounds of the drug stuffed into framed pictures of Jesus Christ, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said Wednesday.

"This is not the first time we have seen smugglers attempt to use religious figures and articles of faith to further their criminal enterprise," said William Molaski, port director of the agency's office in El Paso, Texas, in a statement.

"What some might find offensive or sacrilegious has unfortunately become a standard operating procedure for drug smugglers. This would include using religious symbols, children and senior citizens in their attempts to defeat the CBP inspection process."


I didn't do it! I didn't inhale, either!


From CNN.

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

CATHY'S PROPHETIC COMMENT

In the comments to my post with the video of Lorna Ashworth's interview...

Cathy said...

I swear to God, Lorna Ashworth bats for the other team. Without knowing it yet, obviously.

Maybe now she knows - or not.

A WORD FROM OUR FRIEND PAUL THE BB

Paul and Bill are headed back to New Mexico. A series of unfortunate events, having to do with delayed flights for one reason or another, would have led them to miss two or more days of their tour in Turkey. They therefore decided to cancel their trip. I am heartbroken for them. Paul is a good sport, and sounded as well as could be expected on the phone. In fact, he was cheering me up. You'd have thought my trip was interrupted. :-(

Fortunately, they purchased trip cancellation insurance, so they shouldn't be out too much money.

When Paul arrives home, he will, very likely, find his home in great disarray, because his large family of children (his various and sundry stuffed animals) will not be expecting him home, and they will not have had time to put the place back in order.

Safe travels back to Albuquerque, Paul and Bill.

SYNOD DEFEATS LORNA ASHWORTH'S MOTION

From John B. Chilton at The Lead:

The Church of England General Synod has voted to recognize that members of ACNA wish to be remain in the Anglican family. The vote displaced the language of the original motion that would have "express[ed] the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America”.

The private member's motion that failed was:

“That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America”.

The Bishop of Bristol (the Rt Revd Mike Hill) moved as an amendment that passed:

Leave out everything after “That this Synod” and insert:

“(a) recognise and affirm the desire of those who have formed the Anglican Church in North America to remain within the Anglican family;

(b) acknowledge that this aspiration, in respect both of relations with the Church of England and membership of the Anglican Communion, raises issues which the relevant authorities of each need to explore further; and

(c) invite the Archbishops to report further to the Synod in 2011”.

Another amendment passed adding "aware of the distress caused by recent divisions within the Anglican churches of the United States of America and Canada" after the words "That this Synod."

Another amendment to the amendment failed. (It would have merged the original motion with Bristol's amendment.)

The debate made it clear that ACNA was not a part of the Anglican Communion. If ACNA wishes to be a part of the Anglican Communion there are procedures for that, procedures ACNA is not interested in following. And, the Archbishop of ACNA's answer to the question "is the ABC Anglican?" is no, and "the cost of his office."

Jim Naughton in the comments says:

Hill of beans? Or is "hill" too strong a word?

I agree with Jim. Of course, I could be wrong. ;-)

UPDATE: ACNA's version of what took place at Synod:

It is very encouraging that the synod recognizes and affirms our desire to remain within the Anglican family.” said Archbishop Duncan.

A private member’s motion, put forward by Mrs. Ashworth, and subsequently amended by the Synod, states that “this synod…recognize and affirm the desire of those who have formed the Anglican Church in North America to remain within the Anglican family.” The motion passed by a resounding 309 – 69 margin (with seven abstentions).

No mention at all that Mrs Ashworth's motion did not pass.