Now I didn't write the words above; I merely copied and pasted, so don't blame me. I don't even know enough about the history of the Church of England to vouch for the final paragraph. See?
Omar Khayyam (92)
Juan blogs at Informed Comment.The sky is a belt
woven from our tattered lives.
The mighty river was formed
by all the tears
our eyes have shed.
Hell is a spark from our
searing pain.
Heaven is a breath
drawn from our
moments of peace.
Translated by Juan Cole
from [pdf] Whinfield 92
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THEFrom StoryPeople.
FUTURE It doesn't have to look any
particular way, but around here, if it
doesn't, a lot of people will never speak
to you again.
Christ church giftshop criticised 4 selling Harry Potter magic wands; inquiry decided it was OK cos they didn't work
“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.”
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart,This post may be the start of a series on biblical mixed metaphors. Not that there's anything wrong with them!
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel and vote on Anglican Covenant. Teach them in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide them to perceive what is right, and grant them both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
From the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church (edited).Diarmaid MacCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford. He was knighted for his service to scholarship in January 2012.
