Anglican Communion News Service
Posted On : May 30, 2012 7:05 PM | Posted By : Admin ACO
ACNS: ACNS5112
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ACC - SCAC
DAY 1 - 30 June, 2012
• Anglican Communion needs to consider “a mixed economy”
• Consideration of the Covenant should continue until after ACC-15
• Global ecumenical talks are “moving forward”
The Standing Committee—comprising elected members of the Anglican
Consultative Council, the Primates’ Standing Committee and the
Archbishop of Canterbury—met for its three-day annual meeting in London,
England, yesterday (Wednesday). Only the Primate of the Episcopal
Church of Sudan, the Most Reverend Daniel Deng Bul was unable to attend
after not getting a travel visa. Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi
(who is also the new Chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces of
Africa) is attending as his alternate.
As the Anglican
Consultative Council (ACC) is meeting later this year, the Standing
Committee agenda is lighter than previous years. Nevertheless, members
still met from 9am until 6pm during considering agenda items including
finance, membership of the ACC, and the lease of St Andrew’s House.
Other
topics included a short review by the Secretary General of the Anglican
Communion Canon Kenneth Kearon, of the process of election of a Primate
to the Crown Nomination Committee. Canon Kearon also presented his
annual report to the committee which highlighted, among other things,
the positive progress of the global ecumenical talks (Anglican-Roman
Catholic dialogues, Anglican-Methodist dialogues, etc.) He told the
committee that such conversations were moving forward, on from solely
doctrinal issues towards greater co-operation.
The Standing
Committee received an update on the progress of the Anglican Communion
Covenant. It was noted that eight Provinces had endorsed the Covenant to
date, in some cases with a degree of qualification. They were the only
responses received so far by the Secretary General. The committee also
noted that the President, Chair, and Vice-Chair all hold their offices
other than as representatives of their Provinces.
There was
general agreement that no timeframe should yet be introduced for the
process of adoption of the Covenant by Provinces. The Standing Committee
will return to this question following ACC-15.
The first day
of the meeting also saw members of the Finance Committee and Director
for Finance, Tim Trimble, present the Report and Financial Statements
for 2011 to the Standing Committee.
While the report indicated
that an increased number of Provinces had paid their inter-Anglican
contribution in 2011, a graph revealed that, since 2005, the amount
given by Provinces to the work of the Anglican Communion has largely
remained at the same level. It is the increase in restricted/grant
funding, sourced by Anglican Communion Staff and others, that has
allowed the work of that office, and of the Anglican Network members,
plus other official commissions, committees and working groups to grow.
It
was suggested, though not resolved, that there should be some more
thought about “a mixed economy” in which Anglican Communion work is
funded through a range of ways.
At the
No Anglican Covenant website, I count only seven churches in the Communion that approved the Anglican Covenant in one wording or another. Are we missing a church that has approved the covenant in our list?
1. The Church of the Province of Myanmar adopted the covenant.
2. The Church of Ireland subscribed to the covenant.
3. The Anglican Church of Mexico adopted the covenant.
4. The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea approved the covenant.
5. The Church of the Province of South East Asia acceded to the covenant.
6. The Province of the Southern Cone approved the covenant.
7. The Church in the Province of the West Indies accepted the covenant.
There is no mention in the news release that The Episcopal Church in the Philippines rejected the covenant nor that a majority of the dioceses in the Church of England rejected the covenant.
UPDATE: Links to the press releases from
Day 2 and
Day 3 of the meeting of the Standing Committee of the ACC.
UPDATE 2: Members of the Standing Committee.
Abp Rowan Williams (President)
Bp James Tengatenga (Chair)
Canon Elizabeth Paver (Vice-Chair)
Bp David Chillingworth
Abp Paul Kwong
Bp Samuel Azariah
Abp Daniel Deng Bul Yak
(Could not attend due to visa issues)
Bp Katharine Jefferts Schori
Mrs Philippa Amable
Bp Ian Douglas
Dr Anthony Fitchett
Dato Stanley Isaacs
Canon Janet Trisk
The Revd Maria Cristina Borges Alvarez
Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi attended as alternate to Archbishop Deng Bul Yak.
Thanks to Andrew Gerns at
The Lead for the list of members.
