Category Archives: Anglican

The Anglican Consultative Council dissembling in New Zealand

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From this report, it seems clear that the chief purpose of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting taking place in New Zealand is, at all costs, to steer clear of any discussion that might have some bearing on the plight of the Anglican Communion.

Even worse, the idea that God wishes to convey objective truth to us in the Bible is being replaced by a mushy relativism where no interpretation of what is written is any better than any other.

From Canon Phil Ashey in Auckland, AAC

Dear friends,

I am in Auckland, NZ, at the 15th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC15). The agenda moved into high gear today with presentations on “The Bible in the Life of the Church” (BILC), the Network for Interfaith Concerns (NIFCON) Report “Promised Land?”, an Anglican Communion resource for addressing Israeli-Palestinian relations, and the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) report on The Instruments of Unity.

I believe that the discussion on BILC revealed an important major conclusion that tips the hand of the ACC’s leadership: that the process of how Anglicans interpret scripture is as important as the substance of scripture. Two conclusions will follow from this premise: (1) Context reigns supreme in how people interpret, and in the diversity of interpretations that flow from diversity of contexts NO interpretation is better than another (a point made by the preselected TEC leader of one of the small groups), and (2) There are no “limits” on faithful interpretation (point made by the preselected Church of England rep from another reflection group).

In this discussion, initial enthusiasm for the affirmation of Bible study gave way to sharp differences over the language in the proposed resolution, and then to frustration that there was not enough time to consider the resolution. Finally, the resolution commending BILC for study and use in all Anglican seminaries, parishes and dioceses was sent back to the resolutions committee. I expect they will return to it tomorrow or Monday.

The NIFCON Report on Israeli-Palestinian relations may have brought the revisionist leadership to the brink of futility. Some revisionists felt the language of the report in each of the three sections stating “What all Anglicans can and should believe about XXX” was too magisterial and simply unanglican. Other revisionists felt the report was too pro-Israel. Others felt we had to do something and not wait another three years. Archbishop Williams intervened and confused everybody. Finally, under intensive questioning, Anglican Communion Office (ACO) staff revealed that the report had already been publicly released yesterday in Ireland – so, in effect, the whole conversation was a waste of time.

The process of AAC15 is being intensively stage managed and choreographed by ACO staff. There have been few opportunities for delegates to actually address the body. Plenary sessions moved immediately into regional or reflection groups. In the reflection groups, each group responded to a different question that was designed by the ACC leadership for them to answer. During the Bible in the Life of the Church report-back from reflection groups, an ACO staff member carefully called upon what appeared to be preselected delegates from mostly Global North provinces. Resolutions were presented by PowerPoint on a screen for a vote, and not distributed in advance. There is simmering frustration among many deputies at the near Orwellian manner in which Kenneth Kearon and the ACO seem to be managing this meeting. The bottom line is that the real issues of the Anglican Communion are being completely dodged, especially the failure of the Instruments of Communion to address violations by The Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada.

And so the report on the Instruments of Communion was similar – a 10 minute plenary of nothing more than historical background and explanation of the group’s work, moving immediately into reflection groups and evening prayer.

In terms of what schemes seem to be emerging, I would respectfully suggest the following as a “pincer” movement that ACC/ACO is going to place upon confessing Anglicans:

1. Through Continuing Indaba dialogue and stories, bolstered by the work of the BILC resources, Biblical interpretation of human sexuality and its limits will be rendered value-neutral with no limits on Biblical interpretation within the Communion. Lambeth 1.10 will be declared in effect non-binding;

2. Then, through the new Code of Conduct and the Safe Church resolution, any objection to sexual expressions that are not Biblical will be deemed “harassment,” chilling any speech and bringing consequences to those who, in Anglican communion meetings, dare to raise the subject.

I pray I am mistaken, but that is my best look into the future.

Yours in Christ,

Phil+

The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council

The Safe Church Network is launched

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Until I read this, I had no idea what a safe church is: I thought it must be a church that dispenses condoms.

No: apparently it is a church that “vulnerable people” can attend and not be abused. Clearly, this is a slap in the face that is not quite hard enough for the burgeoning Anglican masochist community; where will they go to feel included?

The Anglican Communion’s newest network, the Safe Church Network, has announced it is planning a conference in Africa for 2014 around how to make churches safer for vulnerable people.

Australian Garth Blake, convener of the communion’s new Safe Church Network, said during a press conference on October 31, that many parts of the communion have begun talking about how to address the issue of creating a culture of safety in churches and are at various stages of response.

Creeping Hegelianism in the Anglican Communion

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The Anglican Consultative Council is meeting in New Zealand: it is rather like an Entmoot, except it moves more slowly and is more firmly rooted in fantasy.

Considering Rowan Williams – when not waxing eloquent on sharia law and dressing as a Druid – has spent his entire tenure on attempting to find a middle ground between irreconcilable opposites, perhaps I should have made the headline “Galloping Hegelianism….”. No matter. Rowan is still at it and is joined by General Secretary Canon Kenneth Kearon, who says:

Speaking at the first plenary session of ACC15, the Canon Kenneth Kearon told delegates assembled in Auckland’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, that Anglicanism at its best “reaches out to those with whom we differ, recognising that together we will come to a deeper and far richer understanding of God than any of us could do on our own or if we only share the company of like-minded people.”

This only works if the non-like-minded people, at a minimum, hold to the truth of the basics of Christianity. As it is, the liberals Kearon is suggesting might provide a “far richer understanding of God” routinely deny the uniqueness of Christ, his divinity, his Virgin birth, his atoning sacrifice on the cross and his physical Resurrection: they believe in a different God. There is no possibility whatsoever that listening to heretics expound on false gods will shed any illumination on the objectively real God that has been worshipped by Christians for the last 2000 years.

Kearon would have us sit down with the least like-minded person we could find – Richard Dawkins, say – “reach out” to him, have endless dialogue and triumphantly emerge with a synthesised faith of – agnosticism.

I met Kearon in 2010 and suggested to him then that Anglican Communion meetings move so slowly that, by the time anything is done, there will be no Anglican Communion – in the West, at least. He stared past my head with watery blue eyes and intoned in a mild Irish brogue: “no, no, things move slowly but it will last longer than that”.

One thing is certain: when the lights finally go out at Lambeth, there will be a few dust encrusted clerical relics – eyes slowly closing, beards unkempt and stiff with congealed spittle – still having conversations on “continuing Indaba, ecumenical dialogues and inter faith issues.”

Spiritual rioters

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One of the in, but characteristically meaningless phrases that fall effortlessly from the mouths of Anglican Bishops, is that people these days are spiritual, but not religious.

The implication is that anything, so long as it is “spiritual”, is meritorious, especially when contrasted with institutional religion with its foibles and failings.

The Bishop of Bath and Wells reckons that, while rioting is a criminal activity – for which he blames capitalism, not the rioters – it is also “spiritual”. Although Bishop Peter Price sounds just like any other run-of-the-mill barmy bishop, he may have inadvertently stumbled onto something: the rioting was evil and evil has its roots in the “spiritual”. The point is that not everything that is spiritual is good, a fact that has been fairly obvious to two millennia of Christians, but one that has now been obscured by the church’s ceaseless toiling to be inclusive, trendy and relevant.

From here:

Not that Anglican leaders do not deserve the scorn they attract; this year’s award for silliest comment must surely go to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who said that last August’s riots were a “spiritual experience”.

Bishop Peter Price told the Synod: “I have no intention of being sentimental about the people, mainly young people, who took to the streets last August and destroyed property, ruined other people’s lives and walked off with looted trophies.

“Riots embody appalling evil and criminality and those who get drawn in often display great wickedness.

“But as the Passionist priest, the late Fr Austin Smith, said after the Toxteth riot in the 1980s, rioting can be, literally an ecstatic spiritual experience.

“Something is released in the participants which takes them out of themselves as a kind of spiritual escape.

 

Wizard of New Zealand wants to save Christchurch Cathedral

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New Zealand’s Anglican Christchurch Cathedral is due to be demolished because of earthquake damage; a cardboard replacement will be erected in its stead.

To compound the strangeness of this saga, the Wizard of New Zealand, a Gandalf impersonator, self-professed shaman and employee of Christchurch City Council, is keen on preserving the original crumbling structure. His zeal has inspired likeminded pagans to join his cause – for example: “F*** the cost,” she said. “It’s got to be saved. This is more than just a Christian place. I’m a pagan but I liked to go and sit there and meditate.”

The most mystifying part of this is: why are pagans so determined to preserve an Anglican Cathedral; there must be a reason.

From here:

Christchurch’s wizard is brewing up a protest today, against the deconstruction of the city’s cathedral.

The Anglican Church has confirmed it won’t halt the process of bringing the building down to two or three metres, despite weeks of protest and public backlash.

The Wizard has labelled Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews as “seriously cracked” and in a dangerous state, with no evidence she can be made safe.

 

The real problem with the Anglican Communion is that is does not communicate effectively

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According to this:

The Anglican Communion faces a shortage of qualified communicators, according to an international Working Group on communications. The group — consisting of communications professionals from five continents — concluded that the Communion life was at risk of being detrimentally affected by some Provinces’ inability to source and share their news and stories widely.

Ironically, the article that bemoans the “shortage of qualified communicators” goes on to exhort the church to start “communicating proactively as well as reactively”, a phrase whose clichéd vacuity appealed to illiterate corporate managers for a season, after which, around the turn of the last century, mercy prevailed and it was put out of its misery .

Perhaps the Anglican Communion in the West should be grateful that its inability to communicate means that not many of its parishioners know what is really going on.

Anglicans call for….. you’ll never guess

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Dialogue!

New Zealand’s Christ Church Cathedral was irreparably damaged by an earthquake and a diocesan synod motion proposes to knock it down and build “an inspirational cathedral on the current site to the glory of God”. The trouble is, the new structure will be made of inspirational cardboard.

Not everyone is happy about having a cardboard cathedral in the neighbourhood, so various clergy are proposing to have a conversation with the cardboardophobics. This invites a question: which will disintegrate first, the cardboard, institutional Anglicanism or the dialogue?

From here:

The Anglican Church will have a “comprehensive dialogue” with South Islanders on the future of Christ Church Cathedral.

About 300 clergy and lay representatives from the 71 parishes in the Anglican diocese met at a Christchurch synod on Saturday.

A motion was passed unanimously at the meeting to consult with people about the cathedral. The motion stated that the synod “undertakes a comprehensive dialogue process with the citizens of Christchurch, Canterbury, the West Coast and the city council towards determining the future of the city’s Anglican cathedral”.

The motion affirmed the decision that “Christ Church Cathedral will be deconstructed to a safe level”.

The Rev Mike Coleman proposed the section of the motion calling for dialogue.

 

A metaphor for contemporary Anglicanism: a cardboard cathedral

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From here:

The idea may sound flimsy, particularly given that cathedrals tend to be known for their solid presence: the flying buttresses, the soaring domes, the Gothic grandeur. But in the earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch, Anglican leaders believe it will deliver both a temporary solution and a statement about the city’s recovery.

On Monday, they announced plans to build a 25-meter (82-foot) high cathedral constructed with 104 tubes of cardboard. The structure will be a temporary replacement for the iconic stone Christ Church Cathedral, which was ruined last year in an earthquake that killed 185 people and destroyed much of the downtown.

The Rev. Craig Dixon, a church spokesman, said the temporary cathedral would seat 700 people, cost up to 5 million New Zealand dollars ($4.1 million), and would be used for 10 years while a permanent replacement is designed and built.

This year a cardboard cathedral, next year cardboard cut-out bishops. There is nothing new under the sun.

 

The future of Anglican church buildings?

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An Anglican priest in the UK wasn’t happy with the liberal drift of the Church of England, so he has converted his garden shed into a church.

His new church is part of the Orthodox Church, but the idea could be adopted by displaced Anglicans who have lost their buildings in Canada. We’ve exhausted  the fads of the Emerging Church, the Missional Church, the loony fringe Prophetic Social Justice Making Church, now we have finally arrived at the Garden Shed Church.

From here:

St Fursey’s is so small the holy processions carried out during each service only take worshippers ten steps along and two steps across.

There is no room to sit and after services the congregation step through a door into the priest’s living room for a cup of coffee.

But the Antiochian Orthodox church – very similar to the Greek Orthodox but English speaking – is an official place of worship after it was blessed by a bishop.

[….]

Father Weston served as an Anglican priest with the Church of England for 20 years before he became disillusioned with its ideals at the age of 50.

He says he was upset with the direction the Anglican Church was heading and admitted the ordination of women to the priesthood was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’.

Stephen switched to the Orthodox Church and short of an English-speaking venue, decided to build his own in the village of Sutton, Norfolk, in 1998.

 

Lambeth launches a Hindu Christian forum

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From here:

Canterbury, England  – In a move to create an “opportunity for dialogue and depth,” the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and Sri Shruti Dharma Das Ji launched the Hindu Christian Forum today at Lambeth Palace, according to a Church of England news release.

“The conversation of interfaith dialogue is always one where we look eagerly and expectantly for enrichment. We’re not playing for victory, we’re seeking understanding from one another…by learning the depth of one another’s commitment and vision; dialogue and depth is what we all hope for,” said Williams.

Perish the thought of “playing for victory”, that would imply that Christianity is true and Hinduism isn’t, an idea whose insensitivity would shrivel the inclusion addicted sensibilities of Anglican prelates from coast to coast.