Throwing down the ecclesiastical gauntlet

5 thoughts on “Throwing down the ecclesiastical gauntlet”

1. Here’s the most coherent (using the word charitably) response I’ve seen from the “opposition.”

   “The church’s arrogance is at its height; they still think they can dictate the relationship on their own terms, but the primates and Archbishop of Canterbury have clearly said that that is impossible,” Anderson said.

   The primates’ recent communiqué said that TEC must accept and implement the primates’ recommendations as an expression of their desire to remain in the Communion; otherwise, their rejection of the document’s requests will be received as a decision to walk apart from the Anglican Communion.

   […] “The bishops’ rejection of the primates’ pastoral scheme is in fact further proof that such a plan is now needed more than ever to intervene on behalf of the orthodox in America,” Anderson concluded. “A default on the part of the TEC House of Bishops and her presiding bishop should not delay the implementation of the relief effort. The AAC urges the Archbishop of Canterbury to proceed along with the primates in setting up the pastoral council, filling any defaulted positions. If they do not move forward with the plan, the situation in the U.S. church will remain intolerable for those Episcopalians who desire to remain faithful to the biblical Anglican faith.”

   If it’s “intolerable,” then the big red door is right over there. Please don’t slam it on the way out, if that’s way you feel you have to go.

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2. Interesting site, and the blog has some insightful reading. My favourite bit:

   After the Episcopal Church consented to the ordination in 2003 of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who lives with his gay partner, bishops in the African provinces declared that their churches would no longer accept money from the Episcopal Church. (One province that would not have been affected by this is Nigeria, whose archbishop has been the most outspoken opponent of the Episcopal Church’s approach to homosexuality. The church in Nigeria, the largest in the Anglican Communion with 17 million members, is largely self-supporting, Anglican officials said.)

   So far, the archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, is the only primate who has actually turned down money from the Episcopal Church, many church officials said in interviews.

   In 2004, Archbishop Orombi’s edict led to the shutdown of a community development program financed by Episcopal Relief and Development that worked with families affected by H.I.V./AIDS.

   “We were just devastated by that,” Mr. Radtke said. “No one won, and everyone was a loser.”

   But this rupture was the rare exception, and most financing is still getting through. For example, the diocese of Oklahoma has continued supporting three secondary schools and 10 health centers in its companion diocese in Uganda by sending the money to a separate organization, said the Rev. Canon Charles Woltz, assistant to the Oklahoma bishop.

   How very christ like of Archbishop Orombi.

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3. Actually, want to read something scary, try this.

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4. And, heck, if Donald Wildmon and the American Family Council think we’re on the wrong track, we *must* be doing something right.

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5. Excuse me, “American Family Assocation.”

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