Well, actually Episcoptrivia for the past week-plus, given my unexpected hiatus from posting.
The Church of Uganda’s bishops will not be attending Lambeth (they say right now) because “American Bishops who consented to, participated in, and have continued to support the consecration as bishop of a man living in a homosexual relationship have been invited to the Lambeth Conference.” I.e, “If they’re coming, we’re not. Nyaah.”
It’s ironic that the conservatives in the Anglican Communion, who’ve previously accuse the Episcopal Church of “walking apart,” may themselves be the ones who explicitly break off. Was the Archbishop of Canterbury counting on that? Or am I attributing too much political acumen to +++Rowen?
And the various breakaway/realigned groups in the US are already planning their post-30 September meeting to try and figure out how (or if) they’re going to work together. 30 Sept. is the “deadline” the Tanzania Primates meeting set for the Episcopal Church to respond to various items. Interestingly, the “Common Cause” (isn’t that name already taken?) folks are actually meeting 25-28 Sept. — perhaps they simply want to be able to issue coordinated press releases about how those zany Episcopalian heretics have shown how they are walking apart. (“After you!” “No, no, after you!”)
So is the Episcopal Church “thumbing its nose” at the rest of the world? No, not really. “And the struggle makes it a great time to be an Episcopalian. You can’t avoid tough questions, you have to know what you believe, you have to delve into God’s embracing heart of love and justice. Frankly, as churches go, it is a really pretty good one (How’s that for a church sign? “The Really Pretty Good Church”). You just wouldn’t know that from the partisan blogosphere or from reading the New York Times.”
Meanwhile, Latin American and Caribbean Anglican bishops, referring to themselves as the “Global Center,” have called for the Anglican Communion to maintain its “participative nature, diverse, ample and inclusive, characteristics which we consider essential to Anglicanism and at the same time our contribution to the Christian tradition.” What a bunch of radicals.
On the other hand, here’s a reflection on the limits of tolerance in the Episcopal Church: “The truth is beginning to dawn on us, however: toleration has its limits. Unlimited tolerance will lead to the end of tolerance, for the tolerant will be stamped out, leaving only the extremists. A tolerance that is unlimited in scope and boundary-less in expression represents a fundamental error of judgment on our part..”
That said, it’s not all about the numbers (and, for the Episcopal Church, never will be or can be).
Meanwhile, the Church of Nigeria has its own spiffy new web site; Preludium walks us through some of the interesting FAQs they choose to address. “Q6. Why does the Church of Nigeria hate Gays? A. The Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion does not hate any human being. Rather the Church has been outspoken in attempts by some to undermine the importance of God’s word written as received by the fathers of the Church and accepted by the Creeds and Anglican Book of Common Prayer 1662. The Church maintains that God’s plan as evidenced in Genesis 2:18 – 25 and affirmed by Christ is for marriage between male and female. Efforts to bless same-sex unions are unscriptural and those in such dilemma are called to repentance as they pray for God’s love to lead them aright.” And if they don’t do that, then let’s have them and their supporters thrown in jail. That’ll teach ’em!
Father Jake notes a new study that indicates the major media tend to talk to a lot more conservative religious representatives than liberal ones. That’s not necessarily an Evil Plot — fire and brimstone is always more interesting to write about than calls for tolerance and understanding. “If it screeds, it leads,” as someone (maybe me) says. He offers this timeline (admittedly “professive”) as background for folks (including journalists) trying to understand the whole progression of the mess.