THE Archbishop of Canterbury’s notion of a two-track Anglican Communion is flawed, say 13 organisations working towards an “inclusive” Church of England.
The group expresses “grave concerns” about the implications of Dr Williams’s reflections in Covenant, Communion and the Anglican Future, a response to the actions of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the US (News, 31 July).
It finds the Archbishop’s reference to same-sex unions as “chosen life-style” to be inconsistent with his previous statements on committed and faithful same-sex relationships, and “at odds with our reading of the message of the gospel. . . While we applaud his assertion that we are called ‘to become the Church God wants us to be, for the better proclamation of the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ’, we find no indication of how that can be achieved for those who are not heterosexual,” the joint statement says.
It is signed by Accepting Evangelicals, Changing Attitude, The Clergy Consultation, Courage, Ekklesia, the Evangelical Fellowship of the Lesbian and Gay Anglicans, the General Synod Human Sexuality Group, the Group for the Rescinding of the Act of Synod, Inclusive Church, the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (Anglican Matters), the Modern Churchpeople’s Union, Sibyls, and the WATCH National Committee.
The Revd John-Francis Friendship, Rector of St Andrew’s, Romford, has written an open letter to Dr Williams which he distributed on Facebook this week, and which continues to attract signatures. By Wednesday, 84 people had signed it.
The letter expresses concern at the tone and content of Dr Williams’s reflections; and while recognising that he might well “feel caught between a rock and a hard place”, it urges him: “At a time when religious fundamentalism seems to be on the ascendant, we urge you not to negate that prophetic voice we believe you have in the past expressed in your own vocation.”
Mr Friendship said on Wednesday: “I wanted to give ‘ordinary’ people a chance to say ‘Not in my name’.”
www.inclusivechurch2.net
www.changingattitudeireland.org
Three openly gay US clerics aim at bishoprics
www.inclusivechurch2.net
www.changingattitudeireland.org
Three openly gay US clerics aim at bishoprics
TWO partnered gay candidates are among six people being considered for two posts of suffragan bishop in the diocese of Los Angeles, writes Pat Ashworth. The Revd Mary Douglas Glasspool is Canon to the Bishops in the diocese of Maryland, and the Revd John Kirkley is Rector of St John the Evangelist, San Francisco.
TWO partnered gay candidates are among six people being considered for two posts of suffragan bishop in the diocese of Los Angeles, writes Pat Ashworth. The Revd Mary Douglas Glasspool is Canon to the Bishops in the diocese of Maryland, and the Revd John Kirkley is Rector of St John the Evangelist, San Francisco.
The elections for the suffragan bishops take place at the diocesan convention on 4-5 December.
The elections for the suffragan bishops take place at the diocesan convention on 4-5 December.
An openly gay candidate is also among the three people being considered as diocesan Bishop of Minnesota. For 17 years, the Revd Bonnie Perry has been Rector of All Saints’, Chicago, which was once on the verge of closure and is now the tenth largest church in the diocese.
An openly gay candidate is also among the three people being considered as diocesan Bishop of Minnesota. For 17 years, the Revd Bonnie Perry has been Rector of All Saints’, Chicago, which was once on the verge of closure and is now the tenth largest church in the diocese.
The three clerics are the first gay candidates to be considered for election since the General Convention affirmed that ordination was open to any baptised person who discerned a call to ministry. The moratorium imposed by the Anglican Communion on electing more gay bishops after Bishop Gene Robinson’s consecration in 2003, however, will technically be broken only when a gay candidate is successful. The Very Revd Tracey Lind, Dean of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, was among the unsuccessful candidates for the see of Chicago in 2007.
The three clerics are the first gay candidates to be considered for election since the General Convention affirmed that ordination was open to any baptised person who discerned a call to ministry. The moratorium imposed by the Anglican Communion on electing more gay bishops after Bishop Gene Robinson’s consecration in 2003, however, will technically be broken only when a gay candidate is successful. The Very Revd Tracey Lind, Dean of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, was among the unsuccessful candidates for the see of Chicago in 2007.
The Episcopal Church’s first Hispanic bishop, the Rt Revd Bavi Rivera, is to retire in January 2010 as Suffragan Bishop of Olympia. The income budget for 2010 brought “a new reality” to the diocese, which put her longings to pursue retirement happiness into clearer focus, the Bishop wrote in a letter to her diocese.
The Episcopal Church’s first Hispanic bishop, the Rt Revd Bavi Rivera, is to retire in January 2010 as Suffragan Bishop of Olympia. The income budget for 2010 brought “a new reality” to the diocese, which put her longings to pursue retirement happiness into clearer focus, the Bishop wrote in a letter to her diocese.