National Public Radio is on the case, as are the Anglican Scotist, the Modern Churchpeople's Union and Michael and Susan, the unrelated Russells.

(Update: Inclusive Church has weighed in. So has Commonweal.)

The Scotist is especially insightful:

The very fact that the Communique makes GAFCON's essential activity out to be catholic border crossing & poaching shows that GAFCON is too weak to sustain schism at the level of the Communion and that right wingers in the US and Canada are too weak to sustain schism on their own without help from abroad. The best that can be done--after five years of turmoil--is a redoubling of efforts to create a vampire, a province in North America "parallel" in some sense to those already there whose life comes from stealing the life of the provinces already there.

Michael Russell is also wise about the weaknesses of this movement:

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The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (an acronym too far) "uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today."

Anglicans Online provides the articles. What do you make of this one:

XVII. Of Predestination and Election. Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God's purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.

As the godly consideration of Predestination, and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God: So, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the Devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation.

Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise, as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture: and, in our doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the Word of God.

Anglo-Catholics will want to have a good look at this one:

XXV. Of the Sacraments. Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.

There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.

Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.

The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation: but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damnation, as Saint Paul saith.

And this bit of Article 27:

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.

And who knew that allegiance to civil authority, support of the death penalty and a repudiation of pacifism figured so centrally in our current struggles.

Article 37:XXXVII. Of the Power of the Civil Magistrates. The Power of the Civil Magistrate extendeth to all men, as well Clergy as Laity, in all things temporal; but hath no authority in things purely spiritual. And we hold it to be the duty of all men who are professors of the Gospel, to pay respectful obedience to the Civil Authority, regularly and legitimately constituted.

The original 1571, 1662 text of this Article reads as follows: "The King's Majesty hath the chief power in this Realm of England, and other his Dominions, unto whom the chief Government of all Estates of this Realm, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign Jurisdiction. Where we attribute to the King's Majesty the chief government, by which Titles we understand the minds of some slanderous folks to be offended; we give not our Princes the ministering either of God's Word, or of the Sacraments, the which thing the Injunctions also lately set forth by Elizabeth our Queen do most plainly testify; but that only prerogative, which we see to have been given always to all godly Princes in holy Scriptures by God himself; that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil-doers.

The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.

The Laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with death, for heinous and grievous offences.

It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars."

Still, as Andrew Brown points out on the Guardian's Web site:

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We're growing.

Last June, Episcopal Cafe received 93,700 visits from 20,770 computers, and those visitors looked at 220,000 pages.

This June we received more than 135,000 visits from 48,800 computers, and those visitors looked at more than 409,000 pages. We've never broken 400,000 page views before, so permit us a moment of celebration.

Wheeee!

Oh, yeah, our Facebook group just hit the 500 mark.

Okay, back to work.

Responses from far and wide

Bishop Tom Butler of Southwark writes:

It is maintained that there is a North/South division. This is nonsense. The African primates attending Gafcon came from a narrow tropical belt. The majority of African primates were not there and the language of the manifesto would be anathema to other influential African church figures such as Desmond Tutu. Reading the manifesto, you would form the impression that the other Anglicans had moved away from the core beliefs of the Church, grounded in scripture. This, too, is nonsense.

The Most Rev. Phillip Aspinall, Primate of Australia, thinks the conservatives should attend the Lambeth Conference, "if they regard themselves as Anglicans, which I understand they do."

Theo Hobson believes conservatives are "moving in for the kill." Robert Pigott conjectures they're "hoping to lie in wait."

Meanwhile, there was a dust-up at the meeting of conservative clergy and prelates at a London church when a gay rights group demanded entrance.

But don't get the wrong idea. Archbishop Peter Jensen says that just because GAFCONS leaders want gays and lesbians put in jail, and can't bring themselves to condemn violence against them, that doesn't mean they are homophobic.

The New York Times' examines Barack Obama's courtship of evangelical voters who cast their ballots for George Bush, and notes that it has been met "by an increasingly intense reaction from the religious right."

Part of Obama's outreach entails a reworking (to put it mildly) of Bush's initiative to aid faith-based social service providers.

Meanwhile Richard Cohen of The Washington Post believes that the quest for endorsements from religious organizations is warping our politics.

He writes:

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The Rev. Michael Dowd writes:

July 1st marks the 150th anniversary of the theory of evolution. For years, I believed that Darwin was of the devil. Now, I deeply honor his contribution to religion and my walk with God. Indeed, other than Jesus, no one has had a more positive impact on my faith and my ministry than has Charles Darwin.

Hat tip: Dallas Morning News Religion blog.

Listen as Stephen Crittenden of ABC radio's Religion Report interviews Thomas Oden of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, Jim Naughton, editor of Episcopal Cafe and others for a program on the roots of the recent GAFCON meeting in Jerusalem and its implications for the Anglican Church in Australia.

A transcript is also available.

Watch out for cars with bumper stickers.

That's the surprising conclusion of a recent study by Colorado State University social psychologist William Szlemko. Drivers of cars with bumper stickers, window decals, personalized license plates and other "territorial markers" not only get mad when someone cuts in their lane or is slow to respond to a changed traffic light, but they are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage -- by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior.

It does not seem to matter whether the messages on the stickers are about peace and love -- "Visualize World Peace," "My Kid Is an Honor Student" -- or angry and in your face -- "Don't Mess With Texas," "My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student."
...
Szlemko and his colleagues at Fort Collins found that people who personalize their cars acknowledge that they are aggressive drivers, but usually do not realize that they are reporting much higher levels of aggression than people whose cars do not have visible markers on their vehicles.

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Leaders of GAFCON took their manifesto to England yesterday at a gathering of 750 at All Souls in Central London. Thinking Anglicans, as usual, does a thorough roundup. Riazat Butt provides what is perhaps the most balanced report:

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Brian McLaren - who will be at Lambeth July 19-24 - is quoted in this CNN story on Obama's move to mobilize Christians on the left, and not so left:

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Source:

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On June 17th The Rev. Canon Gregory Cameron delivered the Hellins Lecture in the Diocese of St. Asaph (Wales) on the subject of Anglicanism and the future of the communion. Read it all here (12 pages). Thanks go to Ruth Gledhill for making the lecture publicly available.

Cameron is Deputy Secretary of the Anglican Consultative Council and has been deeply involved in the development of an Anglican covenant. He served as Rowan Williams' chaplain before Williams became Archbishop of Canterbury. Who knows; perhaps it gives some hint of the Lambeth agenda.

His lecture is a call for self examination by partisans on both sides. Without explicit citation of the biblical references, Cameron channels some of what Williams said in the closing paragraph of his response to the GAFCON statement to "wait for one another" (I Cor 11.33) and to remember the parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matt. 13.29). Of course those determined to find see in it support for their view, or ammunition to use will do so.

The lecture preceded the meeting in Jerusalem, but shows insight into what would be forthcoming:

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According to conference planners, more than 650 bishops have registered for the Lambeth Conference. That's slightly more than three-quarters of the invitees. A small number of sees are vacant, and some bishops have scheduling conflicts or simply cannot attend. It is difficult to learn which absentees are part of the Nigerian-led boycott, and which simply aren't coming, but the boycott may account for some 20 percent of potential attendees.

The leaders of GAFCON claimed that some 280 bishops attended their gathering in Jerusalem, but in a telephone press conference on Monday, Bishop Martyn Minns was unable to say how many of that number were diocesan bishops currently in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. If the figure included signficant numbers of retired bishops, assisting bishops and bishops of groups that have never been part of the Anglican Communion, it is highly misleading. Daniel Burke of Religion News Service was the only member of the media who thought to question it, and it was his question that elicited Minns' response.

According to a recent paper by the Rev. Gregory Cameron, deputy secretary general of the Anglican Communion, some 140 of the bishops who were at GAFCON (and, one assumes, won't be at Lambeth) are Nigerians. If his numbers are right, Nigerians account for not quite two-thirds of the bishops who, for whatever reason, won't be at Lambeth.

The Rev. Terry Martin, better known as Father Jake to tens of thousands of fans in the Anglican blogosphere, announced last night that he is closing down his blog to pursue some new possibilities. He will be deeply missed, especially by the hundreds of people who regularly left comments at what became a spirited, sometimes raucous online community.

"Jake's place," as he called it, was the best spot on the internet to get in touch with what was happening among the liberal net roots of the Episcopal Church, to read a vigorous, sustained defense of the Church's efforts to include gay and lesbian Christians in its life and leadership, and to find sometimes scathing indictments of the tactics of the Church's adversaries, both within and without.

But Jake also called his audience to prayer, to contemplation and to self-examination, eager that in resisting extremism he and his readers not become extremists themselves. His was among the four or five most influential sites in the online Anglican world, and his departure will create a vacuum that won't quickly (or perhaps simply won't) be filled.

Good bye Jake, and hello Terry. We know our paths will cross again, perhaps even run parallel from time to time as you plan your future. In the wake of General Convention 2003, when it seemed that Church Center was unwilling to support what its General Convention had done, you stepped in and helped the majority of faithful Episcopalians find their voice and make it heard. Your blog has been a rallying point for people who have wondered about the courage of their leaders' convictions and were appalled by the rhetoric and behavior of some of the Anglican Communion's self-appointed saviors. You helped people sustain hope, not only through your eloquent advocacy, but by putting them in touch with one another--giving them a place to meet and to find solace and strength in one another's company.

Nice work buddy. Our daily trips through the Anglican blogosphere will be briefer, and less enjoyable, but we know you will be building the Kingdom using other tools.

(Mark Harris also has some new plans, although Preludium isn't going anywhere.)

(Editor's note: see boldfacing below)

ACNS, London , 3 July 2008

FROM INDABA TO REFLECTIONS
Timely issues to be addressed in “purposeful” discussion in Canterbury

The Secretary of the Lambeth Conference, the Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon has written a letter to the bishops attending the forthcoming Canterbury meeting outlining the form of discussion leading to “Reflections” that will mark the process of sharing what the Conference wishes to share with the wider church at its conclusion.

The programme indicates that issues and themes cover a vast array of serious matters such as Gender Violence, Sexuality, Environment, the Anglican Covenant and mission and evangelisation.

The Lambeth Conference is not synod or convention, but a gathering of bishops and spouses under the theme “Equipping Bishops for Mission”.

The letter says, “Among the desired outcomes anticipated by this diverse group from across the Communion was not so much debates, position papers , votes and resolutions but participation on an equal footing, listening as well as speaking and the emergence of wisdom and a common mind.”

The Primate of Cape Town, the Most Revd Thabo Makgoba, proposed to the Lambeth Design Group (LDG) and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the concept of Indaba, which was readily adopted by the Archbishop Williams and will form the way the bishops will work together during their time in Canterbury.

Indaba is a Zulu word for a gathering for purposeful discussion and is both a process and method of engagement, and offers a way of listening to one another concerning challenges that face the Anglican Communion.

Each Indaba group will nominate one of their group whom they believe to be most capable of carrying their views and the fruit of their discussion into the reflections process. Their ‘Listener’ joins a Listening Group under the chairmanship of Archbishop Roger Herft of Perth, in Western Australia.

Canon Kearon states, “Working with the summaries of the fruit of Indaba arising from each group, it will be their duty to generate a common text which reflects authentically the Indaba.” The text must reflect the mind of the bishops attending the 2008 Conference.

The intention is that the Listening Group will meet in four open sessions. Here all bishops can comment on the developing text. It is envisaged that in this way every bishop attending the conference will be given the opportunity to “shape the Reflections” from what emerges.

The letter concludes, “The hope of the Lambeth Design Group is that this process will permit the development of a Reflections Document which will meet the objectives set out for it, and be available on the last day of the conference to be received as an authentic account of the engagement of the bishops together in the service of Christ.”

The Lambeth Conference comprises some 650 bishops and their spouses for the every ten-year conference at the University of Kent at Canterbury and Canterbury Cathedral.

www.lambethconference.org
www.anglicancommunion.org

Notes:
The Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon is Secretary General of the Anglican Communion
The Most Revd Roger Herft is Archbishop of Perth, Australia and served as Lambeth Conference Chaplain in 1998
The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba, Primate of Southern Africa, is a member of the Lambeth Design Group
The Most Revd and Rt Hon Rowan D Williams is the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury

One salutary effect of GAFCON is that it has awakened the British public to the fact that conservatives attempting to take over the Anglican Communion mean business. The British press has been simultaneously hyping and decrying the right wing's campaign, and support for an inclusive Communion has come from unlikely quarters. (The Mad Priest makes a similar point.)

Take The Financial Times, for instances, where Willen Buiter argues:

It is unfortunate that a vocal part of the most rapidly growing segment of the Anglican Communion, the African one, is deeply homophobic and full of bigotry towards and contempt for the homosexual life-style and for people engaging in homosexual acts. These new African bigots have to be confronted head-on about their prejudices and profoundly unchristian attitudes and statements. Again, the origins of this homophobia are regional and cultural in nature. It is not uncommon, for instance, for the same person who considers homosexuality to be the mark of the devil, to be tolerant of polygamy or even to practice it. We should never turf the bigots out of the church, but we should confront them with their unchristian nature of their loveless prejudice and intolerance at every opportunity.

Or the Times of London, never the Archbishop of Canterbury's closest ally:

There is a narrowness, self-righteousness and arrogance about some of the rebels that is deeply unappealing. Several want to have it both ways: to remain within the communion (largely because of the legal and property obstacles that arise from a walkout) while sniping at Canterbury's authority. The more immediate challenge this weekend, however, comes not from Foca [the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans] but from clergy unreconciled to women bishops. They want permanent, binding safeguards for traditionalists that Dr Williams and others are unwilling to concede for fear of enshrining discrimination. He must therefore address their defiance in York as vigorously as he has replied to the Gafcon rebels.

Julian Baggini, an athiest, found the first post-GAFCON meeting in England off putting. He wrote in the Guardian:

[A]t All Souls, I saw a side of Christianity that I don't like. They all seemed obsessed by salvation and glorifying Jesus. You would not have guessed that the only prayer their messiah gave was directed at God, not himself, and that he repeatedly told people not to worship him, but the father. You would not have guessed that he spent much of this time telling people to be good neighbours, irrespective of what other people believed or who they slept with. The very human moral teacher of Matthew, Mark and Luke was eclipsed by the more ethereal Christ of John.

For all their fretting about homosexuality, the evangelicals place little emphasis on Christ's moral and social teaching. The Jerusalem declaration, for example, which announced the founding of Foca, contained a list of 14 "tenets of orthodoxy". Apart from one which upheld the essential heterosexuality of human beings, only one focused on our moral responsibilities to each other.

Meanwhile, back at The Times, George Walden scolds the archbishop for living a double life on the issue of homosexuality:

The oblique way that he addresses the subject suggests that he finds it as difficult as many others to see how the Church can continue to discriminate against practising homosexuals in an age in which scientific knowledge tells us that sexuality is rarely a question of choice. Sacred texts can be disputed, but all that matters is what the Bible would have said had it been known that homosexuality is largely genetic. How Christian can it be to deny men and women a sexuality that is, in Christian terms, God-given?

Suddenly a chorus of voices echoing what groups such as Integrity, whose statement is below the fold, have been saying for years.

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GAFCON's ideas are "ridiculous" and "deeply offensive" says the Bishop of Durham, the Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright. According to a BBC report on a radio interview with the bishop:

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From In a Godward Direction:

When I look to the Gospels, I find significant support for what is called "the social gospel." I find nothing at all, one way or the other, about faithful, life-long, same-sex relationships, those who live in them, and whether they should be ordained or not. Those who elevate concerns over the latter to the level of "gospel" are the ones who have some explaining to do, not those who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give cups of cold water to the thirsty.

From the Church of Southern Africa:

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town today called on the Southern African Development Community to establish mechanisms in Zimbabwe to bring about an end to political violence.

He also urged Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF to recognise the legitimacy of its political opponents.

The full text of his statement follows:

Statement by the Most Reverend Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town

"The African Union's resolution calling for negotiations to settle Zimbabwe's political crisis is a welcome first step towards fulfilling the AU's potential to work for an Africa without conflict.

"Now space must be created to ensure that the negotiations are productive.

"Both parties have to be genuinely willing to address one another's fears and aspirations. If the talks are to succeed, Zanu-PF needs to recognise the legitimacy of the MDC. In addition, the talks will go nowhere if Zimbabweans continue to live in terror of being attacked and killed for not having red ink on their fingers.

"We acknowledge and give thanks for what the SADC mediation process has delivered so far. However, it needs now to be expanded, and I urge SADC to establish mechanisms on the ground in Zimbabwe to bring about a climate free of political violence.

"We pray for negotiations between partners fully committed to finding one another and ending the desperate suffering of their people. A lasting settlement would breathe hope and transformation into our common life in Southern Africa."

You can play along at home with the bishops of the Anglican Communion as they address the Church's most daunting challenges by taking advantage of these resources.

Check out the resource page for the Lambeth Conference. Signs on the Way, is now available for download:

This special series - focusing on St John’s Gospel - complements the Bible studies in which the bishops and their spouses will take part during the Lambeth Conference 2008.

We hope that people throughout the Anglican Communion will use this series as a way of being present in spirit at the Lambeth Conference, supporting their bishops before, during and after this important gathering.

The studies are structured so that they can be used either by groups or by individuals. They can form the basis of personal devotions, a church study group or perhaps a diocesan meeting.

We have made the study guides as accessible as possible, using a series of questions in each case as the basis of the study.

The Signs on the Way materials are available in a choice of formats.

Episcopal Divinity School is also in the game. EDS is:

developing a new resource, Bringing Lambeth Home, built around the lesson plans used in the Indaba Bible study groups at the 2008 Lambeth Conference. Designed for dioceses, congregations, and other groups interested in Bible study, this curriculum provides users with a guide for using the Lambeth materials in a retreat, Sunday school, or weekly Bible study setting with adult learners. Indaba is a Zulu word from South Africa that means “gathering for the purposeful discussion in community.”

In the Indaba groups, bishops engage common issues before the Anglican Communion. These issues include: Anglican identity, evangelism, social justice and the Millennium Development Goals, ecumenism, safeguarding the integrity of creation, multifaith issues, gender inequalities and violence, biblical authority, human sexuality, and the Anglican Covenant and Windsor processes.

“We hope that people will use this resource as a way of coming together for a missiological, conversational, and prayerful approach to engaging some of the difficult issues in the Anglican Communion and the world,” said The Rev. Liz Magill, author of the study guide. “This study guide, which builds on the materials produced for the Lambeth Conference, makes it easy for groups to plan Indaba groups in their congregation or diocese.”

Bringing Lambeth Home is available in both print and electronic format (pdf) for easy reproduction. This resource will be ready for delivery in late August 2008. For more information, please contact Liz Magill at lmagill@eds.edu.

You can also keep tabs on the bishops themselves. According to Episcopal News Service: A team will serve as Blogging Bishops during the Lambeth Conference. The Blogging Bishops’ blogs will be found on The Lambeth Journal; the url will be announced shortly.

More info to be forthcoming. Stay tuned!

In the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer, July 4th is an appointed Feast Day, though in truth it's probably not observed by Episcopalians who aren't American citizens, or frankly, by most Episcopalians. But for those that are keeping this Feast Day, may it be a blessed one for you.

Most news outlets are closed here in the United States today, and news from America should be thin. But The Lead will stay open because the Anglican Communion and even the Episcopal Church will be doing God's work in many disparate places today and readers from around the Communion and this Province might be checking in.

In his response to the GAFCON statement, Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, urges his readers to accept the good faith of bishops who have begun claiming parishes in other churches as their own. Given their track record, this is difficult to do. Here is one example among many.

Consider Bishop John Bryson Chane's op-ed in the Washington Post on February 26, 2006 in which he wrote:

Archbishop Peter J. Akinola, primate of the Church of Nigeria and leader of the conservative wing of the communion, recently threw his prestige and resources behind a new law that criminalizes same-sex marriage in his country and denies gay citizens the freedoms to assemble and petition their government. The law also infringes upon press and religious freedom by authorizing Nigeria's government to prosecute newspapers that publicize same-sex associations and religious organizations that permit same-sex unions.

Were Archbishop Akinola a solitary figure and Nigeria an isolated church, his support for institutionalized bigotry would be significant only within his own country. But the archbishop is perhaps the most powerful member of a global alliance of conservative bishops and theologians, generously supported by foundations and individual donors in the United States, who seek to dominate the Anglican Communion and expel those who oppose them, particularly the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. Failing that, the archbishop and his allies have talked of forming their own purified communion -- possibly with Archbishop Akinola at its head.

Now consider the response of the Rev. Martyn Minns, who was then the rector of Truro Parish in Virginia, who wrote to his parishioners saying:

What about Archbishop Akinola? What are his views? As far as I know Bishop Chane has never attempted to contact him to find out. Archbishop Akinola has not spoken publicly on the proposed legislation and has not thrown his “prestige and resources behind the new law,” as Chane insinuates. He is presently working overtime to lower the religious and ethnic tensions in Nigeria and to care for those who have been traumatized in the recent strife. He is not seeking to victimize or diminish anyone. He is primarily an evangelist and a pastor whose desire is to see all people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. His opposition to ECUSA’s repudiation of traditional Biblical teaching on human sexuality is a matter of record and a viewpoint that is supported by the vast majority of Christendom. However, the idea that he is looking to establish a ‘purified communion’ bankrolled by cabal of conservatives in the USA has no basis whatsoever and is surely the product of an overheated episcopal imagination.

We learned from subsequent statements and actions that Archbishop Akinola held exactly the views Bishop Chane described, and, after GAFCON, we now see that he is indeed, attempting to establish a purified communion with himself at its head. We also know that the now-Bishop Minns was involved in these plans all along.

As for Minns' portrait of Akinola as a reconciling figure, Muslims in Nigeria may regard him rather differently. But that is another matter.

There is a distinction to be drawn between sincere conviction and good faith. Acting out of sincere conviction, one can excuse one’s self from operating in good faith. It may be that Archbishop Williams' willingness to assume good faith on the part of those who have conspired against his leadership since he refused to recognize a separate American province in the wake of the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson, has contributed to the difficulties in which he now finds himself.

Most every Anglican knows that Richard Hooker was the founding theological visionary of Anglicanism. But many have not read his writings nor sought to apply his insights to the present controversies in the Communion. The Archbishop of Armagh luckily has risen to the task.

In an address to the USPG Conference in Swanick today, the Archbishop AET Harper OBE traces the primary lines of Hooker's thinking on the ways that scripture and reason can serve as theological norms. (Norms are the tools that we use to make decisions between two competing ideas or claims.)

You can read Ruth Gledhill's take on this paper here.

The full text is found here.

It's a very long and densely written lecture, but well worth the time to read.

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Or so states the headline in an Australian newspaper that reports on the reaction of some other bishops in Australia to the recent actions of Bishop Jensen of Sydney.

"Bishop Philip Huggins has written to The Age suggesting that Dr Jensen is 'deluded' about the Jerusalem conference of 300 evangelical Anglican bishops that ended on Sunday with the launch of a conservative church within a church.

[...]Dr Jensen had not communicated with any Australian bishops, 'so we can't help him see the downside of his post-conference rhetoric'.

Bishop Huggins said the negative publicity hurt ordinary Anglicans, devalued the work of faithful Christians, and endangered young people who were confused about their sexuality and threatened by homophobia. He said he had spent much of the week trying to comfort and encourage Melbourne Anglicans.

He told The Age that Dr Jensen had breached protocol by publishing an opinion piece in another diocese without talking to his colleagues there, which put Melbourne's bishops in a difficult position. 'We are not a client state of an imperial state required to be silent, and people have been hurt. People have been passionate about what the church should be since Peter and Paul were arguing in the first years of the church,' he said."

Read the full article here.

The Church of England begins its yearly General Synod today. First up on today's afternoon and evening agenda are a discussion of Orthodox-Anglican relations and then the first bits of work on the divisive question of women's ordination to the episcopate in the C of E.

You can find general information about Synod here.

The days agenda and all briefing papers are found here.

Thinking Anglican's has a collection of links to press pieces discussing Synod as well.

One of the least known, yet most exciting national programs in the Episcopal Church are the EYE gatherings. These every three year events bring young Episcopalians from around the country to meet, pray, study and have a great deal of fun. This year's gathering is coming up next week, and it's likely that folks are hitting the road this weekend so that they'll be in San Antonio in time.

The Episcopal News Service has details:

High-school aged young people -- nearly 850 strong -- from across the Episcopal Church are headed to San Antonio, Texas for the 2008 Episcopal Youth Event (EYE), which will take place July 8-13 on the campus of Trinity University. The youth delegates will be accompanied by 318 adult chaperones and resource persons. "This event is going to have something to satisfy everyone," said Zibby Allen, from All Saint's Episcopal Church, Northfield, Minnesota, who is a youth member of the EYE design team.

"The young people attending EYE can expect to have a good time while connecting and growing with fellow Episcopalians. They can also expect the opportunity to grow spiritually and intellectually," she said.

The theme of the EYE 2008 is "Sown in the Heart of Christ," which the design team discerned from the appointed Gospel lesson for Sunday, June 13, 2008, is inspired by a parable told by Jesus as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13.

The full story is here.

We'll keep all these young people and their chaperones and resource people in our prayers. God grant them safe travel and may they encounter Christ in new and exciting ways!

Grace Cathedral in San Francisco is one of the sites this summer of the "Jesus for President" tour. The event starts at Grace Friday next week.

From the description on Grace Cathedral's webpage:

Prominent social activists Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw stir the Christian political imagination and offer an alternative to divisive two-party politics. Christian discipleship is politically and socially engaged, but in a way that confounds and transcends parties. The Jesus for President tour will feature teaching from both authors as well as storytelling, art, music and worship that provokes the political imagination.

There are links to brochures and more information about the program itself off of the page above.

It won't be news to you, but many clergy are irritated about being pressured to do weddings for couples who want a church wedding, but have little or no further interest in church. The Sacramento Bee looks at the issue in light of the same-sex marriage developments in California. The recommendations of Bishop Andrus come in for special examination.

Readers probably remember hearing talk of Akinola being denied entry to Jordan for the pre-GAFCON meetings that were being held there. For a refresher, check out our post here and another at Preludium here. Ruth Gledhill explained it as happening because of bureaucratic details:

Sources at the conference tell me that the Nigerian delegation landed in Tel Aviv and went to the northern crossing point. Archbishop Akinola was travelling on his diplomatic passport. After being questioned for four hours, he was turned back, although the rest of the Nigerian delegation was allowed in. He got his passport back, and apparently was told that they needed a particular clearance on a diplomatic passport which he did not possess.

Now, while readers may remember this being downplayed in press releases coming out of GAFCON at the time, turns out Akinola believes it was an act of Satan himself intervening with Jordanian affairs of state in an effort to undermine the conference, and, well, we're not even sure what to make of this statement from Akinola:

No matter the humiliation I suffered, I took it as a body lotion, rubbed it all over my body, so that I can shine for Christ.

Found here.

A few weeks ago, the New York Post published a bit (filed under "entertainment") about the Church of the Holy Trinity, an Episcopal Church on the Upper East Side where canine congregants are commonly in attendance.

Fast forward to this week, where Huffington Post columnist Verena von Pfetten gets a kick out of the story, but digs a little deeper and discovers that this "Episcopalian" church is more than dog schtick:

A canine-friendly congregation. It's almost too good to be true!

But I've gotta say that in checking out the Church of the Holy Trinity's website, I found one little gem that seemed far more worthy of our attention:

Whoever you are, parishioner, friend, neighbor, or seeker, we are honored that you are visiting this website. We invite you to become part of the ministry and spiritual growth happening at Holy Trinity, a community embracing all people, across the spectrum of cultural, ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, and class diversity, as full members of the household of God.

Now, I don't know if this is common, or if this is an episcopalian thing (because, to be honest, I'm not even sure what sort of Christianity episcopalian is), but I'm a lot more excited about this than I am about the chapel being Cheeseburger-friendly. Dogs don't care if they can go to church -- dogs are just as happy sneakily curled up on the sofa chewing a Nylabone while their owners are off saving their souls. And I'm also pretty sure it's not possible to make any sort of cogent argument about the history of discrimination against dogs. Humans, on the other hand, have a sordid and sickening history with prejudice in many and most churches.

So, let's turn our attention and our applause not to the inclusion of our canine companions who, let's be honest, could not care a less, but to the understanding and compassion this church has shown towards its human companions. It's long overdue.

You can share your applause here.

The Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, has spoken out against FOCA:

The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu has launched an outspoken attack on members of a new Anglican traditionalist movement - accusing them of "ungracious" behaviour.

Dr Sentamu said he had been "deeply grieved" at reports of criticism and "scapegoating" by the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans of the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.

"The accusations and inferences of what has been said by some are not only ungenerous and unwarranted but they describe a person I don't recognise as Rowan," he said.

He said Dr Williams was a "model of attentive listening" and "interpretative charity" in dealing with the controversy over the Church's teaching on homosexuality.

He added, to clapping and cries of "hear, hear" from General Synod members, that Dr Williams was a "seeker after truth and love."

The rest is here.

Video interview is here.

A Kenyan bishop has told the Nairobi Star that gays cannot come to their churches. According to Walking with Integrity:

The Anglican Church of Kenya now wants to stop gays attending church.

Read more »

Imagine, if you will, says Lori Anne Ferrell, a professor of early modern history and literature at Claremont Graduate University, the furor that might arise if a president decided to re-edit the Bible to suit his own beliefs. That is exactly what Thomas Jefferson did: excising the miracles and inconsistencies he found within the four gospels and pasting the rest of Jesus' "ethical teachings" into a single narrative. From a feature in the L.A. Times:

In a letter sent from Monticello to John Adams in 1813, Jefferson said his "wee little book" of 46 pages was based on a lifetime of inquiry and reflection and contained "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."

He called the book "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth." Friends dubbed it the Jefferson Bible. It remains perhaps the most comprehensive expression of what the nation's third pre