The Lead

The behavior of conservative primates and advocacy groups at the recently-concluded Primates Meeting in Alexandria, Egypt and the comments of Bishop Gregory Venables in this interview with George Conger suggest a change in the strategy of the anti-gay faction in the Anglican Communion.

As always, with Venables, it is necessary to sift through the many unsupported assertions he presents as facts, but in this instance, that is worth the effort. To wit:

“Something like the freshness of the Holy Spirit” descended upon the meeting, Bishop Venables explained. There was “something different here, something special,” he said. “Without a doubt there was a lot of anger and tension,” he added, but the “orthodox had a calmness and peace” that Bishop Venables attributed to divine intervention.

If the Holy Spirit descended, she showed up well before the meeting. Conservatives coordinate their strategy for these meetings. In this instance, they decided to change their approach, abandoning the pressure tactics, and ostentatious rudeness of past meetings in favor of a gentler approach.

All the usual suspects stayed away. No Martyn Minns, no Bob Duncan, only the recently hired- CANA missioner Julian Dobbs was on hand to advise Archbishop Peter Akinola, and he kept a low profile. For the first time in three meetings, conservative prelates apparently participated in worship with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Some also posed for a group picture with her. There were no rumors of plans to shun Bishop Jefferts Schori, and by all accounts, the Primates who stayed away from Lambeth participated fully in this meeting.

Why? Perhaps conservatives have decided that their confrontational approach wasn't working. But my guess is that they are playing possum and hoping that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church will take some action that can be portrayed as a rejection of the moratoria urged upon us by the Primates and the Lambeth Conference. Then, rather than playing the angry partisans--a performance that may be reaping diminishing returns--they can feign disappointment, express their sad solidarity with the Archbishop of Canterbury (whom they had previously pilloried) and call for discipline of TEC and recognition of the breakaway.

Some conservative tactics haven't changed. It seems that they must reflexively claim victory after every meeting. In this case, those claims are even less compelling than usual. Compare the post-meeting statements of Venables, Minns and others to the lede of yesterday's story by the disinterested Daniel Burke of Relilgion News Service:

Leaders of the Anglican Communion said Thursday (Feb. 5) that they, not dissident conservatives, will decide what role a newly formed traditionalist North American church will have in their worldwide fellowship.
Concluding their weeklong meeting in Alexandria, Egypt, the Anglican leaders also said a new North American church should not "seek to recruit or expand their membership" by attempting to convert others.

Conservatives angered by the liberal drift of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and the Anglican Church of Canada set up a rival church in December. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), led by Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, aims to be recognized as the official Anglican franchise in North America.

But the 30-odd Anglican primates, or archbishops, meeting this week (Feb. 1-5) essentially put a damper on those plans. While acknowledging that "there is no consensus among us how this new (church) is to be regarded," the primates unanimously agreed that "it is not for individual groups to claim the terms on which they will relate to the communion."

This triumphalist tic aside, the conservative strategy seems well-chosen, even if Venables' portrayal of a new spirit is transparently insincere. The Episcopal Church is going to have to make a decision this summer on whether to remove impediments to the consecration of gay bishops put in place at our last General Convention. If we move forward, we play into their hands. If we don't move forward... we do their bidding.

The Chicago Consultation and Integrity have a few thoughts on how the Episcopal Church should respond. Here is an excerpt from the Chicago statement (emphasis mine):

“Christ calls us to practice both compassion and justice. We reject the false choice suggested by the Primates communiqué that God asks Episcopalians to deny either faithful mission with the worldwide Anglican Communion or full inclusion of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered sisters and brothers,” said the Rev. Ruth Meyers, who is professor of liturgics at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

Comments (12)

Let me see if I can sum up your reflection: we simply can't believe one word uttered by the crafty 'anti gay' forces from the dark side of the Communion?

So much for seeing the Christ in the enemy...

Dennis Bosley

Posted by dvb | February 6, 2009 11:39 AM

Not exactly. I think most interested parties in this debate have political strategies and media strategies. I am teasing out what I see as the hard right's strategy. That said, I think Gregory Venables frequently takes liberties with the truth. There is nothing unChristian about calling baloney baloney. Hate the lunch meat. Love the meat packer.

Posted by Jim Naughton | February 6, 2009 11:45 AM

And, of course, no other 'interested parties' are selling baloney, right? For instance, characterizing the conservatives as simply 'anti-gay' doesn't smack of Oscar Meyerism?

Posted by dvb | February 6, 2009 12:02 PM

I don't think all conservatives are anti-gay. I think their words and actions leave little doubt about many of them, however.

BTW if you could sign your name to your posts, it would save me having to do it for you, and I'd appreciate that.

Posted by Jim Naughton | February 6, 2009 12:10 PM

The NEW strategy is because the U.S. courts are slamming down on and removing poachers from TEC properties...enough with the compassionate visitor idealistic and handy spiritual intervention preaching.

PB Venables knows *things* in California and beyond are taking a nasty turn...there is no other option than the face saving, quietly grandstanding, softly executed...it is NOW necessary to cover ones overly strident earlier behavior.

However, to become silent and FINALLY ¨listen¨ perhaps IS the result of the Holy Spirit at work (her active intervention with loud excluders at Church).

Reality Check:

At the end I think the Gafcon Primates are crafty manipulators, all... they managed to haul out and prop up the Lambeth 1.10 for yet another exhuming of the careless and faux Anglican ¨sexuality¨opinion that was sloppily ramroded into ¨being¨ Anglican ¨consensus¨ by Lord Carey of Clifton.

I nominate Henri Orombi, Bishop of Uganda to intiate the LGBT ¨listening process¨ first...no, I mean really ¨listen¨ to his LGBT fellow citizens (at all levels of society in Uganda where a witch-hunt is currently underway)...Uganda and Orombi could set the stage for how ¨listening¨ might be done...it ought be recorded as a international guide to LGBT religious enlightenment on Anglican and Trinity Wall Street T.V.

Posted by Leonardo Ricardo | February 6, 2009 2:15 PM

The attitude, and if you like the political strategy, of the conservative primates is made clear in an extended interview on Anglicantv.org It is well worth a listen to get an unfiltered account of what some of the conservative primates think.
Orombi and Venables state their view that the Communion is in a broken state, and that actions to fix it up will only reveal its brokeness to a wider audience.
Is this realism or playing possum? Two views of the same thing perhaps.
The Primates make it clear that this is not a shift in their thinking, rather it takes forward the views expressed at Gafcon.

John Sandeman

Posted by Obadiah Slope | February 6, 2009 4:25 PM

If we move forward, we play into their hands. If we don't move forward... we do their bidding.

To see GC's affirmation of ALL the sacraments for ALL the baptized as "playing into [GAFCON's] hands" is in itself to play into their hands, Jim.

The only bidding I want to do, is Christ's (the only hands I want to be in, ditto!).

If we keep our eyes focused on him---and his Good News for ALL the Imago Dei (inc. those God created LGBT)---we need NEVER worry about GAFCON's machinations.

JC Fisher

Posted by tgflux | February 6, 2009 4:40 PM

Sure, JC. I was speaking entirely in political terms. Ruth Meyers speaks for me when she says: We reject the false choice suggested by the Primates communiqué that God asks Episcopalians to deny either faithful mission with the worldwide Anglican Communion or full inclusion of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered sisters and brothers.”

False choice. False choice. Say it over and over.

Posted by Jim Naughton | February 6, 2009 4:44 PM

The primates were not able to attend or participate in worship (or have their photo taken) as a unified body.

In Dar es Salaam and in Dromontine (2007 & 2005) daily worship with Holy Communion was at noon. This time around it was at 7:15 in the morning and evening prayer after the last session of the day.

On the first two worship sessions (Sundan and Monday) all present received the sacraments. From Tuesday forward that was not the case, as by that point the Presiding Bishop was present.

In response to a question from the press, Archbishop Orombi said that fellowship remained broken.

He said the conference organizers did a good job this time round by moving worship from the middle of the day----going straight from a business session to Eucharist----to the morning. This change allowed the issue to move to the side.

Nothing has changed on this issue.

George Conger

Posted by George Conger | February 7, 2009 2:39 AM

Thanks for this George. When you say nothing has changed on this, are all of the Primates who wouldn't received Communion with Frank Griswold at Dromantine still refusing to attend the Eucharcist with Bishop Jefferts Schori? I seem to remember that their numbers shrank. Also, I think Mark Harris has a picture of 30 of the 34 Primates together. This would seem to suggest that either Venables or one of the African primates who boycotted Lambeth is in the picture. Is that correct?

I wonder why Akinola nad Orombi are willing to receive Communion with Fred Hiltz of Canada, whose province has gone somewhat furthr on the blessing of gay unions.

And finally, I continue to be astonished at the arrogance (and the moronic Eucharistic theology) of men who think that they get to make the guest list for the Lord's Supper.

Posted by Jim Naughton | February 7, 2009 7:53 AM

Something like the freshness of the Holy Spirit” descended upon the meeting

Isn't Egypt a "dry" country. Perhaps some of them were just sobering up.

Posted by MadPriest | February 7, 2009 9:57 AM

In photo at Preludium an anonymous commenter has done his/her identification of who is in the photo.

http://thanksgivinginallthings.blogspot.com/2009/02/when-jesus-is-head-all-are-accountable.html

...
Rowan Williams (England)
Gregory Venables (Southern Cone)
...
1 primate pictured is an extra from England (Sentamu), and only 3 primates were absent / not represented (Philippines, S. India, & Pakistan), so that leaves 6 not in the photo:

Benjamin Nzimbi (Kenya)
Purely Lyngdoh (N India)
Henry Orombi (Uganda)
Peter Akinola (Nigeria)
Thabo Cecil Makgoba (S. Africa)
Valentino Mokiwa (Tanzania)

Posted by John B. Chilton | February 7, 2009 2:33 PM

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