Blogging the Compass Rose meetings
The Rev. Rick Lord of the Diocese of Virginia has been blogging from the meetings of the Compass Rose Society in Canterbury.
Note the prominent role played by at this meeting by members of the Windsor Continuation Group, a group put together by the Archbishop of Canterbury to accomplish no one is quite sure what. The only thing that can be said with any certainty about this group is that not one of its members supports gay ordination. As a result Anglicans who favor gay ordination are understandably suspicious of its power and its pronouncements. The Rev. Lord quotes Bishop Clive Hanford, the chair of the group as saying that trust has broken down within the Communion. But Hanford himself has played a role in breaking down this trust by supporting the formation of a separate Anglican province in North America for those who would like to break from the Episcopal Church. Why exactly should Episcopalians trust a man with those views?
The Rev. Lord has two entries on the wisdom of Rowan Williams. These might wear a little thin on readers who have noticed that for all his brilliance, Williams' bottom line throughout this controversy, which he helped create by nervously convening an emergency meeting of the Primates in October 2003, has been that gay people must suffer for the sake of the Communion.
I found juxtaposing this article with the following excerpt item “Brawling Monks a Metaphor” suggestive:
"Pope Pious 9th was absolutely spot-on about how one defends the church. One defends it best by not defending it, by not being obsessed with it and instead by looking outward, looking towards the needs of the others."
The Church, at least to the extent of our influence, must move forward and stop agonizing over those factors and forces over which we have no control, e.g., an Archbishop of Canterbury who seeks reconciliation when none is possible, those who feel the Episcopal Church has abandoned the faith, etc.
I recently read that the Episcopal Church in 2008 spent over $1.9 million on lawsuits connected to conflicts over the Church’s teaching on sexuality. During that same time, the Church’s endowment has shrunk by a third as the U.S. and global economies have experienced severe downdrafts. Surely, the Church’s defense could be left in God's hands and the $1.9 million better used to address the needs of others.
Posted by George Clifford![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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November 13, 2008 12:28 PM
[George C: I find your final paragraph a non-sequitur to your penultimate.]
Preach it, Jim!
JC Fisher
Posted by tgflux![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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November 14, 2008 1:48 AM