Amen to this:

"Wynne-Jones misses the real question and the real story: what will progressives in the Church of England do if the Anglican Covenant as envisioned by Archbishop Williams is enacted?"

Over and over again since Gene Robinson's election I've heard clergy colleagues and academic theologians (lay and ordained) in England saying, "Thank God for the American Church. The only difference between what you're doing and what we're doing is that you're being open and honest. Please don't stop." Meanwhile the impatience of at least some LGBT clergy in England with official 'don't ask, don't tell' policies has broken and our faithful, theologically astute friends (LGBT and LGBT-supportive) are speaking up.

I don't think England itself can sustain a 'two-tier' version of Anglicanism. There are two many good people whose hopes and vision of Gospel are with us in that imagined second tier.

Bishop Haines once said to me that the Pension Fund could end all of this foolishness once and for all simply by bringing in those clergy who are our allies in Africa.

Personally, I think it is a great idea. After all, turn about is fair play.

There are other ways of looking at this.

Why is +Cantaur the center of the universe? Being "catholic" means more than being in relationship with the churches that were born from the Church of England.

Could the Episcopal Church be admitted to the Porvoo Churches as an equal member? http://www.porvoochurches.org/ It might give +Cantaur something to think about if +Katharine is an equal to him by the Episcopal Church joining Porvoo.

Stirring up "civil war?" And just what does he think the FOCA folks are doing? And they're already there and organized!

Marshall Scott

The ABC has made yet another grave error in re: to the African Provinces.

I don't envy him,. I pray for him daily. That said, he has once again tried to appease the Anglican Thug Wing. I sadly suspect he will be remembered as the "Neville Chamberlain" of the Church. Appeasement doesn't work, in fact it is dangerous, even deadly.

In this case we have Bishops in our Communion that are facillitating and indirectly encouraging the hunting down, imprisonment, and even killing of LGBT human beings by denying their humanity in Africa. Just because it is government, semi-govt, and outright mob militias doing the killing doesn't mean they aren't complicit and therefore just as guilty. The ABC seems to be, at least publicly, turning a blind eye in an attempt to rescue some imaginary common ground.

There is none.

My Church, and indeed my Savior, does not condone the killing and imprisoning innocent people period ... for any reason ... particularly based on innate characteristics like sexuality (no more or less innate than something like handedness).

Wake up Dr. Williams, your attempt at inclusiveness is indirectly encouraging this evil in Africa and it's spreading. Stopping it is where 100% of your efforts should be focused. Not on non-issues like LGBT couples or clergy.

Jadvar Johnson

I have been proposing that TEC welcome parishes and Dioceses from everywhere into its fold since the very first jurisdictional incursions were not summarily dealt with by the ++ABC.

I see no reason why the Covenant Partners notion here should not be inverted to allow for Inclusive Partners who would send their money to TEC and move to our umbrella.

Indeed, having destroyed jurisdiction, The ++ABC and the WWAC should expect that as soon as they set up "tiers" there will be other forms of organizing that happens.

So I am all for it, lets draw off progressives from other provinces, redirect our monies and become a bolder more insistent witness throughout the Communion.

The ++ABC can just revel in his top drawer Communion.

BTW, not to fuel conspiracy theories, but we did change the name of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe to the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe!