CANA and ECUSA
posted April 29th, 2007 at 8:25 pm by Betty
I draw your attention to Friday’s article from the Washington Post: “Visit by Anglican Bishop Draws Episcopal Anger.”
The article indicates that the Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter J. Akinola, will be arriving next week to install Martyn Minns as the bishop of the Convocation of Anglican in North America, an offshoot of the Nigerian Church (known as CANA.) The convocation was created in part, the article adds, to oversee congregations that no longer want to be in the Episcopal Church but would like to remain in the Anglican Communion. The background events involve the decision by the Episcopal Church in 2003 to consecrate an openly gay priest, V. Gene Robinson, as the bishop of New Hampshire.
Katherine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (ECUSA), http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ responded to the news of the visit by saying that the “Archbishop Akinola’s acceptance of ‘an invitation to episcopal ministry here without any notice or prior invitation’ was not in keeping with ‘the ancient practice in most of the church.’ And she added, “This action would only serve to heighten current tensions and would be regrettable if it does indeed occur.”
My question to you: does Bishop Katharine sound angry? Is this the response that the Washington Post article describes as “Episcopal Anger’?
Bishop Katharine doesn’t strike me as angry at all. But then, I have been listening carefully to her words since she was elected Presiding Bishop and have posted her words and conversations on this site. Throughout this tiresome debate I have found her surprisingly calm and steady. I have found her words connected to a deep spirituality that finds grace in conversation and seeks to add reason to our contemporary debates. Would that the news media would not exaggerate!
To understand some of the details of this complicated situation, I refer you to several articles that may help.
Bishop’s “Mind of the House” Resolutions
For an intriguing article about the role of money in this conflict and conservative manipulation of the system, see “Following the Money” by Jim Naughton:http://www.edow.org/follow/part1.html and http://www.edow.org/follow/part2.html
I began by looking for some Biblical and theological content when I was re-reading these documents and articles. Ironically, I found both sides grounding their differing views of inclusiveness in the same Biblical words. See below a quote from Martyn Minns I found on the CANA website and a longer quote from the Bishop’s ‘Mind of the House’ Resolutions. I marvel at this and invite your comments.
Martyn Minns: “In every place and in all our years of ministry, my wife Angela and I have attempted to lead and build communities of faith where the radical message of Galatians 3:28 is lived out: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” CANA will be no different. It will be a place where people of diverse backgrounds show the world that true unity is possible when we are connected by “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).
From “The Mind of the House of Bishops”:
“It is incumbent upon us as disciples to do our best to follow Jesus in the increasing experience of the leading of the Holy Spirit. We fully understand that others in the Communion believe the same, but we do not believe that Jesus leads us to break our relationships. We proclaim the Gospel of what God has done and is doing in Christ, of the dignity of every human being, and of justice, compassion, and peace. We proclaim the Gospel that in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, no male or female, no slave or free. We proclaim the Gospel that in Christ all God’s children, including women, are full and equal participants in the life of Christ’s Church. We proclaim the Gospel that in Christ all God’s children, including gay and lesbian persons, are full and equal participants in the life of Christ’s Church. We proclaim the Gospel that stands against any violence, including violence done to women and children as well as those who are persecuted because of their differences, often in the name of God.” 
Peter J. Akinola
Akinola
ecusa
ecusa conflicts
schori
cana
martyn minns
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April 30th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Ah! Yes, it is a marvel indeed that Minns uses the Galatians quote. The truth is that he does, in fact, believe it with one caveat: all are welcome…..to change, to be transformed by salvation through belief in Jesus (all are one IN JESUS). By this I interpret that he really believes that GLBT people are welcome as long as they do not live into their sexuality. This is what I have gleaned by following the Truro Church website for the last few years in order to see what is being said and what is going on in this expression of Anglicanism that isn’t.
May 1st, 2007 at 9:48 am
Joie,
Yes, that is pretty much my take on Minns interpretation, too. That as long as we mold ourselves — for women, “make ourselves male” in the worst connatation of that expression — into someones else’s idea of who and what we should be, we will be “saved.” That we, as women, as men, even heterosexuals, as you say about GLBT people, should not live into our sexuality. Pfffffft.
Bridgitt