Thursday, May 03, 2007

A second RSVP for the day

A few days ago I observed (link fixed) that it's not clear whether the traditional Anglican groups that have split off from The Episcopal Church were rivals or lovers. Today's Washington Times provides some insight:
"There's a sense that Akinola is a very strong leader. Does he want to take over?" said Bishop John Rodgers, the retired co-founder of the Anglican Mission in America, which was founded in 2000 as a U.S. breakaway group by foreign bishops.

Like many church leaders invited, Bishop Rodgers had prior commitments and will not come. He said CANA is perceived as recruiting ACN churches into its ranks, "although I know," he added, "Martyn just wants a safe place where people can be orthodox."

Not all conservatives are convinced CANA wants to be a team player.

"No one can be sure if they're competing against us or cooperating with us," an ACN source said.

The WT also reports:
A phone survey of 10 Episcopal dioceses that belong to the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) -- a confederation that opposes the Robinson consecration -- revealed that only its moderator, Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, plans to attend. Bishop Don Harvey, moderator of the Anglican Network of Canada, has also accepted.

1 comment:

Trey said...

I'm sorry, but the phrase, "Martyn just wants a safe place where people can be orthodox." just sends me into the ceiling! That sentence implies that these orthodox Anglicans are under physical or spiritual threat from the more liberal Episcopalians. Could nothing be more further from the truth? No one is saying that any conservative church is going to be forced to accept a female or gay priest or bishop. No one is going to stop orthordox Anglicans from worshipping as they see fit. What I think TEC is trying to do is say that the orthodox Anglicans can't dictate to the rest of the TEC. And I think Bishop Rodger's statement is even more ironic/insane considering that GLBT Nigerians are under real, honest to goodness, physical and legal threat while Bishop Akinola interferes here in TEC. Sorry for the rant.