If you are an Anglican priest and unsure of where you stand on what is happening within the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Worldwide Anglican Communion (WWAC), then please read this.
If you know where you stand and have come to a decision, then please read this.
If you are worried about the future of the ACC then please read this.
A. History
1. The ACC is not at this time in full membership with the WWAC since we, along with Episcopal Church of the USA - now renamed The Episcopal Church (TEC) - were suspended from the Anglican Consultative Council in February 2005.
2. The reason for our suspension is our refusal, both locally and nationally, to repent for the unilateral action of blessing same-sex unions (BSSUs) taken in June 2002 by the Diocese of New Westminster in B.C.
The facts are:
a) In April 2005 the Canadian House of Bishops (HOB) issued a Statement of Commitment that failed to address the ‘tear in the fabric of the communion.’
b) Its Statement also failed to implement the moratorium on BSSUs called for by the Primates’ Communiqué and to make any decision with respect to the Primates’ request for withdrawal from the Anglican Consultative Council, which it merely referred to our Council of General Synod (CoGS).
c) While being in favor of a temporary cessation of BSSUs, the HOB stood by its offer of Shared Episcopal Ministry, which effectively allowed the BSSUs to continue. Bishop Ingham gave a very guarded assent to the Statement’s limited idea of a moratorium that proved valueless for, in May 2005, the Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster refused to place a moratorium on the BSSUs, merely deciding instead not to allow any additional parishes to conduct such blessings.
B. The Present Situation
1. The invitations to Lambeth 2008 will be issued within the next 6-8 months and it remains to be seen whether or not the Archbishop of Canterbury will invite the Bishops of the ACC and TEC. The alternative may be a limited invitation without full voting rights.
2. The Archbishop of Canterbury has refused to make BSSUs a major topic at Lambeth 2008, since so much of the Lambeth 1998 Conference was spent on this issue. (It is probable now that this decision will not stand.)
3. At the General Synod in 2007 the ACC will choose a new Primate. The person chosen will greatly influence the future direction of our Church.
An indication of what might ensue is provided by the events in the U.S.A. following the Episcopal Church’s General Convention June 2006 and its choice of a revisionist bishop, the Most Reverend Katherine Schori, as its President-elect. GC 2006 was hardly over before individuals, parishes and whole dioceses began to secede from TEC and legal battles are already raging over church property. TEC is now fractured in three ways, not only between those for and those against BSSUs and the Ordination of Gays and Lesbians, but also between those against BSSUs and Ordinations who can and those who cannot accept women priests and/or bishops.
4. In June 2006 the Archbishop of Canterbury proposed a two tier system of membership in the WWAC:
a) Full membership would require adherence to the agreement on traditional standards of human sexuality that was overwhelmingly ratified at the 1998 Lambeth Conference.
b) Alternate membership would be for those churches, primarily in the Western world, that want to push ahead with the blessing, possibly marrying, and certainly ordaining of G&L.
C. The Consequences
1. A split in the WWAC now seems inevitable. Those on the liberal side have shown no heart for true repentance and those whose position is traditional can only live in this present “inbetweenity” for so long.
2. It is impossible to chart the future and how all this will unfold. We have already seen, however, how the Windsor Report in October 2004 and the Primates’ Meeting at Dromantine in February 2005 changed the way that things are developing. As a result of the Dromantine meeting the liberal wings of the ACC and TEC were put on notice by the WWAC and their full membership compromised.
3. We need to remember that the Anglican churches of Canada and the USA account for no more than 4% of the WWAC, so it seems certain that if and when the time comes to walk apart, it will be the progressive revisionists in North America who will be the ones ousted, not the traditionalists.
4. How and when the split will happen is still unclear, but by the end of 2008 it is likely to be at least in process if not already a fait accompli. So the time for making decisions cannot now be long postponed.
5. Where you stand when the split occurs will determine your future. So if and when the division in the WWAC and in the ACC comes, where will you stand? Your decision is of utmost importance and that is at the heart of this document.
D. Making the Inevitable Choice
1. This is an extremely difficult time for all of us no matter what opinion we hold. Few, if any, could have foreseen that we would reach this place so quickly. Livelihoods, future employment as priests, and pensions are on the line – for liberals as well as for traditionalists.
2. So far in our lifetimes it has been comparatively easy to follow the Gospel, in the sense that we have been relatively well paid according to the standards of our day and very well paid by the standards of previous generations. Losing or risking this comfort will not be easy, but we should not forget that historically and scripturally God honours those who make personal sacrifices for Him.
3. There are also ultimate questions to consider. When the ordained stand before God, their accountability will include not only the conduct of their own personal lives but how they shepherded their flocks. There are some very grim warnings for those who are ordained when they knowingly or unknowingly mislead the people under their care (e.g. see Jeremiah 23:1-4). So we need to consider our responsibility in this very carefully indeed.
In doing this, faithfulness to God’s revelation in Scripture must certainly be a crucial criterion, for we state in our ordination vows that we believe the “Holy Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments to be the word of God and to contain all things necessary for salvation” (BAS, p. 645).
4. Now, while we can do it deliberately, each of us needs to consider most carefully and discern very accurately what God’s will for him or her is, so that we are well prepared to make the necessary choices when the time comes.
E. What should you do?
a) Be sure of where you stand and why.
b) Research all of Scripture to discern what you, as a priest, are being called by God to do.
c) Discuss the situation with other priests and seek information from such informed local groups as Elmhurst and the Anglican Gathering of Ottawa (http://www.anglicangathering.ca).
d) Pray that these anticipated events will never have to come to pass and that all of us, both liberal and traditional, will fall on our knees before God and repent, so that we may be united and the Gospel can spread like fire across this land.