Tension builds in Dar es Salaam

There is the 'official' Primates meeting taking place here at the White Sands conference centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the 'unofficial' Primates meeting next door at the Beachcomber, below. Jonathan Petre has done a nice report setting the scene. At the White Sands hotel the Standing Committee is presently meeting for three days. On Thursday all (or some, depending on whether they are still talking to each other) of the rest of the Primates will join them and they will discuss TEC's response to Windsor at its General Convention last summer. On Friday, they will debate the Anglican Covenant, drawn up a few weeks ago in Nassau by a group headed by the West Indies' Drexel Gomez.

There are mutterings of conspiracies by the ACO which is being charged behind the scenes with leaving it so late in the day to discuss the really important issues that it will be impossible to resolve anything. This will mean the real debate has to be delayed until Lambeth 2008. Thus, schism will be narrowly averted for another 15 months or so. Or not. The CAPA  Road to Lambeth document makes it quite clear that the African Primates will not be at Lambeth if TEC is not disciplined properly, and it is difficult to see where this will happen if not in Dar es 'not so' Salaam. There is quite a lot of comment, some critical, of me as well, for my Sunday programme broadcast. See on Kendall's blog, the Midwest Conservative, and Captain Yip's Secret Journal. (Pics by AAC's David Anderson, who is good on local colour.)

Meanwhile, this is the first of what will be daily video updates from StandFirm. And Stephen Bates has also done a preview in The Guardian along with a comment column, Blathering Bishops, , which ends with the statement: "What a happy ship it is." As the local paper in Dar es Salaam reports, the media is not being given any official access to the main meeting. But you can bet there will be access to the conservatives next door. At Lambeth 1998, there was access but it was tightly controlled. There also, the conservatives set up their own operation, in the Franciscan Centre just off the Kent University campus. So guess where we got all our stories from, and guess who won the media battle, and partly as a result of this, the war over sexuality? You'ld have thought they would have learned, but no. It is happening all over again. And you can be pretty certain, that once again, the conservatives will win both the media battle and the bigger war, and it will be partly because of this.

Jonathan Petre explains what is happening in a beautiful passage on his blog. This confirms in my mind that my decision not to go to Dar es Salaam was the right one. What an utter nightmare. With a young child to bring up, I simply could not have risked another descent into hell and near-nervous breakdown as in Lambeth 1998. Also, I have to confess The Times newsdesk is just not that interested in the story. Mention of the Anglicans and gays provokes something close to a yawn. "Schism mark 364?" they groan. "Haven't you got anything else to write about?" I believe this reflects much public opinion as well. As The Times always does.

I expect we will msm report the meeting later in the week, when things hot up. Spiritually as well as literally. It's over 80 degrees already in Dar es Salaam, humid and fervid.

But I repeat, does the Anglican Church have absolutely no idea how this all looks to the secular world it is supposed to be evangelising? I fear not. Anyway, over to Jonathan. Just copying and pasting this to my blog gives me the horrors. Rather you than me, JP and SB. I wish you luck. I'ld mosey on over to those nice conservatives at the Beachcomber if I were you. They won't cold-shoulder you like those who are still deluded enough to think they running the show. I am of course praying hard for you both.....

JP wrote: "A 'ring of steel', or at least a heavy security presence, has been imposed overnight around the conference centre in the White Sands hotel where the five-day meeting, which will determine whether the Communion has a future, will begin on Thursday. Guards, some armed with truncheons, patrol every entrance, challenging anyone who dares to wander into the vicinity without a red security pass, which is issued to participants only.

According to one account, there has already been an ugly confrontation between security staff and a writer from a Christian magazine who had strayed into the wrong area. Such arrangements can, of course, be justified in this age of terrorism, especially when so many archbishops, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, are gathered in one place. But we journalists know that the elaborate security is primarily aimed at keeping us at arm's length from the meeting, in case we overhear something we shouldn't, such as Christian voices raised in anger.

Unfortunately, the security cordon has had a complicating side effect: journalists with press inquiries were told to go and knock on the door of the media room, which is headed by Canon Jim Rosenthal, the Anglican Communion's avuncular Director of Communications. But the media room is now within the secure zone, and they are turned away. Drawing on years of training, I did manage to penetrate the 'ring of steel' this morning, simply by walking through the door to the conference centre when nobody was looking."

I once believed the Anglican Communion would survive this crisis, but now am not so sure.

For more, see Virtueonline. And an interesting analysis of my previous post from Sarah Hey on StandFirm. This is the kind of well-thought out criticism I welcome. 'Could do better' a teacher might have said. I standfirmlyby what I wrote, but will take some of Sarah's points on board and, as always, try to improve.

Comments

[Chris]

I'm not sure we have any reason to expect an outcome from this meeting that is different from other Primate's meetings. As a body, the Primates have no legal authority (or standing) whatsoever, so their power is limited to the influence of issued statements, which of course are promptly ignored. In Canada's Diocese of New Westminster, the first blessing of same-sex unions took place in May 2005, only days after the Primates issued a statement against it. Some in Western churches have made it almost a game to repudiate the instruments of unity.

The Primates may indeed issue a firm statement at this meeting, and it's going to be interesting to see what they do when backed into a corner. If they do, TEC and ACC will have to choose whether to ignore yet another statement or actually change their direction. If they ignore the statement, it's basically going to come down to who can punch harder. If anything's true about this conflict, it's that there needs to a decision, with teeth, from someone in authority.

So, what would have teeth? Rowan Williams invitation list to Lambeth would, for sure. In Canada, the very existence of the church is enshrined in its "full communion" status with the Church of England throughout the world. A no-invite from Rowan could very well trigger a broad range of fundamental legal issues.

It's a shame it's come to this.

[Emanuel Appel]

a letter from America

Dear Mr. Chesterton,

You're 100% correct when you outline a bishop's proper duties.
Unfortunately, my complaint is the Nigerian's not knowing it.

I won't list all of Nigeria's shortcomings. With all they have to fix, it seems odd that the man in charge of the religion there is more concerned with where the Bishop of New Hampshire sticks his thing. Is he afraid taht all blacks will suddenly dress in pink? are they that weak minded?

[Maduka]

Kate,

I am afraid, Nigerian bishops are a pretty well educated bunch.

(Not that degrees make a bishop).

[Kate]

"The Nigerian bishops have more earned doctorates among them than the whole American Episcopal bench, and doctoral degrees in theology..."

Awarded from where or by whom? Solid or flakey? Real or 'honorary'? It would be helpful to name the institutions.

Rev Dr Ian K Paisley and many other like-minded extreme right-wing evangelicals hold "doctoral degrees in theology".

[Tim Chesterton]

The belief that in order to say something worthwhile you have to say something original is a peculiarly modern, peculiarly western idea. C.S. Lewis exposed it years ago. Likewise, the idea that in order to be a real theologian you have to publish books. 'Ooh, so they've managed to get published by your western publishing houses! What have they done to spread the Gospel and further the Kingdom of God?'

[Tom Jackson]

"I am starting to come to the position that if America wants to pursue that agenda, it should go off and do it alone".

I think many of us are now coming to the same conclusion as Ruth expressed on today's StandFirm.

[Emanuel Appel]

a letter from America

Dear Commentator and Dear Tim,

I fail to see how I could be promoting Jew Hatred ( anti semitism is such a inaccurate term) except by not being afraid to stand up to you.

My contempt for the African spokesmen is based on the poverty and simplicity of their ideas. Even the blackest Dravidian Indian is more subtle, more worthy of my attention.

Oooh, so they've managed to pass through your diploma mills. What have they produced that's original?

[Geoff]

Just heard you on today's StandFirm video... very cool!

[Tom Jackson]

Jenny, an admirable comment and I commend you for reminding us of the need to accept and love one another.

But this issue is also about leadership and direction, about interpretation and understanding of Christ's teaching and the design of His Creation.

I love and accept my homosexual brothers in Christ but dispute and reject the attempts by people such as Katharine Schori to influence and modify our basic belief structure.

As a father, there have been many times when difficult decisions have had to be made, when my children have wanted to take a course of action that I believed was wrong. My opposition resulted in their disappointment, argument and - at times - even rejection but I believe they came to accept that my response was born out of my love for them and my desire that they stay on the right path.

[Stephen Marsden]

Oh come on now, Ruth! Stephen Bates of the right-on Grauniad mixing with all those nasty homophobic conservatives? As if. Mind you, if he reads a real blog, he might just rise to the challenge . . . . .

[Peter Farrington]

Ruth, you ask how this looks to the world, but it is YOU and the rest of the media industry who present it in any particular way. Indeed there is a particular bias in your own blog which naturally represents your position rather than any objective account of what is out there. In the end people become Christian mostly because of personal contacts with Christians who inspire them. I would expect that few would take their only view of reality from The Times, however much we enjoy reading it.

There is a real controversy taking place, but the presentation of this controversy owes much to the media who generally have no interest in Christians other than as a source for stories which can be slanted negatively.

The media could present all past controversies negatively. In the end I know that I am not overly concerned by what the press think of anything to do with faith as long as the people I am dealing with find something positive in my life and witness...although I am Orthodox and not Anglican.

[JENNY]

I hope people will remember both Aquinas and Elizabeth I who called us to remember. "He was the Word who spake it, Who took the Bread and brake it, and what the Word doth make It, we do believe and take it."
This Anglican view of allowing latitude with each other in God's name and for God's kingdom is too valuable to be lost in a world where children are caught in explosions and crossfire over our inability to accept and love each other. This broad perspective is valuable. Christ may speak to me in my enemy, as well as my friend. Let's listen in love and pray for Christ's blessing on all: gay, conservative, straight, liberals, first nation, global south, oppressive US, war torn Middle East and all sorts and conditions of people, for the children's sake.

[Tim Chesterton]

Um - Emmanuel, just before Lambeth 1998 'First Things' magazine did a comparison of the number of earned doctorates between African and American bishops. The Africans won hands down.

I think you should be careful about accusing them of only having read one book in their lives.

[Commentator]

Emanuel Appel manages to combine racism and anti-semitism to a rerkable degree in such a short rant. The Nigerian bishops have more earned doctorates among them than the whole American Episcopal bench, and doctoral degrees in theology, not marine biology.
Rowan may be just about clever enough to hold things together, and he knows that if things fall apart in Dar es Salaam the waves will pretty soon be breaking at his door in Lambeth Palace.

[Watcher]

Ten minutes of some white guy in a collar bloviating and that's going to win the media battle? Please, Ruth. Where's your sense of perspective? This isn't 1988.

[Frank Schnittger]

If the conservatives are setting up their own media operation, outside the framework of the Primates meeting, is it not they who are behaving schismatically?

[Emanuel Appel]

a letter from America

Dear Ruth,

What is "biblical" about the Africans? Nothing. The fact is that they justify their positions by citing a text that is not theirs; it's Israel's.

If they need education, they can fly EL Al to Israel and I'm sure our most erudite scholars can enlighten them re what our tradition holds re homosexuality, women, etc.

You'd smirk if a bunch of Jews in some South Pacific island were trying to set up a proper afternoon tea per "The Remains of the Day" or talk as if they were part of "Upstairs , Downstairs". Similarly, a bunch of Nigerians ignoramuses, who've maybe read one religious book in their lives, poach other dioceses and threaten not to take foreign aid from Lambeth ( don't tell me you don't send them money). Give me a break.

[Geoff]

It seems to me, actually, that conservatives have pretty soundly *lost* the media battle. Newspapers regularly write that Anglicans are battling over "gay rights" but framing it in that way begs the question, doesn't it?

[notworthyofthename]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the "ACO"? Perhaps someone should provide a glossary of acronyms (e.g., CAPA, TEC), as they seem to be sprouting up like mushrooms in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Thanks for keeping us up to date!