Some more stick for the 'big chief'

The Archbishop of York, speaking in Synod on the Covenant today, handed the Archbishop of Canterbury a four-foot ebony 'chief stick'. This was a symbolic gesture of respect for his authority and leadership, and a potent one given the turmoil of the past few days. Dr Sentamu had brought it back from Kenya, where he had returned from an emergency humanitarian visit, part of the Church's ongoing attempts to alleviate the crisis there. I spoke last week to Archbishop Drexel Gomez, who heads the covenant design group. We reported him at the time but here is some more of what he said.

Earlier, at synod this week, I went to a fringe meeting of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, where the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Professor Michael King was spelling out the latest research findings and saying why equality should prevail, in the Church as elsewhere. His group at the college has already submitted a paper to Archbishop Rowan's 'listening process'. I understand he will be delivering pretty much the same presentation at Lambeth that he did at synod.

Here is some of what Professor King told the synod fringe event.

Meanwhile, Luke Orombi, Uganda's primate, has just issued a statement saying his province will not be attending Lambeth.

Dr Sentamu said the debate 'can't be divorced from the context of the current strains within the Anglican Communion.'

The controversy, sparked by the ordination of the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, had 'exposed an ecclesiological deficit that needs urgently to be addressed,' he said. 'Bonds of affection, important though they are, are not enough to maintain our relationship as a communion.'

Under the covenant, provinces that sign up to it will be expected to desist from actions, such as gay episcopal ordinations or the consecration of bishops that transgress established boundaries. But provinces will retain their traditional authority, meaning the covenant will merely have moral force, and will not be legally binding.

Dr Sentamu said: 'The covenant is not erecting a great Anglican wall of exclusion. As I see it, its purpose is to hoist the sails to empower the boat of communion to sail again, unafraid of the storms.'

Dr Williams said covenant was about 'self-giving'. He said: 'You can say that a covenant relationship between Christians is a promise to be willing to be converted by each other. I think that works ecumenically and in the communion as well.'

He continued: 'Our Anglican family might just find new life and new vigour if it were prepared very consciously and prayerfully to make the sort of commitments to each other within the family that involved the willingness to be converted by each other.' This attitude would help Anglicans to see their relationships with each other as 'something deeper' than power struggles.

Comments

[Dr. Irene Lancaster FRSA]

Talking about Kenya, the youth worker in the local parish here in Salford is from there. I popped in to give him the Church Times, which the vicar had just lent me, as it featured a letter about me by the former Bishop of Oxford.

Anyway, as soon as he heard that I was from Israel, he became very excited and asked when he could come and stay.

Quite a few Anglicans have made this request, so do pass the message on. Haifa is really beautiful, with loads of churches and Muslims, so should suit all Anglican tastes. Most importantly Judaism there is very modest and keeps itself to itself, so that also might suit some Anglican tastes. Then you have the Druze villages, lovely Carmel forest, the sea, Nazareth, Capernaum and Cana, so what more could you want?

I think there may even be a Sharia court, so some Anglicans ought to be elated. I must check this detail with the Chief Rabbi of Haifa when I get back.

[Tom Jackson]

"Why doesn't the Archbishop suggest that there should be a "supplementary jurisdiction" or possibly, a "constructive accommodation" with some people in the Anglican communion so they don't face "stark alternatives"? "

This is actually an extremely valid point, Alistair.

Because if the Archbishop is going to tweak one or two Christian fundamentals in order to accommodate those of the Islamic faith living in the UK, why shouldn't he apply the same approach to other minority groups, the homosexual community being an obvious example?

This failure, in itself, brings into question the whole basis of Rowan Williams approach to leading the Anglican Communion. You cannot have it both ways; either you make exceptions for all minority groups or none at all.

At that, of course, is the problem, Alistair. Were the Archbishop to be the right man for the job, he would be taking a strong stand against the incursion of Islam into our country and there would be no prevarication where homosexuality is concerned.

He would start to organise the resistance to prevent those who follow Islam and who advocate the inclusion of Islamic doctrine into our justice system from succeeding and he would follow the teaching of Christ where homosexuality is concerned, avoiding any wishy-washy, ambiguous interpretations, trying to be all things to all men.

[Alistair]

Why doesn't the Archbishop suggest that there should be a "supplementary jurisdiction" or possibly, a "constructive accommodation" with some people in the Anglican communion so they don't face "stark alternatives"?

Why doesn't he "face up to the fact" that some Anglicans "can't relate to" church doctrine as it stands, and that "social cohesion" within the Anglican community could be achieved by these means?

Doesn't he "think it is a misunderstanding to suppose that means people don't have other affiliations, other loyalties which shape and dictate how they behave in "church" and that the "chuch" law needs to take some account of that?

Just a thought............

[observer]

it's just a delaying tactic......since 2003, there has been a very successful political campaign to avoid any real discipline on TEC.....everyone is kept talking and in committees.....no decisions ever made.

(but not all are fooled....and bishops representing more than half of all Anglicans in the world are not even coming to Lambeth....nice one, Rowan!)

[Shaun]

If this really is what will be presented as a covenant then it's dead in the water.

[Peter Kirk]

So evangelicals in the Anglican Communion are now expected to make "a promise to be willing to be converted by" the extreme liberals of TEC etc, and vice versa? This proposal from Rowan Williams sounds about as unrealistic as introducing sharia law in England.

[Ramon Rodriguez]

Ruth:
Converted by each other to what?
Please, no more pseudo mysticism.
Ramon