Anglican Covenant: DOA?
Is the draft Anglican Covenant dead on arrival?
This was the week for Episcopalians who were willing to take the time to submit their thoughts on the draft document to the Executive Council for consideration.
I honestly did not feel moved to respond in any greater depth than my initial impressions here. Katherine Grieb pointed out in March to the House of Bishops that the Primates' February Communiqué hung a pretty big millstone of doubt around the proposed draft -- at least as far as the Episcopal Church is concerned. And then Mark Harris called responding to the questions on the draft covenant "homework." Yes, those are scare quotes, at least for me!
Much has been written, and quality stuff, too. I really have little to add to it.
Of note is, of course, Mark Harris' responses, and that of the General Convention deputation from the Diocese of New York, including our beloved Tobias Haller of thoughtful blogosphere fame.
Ann Fontaine also just posted this piece over at Episcopal Café, which I think sums up why any attempt to centralize power in the Communion, whether through a covenant, Primates, or whoever happens to be making the most noise at any given time, is pushing the Communion towards more chaos and schism rather than less.
Also posted to the HoB/HoD listserve is this remarkable piece by Frank Turner, an historian at Yale. Special thanks for this link from colleagues, friends, and companion seekers in these here parts, Jay and Carol Luther, whose blog, God's Sled Dog, is more than worth a look-see!
This was the week for Episcopalians who were willing to take the time to submit their thoughts on the draft document to the Executive Council for consideration.
I honestly did not feel moved to respond in any greater depth than my initial impressions here. Katherine Grieb pointed out in March to the House of Bishops that the Primates' February Communiqué hung a pretty big millstone of doubt around the proposed draft -- at least as far as the Episcopal Church is concerned. And then Mark Harris called responding to the questions on the draft covenant "homework." Yes, those are scare quotes, at least for me!
Much has been written, and quality stuff, too. I really have little to add to it.
Of note is, of course, Mark Harris' responses, and that of the General Convention deputation from the Diocese of New York, including our beloved Tobias Haller of thoughtful blogosphere fame.
Ann Fontaine also just posted this piece over at Episcopal Café, which I think sums up why any attempt to centralize power in the Communion, whether through a covenant, Primates, or whoever happens to be making the most noise at any given time, is pushing the Communion towards more chaos and schism rather than less.
Also posted to the HoB/HoD listserve is this remarkable piece by Frank Turner, an historian at Yale. Special thanks for this link from colleagues, friends, and companion seekers in these here parts, Jay and Carol Luther, whose blog, God's Sled Dog, is more than worth a look-see!
2 comments:
I have posted my comments to the Executive Council on the Web. Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh has posted its comments also. I am surprised that more people have not done this, but “homework” does not adequately capture the onerousness of the task.
Is the draft Anglican Covenant dead on arrival?
I hope so. Perhaps, one or two folks remember my mantra, which I was finally too embarrassed to repeat: we do not need an Anglican Covenant, no matter what's in it.
Lionel, I started to fill out the form, but when I read some of the brilliant responses of others who had taken the trouble, I gave up.
It was a lot of work.
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