Latest Anglican News                                           Volume 1,
Number 5, 22 August 2007

With all the pending turmoil in the Anglican Communion (AC), this past week
has been remarkably quiet, until this past Sunday. 

On August 19, the Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, released a
remarkably pointed paper outlining the many efforts initiated to keep the AC
together.  He spells out his discouragement as to where things now stand.  I
encourage you to read the entire paper, available at:

<http://www.anglican-nig/>www.anglican-nig/main.php?k_=12&d=88&p_t=index.php 

 Following are a few excerpts from what Archbishop Akinola had to say, with
edifying comments from this writer in parentheses:

“We have been on this journey for ten long years (to bring the AC back to
unity). It has been costly and debilitating for all concerned as most
recently demonstrated by the tepid response to the invitations to the
proposed Lambeth Conference 2008 (as many bishops have withheld their
acceptance of the invitation beyond the Archbishop of Canterbury’s
deadline).

At a time when we should be able to gather together and celebrate remarkable
stories of growth and the many wonderful ways in which our God has been at
work in our beloved Communion, as lives are transformed, new churches built
and new dioceses established (especially in Africa and the Far East)…there
is little enthusiasm to even meet. 

There are continual cries for patience, listening and understanding…and yet
the record shows that those who hold to the “faith once and for all
delivered to the saints” have shown remarkable forbearance while their pleas
have been ignored, their leaders have been demonized and their advocates
marginalized.”

 “With about seven weeks to go (until the September 30 deadline given to The
Episcopal Church [TEC] to respond to the Dar es Salaam Communiqué), hope for
a unified Communion is not any brighter than it was…ten years ago. Rather,
the intransigence of those who reject Biblical authority continues to
obstruct our mission and it now seems that the Communion is being forced to
choose between following their innovations or continuing on the path that
the church has followed since the time of the Apostles.”

“The leadership of TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) seem to have
concluded that the Bible is no longer authoritative in many areas of human
experience especially in salvation and sexuality. They claim to have
‘progressed’ beyond the clear teaching of the Scriptures and they have not
hidden their intention to lead others to these same conclusions. They have
even boasted that they are years ahead of others in fully understanding the
truth of the Holy Scriptures and the nature of God’s love.”

“Both TEC and ACoC have been given several opportunities to consult, discuss
and prayerfully respond through their recognized structures. While they
produced carefully nuanced, deliberately ambiguous statements, their actions
have betrayed them. Their intention is clear; they have chosen to walk away
from the Biblically based path we once all walked together. The unrelenting
persecution of the remaining faithful among them shows how they have used
these past few years to isolate and destroy any and all opposition.”

“We now confront the seriousness of their actions as the year for the
Lambeth Conference draws near…This is our moment of truth.”

What an amazing indictment!  His paper includes a detailed historical
chronicle of this long struggle.

Some More Definitions, as requested by readers of this report:

            Anglican Communion Instruments of Unity – The Instruments of
Unity is the name given to the major elements that provide coherence and
unity to the Anglican Communion. They are: (1) the Archbishop of Canterbury,
(2) the Anglican Consultative Council (made up of bishops, other clergy and
laity from the constituent provinces), (3) the Primates' Committee (the
archbishops of each of the Communion provinces) and (4) the Lambeth
Conference (a meeting held each decade of those bishops invited by the
Archbishop of Canterbury to meet to discuss, pray and speak to and for the
whole Communion).

            CANA – The Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) is a
missionary effort in the United States sponsored by the Church of Nigeria
(Anglican Communion) and they are also a Common Cause Partner.  On their
website they say, “It is open to everyone, whether they are from Nigeria or
not, who believe in the uniqueness of Jesus the Messiah, the authority of
the Bible in our lives, and the historic faith of the Anglican tradition.”
It was formed in spring 2005 and now consists of more than thirty parishes,
most of which defected from TEC.  The principal is Bishop Martyn Minns,
through the Most Reverend Peter Akinola. 

            Windsor Bishops - A group of TEC bishops met in September 2006
at Camp Allen, Texas, near Houston, and issued a letter to the bishops of
the 110 TEC dioceses stating that they publicly endorse the thrust of the
Windsor Report in which TEC has been asked by the rest of the Anglican
Communion to cease and desist from the ordination of homosexuals and
conducting same-sex unions. 

The twenty-one bishops who signed the letter are Mark L. MacDonald (Alaska),
William H. Love* (Albany), John W. Howe* (Central Florida), James M.
Stanton* (Dallas), Jack L. Iker* (Fort Worth), Michael G. Smith (North
Dakota), Edward S. Little (Northern Indiana), C. Wallis Ohl, Jr. (Northwest
Texas), Robert W. Duncan* (Pittsburgh), Keith L. Ackerman* (Quincy), Geralyn
Wolf (Rhode Island), Jeffrey N. Steenson* (Rio Grande), John-David
Schofield* (San Joaquin), Edward L. Salmon (South Carolina), John B.
Lipscomb (Southwest Florida), Peter H. Beckwith* (Springfield), Bertram N.
Herlong (Tennessee), Don A. Wimberly (Texas), James M. Adams* (Western
Kansas), D. Bruce MacPherson (Western Louisiana) and Gary R. Lillibridge
(West Texas).  Note that the bishops marked with an asterisk are also
members of the Anglican Communion Network.

Your questions are welcome on the subjects raised in this newsletter, or any
concerns that you have regarding Anglicanism.  Send your queries to me with
the subject “Anglican Questions” at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Rudy Schenken, REC Lay Representative to Common Cause Partners