Orthodox Anglicans find way forward
OTTAWA, ON-In the wake of their national church declaring homosexual relations holy, 700 biblically orthodox Anglicans met in Ottawa to create two new organizations dedicated to pastoral care and leadership.
The Anglican Federation includes "all Canadian Anglicans committed to the recovery and renewal of the orthodox heritage" of Anglicanism. It will enable an orthodox bishop to offer episcopal oversight to orthodox congregations located in a liberal diocese where the diocesan bishop has granted permission for the oversight to take place.
In liberal dioceses where a bishop does not grant permission, and an orthodox congregation finds itself in "impaired communion" with the bishop (and does not recognize his authority), the Anglican Network will provide support and leadership.
Traditionally, an Anglican bishop can only minister in a fellow bishop's diocese with his permission.
Those likely to be the first to join the Network are Vancouver area congregations currently associated with the Anglican Communion in New Westminster who declared themselves to be in impaired communion with their bishop, Michael Ingham, after he authorized the blessing of same-sex unions.
Both organizations were commissioned during The Way Forward, a national conference August 30-September 1 sponsored by Essentials, a coalition of evangelical, charismatic and prayer book Anglicans.
"The conference did not create a new denomination," says Charlie Masters, national director of the Essentials Council. "It is the Anglican Church of Canada that has moved away from historic Anglicanism and created something new.
"The Federation and the Network are claiming ground the revisionists have deserted. We are establishing ourselves within historic Anglicanism. We have not moved; they have."
The Essentials Council hopes the Federation and the Network will provide ways for orthodox Anglicans to remain within the global Anglican Communion without compromising their beliefs.
According to The Anglican Church Directory, between 1994 and 2000 the Anglican Church of Canada lost 92,925 members from its parish rolls or an average of 15,487 members per year-over a thousand per month. In 2000, there were 650,977 members on the parish rolls.
It is feared that more will leave in the wake of General Synod's declaring homosexual relationships holy and as rites for same-sex unions are authorized.
With the formation of the Federation and the Network, "Orthodox Anglicans in Canada have laid the groundwork for a highway that will allow God to lead us all forward in our quest for a truly faithful and restored Anglicanism in Canada in full agreement and fellowship with the worldwide Anglican Communion," says Masters.
Four bishops representing the four ecclesiastical provinces will sit on the Federation Council: Bill Anderson (BC and Yukon), Andrew Atagotaaluk (Rupert's Land), Peter Mason (Ontario) and Bill Hockin (Canada). Bishops Larry Robertson, Ron Ferris and Len Whitten will serve as alternates.
No longer alone
About one-third of those attending the conference showed further interest in the Network. The high numbers took organizers aback and larger rooms had to be found for the meetings.
"I no longer feel alone," said Andy Leroux, priest at St. Ninian, Toronto, who attended the Network meeting. "I'm encouraged by this unified front."
A workshop on pastoring Christians with same-sex attractions was also popular-125 participants took part while dozens more were turned away-while a later plenary session featured the testimonies of three former homosexuals.
Dawn McDonald shared with the conference goers how she had been raped by both her grandfather and her uncle and rejected by her father, a missionary in Japan. Afraid of men, she sought comfort for 13 years in a lesbian relationship. Today, she claims to befree from same-sex attractions, and is the married priest at Holy Cross Japanese congregation in Vancouver.
The steering committees for the Federation and the Network were commissioned during a communion service presided over by Donald Harvey, bishop of Newfoundland. Harvey will give episcopal oversight to the Network when he retires in December.
Because parish vestry votes would be required before a whole parish could join either the Network or the Federation,
conferees only nominated interim executive members for the two organizations. More formal memberships of individuals and congregations are expected over the next several months.
All participants, observers and media attending The Way Forward conference were required to sign a statement that they not only affirmed orthodox Christianity as expressed in the Montreal Declaration but also repudiated the controversial motion passed by General Synod in May "affirming the integrity and sanctity of committed, adult same-sex relationships."
The statement declared that the governing body had "erred grievously" and would "imperil our relationship with the worldwide Anglican Communion." The Anglican Journal and the Ottawa Citizen refused to sign the statement and did not cover the conference.
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