C of E General Synod votes on ACNA

Posted on February 11, 2010 
Filed under News

“The Church of England today offered the slenderest of lifelines to the dissident US conservative Episcopalians who split from their church after it elected a gay bishop.

The general synod – the church’s parliament, meeting in London – passed a motion recognising the breakaway group’s desire to remain Anglicans but declined to promise to ally with them in their ongoing wrangles with the mainstream US church…”

– The Guardian reports on the Church of England General Synod vote on the Anglican Church of North America.

For a much more positive assessment, here’s a media release from ACNA —  

CHURCH OF ENGLAND SYNOD AFFIRMS ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
February 10, 2010

Today, the General Synod, the national assembly of the Church of England, meeting in London February 8-12, affirmed the Anglican Church in North America’s desire “to remain within the Anglican family.”

The Most Rev. Robert Duncan, archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, thanked Mrs. Lorna Ashworth of Chichester for bringing the church to the attention of the General Synod.  “We are very grateful to Mrs. Ashworth and the scores of other friends in the Synod of the Church of England for all they did to give us this opportunity to tell our story to the mother church of the Anglican Communion.  It is very encouraging that the synod recognizes and affirms our desire to remain within the Anglican family.” said Archbishop Duncan.

A private member’s motion, put forward by Mrs. Ashworth, and subsequently amended by the Synod, states that “this synodrecognize and affirm the desire of those who have formed the Anglican Church in North America to remain within the Anglican family.”  The motion passed by a resounding 309 – 69 margin (with seven abstentions).

The motion was amended by the Right Reverend Michael Hill, the Bishop of Bristol.  His purpose, in his own words, was

“(1) to encourage those who are part of the Anglican Church in North America;
(2) to commend the process of recognition afforded by the Instruments of the Anglican Communion; and
(3) to ask the Archbishop of Canterbury to report progress back to Synod in a year’s time.”

The discussion at Synod presented an important opportunity for members of the Anglican Church in North America, joined by many friends in the United Kingdom, to share the vision and mission of the church with fellow Anglicans.  “We are deeply thankful that we were given the opportunity to tell the Synod about our church, and our vision for reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.  This chance to speak directly to our Anglican family was very rewarding.  We look forward to working with the friends we made and reaching out to others in the years ahead,” said Bishop Donald Harvey, who, with Mrs. Cynthia Brust, Dr. Michael Howell, and the Rev. Dr. Tory Baucum, represented the Anglican Church in North America in preparation for the Synod vote.

(by e-mail)