photo © 2010 juergen49 | more info (via: Wylio)I promised to bring this blog up to date with all the Covenant news that has passed me by recently. I think this is the final post to do that. I'll try to stay on top of it now that I'm feeling a bit better.
So Ireland 'subscribed' to the Covenant - see Thinking Anglicans for the statements and links to some great blog posts. The deal basically is that they are worried about it taking away their autonomy and so they are not comfortable committing fully. More of an agreement to a dinner date rather than marriage.
This No Anglican Covenant page lists all the provinces where it has been discussed or approved so far. It is quite interesting. The thing that strikes me is how begrudging it is. I feel quite strongly that something entitled 'Covenant' should be entered into with joy - like a marriage. The fact that there is so little trust and goodwill suggests to me that now might not be the best time to embark on a Covenant. I can't imagine any document signed up to in this manner will avail unity or trust.
Could we Anglicans write anything that would bring us together? I think we could:
We could commit to meeting together.
We could commit to loving Christ.
We could commit to serving the world.
We could commit to praying for each other.
We could commit to loving one another.
If we joyfully wrote a few short sentences like this I think it would have vastly more benefit that Anglican Covenant. But then that is just my opinion...
4 comments:
Lesley, I've heard it said that no matter which word a province chooses to sign on to the covenant, the effect will be to adopt the covenant. If a provinces questions that they've actually adopted the covenant, that will be another subject to argue about. Who decides?
I'd add Anglicans could commit to worship together with the caveat that the service not be a Eucharist, since some provinces question the validity of the orders of other problems. Morning Prayer or Evensong would avoid that quagmire.
"I feel quite strongly that something entitled 'Covenant' should be entered into with joy - like a marriage."
Me too. It feels a bit like a couple who have been going through a bit of a rough patch and think that getting married will somehow sort it all out.
Alas, my comment should read "some provinces question the validity of the orders of other provinces" not "problems".
And yes, where's the joy?
Playing devil's advocate: there is no joy in marriage guidance and in being forced to make unpalatable compromises. But if the marriage is to survive, that is what is necessary.
The question is whether we want this marriage to survive or whether we believe it has genuinely run its course.
Post a Comment