Church Planting For The 21st Century - The Christian Challenge

caused TEC to do nothing of substance in response to the
Windsor Report: It was a “translation difficulty,” he said. “The
Windsor Report said we want one word from the American
province: ‘sorry.’ The American province responded with one
word: ‘Schori.’”
While the previous two Episcopal presiding bishops (Browning
and Griswold) had promised “to take us to a deeper place,”
Bishop Ackerman puckishly observed that the new occupant of
the office is actually qualified to deliver on the promise, since
her first profession was oceanography.
ADMITTING THAT FIF-NA’s membership had declined,
Ackerman then appeared to address questions about
the traditionalist organization’s involvement with the Anglican
Communion Network (most of whose members favor
of women’s ordination) rather than with orthodox Anglican
jurisdictions outside the Communion. He contended that,
“it is not so easy for us in the North American church...to be
able to talk about the Continuing Church. And the reason
for that is, we have 53 separate denominations of Continuing
Churches...[I]t’s very, very difficult for us to understand the
path that is being taken [by any given jurisdiction].” (FIF-NA
has a communion relationship, however, with two or three of
the mainstream Continuing bodies.)
He went on to defend FIF-NA’s association with the Network,
saying that “we must work with diverse groups because
we don’t have a critical mass anymore.” He asserted that, “We
are not compromising on the Sacrament of Holy Orders. I can
assure you that there has never been a time when [FIF-NA]
has compromised” in a way that bears upon its agreement
with FIF-Uk.
REACTION to Ackerman’s remarks from members of
Anglican jurisdictions outside TEC was mixed, but there appeared
general agreement that the lumping together of all 53
of them (if in fact there are that many) was a rhetorical maneuver
that could leave people with the impression that there
was little difference in size or significance between them.
One writer said that surely Ackerman knows many in the
salient Continuing bodies, such as the Anglican Church in
America, Anglican Province of Christ the king, and Anglican
Catholic Church, “so one must ask why present such an
Sydney: No To Women Priests;
Perth: Yes To Women Bishops
The synod of the strongly Evangelical Anglican Diocese of
Sydney recently voted not to revisit the debate about ordaining
women as priests.
In a secret ballot, approximately 70 percent of lay members
and 85 percent of clergy voted not to introduce the General
Synod canon permitting female priests, approved by the Anglican
Church of Australia (ACA) in 1992. The “no” vote
increased from previous synodical considerations of the issue.
The Sydney Anglican women’s group, Equal But Different,
received 600 letters or e-mails from women opposing the
legislation in the lead-up to this year’s synod.
In Sydney, women are ordained only as deacons.
November-December 2006 The Christian Challenge www.challengeonline.org
He’d Go To The Holy Land For A Camel
QUINCY EPISCOPAL BISHOP Keith Ackerman really gets around. First
we find him in London entertaining the troops at FIF-UK’s annual national
assembly, next he is perched atop this obliging camel during a recent trip
to the Holy Land. If you ask us, this would be a great way to get around
the Quincy diocese; and think of the throngs who would turn out just to
see him arrive on the dromedary for every episcopal visit!
ambiguous picture and use a word such as ‘denomination’?...
If Ackerman is not dismissive of the Continuing Church he
certainly seems to be purposefully opaque for the sake of making
a point.” (The same commentator went on to say, “I did
enjoy his remarks in general and his good humor.”)
Responding on an Anglican listserve, Ackerman said he did
not recall being “dismissive” of the Continuum, but merely noting
that “there are more than a few Continuing Churches.”
Next noting that the Affirming Catholic movement - which
backs women’s ordination and homophilia - has arrived in
America, Bishop Ackerman said that it is “a great attempt
to be able to epitomize `all dressed up and no place to go.’
It neither affirms the faith, and the Truth, nor is it catholic,
because it is an end in and of itself. It defines itself by synodical
councils [such as the General Convention or General Synod]
rather than by the catholic faith.”
Reporting to applause that he now has “22 catholic men in
seminary under the age of 35,” Bishop Ackerman said that,
in spite of the grimness of the current church situation, he
is “not worried about the future, because a long time ago, I
realized that I wasn’t important enough to find out how it all
Before the vote, Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen said: “Let
the whole of scripture speak for itself. The answer is clear: the
ministry of women is encouraged; the eldership of women in
the congregation is denied.
He added: “I am unpersuaded by arguments that this is
all a power play by men to keep women out. I am even less
persuaded by allegations of injustice and inequity. Experience
has shown me that what starts as a plea for diversity finishes
as a means of exclusion and division.”
Meanwhile, Perth’s synod made its Anglican diocese the
first in Australia to vote to allow female bishops. This, even
though a national church court had not yet decided if the
ACA’s constitution allows a diocese that already has female
priests to ordain women bishops without the consent of the
General Synod, which has not yet been forthcoming. n
Sources: Sydney Anglican Network, EVnews, The West, Sydney Morning Herald