New community of faith my not be so palatable

The Living Church, that bastion of right wing things in TEC, has an interesting article on the proposed new "province" to be announced next week.

The members of the Joint Standing Committee (JSC) of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) and the college of primates are meeting in London this week in preparation for ACC-14, the triennial meeting of the ACC’s delegates scheduled for May in Jamaica.

Organizers of the gathering told a reporter that the “agenda is largely preparing for ACC-14 next year, and trying to build on the lessons learned from Lambeth.” The JSC is reviewing the ACC’s finances, communications and staffing needs; receiving an update on the work of the Faith and Order Commission proposed by the Windsor Continuation Group at the Lambeth Conference; and learning details of the meeting of the Anglican Covenant Design Group in Singapore in September.

The JSC meeting comes shortly after Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh announced that leaders of the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) will meet Dec. 3 in Wheaton, Ill., to endorse a draft constitution to govern the loose coalition of breakaway dioceses, congregations, and Anglican jurisdictions in the United States.

It is technically possible for a vote on a third province to come before the primates’ meeting in February in Alexandria, Egypt, and then be forwarded to ACC-14. This is unlikely, however, because the necessary constitutional work in forming a CCP-based North American province probably will not be completed. This could take as much as two years because the diocesan conventions of the four breakaway Episcopal dioceses—San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, Quincy and Fort Worth—will have to endorse the constitution of the proposed province over two meetings of their conventions. CCP members also will need to ratify the constitution and amend their own governing documents so as to bring its terms into force.

I'm not so sure. I have not seen the canons and constitution of this new community of faith, but I'm going to bet two pence that the bishops of this organism are going to have Roman type bishopric powers. What the bishops say is going to be the rule in schismland.

Why do I think that? Well, examining the facts and the history. Each of the schismatic groups has a very strong willed (read egotistical) bishop. The votes to remove themselves and their people from TEC have been lead by those bishops. Those same bishops believe what ever they say is truth is, in fact, truth. They have their own sense of reality.

I cannot imagine such bishops not assuming more power for themselves. What I believe is that the new group will be like so many provinces of the AC -- bishopric rule.

Given that, the only thing necessary for this new group to come into existence is for the four bishops to click their ruby slippers together three times and say, "we are a province." No diocesan conventions necessary. I wonder if the misguided folk who are following these men understand they are marching into a monarchy.

I was going to say, "I just don't understand how people can be so brainwashed," but then, I do understand - enough hate makes one gullible enough believe any propaganda. It is the first spoonful of propaganda that is the hardest to swallow. After that, the Koolaid goes down easily.

Make sure to read the whole article.