Updated again Thursday morning
Guardian Riazat Butt Ugandan archbishop urges African clergy to re-evangelise Anglican church
Cif belief Andrew Brown The tank parked on Rowan’s foot
[Orombi] said:
“The potentials represented today in this conference must be free to go to Europe and America with ‘fresh wine’ from ‘new wine skins’ to the mother church desperate for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I say ‘the Church in Africa’ must rise up. Shake off your fears, shame and superficial dependency. Take hold of this God-given opportunity and use it to his glory. Preach the gospel, evangelise and extend the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
This is a straightforward defiance of the policy of Anglican Communion against “border crossing”: the practice of African churches setting up branches in North America to try and claim the churches, the congregations, and a share of the money of the liberal Anglicans there. But it’s worth noting that he now wants to move into Europe as well. To say this to the face of the Archbishop of Canterbury is not parking a tank on Rowan’s lawn; it is parking one on his foot.
The Archbishop reacted with circumspection. So much circumspection, in fact, that it is worth translating his remarks into English…
Anglican Mainstream ENTEBBE: To Rowan Williams: “Listen to the voice of the Anglican Communion in Africa” – Ian Ernest
This is the full text of Archbishop Ernest’s remarks yesterday.
Anglican Mainstream ENTEBBE: African Anglicans Must Rise Up and Bring life to Ailing Global Anglicanism – Apb Orombi
This is the full text of Archbishop Orombi’s remarks yesterday.
ACNS
President of Uganda tells African bishops: “There should be no room for intolerance because everyone is made in the image of God.”
and
History-making Anglican priest says Africa “has faith to believe it can defeat AIDS”
ENS UGANDA: President tells African bishops: ‘There should be no room for intolerance’
New Vision Museveni warns on religious extremism
What will ++ Rowan do when the Africans come to evangelize England and set up alternative parishes? And who will be financing their vagabondage? That is, if it occurs. As the good Canon wrote, lofty aspirations and pronouncements in the past have resulted in very little action taken.
I note that Bishop Azad Marshall of Iran in his letter resigning from the ACC Standing Committee says he has come to realise that “a large part of the Communion was no longer part of the Communion”. He clearly thinks that the group broadly described as the Global South has already left the Anglican Communion. They are no longer willing to discuss matters with other Provices who have a different take on the interpretation of Scripture and what is acceptable within Anglicanism.
Where has the Ugandan Church backed the “anti-homosexuality” bill?
Interesting set of priorities reflected in these articles. Wonder when there will be some conversation about the elephant in the room?
http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/news_item.cfm?news=3498
Rod
I think your question was just answered!
Looks like it Simon, I just picked up the story here via a link.
http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2010/8/25/ACNS4726
Well, I think it’s time TEC stopped financing this sort of nonsense. It might have made sense during the Cold War, when there was a benefit to showing the world that the US was willing to listen to sharp criticism from others, but what’s the point in doing it now? We have serious issues in our own country: unemployment, poverty, suffering in many forms, and that’s where we should be directing our efforts, time, and, yes, money. Not to this sort of “let’s all dress up and bash the West and get the West to pay” shindig. If the Ugandan… Read more »
Today’s “Fresh Air” on NPR featured an interview with Jeff Sharlet, who recently traveled to Uganda at the invitation of the author of the antigay legislation. He wrote about the experience in the September issue of Harper’s Magazine. The title of the article is “Straight Man’s Burden.” I’ve not had a chance to read it yet, but the interview was chilling enough. The legislator in question is affiliated with the ultra-conservative evengelical political group calling itself The Family, which Sharlet has also written about. The family has been back-pedeling on the legislation; the legislator more or less said that his… Read more »
“Uganda’s President Museveni said today that tolerance was a biblical imperative and that Christians should not “have one minute of time wasted” by those promoting prejudice.” Then what on earth is the Archbishop of Uganda doing in his desire to continue his vilification of homosexuals, and insisting on their being excluded frim the Churches of the Communion? This is surely one Ugandan statement that Rowan should seize upon to explain to the African bishops that homosexuals are as much the Children of God as anyone else within the Church & World. After all, he would only be repeating what Lambeth… Read more »
“Uganda’s President Museveni said today that tolerance was a biblical imperative and that Christians should not “have one minute of time wasted” by those promoting prejudice.””
According to Sharlet, the President is holding the anti-gay proposed law as a kind of reserve weapon, that can be voted on and implemented at any time. I don’t think his govt is probably much like the Mineapolis city council.
Thinking of tolerance, this is a really great story about kids, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and peace making. It strikes me that Christians may need to redefine what they mean by “evangelism” i.e, inclusive evangelism in juxtaposition to exclusionary evangelism.
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/news-items/article/kids4peace-camp-fosters-inter-faith-relationships-9315.html
“Where has the Ugandan Church backed the “anti-homosexuality” bill?”
Arguably here:
http://churchofuganda.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/COU-official-position-on-the-Anti-Homosexuality-Bill-2009..pdf
Fascinating to see that President Museveni has broken ranks with the bigots, sorry, bishops, having announced that tolerance was a biblical imperative and that Christians should not “have one minute of time wasted” by those promoting prejudice.”
Whilst of course I welcome this, I do wonder if I am being overly cynical, not to mention unChristian, in speculating that President Museveni’s apparent change of heart may stem from him already having had the Ban Ki-moon explanation of the financial facts of life…
I’m far long past weary in having to listen to African bishops in particular, happily patting each other and themselves on the back for providing a safe space for African queer folks. This claim is so ludicrous that it borders on frank and psychotic delusion. The Uganda bill is simply one item among many which speaks volumes, contrary to their pride and self-congratulations about how wonderful they are as straight Africans, exemplars all of God’s highest, most sovereign will. They curry favor with one hand, and preach prejudice and hatred and violence with the other, and wish us to congratulate… Read more »
“Rowan Williams isn’t doing much better, either..”
Well, the man is very much like a computer: a highly-educated idiot.
Some people might say idiot savant, and they’re half right.