Thinking Anglicans

Anglican Communion Standing Committee news

ACNS reports two further resignations: Archbishops Henry Orombi and Justice Okrofi.

But the headline reads: Two new members to be welcomed onto the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.

The forthcoming Standing Committee meeting will welcome two new members from Asia and Africa: Bp Paul Sarker (Moderator of the Church of Bangladesh and Bishop of Dhaka) and Revd Canon Janet Trisk of South Africa (Rector of the Parish of St David, Prestbury in Pietermaritzburg, in the Diocese of Natal).

The two new additions and the existing members face a packed agenda for their July meeting that includes reports on finance, mission, the Anglican Relief and Development Alliance, evangelism and church growth, and unity, faith and order including the progress of consideration of the Anglican Communion Covenant by the Provinces.

They will also be discussing Standing Committee membership issues including electing a successor to Bp Azad Marshall, Bishop of Iran, and noting the resignations of Archbishops Justice Akrofi and Henry Orombi.

Outside of Committee business, the members’ agenda includes visits to Lambeth Palace, its library and Westminster Abbey.

The then current list of Standing Committee members as given in a recent ENS report on the resignation of Bishop Azad Marshall was:

[old list deleted]

Update
While I was writing the above, ENS published a new article, Standing Committee membership, resignations confirmed by Anglican Communion Office

The Anglican Communion Office has announced that two new members will serve on the Standing Committee beginning with the July 23-27 meeting in London: Bishop Paul Sarker, moderator of the Church of Bangladesh and bishop of Dhaka; and the Rev. Canon Janet Trisk, rector of the parish of St. David, Prestbury, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Trisk was elected at the last Standing Committee meeting to replace Nomfundo Walaza, also from South Africa, and Sarker is the elected alternate for Middle East President Bishop Mouneer Anis, who resigned his membership in February saying that his presence has “no value whatsoever” and that his voice is “like a useless cry in the wilderness.”

The July 2 release also confirmed that Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda and his elected alternate, Archbishop Justice Akrofi of West Africa, have resigned from the Standing Committee.

And giving an updated membership list (quoted verbatim):

  • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (chair)
  • Archbishop Philip Aspinall of Australia
  • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church
  • Archbishop Barry Morgan of Wales
  • Bishop Paul Sarker of Bangladesh
  • Bishop James Tengatenga of Central Africa (ACC chair)
  • Canon Elizabeth Paver of England (ACC vice chair)
  • Bishop Ian Douglas of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church
  • Anthony Fitchett of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
  • Dato Stanley Isaacs of the Province of South East Asia
  • Philippa Amable of West Africa
  • Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe of Ceylon
  • The Rev. Canon Janet Trisk of South Africa
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cseitz
cseitz
14 years ago

On a point of order, how can a clerical appointment (Revd Canon Trisk) be voted to fill a lay person’s (Mr Walaza) place? “Casual Vacancies on the Standing Committee — In the event of a casual vacancy occurring in the membership of the Standing Committee between Council meetings the Standing Committee itself shall have power to appoint a member of the Council of the same order as the representative who filled the vacant place and such member shall have full voting rights for the remainder of the term of service of the former member. Such member shall, subject to his… Read more »

Rick+
14 years ago

Why do you list everyone else as “of Australia… of Wales… of West Africa,” but you describe the Episcopal Church as U.S.-based? It makes it sound like we just work out of here. We are the Anglican Church in the United States – the rest are border incursions.

Father Ron Smith
Father Ron Smith
14 years ago

From the range of membership of the new Standing Committee of the A.C., the Movers and Shakers of the Covenant will have a few problems to address before any substantive action can be taken for its approve by all Provinces of the Communion. Perhaps more urgent and necessary business will be taken seriously before this contentious issue is even discussed. The retirement of one significant person from the S.C. was only to be expected, considering the fact that Archbishop Orombi has stated very publicly his dis-satisfaction with the possibility that the new standing Committee may just not go along with… Read more »

cseitz
cseitz
14 years ago

Apologies to Ms Walaza, who is the lay rep replaced by a clergy rep, not Mr Walaza. ‘US-based TEC’ belongs to the new nomenclature of TEC as an ‘international church’ of its own (with apologies to numerous other provinces that are ‘international’, including West Indies, SE Asia, C of E, et al). How can Trisk replace Ms Walaza? If moratoria-breaking keeps a rep chosen by Uganda from being seated in Jamaica, how can Douglas and Schori not also run afoul of this at the ACC and SC? Why does the small ‘Americas’ contingent get a single rep and Africa only… Read more »

Jeremy
Jeremy
14 years ago

Perhaps, Rick, because TEC is not just in the United States, but has had, for many years, congregations in over a dozen different nations.

JCF
JCF
14 years ago

But Rick+, we (TEC) are planted *outside* the U.S. borders also (see, for example, the largest membership diocese of TEC: the Diocese of Haiti). I believe that the SC membership listing merely is acknowledging this fact.

Peter Edwards
Peter Edwards
14 years ago

Rick+
You are surely aware that there are TEC dioceses etc which are not in the USA…aren’t you?
++KJS rightly constantly refers to these extra-terrestrial jurisdictions – as, for instance, in Europe, where the Diocese in Europe is the only C of E diocese which is not in England; and with parallel or overlapping jurisdictions with TEC, not to mention – which we try not to – IERE, the Reformed Episcopal Church in Spain, in communion with the ABC. What is described is actually more accurate and more inclusive, not to mention less exclusively American in nature.

Tim Chesterton
14 years ago

Wasn’t the name changed at General Convention a few years ago from ‘The Episcopal Church in the USA’ to ‘The Episcopal Church’ to reflect the fact that TEC has dioceses outside the United States? So that in fact the description ‘US-based Episcopal Church’ is completely accurate? Or is my memory playing tricks on me? I’d be glad to be enlightened here!

Malcolm+
14 years ago

@Rick+ – I suspect it’s because our USAnian friends keep reminding us that there is much more to TEC than the simply the United States.

Scot Peterson
Scot Peterson
14 years ago

Rick:

I think that’s consistent with what was just explained to me as the justification for the change to ‘The Episcopal Church’. The talking points that have been developed in response to the Pentecost Letters emphasize the world-wide character of the mission of TEC, as did the change from ECUSA to TEC (although I still think the Scottish Episcopal Church should sue for infringement of the Lanham Act).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress

Cheers,
Scot

David | Dah•veed |
David | Dah•veed |
14 years ago

“Why do you list everyone else as “of Australia… of Wales… of West Africa,” but you describe the Episcopal Church as U.S.-based? It makes it sound like we just work out of here. We are the Anglican Church in the United States – the rest are border incursions.” US-based is TEC instigated as is shortening your province’s name to the Episcopal Church. You are not just the Anglican Church in the US, your province has a number of dioceses in the Caribbean, Central and South America and Asia. US-based is intended to be more inclusive of your own international membership,… Read more »

Lapinbizarre
Lapinbizarre
14 years ago

There is a lengthy analysis by Stephen Noll of recent changes on the committee with comments by Christopher Seitz on this T19 thread – http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/30952/#comments

Regarding Orombi’s “resignation”, Dr Noll observes “Article 3.6.5 reads: A Trustee-Member’s term of office automatically terminates if he or she: is absent without the permission of the Trustee-Members from two successive ordinary meetings and a majority of the Trustee-Members resolve that his or her office be vacated.”

Peter Owen
14 years ago

Peter Edwards

In addition to Europe there is a second Church of England diocese that is not in England. This is Sodor and Man which comprises the Isle of Man. In addition the Channel Islands are part of the diocese of Winchester, and there are a few Welsh parishes in the dioceses of Chester and Hereford.

cseitz
cseitz
14 years ago

“The Episcopal Church” became the name to replace PECUSA in the sixties. The reason had to do with elmination of the word ‘Protestant’– and so this was also the period when the shortened ‘TEC’ declared itself a constituent member of the Anglican Communion (and not a protestant denomination in the US) in Communion with the See of Canterbury. This had nothing to do with the latterly devised idea of a “US-based TEC” — as noted before, several provinces are ‘international’ on the terms TEC is making out, and the Diocese of Europe is roughly ten times the size of the… Read more »

Jim Naughton
14 years ago

The reason Phil Ashey was not seated in Jamaica is not because the Church of Uganda had broken a moratorium, but because he was not recognized as a member of that church. The ACC was perfectly willing to seat a Ugandan representative, had Uganda been able to send one.

Simon Sarmiento
14 years ago

If we are going to be precise about it, the Diocese IN Europe, or more formally the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, has no less than 309 worship locations, of which 170 provide worship every Sunday, and another 139 less frequently (sometimes only on a weekday). See
http://eurobishop.blogspot.com/2010/06/309-centres-of-worship-in-diocese-in.html

And the Convocation’s correct title no longer uses the word American, but rather it is now called The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe.

cseitz
cseitz
14 years ago

Thanks for the precision. It helps sharpen the point. I have served the (episcopal) church in Munich in the 80s and am serving the (anglican) church in Aquitaine this month. The correspondence I receive uses ‘Diocese in Europe’ though I recall the Gibraltar nomenclature from the earlier season. 170 Sunday worship locations is on a different order than the Convocation.

Ashey was not seated because the rule of border-crossing was brought into play (in my view, rightly). Uganda sent Ashey. This is surely not in doubt.

cseitz
cseitz
14 years ago

1. Back to the point. Given the Bylaws, how can Canon Trisk (presbyter) replace the Lay rep from South Africa? See Bylaws above.
2. Even some of the progressives blogging here use the term ‘musical chairs’ for Douglas’s apparent retention of his seat.
3. It is hard to see the roster published by ENS roster as anything but a political assertion, dubious according to the bylaws.

John B. Chilton
14 years ago

The Anglican Communion Office does not post a roster of the standing committee. There’s where the trouble starts. If this committee is going to have as much power as the covenant would give it you’ve got to wonder why it has no presence on the web — at least that I have found.

Bill Dilworth
14 years ago

“If this committee is going to have as much power as the covenant would give it you’ve got to wonder why it has no presence on the web…”

Oh, I thought it was because the Anglican Church™ of the future isn’t concerned with what the “small people” think. If you have to ask what’s going on, you don’t need to know.

cseitz
cseitz
14 years ago

The principles invoked re: Ashey. The record states: “The Joint Standing Committee has discussed this at length. We understand that the Revd Philip Ashey’s relationship with the Church of the Province of Uganda is as a result of a cross provincial intervention, and note that such interventions are contrary to the Windsor Report and other reports accepted by successive meetings of the Instruments of Communion, including Primates’ Meetings which you have attended. Therefore we regret to inform you that Mr Ashey’s current status means that we cannot regard him as a ‘qualified’ member according to Section 4(e) of the current… Read more »

Bill Dilworth
14 years ago

It’s simply hubristic to pretend that we’re the ONLY Episcopal Church, or that we alone don’t have to make our identity clear. TEC is handy, certainly saves a lot of time in conversation among unitedstatsians, but it is nothing short of arrogant to use it as the official name in an international context. It’s not even the only name – it’s recognized as the equivalent of PECUSA. Check out the Preamble to the Church’s Constitution. And we don’t have dioceses in other countries because we’re trying to spawn an ecclesiastical empire. When dioceses overseas (hey, it rhymes!) are ready to… Read more »

Perry Butler
Perry Butler
14 years ago

This is no doubt very interesting for those who follow Anglican affairs at this level…though as I looked around the pews yesterday I wondered if even 5% of them would have heard of the Standing Committee and I suspect probably less than half have anything but the haziest idea of being part of “the Anglican Communion” ( and this in a largely literate middle class C of E congregation).But the real question surely..which all this seems to me to mask..is, “is there still an Anglican Communion” in the sense there was, say, in 1988?? Who is still in communion with… Read more »

Pantycelyn
Pantycelyn
14 years ago

“though as I looked around the pews yesterday I wondered if even 5% of them would have heard of the Standing Committee and I suspect probably less than half have anything but the haziest idea of being part of “the Anglican Communion”

Yes, they live in blissful ‘ignorance’ of all –wish I did.

It’s all such nonsense, such vexation and so, so pointless.

Better get stuck in to a Barbara Trapido novel— ‘Brother of the More Famous Jack’ — perhaps…

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