A few reports have already appeared in the press about the rejection of the Anglican Communion Covenant by a majority of Church of England diocesan synods.
Avril Ormsby for Reuters English church votes down pact to unite Anglicans
BBC Half of the Church of England’s dioceses reject unity covenant including Analysis by Robert Pigott
The Independent CoE votes against covenant on divisive issues
And there is a mention towards the end of this article by Cole Moreton and Edward Malnick in The Telegraph Twitter users invited to help choose the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Old Testament is littered with the ruins of failed covenants – and those were initiated by God. It didn’t stop God loving the people, or calling them to faithfulness – but it is rather ironic that at passiontide there is this sense that we haven’t quite got how costly restoring relationships is. The “covenant” was never going to do it – we have a covenant in Christ, and that has not failed.
Yes, Mark. And that Covenant in Christ, through our Baptism, cannot fail. Our present Lenten and coming Easter devotions constantly re-assure us of the fact that God’s Love is always unconditional – not subject to any ability of ours to ‘measure up’.
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee.
I give Thee back the life I owe –
that life may fuller, fairer be.