Katharine 1, Rowan 2

Once more I need to call attention to developments outside the parish, as they have the potential to be critical to the future of The Episcopal Church. After the Pentecost letters of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop—see “Katharine 1, Rowan 0”—Anglican Communion News Service announced that the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council, presumably at the behest of Rowan Williams, had carried out the threat made by Archbishop Williams, namely had removed or reduced in status Episcopalian members of Anglican bodies. Episcopal News Service (ENS) reported on this development and provided perspective in this report.

Meanwhile, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has been in Halifax addressing the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod (the analogue of our own church’s General Convention). In another ENS story, she described the move from the Anglican Communion as “unfortunate.”

What does all this mean for our church and for the Anglican Communion? I can’t say, but I think it is increasingly unlikely that The Episcopal Church will adopt the proposed Anglican covenant that Rowan Williams sees as essential to maintaining the unity of the Communion. Many are saying that the Anglican Communion will never be the same, but I don’t think anyone knows just how it will differ in the future.