COMIC RELIEF

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

So, Chris. Have you completely given up on the Anglicans? No. There have been a lot more important things going on recently, not much has been happening in the Anglican world and I just can’t work up a whole lot of animus toward those people anymore. But Anglicans will always be good for a laugh now and then:

The campaign against the Anglican Covenant was stepped up a gear on Nov. 3 with the formation of an international coalition that says the covenant would constitute “unwarranted interference in the internal life of the member churches of the Anglican Communion, would narrow the acceptable range of belief and practice within Anglicanism, and would prevent further development of Anglican thought.”

Not just any old coalition, mind you. An international coalition, which is a WAY more important than some stupid little coalition some guy started somewhere. Anyway, it’s important enough for ENS to waste perfectly good pixels on cover so shut up.

By the way, for those who don’t already know, “further development of Anglican thought” means figuring out how we can stop calling adultery a sin because we’ve determined that that one’s got the best long-term cash flow potential. To continue.

The international coalition said in a Nov. 3 press release that critics of the Anglican Covenant “believe that it will fundamentally alter the nature of historic Anglicanism in several ways, including the narrowing of theological views deemed acceptable, the erosion of the freedom of the member churches to govern themselves, and the concentration of authority in the hands of a small number of bishops.”

The Covenant won’t do any of that, of course. As Rowan Williams has repeatedly insisted, it won’t do much of anything at all; it isn’t designed to. But the mere possibility that after 500 years, Anglicanism might finally define itself and come up with an actual set of beliefs has these people scared to death.

According to the press release, the coalition began in late October “with a series of informal e-mail conversations among several international Anglican bloggers concerned that the covenant was being rushed through the approval process before most Anglicans had any opportunity to learn how the proposed new structures would affect them.” Among the international bloggers is Lionel Deimel, a computer consultant from the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and the first vice president of the Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh coalition.

So a bunch of lefty Anglican bloggers set this up, did they? Wow. An international coalition set up by lefty Anglican bloggers. How can you not take this seriously? For my part, I’m even more impressed than I was before.

Their site’s here if you’re interested. Lie-Die seems to have taken a good bit of the lead. He designed their dumb logo which you can have put on T-shirts, coffee mugs and whatnot here. And Lie-Die even wrote a dumb poem called “Christian Unity.”

Around the table gathered, we
Are one in sweet community,
For Christ has ransomed one and all
Who answer to his loving call.

We worship God in many ways;
We celebrate on different days;
But Jesus is the guiding star
For Christians near and Christians far.

God’s plan for us is seldom clear;
We may a different drummer hear;
Yet, if we study and we pray,
The kingdom will be ours some day.

So let us vow to never fight
About who’s wrong and who is right
Concerning truths we cannot know
That turn our Christian friend to foe.

And let our worship fit our needs;
Let us unite in Christian deeds;
May we God’s love and mercy show
To those who don’t the Savior know.

Lionel? Bob Frost just called and wanted me to pass along a little advice. Five words; don’t quit your day job.

UPDATE: A Covenant proponent hits back.

However, the Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, who was on the committee that drew up the covenant, described the opponents as “latter-day little Englanders”.

In a letter to the Church Times, he said the two groups had “turned themselves into the nearest to an ecclesiastical BNP that I have encountered”.

He continued: “They resort to the old tactics of misinformation and scaremongering about foreigners and outside influences to whip up a campaign against the Anglican Covenant and replace reasoned argument with a ‘Man the barricades!’ mentality that is little short of breathtaking”.

Hmmm.