NEW ANGLICAN BUZZWORD ALERT

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

There are two criteria for a successful Anglican buzzword. It must be a term that (1) intentionally tries to sound impressive and thus comes off as stilted and pedantic and (2) communicates next-to nothing. In the midst of a speech about the Anglican Covenant, John Saxbee, Anglican Bishop of Lincoln, comes up with a pretty good one:

In relation to the Anglican Covenant, I’m on record as saying in this synod that I entirely support the process, as long as it never ends. Let me explain what I mean. The Anglican Communion doesn’t need a Covenant because Anglicanism is a covenant. It is a way of Provinces listening, living distinctively apart from each other whilst remaining part of one another. That is a way of doing difference differently from the ways in which groups and individuals usually do difference. It is predicated on grace and goodwill, and if there is grace and goodwill then a covenant will be unnecessary and if there is no grace and goodwill then a covenant will be unavailing.

Granted, it’s no “live into.” I sort of understand what my gracious lord of Lincoln is getting at here. But one doesn’t do difference. One differs. There is no process involved; you’re either in agreement with someone about something or you are not.

As you can see from that first sentence, the rest His Grace’s speech is the usual stupid crap about how we