+Ingham to Diocese of NW: “help the Network and we’ll talk, capiche?”

from Stand Firm by David Ould http://www.davidould.net

Methinks he might be feeling a little threatened...

Memorandum
To: Diocesan Clergy, Members of Diocesan Council
From: Bishop Michael Ingham
Date: February 19, 2009

Subject: New Activities of the Network

Dear Friends in Christ:

Throughout the centuries, Anglicanism has held together evangelicals, liberals, and anglo-catholics in a single church. Such is our ethos and mysterium.

It is this historic tradition the newly-arrived Network now seeks to undermine. Specifically, they have begun active church-planting in this Diocese with the assistance of the recently retired Bishop of Algoma, Ronald Ferris, who has relinquished his ordained ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada. These efforts to create a parallel Province in this country inevitably involve the recruitment of people from our own congregations, and directly contravene the ancient and modern traditions of the Christian church.

Their goal is to alter Anglican identity. They want to re-shape dioceses along ideological rather than geographic lines. They reject the historic episcopate and seek to put in its place a kind of theological party leadership. There is nothing “orthodox” about these schemes.

I write to make it clear that no assistance or encouragement is to be given to the Network or its leaders in their aim of replacing the generous breadth of our tradition with a narrower one. This applies to all clergy, diocesan and parish officers in their stewardship of buildings and other human and financial resources.

Let us carry on with our mission and ministry as this Church has received it from Christ. As we approach Lent, let us be aware of the temptation to pursue human rather than godly standards, and focus our work on the Gospel of God’s love and justice.

Kindest regards,

Michael