FRIDAY REVIEW

The Torn Fabric

February 22, A.D. 2008

Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD! (Psalm 31:23-24).

“If his consecration proceeds, we recognize that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy…. This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level….” (Primates’ Meeting, October 16, 2003)

Words matter. Actions matter. Some talk and take no action. Some take action without talking. Some continue to talk in the hope of godly reconciliation and take appropriate action as the conversation unfolds. It’s a bit overwhelming to think of all the prayer, study, and conversation that have been going on at all levels of the Anglican Communion. I’m convinced that orthodox folks are doing a lot of praying before, during, and after they talk and take action. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God lead each one of us to say and do different things at different times.

Archbishop Gregory Venables, who serves as Primate of the Southern Cone, is one of the many faithful who are praying, speaking out, and taking action. He has taken Bishop John-David Schofield and the Diocese of San Joaquin under his wing, and more recently he has received Canadian Bishop Donald Harvey and several Canadian parishes under his authority as well.

The Canadian National Post quoted Archbishop Venables as saying he “is not happy about the potential for a global division, but… he is becoming less hopeful for a resolution.” He laments the fact that the debate has played out over same-sex blessings. That is not the crux of the matter. As quoted in the Post, Archbishop Venables went on to elaborate: "It ends up you have two versions of Christianity. There are two positions that have moved apart over the last century: the Bible-based orthodox Christianity that goes back to the early years of the Church and a post-modern Christianity that believes everybody can find their own truth. And those two things cannot work together."

Archbishop Venables is one of the five Global South Primates who oversee American congregations. The others are Archbishops Akinola of Nigeria, Orombi of Uganda, Nzimbi of Kenya, and Kolini of Rwanda. They all know that truth and falsehood cannot work together. They have spoken: they will not be attending the Lambeth Conference, but they will participate in the Global Anglican Future Conference. They pray, they speak, and then they act.

The fabric is torn, but is it torn apart? As Archbishop Venables said, “We’re less hopeful for a resolution.” God may yet have some surprises in store for us. He is, after all, sovereign. We wait on the LORD. We pray, we speak, and we act. What are you saying and doing while you’re waiting?

Your brother in Jesus the Christ,

Jim McCaslin+