anglicantaonga

Telling the stories of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, NZ and Polynesia

"Unable to adopt"

Here's the full text of the General Synod resolution that sees this province "unable to adopt" the proposed Anglican covenant.

Taonga News  |  09 Jul 2012  |  2 Comments  

Amendment to Motion 3        Proposed Anglican Covenant

Whereas in 2010 the General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui approved the provisions of Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the proposed Anglican Covenant in principle, and referred the whole of the proposed Covenant to the Episcopal Units of this church for consideration and reporting to the 2012 Session of the Synod,

And whereas Te Runanganui o Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa, and the Diocese of Polynesia, and four of the Dioceses in New Zealand, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Waiapu, have rejected the proposed Covenant,

And whereas some of those bodies responding to the Resolution of 2010 have suggested that this church should, if it rejects the proposed Covenant, nonetheless commit itself to using procedures similar to those set out in Section 3 of the proposed Covenant, if another church in the Communion should raise concerns about actions or proposed actions of this church, and should seek an affirmation from the Anglican Consultative Council that churches which do not adopt the proposed Covenant remain full members of the Anglican Communion,

Now therefore, this General Synod / Te Hinota Whanui resolves that this Church:

       1 Is unable to adopt the proposed Anglican Covenant due to concerns about aspects of Section 4, but subscribes to Sections 1, 2, and 3 as currently drafted to be a useful starting point for consideration of our Anglican understanding of the church.

2 Affirms the commitment of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia to the life of the Anglican Communion; including the roles and responsibilities of the four Instruments of Communion as they currently operate.

 

       3 Asks the General Secretary to inform the Secretary General of the Communion of the passing of Clauses 1 and 2 of this resolution

        

       4 Asks its representatives to the Anglican Consultative Council to bring a Motion to that body at its 2012 meeting affirming that those churches of the Communion which are unable to adopt the proposed Covenant remain full members of the Communion

 

       5 Commits itself,  if another church in the Anglican Communion raises concerns with it regarding actions it takes or proposes to take, to utilizing procedures similar to those set out in Section 3 of the proposed Covenant, in an attempt to resolve that issue

 

       6 Asks the Judicial Committee to include Clause 5 of this resolution in the schedule of resolutions of the 2012 Session of the General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui which it recommends should be made Standing Resolutions by the 2014 Session of the Synod.

Comments

Bryden Black

All this could be viewed, as does Ronnie Smith, as an exercise in “social justice and inclusion” and so as the means of not “compromising our integrity”. Or it could very well be viewed rather differently. It could be viewed as yet again a typical exercise in ‘drift’.

I have in mind just this. A key member of The Virginia Report (1997), Rt Rev Stephen Sykes, who edited as well an earlier collection, Authority in the Anglican Communion: Essays presented to Bishop John Howe (Anglican Book Centre, 1987), has since written, Power and Christian Theology (Continuum, 2006). He here quite correctly discusses the subtle but important links and differences between power and authority, both generally and specifically within the Church. In his final chapter, Power in the Church, he details, again correctly, that episcopal power, which serves the wider Church precisely as such when it “disciplines”. We are in cloud cuckoo land if we have no kind of section 4 in any Anglican Communion Covenant - especially one that lauds “the roles and responsibilities of the four Instruments of Communion as they currently operate”, especially those that flesh out the previous sections 1-3 (un...

Ronnie Smith

Congratulations to the General Synod for this decision - which reflects the diversity already existing within our life in the South Pacific. While wishing to remain in fellowship with other Provinces that share our commitment to social justice and inclusion, we can still minister to the local needs without compromising our integrity.