Observing the Anglicans

My friend Kevin Eckstrom of Religion News Service asked me to freelance a story recently about a new church established by conservative Anglicans.

Disenchanted with the liberal drift in their U.S. and Canadian churches, conservatives met in June here in the Dallas area to ratify their constitution for the new Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and to install their first archbishop.

Leaders are confident they will eventually be recognized by the worldwide Anglican Communion. Granted, they will need the approval of two-thirds of the world’s 38 Anglican primates before they can be granted full membership.

As I observed the service, I wondered if this is something that could someday happen in United Methodism.

What prompted the new Anglican church launch was a disagreement with the theological interpretations of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada over the ordination of women and homosexuals. For many, the 2003 election of an openly gay Episcopal bishop was the last straw.

Conservatives began seceding from the Episcopal Church and aligning themselves with Anglican provinces in Africa, where—as in United Methodism—the most rapid growth is occurring. Humbling indeed for congregations in the U.S. to put themselves under the authority of an Anglican province in Rwanda, for instance.

The installment service for the new archbishop reflected the global influence: The processional featured a rhythmic African drumbeat, and representatives from nine Anglican provinces in Africa and Asia participated.

Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya anointed former Pittsburgh Episcopal Bishop Robert Duncan, 60, as ACNA’s first archbishop.

“This is the beginning of a recovery of confidence in Anglicanism as a biblical, missionary church,” said former Fort Worth Episcopal Bishop Jack Iker, a frequent critic of liberalism, during a news conference. The ACNA, he added, will give “the mainstream of our clergy and laity a chance to recover confidence and enthusiasm about being an Anglican Christian.”

The gathering in Texas drew solid ecumenical support from groups such as Southern Baptists and the National Association of Evangelicals. Speakers included California megachurch pastor Rick Warren, who has offered hospitality to former Episcopal churches who need worship space.

ACNA leaders insist they are not starting a new church; instead they say they are recovering the traditional Anglican beliefs.

The initial gathering represented nearly 70,000 Anglicans from some 650 North American parishes, and the backing of over half the world’s 77 million Anglicans. (The Episcopal Church, by contrast, has sunk to just over 2 million members.)

It occurred to me conservative United Methodists in the U.S. might one day attempt a similar alignment with their counterparts in Africa. 

Conservatives within United Methodism have typically argued against restructuring the worldwide church, fearing a newly created U.S. region would eventually push for a more liberal stance than the rest of the church on issues such as homosexuality.

Granted, the Anglican Communion is a looser network of churches than the United Methodist connectional system, and without a single guiding church law book, such as the Book of Discipline. Yet if the United Methodist General Conference approved a U.S. region (like the Episcopal Church within Anglicanism), it might be the very thing to embolden conservative United Methodists to launch a parallel and overlapping—though unofficial—U.S. entity that they feel would better reflect traditional Methodist values.

There’d be legal wrangling, to be sure. United Methodist church law dictates that church property remains with the denomination, so any group seeking to break away would have to follow the example of conservative Anglicans in buying back church property from the Episcopal Church. (Four of the 28 dioceses participating in ACNA are still involved in legal disputes with the Episcopal Church over church property.)

Many conservative United Methodist congregations don’t believe it’s worth the hassle. Instead, they simply stop paying apportionments and remove UMC signage from their buildings—yet technically stay within the denomination.

Is that good enough for those who want to “restore traditional Christian beliefs and practices” within Methodism? With the fastest-growing membership numbers in Africa and typically conservative regions of the U.S., wouldn’t conservatives have the membership backing and financial clout to launch a new entity and eventually be recognized by General Conference?

Bishop Martyn Minns of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America said the majority of Anglicans are already siding with the new group.

And with the United Methodist Church’s democratic-style church polity, numbers matter.

Comments

[Spencer]

Hi, Robin,

This was a thought-provoking note, but I was confused by "Many conservative United Methodist congregations don’t believe it’s worth the hassle. Instead, they simply stop paying apportionments and remove UMC signage from their buildings—yet technically stay within the denomination".

What does "staying within the denomination" actually mean?

Thanks,

Spencer

[Joe]

I wonder what "staying with the denomination" means, too. At our church, we routinely roll our eyes at UM Publishing House Sunday School materials and either create our own lesson plans or purchase something more theologically sound and weighty. I generally find almost anything emanating from the GBCS is best left ignored. Many in our church feel that the church hierarchy speaks a totally different language than the family in the pew. Many certainly feel that same hierarchy comes from a radically errant theological perspective.

We're UMC, and proud of our heritage, but many of us who are committed to orthodoxy are already having conversations about what the future may hold. I'm certainly keeping a watchful - and hopeful - eye on the ACNA. I'm praying for them, to be sure.

[Gary]

I'd actually like a bit more verification on the "Many conservative UM congregations...within the denomination." portion. How many is "many"?

[Daniel]

Interesting post, Robin, but if I may say so, you sure do engage in a lot of speculation about what "conservative Methodists" may or may not do. And in doing so you definitely stick a sort of "them" label on conservatives.

A much-talked about recent study has shown that some 3/4 of American Methodist pastors (and this does not count African or Asian Methodists) are moderately conservative on issues related to homosexuality. The restructuring amendments are failing to pass in Conference after Conference. It would seem that "conservatives" represent the majority in The United Methodist Church, so it strikes me as a little odd to me to write this whole piece speculating on how they might try to leave.

It seems more probable that groups of liberals would try something like what ACNA has done, but honestly, to write a whole article filled with speculation how they may do so seems to me more than a little bit unfair to them.

If I were a free-lance writer covering this subject, I think I would spend more time examining the failure of corporate decision making and implementation in the Anglican Communion, and noting how our own structures are designed (thankfully) to prevent that from happening. And I would recommend that when we do restructure the Church (as we surely will eventually) we are sure to preserve this structural blessing.

[Kevin]

As far as reporting goes I find this post to be rather superficial. As for this patronizing remark "Humbling indeed for congregations in the U.S. to put themselves under the authority of an Anglican province in Rwanda, for instance"
I think I should point out that the authority of the African Bishops is far from humbling but very liberating for those parishes as they are called in the Anglican Church, not congregations. Africa is still a place where Christians are being killed for their faith. Their examples are inspiring to us all.

And this phrase "conservative United Methodists in the U.S. might one day attempt a similar alignment with their counterparts in Africa" as if conservatives are somehow a mysterious conspiritorial group within Methodism.

And this "the example of conservative Anglicans in buying back church property from the Episcopal Church" when in fact conservative Anglicans have been less than successful in buying back the properties they themselves have built up over the years. There are lawsuits all over the country mostly initiated in a very vengeful spirit by the Episcopal Church against parishes and individual members of parishes. It is a living nightmare for those involved. A little bit more than legal wrangling is involved. The unethical and unchristian behavior by the Episcopal Bishops is appalling.

"Many conservative United Methodist congregations don’t believe it’s worth the hassle" A supposition reported as a fact.

And what is this? "wouldn’t conservatives have the membership backing and financial clout to launch a new entity and eventually be recognized by General Conference?" Why launch a new entity? Much better that Methodists stick to sound doctrine and avoid the Episcopal poison that has ruined their church.

[John]

While you are right to say the consecration of Gene Robinson as bishop "was the last straw" for many, the wording of your post suggests that the only issue was "the ordination of women and homosexuals."
Here's why that's a very incomplete explanation:
1. While it is true that many within ACNA have theologically rooted objections to women's ordination, many other key leaders within ACNA have a different position, and so this is NOT a unifying issue for these groups pulling out of the Episcopal Church. I've seen other publications with a clear anti-conservative bias claim or suggest that all within ACNA oppose women's ordination, but that's just a self-serving lie.
2. The issue is not with the ordination of "homosexuals" but rather with the ordination those who refuse to abstain from sexual relationships outside of monogamous, man-woman marriage. This is not the same as individuals who may experience same-sex attractions but do not act on them. The UMC Book of Discipline recognizes this distinction and so should the UM Reporter.
3. Despite their public prominence, the debates over sexual morality are really symptomatic about disagreements over much more fundamental questions of Scriptural authority. This post/article also obscures the fact that many of the theologically conservative leaders and congregations now in ACNA had broken away from the Episcopal Church significantly before anyone had ever heard of Gene Robinson.