It is not a war I want to join. Do you?

Mark Harris at Preludium draws attention to various movements and messages making their presence felt, at least on the internet, at this time, with potential impact on the future of the Anglican Communion.

One message comes from the ACI which has another carefully considered reflection on the Anglican Covenant and the relationship of TEC to the Covenant and thus to the Communion. This message, combined with the recent meeting between seven TEC bishops and our Dear Leader, ++Rowan (see post below), could, conceivably, lead to a nudge towards dioceses being able to sign to the Covenant. The pressure of this presence is respectful of ++Rowan.

Another message comes from Bishop David Anderson of the American Anglican Council. It is quite disrespectful of ++Rowan. I am not quite sure what +Anderson thinks he will achieve by comparing ++Rowan to Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain on the eve of the Second World War. Apart from the ineptness of the comparison of the two people (one was a Prime Minister who sought to avert war, and when it could not be done, declared war because he had the power to do both, and arguably was wise to do the former as it cleverly bought time to build more Spitfires; the other is not Prime Minister, has no power to marshall forces or deter forces, and even less power to declare war), it is simply outrageous to make the implicit comparison between Nazi Germany and TEC which is involved in +Anderson's message about the need for a 'war chief' at this time. Susan Russell underscores this point with her commentary on +Anderson's message: she is a Christian believer in disagreement with other believers. She is not a German Nazi saluting the Fuhrer in September 1939.

Last time I checked in, the Anglican Communion I am involved in is a Christian fellowship. We are in a battle with the devil (Ephesians 6): Yes (always, on many issues)! But our enemy is never our brother and sister in Christ.

Again, ++Rowan's Two Tracks Communion, much denigrated by +Anderson, demonstrates great wisdom and Christian love: there is a huge disagreement between Anglican siblings, it is as serious as a couple who feel separation is the only way to be married for the time being (hence Two Tracks), but it is not a divorce, nor is it war (hence still a Communion).