The G.S.E., a happy ending

For those two or so of you who read this blog, you'll know that we've been looking for a church now for a couple of months.  (And that was after the two-year search in Alabama, where we moved 6 months after we finally got settled at a church there!)

I tried hard not to be pessimistic about our first two visits, but even though we're *close* to Atlanta, it still takes an hour to get to the city, and that's where most of the churches we'd be interested in are located.  So we Googled, and perused various denominational websites, and scoured the phone book (anyone else notice how dated a paper phone book seems these days??!?) and came up with a church about 30 minutes away, in Douglasville.  Way closer than our last church, so we gave it a try.

It's a storefront church, tucked away in a strip mall.  I had visions of folding chairs and a folding table as the altar, and no communion rail...  much like our church in Anniston was.  We walked in the front door and folks greeted us joyfully, introduced themselves and introduced us to others.  Straight back were what looked like offices and classrooms, and to the left were the doors to the sanctuary.  (Yes!  A sanctuary!  In a church in a strip mall!)  We walked in, and - wow - they had taken great care to do everything they could to make the space *feel* like a church.  Beautiful shades covered the windows and other exterior doors - it looks like they have several small storefronts that they've merged into one big space.  Unless you look carefully, you don't notice that at all.  They even painted stained glass motifs on the high windows above the shades!  They created a raised area for the altar, and yes, there's also a communion rail.  (Here's a picture from when Bishop Beach visited recently, so you can see what I mean.)

Now, I know, this is all surface stuff.  What's Really Important is the mission and the message.  But having a space *feel* like a sacred space does so much to ease the heart and, well, I don't know about anyone else, but I feel more at peace, more able to hear that still small voice.  So I can't say it's not important at all, at least to me.  And they keep the service liturgical - they use the '79 prayer book (but not the "star trek" Eucharistic Prayer D!)  It's funny, I've been in a '28 church for almost 6 years now, but the '79 language comes back in a hurry.  I miss the comfortable words and the prayer of humble access, but I do enjoy the '79 version of the Gloria.  I think we're using a Michael Card setting for it - I'll have to remember to ask.

The good news is, they scored high on the Really Important stuff too!  The rector is awesome.  Great sermons, and truly a pastor's heart for his flock.  He and the philosopher had coffee the week after our first visit, and by our second visit we were pretty sure we'd found our new church home.  Sunday School has been awesome, and I'm hoping the philosopher can connect with a men's group too.  Yes, you heard right.  We actually found a church that's large enough to have two services, a Sunday School, Bible Studies, and small groups.  Shocking!!  8-)

I even volunteered for the music ministry, which they're trying to grow.  It's mostly praise music, with an AMAZINGLY talented worship leader, but there's also a pianist so we do get to sing some hymns too.  The worship leader seems eager to start a more involved ministry, which is great.  I did warn him, however, that I bring enthusiasm, not talent, to the mix.  Heh.  Hopefully when the Paulding campus library is ready, I will be able to participate fully, even in weeknight practices.  And I haven't been able to do that since 2002.  Wow.   Time to pull out the guitar and see if I remember how to play, right?  (Or worse, see if I actually remember how to sing!)

Anyway, thanks be to God for Trinity Anglican Church.  It's always in His time that He brings us where we need to be.

A.I.N.O. ?

Anglican in Name Only?

So, Pope Benedict has offered a free trip across the Tiber to Anglicans. It's an astounding thing. But as I've said before, I'm Anglican, not Catholic. (Boy, I sound like a broken record, don't I?)

An Anglican scholar, Roberta Bayer (who serves on the Prayer Book Society) has written a very straightforward response to the proceedings. She makes several good points. The first and foremost (to me) is her statement "To move to Rome with this ordinariate may be to remain Anglican in name only." To a layperson, Anglican and Catholic worship may seem quite similar. To this Anglican, they are very, very different. And while I may not agree with much going on in the Anglican Communion these days, to move to Rome would be to abandon the spiritual practices I hold dear.

Church: Theology or Community?

Our little Anglican church plant is suspending services until September. We've lost several core families over the past few months, and have been unable to replace them. The congregation (what's left of us) is torn in regard to the direction we should go, and our priest (a full time high school teacher) is burned out trying to herd us cats. So, with the permission of our Bishop, we are suspending services until a congregational meeting in September, at which time we will decide the parish's future. In the meantime, our priest is urging us to attend some other, larger, healthier church so we can worship corporately and be spiritually fed.

So that is where we find ourselves, the philosopher and I. Here in the heart of Baptist country, it's tough to find liturgical churches, and even tougher to find orthodox liturgical churches. I was reading a post by Rod Dreher over at Crunchy Con, and near the end he makes some thought-provoking statements about the nature and relationship of a church body to its community life and its theology. He writes:

Anyway, the trick is that you cannot organize a meaningful church community around the idea that the community matters more than the theology, or that the theology is unimportant. If members of the community share significantly different beliefs about who Christ is, what the authoritative teachings of the church are, and so forth, they can only be a community if they agree that theology doesn't matter. Who wants to be part of that church community? A religious community must exist for a clear reason beyond itself, or it won't long exist at all. Right? Church people who bang on the loudest about the need for "community" tend to be those who want to worship the community, at least that's what I've observed.

Still, holding the correct theology is in vain if one's church has little or no active love or community -- unless you think the Christian life is all about learning correct doctrine, as in a classroom.

So that's what I'm pondering. There is not another Anglican church closer than 1.5 hours away. And anyway what's the point of being part of a church where you can barely participate in its life because it's a three hour round trip to get there? So we need to look for other options. Do we ignore the theology and go for a church with a vibrant community life where we can find a niche? Do we go for something that's close to us theologically, regardless of how healthy the community is?

We're not called to be church planters. That has become clear to us - it's like trying to pound square pegs into round holes. And I'm OK with that. God calls us each to different things, and we each have different gifts. More frustrating is the fact that we are isolated. Most of my friends are in far off places, and we keep in touch via email and such. And these friends are dear to me - it's a blessing to have the technology where we can chat about day-to-day things. But locally I've yet to meet any folks we can invite over to share a pizza and watch a movie, or go hiking together, or whatever. So we'd really like a church community where we can meet people, and connect, and get more involved, and share our gifts and talents. But does that mean we're like the folks Rod calls out: "Church people who bang on the loudest about the need for "community" tend to be those who want to worship the community"? I don't think we "worship community", but a healthy church community is certainly important to us. So it's a quandary!

There's no easy answer here, and I'm not really looking for answers in a blog post anyway. ::grin:: There will be lots of prayer on our part, and church visits, and hopefully our path will become clear.

Prayers for Holy Week

Since I'll be offline until the weekend, I wanted to offer up these prayers for Holy Week...

ALMIGHTY God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

O MERCIFUL God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made, nor desirest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; Have mercy upon all who know thee not as thou art revealed in the Gospel of thy Son; Take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the true Israelites, and be made one fold under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

May God be with you this holy season, and may we rejoice together at His glorious resurrection!

The Heart of Anglican Bible Study

Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, gave a talk at the Lambeth Conference that went relatively uncommented-on over the last few months. Fulcrum has finally put the text up here. I want to highlight a tiny portion - though certainly his talk was much farther ranging and insightful than this small bit - that really struck me.

All this is of course nurtured by the straightforward but deeply powerful tradition of the daily offices, with the great narratives of scripture read through day by day, preferably on a lectio continua basis, so that ‘living prayerfully within the story’ is the most formative thing, next to the Eucharist itself, which Anglicans do. Classic mattins and evensong, in fact, are basically showcases for scripture, and the point of reading Old and New Testaments like that is not so much to ‘remind ourselves of that bit of the Bible’, as to use that small selection as a window through which we can see, with the eyes of mind and heart, the entire sweep of the whole Bible, so that our ‘telling of the story’ is not actually aimed primarily at informing or reminding one another but rather at praising God for his mighty acts, and acquiring the habit of living within the story of them as we do so. That, I suggest, is the heart of Anglican Bible study.

I've always read the Bible to "learn that bit"... It didn't really occur to me to take it in a broader context of the whole Story (and, yes, I will capitalize Story here!) I've been disappointed with our Sunday School classes at church recently because we've been reading books about the Bible, or about Christianity. And I think this is why I've been disappointed, but I didn't really know or understand why until I finished reading this article. I want to go to Sunday School (and every night in between) and READ the Bible - not to memorize specific vignettes, but to read and worship God in awe of his might and power. I want to talk about the Scriptures with other Christians, and see what they think, and see how they may fit the passages we read into the larger fabric of the Story. As we see the Story come to life, and as we see how we fit into the story, we also revel in the Glory of God.

Of course, I'm reminded of Tolkien here (I should've used an obscure Tolkien reference in my blog name, shouldn't I?) where Sam and Frodo are talking about the story, and how they are taking their place in it. Sam says, "Why, to think of it, we're in the same tale still! It's going on. Don't the great tales never end?" (From Two Towers, "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol") But I think Bishop Wright is making the same case - we ARE part of that great Biblical Story, and it's still going on. And it's up to us to see our part through as best we can, with God's help.

(Tip o' the Tinfoil Hat to Stand Firm)

Episcopal/Anglican Border crossing

First off, let me preface this ... rant ... by saying I'm not an historian. I also have little insight into the Anglican Communion's seemingly schizophrenic attitude to so-called "Boundary Crossing". I do know, however, that TEC is pitching a hissy because foreign bishops are coming in and setting up ANGLICAN churches in the same geographical areas which also encompass Episcopal dioceses. OK. Someone on a Stand Firm thread asked a very salient point:

Did TEC establish their overseas (European and otherwise) dioceses before there were non-TEC Anglican provinces in those countries? If not, how can TEC accuse Southern Cone and African provinces of violating historic precedent/polity?

Well, being a librarian, I thought I'd do a little research. Europe seemed like a good place to start. The Church of England has been around a while - long before TEC popped onto the scene, so let's see what's going on. The CoE has something called The Diocese in Europe. Looks like it's been around since, oh, around 1633. The TEC has something called The Convocation of American Churches in Europe. And it's been around since, oh, about 1994. Indeed, from the CACE website:

Delegates addressed a letter to the 1998 Lambeth Conference reiterating their commitment to resolve the anomaly of parallel Anglican jurisdictions and their belief that the future would involve the establishment of an Anglican Province in Continental Europe. The Lambeth bishops adopted a resolution encouraging ‘continued exploration towards appropriate provincial structures for Anglican Continental Europe in partnership with other Churches in the service of the common mission of the Church’.

Hmm. Umm. Hmm. Now, CANA (oddly enough the name has a slightly familiar ring to it: Convocation of Anglicans in North America) is doing the same thing, yes? It's planting appropriate (read that: orthodox, Bible-believing, Jesus-professing churches) in North America, and it certainly serves the common mission of the Anglican Communion (that whole Great Commission thing, I think).

I don't think I will say any more. But it's just something to think about. And if someone has deeper knowledge of the polity and structure of provincial systems and can explain to me why it works for the US to go to Europe but not for Africa or the Southern Cone to come to the US, I'd be happy to hear it.

A Prayer for Anglicans

This is from the July/August edition of the Mandate, the bi-monthly publication of the Prayer Book Society. I thought it very appropriate as Lambeth kicks off tomorrow.

Prayers for the people of the Anglican Way in North America:

Gracious heavenly Father, who hast blessed the peoples of North America in countless ways, and who hast caused to be planted here the Anglican branch of thy holy, catholic and apostolic Church: Look mercifully, we pray, upon the people of the Anglican Way in Canada and the U.S.A., troubled as they are by numerous problems; Grant to them, we beseech thee, the inspiration, guidance and strengthening of thy Holy Spirit that they may aspire and work truly to be the Household of Faith, the Body of Christ, and the holy People of God, united in love and truth as they follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And, by thy saving power and perpetual providence, be pleased to graft in their hearts the fear and love of thy Name; to increase in them true devotion and piety; to nourish them in all goodness; to make them tranquil in anxiety; and, in thy mercy, to keep them surely in the same; through the merits of Jesus Christ, thy Son and our Savior. Amen.

Amen indeed.

A Simple Desultory Philippic

Stand Firm has a lovely post on three of Simon and Garfunkel's most beautiful love songs. That post inspired me, you might say, to write my own lyrics to a lesser-known but also poignant S&G ditty: A Simple Desultory Philippic With apologies to Paul Simon, here it is:

A Simple Desultory Philippic
(Or How I Was Rowan William'd into Submission)

I been Jefferts Schori’d, Susan Russell’d
I been Rowan Williamed, Frank Griswald’d
I been Bishop Lee’d and Kearon’d till I’m blind
I been Michael Ingham’d, and I’m branded
Conservative, but on Christ I’m standing
That’s the way to salvation, in my mind

I been “Jesus wasn’t resurrected”
I been John Chane’d, Gene ordained
Well I paid all the tithes I want to pay
And I learned the truth from the Episcopal Church
That all my wealth will buy me health
And I can drink some koolaid every day

I knew a man, his brain was so small,
He couldn't think of nothing at all.
He's not the same as you and me.
He doesn’t dig orthodoxy, He’s so unchurched that
When you say St. Peter, he thinks you’re talking about Peter Rabbit
Whoever he was.
The man ain’t got no religion
But it's alright, ma,
Buddha is the way to God!

I been Shelby Spong’d and Righter wronged
Bishop Moore, won’t you please come home?
I been “mother, child, wombed” - unfathomed
Been John Pike’d and Howard-babbled
I just discovered ECUSA’s tapped my phone

I lost my Communion, Rowan

A Prayer for a Little Church?

"ALMIGHTY God, whose compassions fail not, and whose loving-kindness reacheth unto the world’s end; We give thee humble thanks for opening heathen lands to the light of thy truth; for making paths in the deep waters and highways in the desert; and for planting thy Church in all the earth. Grant, we beseech thee, unto us thy servants, that with lively faith we may labour abundantly to make known to all men thy blessed gift of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Our little mission church is potentially at a crossroads. As I posted earlier, we lost a goodly portion of our congregation when some of our families moved to far-away locales. Now we found out that we will no longer be able to meet in the school where we've been meeting the last two years. The principal left a note on the door for us this Sunday, saying that some parents and some members of the board of trustees didn't want us meeting there anymore. We suspect - though we have no concrete evidence, only compelling circumstantial evidence - that the members of the local Episcopal Church are the ones behind the action. How sad is that??

Our other issue, of course, is two-fold: where do we meet starting August 1, and what kind of location should we be seeking? Some members argue for us to purchase land and build. Others want to buy a small house or a church for sale. And others (myself included) favor a storefront rental, or a storefront rent-to-own situation. My hubby is on the vestry - he and I believe we don't really have the money in the building fund for an outright purchase, and it would be poor stewardship to squander what we do have on a purchase we might not be able to maintain. Also, a house out in the country (where the cheap ones with land usually are found) are not very visible to the community. On the other hand, a rental situation might cost a bit more every month, but the owners would be responsible for any die-hard building problems. And we'd be in a business area where there's lots more traffic, with more people to see us and hopefully stop by to check us out.

I suppose this suprise by the school board is not all bad. We were pretty complacent using their facilities, and not really motivated to start the long discussions about where to "set up shop." I can only pray that God's hand is on this, to shake us into action and get us off our duffs. As with anything, change is never fun, but if it's what we're meant to do then we can't complain (too much, anyway!) ::grin::

So, to quote Shakespeare, "we few, we happy few" must decide what to do together - and just like in the larger communion, sacrifices must be made by each of us. Yeah, sure - I want stained glass and an organ, but is that a good decision at this time? Probably not. But having somewhere we can set up our altar and our chairs and not have to move them after church, we can all agree that is a Good Thing!

So anyway, pray for us. Pray for solid words of guidance from our priest, and that God would lay a clear direction and path for us. And for all of us, pray that God will move in our hearts to seek the best for our church, this little part of the Body of Christ.

::UPDATE::
Storefront rentals are WAY out of our price range, we've discovered. Wow. But we've found a possible option - it's an old farmhouse on 3 acres. The owner is willing to be the lienholder, and perhaps set up a rent-to-own situation with a discount/lower price/tax write off because we're a church. By removing a wall we could have a space for a small sanctuary. Still, it needs lots of "sweat equity," which inevitably requires money as well. So more prayers for clear direction and a firm commitment from all of us. The vestry will meet in two weeks to decide what to do.

The Jerusalem Declaration...

What does this mean for those of us with boots on the ground? There's a link to the statement here at the GAFCON website. In case you don't know what GAFCON is, a quick summary would say something like this: a group of orthodox (little "o") Anglicans who got together to stand up against the apostacy and heresy emanating from so many traditional Anglican groups around the world (like the Episcopal Church in the US and the Anglican Church of Canada). Basically the GAFCON statement said (as a commenter at Stand Firm rendered so eloquently) "Dear Archbishop of Canterbury, we don't think you're a victim - you're a part of the problem. And by the way, you don't have on any clothes!" Anyway, now on to what I was actually going to say.... what was it? Oh, yes.

I live in an area of the country where Baptists rule. You'll find one or two Epsicopal churches, maybe one Catholic church, in any given large-ish city. Baptist churches are on every street corner. But alas, I am not a Baptist. I am an Anglican - or as my little mission church proudly proclaims on its bumper stickers: "Biblical Christianity, Anglican Worship". We drive over 30 minutes one way to get to our little Episcopal Missionary Church parish, and that's the closest orthodox Anglican church we could find. We also drive past four Episcopal Churches, but those are not really options for us. You know, it's that whole "Biblical Christianity" thing again. Before we moved back to the deep South, we lived in northern Virginia, which is also in the news much these days, and which also has a much higher concentration of liturgical churches. But I digress. Again.

Anyway...

Now that GAFCON has released its statements and the Jerusalem Declaration, what does this mean for my church, as a part of the Episcopal Missionary Church (our bishop was in Jerusalem) and what does this mean for those orthodox, conservative parishes (and individuals) still a part of TEC? For the EMC it's easy. We don't have to fight an apostate leadership. We can loudly and joyfully proclaim God's greatness and participate in the GAFCON movement with no recriminations. Praise God!

For those still in TEC - parishes and individuals alike - I wonder. It won't be easy, that's for sure. GAFCON isn't going to come in guns a'blazin' and rescue all the orthodox and their buildings. That's the grump I heard when I got to work this morning... "they had this big meeting and now they're not going to do anything to help us??!?" Well, to put it bluntly, no. Not in those terms, anyway. They will help plant churches for individuals to join (remember, America is a mission field now!) but I imagine those individuals will need to take some initiative in terms of organization and building those missions. GAFCON will offer help - a Bishop, a confessional statement, any number of other things - to congregations who make the decision to leave. But those congregations will have to decide, and go through the difficult steps of separation from TEC. And they may or may not be able to keep their property. But they will have to step forward in faith, trusting in God and the Gospel to lead them out of the desert. Passivity will not cut it - if you want to be a part of the GAFCON movement you will be welcomed with open arms. But the initiative is yours, and your parish's. As Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, "if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."

When we moved here a year ago, we made the hard decision to commute to an orthodox, liturgical church. We decided it was critical to be part of an orthodox, liturgical parish. We're not Baptists, or Methodists, or even Lutherans. We are ANGLICANS. And because we are Anglicans, we needed to be part of an Anglican community. Our sacrifice of a long drive (with $4+ gas!) might be slight compared to someone leaving a liberal TEC parish that their great-grandparents helped build. But, ultimately, it's about your spiritual health and the spiritual health of your family. Buildings and property and even chalices and prayer books can be replaced. Compared to the pure joy of living as part of the body of Christ, how can they even compare?

An Anglican Revival?

I’m not actually completely comfortable writing this piece, but I think it’s something I need to do, so here goes nothing. First some background: Last fall my husband and I joined a small mission church – it was actually the only orthodox Anglican church within driving distance, about 30 minutes from home. (Despite that, I really do think we are exactly where we’re supposed to be.) The congregation started up about 2 years ago, and had an average of 20-25 or so each Sunday. Then two of our founding families moved away (one to Georgia and one to Singapore!). So now we’re down to 10-12 a Sunday. We meet in the library of a school, and until we lost half the congregation we were contemplating trying to secure a space of our own. That’s on the back burner now because we want to be good stewards with the money in our building fund and not go into debt. The philosopher is on the vestry and teaching Sunday school this summer – on the Anglican Formularies, no less, and I’m on the altar guild. Somehow, after less than a year, we have become one of the “core families.”

We are having a Vision Summit in two weeks, hoping to outline some plans for the coming years in terms of outreach, ministry and growth. I’ve always been a part of established churches and I have no clue what I can offer in this situation. Our rector wants to focus on the nearby areas for outreach, which makes sense. But that means, since we don’t live nearby, that the old “invite your neighbor to church” plan wouldn’t really work. Folks in our area, unless highly motivated like we were to find an orthodox Anglican church, probably wouldn’t be willing to travel half an hour on Sunday morning. And here’s where the discomfort for me comes in… we’re really homebodies. We live out in the country with no real neighbors to speak of anyway. I work in a state-run institution of higher education (not much religious discussion there!) and my husband works in a 3-man cabinet shop. I just don’t know what to do.

Yes, I know – that sounds really wimpy and weak and pathetic. But I promise, I’m not trying to be whiny. I am really searching for suggestions on how to turn my limits to an advantage. But sometimes, I suppose, one gets too close to the problem and can’t see the solution. And that’s where I am now. I trust that God has great plans for our church – we are in an area with two declining Episcopal churches, yet most of our congregation members were not Episcopalians before they found us. So that means we’re not made up of disaffected TECers plotting the overthrow of 815, but we’re a group of people attracted to Anglicanism for a myriad of reasons. That being said, I think we can really be a safe, Biblically based, Christ-centered haven for folks who feel it necessary to leave TEC. (This area of the world still has its head in the sand regarding the “Anglican Crisis,” so I wonder what will happen here after Lambeth and GAFCON, and more importantly after the 2009 General Convention?) Regardless, we want to be a place for anyone seeking a liturgically-based Christianity, not just those who’ve never heard of TEC or those trying to escape it.

So, my friends, do you have any suggestions for us and our church? I know some of you have recent experience with church planting, and I know some of you have a deep passion for evangelism. And I know some of you know others who might have really good ideas and advice. So I’m trying to cast a wide net, and see what I can catch. Thank you!

A Prayer for Good Friday

Lord Jesus Christ, who for the redemption of mankind didst ascend the cross, that thou mightest enlighten the world that lay in darkness: gather us this day with all they faithful to that same holy cross; that, gazing in penitence upon thy great sacrifice for us, we may be loosed from all our sins, and entering into the mystery of thy passion, be crucified to the vain pomp and power of this passing world; and finding our glory in the cross alone, we may attain at last thy everlasting glory, where thou, the lamb that once was slain, reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Diocese of San Joaquin Votes to Disassociate with The Episcopal Church

Diocese of San Joaquin Votes to Disassociate with The Episcopal Church

All I can say about this is "wow." My prayers are with Bishop Schofield and the members of the new Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin. I've been part of a parish that eventually chose to leave, and I've seen how painful that was for those that left and those that stayed. I spent five years in northern Virginia where, even now, lawsuits have been filed against orthodox churches that no longer wish to be part of the Episcopal Church (TEC). During that time my husband and I left the church for another denomination because after much prayer and discernment we decided we no longer wished to tithe to a heretical institution. I also know people who remain in TEC because its "what they've always done" or "because my grandpap helped build this church," but are also shocked and saddened at the national church's apparent slide towards apostacy. So across the board: sadness, pain, regret... but also a bit of somber joy from those who are fighting the good fight. They are joyful because they are following Christ, yet somber because of the terrible reasons for their departure.

I have nothing new or interesting to add to the volumnious commentary (as seen on sites like Stand Firm and T1:9) but I can add my prayers for those who are treading new and uncharted paths trying to follow Christ as best they can. And I can add my prayers for those who may have lost their way - or don't know which way to turn - that God's "still, quiet voice" will speak truth to them and be a beacon for them to follow home.

Anglican realignment?

hat tip: Stand Firm
J. I. Packer gave a very good address at the Anglican Network in Canada Launch Conference. It does a good job not only describing the current crisis in the Anglican Communion, but defining what "The Anglican Way" (to quote Peter Toon) really is. Recommended reading. (But then, if I didn't recommend it, I wouldn't post it here, would I? So ignore the redundancy!)
Global Realignment