Tuesday 24 June 2008

GAFCON Leaders Showing their Cracks.

Ok, so this great article in the Guardian has a slightly different heading, but I think mine is funnier.

It shows that what people have been predicting about the coming fall-out between GAFCON buddies has already started coming true, and sure enough, Sydney is playing to grab power in the rift that develops.

Speaking of +Jensen, the last paragraph contains this gem:

"He also expressed doubts about the long-term prospects for Gafcon. 'This is a coalition of people who would not necessarily work together. Will it work? We don't know'."
"We don't know"???? He certainly seemed pretty convinced a week ago - but I guess that's a long time in the company of the Archbishop's fellow 'pilgrims'.

Also of special interest is the suggestion that:
"It is agreed among the clutch of westerners at the conference that the real power will lie with the Australian delegates, not those from Africa."
Depending who the writer's been speaking to this may indeed be the case, but it's a safe bet that it won't last past next Sunday's closing Eucharist. Forward in Faith and their fellow Anglo-Roman hardliners aren't ever going to hand over control to a bunch of Gnostic Puritans who think making the sign of the Cross is blasphemous. And while Sydney's undeniably wealthy, not even +Akinola's foolish enough to believe they'll be as generous as his American friends. Is he?

11 comments:

Lapinbizarre said...

Quite a conference, with Jensen emerging as the "moderate". Can it be that the Dar es Salaam antics of the Akinola/Minns/Sugden clique have backfired on them?

Lapinbizarre said...

ps Wonder if the Sydney bishops did the Holy Sepulchre pilgrimage thing.

Fran said...

Your headline is brilliant!!

In reference to lapinbizarre's comment, I always wonder how anyone like your bishops or others of a more less high church nature among us deal with the Holy Sepulchre.

It is one of the most interesting, screwed up, crazy ass, amazing places I have ever been and very over the top in every ecclesiatical way.

Fran said...

Go listen to/read thispost- fantastic. Hard to do, but fantastic.

David G. said...

A Minns accomplishment!!

Orchestrated and planned, albeit the moment, and will have lasting repercussions, within their own Diocese..(oops)

Lapinbizarre said...

Another Sydney Stockholm Syndrome lady, name of Marcelle Rodgers, has posted a shortish piece entitled "Sisterhood surpasses diversity" on the SydneyAnglicans GAFCON site. This is about three women, Gretel, Jane and Rachel, attending the conference - two of them as bishops' wives, one, a Canadian, apparently in orders. A note at the end of the piece reads "Names changed for security reasons".

"Names changed for security reasons"?

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/gafcon/sisterhood_surpasses_diversity/

Alcibiades said...

The author of that article is married to the Rector of a church very close to where we live, which is surrounded by a large & overgrown cemetery much loved by the local dogs and their owners; so much so that there are far more dog regulars than congregation members.

We've been part of the doggie scene there for over five years, and have made some good friends among the other people, one of whom once made a comment I'll never forget: "you'd think with all of us coming here the church people would make some effort to get to know us, maybe even invite us to join them for coffee or something..."

Now it appears the parish is willing to send people over to the other side of the world to participate in a hate-fest - but not able to share a cup of coffee in fellowship with those on their own doorstep.

For a good picture of how the Matthians are finding Jerusalem see here.

Doorman-Priest said...

I just got the joke in the title. LOL.

June Butler said...

We should encourage the group to get together more often. As though the "crack" wasn't entirely predictable. To think of all of us who wasted time lamenting the GAFCON gathering.

Anonymous said...

Surely Mr Jensen, the Archlayman, should now sign himself ++++Peter, as he doesn't give a FourXXXX about poor ++Rowan.

Robert said...

Your headline is definitely better!