An interesting report has appeared on the Anglican Mainstream website at http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/

The report under the heading "A Covenant for the Church of England" begins:

A small group met with the Archbishop of Canterbury on Tuesday December 12 and presented A Covenant for the Church of England on behalf of a wide group of Evangelical and Charismatic members of the Church of England with the support of a number of Anglo-Catholic leaders.

The group were listened to carefully and as a result of the meeting it was agreed that there would be further discussion of the issues raised in the Covenant to find a way to maintain the unity of the Church of England.

Rev Paul Perkin 0207-326-9412
Canon Dr Chris Sugden 07808297043 01865-883388

Then read on.. My questions. Exactly who constitutes this wide group? Which streams of Evangelical and Charismatic groups have been consulted?

Any comments folks?

Hi Ken

on brief glance this is a more 'in your face' explanation of the Reform conference statement.

more irregular ordinations, a separate 'panel of reference', refusing bishops' oversight etc.

ho hum, to be expected I suppose.

they don't represent me, as an evangelical.

x Jody

Hi

I've realised that my last 'they don't represent me, as an evangelical', might have come across as a 'ya boo sucks to them', what I meant was that they don't represent me, and just that, more a statement of fact, than a thumbed nose, if you know what I mean.

x Jody

It not clear who this group is although it appears to have support from (some in?) Reform and Anglican Mainstream. The press release appears officialy on the Reform web site but it is flagged as not being a Reform press release as such and reported in full by Anglican Mainstream. It is signed by Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream and Paul perkin, the vicar of Battersea who has recently been in the news for unrecorded announcements, but they sign in a personal capacity not for any organisation. I feel that, to abuse the metaphor, they are testing the temperature of the Rubicon with their toes!

David

The proposed covenant has the support of the CEEC amd Crosslinks. The drafting committee is now detailed on the Anglican Mainsteam site but not the Reform site.

David

They are:

The Covenant was drafted by a group under the following leadership:

Rev David Banting, Chair of Reform.
Rev John Coles, Director of New Wine Networks.
Rev Paul Perkin, Member of General Synod.
Rev David Phillips, Director of Church Society
Rev Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe's Oxford.
Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Executive Secretary, Anglican Mainstream.
Rev William Taylor, Rector of St Helen's Bishopsgate.
Rev Dr Richard Turnbull, Chair of the Church of England Evangelical Council.
Rev Dr Simon Vibert, Chair of the Fellowship of Word and Spirit.

Were they drafting this as individuals or in the listed capacities? How many churches who may regard themselves as "New Wine" supporters will be happy with this? Was anyone else consulted?

Jonathan Petre says:

Mr Perkin, the priest in charge of St Peter and St Paul in Battersea, south London, said: "The sleeping giant is waking. We have to be taken account of now."

Bishop Nazir-Ali, who was a leading rival to Dr Williams for the post of Archbishop of Canterbury, threw his weight behind the evangelical initiative last night, saying it demonstrated "the depth of feeling" within the Church.

But the Rev Giles Fraser, the president of the liberal pressure group Inclusive Church, said: "These rebel churches want to destroy the traditional breadth of the Church of England and turn it into a puritan sect. They must not be allowed to succeed."

Where are the representatives of Fulcrum in this?  From the Telegraph account we have the 'evangelicals' and the 'liberals' and people are being led to believe that you have to divide the line over homosexuality, otherwise you'll be deemed a 'liberal'.  Is this a sleeping giant?  Is it waking?  Is throwing our weight around really how we should behave?

uuuaaaaargh.

Jody