The stated goal of the 2008 Lambeth was to have no winners or losers. But you know there were. Here's my preliminary list;
Winners
1. GAFCON -- Yes, the greatest winners were those who didn't come to the party. Not only because of the time and expenses they saved, but because their position was validated by those who did come. And they are now positioned to lead the Anglican Communion.
2. Archbishop of Sudan Dr Daniel Deng -- Standing up for what his province believes and not losing the funding from TEC.
3. ++Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury -- No schism yet, a fifty percent approval rating (derived from 75% of those attending Lambeth believe he is providing the leadership needed while 25 % of all bishop did not attend due to his failure of leadership) and his Concluding Presidential Address will keep him in good stead with the Pope.
4. Gene Robinson, gay memoirist -- In the Eye of the Storm now ranks #3 in the Amazon.com category "gay and lesbian autobiographies and memoirs".
5. GS Primates at Canterbury -- by issuing a statement affirming their Christian witness, they cemented their leadership status and subverted the muffling of their voices in the Indaba Reflections document.
Losers
1. Gene Robinson, Anglican Bishop -- arrived uninvited and stayed too long at the fringes of the party, visibly not getting the attention and acceptance he wanted.
2. Catherine Roskam, TEC Suffragan Bishop -- as Riazat Butt of the Guardian put it, Roskam succeeded "in uniting people, even if it was in outrage, following her claim that people from ethnic minorities beat their wives."
3. Katie Sherrod of the Lambeth Witness -- the crassness of her claim to a right to Christian leadership was exposed in the Archbishop of Canterbury's Concluding Presidential Address.
4. TEC PB Schori -- the "Rule of Life" alternative to the Covenant was dead on arrival. The clock is ticking toward the time when TEC will have to sign the Covenant or be on the fringes of the next Lambeth party.
5. the Most Revd AET Harper, OBE, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland -- issued poorly crafted theology in support of homosexual behavior just in time to be fisked by Robert Gagnon and on the wrong side of the majority at Lambeth.
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3 comments:
75% of the 75% present = 56%, eventually. Because I obsess.
Cheers
JMH
Hi minicapt,
Ok, but actually only 70% attended Lambeth. From Living Church via Stand Firm:
"the absence of more than 30 percent of the bishops of the Communion were frequently mentioned during the conference."
So it is really .75x.70=.525
or 52.5%
Except, I am not sure what to do with all the TEC bishops without jurisdiction. Weren't there something like 40 non-jurisdiction TEC bishops? Were there non-jurisdiction bishops from other provinces as well?
They could be right because I am attuned to the pre-Lambeth score card which had about 820 invitees, followed by c.230 polite refusals.
According to my count, 28% elected to not attend; according to their count, 32%. On the other hand, the ABC is not a position which requires polling of popularity, so I don't think Dr Williams is miffed by the %s.
Bishops without jurisdiction? Doesn't matter as participation at Lambeth is determined by invite. Remember that VGR has jurisdiction, but lacked an invite. My impression is that the TECContingent brought along extra bodies to maintain its media 'presence'.
Cheers
JMH
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