The Common Cause Partners and Lambeth IV:ll

Visiting the Common Cause Partnership page this morning I noticed three things: (i) They now list eight rather than nine partners, the Anglican Province of America no longer being part of the group, (ii) the well done testimonials from bishops of various groups makes it clear that the majority of CCP members are not part of the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Church of Canada (only Bishops Ackerman and Duncan are part of the Episcopal Church) and (iii) Bishop Ackerman has the strange idea that the Common Cause Partnership is a way to deal with another resolution from the 1998 Lambeth Conference.

On this last matter, ere is what Bishop Ackerman says: "Foward in Faith North America was among the first to proclaim its desire to participate in the reunification of faithful, orthodox Anglicanism in North America, as called for in Lambeth 1998 Resolution IV 11. We rejoice in the steps Common Cause is taking to fulfill this vision.

Here is what Lambeth 1998: IV 11 says:

'Continuing' Churches

This Conference: believes that important questions are posed by the emergence of groups who call themselves 'continuing Anglican Churches' which have separated from the Anglican Communion in recent years; and asks the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates' Meeting to consider how best to initiate and maintain dialogue with such groups with a view to the reconciliation of all who own the Anglican tradition."

Several things to note:

AMiA, FiF and CANA and the Networks do not consider themselves "continuing Anglican Churches" but rather claim that they are part of the Anglican Communion because their bishops are part of recognized Provinces in the Anglican Communion.

The Reformed Episcopal Church is a likely candidate to be a continuing Anglican Church, but certainly did not separate themselves in "recent years."

Common Cause Partnerships did not ask the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Primates Meeting how to initiate and maintain dialog, etc.

So here is how we might rewrite Bishop Ackerman's testamony to fit the reality of what Resolution IV 11 stated.



No doubt all parties in the current conflict in Anglican Land are given to casting lines out with bait that will attract fish of all sorts. This particular ad is an effort to cast chum...extra tidbits of fish among which you hide your hook on yet another tasty morsel. In this case the tasty morsel is the claim that they are doing what Lambeth 1998 IV 11 asks.

Common Cause Partnership is not the sort of thing envisioned in Lambeth 1998. This may be bait chum, but we ain't biting.