The “Plano West” conference ended last week. ENS (Episcopal News Service) reported on the meeting and quoted Anderson:
Anderson predicted times will get harder before they get better, and advised participants to stockpile diocesan and parish directories.
“There may come a time when the AAC chapter in your diocese may need to do direct mail into every home in the diocese, when they may need to replicate the local bishop’s power to place a message in every living room,” he advised participants.
For all the rhetoric from the AAC (American Anglican Council) and the Anglican Communion Network (Network of Anglican Communion Diocese and Parishes) that they are a part of the Episcopal Church USA and will faithfully remain so, with the glaring omission of a pledge to abide by the Canons of the Church, statements like those above simply confound these statements.
Because the elected leadership of a Diocese may not agree with the AAC or the Network and thus implement their policies and theology, then the AAC must go around the duly elected leaders and attempt to force their views by sidetracking the elected leaders with direct mail appeals. They are attempted to deny and usurp the authority of the Bishop by appealing to church members in the pews directly. The problem is that the Episcopal Church is not a congregational church – it is episcopal! It is a church of Bishops, and if the AAC attempts to force their views upon the mainstream church in this way they will be violating traditional Anglican understanding of the episcopate, authority, the diocesan structure, and the Canons of the Episcopal Church.
As much as they claim to be the true expression of the Anglicanism and of the faith handed down, they violate the very core of the Anglican ethos that calls all to wrestle with issues but remain together, to allow differences of theological opinion yet remain faithful to one another. Additionally, they are attempting to undo the very ancient organizational structure of the Church catholic and Anglicanism.
Their goal, as stated in the leaked memo months ago, is to usurp the structure of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA and establish themselves as head of the Church structures. They want to do the same as ultra-conservatives did in the Southern Baptist Convention years ago when they took control of church structures and expelled moderates and liberals.