Bishops' Statement on the Polity of the Episcopal Church

The following is an excerpt from "Bishops' Statement on the Polity of the Episcopal Church" Written by: The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc. Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 II The Fundamental Structure of The Episcopal Church Is That of a Voluntary Association of Equal Dioceses Given the constitutional reservation of authority within the diocese to the Bishop and Standing Committee, it is not surprising that the fundamental structure of our Church is that of a voluntary association of equal dioceses. It is significant that the same term, "voluntary association," has been used by both the founding father of The Episcopal Church to describe the organization he was so instrumental in forming and by the civil law to describe religious societies and other unincorporated voluntary organizations in general. Our Church's primary architect was, of course, William White, and his blueprint was The Case of the Episcopal Churches in the United States Considered, published in 1782 as the Revolutionary War was nearing an end. As a result of American independence, many of the former Church of England parishes had become independent churches while others were still organized as state churches under the control of state legislatures. White's concept, later accepted by others in the former colonies, was that the Anglican churches would first be organized into state churches and then the state churches would organize themselves nationally as a voluntary association of state churches (now called "dioceses"). Pursuant to this plan, White was one of the first two Americans consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1787 to serve in the Episcopal Churches. When The Episcopal Church eventually was duly organized in 1789, Bishop White and Bishop Samuel Seabury, consecrated by the Scottish Episcopal Church, sat as the first House of Bishops at the first General Convention. Just as the thirteen states were the "independent and sovereign" constituents of the American confederation that existed when the church now known as The Episcopal Church was being formed, the state churches were the bodies that combined to constitute what was initially called the Protestant Episcopal Church. It was the dioceses, then co-extensive with the newly-independent states, that created our Church's Constitution and General Convention. The constitutional mechanisms of governance they created preserved their status as equal members of a voluntary association of dioceses. As noted by the official commentary on our Constitution and canons, "Before their adherence to the Constitution united the Churches in the several states into a national body, each was completely independent." It then describes that national body they created as "a federation of equal and independent Churches in the several states." As this brief summary of our founding history shows, the fundamental structure of The Episcopal Church from the outset has been that of a voluntary association of dioceses meeting together in a General Convention as equals. This structure is clearly reflected in our Constitution. There is no provision in the Constitution that defines a diocese. The dioceses are the undefined constituent elements out of which The Episcopal Church is formed. In contrast, General Convention is created and defined in Article I, which still provides in language virtually unchanged from the original that "The Church in each diocese which has been admitted to union with the General Convention…shall be entitled to representation…." As this current language makes clear, "Churches" in dioceses are not created by General Convention. They are "admitted" (upon their application and its acceptance) to union with the General Convention. Dioceses are both historically and ontologically prior to the Constitution and the General Convention. And upon admission, it is the diocese, not any other body or group, that is "entitled to representation" at General Convention. This fundamental concept of dioceses as equal constituent members of The Episcopal Church is manifest in the mechanisms of governance created by the Constitution, including the provisions for representation and voting at General Convention, the means by which the Book of Common Prayer and Constitution are amended, and the procedures by which new dioceses are admitted to membership in The Episcopal Church after they are constituted. The full text of the document may be found here - http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.com/?p=391

Nevada Anglicans

As the Anglican Church of North America is being birthed, three new churches have been planted in Nevada. Little Church in the Valley, Reno, Sierra Anglican, Reno and Jesus the Good Shepherd, Henderson..

Little Church in the Valley is a parish consisting of orthodox Anglican, Lutheran, and United Methodist members. Their priest, Fr. Karry D. Crites, graduated from CDSP in 1990, and was ordained priest that same year. He was pastor of St. Francis Episcopal / Grace United Methodist Church, Lovelock, Nevada from 1990-6, ELM Community Church - Reno, Nevada from 1997-2008, and transferred to the Anglican Church of Uganda in December 2008. Fr. Karry is also a hospice chaplain. Little Church in the Valley is a friendly congregation that seeks to be transformed by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The parish has an active Bible Study program as well as other special activities including an annual camping trip with Sunday Worship at a local lake. They meet at Little Church in the Valley, 9301 Lemmon Drive, Reno , Nevada 89506. Their website is www.littlechurchinthevalley.org . Fr. Karry can be reached at frkarry490@aol.com.

Sierra Anglican Church, also in Reno, is pastured by Fr. Ron Longero. Before Fr. Longero recently arrived, they had been served by Fr. Brian Foos of St. Andrews Academy and Christ the Redeemer Church in nearby Lake Almanor, California. They were also blessed by Fr. Jim Obermeyer from Phoenix, Arizona who is part of the Anglican Missions in the Americans-AMiA.

In May of 2008, Fr. Ron Longero relocated from Kansas to his home town of Carson City, Nevada. He was invited to lead his first service at Sierra Anglican on February 15th. Rev. Longero is a graduate of the Nashotah House Seminary. He is in the process of being received into the AMiA network of oversight and supervision.

They are meeting at Mountain View Montessori School, 565 Zolezzi Lane, Reno, NV, 89511. Their websited is www.sierra-anglican..org. Fr. Longero can be reached at ron_longero@sierra-anglican.org.

Jesus the Good Shepherd Anglican Church is currently meeting in private homes through Lent and will launch on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009! They will be meeting at the Hampton Inn and Suites at 421 W. Astaire Rd, Henderson, NV 89014.

Fr. Howard and his wife, Deacon Erin Giles are clergy of the Diocese of San Joaquin and met at CDSP in 2000. They were subsequently married, graduated, ordained and have been serving churches in the Central Valley of California since 2005. Along with a strong core group, they are praying for a church that will be catholic, evangelical and charismatic. The Lord has given them the 34^th chapter of Ezekiel, specifically verse 16 as a founding text. Fr. Howard says that “We are committed to seeking those who are lost, bringing again those who were driven away, binding up those who are broken, and strengthening those who are sick.�

Their website can be found at www.goodshepherdhenderson.info. Fr. Howard can be reached at howard@goodshepherdhenderson.info.

Nevada Anglicans are committed to the Common Cause, to GAFCON and are looking forward to being united in the Anglican Church of North America. Please join them for worship and fellowship as they serve the Lord our God!

Anglican Coalition in Canada Welcomes New Province

Written by aciccom

Saturday, 06 December 2008 18:06

Dec 6^th 2008- Vancouver, Canada

The Anglican Coalition in Canada is pleased to announce its full participation in the emerging Province called the Anglican Church in North America. This new province was called into existence by the GAFCON Primates, representing the vast majority of the Anglican Church worldwide.

The Rev Barclay Mayo, National ACiC Network Leader, commented: “Who would have believed 10 years ago when we were in the midst of painful challenges that we would see the day when faithful Anglicans would be working together in unity? We were told repeatedly that it couldn't be done, that we were too divided, that our differences were too great. God has shown the impossible to be possible.”

Peter Turner, a Canadian member of the Provincial ACiNA Council which just met in Chicago, said that “we are excited to be full founding partners with our other Canadian Anglican jurisdictions, including ANiC, CANA, and the Reformed Episcopal Church. We are committed to working together in unity for the sake of blessing Canada and North America.”

Over 700 congregations representing around 100,000 faithful Canadian and American Anglicans have come together in the birthing of a new Anglican Province for North America. We are uniting across theological, ethnic, and cultural lines that many thought would not be possible. Bishop Bob Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is functioning as the leader of this new province. A unique feature of the new Provincial constitutions and canons is that they are driven by mission rather than structure.

This new province is bringing order out of the recent Anglican chaos, and ensuring a vibrant united Anglican voice in North America. Eleven founding Anglican partners are coming together, some of which have been in existence for over 130 years. The gracious Provincial leadership is allowing for greater unity in essentials, while respecting appropriate diversity in non-essentials.

Provisional Canons http://www.united-anglicans.org/about/provisional-canons.html

Provisional Constitution http://www.united-anglicans.org/about/provisional-constitution.html

The original article is here.