Report from ACC-14 Day Seven: No Fourth Moratorium and No Covenant

Today’s report was written by the Rev. Philip Ashey, C.O.O and Chaplain, AAC. It was also included in today’s Weekly Email Update. If you would like to sign up for the AAC’s Weekly Email Update, click here.

What happened today with the Anglican Covenant and the Windsor Continuation Group(WCG) Report?

I have just spent all day observing ACC-14’s decisionmaking plenary sessions here in Kingston, Jamaica. I would like to offer several observations:

The failure to pass a "fourth moratorium" on litigation

As we reported two days ago, the Anglican Communion Office, speaking through Bishop Gregory Cameron, could not explain why the moritorium on litigtion, unanimously voiced by the Primates at the Dar es Salaam meeting, was not included among the Communion Moratoria in the WCG draft resolution. In fact, the WCG report to the Archbishop of Canterbury included the fourth moratorium in paragraph 4, and noted that the current failure to observe this moratorium was exacerbating the "interventions" in North America.

When a resolution to add this fourth moratorium was moved today, the Presiding Bishop of TEC rose to complain, among other things, that such a moratorium would enable congregations leaving TEC to "alienate their property."

As usual, nothing could be further from the truth. The key principles set out in the appendix to the Dar es Salaam Statement required both parties "to give assurances that no steps will be taken to alienate property from the Episcopal Church without its consent or to deny use of that property to those congregations." (WCG Report to the Archbishop of Canterbury at paragraph 34, footnote 11, page 7). It is exactly the kind of "standstill" begged for by +Rowan Williams in his presentation of the WCG Recommendations, where he called all parties to take a step back from what they are doing - that we owe it to the Lord of our Church to do so.

Dr Williams has read the report. He presented its recommendations to the ACC-14. He was present at DES and read that Statement too. Yet he allowed the misrepresentation of the Presiding Bishop to stand, without comment. Read more
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ACC fails to forward Covenant

[...] The council had originally been asked to send the entire text to the provinces. However, some members were concerned about the practicalities of the processes outlined in Section 4 of the covenant, “Our Covenanted Life Together,” which attempts to provide a method for resolving disputes in the communion. Much of the concern centered on the provision in paragraph 4.1.5 that “it shall be open to other Churches to adopt the Covenant” because it lacks a definition for “other churches.”

The members agreed 33-30 (with two abstentions) to ask for more work on Section 4. Read more
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Stephen Noll: The Covenant is Dead

Thanks to the marvels of global communications, I was able to follow the so-called deliberations, a.k.a., manipulations, of the final session of the Anglican Consultative Council in Jamaica. As part of the flood of commentary following this “historic” session in the afternoon of 8 May 2009, I offer here a few initial reflections. Read more
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Church answers BNP criticism following visit

(Ed: Has the BNP taken on the role of 'mystery worshipper'?)

THE British National Party (BNP) in West Norfolk has launched a scathing attack on The Church stating it is "drifting away from Christianity and its authenticity".
The call comes after party members joined the congregation at Gaywood's St Faith's Church on Sunday, with area organiser Dave Fleming describing the service as "lacklustre" and stating it did not offer anything in relation to the "saving power of Jesus".

He told the Lynn News the visit was held as an "experiment" amid concerns about the way Christians were "not being properly fed by the clergy".

Mr Fleming has accused The Church in general of "drifting away from Christianity" and believes the service offered at St Faith's – which included what he described as "amateur theatre" – is representative of those across West Norfolk. Read more
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Queen's medal of honour scrapped... because it's too Christian for Muslims and Hindus

(Ed: At least its not here.

A medal established by the Queen is being withdrawn after it was declared unlawful and offensive to Muslims and Hindus.

The cross-shaped honour - The Trinity Cross of the Order of Trinity - has been handed to distinguished members of the former colony of Trinidad and Tobago.

Cricketers Brian Lara and Garfield Sobers are among those who have received the medal along with diplomats and politicians.

The Christian name and cross are now being replaced with the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago - a circular medal featuring a sun, stars, water and a map of the islands.

The Privy Council, made up of 12 law lords, ruled the merit decoration was unlawful because it discriminates against non-Christians.

Now other honours are being reviewed over their references to Christian Saints or symbols. Read more
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Coming to a church meeting near you: Indaba funded from Atlanta, Georgia. Report from ACC-14 Day 5 part 2

Today the report was presented from the Listening Process. In short, the ideology of seeking common ground between contradictory points of view that has characterized the listening process so far, has been combined with the Indaba process at Lambeth and extended to cover a range of theological issues.

The listening process has been extended to 2011 and funded by the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, for a project of Continuing Indaba.

Vinay Samuel has written of the Indaba Process:

“The Lambeth centre of the Anglican Communion is experienced as exercising colonial power. How else can the continued resistance of the Anglican Communion instruments to carrying out the decisions of the Primates Meeting over the last five years, leading to the acknowledged dominance of the 2008 Lambeth Conference by Archbishop Williams, be explained?

The Lambeth centre continues to impose its hegemony by introducing into all the central meetings of the Communion, Lambeth, the Primates’ Meeting in Egypt and the ACC meeting in Jamaica, the indaba process. This is designed to maintain matters as they are and avoid all discussion and decision about Anglican identity, membership and morality. Worse, this process claims to use a deracinated process that those from the Global South are expected to acknowledge as a tribute to their cultural contribution.

The GAFCON Primates Council has created for itself uncolonial space; the GAFCON Conference and Jerusalem declaration witnessed to the power of the gospel to liberate and transform people not only from oppression in their own societies but also from the power of a colonial mindset which needed to acknowledge the Church of England as their mother church to bolster their own identity.

Indaba is the badge of oppression. It is the badge of a non-revelational faith and an untransforming gospel. It should be resisted.”

Here is how this has happened. Read more
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The Fourth Moratorium - Report from ACC-14 Day 5 Part 1

On a day when the cloud of litigation surrounding The Episcopal Church grows darker, many couldn’t help but notice it even from the sunny shores of Jamaica. However this litigious church tempest seems to have escaped the sight of the 14th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council and some of the Anglican Communion’s top officials.

Today, a pastor and his wife are being evicted from their home in Colorado Springs. At the same time, the individual members of the vestry of Saint James Newport Beach are being sued by the Diocese of Los Angeles for $500,000 a piece in legal fees for a total of $6 million being sought by the diocese.

This has been the state of affairs in North America for several years now. Like a small crack in the dam, churches started leaving TEC in 2000 and even earlier. TEC and its team of lawyers, bishops and bishops who are also lawyers attempted to squash those churches in court. Shortly after, what’s turned out to be a longer yet more amicable process to shore-up the dam, began in the form of the 2004 Windsor Report. According to Bishop Gregory Cameron, Bishop of Asaph and Secretary of the Windsor Continuation Group, this five year process is now concluded and the appropriate recommendations have been made as to how the Anglican Communion can stop the dam from breaking and The Episcopal Church from tearing itself and the Anglican Communion apart. These recommendations were made in the form of the Windsor Continuation Report, a report commissioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. There is just one small problem with this report. It seems that when its authors, one of which was Bishop Cameron, wrote the 22 page paper that includes sections titled, "the Seriousness of the present Situation," "Breakdown of Trust," "Turmoil in The Episcopal Church," and "An Ecclesial Deficit," they left out any direct advice on how to deal with what some see as the most glaring and terrible result of this break-up, that black cloud of litigation. Read more
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DNA profiles of innocent to be kept for 12 years despite European ruling

The DNA profiles of innocent people will remain on the national database for up to 12 years despite a landmark European Court ruling that they should be deleted.

Some innocent children will also have their profiles kept for a similar period although the majority will have them deleted within six years.

The proposals have been drawn up after the European Court of Human Rights ruled last year that a blanket policy of retaining profiles of innocent people indefinitely was illegal.

It means up to 850,000 DNA profiles, plus a similar number of fingerprints, of people never convicted of a crime will eventually be wiped from the database but the Home Office was accused of doing the bare minimum to abide by the ruling.

An impact assessment for the Home Office said the plans may not meet the requirements of the European Court while civil rights group Liberty is already planning legal action claiming the proposals will still breach human rights. Read more
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‘Shock jock’ Michael Savage tells his listeners to boycott Britain

The American “shock jock” radio host Michael Savage, who was included on a Home Office list of 16 people banned from entering the country, last night urged his listeners to boycott Britain.

He told his audience that Americans should not travel to Britain or buy British goods, and delivered a personal message to Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who made the decision to include him on the list of unwanted foreigners: “Unless you remove my name forthwith, unless you admit you made a mistake, I will bring a major libel suit against you personally and I will win.”

Mr Savage opened fire on the Home Secretary on the conservative news website WorldNetDaily , where he said that his message to her and the British people was: “Shame on you. Shame that you’ve fallen to such a low level.”

“It’s interesting to me that here I am, a talk show host who does not advocate violence, who advocates patriotic traditional values — borders, language, culture — who is now on a list banned in England.

“What does that say about the Government of England? It says more about them than it says about me.” Read more
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Hateful hands across the world

In the face of growing tolerance and acceptance of GLBT people around the globe, homophobic groups are reaching out to each other and forging links like never before.

A conference held two weeks ago in London, with the awkward title, “Sex and the City: Redeeming Sex Today – A Judaeo-Christian Conference for All”, is illustrative of the trend.

Billed as “ideal for clergy, rabbis, psychologists, therapists, educators and others concerned about the plethora of sexual issues confronting us in today’s society”, the focus of the conference was “those struggling with unwanted SSA (same-sex attraction)”, or in less politically correct terminology, ex-gays.

The stars of the conference were a gaggle of quack experts flown in from the United States, but the organisers, Anglican Mainstream, have their roots firmly in the British Commonwealth.

Anglican Mainstream is the anti-gay, anti-female ordination wing of the worldwide Anglican Communion, drawing most of its membership from the Anglican churches of the developing world — particularly in Africa where clergy walk hand-in-hand with government in persecuting gay men and lesbians. Read more
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Financial boost for rural churches

Struggling rural churches in England are to be given a giant funding boost after a £180,000 training project was given the green light this week.

Funded by the Arthur Rank Centre (ARC), a Church of England-backed organisation which supports rural communities and churches, the money is in response to an urgent call from church leaders.

The initiative, called ‘Rural Life and Faith’, could benefit 13,000 rural churches of all denominations and will help equip them for a modern role in villages and the countryside.

Dr Jill Hopkinson, National Rural Officer for the Church of England, who will be heading the project, said: “The church is a vital force in vibrant village communities. But ARC has identified big problems in training provision through research, our teaching and training activities, the experience of the National Rural Officers and their networks, and calls from church leaders.”

She added: “The message is that rural training and development (particularly for lay people) is insufficient and inadequate.

“Rural Life and Faith responds to that need, and will build new skills, confidence and competence specific to rural situations. The idea is that rural churches will respond more readily to opportunities, and maintain a flourishing Christian presence in their communities.” Read more
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The Church of England must open up or shut up

At 10.30 this morning, the planning committee of Exmoor National Park will sit at its headquarters in an old Victorian workhouse, behind the statue of local heroine Lorna Doone in Dulverton, to decide whether All Saints Church at the top of the hill should be allowed to have a new road put across its ancient graveyard for "vehicular access".

This is a hot issue for the locals of this medieval wool town, just the Somerset side of the Devon border. For metropolitan visitors and tourists, it is the sort of ecclesiastical drama that surely ranks somewhere between Trollope and The Archers.

But it is more than that. The "Grasscrete" and tarmac road into All Saints is a prime example of how the church is torn between modernity and tradition. Unless the church offers access, in every sense, to the community it serves, then it will die as a museum piece. That's one view. Then there's: don't mess with the tranquillity of this beautiful example of our holy architectural heritage.

Government and the Church of England seem inclined to the former view. Last month, culture secretary Andy Burnham proposed the introduction of health surgeries, post offices and day-care centres in churches, an initiative that was welcomed by, among others, Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop of London. Read more
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Hospital bans pictures of churches as public sector continues crusade against Christianity

I know I've written about it before, but anyone who is still in doubt that the public sector has got it in for Christianity should note that Havering Council has just asked local artists for paintings to brighten up the walls of Queen's Hospital, Romford.

The only condition? That the artworks do not depict churches. Not any places of worship, just churches.

However, as I wrote in my latest column for the Church of England Newspaper, some people are still trying to knock down these stories about Christians suffering at the hands of public officials. How many more examples do they want? Here's the column: Read more
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Orombi appeals to Canterbury over refused Uganda delegate to ACC: Correspondence

From Henry Orombi to Kenneth Kearon

23 April 2009

Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon
Anglican Consultative Council
St Andrew’s House
LONDON

Dear Canon Kearon,

Easter Greetings from Uganda in Jesus’ name! This letter is to inform you that we have appointed Rev. Philip Ashey as our clergy delegate to the ACC meeting in Jamaica. Here is his contact information

Rev. Philip Ashey
Church of Uganda
P.O. Box 14123
Kampala
UGANDA
philashey@

As you know, Bishop Paul Luzinda is not able to attend the meeting, so we have forwarded to Rev. Philip the preparation material you sent him.

We are covering the travel expenses for Rev. Philip, so there is no additional cost to the ACC.

Yours, in Christ,

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi

Archbishop of Church of Uganda

xc Rev. Philip Ashey
Jolly Babirukamu
Provincial Secretary

_______________________________

From Kenneth Kearon to Henry Orombi

From: Kenneth Kearon [mailto:kenneth.kearon@] Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 4:44 PM To: Archbishop COU Subject: RE: New ACC Delegate for Jamaica from Uganda

Dear Archbishop,

I'm grateful for the nomination of Rev. Philip Ashley as ACC delegate. I note he will make his own arrangements to get there, and I look forward to welcoming him to ACC.

In Christ,

Kenneth.

Kenneth Kearon,
Secretary General of the Anglican Communion,
St Andrew's House,
16 Tavistock Crescent,
London, W11 1AP
Tel: +44 (020) 7313 3903

________________________

From Henry Orombi to Kenneth Kearon

From: Archbishop COU [mailto:abpcou@] Sent: 24 April 2009 13:00 To: Kenneth Kearon Cc: Yoshimi Gregory; 'Aaron Mwesigye' Subject: New ACC Delegate for Jamaica from Uganda

Dear Canon Kearon,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Please receive the attached letter from me informing you of a clergy delegate we have appointed to attend the ACC meeting in Jamaica.

Yours, in Christ,

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi

ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA
P.O. Box 14123
Kampala
UGANDA

Ph: +256 414 270 218
Fax: +256 414 251 925
abpcou@

_________________________

From Kenneth Kearon to Henry Orombi

The Most Revd Henry Orombi

Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Uganda

29th April 2009

Dear Archbishop Orombi,

I acknowledge your letter of 23 April 2009 nominating Revd Philip Ashey as a clerical representative to the ACC for the Church of the Province of Uganda, and I have referred it to the Joint Standing Committee.

That Committee has noted

(i) that Mr Ashey has already been given Press Accreditation status to the ACC on behalf of the American Anglican Council;

(ii) he has given his address as Henderson Mill Road, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

The JS Committee is concerned that a person with Press Accreditation has been nominated as a representative, because the press is excluded from some of the business of the Council. It is further concerned that a person not resident in the Province of Uganda should be asked to represent your Province.

The JSC seeks urgent clarification on these issues in order to consider the matter further.

Yours sincerely.

Sincerely.

Kenneth Kearon

Secretary General of the Anglican Communion

_______________________

From Henry Orombi to Kenneth Kearon

30th April 2009

Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon

St. Andrew’s House

16 Tavistock Crescent

London, England W11 1AP

Dear Canon Kearon,

Thank you so much for your letter of 29th April 2009 seeking clarification about our appointment of Rev. Philip Ashey as our clergy delegate to the ACC from the Church of Uganda.

We have asked Rev. Ashey to relinquish his press credentials in order to eliminate any conflict of interest that may have been implied, and it is my understanding that he did relinquish those press credentials prior to your letter to me.

The appointment of delegates from each Province is, according to the Constitution of the ACC, a purely internal matter of each Province and not subject to review by any body within the ACC, including the Joint Standing Committee. Rev. Philip Ashey is a priest in good standing of Ruwenzori Diocese and has been appointed by me as the clergy delegate from the Church of Uganda. I trust that, with his relinquishment of his press credentials, you will accord to him every courtesy expected of any appointed delegate from any Province of the Anglican Communion. And, I further trust that this resolves the concern you may have.

Thank you for your good work, and we look forward to hearing about the fruitful deliberations of the ACC-14.

Yours, in Christ,

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi

ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA.

xc: The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
Rev. Philip Ashey, Church of Uganda Clergy Delegate to the ACC
Mrs. Jolly Babirukamu, Church of Uganda Lay Delegate to the ACC
Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye, Provincial Secretary

_____________

From Kenneth Kearon to Henry Orombi30 April 2009

The Most Revd Henry Luke Orombi
Archbishop of Church of Uganda
PO Box 14123
Kampala
Uganda

Via email address: abpcou@

Dear Archbishop Henry,

Thank you for your prompt response to my letter of 29 April.

The Joint Standing Committee has discussed this at length. We understand that the Revd Philip Ashey’s relationship with the Church of the Province of Uganda is as a result of a cross provincial intervention, and note that such interventions are contrary to the Windsor Report and other reports accepted by successive meetings of the Instruments of Communion, including Primates’ Meetings which you have attended.

Therefore we regret to inform you that Mr Ashey’s current status means that we cannot regard him as a ‘qualified’ member according to Section 4(e) of the current Constitution. We are content for him to resume his Press Accreditation, if he so wishes.

Yours sincerely,

The Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon

Secretary of the Anglican Communion

Cc: The President of ACC
The Chair of ACC
The Revd Philip Ashey – via email

_____________________

From Henry Orombi to Rowan Williams

2nd May 2009

The Most Reverend Rowan Williams Archbishop of Canterbury and
Chair of the Primates Standing Committee
Lambeth Palace
London, England

Via e-mail

Your Grace,

I have received a letter from Reverend Canon Kenneth Kearon, dated 30th April, refusing to seat the Church of Uganda’s clergy delegate to the ACC, Rev. Philip Ashey. I assume you have seen a copy of his letter, and that you may have been part of the discussion of this matter in the meetings of the Joint Standing Committee.

Canon Kearon’s letter states that the Joint Standing Committee has determined that Rev. Philip Ashey is not ‘qualified’ under Section 4(e) of the ACC’s Constitution because we received him into the Church of Uganda in 2005 as part of our pastoral care to Anglican clergy and congregations in America who were being persecuted for upholding Lambeth 1.10 in the context of a Province that willfully violated and continues to violate it.

As I wrote in my first letter to Canon Kearon, appointment of delegates to the ACC from a Province is purely an internal matter and is not subject to review by any body within the ACC, including the Joint Standing Committee. That the Joint Standing Committee would assume such authority is a gross violation of our constitutional relationships, not to mention a further tearing of our bonds of affection. Our reasons for appointing one of our American priests to represent us as our clergy delegate are our reasons, and are not for the Joint Standing Committee to question.

The appointment of Rev. Philip Ashey to fill a vacancy at the last minute provides the Church of Uganda with a strong voice of a priest in good standing in the Diocese of Ruwenzori. It is also a voice for the almost 100,000 orthodox Anglicans in North America who have been persecuted by TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada, who will not be represented by their delegations to ACC-14, and who will not otherwise have voice or seat at the table of the ACC. It is important for the Communion to be reminded that there is a serious tear in the fabric of our communion; all is not well and there continues to be an urgent need to address the ongoing crisis before us.

Section 4(e) does not give the Joint Standing Committee or the ACC the right to interfere in the appointing body’s determination of the “qualification” of a delegate. For the Joint Standing Committee to assume this power is nothing short of an imperialistic and colonial decision that violates the integrity of the Church of Uganda.

I reiterate – Rev. Philip Ashey is a priest in good standing of Ruwenzori Diocese and has been appointed by me as clergy delegate from the Church of Uganda. This is sufficient and the Joint Standing Committee does not have a right to challenge it.

It is, furthermore, very dangerous for Canon Kearon’s letter to quote the Windsor Report and Communiqués of the Primates as the basis for refusing to seat Rev. Philip Ashey as our clergy delegate. None of these documents has authority to override the Constitution of the ACC. Furthermore, none of these documents ever suggested a moral equivalence between the pastoral care offered to persecuted clergy and congregations in North America and the violation of Biblical and historic Anglican teaching by TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada on the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination as bishop of persons living in same-sex relationships.

At our Primates meeting in Dromantine, Northern Ireland, we asked TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada to voluntarily withdraw from the Councils of the Church until the next Lambeth Conference. In Dar es Salaam, the Primates unanimously agreed that TEC should not be invited to Lambeth until they satisfactorily answered our questions, which most people know they did not do, your judgment notwithstanding. Yet, they have continued to be involved in all the Councils of the Church, and even with undue influence because of their wealth and command of English as their first language. There is a double standard at work here, and it favors the Western world and marginalizes Africa and others in the Global South.

We, therefore, appeal to you, in your capacity as Chair of the Primates Standing Committee and President of the ACC, to help the Joint Standing Committee understand the limits of their authority and to recognize the appointment of the Rev. Philip Ashey as clergy delegate to ACC-14 from the Church of Uganda, and to accord to him every courtesy expected of any delegate from any Province of the Anglican Communion. This is a matter of urgency, and I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest opportunity.

If the Church of Uganda’s appointment of Rev. Philip Ashey is considered by you to be unacceptable, then we will be forced to take the steps necessary to bring this unbiblical, unjust and unconstitutional precedent to the attention of the rest of the Communion.

Yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi

ARCHBISHOP OF THE CHURCH OF UGANDA.

xc: Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General, ACC
Rev. Philip Ashey, Clergy Delegate to ACC-14
Mrs. Jolly Babirukamu, Lay Delegate to ACC-14
Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye, Provincial Secretary

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ACC Refuses to Seat Ugandan Delegate

CHURCH OF UGANDA
P.O. Box 14123, Kampala

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4^th May 2009

Anglican Consultative Council Refuses to Seat Ugandan Delegate

On the first day of the ACC-14 meeting, the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council made an unconstitutional decision to refuse to seat the clergy delegate from the Church of Uganda. The Church of Uganda is entitled to three delegates – a Bishop, priest, and lay person.

In an e-mail dated 24^th April, Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council, wrote the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, saying, “I’m grateful for the nomination of Rev. Philip Ashey as ACC Delegate…and I look forward to welcoming him to ACC.”

Rev. Philip Ashey is a priest of Ruwenzori Diocese in the Church of Uganda, living and working in Atlanta, USA.

During the first press briefing, Venerable Paul Feheley, the ACC’s Spokesperson, stated that each province appoints its own delegates to the ACC, as written in the constitution of the ACC.

In a surprising move, the Joint Standing Committee, meeting on 1^st May, exceeded the limits of their authority, reversed Canon Kearon’s decision of 24^th April, and determined that Rev. Ashey was not “qualified” to serve as a delegate, citing section 4(e) of the Constitution of the ACC. Their reason? Rev. Ashey is an American who was received into the Church of Uganda in 2005.

In a 2^nd May letter appealing to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Orombi wrote,

“The appointment of delegates to the ACC from a Province is purely an internal matter and is not subject to review by any body within the ACC, including the Joint Standing Committee. That the Joint Standing Committee would assume such authority is a gross violation of our constitutional relationships, not to mention a further tearing of our bonds of affection. Our reasons for appointing one of our American priests to represent us as our clergy delegate are our reasons, and are not for the Joint Standing Committee to question. Section 4(e) does not give the Joint Standing Committee or the ACC the right to interfere in the appointing body’s determination of the “qualification” of a delegate. For the Joint Standing Committee to assume this power is nothing short of an imperialistic and colonial decision that violates the integrity of the Church of Uganda.”

When asked why he didn’t send a Ugandan priest to represent the Church of Uganda, Archbishop Orombi replied, “We had a last minute vacancy for our clergy delegate and couldn’t organize travel and visas for one of our Ugandan clergy to go. When we learned that our priest, Rev. Philip Ashey could go to Jamaica, we asked him to represent us.”

Orombi continued, “The appointment of Rev. Philip Ashey to fill a vacancy at the last minute provides the Church of Uganda with a strong voice of a priest in good standing in the Diocese of Ruwenzori. It is also a voice for the almost 100,000 orthodox Anglicans in North America who have been persecuted by TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada, who will not be represented by their delegations to ACC-14, and who will not otherwise have voice or seat at the table of the ACC. It is important for the Communion to be reminded that there is a serious tear in the fabric of our communion; all is not well and there continues to be an urgent need to address the ongoing crisis before us.”

When asked why he was not present for the meeting, Archbishop Orombi said, “I am speaking at the New Wine conference in the north of England at the same time the ACC is meeting. This speaking engagement has been in my diary for a long time. It was an unavoidable conflict. I regret that my alternate to the Primates Standing Committee, Archbishop Justice Akrofi of West Africa, was also not able to attend.”

The Church of Uganda’s Bishop delegate was not able to attend the meeting because of a conflict with a previously scheduled trip to the UK.

The Church of Uganda will be represented only by its lay delegate, who protested the decision of the Joint Standing Committee to refuse to seat Uganda’s clergy delegate. Her protest was, nonetheless, overridden by other interests on the Joint Standing Committee.

+ END +

Correspondence related to this unfortunate incident is attached.

For interviews, please contact

Mr. Onesimus Asiimwe, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Uganda, at +256 717 111 222 (Uganda)

Rev. Philip Ashey at +1 876 282 3572 (Jamaica)

COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Church of Uganda
P.O. Box 14123
KAMPALA
+256 782 321 027 COUNews@gmail.com

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The Covenant: an introduction by Archbishop Drexel Gomez

[...] If we are not able to commit ourselves to this sort of being a Communion, the break up of its life is staring us in the face. Either we are a family, which means that each member of the family has care for and respect for the other members of the family, or we will have to learn to go our separate ways. The question is: do we wish to remain a Communion?

I’m afraid to say that I think that is fundamentally the choice before ACC in these two weeks. What is decided here is likely to make or break the Communion. Read more
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