Statement from the Anglican Network in Canada
Jul 5th, 2007 by Peter
From here and reproduced below.
For those who think this statement is a blueprint for doing nothing other than talking for another three years, I respectfully disagree. I’ve never been in favour of acting rashly or precipitously, but that is not the same thing as not acting at all. To my way of looking at it, all things have to be done correctly and in order, and sometimes it just takes longer than we would like. Cast an eye over the international scene and it won’t be too hard to read the signs of the times.
Also, Gods heart is not our heart; often it is too easy to give up on people and situations, and as we see recently with a couple of high profile cases, nobody and nothing is irredeemable. Better that we have more of Gods heart and mercy in all that we do. My sense is that here north of the border we have been given a time, a pause, in order that we may make our decisions one way or another. There are, indeed, bigger things afoot that simply our Anglican woes.
As a result of the General Synod meeting in Winnipeg this past week, we believe the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has chosen to “walk apart” from the global Anglican Communion. In particular, the General Synod:
• Refused to commit the church to the Windsor Report (TWR) and the process contained within it as the way forward to bring healing and reconciliation to the Anglican Communion. Instead, they accepted their “Windsor Report Response Report” which only affirmed parts of the TWR supporting the revisionist agenda
and rejecting any parts which spoke against that agenda.
• By defeating an amendment to the Resolution dealing with the Windsor Report (referred to above), refused to uphold Lambeth Resolution 1.10 as the standard of teaching of the Anglican Communion and rejected a moratorium on same sex blessings.
The defeated Amendment read:
“and we commit ourselves to adhere to the principles and provisions of the Windsor Report, and urge all dioceses to do so, including:
a. upholding Lambeth Resolution 1.10 as the current standard of Anglican teaching on the matter; and
b. upholding a moratorium on the blessing of same sex unions” and further added:
“shall require all dioceses, notwithstanding the previous practice of any diocese, to comply with the moratorium.”
• Refused to affirm the restructuring of the Anglican Consultative Council as recommended by the Anglican Consultative Council and the Windsor Report. The new governance structure would have added the Primates to the Council as well as provide a more fair and democratic representation for the Provinces on the Council.
• Declared that same sex blessings are not in conflict with the core doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada.
• Only narrowly defeated (by 2 votes in the Order of Bishops) a motion affirming the jurisdiction and authority of a diocesan synod, with the concurrence of its bishop, to authorize same sex blessings while the Orders of clergy and laity approved it.
A full statement explaining how these decisions are a clear indication of “walking apart” will be made in the coming days.
We await a response from the Primates of the Anglican Communion to the decisions of General Synod and would ask Canadian Anglicans to not act precipitously, but to join with us as we appeal to the Primates for clarification and direction in light of these decisions.
In the meantime, we wish to let people know there will be a major event happening this fall to bring together all those who can affirm the principles of membership in the Anglican Network in Canada and to provide clear guidance to all biblically faithful Anglicans in Canada so that they may continue with their mission for the Gospel.
Members of the Anglican Network in Canada are willing to declare publicly that they are committed to:
• The Solemn Declaration of 1893 as the foundational document of Anglicanism in Canada
• Upholding Lambeth Resolution 1.10 as the standard of teaching in the Communion
• A moratorium on the blessing of same sex unions and “the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union until some new consensus in the Anglican Communion emerges”. (TWR, §134; affirmed in the Dar Es Salaam Communiqué).
• Acting in submission to the Primates
• The Windsor process
• The Anglican Communion Covenant process
• Supporting biblically faithful Canadian Anglicans who are being forced out of their churches or who are in broken or impaired communion with the ACC, their bishop or diocese as a result of their conscientious objection to decisions which contravene the above
At the fall event, we intend to recommend options for all those biblically faithful Canadian Anglicans, both individuals and parishes, who feel they can no longer participate fully in the life of the Anglican Church of Canada in the same manner or to the same extent as they have in the past, due to their conscientious dissent from the decisions of their bishop, diocese and/or the General Synod. We hope that no one will act precipitously before that time and invite you to contact us at info@anglicannetwork.ca if you are considering leaving the Anglican Church of Canada or taking other direct action. We are asking people to stay and not leave,
and to work with us to build and reclaim biblically faithful Anglicanism in Canada while the Anglican Communion addresses the tear in the fabric of the Communion.
We will be making further announcements regarding the fall event over the summer and will keep our members informed.
If you are able to commit to the above principles and wish to be kept informed in a timely manner, please join the Anglican Network in Canada. You may find more information and a registration form on our website at www.anglicannetwork.ca.

I shall wait in a timely manner!
Seems to me that “waiting” is the order of the day for Anglicans. I don’t believe that ANiC or Essentials should wait to much longer because as the weeks pass, so will many pass out the doors from the Anglican Church, never to return. The time for waiting is over and now “is a time such as this”. May God forgive the ACC for what it has done and may He encourage the leadership of ANiC and Essentials to move expediently towards retaining worldwide communion.
Hi Peter - The “here” at the top isn’t connecting to a website. Can we find the link elsewhere?
Thanks for all you’re doing. The blog is a brilliant tool for dialogue and understanding form various points of view.
I think if you click on the Anglican Network in Canada link on the right hand side of this page it will take you to the same announcement.
Here’s the direct link to the posted Network statement:
www.anglicannetwork.ca/nr_070107.htm.
I do not think there will be a need to wait much longer, but all things need to be done in order, and as part of that people have to have every chance to make a decision. IMHO anyway.