the question of why "continuing Anglicanism" seems to have made so little effort to attract the next generation of those disaffected with The Episcopal Church. If David Virtue were a real journalist, here's the sort of question that I think he should be posing to the likes of Brian Marsh or John Vaughan:
Bishop, as I'm sure you know, there's been a second wave of dissatisfaction with The Episcopal Church following the election of openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson in 2003. In fact, judging by numbers, that wave has been considerably larger than the wave that left following the 1977 Affirmation of St Louis. Now, there seems to be yet another 2012-13 wave, with TEC purging Bishop of South Carolina Mark Lawrence for too-conservative views. Has the ACA seen any of these developments as opportunities to replenish its own ranks, and if it has, how do you think it's been doing? Shouldn't South Carolina in particular be attractive territory for the ACA Diocese of the Eastern US, which has lost many parishes in recent years?
I've cogitated e-mailing Marsh or Vaughan with these questions, but I don't think they'd answer me in particular, though I don't believe they see themselves as accountable to anyone (and certainly not the Almighty). However, if they were inclined to answer someone like David Virtue, here's what I think we'd see:
David, as a Continuing denomination, the Anglican Church in America relies on two basic principles, the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, and the refusal to ordain women. In fact, we Continuing denominations refuse to be in communion with any denomination that ordains women, and in fact we will not be in communion with any denomination that is in communion with any such denomination. As you know, the denominations and other groups, like the ACNA, that left The Episcopal Church after 2003 follow the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and they either tolerate the ordination of women, or they are in communion with denominations that do. As a result, we feel we have little in common with the ACNA or any other group that comes from The Episcopal Church after the 1970s, since of course they are perfectly happy with women's ordination and the 1979 BCP, and we don't feel we would get very far with them if we were to approach them. Instead, as I'm sure you know, we're pursuing merger with the Anglican Province in America, a group with which we feel we're much more compatible.
Maybe I should apply for the job of press rep for the ACA, huh? You can make up your own mind about what this likely means, though I'll probably have more to say as well. (But what is David Virtue good for, other than to breathe out CO-2 to keep the trees green?)
