EVANGELICALS SAY 13M BACK ANTI-GAY MOVE

Stephen Bates, religious affairs correspondent

The Guardian

Wednesday December 31, 2003

Evangelicals opposed to gay people within the Anglican communion presented an email petition yesterday to Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, calling on him to provide alternative oversight for those congregations which oppose bishops supporting Gene Robinson, the gay bishop of New Hampshire.

The petition’s organisers claimed it was backed by more than 13 million church-goers. The move was the latest flexing of muscles by traditionalists who have mobilised recently against any relaxation of the church opposition to homosexuals. It came against a backdrop of threats to split the worldwide communion which Dr Williams heads.

But there was some doubt about how many of those who had allegedly signed up either knew of the petition or supported it, since heads of families, clergy, bishops and archbishops were allowed to sign on behalf of all their family members, parishes, dioceses and provinces.

Support for the document rose from about 500,000 to 13 million in the last few days.

The organisers claimed the support of five primates, all from the developing world, eight bishops, though none from English dioceses, 4,013 individuals,  3,192 families, 249 parishes, eight of the communion500 dioceses and everyone in the five provinces represented by the archbishop signatories. That included the entire church in Uganda, south-east Asia, the Congo, Central Africa, Kenya, the Indian ocean and the 22,000 Anglicans living in South America.

Described to those signing it as your Christmas gift to the Anglican communion, the petition was said to be your chance to make the Anglican communion as God intends it to be. The organisers claimed it showed a majority of the church70 million members across the world opposed the consecration of Canon Robinson, whose election by the New England diocese was endorsed by US Episcopalians meeting at their annual convention in Minneapolis in August.

The petition dismissed the majority votes, including two-thirds of US bishops, as showing contempt by a minority group within the church.

Bishop Robinson was consecrated in New Hampshire by the head of the US church, Frank Griswold, in November and will succeed the current diocesan for the state in the spring.

The petition was organised by Anglican Mainstream, a group of conservative English evangelicals, which sprang up following the group successful mobilisation of opposition to the appointment of Jeffrey John, a gay priest, to the suffragan bishopric of Reading last summer.

Dr John was forced to stand down by Dr Williams, who had earlier endorsed his appointment.

The group is centered on the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, which supports evangelical theological training for students from the developing world and has received funding from the Californian fundamentalist billionaire Howard F. Ahmanson.

The petition called on Archbishop Williams to no longer recognise the ministries of any bishop who attended Bishop Robinson’s consecration and to authorise traditionalist bishops to minister to congregations which can no longer20 support their bishops.

The organisers also promised to pray for the archbishop and for all thosewho are confused or living in sin.

END

LATE BREAKING FIGURES FROM ANGLICAN MAINSTREAM

www.anglican-mainstream.net/index2.htm

Support So Far 13,628,200 Including Most Revd Livingstone Mpalanyi-Nkoyoyo and the Church of the Uganda Archbishop

Yong Ping Chung and the Province of South East Asia Presiding

Bishop Greg Venables, Southern Cone

Archbishop Fidelis Dirokpa and the Province of the Congo

Rt Rev Dr Bernard Malango and the Province of Central Africa

Most Rev Benjamin M Nzimbi and the Anglican Church of Kenya

Rt Rev Peter John Lee and Bishops Council, Diocese of Christ the King, CPSA

Rt Rev Jack Iker and Diocese of Fort Worth

Rt Rev Stephen K Nyorsok and Diocese of Kitale Kenya

Rt Rev Dr Glenn N Davies, North Sydney

Rt Rev Stephen Hale, Melbourne

Rt Rev Colin Bazley, Former Primate Southern Cone

Rt Rev Louis Tsui Eastern Kowloon

Rt Rev John Junichiro Furumoto, Diocese of Kobe, Japan

Canon David Anderson (AAC)

David Peterson, Principal, Oak Hill College

Peter C Moore, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry

Rev Ulric Gerry University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy

Rev Jude Edomwonyi, St Augustine, Bahamas

Preb Richard Bewes and All Souls Langham Place, London

Rev Susan H Crane and Iglesia de San Mat=EDas, Tennessee

Rev Vincent Rakotoarisoa, St PeterAmbanidia, Antananarivo, Madagascar

Rev Ed Hird and St Simons, New Westminster

Rev Paul Harcourt and All Saints Woodford Wells, Chelmsford

Holy Spirit Anglican Church, Recife, Brazil

Church of the Redeemer, South West Florida

Rev Joanne Beacon and Humboldt Parish Saskatoon

4.013 individuals

11,665 in 3,192 families

69,922 in 249 parishes and organisations

198,600 in 8 dioceses

13,334,000 in 5 provinces

As of 1200 GMT, 29/12/03

New Hampshire Consecration Attending Bishops Primates

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and Chief Consecrator

The Most Rev. Martin De Jesus Barahona

Primate of the Province of Central America and Bishop of El Salvador

International

Bishop Krister Stendahl, Lutheran Church of Sweden, Bishop Emeritus of

Stockholm and Co-consecrator

The Rt. Rev. Bruce Stavert, Bishop of Quebec (Anglican Church of Canada)

The Rt. Rev. Michael Ingham, Bishop of New Westminster (Anglican Church of

Canada)

Episcopal Diocesan Bishops

The Rt. Rev. Joe Burnett, Bishop of Nebraska

The Rt. Rev. John B. Chane, Bishop of Washington

The Rt. Rev. George Councell, Bishop of New Jersey

The Rt. Rev. Thomas Ely, Bishop of Vermont

The Rt. Rev. James J. Jelinek, Bishop of Minnesota

The Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudsen, Bishop of Maine and co-consecrator

The Rt. Rev. James A. Kelsey, Bishop of Northern Michigan

The Rt. Rev. Jack=A0 M. McKelvey, Bishop of Rochester

The Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, Bishop of Massachusetts

The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith, Bishop of Connecticut

The Rt. Rev. Douglas Theu