CANA holds their Council 2008 this weekend in Akron, Ohio. The group continues its plans to set up a separate Anglican Province in North America.
According to their conference website, the agenda include reports from GAFCON and updates on the Common Cause Partnership. They also say they will begin work on their own Constitution and Canons and the adoption of their own American Prayer Book.
During a legislative session tomorrow, they will vote on the following resolutions:
RESOLUTION NO. 1-Establishment of the Great Lakes Region as a Region of CANA
RESOLVED, that the Convocation Council recognizes that the Great Lakes Region has been duly established as a region within the Convocation the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (“CANA”), in accordance with Section 5.3 of the Bylaws of CANA.
RESOLUTION NO. 2-Regarding the Global Anglican Future Conference
RESOLVED, that the Convocation Council hereby expresses its gratefulness to the majority-world Anglican leaders recently gathered at the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Jerusalem, who stood in solidarity with all Anglicans who struggle against revisionist forces in the Anglican Communion. We also hereby express our appreciation to the CANA bishops, the bishops’ wives, and others for representing CANA at GAFCON. We echo their endorsement of the Statement on the Global Anglican Future and the confessional Jerusalem Declaration. We commit ourselves to pursue the GAFCON goal to “reform, heal and revitalize the Anglican Communion and expand its mission to the world.” We endeavor to support the emerging GAFCON movement and its Primates Council.
RESOLUTION NO. 3-Regarding Recognition by the Primates Council of the Global Anglican Future Conference of a New Anglican North American Province
RESOLVED, that the Convocation Council hereby supports the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) desire to embrace the invitation by the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) leadership to recognize CCP as an emerging Anglican province in North America. As we set forth plans for the future of Anglicanism in North America, our prayer is that our Common Cause federation will continue to grow and mature as an Anglican province.
So CANA appears to have moved beyond simple border crossings and are working with the GAFCON churches in setting up a new, self-defined, doctrinally conservative and reformed-evangelical Anglicanism. By forming their own constitution and canons and developing their own prayer book, they no longer are a parallel jurisdiction within the Anglican Communion but see their future as a new and separate denomination that is aligned with certain members of the Anglican Communion.
Resolution # 1 will provide the new jurisdictional home for the members of the diocese of Pittsburgh who vote to leave the Episcopal Church–taking their property and assets as they go.
Resolution #3 is another step that CANA and the GAFCON Churches are taking to create their own style Anglican Communion and to separate themselves from both Canterbury & York and the rest of the Instruments of Communion.
HT to Fr. Scott & Co.