UPDATED – see below
A coalition of Anglicans have formed the “No Anglican Covenant Coalition” in order to lobby against the proposed Anglican Covenant. The Coalition believes adoption of the current proposed Covenant will:
Bring historic changes to the nature of Anglicanism
Trade a vibrant and colorful Anglicanism for drab uniformity
Impede local mission and destroy creative evangelism
Trade local oversight for centralized decision making.
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO STOP ANGLICAN COVENANT
From the No Anglican Covenant Coalition News Release
LONDON – An international coalition of Anglicans has been created to campaign against the proposed Anglican Covenant. Campaigners believe the proposed Covenant constitutes unwarranted interference in the internal life of the member churches of the Anglican Communion, would narrow the acceptable range of belief and practice within Anglicanism, and would prevent further development of Anglican thought. The Coalition’s website (noanglicancovenant.org) will provide resources for Anglicans around the world to learn about the potential risks of the proposed Anglican Covenant.
“We believe that the majority of the clergy and laity in the Anglican Communion would not wish to endorse this document,” according to the Coalition’s Moderator, the Revd. Dr. Lesley Fellows, who is also the Coalition’s Convenor for the Church of England. “Apart from church insiders, very few people are aware of the Covenant. We want to encourage a wider discussion and to highlight the problems the Covenant will cause.”
The idea of an Anglican Covenant was first proposed in 2004 as a means to address divisions among the member churches of the Anglican Communion on matters ranging from human sexuality to the role of women. The current draft of the Covenant, which has been unilaterally designated as the “final” draft, has been referred to the member churches of the Communion. The proposed Covenant establishes mechanisms which would have the effect of forcing member churches to conform to the demands and expectations of other churches or risk exclusion from the Communion.
From theNo Anglican Covenant Coalition website
“At No Anglican Covenant, we present the case against the Anglican Covenant and useful material for those studying the covenant or looking for arguments to support their opposition to its adoption. We also provide background material and track the status of the adoption (or rejection) of the covenant across the Communion.”
No Anglican Covenant is also on Facebook and Twitter @nocovenant #nocovenant.
UPDATE:
ENS reports here
The campaign against the Anglican Covenant was stepped up a gear on Nov. 3 with the formation of an international coalition that says the covenant would constitute “unwarranted interference in the internal life of the member churches of the Anglican Communion, would narrow the acceptable range of belief and practice within Anglicanism, and would prevent further development of Anglican thought.”
The coalition — made up of Anglicans in Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States — has launched a website, called “No Anglican Covenant” that it says provides resources “for Anglicans around the world to learn about the potential risks of the proposed Anglican Covenant.”