The council of the Modern Churchpeople’s Union (MCU) met November 6 in London’s Docklands to develop a strategy for the defense of liberal theology.
Firmly opposed to the proposed Anglican covenant, the group plans to extend its network beyond England, improving links with the Episcopal Church, building branches in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, recruiting a range of ages and denominations, and increasing support among bishops and academic theologians.
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Among MCU’s many supporters is the Most Rev. Barry Morgan, Archbishop of the Church in Wales, who chaired the July conference in Hoddesdon, England, and is one of the organization’s vice presidents. Speakers included the Rev. Canon Professor Marilyn McCord Adams, of Oxford University; the Rev. Canon Dr. Charlotte Methuen, of Oxford University; Bishop Michael Jackson of Clogher, Church of Ireland; Bishop Frank Griswold, 25th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; and Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana.
Griswold told the July gathering that the search for truth is a communal one, and that “the Holy Spirit can do different things in different places.”
Mwamba spoke of “delusions of grandeur” among some of the African primates and noted that many church members throughout the continent had not been consulted about issues of human sexuality, and were “frankly not bothered with the debate.”
“Some of our primates act like ecclesiastical Mugabes,” he said, making reference to Zimbabwe’s tyrannical president who has led his country into a humanitarian crisis and financial collapse.