Update: The Rev. Grieb has told numerous sources that she did not offer the characterizations attributed to her.
Here is a perplexing little nugget from a report on the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada. The Rev. Katherine Grieb of Virginia Theological Seminary, a member of the original Anglican Covenant Design Team, is reported to have said the following:
“The Rev. Grieb noted that no provinces have yet ratified this Covenant. She said that from TEC’s perspective the document has progressed from being very rough to being a draft ‘that they could live with.’ “
If this in fact is what the Rev. Grieb said, it would be interesting to know how she has come to this conclusion. TEC’s perspective can only be articulated by the General Convention, which has said not a word about the final draft of the covenant. Executive Council hasn’t spoken in any kind of conclusive, or, for that matter, even suggestive sort of way on the matter, either. Section IV, the disciplinary section of the covenant, has been referred to the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons to determine whether it conflicts with the governing documents of our Church. But that’s about the sum total of official Church activity on the matter.
Most of the folks who will consider this document at the 2012 General Convention haven’t been elected yet, and even people who keep their large ears very close to the ground aren’t picking up much in the way of rumblings, pro or con. So if the Anglican Church of Canada has been given the impression that the Episcopal Church has decided to “live with” the Covenant, they’ve been given bad information.
The Rev. Grieb is scheduled to brief the bishops of the Episcopal Church on the Covenant at their upcoming meeting in Texas.