Monday, March 8, 2010

Updated: Dallas Affirms Anglican Covenant


From The Living Church-

Delegates to a special convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas voted March 6 to adopt and enter into the Anglican Covenant.

The move makes the 30,000-member North Texas diocese among the first dioceses (Central Florida is another) to affirm the Covenant’s call for mutual accountability among worldwide Anglicans.

Delegates also voted 185–101 to disassociate the diocese from General Convention actions last summer that have led to more public blessings of same-sex couples.

The votes followed a call by the chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council to renounce the notion that the gospel “is all about us.”

“The hour is getting late,” said the Rt. Rev. James Tengatenga, Bishop of Southern Malawi, quoting lyrics from Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.”

“Time for our games is running out,” the bishop added. “In fact, I believe it has run out already. It is time to focus on Jesus. … It is not about you but about Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

The diocese’s adoption of the Covenant — irrespective of what the Episcopal Church might decide someday on the matter — carried heavily by voice vote.

The convention earlier adopted, 176–147, a motion to affirm diocesan membership not just in the Anglican Communion but also in the Episcopal Church — a signal that the Rt. Rev. James Stanton’s commitment to keep the diocese in the church enjoys majority support.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/3/6/dallas-affirms-anglican-covenant

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