The new chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has begun his tenure by criticizing the theological stance of Dr Rowan Williams as ill behoving the office of Archbishop of Canterbury.The Ven Michael Lawson, the Archdeacon of Hampstead, told The Church of England Newspaper: “Rowan’s theological method is reflective and in a sense poetic. It’s a valuable contribution to the discussion. But there is a distinction to be drawn between even the best kind of speculative theology and the leadership required of an Archbishop.”
The conservative evangelical opposes same-sex unions and the consecration of gay clergy, which is in contrast to Dr Williams’ own views. While Dr Williams has tried to draw a distinction between his personal theology and his position as Archbishop, the new chairman said that Dr Williams’ actions while Archbishop of Canterbury had “created difficulties for people who are struggling with sexual temptations.”
Archdeacon Lawson inherits a troubled position after his predecessor, Dr Richard Turnbull, resigned amid acrimony after being faced with a rebellion over a vote on the Jerusalem Declaration.
That declaration was produced by the Gafcon movement last summer, in protest at the Anglican Communion’s acceptance of the consecration of an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church in the US, and their blessing of same-sex unions.
At the fifth National Evangelical Anglican Consultation (NEAC) at All Souls, London, in November, the CEEC put a surprise vote to attendees asking them to align themselves with Gafcon, and support its Jerusalem Declaration. The attendees refused to vote, and the CEEC was forced to apologise for the way it had handled the consultation.
Many at NEAC 5 felt the conservative bias within CEEC meant it was trying to force them into adopting their conservative stance. After a meeting on December 4, the CEEC released a statement saying: “we affirm… the Jerusalem Declaration, and as members of the Anglican Communion, we acknowledge our obligation to stand in prayerful solidarity with faithful Anglicans across the globe.
“We recognize that evangelical Anglicans will pursue a variety of strategies for dealing with the current crisis in the Communion, and we support those who are seeking to work through the existing Anglican Communion structures, those who are working within the framework set out in the Gafcon Statement, and those supporting both.
“We call on the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates to recognize the urgency of the situation as it affects parishes and clergy, particularly in the USA, Canada and Brazil, and to give immediate and serious consideration to granting recognition to the new Province in the USA."
While the admission that evangelical Anglicans will pursue a variety of strategies for dealing with the current crisis has been seen as a concession to ‘open’ evangelicals, they remain dissatisfied with CEEC’s position.
Open evangelicals at the Fulcrum forum issued a response saying: “We question the wisdom of affirming the entire Jerusalem Declaration” and “the wisdom of calling on the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates to give ‘immediate and serious consideration’ to granting recognition to the new province in North America.”
Archdeacon Lawson has admitted that the CEEC is unrepresentative of the body of Anglican evangelicals. However, he discourages talk of division.
The Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Rev Peter Broadbent, described the chairmanship as “a thankless task.”
He said: “I think what he’s got as a task is a challenge to unite evangelical Anglicans, because at the moment we aren’t. There’s a lot of denial around about that from various people. Michael, I hope, understands the nature of the task, because he’s in touch with the constituency, and so obviously will always try and do what he can to make it happen."
Archdeacon Lawson has denied the existence of separate camps within the community.
Bishop Broadbent said: “I think there are major divisions. I think there is a denial on the part of some of the more conservative people that there are divisions. Unless they can get a bit of honesty about facing those things, it can’t be solved. I can understand Michael’s reluctance to talk about it, he doesn’t want to alienate anybody but the fact is we’ve got to face up to the divisions.”
Archdeacon Lawson will not be making any attempt to convince ‘open’ evangelicals of the wisdom of the CEEC statement where they have questioned it. Although he speaks of needing a meeting of minds, he says: “It’s for them to persuade me of their objections.”
Many evangelicals believe the structure that the CEEC exists within is to blame for its conservative bias.
The Fulcrum forum administrator, Stephen Kuhrt, wrote in The Church of England Newspaper in November saying: “The electoral base in Diocesan Evangelical Fellowships (DEF) is a particular problem. Whereas DEFs were once a genuine constituency basis they no longer contain all evangelicals since many are now nourished by alternative networks such as New Wine, Fulcrum, Spring Harvest, blogging and many more.”
However, the new chairman refused to say whether structural change was a possibility, while conceding that some DEFs are not working.
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(Source: RI)