Quick Takes for 6/24/2009

St. James asks for Supreme Court review

Earth Times reported today that St. James Anglican Church (the former St. James Episcopal Church, Newport Beach), was to file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court today, asking that court to overturn the California Supreme Court decision that awarded the St. James property to the Diocese of Los Angeles. The move was expected. I cannot see that the high court has much incentive to take this case, however. Readers seeking amusement can read the press release here, which outlines the argument of the petitioners.

ACNA “unites” Anglicans

I watched the Q&A at today’s press conference at the Inaugural Assembly of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). (The event was available on the Web from AnglicanTV Ministries.) Much was being made by Bishops Duncan and Minns of the new church’s uniting, rather than dividing Anglicans. It takes chutzpah to make this claim. Yes, the new organization is bringing together various Anglican splinter groups, such as the Reformed Episcopal Church, but at least some of these groups are grasping desperately at a chance for Anglican respectability. Of course the “uniting” is only happening after most of the members of four dioceses “un-united” from The Episcopal Church. What are these people smoking?

As an aside, Bishop Minns objected to a reporter’s referring to ACNA as Ack-na, insisting that the full name, Anglican Church in North America be used. The real objection, I think, is that Ack-na sounds too much like acne, a coincidence about which I will say nothing more.

Via Media USA comments on ACNA

Via Media USA, which now has a shiny new Web site—see my post here—that makes it easier to post new material, has commented on the advent of ACNA. Recently ordained—by a real church—VMUSA facilitator Christopher Wilkins says the following:

We note with sadness the latest acts of schism by those who have left The Episcopal Church in search of another Anglican church home. Recognized only by those primates already tied to the ACNA through Episcopal Church parishes claimed by their provinces, this is still a place apart from the entire Anglican Communion. Whether founding a self-styled “Anglican Church in North America” and selecting a new archbishop will bring comfort to these people and renew their sense of purpose and mission, or whether it will continue to isolate them in the echo chamber of their own apartness, remains to be seen.

“In my Father's house,” said our Lord, “there are many rooms.” There has always been room in The Episcopal Church to welcome all who seek God, worship Christ, abide in the power of the Spirit, and know God’s name as Love, not Division. This, we are certain, will continue. What God may have in store for those who find ever-new ways to reject the company of their fellow Christians and fellow Anglicans we do not presume to judge.

You can find the statement here.