ACNA Needs Reorganization — Dual Integrities?

Or is it "Mutual Flourishing? Or is it Bait and Switch?

At the beginning of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), we were told that we would have “dual integrities” about women’s ordination. Some bishops and dioceses would recognize women’s ordination and others would not. Overall, no bishops were to be women, and we were to respect the difference and grow together.

There were a number of problems with that. One was that this ended up becoming dual integrities about more than just women priests. Dioceses that ordained women tended to become woke. And those who were woke and woke adjacent often disrespected and belittled those were were not. And, yes, we anti-woke eventually had enough and threw some disrespect and contention back at them.

They hectored us that we were not multiethnic and multicultural enough, often while they themselves watered down the basics of Anglican culture, such as liturgy. They also presumed to use their positions in ACNA to push “social justice” views that many of us find repugnant.

An additional problem is that at the provincial level, one integrity (if you wish to use that term) came to dominate. If one were to look only at how we are run at the provincial level, one could conclude that ACNA as a whole is women-ordaining and woke adjacent. That would be a partial view at best. As one gets more local we are less that way. But it is hard to quibble as the provincial entities do indeed act as if ACNA as a whole ordained women and are woke adjacent.

And that goes all the way to the top. When we had several reputable, even revered, bishops who do not ordain women, instead the College of Bishops selected Steve Wood to be Archbishop with disastrous consequences. Several men of character, reputation and principle were bypassed to elect a goofy, virtue signaling, opportunistic chameleon who told clergy he opposed women’s ordination before he ended up being for it. (The latter is an open secret several clergy can confirm.)

I and most of us are not privy to what happened in that conclave, but the selection invites the assumption that bishops who opposed women’s ordination were blocked or at least pressured to give in, with a mediocre choice as the result.

And the more orthodox bishops share the blame. They probably should not have consented to the selection of Wood. (And I make no assumptions about the accusations against him in saying that.) Yes, that would not have been very collegial. But look where collegiality has brought us.

So it is not just a few dioceses that have a policy that those who oppose women’s ordination need not apply, but often that is the policy at the provincial level as well.

That includes those ubiquitous provincial initiatives. If we were really a church that respects those who oppose women’s ordination, then initiatives that promote women in Holy Orders would be at the diocese or parish level, not sponsored by the province.

Yet we have as a provincial initiative the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, which contains the NGLI Women’s Leadership Network, led by the Rev. Virginia McCray Musselman. It clearly promotes women clergy. Next Generation also contains the Antioch Initiative, which could be considered a DEI initiative promoting “diversity” and hectors us that “the ordained leadership of the ACNA lacks ethnic diversity.” My parish, multiethnic without even trying and led by a Puerto Rican Rector, might find that amusing as might parishes with quite of number of Nigerians.

I could continue — you know I can. I have yet not touched how the default setting of Provincial Councils and Provisional Assemblies is to accept and promote women in Holy Orders. ACNA leadership says we have “dual integrities” but then again and again sides with one “integrity,” the woke adjacent, women ordaining one.

“Dual integrities” belongs with “mutual flourishing” — deceptive terms that lure the orthodox into accepting departures from orthopraxy. “Bait and switch” might be a more accurate term.

Our differences on women’s ordination among other divisive subjects are why any reorganization of ACNA must either end several of these provincial initiatives or devolve them to the dioceses. Provincial offices and initiatives should do only those things we as a whole province agree on. Women’s ordination and “diversity” along with “social justice” are not matters we agree on.

To bring this about, a lot of power needs to be taken away from the provincial level and offices, but that will have to wait until another day.

In fact, with the current messes going on, I might wait quite a while before writing on this subject again. As much as I want ACNA reorganized, I recognize that this time of turmoil is probably not the best time to do that or perhaps even to have much discussion of that.

Like I keep saying, pray for ACNA.

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lead-in image: a “mutual flourishing” bait and switch artist who was recently Archbishop of Canterbury