... if the proposals outlined by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams are implemented. It seems that it is being proposed to have two classes of membership within the Anglican communion, 'constituent' (i.e. full) and 'associate' status. Because The Episcopal Church in the US declined to "repent" its decision to appoint the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and has now failed to vote for a moratorium on further gay consecrations it is probable that schism can no longer be avoided.
Those provinces thought unlikely to sign up to the doctrine necessary to achieve full membership status are likely to include, in addition to The Episcopal Church in the US, include the Anglican churches in Canada and New Zealand and even the Scottish Episcopal Church. I have no personal stake in this whole shambles, but it will certainly be a relief to have this sordid squabbling 'resolved', even if it is only to make very clear to the whole world just how much bigotry still exists within what will be left of Anglicanism. I don't imagine that The Episcopal Church in the US will suffer any lasting harm, even if some parts of it continue their recent affiliation with less-enlightened churches elsewhere in the world.
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