The Episcopal row as seen by the left
Borrowing MCJ’s tone for a moment as it fits: Whoa, m’lord. Deep breaths.

The sometime Bishop of California:

"They intend to become the sole authorized Anglican presence in America. The other side of that coin is that they intend for [TEC] to be cut off from the Anglican Communion,” he said, again not addressing what role TEC’s liberal leaders would have in effecting such an outcome.

All true. Which wouldn’t affect at least 90 per cent of TEC in any way.

In a brief time, they want to undo what it has taken many generations of Americans to build.

And how in a free society would a change of affiliation — being dropped from Anglicanism — ‘undo’ your church, m’lord?

Legally the conservative minority can’t close you down (which is as it should be in a free society) as you are trying to do to them.

The two villains in Swing's story are not restorers, but have a far-reaching strategy to "take away our birthright, our heritage, our Anglican connection, our ministries to the poor, our official prayer book tradition, our schools, churches, agencies and our resources."

How would a change of affiliation ‘shut down’ your putative ministries to the poor, Bishop? (Or for that matter your catering to the gay? Which as a citizen but not as a churchman I and Ron Paul defend BTW.) AFAIK Episcopalians stopped being subsidised by overseas Anglicans in the late 1700s owing to some political unpleasantness (in which HM the King was slandered over the misdoings of Parliament).

As for your Prayer Book tradition in addition to the 1662 book whose psalter I use every day I’ve got on my shelves three copies of the American 1928 book that literally were thrown out of your churches. It’s been a while since I’ve opened a 1979 book but AFAIK there are no provisions in it for communing the unbaptised or trying to marry same-sex couples.

And what of this claimed Anglican identity now that you’re in Eucharistic communion with the Methodists, turning the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral into toilet paper?

From old magazine and new blogroll link The Christian Challenge (Lee Penn is a contributor).

P.S. One more time. If unity matters above all else including disagreement about doctrine, with whom would you have stood in November 1534, Thomas Cranmer or St John Fisher? Never mind the disagreement about him: the Pope is England’s lawful patriarch.