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Why Forward in Faith?
There is now a distinct possibility that a new, independent free Province can be created in the Church of England for orthodox minded Anglicans. Forward in Faith, Great Britain has openly committed itself to the task of setting up this Province. This effort is receiving support at the highest levels in both Church and State and could well be in place in the not distant future.
Traditionalists in the United States and throughout the Anglican
Communion will naturally want to have a relationship with the new
Province in the UK. The new Province will uphold what Anglicans have
traditionally promoted: the consensus of the undivided Church of the
first millennium. That is the paradigm whereby the unity of Christ's
Body can be revealed, a fact now agreed upon by Romans, the Orthodox,
and traditional Anglicans.
The Continuing Church Movement in the United States has made great
strides in building parish communities and training layreaders and
permanent deacons. It can offer its experience in these areas to the
emerging free Province in the UK. But during the past 25 years, this
Movement in the US has been plagued and divided by differences on
ultimate goals, on whether bishops should have annulments, by
personality disputes and by the temptation to cut corners on important
standards such as the training of priests. The Continuing Church
Movement has grown and is a vibrant reality at the parish level, but
has become something of an embarrassment at the diocesan and provincial
levels. Across all the jurisdictional divides, leaders are admitting
that we have failed to build what we set out to build: a single
provincial jurisdiction with Biblical standards, prepared to link up
with orthodox minded Anglicans and other Catholics throughout the world.
We can help FiF Great Britain with what we have learned in this
Country. But they can provide us with something we have needed all
along: a big sister, to whom we can be accountable. We need
accountability. If every continuing church parish in the US were to
become an affiliate of FiF Great Britain, we would have a single point
of reference, and a referee, to begin sorting out our differences. We
would have a point of reference for raising , among other things, the
standards of marriage for our clergy, and an absolute commitment for an
episcopate free of annulments. The Free Synod of the Church of Sweden,
and the Nordic Catholic Church in Norway, have already affiliated
themselves with FiF Great Britain, to the benefit of all concerned.
For the future of our Continuing Church Movement in the US, it now
seems almost certain that the paradigm will not be Berkeley,
Washington, D.C., or Des Moines but London. We will of course always be
self-governing. But the time has come to build a solid relationship of
accountability with FiF Great Britain.
Please continue reading below on how to join Forward in Faith. How to become an overseas affiliate of Forward in Faith, Great Britian
Your parish can become an overseas affiliate by sending a check for $80, payable to Forward in Faith, Great Britain, with a cover letter, to:
FiF
c/o Mr. Stephen Parkinson
2A the Cloisters
Gordon Square, London
WC1H 0AG
England This will entitle you every month to a bundle of New Directions magazines for your parish, and the opportunity to network with traditional Anglicans from around the world, and attend and vote at the Assembly in London every October.
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