What was on the table (and the chairs) at NEAC 5?

A lot has been said in the last few days about the proposal brought before the 2008 NEAC at All Soul's Langham Place on Saturday 15th November. I have followed this with interest, but have only just had sight of exactly was on delegates' seats.

The document itself is quite enlightening, and needs to be read in its entirety, since only in this light (and particularly the preamble) is it possible to evaluate properly the majority decision of the meeting that the motion itself not be voted on.

I was personally rather surprised to see how carefully the preamble explicitly makes the point that this would have formed part of a consultation process. This also makes it quite clear that the decision of the meeting not to vote could not at the time it was taken be regarded by anyone there as binding on the CEEC.

As a member of the CEEC myself, I will certainly be arguing that very careful attention must be paid to what happened on the 15th, but it is already clear that the CEEC will be thinking hard about what should happen next, and particularly what should be done to support beleagured fellow Anglicans throughout the Communion.

John Richardson

(PS, I have scanned this document and tried to reflect the original formatting, but obviously this is difficult moving from an A4 page to a blog.)

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National Evangelical Anglican Consultation debate

At its next meeting, the Church of England Evangelical Council will vote upon the Global Anglican Future Conference Statement and Jerusalem Declaration. The Council will take into account a wide range of perspectives and insights from its membership.

This Consultation is invited to offer its own insights, comments and advice to the Council. Members of the Council and its Executive are present at this Consultation and a report will be made to the Council, including a summary of points made from the floor. The Consultation is also invited to express an opinion through a formal vote. This vote will inevitably reflect the views only of those able to be present on the day, but will be of considerable assistance to the Council.

Motion
The motion, to be proposed by the Chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council, is as follows:

“That this National Evangelical Anglican Consultation,

acknowledging that the Church of England professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds and bears witness to this truth in her historic formularies (the Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty-nine Articles and the Ordinal) and as set out in Canon A5, Article 6 and the Declaration of Assent

and mindful, as members of the Anglican Communion, of our obligations to faithful Anglicans across the globe,

(a) express our support for the Jerusalem Declaration

and

(b) recognising that Evangelical Anglicans will pursue a variety of strategies, support our brothers and sisters in their strategic decisions including those set out in the GAFCON Statement

made in Jerusalem on 29* June 2008 at the Global Anglican Future Conference gathering attended by 1148 people, including 291 Bishops of the Anglican Communion”

Procedure

For the avoidance of doubt, please note the following:

• No amendments will be permitted
• The motion will be voted on in parts (i.e. (a) and (b) above will be voted on separately)
• The Chairman of the session, the Revd Canon Michael Walters, has full control over the handling of the session to ensure a clear vote and timely finish and no challenges to his rulings are permitted
• The vote will take place no later than 3.55pm.

When posting your comments please give a full name and location. Comments without this information may not be posted.