You pays your money…
Many thanks to the website of something called The Anglican Independent Communion Worldwide at www.aicuk. org.uk, for the intriguing headline This Website is Suspended. ‘On Sunday 10th June 2007 three key members of the team which administers the central services of the Anglican Independent Communion Worldwide, had a meeting. The meeting discussed the current situation in the Communion, and expressed deep regret that they now in a situation where they can place no reliance on messages they receive from within the British Province.
Messages and instructions to staff received from other senior clergy have proved to be bogus, and some unauthorised statements have been circulated to the Provinces by people who do not have authority to make them. Our faithful Brothers and Sisters around the world are being misled. Further, certain clergy have conspired to produce an alternative website, with the apparent intention of causing further confusion. The meeting decided, with regret, that they are no longer prepared to tolerate this abuse of their hard work, goodwill, and personal financial commitment which has served to build up the Communion over the past years. The following measures will take immediate effect.
1. The RtRevd Prof Barry Peachey is acutely aware that it is the wish of a large majority of the Bishops of AIC Worldwide that he accept their nomination as Metropolitan Archbishop. After prayer and contemplation he has now decided not to accept this nomination, and will retire.
2. Mrs Patricia Donnelly, Treasurer of the AIC, resigns from that role with immediate effect. All AIC accounts at the Yorkshire Bank pic are frozen immediately. They will not operate again until a new Treasurer is nominated, and bank formalities have been complied with.
3. Mrs Heather Peachey, Webmaster, resigns from that role, and from her other ministry as Deaf and Disabilities Chaplain.
4. Staff who support these principal officers, such as our Computer Security Manager, also resign forthwith.’
… and you takes your choice
Many thanks to the website of something called The Anglican Independent Communion Worldwide at www.aic.btik. com for this news: ‘The Metropolitan Archbishop of the Anglican Independent Communion, Archiepiscopus Gran-dis Britannia, The Most Reverend Dr. Norman Sydney Dutton, has released the following communique. Be it known by all, Saturday 2nd June 2007, the Metropolitan Archbishop, Norman Sydney Dutton has terminated forthwith The Rt. Rev. & Rt. Worshipful Professor Barry E Peachey from the office of Metropolitan Chancellor. With immediate effect, he is no longer a member of the above Communion. The Metropolitan Archbishop, The Most Reverend Dr. Norman Sydney Dutton, has accepted, with immediate effect, the resignation of Mrs Heather Peachey and Patricia Donnelly. Additionally, the website aicorg.uk has been taken off-line by The Rt Rev’d & Mrs Peachey’s son. To prevent further innaccurate and unauthorised communications, all official notices will be posted only to this site. Any statements made outside of this site are not official and may contain inaccuracies and misrepresentations.’
As if
A visit to the website of Christ Church, Nanticoke, in the diocese of Niagara, Canada, is full of useful information about the church and what it has to offer: a list entitled ‘Features of the Parish’ runs as follows:
Air-Conditioned:
Wheel Chair Accessible:
Accessible Washrooms:
Change Tables:
Smoke Free:
Hearing Assistance:
Parking Lot: no
Street Parking:
Public Transit:
Hall For Rent:
Kitchen Facilities: no
Day Care Center:
Well, provided the absence of no actually does mean yes, that is not a bad start. Bit of a shame, then, to read what’s been on offer under the heading ‘Special Liturgies’:
Quasi-Closing Service – August 12, 4.00 p.m. Service to mark the quasi-closing of the church. Services reduced to once a month 3rd Sunday @ 4.00 p.m.
‘Quasi-Closing’ of failing churches is an idea which could obviously catch on! After all, quasi-priests and quasi-bishops have gone down a storm, haven’t they?
Delusional News
Readers may remember the ‘sad’ case of the Revd Nicholas Henderson, whose election as Bishop of Lake Malawi in 2005 failed to be confirmed by the Provincial Court in the Province of Central Africa, once the bishops realised just what the Modern Churchpersons’ Union – of which he was of course General Secretary – stood for. Strange, then, that in an article in his Parish Magazine in November 2006 (almost a year after his rejection), Henderson was still referring to himself as ‘Anglican Bishop elect of the Diocese of Lake Malawi’. Meanwhile, a website http://anglican-information. org appeared, peddling the same line -ANGLICAN-INFORMATION further observes that the injustice seen in the failure to confirm the elected Bishop, the Rev’d Nicholas Henderson is the source of all the long running difficulties in the Diocese’ and portentously proclaiming ANGLICAN-INFORMATION is a network acting as a free conduit for news and information related to the Anglican Diocese of Lake Malawi, and the Province of Central Africa. It is organised by an international team of those who know and love Africa and Malawi well. We reserve the right to reflect on the news as we receive it for the benefit of our worldwide audience! Or, at least, it was until Ruth Gledhill of The Times alerted readers of her Blog to the fact that the Anglican-Information domain was owned by a photographer living across the road from Henderson’s West London Vicarage, whereupon the stream of Anglican Information (sic) dried up. Visitors to the website now simply get the message ‘Forbidden You don’t have permission to access / on this server.’ What can it mean? Surely not that Fr Henderson has given up his struggle for that elusive mitre?
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