Nottingham Anglican Consultative Council meeting

The meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) being held in Nottingham was pressed to discipline the American and Canadian Anglican Provinces following a surprise, hostile resolution laid on the table at the beginning of the gathering this week.
 
The motion passed in a much weakened form with 30 votes for and 28 against with 4 registered abstentions. The meeting was closed to outsiders and the ballot was secret.
 
Speaking from Nottingham the General Secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, the Revd Richard Kirker said today:
“This is a very significant vote. The narrowness of its success and the fact the Americans and Canadians decided not to attend as voting delegations shows the Communion does not have the heart for the agenda inspired by American conservatives and led by the Archbishop of Nigeria.
 
“My hope is that they will stand back now and rethink. They may have forced this humiliation on their American and Canadian sister churches, but they can now see that they have not won the hearts of most Anglican Provinces.
 
“We had been led to believe that the views of the conservatives were practically universal, that is patently not the case. After the presentations from Canada and America justifying their positive stance towards homosexuals, I talked to three delegates from Asia, Africa and South America, each said they had changed their view and were reconsidering their position.
 
“There has been far too little open debate outside North America and Europe – hearts can still be changed.”
 
Ends

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