Appeal for indaba funding

THE PRESIDING Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the USA has asked the Church’s executive council to give an extra $312,000 to the Anglican Consultative Council to support the work of the continuing indaba process.

At its meeting last week, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori proposed increasing the three-year grant approved by the 2012 General Convention from $700,000 to $1,012,000. Unless the grant were increased, the Presiding Bishop noted, the US Church would only contribute $25,000 to the ACC in 2015, as it had budgeted giving $675,000 to the London-based organization for 2013 and 2014.

Organized by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, indaba is a project of facilitated conversations between the US and Canadian Churches and the Churches in the developing world. Organized and staffed by the Anglican Consultative Council in London, the project has come under fierce criticism from conservatives and has been denounced by the Gafcon movement for its perceived bias in favour of the progressive agenda.

While the proposal is likely to be approved by the October meeting of the executive council, which will set the budget for 2015, the request highlights a growing split between the General Convention and the executive council over the limits of authority within the Church.

The amount budgeted for the ACC was the subject of strong debate at the 2012 General Convention with many deputies to the meeting questioning the value for money provided by the ACC. Unilaterally raising the ACC budget by the executive council follows its rejection of the General Convention’s vote to sell the New York office building that houses the presiding bishop and her staff, and relocate to a cheaper and more centrally located facility.