It’s the Property, Stupid!
by Stephen Noll, Contending Anglican:
Note: I wrote this piece only days after Gene Robinson had been made bishop in late 2003. Hence it preceded the years of conflict that roiled the Anglican Communion and that led to the formation of Gafcon and the Anglican Church in North America. I recall distinctly a meeting shortly after GAFCON 2008 in which the conservatives from UK smiled at us rowdy Americans and said that “nothing like that will ever happen in the Church of England.”
The purpose in republishing this piece is not to say “I told you so,” but to look squarely at the stark choices facing conservative Anglicans in the UK. We in the ACNA lost a lot in our property battle with the establishment (witness the magnificent funeral services for George H.W. Bush in Episcopal edifices). I can hardly imagine what it might mean to walk away not only from the property but the heritage of a thousand-year-old parish church. And if there comes a genuine “win-win” solution, I would say, “take it in a moment.” But don’t hold your breath and pass out waiting for it.
Speaking of the late President Bush, my title was a spin-off from “It’s the economy, stupid!,” a slogan Bill Clinton used in 1992 to defeat Bush for the Presidency.
Because this essay is now ancient history (for more detail, see my book), I have added some explanatory notes for the uninstructed.
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