Nothing says it’s a wonderful Monday in [Department] like Skinny Puppy…

If the rumors out of England are correct and tomorrow brings the English Evangelical organizations throwing down the gauntlet before ++Rowan, the future may become that much more clear. In the chess game that is the Anglican Communion,  the ABC is a pinned piece. The Network can use him as leverage against liberals through a concerted movement of GS Primates. That is, unity with the ABC is wielded as a weapon in the apparently all important property disputes a la ‘we didn’t leave them, they left us’. If the C of E itself splits, however, in some sense the pressure is off—the pin disappears or at least is weakened greatly. Because both sides can’t have the ABC and it looks like the English Evangelical wing isn’t bluffing. If they do calve off, the ABC will stay right where he is and the Network will have to answer some really tough questions about how and why they’re willing to stay linked to the Primate of an increasingly more liberal church (I.e., conservatives leave, C of E becomes more liberal by default…). I’m guessing this isn’t a move that appeared in the Chapman Memo…