Communion Partners and Pilgrim Numbers

A group of priests and bishops of The Episcopal Church have formed a gathering which calls itself, 'Communion Partners.' This is a very interesting development, in my view, and I wish them well. The group aims to:

• Provide for those concerned a visible link to the Anglican Communion. Many within our dioceses and in congregations in other dioceses seek to be assured of their connection to the Anglican Communion. Traditionally, this has been understood in terms of bishop-to-bishop relationships. Communion Partners fleshes out this connection in a significant and symbolic way.
• Provide fellowship, support and a forum for mutual concerns between bishops. The Communion Partner bishops share many concerns about the Anglican Communion and its future and look to work together with Primates and Bishops from the wider Communion. In addition, we believe we all have need of mutual encouragement, prayer, and reassurance. The Communion Partners will be a forum for these kinds of relationships.
• Provide a partnership to work toward the Anglican Covenant and according to Windsor Principles

The group intends to work cooperatively "according to the principles outlined in the Windsor Report to seek a comprehensive Anglican Covenant at the Lambeth Conference and beyond."

The group pledges to work transparently and in communication with:

• the Presiding Bishop of TEC,
• the Archbishop of Canterbury,
• the Meeting of Primates, and
• the Anglican Communion Office, and therewith the Anglican Consultative Council.

Cheers to the partners I say.

By Contrast
On the other hand, the group that is in fact trying to reinvent Anglicanism by way of deconstructing it and putting it back together in a novel way (while claiming the mantle of orthodoxy) is meeting in the most widely publicized non-open event of recent memory. The GAFCON event is happening soon - styled as a 'pilgrimage' to the Holy Land of self-styled orthodox Anglicans. Notably, the Anglican bishop of the Holy Land does not want the conference to happen, and registration for the event is by invitation only. To be sure, invitation-only is also how Lambeth works - as it has since its late 19th century inception. Yet, there's something honest about the Archbishop of Canterbury's inviting the bishops of the Anglican Communion together, as the body of those persons whose ministry is to represent the whole body of Christ in each Anglican diocese around the globe.

The way GAFCON works, seems, well, different.

I offer the following from the GAFCON registration form:

"Registration for the Piligrimage [sic] is by invitation only. ... Registrations without a valid Pilgrim number are invalid and will forfeit the registration fee. ... You and your Pilgrim Members are willing for Gafcon.org to take photographs at the Event which may include images of you and your Pilgrim Members, and to use such photographs in various media solely for advertising / promotional purposes in the future....In the unlikely event of the Event being cancelled we will not offer you a full refund of the price you have paid for your Pilgrim fees."