Dioceses and Constitutions. Who Died and Made You King?

http://captainyips.typepad.com/journal/2009/01/dioceses-and-constitutions-who-died-and-made-you-king.html

[Captain Yip's Secret Journal] 17 Jan 2009--Last week I attended an informational meeting about the possibility of forming an ACNA diocese in the Chicago area. Around 100 individuals representing about 20 lifeboat Anglican communities attended. Just about all the Common Cause elements have some presence in the area, and most of those were represented at the meeting. Some folks came from as far away as Madison WI on a snowy weekday evening to attend the meeting.

The ACNA leadership has, it seems, devised an application and a package of information for the aid of its developing communities. It's supposed to be available on the Common Cause website, but I haven't been able to make the link work. The application was discussed in some detail. We were also told that the time line for appplying, being accepted, and having representation at the first Provincial meeting in June is pretty ferocious. The application is supposed to be in by mid to late March for consideration by the ACNA leadership at a meeting in April. Because of the many, many steps involved, I think it accurate to say that the group was somewhat discouraged. No template or pattern was suggested for getting the work done. The meeting dissolved with gathering email addresses, and some folks volunteering to work on a task force for developing a process for moving ahead. Concerns about the proposed Constitution were not discussed. Of course, someone brought up women's ordination, but the topic was dodged. I didn't realize until later that the application process contains at least one little time bomb which I must quote:

9. Vestry Verification a. This is a simple certification that the vestry or comparable governing board of each congregation in the grouping has officially subscribed to the Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church in North America.

This is odd, because ACNA does not yet have a Constitution and Canons and won't until June. It has a Proposed Constitution and Canons, a Proposed Constitution and Canons to which as yet, as a vestry member, cannot subscribe (see the last paragraph). It's not so simple.