News for Week Ending 7/9/2012

New Zealand church votes against Covenant

The General Synod of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia  declared that it was unable to adopt the Anglican Covenant July 9, 2012. Given earlier votes in the church, the rejection of the Covenant was expected. Anglican Communion New Service reported the story, which includes the text of the resolution passed.

CoE postpones women bishops decision

The General Synod of the Church of England delayed a final vote July 9, 2012, that would have allowed women to become bishops in the church. At issue are amendments made by church bishops at the eleventh hour, after dioceses had agreed nearly unanimously on a plan to allow for female bishops. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) Supporters of the original plan hope that bishops will rescind their amendments before the matter returns to the General Synod in November. Reuters reported the story here.

General Convention in full swing

The General Convention of The Episcopal Church began July 5, 2012, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and continues through July 12. It is premature to report much of what is going on in Indianapolis, but, as we noted last week, it is easy to follow events on the Web. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.)