Covenant working group named

May 28, 2009 [Anglican Communion News Service] The text of the Ridley Cambridge Draft of the propsed Anglican covenant received strong support at the recent Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meeting in Jamaica. However concern was expressed that section 4 had not received the same degree of provincial consideration that sections 1-3 had. ACC-14 proposed that provinces be given time to consider section 4, that a small working group be set up to consider adjustment to section 4 of the text in the light of provincial responses, and to ask that group to report to the Standing Committee before the end of the year.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the secretary general have now announced the names of the working group. They are:

    * Archbishop John Neill of Dublin (chair);
    * Archbishop John Chew, primate of South East Asia;
    * Eileen Scully, Anglican Church of Canada;
    * Bishop Gregory Cameron of St. Asaph in the Church in Wales and former deputy secretary general of the Anglican Communion.

All have been involved in the covenant process to date. Staff support will be provided by Neil Vigers (Anglican Communion Office) and the Rev. Canon Joanna Udal (Archbishop of Canterbury’s secretary for Anglican Communion affairs).

Meanwhile the Ridley Cambridge Draft text of the covenant has been sent to provinces seeking their comments on section 4 of the covenant. Responses are requested by Nov. 13, 2009. The working group will meet Nov. 20-21 in London and report to the Standing Committee meeting Dec. 15-18.