North American Anglican Conference
Encyclopedia
The North American Anglican Conference (NAAC) is a federation of Continuing Anglican church bodies in the United States and Canada. The NAAC was founded on August 15, 2008 by an assembly of bishops, clergy, and laity gathered in Romulus, Michigan for the purpose of ratifying the association's proposed statement of principles.
According to its constituting declaration, the North American Anglican Conference is not intended to be a first step towards a merger of member churches, but exists for the purposes of Anglican churches and clergy working together in support of Evangelism, for fellowship, and for the "transmission of Holy Orders, especially for the Episcopate." The founding members were the Anglican Episcopal Church
, with parishes in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Alabama, and the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes
which has parishes in Michigan. The Anglican Diocese of Texas joined in 2010.
In November, 2009 four bishops of the North American Anglican Conference cooperated in the consecration of the Reverend Canon David Pressey as bishop suffragan of the Anglican Episcopal Church. The ceremony took place in Mariner's Church, Detroit, famous for its annual memorial services for seamen lost on the Great Lakes and for being referred to in Gordon Lightfoot
's ballad about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
.
The impetus behind the establishment of the NAAC, however, was not a perceived need for inter-Anglican cooperation in general. Rather, it was the founding churches' belief that many of the world's Anglican churches have deteriorated in recent years because of liberal trends. The NAAC points to the "abandonment of Holy Scripture," "non-compliance" with the rubrics and spirit of the Book of Common Prayer
(1928), and the redefining of the meaning of the Thirty-nine Articles
of Religion by both liberal and some Anglo-Catholic jurisdictions as a reason for "Biblically-based Anglican bodies" to stand and work together.
According to its constituting declaration, the North American Anglican Conference is not intended to be a first step towards a merger of member churches, but exists for the purposes of Anglican churches and clergy working together in support of Evangelism, for fellowship, and for the "transmission of Holy Orders, especially for the Episcopate." The founding members were the Anglican Episcopal Church
Anglican Episcopal Church
The Anglican Episcopal Church is a Continuing Anglican church consisting of parishes in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida served by two bishops and 18 other clergy. The AEC was founded at St...
, with parishes in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Alabama, and the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes
Diocese of the Great Lakes
The Diocese of the Great Lakes is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States and Canada. Although all of its worship centers and clergy are currently located in the American Great Lakes states and the Canadian Province of Ontario, the diocese is non-geographical in structure and open...
which has parishes in Michigan. The Anglican Diocese of Texas joined in 2010.
In November, 2009 four bishops of the North American Anglican Conference cooperated in the consecration of the Reverend Canon David Pressey as bishop suffragan of the Anglican Episcopal Church. The ceremony took place in Mariner's Church, Detroit, famous for its annual memorial services for seamen lost on the Great Lakes and for being referred to in Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
's ballad about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Edmund Fitzgerald
Edmund Fitzgerald may refer to:*SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a freighter that sank on Lake Superior in 1975 with all hands aboard**"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", a song about the shipwreck by Gordon Lightfoot...
.
The impetus behind the establishment of the NAAC, however, was not a perceived need for inter-Anglican cooperation in general. Rather, it was the founding churches' belief that many of the world's Anglican churches have deteriorated in recent years because of liberal trends. The NAAC points to the "abandonment of Holy Scripture," "non-compliance" with the rubrics and spirit of the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
(1928), and the redefining of the meaning of the Thirty-nine Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...
of Religion by both liberal and some Anglo-Catholic jurisdictions as a reason for "Biblically-based Anglican bodies" to stand and work together.