Trading Gossip While Waiting for the Schism

As some anticipated, most of the "news" from Tanzania is that which has been allowed to be "leaked" by the extremists. Here's a couple of reports from sources not sucked in by their tactics:

From the Rev. Caro Denton Hall from Integrity USA (by way of John Robison's Journal):

...Here in Dar es Salaam there is a severe absence of any hard news and so little incidents become much more important than they really are - which perhaps also says something about the Anglican Communion. In the absence of a galvanizing mission based on the gospel of God's unconditional love, are we just sitting around trading gossip while we wait for the schism which will surely come tomorrow. Or the day after?

From Colin Coward of Changing Attitude:

...If the conservatives were not so fearful, they would not need to be here 4 days in advance, meeting and planning their strategy. And be sure, the reports posted by Steve Bates of the Guardian and Jonathan Petre of the Telegraph are accurate - these Primates and their supporters are planning a campaign against Archbishop Rowan Williams, a campaign in which they are determined to get their own way and ultimately exclude Katherine Jefferts Schori and John Sentamu from the meeting. This is a high risk strategy for them. If they fail, they have to eat humble pie. If they succeed, they will undermine the authority of Rowan Williams. They have no conscience about doing this, but I suspect the majority of Anglicans will not be impressed by their campaign to destroy the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

If you're desperate for news without the extremists' spin on it, check in with the Daily Episcopalian and EpiScope over the next few days.

Just keep in mind that security is tight, so most "news" is mere speculation. The name to watch for in any "news" reports is the Most Rev. Philip Aspinall, Archbishop of Australia, as he is the official spokesperson for the meeting.

J.