Lectures were offered up by representatives from the Church of the Province of West Africa, the Church of England, The Episcopal Church, and the Anglican Church of Canada -- plus one ecumenical partner. Not a single representative from an orthodox province or diocese was present. The outcome was foreordained.

Of course, the speakers could not ignore the elephant in the Abbey, namely that "human sexuality remains a divisive topic, though reconciliation may be possible through appreciation for creation, deep listening and following ecumenical examples toward unity." Posh.

The Episcopal Church has been "deep listening" since the consecration of homosexualist Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and 100,000 Episcopalians walked out the door to form the ACNA, never more to return. Did this skip the minds of the deep thinkers at the Abbey, or did they think they could whitewash it away with high sounding talk about the "Christian theology of cultural diversity being based in two fundamental church doctrines: the act of creation and unity of the human race, and the universality of the church." Say what?

Anglicans have talked and listened themselves to death since Lambeth 1998 and they still come up with the same answer, formulated cogently in Lambeth resolution 1:10. Sex only between a man and woman in marriage or celibacy. Those engaged in homosexual activity require pastoral care not approval. Homosexual behavior is sin.

But here we are 21 years later, and still progressive Anglican leaders think they can square the circle over sodomy and homosexual marriage.

VOL has documented numerous "reconciliation" conferences. The Commission, chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames, published its findings as the Windsor Report on October 2004. The report recommended a covenant for the Anglican Communion, an idea that did not come to fruition. Reconciliation, global awareness was central as House of Bishops meeting opened in Spokane in 2004. The Episcopal Church's Commitment to Common Life in the Anglican Communion in 2007. There followed other efforts, "Understanding through common ground held in 2011. Then there was endless Indaba talk using its "continuing resources." Welby himself jumped on the bandwagon believing that 'Living reconciliation can transform our world' with his three priorities including continuing Indaba and something he called, Anglican Conflict Transformation. Nashotah House held a conference in 2017 to identify and heal the "broken" communion with a conference on Anglican reconciliation efforts to put divisions in historical, theological context. The brokenness remains.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on global travel by attendees in an effort to make the irreconcilable, reconcilable. The money spent on these gabfests could have fed the poor in cities in underdeveloped countries for months.

All their efforts have been in vain and futile.

The Anglican Church in North America is a reality. GAFCON is a reality as an alternative communion (to all intents and purposes), Progressives hold on by offering up yet one more "reconciliation" conference in the vain hope that daylight will pour through the minds of narrow-minded orthodox Anglicans, a resurrection moment will occur and the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays, coupled with shouts of joy from the heavens.

It is not going to happen. Not now. Not ever.

Archbishop Justin Welby desperately needs a win before his bishops gather in Canterbury next year. He had hoped for a win with these Abbey talks on reconciliation. But it is all in vain. The Episcopal Church's handful (all five) of homosexual bishops will be there with their partners. They will hold court with the media and take the wind right out of Welby's sails. He will be yesterday's news, looking lifeless and helpless, with a dead albatross hanging around his neck with the words "Resolution 1:10" written all over it.

Welby will whine, cajole, possibly cry (if it helps) but His Wobbliness will not win a single soul. He may well fly to Rome when it is over and seek solace and comfort with Pope Francis and head off to the South Sudan with His Holiness to forget about his failure to hold the communion together. This will change nothing. He will have lost.

The deeper truth is this, his day is done. He is spiritually impotent, theologically compromised, his sexual views unreconcilable and his Church of England slowly but surely being taken over by pansexualists who have one objective -- to eviscerate the remaining Evangelicals, shortly to abetted by the new Affirming Catholic Archbishop of York, Steven Cottrell.

But still Welby keeps trying. He has called for a meeting of the Primates in Jordan in January to see if he can gin up his base, hoping that the 13 new primates can be persuaded to fall in line with this "reconciliation" attempts. Three African primates said they will not attend -- Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda. In fact, you can add Kenya and Tanzania to the list. Now some of their bishops might attend Lambeth, but the primates will not. Together the five provinces account for 70% of the Communion's laity!

One wonders, if confronted, how Welby will fend off criticism about his soon to be No.2 Archbishop of York, one Steven Cottrell, who is an Affirming Catholic, pro homosexual mandarin who told at least one orthodox priest if he didn't like it, he could leave the Church of England!

Nigerian Archbishop Nicholas Okoh will have a field day with this if he hasn't already spoken out about it.

Here is a typical gobbledygook statement by one theologian; "At the moment, the Anglican Communion is undergoing considerable strain, and the inclination is to move into ever more bureaucratic ways of managing difference. The answer, I think, to ecclesial difference, the answer to ecclesial diversity, is to intensify the gift of communion."

But the communion is already divided, what is he talking about!

But this week, a new spin was put in play. The Church Times reports that the Anglican Communion Office now calls for "co-existence" with conservatives who won't go along to get along.

While there are indications that the status quo remains, and conservatives are contenting themselves with alternative networks, the view now being put forward by the Anglican Communion Office is that the two groups can "walk together": i.e. co-exist. Several of the Primates scheduled to appear in Jordan are on the GAFCON council.

An ACO official admitted last month that the Communion lacked structure and certainty, and, "instead must live with ambiguity, hoping against hope that opportunities will arise in the course of the various meetings and exchanges and gatherings in a positive and creative way."

That is not going to happen. GAFCON is a reality and they will sound the bell of historic orthodoxy on faith and morals when they meet in Kigali, Rwanda later this year. There is no way the ACO or Welby can spin or reverse that.

There is no "ambiguity" with GAFCON. None. Archbishop Foley Beach has made that crystal clear. GAFCON now has its own networks which they will not relinquish and Archbishop Beach will never sit down with Welby. Conversely, there is little indication that Welby will be inviting Beach to Lambeth Palace for tea and crumpets any time soon.

The die has been cast. The albatross of Lambeth Resolution 1:10 hangs around Welby's neck and as hard as he might try, he can never shake it off. It will be with him till the day he leaves office, and for many that time should come sooner rather than later.

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