At a diocesan chapter meeting in Atlanta on Aug. 21, the American Anglican Council (AAC) revealed part its strategy for disassociating from the Episcopal Church while remaining in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The announcement comes in advance of a much-publicized meeting next month in Plano, Texas.

Describing it as one of the few effective options available, AAC’s president, the Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, called for dioceses, parishes and individuals who oppose liberalization of church teaching on sexuality to make their opposition known by redirecting their charitable giving away from the institutional Episcopal Church.

“We’re trying to walk a very fine line within the canonical and ecclesiastical constraints,” he said in a follow-up telephone interview with The Living Church. “The use of money would not be our first choice, but it is one of the few left available to us.”

Canon Anderson said most other options, such as declaring oneself “out of communion” with those who voted to condone same-sex blessing ceremonies and to consent to a sexually active homosexual person as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire, could result in ecclesiastical proceedings being initiated, whereas voluntary charitable giving would not be affected.

Use of the tactic demonstrates a lack of understanding of the theology of stewardship, according to Bonnie Anderson, who is chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance, the church agency responsible for recommending funding and spending policies to General Convention.

“We all have a commitment to a common mission and we are united in our mission priorities for the church which are reflected in the budget,” she said.