ICHABOD

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Jerry Kramer, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, became a formidable figure in New Orleans:

"At Church of the Annunciation, which is in the low-lying Broadmoor neighborhood, members have relied on gas-powered generators for power. Annunciation’s rector, the Rev. Jerry Kramer, helped the congregation acquire mobile homes that are larger and less expensive than those distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency."

His parish followed his example.

"Monday through Thursday, volunteers from Annunciation and other parishes travel into the devastated Lower Ninth Ward to distribute water, snacks, Bibles and what Bishop Charles Jenkins has called “the eighth sacrament”: bleach."

Kramer was such a force that the secular media took notice.

"The Rev. Jerry Kramer, a hyper-energetic Episcopal priest who transformed a small neighborhood church into a powerhouse that helped drive the post-Katrina recovery of the entire Broadmoor neighborhood, stunned his parishioners last week with news that, sick and exhausted, he has resigned.

"In the four years since Katrina, Kramer developed a reputation as a innovative priest who, from the moment he paddled up to his flooded church on South Claiborne Avenue, merged its recovery with the recovery of the surrounding neighborhood.

"Intense, pragmatic and unconventional, Kramer found recovery partners, spun off ideas and launched neighborhood initiatives at a rapid clip, Nettles and others said.

"Annunciation’s admirers often repeat a Harvard University planning consultant’s remark that it was “hard to tell where the church stopped and the neighborhood started.”

“I worked really hard to erase those lines, ” Kramer said."

But Kramer considers himself spent. And he believes it is time for him to leave.

“It is so clear that God brought us here for Katrina, ” he said last week. “But now that’s done. The leader who gets an institution through a crisis has to know when the crisis is over.

“If I keep hanging around, they’ll stay in Katrina mode. And they have to move on from that.”

The other day, the Rev. Jerry Kramer sent out the following note to several people.

"We’ve reached the point with the election and scheduled [consecration?] of yet another practicing homosexual “bishop” that it is no longer possible to have any Gospel integrity and stay within the Episcopal Organisation. TEO is no longer a Christian body. It doesn’t not believe what the Church believes. It does not act as the Church acts. It does not have the mind of Christ. “If it quacks like a duck . . . ” TEO’s outright rejection of Jesus and His Way makes it essentially wicked and one cannot remain untouched by such evil. The Episcopal Organisation promotes and funds abortion advocacy. It sues Christians. It promotes the destruction of the traditional family. This is where the dollars go. It does not recognise the design of the Church. This all stems from the central reality that it has no regard for the revealed Word of God. There is no way around it. There is no fixing or ignoring it. If you are inside, you now know enough and are complicit in this. There will be a day of accountability.

"I am particularly concerned for people of faith trying to remain within this spiritual rot and raise their children to be believers. This will end in catastrophe. Just look up any statistics of children raised “Episcopal” in the last 20 years and see what happens to them . . . the vast majority end up with no faith at all, lost forever.

"The idea that “our parish is safe” or “our diocese is safe” is simply a lie. This doesn’t exist. Monies given are supporting intrinsic evil. And spiritual authority and headship matter. Ms. Schori IS the chief spiritual authority for anyone in The Episcopal Organisation. A bishop is “ordained for whole Church” not just a diocese. So now you have two practicing homosexual bishops as your spiritual Elders and “teachers of the faith” along with a majority of “bishops” who simply do not qualify as Christians.

"There is no avoiding this. You know enough. You will have to give an account for your choices in life. It’s time to make a decision, one of eternal consequences. For those of us who have left, let’s pray for our friends and loved ones in TEO that they will see the light of God’s truth and grace."

Thanks to Northern Plains Anglicans.