Dearly beloved in Christ,
Some of you may be aware that in addition to being the President and CEO of the American Anglican Council, I am also a CANA bishop, serving churches in several states. Recently, I visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where The Episcopal Church (TEC) has been closing mission chapels to save money. The people served by the chapels can often trace their spiritual ancestry back to The Episcopal Church's arrival in South Dakota in the 1860's, when the Santee Sioux were forcibly relocated from Minnesota. These parishioners have been loyal to TEC, though often questioning some of the new theological innovations.
Since TEC Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori has been running short of money (due in part to her incessant lawsuits against Anglicans who left TEC), funding that formerly was available to support mission work in the Dakotas has now been diverted to support lawsuits and other higher priorities. With many mission chapels in South Dakota now closed, questions are being raised by some tribal groups about what has happened to the land that the tribe gave to the chapels to support the work at each. Hundreds of acres at each chapel, and thousands of acres in total need to be examined to see if TEC improperly sold off chapel land to raise money. At a recent Black Hills Treaty Council meeting, there was a call for TEC to account for the land and where the money went, since there is some suspicion that it was funneled into non-reservation Diocesan use.
Meanwhile, many of the chapels remain padlocked while the Tribal Government is trying to reclaim land that is now no longer being used for the intended purpose. It is reminiscent of the disappointing history of the government's taking and misusing Indian land. There is, however, a small silver lining to this story. An Anglican priest who is an enrolled member of the Reservation has been gathering together some of the local people and conducting worship at one of the chapels that he was able to reopen. I was privileged to visit him and offer encouragement to him and to his growing flock, although in fact they were an encouragement to me. In spite of having almost no altar hangings or proper vestments, and using a building whose future is uncertain, they are keeping alive Anglican Christianity and community where TEC has abandoned the buildings and the people. Anyone who would like to help with this particular mission project can contact me at the AAC office.
It would seem that The Episcopal Church USA, which many of us were literally born into, and thought we knew, has become unwavering in its pursuit of a new deviant gospel, embracing the cutting edge of cultural change, becoming inclusive of many possibilities of saviors, revising Holy Scripture as needed, and following a concept of sexuality that has no real limits, just a mandate for total acceptance. Although the American deep South has often been called "the Bible Belt," and Georgia "the buckle on the belt," TEC's deep South is rapidly becoming as "progressive" as any other area of TEC. The Diocese of Georgia (which has been suing the mother church of all Georgia, Christ Church Savannah, for electing to depart from TEC several years ago) has recently elected a bishop who is an advocate for some of the most revisionist of views. The new bishop, Scott Benhase, is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage within the church, and a supporter of the bishop-elect in Los Angeles, Mary Glasspool, who is a partnered lesbian. He has just written the people of his diocese to explain why he voted for her to be made a bishop and why he thinks this is just fine. Since he thought he needed to write a letter to the diocese, he must have received some criticism. For those orthodox clergy and congregations in the diocese of Georgia and under his pastoral authority, you may wish to quietly reevaluate your options and the impact being under his spiritual authority will have on your eternal soul. Consider also that if the diocese receives a portion of your financial contributions each Sunday, the money goes in part to help sue fellow Anglicans in Savannah, whose church predates both The Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Georgia, and even the United States.
Up in Canada, things aren't much better. The Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) is so broke that they can't afford to have their next annual convention without trying some novel and questionable new ways to pay for it. They are looking for corporate sponsors to buy advertising and space for brand logos on delegate documents, and special private lunches with the church's senior leadership. Now I ask, why in the world would anyone in their right mind pay money to sit down and eat lunch with the misguided bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada? Don't people usually pay money to eat lunch with folks who are a success, and hope that some nugget of wisdom might fall from the table and be taken home? Don't people pay money to be seen in the presence of highly regarded and successful people so that there is some sort of spill-over of the aura of success? But why would anyone pay to eat lunch with leaders of a rapidly collapsing church that has all the marks of failure?
And how about putting signs up on purchased space at their convention? I recognize that buying a spot on a NASCAR favorite car could get you noticed, and hopefully put you in the company of a winner, but where would the ACoC sell advert space? On the front and back of chasubles, on the altar frontals, or perhaps on the front of the bishop's mitre? I would love to see one of my old favorites, STP oil additive, on the front of Archbishop Hiltz's mitre. It wouldn't be very Christian, but I think they have bypassed that concern some time ago. Perhaps you can think of a corporate logo you'd like to see on an ACoC bishop. Send in some suggestions and we might pass them along. If you think about this, you could have some fun with it.
Internationally, on a more serious note, Primate Ian Ernest has added his letter to that of Primate Mouneer Anis and Primate Henry Orombi; there are now three Primates who have written very clear and blunt letters to Archbishop Rowan Williams about the state of the Communion, and the Fourth Trumpet Communique has also taken due note of the problems. The question is, when will anyone in authority DO something that makes a difference... and the likelihood is - not soon.
Meanwhile, the Church of England still officially says it has 26 million members, with only 2.6 million who can be found. Some Anglican official sources announce that the Communion has 80 million members, but the truth is far from that, and the majority is in the orthodox provinces of the Global South. Take a look at the numbers and you will agree that there are actually more like 60 million. The Global South makes up 50 million of them, and of that 50 million, at least 45 million are standing firm in their faith and holding off Western revisionism. So the numbers are essentially 45+ million vs. 13+ million, with some too close to call. It's time for the orthodox Anglicans to recover their Communion.
Blessings and peace in Christ Jesus,
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council
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