AUCKLAND: Reflections on the first three days of ACC-15

from VirtueOnline

AUCKLAND: Reflections on the first three days of ACC-15

By Canon Phil Ashey in Auckland
www.americananglican.org
October 31, 2012

I would like to offer some brief observations about the first three days of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting (ACC-15) here in Auckland, Sunday Oct 28-Tues Oct 30.

1. It is a meeting with a light agenda

In contrast to the drama and debt over the proposed Anglican Covenant and governance issues at ACC-14 in 2009 (Jamaica), this meeting of the ACC seems to have a very light agenda.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

John Mason - God’s Not So Gentle Wake-up?

from Stand Firm by David Ould

John Mason is the senior minister of Christ Church NYC, an Anglican church in Manhattan. He’s written the following reflection on Sandy as he watched the city prepare for that terrible storm.

Over the last twenty-four hours New Yorkers have been shutting up the windows, stocking up the supplies, including water, and clearing terraces in readiness for hurricane Sandy’s coming ashore tonight. Winds of more than 75mph are forecast together with heavy rains over the next day or two. Already rising seas and waterways surrounding Manhattan are flooding the low-lying parts of the city.

The subway has been closed since 7:00PM last night (Sunday) and the regular sounds of sirens have all but ceased. Eerily, the city is quiet. With many stores closed, traffic is light and only a few people are out on the streets. Even the Stock Exchange is closed because of what is reckoned to be the largest Atlantic storm on record. In the face of the power of this weather system, wise leaders have ensured that New York, the city that never sleeps, is put ‘on hold’.
Times like this remind us not just of the tremendous power of weather – the wind and the sea – but of the awesome power of the creator who made them.

It gives us pause to ask, ‘What greater powers could God exert?’

We might also ask whether God works through the power of the storm to wake us up, not so gently, to life’s larger realities. Asking this is not saying that God does not care about us, or what we might be going through: he does. Psalm 46 speaks of God being “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”. But the Psalm goes on, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). It is a word to everyone to stop and consider. Jesus echoed this thought when he warned us to turn back to God (Luke 13:1-5).

During a hurricane, wisdom tells us to stay inside. Compassion for the many who will suffer directly because of this massive storm calls us to pray that God in his mercy will hold back the worst of the storm’s power. Grace calls us to be ready to do what we can to assist those in need. Above all, we need to use this opportunity as a wake-up call – to sort out our relationship with God and to order our lives, our values and our priorities in the light of the reality that God is not only there but is the Lord.

John G. Mason
Christ Church New York City
October 29, 2012

AUCKLAND, NZ: Provinces must face hard facts about Anglican Covenant

from VirtueOnline

AUCKLAND, NZ: Provinces must face hard facts about Anglican Covenant
"There are two Covenants, one in people's heads, the other on paper," says Bishop Victoria Matthews

By David W. Virtue in Auckland
www.virtueonline.org
October 31, 2012 (local time)

A Covenant designed to hold the Anglican Communion together is meeting with resistance from orthodox provinces who don't believe that Section IV will be implemented as a disciplinary measure aimed at more liberal provinces that violate the Covenant's demands.

Christchurch Bishop Victoria Matthews told delegates to the ACC-15 meeting in Holy Trinity Cathedral that Anglicans must face the hard facts about the covenant and asked, "Will it keep us together safely?"

"I have often thought that the document people discuss and the actual Anglican covenant are two different documents. The document under discussion is unrecognizable as the Anglican Covenant."

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

"non-Biblical global ethic" in AC

Phil Ashey—Update from ACC [Anglican Consultative Council ]-15

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

While there is much to commend in this message on the extravagant love of God, the world's desperate need to know this love and our need to share his love with the world, the message was confusing. Was the Archbishop of Canterbury suggesting that everyone will be saved by the mysterious love of God which embraces all from the beginning? Would this not be offensive to those who reject Jesus Christ and his way, to be co-opted against their will? And how does this square with our identity as Anglican followers of Jesus Christ, who in the same Gospel of John makes it clear that he alone is the way, the truth and the life and that salvation is through Him alone? (John 14:6)

Currently, the work of the Anglican Communion appears to be driven by a new, non-Biblical global ethic that focuses on the needs of communities rather than the person and power of Jesus Christ. As I have written recently, the work of the Anglican Alliance on economic empowerment continues to focus on the secular development of skills for "inclusion," "consultation and governance," "protection of vulnerable people," and "principles of financial planning"-- all from their report today, all very worthy efforts and all utterly lacking in any Biblical and universal truths rooted in the person and power of Jesus Christ.

Read it all.

Anglican Communion Office puts "happy face" on Covenant adoption

from Episcopal Cafe by Ann Fontaine

The roundup of news from the Anglican Consultative Council 15, meeting in Auckland, Aoteara New Zealand includes an update on the Anglican Covenant. Putting the best possible face on essentially a rejection of the Covenant by most Provinces, the ACC placed the voting into 3 categories. Episcopal News Service reports:

...While the ACC is not due to discuss the current status of the Anglican Covenant until Oct. 31, a document handed out today shows that nine provinces (Category A, ed.note) have made a final decision on the covenant with one (the Scottish Episcopal Church, ed.note) rejecting the covenant, six accepting it as is and two making modifications as part of their acceptance.

...Category B, which is described as including provinces that have made “partial decisions” about the covenant.
At the General Convention in July, the Episcopal Church, via Resolution B005, “declined to take a position” on the covenant.

The other provinces in Category B (and a summary of their actions) are Australia (sent to dioceses for study), Canada (sent to dioceses for study, also seeking theological, ecclesiastical, legal and constitutional implications of action to adopt or not), England (majority of its dioceses voted covenant down, possible consideration of “following motions”), Korea (acknowledged sections 1-3 as “excellent and useful” with decision postponed for further consideration of Section 4), Melanesia (reports having no difficulties with first three sections, consideration deferred until 2014 General Synod), Southern Africa (adopted pending ratification at next synod meeting later this year), and Wales (requested clarification from ACC15 on covenant status and process in light of England’s position).

There is one province assigned to Category C — the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. The summary document notes that the Anglican Communion Office “is seeking clarification” of a report in the “Philippine Episcopalian” newsletter that said the province’s Council of Bishops had rejected the covenant.

More from ACC 15 here.

Anglican Consultative Council Digest: Oct. 30

from Episcopal Life Online by By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service – Auckland, New Zealand] Much happens each day during the Anglican Consultative Council‘s (ACC) 15th meeting. In addition to Episcopal News Service’s regular coverage, here’s some of what else went on Oct. 30 (local time), the fourth day of the Oct. 27-Nov. 7 gathering.

Members get covenant status update

While the ACC is not due to discuss the current status of the Anglican Covenant until Oct. 31, a document handed out today shows that nine provinces have made a final decision on the covenant with one rejecting the covenant, six accepting it as is and two making modifications as part of their acceptance.

Those in the so-called Category A that have approved the convent are Ireland, Mexico, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Southern Cone of America, and the West Indies. In addition, according to the document, South East Asia adopted the covenant with an added preamble of its own and the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia has subscribed to the covenant’s first three sections but said it cannot adopt section 4, which outlines a process for resolving disputes.

And, also in Category A, is the Scottish Episcopal Church, which has refused to adopt the covenant.
The U.S.-based Episcopal Church is one of eight provinces sorted into Category B, which is described as including provinces that have made “partial decisions” about the covenant.

At the General Convention in July, the Episcopal Church, via Resolution B005, “declined to take a position” on the covenant. Convention also passed Resolution D008, which pledged that the Episcopal Church would “maintain and reinforce strong links across the world-wide Anglican Communion committing itself to continued participation in the wider councils of the Anglican Communion” and “deepen its involvement with communion ministries and networks.”

The other provinces in Category B (and a summary of their actions) are Australia (sent to dioceses for study), Canada (sent to dioceses for study, also seeking theological, ecclesiastical, legal and constitutional implications of action to adopt or not), England (majority of its dioceses voted covenant down, possible consideration of “following motions”), Korea (acknowledged sections 1-3 as “excellent and useful” with decision postponed for further consideration of Section 4), Melanesia (reports having no difficulties with first three sections, consideration deferred until 2014 General Synod), Southern Africa (adopted pending ratification at next synod meeting later this year), and Wales (requested clarification from ACC15 on covenant status and process in light of England’s position).

There is one province assigned to Category C — the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. The summary document notes that the Anglican Communion Office “is seeking clarification” of a report in the “Philippine Episcopalian” newsletter that said the province’s Council of Bishops had rejected the covenant.

On Oct. 31, the ACC will have “an opportunity to talk about what Anglicans are learning” by way of considering the covenant, according to the Rev. Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, the communion’s director of unity, faith and order.

ACC15 includes ecumenical participants

Six ecumenical clerics are participating in the Anglican Consultative Council’s meeting in Auckland. They are the Rev. Robert Gribben of Australia, representing the World Methodist Council; the Rev. Dong-Sung Kim of Geneva, representing the World Council of Churches; Monsignor Mark Langham of Rome, representing the Roman Catholic Church; the Rev. Paul Patitsas of New Zealand, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Orthodox); the Rt. Rev. Lok Oi Peng of Malaysia, representing the Lutheran World Federation; and the Rt. Rev. Dirk Jan Schoon of the Netherlands, representing the Old Catholic Union of the Churches of Utrecht.

Resolutions committee named

Episcopal Church ACC member Josephine Hicks is one of four people on ACC15’s resolutions committee. The other members are Philippa Amable from the Church of the Province of West Africa, John Stuart of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Garth Blake of the Anglican Church of Australia. The ACC today begin to consider resolutions from its networks, members and other communion organizations. For an example of the kinds of resolutions the ACC has passed out of previous meetings, here are the resolutions from the ACC14 meeting in 2009 in Jamaica and here are those from the 13th ACC meeting in 2005.
 – The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service.

(ACNS) The Anglican Consultative Council page for links and news

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Read it all.

Virginia Supreme Court Grants Review in Falls Church Case

from Anglican Curmudgeon by A. S. Haley

A writ panel of three Justices of the Virginia Supreme Court, who heard oral arguments on October 16 in favor of the Petition for Appeal filed by The Falls Church Anglican following the adverse judgment by the Fairfax County Circuit Court has issued an order granting review of the case. (H/T: BabyBlueOnline.)

The Court's order grants review of the following six points of error raised by The Falls Church:

1. The trial court erred in enforcing canon law, rather than “principles of real property and contract law” used in all cases ... to award plaintiffs a proprietary interest in TFC’s property and to extinguish TFC’s interest in such property, even though TFC’s own trustees held title and TFC paid for, improved, and maintained the property.

2. The trial court’s award of TFC’s property to plaintiffs violates the Religion Clauses of the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions by enabling denominations to secure others’ property by means available to no other Virginia entity.

3. The trial court erred in finding that plaintiffs had proprietary interests in TFC’s real property acquired before 1904, when the legislature first referenced denominational approval of church property transfers. [Note: in the body of the Petition, this claim of error is restated in this way: "The trial court divested TFC of property by retroactively applying canons and statutes passed after the conveyances at issue, contrary to state law and the Contracts Clause."]

4. The trial court erred in awarding plaintiffs TFC’s unconsecrated real property, which is exempt from plaintiffs’ canons.

5. The trial court erred in awarding TFC’s personal property to plaintiffs—even though plaintiffs never had any control over TFC’s funds or their use, and TFC’s donors, for religious reasons, gave on the express condition that their gifts not be forwarded to plaintiffs—in violation of Va. Code §57-1 and the Religion Clauses of the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions.

6. The trial court erred in awarding plaintiffs more relief than sought, including funds given after TFC disaffiliated and funds spent on maintenance, which plaintiffs stipulated TFC should keep.

In their response to the Petition, the Diocese of Virginia claimed that The Falls Church Anglican had "waived" Assignments of Error #3 and #4 above, for improperly presenting and/or preserving them in the record for appeal. The Supreme Court obviously disagreed with that contention, because there is no language in its order restricting the points of error which The Falls Church Anglican may raise on appeal.

Additionally, both the Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church (USA) sought to have the Court review the one aspect of Judge Bellows' ruling with which they disagreed: they contended that he erroneously concluded that Virginia Code Section 57-7.1 does not operate so as to give validity to denominational trusts.

That statute, enacted to replace a former one dealing with the same subject, provides in part: "“Every conveyance or transfer of real or personal property … to or for the benefit of any church, church diocese, religious congregation or religious society … shall be valid.” The Diocese and ECUSA wanted the court to read this statute so as to give effect to the Dennis Canon and other trusts which they claimed applied to the all of the parish's real and personal property, but Judge Bellows ruled that the legislature had not intended to change pre-existing Virginia law against general denominational trusts when it adopted the new statute.

By its order, the writ panel expressly refused to consider the Diocese's and ECUSA's cross-assignments of this claimed error, so Judge Bellows' ruling on that specific point will stand. And as I explained in this earlier post, that means that the Dennis Canon has no effect in Virginia. Instead, according to Judge Bellows, Virginia courts will look to other indicia of "proprietary interests in" (i.e., actual ownership and control over) parish property.

The result, as we saw in Judge Bellows' ruling, can still come out the same as if the Dennis Canon had applied. At least now, however, the degree to which Judge Bellows went, in holding that factors such as restraints on alienation, episcopal visits and even the furnishing of Sunday service bulletins were decisive, will receive a fresh review by the full Supreme Court.

Where an appeal is completely discretionary with the court of review, as this civil appeal is in Virginia, the fact that it has granted review may generally be taken that the higher court does not agree with everything in the lower court's decision.

In this case, the sharpest point of disagreement may well be with the one aspect of Judge Bellows' ruling in which the Virginia Attorney General joined in requesting review: the order that The Falls Church hand over to the Diocese all of the pledge money it had collected from and after February of 2008, regardless of the intent expressed by the Church's donors that none of their gifts should go to the entity that was suing them for their property. No matter what the Virginia Supreme Court eventually decides, this news cannot be welcome either to the Diocese or to ECUSA and their attorneys.

Panel of Reference finds misconduct in 9 “amicus brief” bishops

from anglicansunited.com by cherie

[Ed. Note:  Bishops Beckwith, Salmon, Howe and Benitez are retired; Bishop MacPherson is scheduled to retire at the end of this year.  The other 4 bishops are still in place, with Bishop Dan Martins being the newest bishop of Springfield, IL.  None has announced an intention to work with the conciliation committee - or not do so.  The requirements for conciliation are not known.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

Panel recommends “conciliation” between the accused and the Episcopal Church

October 22, 2012 – 11:46pm

By George Conger  for www.AnglicanInk.com

A Reference Panel has found that a prima facie case of misconduct can be made against nine serving and retired bishops of the Episcopal Church for having endorsed an amicus brief presented to the Texas Supreme Court, or for having given testimony in a trial court proceeding involving the Diocese of Quincy.

The Rt Rev. Peter H. Beckwith, the Rt Rev Maurice M. Benitez, the Rt Rev John W. Howe, the Rt Rev Paul E. Lambert, the Rt Rev William H. Love, the Rt Rev D. Bruce MacPherson, the Rt Rev Daniel H. Martins, the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr, and the Rt Rev James M. Stanton have been informed the Reference Panel had reviewed the charges brought against them by the provisional bishops of Fort Worth and Quincy and by lay and clergy accusers.

In an 19 Oct 2012 email Bishop Matthews wrote:

“The Reference Panel unanimously decided according to IV. 6.sec.8 that the complaint will proceed with option
(c), Conciliation pursuant to Canon IV.10.”

Under the Title IV disciplinary canons, if the intake officer finds that if a prima facie case can be made against the accused – if the charges if proven true would constitute an offense – the proceedings are passed on to a Reference Panel for action.

The Panel may then take a number of actions: “(a) no action required other than appropriate pastoral response pursuant to Canon IV.8; (b) conciliation pursuant to Canon IV.10; (c) investigation pursuant to Canon IV.11 or (d) referral for possible agreement with the Bishop Diocesan regarding terms of discipline pursuant to Canon IV.9. Referral decisions shall require the approval of a majority of the Reference Panel.”

A typographical error appears to have been made in Bishop Matthews’ email as he states the panel had proposed option c, an investigation, when he used the language of option b, conciliation.

He added that “after obtaining the agreement of the complainants, we will include in the process some representatives from the House of Bishops, in the spirit of our closed sessions, appointed by The Presiding Bishop.  After some research for potential persons to serve as a Conciliator, I will meet on October 29th with the person, who we hope will serve as the Conciliator. I hope following this meeting, a schedule for proceeding will be forth coming.”

Under the new Title IV disciplinary canons, which were roundly challenged at the 77h General Convention in July as being flawed with over 75 corrections and modifications proposed for its reform, the intake officer must first determine if the offense described in the complaint warrants action. By referring it to the panel, Bishop Matthews has held that having signed a document submitted to a secular court that defends one view of Episcopal Church history and canon law, or in the case of Bishops Beckwith, MacPherson and Salmon, for having testified in the Quincy case, they violated the canons.

Bishop Matthews has “absolutely no business” remaining as intake officer, canon lawyer Allan Haley observed. Bishop Matthews was present at the House of Bishops private conversations on the complaint brought by Bishops C. Wallis Ohl, Jr., and John Buchanan against the nine and it is axiomatic that a judge may not be part of the underlying proceedings.

One of the nine told Anglican Ink he has yet to be told what it was about his actions that violated the canons.  Is it the “issue” or “expressing the issue in court” he said.

If it is the issue, the bishop noted the position set forth in their brief was identical to that put forward in 2009 in the Bishops Statement on Polity.  If it was stating this belief in court, “what is illegitimate about that,” he asked.
Canon law experts note the prosecution of the nine bishops has all the hallmarks of a political trial, as the actions for which they are accused are not considered “triable” when done by other bishops.

Canon IV.19.of Title IV states: “No member of the Church, whether lay or ordained, may seek to have the Constitution and Canons of the Church interpreted by a secular court, or resort to a secular court to address a dispute arising under the Constitution and Canons, or for any purpose of delay, hindrance, review or otherwise affecting any proceeding under this Title.”

If the nine are being charged with violating this canon, the question need be asked why the Bishops of Texas, Southwest Texas, Northwest Texas and the Rio Grande have not been brought up on charges also, one bishop told AI.

In the case of Masterson, et al. v. Diocese of Northwest Texas, No. 11-0332, the Rt Rev. Andrew Doyle, the Rt. Rev. Garry Lillebridge, the Rt. Rev. Michael Vono and the Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl, Jr., filed an amicus brief with the Texas Supreme Court that endorsed the three-tier hierarchy concept favored by attorneys for the presiding bishop’s office in the current round of litigation.

One commentator asked “why it is OK for some bishops or dioceses and TEC itself to seek to have the courts interpret the C&Cs, but when others specifically advise the courts that they cannot get embroiled in these issues, it is a canonical offense. “

pecusa starting to look more and more like the old Soviet Union

Accusers named in Fort Worth 9 case

from anglicansunited.com by cherie

[Ed. Note:  The big news in the past week is the fact that the Panel of Reference for the Discipline Committee for Clergy (Title IV) has charged the nine bishops who signed an amicus brief for the Diocese of Fort Worth.  The panel can suggest a way forward, either to deposition, to dismissal or to conciliation.  They have chosen conciliation.  The staff member who will administer the process for conciliation (read: NOT reconciliation; the legal term for restoration to fellowship, including assigned penalties and/or forfeitures) will be chosen this week.  The process for conciliation is not known.  Should any of the nine refuse the proscribed path, they can still be removed from ministry and deposed.  Following the removal from ministry of Mark Lawrence, South Carolina and that diocese's subsequent decision to leave TEC, it has been a tumultuous month in the Episcopal Church.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

Proceedings against 7 bishops on disloyalty charges will continue

By George Conger for AnglicanInk.com  October 22, 2012

The Title IV disciplinary proceedings initiated against the Fort Worth 7 has not been derailed by the intervention of the provisional bishops of Quincy and Fort Worth during the 77th General Convention, the accused have learned.

In an exchange of emails between seven bishops who endorsed an amicus brief in the Diocese of Fort Worth case pending before the Texas Supreme Court and the Rt. Rev. F. Clay Matthews, the Bishop for Pastoral
Development in the Office of the Presiding Bishop, Bishop Matthews stated he would be “sending additional information to the Bishops involved after a period of reflection from the conversations at General Convention and some preliminary interviews. When a complaint has been received by the Intake Officer, the Disciplinary Canons are in effect.”

Bishop Matthews added “I trust this letter addresses the immediate concerns you raised, and you will hear more from me perhaps as late as September.”

On 28 June 2012, the Rt Rev Maurice M. Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas, the Rt Rev John W. Howe, retired Bishop of Central Florida, the Rt Rev Paul E. Lambert. Suffragan Bishop of Dallas, the Rt Rev William H. Love, Bishop of Albany, the Rt Rev D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana, the Rt Rev Daniel H. Martins, Bishop of Springfield, and the Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas were informed they were being investigated for alleged misconduct.

Bishop Matthews wrote to them stating:“As the Intake Officer for the Church, I am obliged to inform you that a complaint has been received against you for your action in filing of Amicus Curiae Brief in the pending appeal in the Supreme Court of Texas in opposition to The Episcopal Diocese of Texas (sic. The case involved the Diocese of Fort Worth) and The Episcopal Church.”

“In the next few weeks, I will initiate a disciplinary process according to Title IV Canon 6 Sec. 3 & 4 of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church,” Bishop F. Clayton Matthews wrote to the seven bishops.
In his 18 July letter to the Fort Worth 7, Bishop Matthews named the bishops’ accusers.

“In the case of those who  signed an Amicus Brief in the Supreme Court of Texas concerning the case of Fort Worth and The Episcopal Church, two complaints were received – One by the Standing Committee  and Executive Board of the Diocese of Fort Worth and another by a Deputy to General Convention from The Diocese of  New Jersey.  The Deputy also happens to be a lawyer,” Bishop Matthews wrote.

The Chancellor of the Diocese of Fort Worth did not respond to our request for clarification.  The President of the Fort Worth Standing Committee, Fr. David Madison told Anglican Ink “The canons prohibit any discussion of Title IV actions. As a result, I am not able to make a comment on any Title IV action that may or may not be in progress.”

Paul Ambos, a lay deputy to the 77th General Convention from the Diocese of New Jersey and a practicing attorney denied filing the complaint.  He noted that a resigned member of the deputation from New Jersey was an attorney, and added that he was not aware of the professions of the members of the Newark deputation.
Bishop Matthews did not respond to our request for comments on the correspondence, nor did he answer Anglican Ink’s question asking if he would recuse himself from the Title IV investigations.

Canon lawyer Allan Haley told Anglican Ink Bishop Matthews has “absolutely no business” remaining as Intake Officer in the case of the Fort Worth 7 as he was present at the House of Bishops private conversations on the complaint brought by Bishops C. Wallis Ohl, Jr., and John Buchanan on the Fort Worth 7’s endorsement of the amicus brief before the Texas court.

Mr. Haley noted Bishop Matthews could have remained as the Intake Officer, without conflict, if both he and the presiding bishop had reached the decision that the charges would have to be dropped after the 6-8 July private sessions of the House of Bishops at General Convention.  “But if that were the case,” Mr. Haley added, Bishop Matthews “has no reason to tell the Bishops involved who were their accusers unless at the same time he tells them that charges will be dropped.”

One of the Fort Worth 7 told Anglican Ink he expects nothing will ultimately come from the Title IV investigations.   “But, in today’s Episcopal Church, who knows?” he observed.

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court of Virginia grants The Falls Church Anglican's Petition for Appeal on all issues

from BabyBlueOnline by BabyBlue Anglican

UPDATE: The Court has granted The Falls Church Anglican's appeal on all issues and refused the The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia's assignment of cross error.   

The Supreme Court of Virginia has granted The Falls Church Anglican's appeal.

The Falls Church Anglican reports:

The Virginia Supreme Court has posted on its website that it has granted The Falls Church Anglican's Petition for Appeal and will hear our case. 

The Court's online "Case Information System" lists the status of our Petition for Review as "Granted", with a "Disposition Date" of this past Friday. 

Our Petition asked the Court to review Fairfax Circuit Judge Randy I. Bellows' January 2012 letter opinion and March 2012 Final Order ruling against TFCA in the lawsuits brought by The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and directing us to transfer all of our real property and million of dollars of money and other personal property to the Episcopal Diocese. 

Our Petition for Appeal asked the Virginia Supreme Court to review the entire lower court decision for failing to follow U.S. and Virginia Supreme Court decisions applying "neutral principles" of secular property and contract law to resolve disputes about church property. Our Petition also sought review on several other grounds, including some specific to the Historic Church building, where our deed pre-dates the existence of both the Episcopal Diocese and the entire Episcopal denomination, and to the "non-consecrated" property, such as the Southgate Property located south of East Fairfax Street. 

One issue that is potentially significant for all charitable donors in Virginia was the lower court's decision to override the expressed desires of a substantial majority of our donors that their contributions should not go to the Episcopal denomination or Diocese. The Virginia Attorney General submitted a brief supporting our position on this important issue. 

Let's all be thanking and praising the Lord for this answer to our prayers. We look forward to presenting our case to the Virginia Supreme Court, but this is just one step in what has obviously been a long process, so please continue to pray for the next steps.

UPDATE: George Conger has an article up now on AnglicanInk:

The historic Falls Church in Falls Church, VA

A three-member writ panel of the Virginia Supreme Court has voted to review the case of the Episcopal Church v. The Falls Church.

On 26 October 2012 the court’s website stated it had “granted” The Falls Church’s petition for appeal of the March 2012 order issued by Virginia Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows granting trusteeship of the property and control of the congregation’s assets to the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia. 

On 16 Oct, attorneys for the Northern Virginia congregation were permitted 10 minutes of oral argument before the writ panel, to state why they believed the court should review their case. Under Virginia law, civil cases have no automatic right of appeal. The state’s Supreme Court may accept civil cases for review at its discretion. 

The office of the Diocese of Virginia was closed on 29 Oct due to the approach of Hurricane Sandy and unavailable for comment. However, The Falls Church released a statement saying it welcomed the court’s decision. 

The church stated that their petition asked the court to “review the entire lower court decision for failing to follow U.S. and Virginia Supreme Court decisions applying ‘neutral principles’ of secular property and contract law to resolve disputes about church property. Our Petition also sought review on several other grounds, including some specific to the Historic Church building, where our deed pre-dates the existence of both the Episcopal Diocese and the entire Episcopal denomination, and to the "non-consecrated" property.” 

The Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of one of the issues raised by the congregation. The Falls Church asked that the Supreme Court review the “lower court's decision to override the expressed desires of a substantial majority of our donors that their contributions should not go to the Episcopal denomination or Diocese.” 

“Let's all be thanking and praising the Lord for this answer to our prayers. We look forward to presenting our case to the Virginia Supreme Court, but this is just one step in what has obviously been a long process, so please continue to pray for the next steps,” the church statement said.

Read it all here.

A Pastoral Letter from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya and Chairman of the FCA Primates Council to the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

Download letter in pdf.
See also FCA website.

October 29, 2012

The day we give special thanks for James Hannington, Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, and his Companions, Martyrs, 1885

My dear people of God:

Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Primates’ Council has just concluded its October 2012 meeting in Dar es Salaam where we witnessed the blessing of God in a number of key areas:

• In the increase of our numbers
• Through the achievements of our April meeting
• By the testimonies of those who are joining with us
• In the new funding provided for our communication efforts
• Through our decision to meet again in a Global assembly
• By the recognition that we are not alone in this spiritual battle

We gathered in this historic city grateful for the faithful witness of the Anglican Church of Tanzania during these challenging times. The Most Reverend Valentine Mokiwa, Bishop of the Diocese of Dar es Salaam and Primate of Tanzania, welcomed us. We were made aware of some of the current difficulties facing Tanzania and committed ourselves to prayer for protection for the Church and peace and prosperity for all of this nation’s citizens.

During our meeting we were vividly reminded of the costly struggles of so many of our fellow Christians, whether facing violent persecution, natural disaster or spiritual conflict with competing ideologies. Such struggles have shaped our intention to use the next Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON2), now to be anticipated in October 2013 (rather than May as previously indicated) to stand in solidarity with all of our oppressed sisters and brothers and to study the theme of declaring the gospel of God ‘in the midst of much conflict’ (1Thessalonians 2:2).

We were pleased to welcome the Most Reverend Henri Isingoma, Primate of the Anglican Church of the Congo as member of the Primates’ Council. We are thankful for his faithful witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his embrace of the tenets of the Jerusalem Declaration and his enthusiastic support for the work of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.

We reflected on our meeting in London this past April when we gathered 200 leaders from 31 countries and enjoyed outstanding fellowship. We received excellent theological and biblical material that is now published on the GAFCON website. We also heard remarkable testimonies of leadership under pressure from around the Communion. But perhaps the most telling quote was from a Nigerian bishop who said, ‘Now we know we are not alone.’ That is at the heart of our calling as the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans – to provide an authentic Anglican community for those who have been alienated for whatever reason.

As a result of the increased aggressiveness of the revisionists there are now those in every province and beyond who wish to stand with us and who need our help to stand for Christ: in Recife (Brazil), in South Carolina, in the Church of Scotland, in Ireland, in England, in Australia and many more. We received reports from various FCA affiliates and rejoice in their faithful witness in the face of tremendous pressure and were delighted to receive an application for the establishment of an FCA affiliate in Australia.

We were also reminded of the need for prayer for those who will gather in Auckland, New Zealand, for the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council. In particular we prayed that they will avoid compromise and have the courage to declare boldly the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is good news for all people at all times and in all cultures.

We also rejoiced in the news that we have now received funding to expand our Communication efforts and look forward to more regular communication between our various constituencies and the ability to be able to share the remarkable stories of courageous and costly discipleship. We are also hopeful that this will also be a means by which we can be more effectively mobilized for intercession for one another and the communities that we serve.

From our very inception we have always understood that our fight is not with any particular person, political party, program or province but rather we are engaged an age-old battle for the soul of the Church.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, … Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (1)

At its heart we are engaged in a spiritual and theological struggle and we were unanimous in our commitment to renew the FCA Theological Commission with Provincial representation and a revised mandate that will provide theological resources to address areas of current concern.

We concluded our meeting with a glorious service of evening worship at the Cathedral of St Albans in Dar es Salaam. As we sang the familiar words of the evening hymn “The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended” (2) we gave thanks that “The Voice of Prayer is Never Silent. Nor dies the strain of praise way!” We are indeed not alone!

In Christ’s love and service,

The Most Reverend Eliud Wabukala
On behalf of the FCA Primates Council


1. Ephesians 6:12-20
2. Psalm 42:8, John Ellerton, 1870

The Bishop of Springfield on the Diocese of South Carolina/Mark Lawrence Developments

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

...we know from the experience of recent years roughly how the scenario will play out: the Presiding Bishop will convene an extraordinary “convention” of “loyal Episcopalians” from within the diocese, which will announce that it is the legitimate continuing Diocese of South Carolina, and choose a Provisional Bishop. Then that bishop and diocese, along with attorneys representing the Presiding Bishop, will spend millions of dollars suing in secular courts to recover control of church buildings and financial assets. To this point, the reorganized dioceses and the Presiding Bishop have been generally successful in their legal efforts (though important cases in Texas and California remain undecided). However, there is already a history in South Carolina that heavily favors those who will continue to actually occupy those properties.

This is a very serious, and a very disturbing, turn of events. Bishop Lawrence is a longtime personal friend, and a man whose intellect, love for our Lord, and passion for the gospel is without peer. While I am not fully on board with the some of the positions taken and decisions made by the conventions of the Diocese of South Carolina, and while I could find reasons to criticize the tone of much of the rhetoric coming from their direction, I am in essential theological sympathy with the witness made by that diocese as it has attempted to remain faithful to historic Anglican–which is to say, historic Episcopalian–faith and practice in a time when the majority in our church appear to be turning away from that tradition. More to the point, it strains every notion of common sense to apply the charge of “abandonment” in this case. This is a provision that is in canons to make it expeditious to deal with a priest or bishop who has openly decamped to another ecclesial body, or none; a cleric who stops showing up for meetings, stops worshiping as an Episcopalian, and disavows any association with the Episcopal Church. By contrast, since I became a bishop in March of last year, Mark Lawrence has attended every meeting of the House of Bishops except one, which a great many bishops also missed because it was held in Ecuador. He was present at General Convention. He has continued to lead a diocese that uses the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer in its worship. He has abandoned nothing, and to accuse him of doing so is ludicrous on its face.

Read it all.

Bishop William Love of Albany—Response to the Inhibition of Bishop Mark Lawrence of South Carolina

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

This latest action taken against Bishop Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina is indicative of the brokenness and ongoing division within The Episcopal Church and wider Anglican Communion over a number of important theological, moral, and societal issues, not the least of which include: the interpretation and authority of Holy Scripture as the Word of God; the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as "the way, the truth and the life;" the responsibility and means by which a bishop is to "guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church;" the true purpose and nature of marriage as intended by God; as well as the never ending debate over human sexuality and sexual relations outside of marriage between one man and one woman.

Closely tied to all of this is the current debate over the true polity or structure of The Episcopal Church which directly impacts the numerous lawsuits within the Church over property and assets totaling untold millions of dollars....

Sadly, we seem to have reached a point in the life and history of the Church that any action taken by a conservative bishop or diocese to uphold their understanding of Holy Scripture and the traditional teaching, polity and Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church risks having charges brought against them if their actions are deemed to threaten or challenge the majority view, particularly in regard to polity issues and the control of Church property and assets. If the conservative voice is to have any future in The Episcopal Church, there must be a way to address controversial issues and to differentiate from that which is believed to be inappropriate or offensive.

Bishop Mark Lawrence is and continues to be a dear friend and Brother in Christ. I believe he is one of the finest and most capable bishops to serve in the House of Bishops in recent history.

Read it all.

Another South Carolina Rector Writes his Parish About recent Developments

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

From here:

As you probably already know, or as you can read below, on Monday the 15th of October the storm/battle we've been expecting finally arrived. Late yesterday (Wed) afternoon we learned that the actions taken by the Presiding Bishop triggered automatic corporate resolutions that have now taken the Diocese out of The Episcopal Church....What this means for us down the road is not yet totally clear. What is clear is that we will continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. And in partnership with our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the Diocese we will stand for the truth of His Word.

For me personally, I find this all very, very sad. I'm what we call a "cradle" Episcopalian, i.e. [it has been true of me] all of my life. My parents, grandparents, great grandparents etc. etc. were also. My sisters both teach in Episcopal schools, My grandmother started an Episcopal pre-school. And I could go on and on. I've come to understand though what St. Paul wrote to the Philippians in chapter 3. After he laid out his Jewish credentials he said, "But whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." I certainly am feeling a sense of loss, but I declare with Paul, I "count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."

(Bloomberg) Same Sex Marriage Pits Laymen and Laywomen Against Religious Hierarchy

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

At a Seattle synagogue, volunteers are running a phone bank urging voters to uphold Washington’s same-sex marriage law. In Maryland, Catholics are poised to preach from the pulpit opposing a similar initiative.

Voters in those states as well as Maine are less than two weeks from deciding whether to hand ballot-box victory to same- sex marriage proponents for the first time after more than a decade of defeat. Campaigns on both sides are targeting religious communities, where leaders holding on to centuries of opposition to homosexuality are often pitted against their congregants’ evolving attitudes toward gay nuptials.

“There has been some movement in recent years toward greater acceptance of same-sex marriage,” said David Masci, a researcher with the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington. “But the largest religious groups and the biggest churches remain opposed.”

Read it all.

Six Surprising Ways Jesus Changed The World

from Stand Firm by David Ould http://www.davidould.net

A fascinating and, I think, uncontestable list from John Ortberg

Both President Obama and Governor Romney have had to repeatedly address their views about an itinerant rabbi who lived 2000 years ago.

But why does anyone care?

Yale historian Jeroslav Pelikan wrote, “Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western Culture for almost 20 centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much would be left?”
It turns out that the life of Jesus is a comet with an exceedingly long tale. Here are some shards of his impact that most often surprise people:

Here’s the list - anything you’d change?

Children
In the ancient world children were routinely left to die of exposure—particularly if they were the wrong gender (you can guess which was the wrong one); they were often sold into slavery. Jesus’ treatment of and teachings about children led to the forbidding of such practices, as well as orphanages and godparents. A Norwegian scholar named Bakke wrote a study of this impact, simply titled: When Children Became People: the Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity.

Education
Love of learning led to monasteries, which became the cradle of academic guilds. Universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard all began as Jesus-inspired efforts to love God with all ones’ mind. The first legislation to publicly fund education in the colonies was called The Old Deluder Satan Act, under the notion that God does not want any child ignorant. The ancient world loved education but tended to reserve it for the elite; the notion that every child bore God’s image helped fuel the move for universal literacy.

Compassion
Jesus had a universal concern for those who suffered that transcended the rules of the ancient world. His compassion for the poor and the sick led to institutions for lepers, the beginning of modern-day hospitals. The Council of Nyssa decreed that wherever a cathedral existed, there must be a hospice, a place of caring for the sick and poor. That’s why even today, hospitals have names like “Good Samaritan,” “Good Shepherd,” or “Saint Anthony.” They were the world’s first voluntary, charitable institutions.

Humility
The ancient world honored many virtues like courage and wisdom, but not humility. People were generally divided into first class and coach. “Rank must be preserved,” said Cicero; each of the original 99 percent was a personis mediocribus. Plutarch wrote a self-help book that might crack best-seller lists in our day: How to Praise Yourself Inoffensively.
Jesus’ life as a foot-washing servant would eventually lead to the adoption of humility as a widely admired virtue. Historian John Dickson writes, “it is unlikely that any of us would aspire to this virtue were it not for the historical impact of his crucifixion…Our culture remains cruciform long after it stopped being Christian.”

Forgiveness
In the ancient world, virtue meant rewarding your friends and punishing your enemies. Conan the Barbarian was actually paraphrasing Ghengis Khan in his famous answer to the question “what is best in life?”—To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.

An alternative idea came from Galilee: what is best in life is to love your enemies, and see them reconciled to you. Hannah Arendt, the first woman appointed to a full professorship at Princeton, claimed, “the discoverer of the role of forgiveness in the realm of human affairs was Jesus of Nazareth.” This may be debatable, but he certainly gave the idea unique publicity.

Humanitarian Reform
Jesus had a way of championing the excluded that was often downright irritating to those in power. His inclusion of women led to a community to which women flocked in disproportionate numbers. Slaves—up to a third of ancient populations—might wander into a church fellowship and have a slave-owner wash their feet rather than beat them. One ancient text instructed bishops to not interrupt worship to greet a wealthy attender, but to sit on the floor to welcome the poor. The apostle Paul said: “Now there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave or free, male and female, but all are one in Christ Jesus.” Thomas Cahill wrote that this was the first statement of egalitarianism in human literature.

It’s quite horrifying to think what we might be like today without these 6 massive changes.

Anglican Consultative Council Digest: Oct. 29

from Episcopal Life Online by By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service – Auckland, New Zealand] Much happens each day during the Anglican Consultative Council‘s (ACC) 15th meeting. In addition to Episcopal News Service’s regular coverage, here’s some of what else went on Oct. 28-29 (local time).

Young Anglican authors offer book on ‘life-widening mission’
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams officially launched Life-widening Mission: Global Anglican Perspectives, calling it a new road map for mission in the Anglican Communion.

The Rev. Irene Ayallo, a Kenyan priest and one of the contributors to “Life-widening Mission: Global Anglican Perspectives,” talks with a member of the Anglican Consultative Council Oct. 28 (local time), after the official launch of the book in Auckland. ENS photo/Mary Frances Schjonberg

The book is a collection of reflections and perspectives by a group of young Anglicans compiled after their attendance at Edinburgh 2010, an event that commemorated the historic ecumenical Edinburgh 1910 Conference. The essays are written from the attendees’ personal contextual backgrounds in the light of theAnglican Communion’s Marks of Mission.

Young Anglicans from Brazil, Canada, Central Africa, Hong Kong, Kenya, South Africa and the U.S.-based Episcopal Church wrote the major chapters. Cathy Ross from New Zealand edited the collection.
“We had a common vision … of how to be effective in God’s mission,” said the Rev. Irene Ayallo of Kenya, one of the authors, during the launch.

Williams said that up until now most of the maps used to chart the course of mission in the Anglican Communion have been drawn “largely by men, largely by men over 55, largely by ordained men over 55 and largely by ordained men over 55 with a slightly paler complexion” than most of the people of the world. He noted that those traditional maps “don’t always get you to the goal because events are changing on the ground.”
Echoing a theme he has stated earlier during the ACC meeting, Williams said that youth are not the future of the church, but are instead the present of the church. And the young writers whose works are collected in the mission book show that the youthful contingent of the communion is “making its own maps, charting its own course,” not in rebellion against tradition, “but simply getting on with it.”

All provinces accepted ACC invitation; all but one province is attending

Anglican Communion General Secretary Kenneth Kearon said an Oct. 29 (local time) press briefing that while no province is officially staying away from the ACC15 meeting, there are some people missing.

Anglican Communion News Service reported that out of 87 delegates, 10 are not yet present. They include three members from Uganda and one each from Congo, Ireland, North India, Pakistan, Philippines, Tanzania and from among those invited by the Anglican Communion Standing Committee to ensure diversity of membership on the council. Some of those seven are still in transit while others have declined because of personal or administrative reasons, or because of visa issues.

“There’s no province staying away,” Kearon said.

The Church of the Province of Uganda is not represented at the meeting, but only because it forgot to choose its members, he said. The province was due to have chosen its three members this past summer at the same meeting during which the Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali was elected the 8th Archbishop of the Church of Uganda.
“The intention was there; which is good,” Kearon said, “But I am genuinely sorry that they didn’t come because there’s a history to that.”

That history includes Uganda deciding to boycott the decennial gathering of the communion’s bishops in 2008 because Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had invited the Episcopal Church’s bishops. The Ugandan bishops objected because of recent developments in and actions by the Episcopal Church, including its decision in 2003 to allow its Diocese of New Hampshire to ordain and consecrate Gene Robinson as its bishop.

Ugandan Anglicans were involved in a dispute at ACC’s last meeting in 2009 in Jamaica when Philip Ashey, a former Episcopal Church priest accepted into the Church of Uganda in 2005, was not been allowed to be seated as a Ugandan delegate because, the Standing Committee said at the time, his relationship with the East African province is “a result of a cross provincial intervention.”

And, Uganda was also one of seven provinces to boycott the January 2011 Primates Meeting.

A list of the ACC members is here.

Council gets code of conduct

Council members have received a code of conduct concerning discriminatory behaviors, harassment and sexual harassment. The code has been prepared by Anglican Communion Office staff for use at all official communion meetings.

The code commits the communion to ensuring that meetings are held “in an environment of hospitality and safety” and declares that “discriminatory behavior, including harassment of any kind – sexual, ethnic, class-based, age-related or otherwise, is not to be tolerated.”

Among its principles, the code calls on meeting participants to behave respectfully toward others, not misuse their relationships, “be clear with yourself and others about your personal boundaries,” be sensitive to cultural and social differences and “be swift to apologize” if one thinks one’s behavior has caused offense or been misunderstood.

The three-page code also outlines the role of those responsible for addressing reported instances of harassment.
Kearon told the council Oct. 29 that he had been asked if members could put the code of conduct to use in their dioceses and provinces.

“We are happy for you to bring that back to your provinces,” he said, cautioning however that specific wording had been vetted by United Kingdom attorneys to conform to local law and that members ought to get legal advice to be sure that such a code fits with laws in their jurisdictions.

Still, he said, the code “should be the starting point for a conversation in you province.”

All ENS coverage of ACC15 is here.
– The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service.