DCNY

2012-02-01T12:27:00.001-08:00

MARRIAGE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together

MARRIAGE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together
Archbishop Duncan Signs Open Letter on Marriage
TEC Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's signature not to be found

An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans

http://thenalc.org/documents/usccb/usccb-11JAN2012-marriage-religious-freedom-letter.pdf
January 11, 2012

Dear Friends:

The promotion and protection of marriage-the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife-is a matter of the common good and serves the wellbeing of the couple, of children, of civil society and all people. The meaning and value of marriage precedes and transcends any particular society, government, or religious community. It is a universal good and the foundational institution of all societies. It is bound up with the nature of the human person as male and female, and with the essential task of bearing and nurturing children.

As religious leaders across a wide variety of faith communities, we join together to affirm that marriage in its true definition must be protected for its own sake and for the good of society. We also recognize the grave consequences of altering this definition. One of these consequences-the interference with the religious freedom of those who continue to affirm the true definition of "marriage"-warrants special attention within our faith communities and throughout society as a whole. For this reason, we come together with one voice in this letter.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T12:26:00.001-08:00

Unstable behaviour

from VirtueOnline

Unstable behaviour
A leading activist agrees that homosexual preferences are fluid and changing. If so, why do gays need special treatment?

By Peter Saunders
Mercator Net
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/unstable_behaviour
January 30, 2012

Many people think that homosexuality is a biological characteristic like race or sex - biologically fixed and genetically determined. They think this because this is the view that has been successfully propagated by the gay rights lobby for decades in order to provide a justification for arguing that 'homophobia' is a form of discrimination akin to racism or sexism.

This belief has also been behind moves to treat discrimination against 'practising' homosexuals as a human rights issue by pretending that homosexuals are a biological category like 'women' or 'Asians' whose distinctive features are genetically determined rather than just a group who have simply made a certain life-style choice.

But in fact the strength and direction of erotic attraction, although relatively stable in some people, can be quite changeable in others - it is often not fixed at all.

Similarly, identical twins often have different sexual orientations proving that, although sexual orientation may have some genetic influences, it is not genetically determined. There is, in other words, no such thing as the gay gene.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T10:33:00.001-08:00

Diocese of Virginia Is an Emperor without Clothes

from Anglican Curmudgeon by A. S. Haley

Thanks to BabyBlue, we learn that the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, barely a week after its Bishop held out the olive branch to the departed CANA parishes, used his other hand to hit them with a sucker punch: his attorneys have filed a motion with Judge Randy Bellows for an award of prejudgment interest. (You can read the text of the motion and supporting memorandum at the link to BabyBlue's post.)

"Prejudgment interest" means just what the name says -- it is interest on an amount made payable for a time period before any actual judgment is entered. (After a judgment is entered against a defendant for a sum of money, postjudgment interest begins to accrue on the amount of the judgment, and continues to accrue until the judgment is paid in full.)

How can interest accrue on an amount before it is awarded? Well, first of all, the amount has to be known and certain -- that is, the claim against the defendant has to be for a specific sum of money which is already known, or is readily ascertainable. For example, if I offer you $10,000 to paint my house, but then delay paying you after you have finished the job, so that you eventually are forced to sue and get a judgment against me for the $10,000, then you could ask the court to award (prejudgment) interest on the unpaid amount from the day you finished the job until the day the court entered judgment. (Once the judgment is entered, postjudgment interest takes over from there.)

Presumably the fact that an audit will fix the sums that were in each of the many bank and investment accounts as of the filing of the diocesan lawsuits in January 2007 means that the first criterion can be satisfied in this case.

The second criterion for an award of prejudgment interest is that the money debt was clearly owed all along -- that is, there existed no good reason at the time for withholding payment of it. And that is where the nitty-gritty ofJudge Bellows' comprehensive 113-page opinion will come into play, and be crucial.

The Diocese's memorandum in support of its motion quotes Judge Bellows' words back at him:

In concluding that the CANA Congregations do not possess either contractual or proprietary interests in the property of the seven Episcopal Churches, the Court noted the “pervasive control” exercised by The Episcopal Church and the Diocese over the churches. Op. at 101. The Court emphasized the hierarchical structure of the Church and referenced “the undeniable fact that these seven churches *were part of a hierarchical denomination for decades and, in some cases for centuries” and that the congregations’ claims of autonomy and independence were “contradicted by the overwhelming body of evidence before this Court.” Op. at 101. The Court said that applying neutral principles of law, as established by United States and Virginia Supreme Court precedents, it is “clear - indeed, to this Court, it is overwhelmingly evident- that TEC and the Diocese have contractual and proprietary interests in the real and personal property of each of these seven churches.” Op. at 104. The Court stressed that “whi1e the CANA Congregations had an absolute right to depart from TEC and the Diocese, they had no right to take these seven Episcopal churches with them.” Id. (emphasis in original) Given the “compelling” evidence and “clear” law presented, the ultimate conclusion reached by the Court, while disappointing to the CANA Congregations, could not have come as any surprise; and they presumably segregated such sums and can readily turn the accounts over with the accrued interest. See Op. at 102, 104. Moreover, that the CANA Congregations may have believed there was a bona ñde dispute as to ownership of the real and personal property has no bearing on the decision whether to award prejudgment interest. See Gill v. Rollins Protective Servs. Co., 836 F.2d 194 (4th Cir. 1987) (neither Code 8.01-382 nor Virginia case law makes an exception to the general discretionary rule on pre-judgment interest for bona fide legal disputes).

Thus, because it was always so "clear" and "compelling", according to Judge Bellows, that the property belonged to the Diocese from the moment it filed its lawsuits to recover them, the CANA parishes should have handed over all their bank accounts right then and there. And since they did not do so, they now must turn over all the interest which that money could have earned in the five years of litigation until the entry of the judgment, according to the Diocese. (The prejudgment rate in Virginia is six percent per year, unless there is a contract or agreement between the parties for a lesser rate. Thus if there were $3 million in all of the parish bank accounts in January 2007, then interest would accrue at $180,000 per year, and over five years, the total would come to $900,000.)

There is one immediately perceivable flaw in the Diocese's argument, and it also casts doubt on the legitimacy of Judge Bellows' characterization of the evidence as "compelling" and "clear." For at the time of his first ruling in this matter in 2008, which told the CANA congregations that they could keep their properties under the terms of Virginia's Division Statute (§ 57-9), it was then "clear" to Judge Bellows that the Diocese did not have any entitlement to the parish properties or bank accounts.

The only thing that changed the Judge's view was the Virginia Supreme Court's quixotical decision, two years later, to read the statute in such a way that it could never apply to that sacred category of religious institutions defined as "hierarchical" by the courts. From that date on, perhaps, it was now "clear" in Virginia that the Diocese would prevail -- or was it? At any rate, the point is that all of the evidence which the Diocese (leaning on Judge Bellows, to be sure) now characterizes as "compelling" did not amount to anything approaching that description in 2008, and could have become so only after June 2010.

But the principal point here is that with this motion, the Diocese has revealed its truly impecunious state, and hence its inability to maintain and operate all of the properties it has won in the judicial jackpot. Moving for an award of prejudgment interest in these unique circumstances -- secular lawsuits between thousands and thousands of Christians on each side, contrary to the tenets of the Christian religion -- is to rub salt into a gaping wound in the body of Christ. For the Diocese to resort to such a tactic with its Bishop's blessing, so soon after Bishop Johnston held out the possibility of working out arrangements to allow the CANA congregations to remain in their buildings, is a sign of desperation -- of seeking to wring from the congregations every last farthing which the Diocese could ostensibly claim.

And notice the inherent one-sidedness of any such award: it goes to the Diocese if it wins, but the congregations could have gotten nothing from the Diocese, had they been the victors, since they had possession of the funds all along. That is why prejudgment interest should be reserved for those cases in which there was literally no justification for withholding the payment due.

The move thus gives the lie to Bishop Johnston's brave words to his Diocesan council just one week ago, as quoted here earlier (H/T: BabyBlue again):

Nonetheless, we have reason to be more confident than ever that our properties will be returned. For nearly two years, we have considered and discussed such a positive outcome, and now we must move to put contingency plans in place. We will be fully prepared for any eventuality... I strongly believe that we will be able to do what it takes over the next months and years to be faithful to the Church’s mission with respect to each one of the properties involved. . . .

Yes, Bishop Johnston, certainly you are following those "contingency plans"; certainly you are "prepared for any eventuality." You just need the prejudgment interest to bolster the amounts you will have available to keep up these properties until you can turn them into more cash to pay back the line of credit you took out to finance the lawsuits; we see that. That is why you now really want to stick it to your fellow Christians, and make them atone with every last drop of their blood for the offense they gave the Diocese by having the temerity to seek what they thought were their rights under Virginia law at the time.

Like the fabled emperor, the Diocese of Virginia now stands bare and exposed, for all (and not just Christians) to see.

2012-02-01T10:32:00.001-08:00

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia files for "prejudgment interest" against the seven Anglican congregations in Virginia

from BabyBlueOnline by BabyBlue

The local online newspaper The Patch has the story here. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has filed a motion in the Fairfax Circuit Court for an "award of prejudgment interest" against the seven Anglican congregations in Virginia.

Last weekend the Episcopal Bishop of Virginia Shannon Johnston told the Annual Council meeting in Restonthat regarding the recent favorable ruling over the Virginia church properties of seven of the congregations that voted to separate in 2006, "The bottom line is that just as we have been able to sustain our case throughout a lengthy and expensive legal process, I strongly believe that we will be able to do what it takes over the next months and years to be faithful to the Church’s mission with respect to each one of the properties involved." Is this filing what he meant?

The filing also comes as The Episcopal Church's Executive Council was faced last week with a very public duel between the Presiding Bishop and the House of Deputies President over substantial budget cuts at 815, the headquarters of the national offices of The Episcopal Church.

Here is the Diocese of Virginia's filing:

MOTION FOR AWARD OF PREJUDGMENT INTEREST AND
MEMORANDUMIN SUPPORT THEREOF

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia (the “Diocese”), by counsel,

moves the Court for an award of prejudgment interest pursuant to Va. Code 8.01-3 02. In

support of its motion, the Diocese submits the following memorandum.

1. On January 10, 2012, this Court issued a 113 page Letter Opinion setting forth

three significant rulings in favor of the Diocese: (i) The Episcopal Church and the Diocese have

contractual and proprietary interests in each of the seven Episcopal churches that are the subject

of this litigation, and all real and personal property acquired by the churches up to the ñling date

of the declaratory judgment actions are to be conveyed promptly to the Diocese; (ii) the CANA

Congregations do not possess either contractual or proprietary interests in the property of the

seven Episcopal churches and are enjoined from further use or control of the property and must

promptly relinquish them to the Diocese; and (iii) the vestry empowered to elect directors to the

Falls Church Endowment Fund is the Episcopal vestry recognized by the Diocese. Op. at 14.

2. The Diocese is endeavoring to craft a Final Order which will encompass these

rulings and has communicated with the CANA Congregations to obtain an accounting of real and

personal property, including tangibles and intangibles such as bank deposit accounts, which have been

in their exclusive possession and control since the inception of the litigation. The parties

are attempting to reach agreement as to the sums on deposit at yarious financial institutions as of

the demarcation date identified by the Court, and the Diocese intends to identify such specific

amounts in the Final Order and have such order decree that such sums be returned to it.

3. The Diocese seeks an award of pre-judgment interest as to the liquidated sums on

deposit at various financial institutions as of the date of the Diocese’s filing of the declaratory

judgment actions. Va. Code allows a jury or a court to “provide for interest on any

principal sum awarded . _ . and [to] fix the period at which the interest shall commence.” An

award of pre-judgment interest is completely discretionary with the trial court. Upper Occoquan

Sewage Authority v. Blake Constr. Co., 275 Va. 41, 655 S.E.2d 10 (2008); Dairyland Ins. Co. v.

Douthat, 248 Va. 627, 449 S.E.2d 799 (1994). The purpose of prejudgment interest is to

compensate a plaintiff for the loss sustained by not receiving the amount it was entitled to and

restore the party to the position it would have occupied. Blake, 275 Va. at 63; Marks v. Sanzo,

231 Va. 350, 356 (1986). “[N]atural justice [requires] that he who has the use of another’s

money should pay interest for it.” Blake, 275 Va. at 63 (citations omitted).

4. An awarci of pre-judgment interest is appropriate here “to make the Plaintiff

whole.” Blake Constr. Co. v. Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority, 71 Va. Cir. 248 (Fairfax

2006), a/Td in part, rev ’d in part, 655 S.E.2d 10 (Va. 2008). For over five years, the Diocese

has been deprived of access to and use of the real and personal property of the seven Episcopal

churches at issue, including the amounts on deposit at various ñnancial institutions and

maintained in investment accounts. The financial sums are sizeable, ranging from several

hundred thousand dollars in the case of smaller churches such as St. Paul’s Church to several

million dollars as to The Falls Church and Truro Church. In addition to taking exclusive control

of the real property, the CANA Congregations took possession of the financial accounts and

claimed and maintained them as their own, precluding any use or application of such monies to

the spiritual and other missions of the Diocese. An award of prejudgment interest is necessary

to make the Diocese whole and restore the Diocese to the position it was in at the time it filed the

declaratory judgment actions.

5. In concluding that the CANA Congregations do not possess either contractual or

proprietary interests in the property of the seven Episcopal Churches, the Court noted the

“pervasive control” exercised by The Episcopal Church and the Diocese over the churches. Op.

at 101. The Court emphasized the hierarchical structure of the Church and referenced “the

undeniable fact that these seven churches *were part of a hierarchical denomination for decades

and, in some cases for centuries” and that the congregations’ claims of autonomy and

independence were “contradicted by the overwhelming body of evidence before this Court.” Op.

at 101. The Court said that applying neutral principles of law, as established by United States

and Virginia Supreme Court precedents, it is “clear - indeed, to this Court, it is overwhelmingly

evident- that TEC and the Diocese have contractual and proprietary interests in the real and

personal property of each of these seven churches.” Op. at 104. The Court stressed that “whi1e

the CANA Congregations had an absolute right to depart from TEC and the Diocese, they had no

right to take these seven Episcopal churches with them.” Id. (emphasis in original) Given the

“compelling” evidence and “clear” law presented, the ultimate conclusion reached by the Court,

while disappointing to the CANA Congregations, could not have come as any surprise; and they

presumably segregated such sums and can readily turn the accounts over with the accrued

interest. See Op. at 102, 104. Moreover, that the CANA Congregations may have believed there

was a bona ñde dispute as to ownership of the real and personal property has no bearing on the

decision whether to award prejudgment interest. See Gill v. Rollins Protective Servs. Co., 836

F.2d 194 (4th Cir. 1987) (neither Code 8.01-3 82 nor Virginia case law makes an exception to

the general discretionary rule on pre-judgment interest for bona ñde legal disputes).

6. The amounts on deposit in various financial institutions by the seven Episcopal

churches as of the demarcation date identified by the Court (the date of the filing by the Diocese

of the various declaratory judgment actions) is easily discernible. This litigation has been

pending for over five years and the duration of the case and overwhelming evidence in favor of

the Diocese merit the award. See Tauber v. Comm. of Va., 263 Va. 520, 562 S.E.2d 1818 (2002)

(affirming decision to award prejudgment interest based on the “extended duration of this suit”

and “the overwhelming evidence in the record”). Pre-judgment interest as to these liquidated

sums can and should be calculated and decreed to restore the Diocese to its position as of the

date of ñling the declaratory judgment actions. See Op. at 112. Pursuant to Va. Code

the rate of pre-judgment interest is six percent.

WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the Diocese respectfully requests that the

Court order and decree that the Diocese’s request for an award of prejudgment interest is

granted and, following entry of the Final Order, interest shall accrue at the judgment rate until paid.

BB NOTE: This is indeed sad news, but may we pause and consider prayer - we, the people of the Diocese of Virginia and the people of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic pray .... please pray too. We will be able to go forward when we can trust again and know, in the depths of our hearts, that we are loved, not through our own merits, but by the merits of Jesus. May it be so.

2012-02-01T10:31:00.001-08:00

NASHVILLE, TN: Former Episcopalians face more upheaval

from VirtueOnline

NASHVILLE, TN: Former Episcopalians face more upheaval
Former Episcopal priest Thomas McKenzie and others are left in limbo amid a spat between Anglican Mission leaders and the overseas Anglican group that adopted them

By: Bob Smietana
The Tennessean
http://tinyurl.com/7hegcwa
January 28, 2012

For the second time in a decade, the Rev. Thomas McKenzie has found himself in an ugly church fight.

Back in 2004, it was over sexuality and salvation in the Episcopal Church.

Now it's over power and money, the spat between leaders of the Anglican Mission in the Americas - made up mostly of former Episcopalians like McKenzie - and the overseas Anglican group that adopted them.

"It's sinful, it's ugly, it's wrong," said McKenzie, pastor of Church of the Redeemer in Nashville and a former Episcopal priest. "And it doesn't bring honor to the name of Christ."

Over the past decade, thousands of Episcopalians have split from that denomination because they feel it lost its theological moorings. Some of its bishops have denied that Jesus is the only path to salvation, and the denomination allows gays and lesbians to be leaders.

They found allies in Anglican bishops from places like Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria and South America. Those bishops, like the leaders of the Episcopal Church, are part of the Anglican Communion but hold more traditional beliefs.

Some local former Episcopalians, like those at Church of the Redeemer, joined the Anglican Mission, which was run by the Church of Rwanda.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T10:30:00.003-08:00

Anglican Church Leaders to meet in Tallahassee

from VirtueOnline

2012-02-01T10:30:00.001-08:00

Culture War and the Global Church - Mark Tooley

from VirtueOnline

Culture War and the Global Church

By Mark Tooley
http://spectator.org/
January 31, 2012

Liberal Protestant denominations are increasingly no match for their conservative brethren worldwide.

Global Christianity is thriving, with one out of every 3 people on earth professing Christian faith, according to a Pew study released last month. But Christianity is shifting south. Two percent of global Christians 100 years ago lived in sub-Saharan Africa. Today, nearly a quarter do, equal to Europe's percentage, and soon surely to surpass it.

Insulated secular elites in the U.S. remain largely clueless about thriving religion even in America, much less globally. To the extent they notice domestic religion, it is often the echoing voices of liberal Protestant elites who preside over increasingly empty churches.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Episcopal Church, both of which are now likely below 2 million members, will have their governing conventions this summer. They will probably solidify their liberal trends, especially in deconstructing traditional marriage. United Methodism, unique among the major liberal Mainline denominations for having not compromised its sexual teaching, will convene its General Conference in late April in Tampa. Its U.S. membership of 7.6 million is shrinking, while is overseas membership of 4.5 million, mostly in Africa, is surging.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T10:29:00.002-08:00

Presiding Bishop and HOD President Face off over TEC Budget

from VirtueOnline

Presiding Bishop and HOD President Face off over TEC Budget
Litigation costs are forcing church's hand in how it will spend money now and in the future

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
January 31, 2012

A power struggle and simmering rivalry which has been going on for a number of years between Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori and House of Deputies president Bonnie Anderson erupted this past week when the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church met in Maryland where the two parties offered different visions of the mission of the church.

Executive Council received two different budget proposals from its Executive Committee with one setting the diocesan asking at the current level of 19 percent, and requiring cuts of almost $6 million from the $140 million 2010-2012 budget adopted by the General Convention. This is the position favored by PB Jefferts Schori.

The other lowers the diocesan asking to 15 percent and requires cuts of almost $21 million from the current budget. HOD President Anderson favors the 15 percent asking.

Both budgets were ultimately scuttled and a third budget was sent to Program, Budget & Finance.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

From the I told you so dept.

2012-02-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

Virginia Episcopal Diocese: A Pyrrhic victory?

from VirtueOnline

Virginia Episcopal Diocese: A Pyrrhic victory?
Virginia's breakaway Anglican congregations lose the latest legal round over possession of their properties, but can Virginia Episcopalians afford to keep them?

By Les Sillars & Grace Dobbs
WORLD Virginia
http://worldvirginia.com/2012/01/a_pyrrhic_victory
Jan. 31, 2012

The breakaway Episcopal congregations in Virginia, who left in 2006 over the American denomination's liberal theology, have lost the latest round in the legal battle over the church property. Some have warned their members to expect to move within a few months.

In a 113-page ruling issued Jan. 10, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows reversed a ruling he made in 2008 giving custody to the conservative congregations. The Virginia Supreme Court overturned that ruling in 2010 and ordered a new trial.

At issue is ownership of seven Virginia churches, including two prominent, historic congregations that trace their roots to George Washington: Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church, for which the city of Falls Church is named. But it is not clear that the denomination, on the verge of finally winning the battle that began in 2006, has either the members or the money to keep operating the churches themselves.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T10:28:00.001-08:00

(RNS) In Cleveland, a Battle over Unwanted Churches

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Transfiguration was built in the early 1900s and sits just north of a Cleveland Clinic parking garage. The Gothic Revival church was home to one of several congregations that broke off from the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.

The breakaway congregation recently moved to another location after a judge later decided the property must stay with the diocese. The building badly needs repairs, and a diocesan official, the Rev. Brad Purdom, said the diocese cannot restore every building.

"It breaks our hearts," Purdom said. "But at the end of the day, you have to make some choices about how you're going to spend the limited resources that you do have."

Read it all.

2012-02-01T10:27:00.003-08:00

Resisting fundamentalism - a dreadful poster

from VirtueOnline

Resisting fundamentalism - a dreadful poster

J. Michael Povey
Povey Prattle Blog
http://jmichaelpovey-retiredpoveinsarasota.blogspot.com/2012/01/resisting-fundamentalism-dreadful.html
January 27, 2012

This poster has gone viral on the internet today. I find it to be utterly appalling. It makes me feel embarrassed to be an Episcopalian.

It is of course historically inaccurate on two counts.

First: We have not resisted fundamentalism since 1784. Fundamentalism as a major factor in American Protestantism did not emerge until the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Second: The assertion that Jesus "resisted the Pharisees" is a rather simplistic interpretation of scripture. What we see in the gospels is that Jesus had disagreements with some of the Pharisees.

In fact his only encounter with a named Pharisee - Nicodemus - shows a Jesus who is gracious and thoughtful. Never did he resist the Pharisee Nicodemus.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T10:27:00.001-08:00

Tunics, cloaks, and church buildings - Robert S. Munday

from VirtueOnline

Tunics, cloaks, and church buildings

The V. Rev. Robert Munday
http://toalltheworld.blogspot.com/2012/01/tunics-cloaks-and-church-buildings.html
Jan. 28, 2012

"And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well" (Matthew 5:40, ESV).

Last week I happened to be in Savannah, Georgia; and, as I try to do whenever I am in town on a Sunday evening, I attended the beautiful sung Compline at historic Christ Church. Christ Church is the oldest Anglican church in Georgia-older than the State of Georgia, older than the Diocese of Georgia, and older than the Episcopal Church. It is the only church where both John Wesley and George Whitefield served as rectors. Christ Church, whose vestry voted unanimously to separate from the Episcopal Church in 2007 (a vote that was sustained by 87% of the membership) recently had its building taken away by the courts and given to the Episcopal diocese.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T10:26:00.001-08:00

Archbishop John Hepworth to Resign on Easter Day

from VirtueOnline

Archbishop John Hepworth to Resign on Easter Day

Traditional Anglican Communion
Office of the Primate Archbishop John Hepworth

28th January 2012

To the Bishops, clergy and people of the Traditional Anglican Communion

My Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters,

In June of 2003, I was elected as the second Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion. At the Plenary Meeting of our College of Bishops, held in Australia in conjunction with the inauguration of my Primacy, it was made strongly clear - without dissent - that I was to further the ambition of this Communion since its beginnings to discover a means by which Anglican ecclesial communities might come into the fullness of Catholic Communion in a corporate manner, without loss of the treasures of the Anglican tradition.

I prosecuted that mandate of the College in National and Diocesan Synods, in meetings and discussions with anyone whom I thought might assist in both Anglican and Roman Catholic circles, having made clear to the Holy See that I would not allow my own circumstances to become an impediment to unity.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-02-01T10:25:00.001-08:00

Virginia bishop on property settlements

from The Lead by Ann Fontaine

The Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston gave his annual address to the Council (called convention in many dioceses) of the Diocese of Virginia. He spoke on the subject of the strengths of being a “big” diocese.

As your bishop, I’ve heard a lot about the difficulties of being the size we are: impersonal, not knowing leaders and colleagues, the less-than-ideal, however necessary, afternoon Episcopal visitations, and the sheer scale of even ordinary things. Especially, we’ve more recently been dwelling on the problems caused by inadequate funding for a diocesan system our size. As true as such concerns are, I’ve come to see that we get rather hung up on those things–I know I can at times. I want to be sure that we don’t lose perspective, and so I think it’s time to talk about what’s right about being, well, “big. ” Let’s think about the opportunities, privileges, resources and strong dynamics that flow from being one of the Episcopal Church’s largest dioceses

Johnston also spoke to the question the property settlements now that the courts have decided in favor of the Episcopal Church:

As all of you know, the matter of our size, resources and abilities has been–over the past five years–under worldwide scrutiny. Our diocese is navigating a complex set of circumstances regarding our effort to return Episcopal properties to the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia. It would be a big mistake to characterize this simply as a “legal” battle. Rather, at its core, this is (make no mistake about it) about theology, meaning who we are as a Church in relationship with Christ and the world. At stake is our polity, that is, our ancient and defining order of our being the Church. Thus, it is altogether a matter of nothing less than our very faithfulness. It will therefore take more than the courts to settle things. So far, our legal efforts are bearing abundant fruit, but that fruit at hand is making ecclesial life even more complex! Despite the recent court ruling in our favor, we simply don’t know now what the future holds. Nonetheless, we have reason to be more confident than ever that our properties will be returned. For nearly two years, we have considered and discussed such a positive outcome, and now we must move to put contingency plans in place. We will be fully prepared for any eventuality. Today, I outline something of what these plans involve for our diocese’s mission, ministry and administration (which, I remind you, St. Paul lists as a spiritual gift!).

To address the future the bishop revealed the strategy for the future:

To ensure that clarity and bolster that confidence I’m announcing here the creation of what we’re calling “Dayspring.” This is the name of the broad, integrated effort to bring vision, strategy and execution to (1) our support of the continuing congregations; (2) our re-start of congregations where we have existing property; (3) our recruitment and placement of clergy where they will be needed; and (4) our determination of the use or disposition of other properties and assets to be returned to us. I will lead Dayspring myself, and will appoint a deputy who will work to manage three separate teams: Vision and Strategy, Resources and Messaging.

Vision and Strategy will work to put flesh on visions for ministry, both with the Episcopal congregations and with the properties returning to us in Dayspring. Resources will address the business aspects that will inevitably go with what we do. Messaging will serve to communicate both inside the diocese and to the world the redemptive work we undertake with Dayspring. ...

Given those points about Dayspring, there remains one other point that will be as much a part of its mission as anything else: there must be a spirit of graciousness whenever and wherever possible. On the purely practical level, this means that if and when the present ruling stands and we retain the disputed properties, no community of faith, no ministry program will be summarily thrown out of its current place. We will be as open as possible to creative agreements, generous provision, and true mutuality, while protecting the needs of our own ministries and the integrity of our witness. ... I want to have a witness to the world, particularly the Anglican world, not just an “outcome” in the court. In my view, the Diocese of Virginia is best positioned of all Episcopal dioceses to make such an epoch-shaping witness.

From Virtue Online

2012-01-31T17:38:00.001-08:00

Anglican Church Leaders to meet in Tallahassee

January 31, 2012

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Tallahassee has been chosen as the meeting place for Anglican Church leaders from across the United States and Canada.

The Anglican Church in North America will hold its Archbishop's Cabinet and Executive Committee meetings, as well as Anglican Relief and Development board meetings in Florida Capital City.

The bishops and leaders will be shaping orthodox Anglicanism in North America.

There will be a Worship Service, followed by a reception, on Tuesday, January 31, at 7:00 p.m. The meetings will happen on February 1-2.

All events will take place at Saint Peter's Anglican Church, which is located on 901 Thomasville Road.

The Anglican Church in North America unites some 100,000 Anglicans in nearly 1,000 congregations across the United States and Canada. The Anglican Church is a Province-in-formation in the global Anglican Communion.

The Most Reverend Archbishop Robert Duncan is the archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America and bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.

END

2012-01-31T03:29:00.002-08:00

(Anglican Church in Wales) Strong response to Church review

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

More than 1,000 people across Wales have had their say about the future of the Church in Wales as part of a root and branch review.

They met the three members of the independent Review Group at public meetings held in each of the six dioceses in Wales in November and January.

The Review Group was commissioned by the Welsh bishops and the Standing Committee of the Governing Body last year to address fundamental questions about the role and structures of the Church in Wales as it approaches its centenary in 2020. It is chaired by Lord Richard Harries, former Bishop of Oxford, and also includes Professor Charles Handy former professor at the London Business School; and Professor Patricia Peattie, former Chair of the Episcopal Church in Scotland’s Standing Committee.

Read it all.

2012-01-31T03:29:00.000-08:00

ANY PORT IN A STORM

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

In one of the most unintentionally hilarious stories I’ve seen in a very long time, someone named Amanda Terkelof the Huffington Post claims that certain “religious leaders” vigorously support our idiot president’s recent decision to relieve himself all over the free exercise clause of the First Amendment:

A group of religious organizations Monday thanked President Obama for his administration’s recent decision on contraception, hoping to bring attention to religious pro-choice voices and to show that not all people of faith disagree with the new law.

Seven religious leaders from the Jewish, Unitarian, Baptist and other faiths addressed a letter to Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. All are members of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a which includes more than 40 denominations and faith groups to promote education and issues of reproductive choice.

“We believe that all women deserve access to affordable birth control, regardless of their employer, and we hope that, in the future, HHS will expand the same preventive coverage to women across the board,” they wrote in the letter, obtained by The Huffington Post.

“As clergy, we are committed to upholding the important goals of reproductive justice and health, empowering women and men to make decisions about whether and when to have and bear children within their own moral and religious tradition, and assuring them the means and ability to raise their children in a safe and healthy environment. Access to reproductive health services recognizes a moral value embraced across the religious spectrum. We thank you for your decision supporting the fundamental value of reproductive health to women and families.”

Religious “leaders,” Gracie? Not so much. As the story notes, all these people are part of the Pseudo-Religious Coalition For Making Sure That You Don’t Have To Live With The Consequences Of Your Actions. But if you read the letter(it’s at the link), you’ll discover that it was signed by four ministers, two rabbis and someone with the ”Justice & Witness Ministries” of the United Church of the Zeitgeist, all acting in their “individual capacities.”

I can see it now. Some liberal Catholic puts down his Matthew Fox or his Joan Chittister, takes a sip of his Brunello and fires off an e-mail to our idiot president vigorously supporting the idea of the government forcing the Roman Catholic Church to ~~worship Caesar~~ provide contraceptive services. If some other Huffington Post airhead heard about it, the headline of her story the next day would read, “Prominent Catholic Leader Dissents From Bishops’ Contraception Stance.”

Props to Damian.

2012-01-30T17:17:00.001-08:00

Virginia Episcopal Diocese Bishop Outlines Property Transition Plan

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Following on the recent court ruling remanding all properties currently occupied by breakaway congregations from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia back to the diocese, Virginia Episcopal Bishop Shannon Johnston called the current time "one of the most defining moments in all of our 400 year history" in a pastoral address given to the 217th annual Virginia Diocese Council meeting in Reston yesterday....

Read it all.

More on pecusa meltdown

2012-01-30T17:16:00.000-08:00

Data pointing toward reality

from The Lead by Torey Lightcap

Lelanda Lee (Twitter: @LelandaLee) has kept careful track of the current Executive Council meeting, and I suspect many are carefully following her reportage. Using the hashtag #ExCounMtg, she's operating out of an ethic that the people of The Episcopal Church deserve optimal transparency from its administrative bodies.
Particularly illuminating was a section of tweets during a presentation by TEC's go-to guys for trends and data,

Kirk Hadaway and Matthew Price. Lee had many observations and extrapolations, and among them we find:

Hadaway showing membership of TEC domestic diocs 1951-2010, pretty consistent, steady (not precipitous) decline since early 1970sHadaway speaks to graph of 1991-2010 membership stats, decline since about 2002, abt 50K members per yr decline
Hadaway says since 2002/03 pctge decline began to overshadow any increases in membership
Hadaway: decline since 2002 has been more sizable; lots of graphs, too quick to appreciate & understand; will look at PPT later?

Leading us to wonder: shouldn't we all be paying pretty close attention to the facts and figures Hadaway and Price have presented to Executive Council?

We had best take an interest! Slide after slide tells the story of a numerically diminishing denomination, with a few bright spots and windows of opportunity (churches with younger members are more likely to grow; the Sunbelt as a place of church vitality).

The news is not great:
... slipping domestic membership
... fewer growing churches and more declining churches
... fewer pledge cards, members, communicants in good standing, and Easter pew-sitters

On a slide titled Broader Measures of Church Vitality, researchers use a number of measurements to "speak to a parish's integration in the community and the possibility for future growth."

Change in church school enrollment: -33%
Change in number of marriages performed: -41%
Change in number of burials/funerals: -21%
Change in the number of child baptisms: -36%
Change in the number of adult baptisms: -40%
Change in the number of confirmations: -32%

Conclusion:

While these numbers may not capture the totality of what is happening in the Church, we do not have a measure that is moving in a positive direction.

So, c'mon already: let's get into this and approach it with whatever realistic hope there is, and start making sense of our Really Real Reality. What do you think? Where would you start?

By the way, the totality of tweets about Hadaway's presentation(s?) is below. Just click READ MORE.
Due to the way Twitter works, you'll have to start at the bottom and scroll your way up.

Hadaway: decline since 2002 has been more sizable; lots of graphs, too quick to apprePB praises stats attn to non US diocs. Good info and some good insights can and do ariseQ re whether we track for those who are seeking vs those who are ordained; Price answers not being done now
Q re why not so many Gen X ordiantions: Price says not-joining profile of Gen X significant factor, diff experience from Boomers
Hadaway says figures of congreg losses in 4 diocs are reflected as nonreptg, noticeable but not signifcant against rest of stats
Q re whether 4 diocs losing large % of congregs is reflected in stats; Hadaway says recognized but not specific accted for
Hadaway - in resp to Q, giving to TEC somewhat better than general charitable giving
Q whether ethnic clergy figures are broken down? Price answers info avail as part of survey data but not recorded otherwise
Q re avg age of ordination: figures are based on annual info answers Price.
Hadaway: congregations reptg financial stress 78% of TEC vs 58% in US over 10 yrs til 2009/10
Hadaway back on finances. Avg pledge contd to incr to latest figures in 2009
Price: Avg age of active clergy at 56; avg age of ordination remains at 46
Price, statistician for CPF, 9000 active clergy & 6000 retd; numbers will cross at some point
Hadaway: 86.7% non Hispanic White in TEC; English only churches 28% are growing=95% of churches; > one language 61% are growing
Hadaway: churches w/more members 49 and younger more likely to grow. High correlation age w/growth & decline
Hadaway: TEC youth and young adults about 10% vs 20+% in other denoms. We are an aging church. We knew that.
Hadaway: more church closings (510) than opening (213) past ten yrs
Hadaway: sunbelt growth pattern across board of all denoms incl evangelical churches
Hadaway: increasing becoming more of a sunbelt church, incls southern diocs & CA & southwest
Hadaway: back to a sunbelt pattern, less decline there, in 2010; 40% ASA in southern diocs in US
Hadaway: ASA 1995-2000 from CPG mapping program, a map of Avg Sunday Attendance, growth in CA, TX, Miss, GA, VT
Hadaway: Other mainline denoms combined - TEC very close to their decline figures in early 2000's; also difficult for all denoms
Hadaway: larger declines in child & adult baptisms and in confirmations 30-40% rates; no measuremts showing positive direction
Hadaway: looking at broader measures of church vitality such as changes in church school enrollmt; marriages performed; burials
Hadaway: 22.1% decline in pledge cards; 22.3% decl in worship attendance; 20.1% decl in Easter attendance; 2002-2010 stats
Hadaway: Methodist Ch would look better than TEC; but Presbyterians would look worse in terms of declines
Hadaway: decline since 2002 has been more sizable; lots of graphs, too quick to appreciate & understand; will look at PPT later?
Hadaway says since 2002/03 pctge decline began to overshadow any increases in membership
Hadaway speaks to graph of 1991-2010 membership stats, decline since about 2002, abt 50K members per yr decline
Hadaway showing membership of TEC domestic diocs 1951-2010, pretty consistent, steady (not precipitous) decline since early 1970s

Kirk Hadaway & Matthew Price giving rept on Parochial Repts, demographics of TEC

2012-01-30T17:14:00.001-08:00

LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, MD: Executive Council Tele News Conference

from VirtueOnline

LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, MD: Executive Council Tele News Conference

January 29, 2012

The following is a transcription of a press conference following the recent meeting of the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church. This press conference was transcribed by Mary Ann Mueller for Virtue Online.

TEC PARTICIPANTS:

Neva Rae Fox: Public Affairs Officer Presiding
Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson

REPORTERS --
VAL HYMES: Church of Maryland News
MARY ANN MUELLER: Virtue Online
MICHELLE LANGONE: Church Pension Group
MARY FRANCES SCHJONBERG: Episcopal News Service

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-30T17:12:00.001-08:00

Executive Council roundup

from The Lead by Ann Fontaine

As the church moves towards General Convention 2012, the Episcopal Church's Executive Council finished its second to last meeting with the adoption of a preliminary budget that asks each diocese for support of 19% rather than the 15% also proposed. The Executive Council message to the church indicates a hard working session as vision and programs were balanced with a shrinking base of money and members. It includes a possible funding of a special session of General Convention to re-structure governance.

President Anderson, in her closing remarks, raises the issue that regardless of our hopes that we continue to support a church that is dependent on an executive staff-driven model that no longer works in a era of the need for flexibility and grass roots initiatives.
Episcopal News Service reports:

The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council Jan. 29 approved a 2013-2015 draft budget that includes money meant to “open the door to doing long-term reform of how we do business as the church.”

Executive Council spent the majority of its Jan. 27-29 meeting here at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute discussing the draft budget, alternating between discussing big-picture issues and negotiating specific line items. It also passed what Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori called a “highly significant” resolution expressing solidarity with the people of the Republic of Southern Sudan.
The draft budget represents $104.9 million in income from dioceses and investments plus other sources such as facilities rental, and an equal amount of expenses. It does not include the church’s refugee resettlement work, which is performed under government grants, according to Treasurer Kurt Barnes.
He said the draft budget is due to be posted here in the next few days.
The budget, which will not be final until General Convention acts in July, proposes to set aside money for a “churchwide consultation” on the Episcopal Church’s future shape and work. It also includes money for pilot projects that Chief Operating Officer Stacy Sauls said could show how the church’s purchasing and organizational power could help congregations and dioceses free up more of their resources for mission work.
The Executive Council message notes:

The draft budget for the 2013-2015 triennium overshadowed all the other Executive Council business at this meeting. The budget conversation began at the June 2011 Executive Council meeting, also held at the Maritime Institute, when members were challenged to “change the conversation,” to seek a way to take on the adaptive challenges facing all denominations in a post-Christian era of declining interest in the institutional church. The Joint Standing Committee on Finances for Mission (FFM) already had begun working with the treasurer in mid-2011 on a financial projection model and determined that the current spending model is unsustainable. At that time, it was pointed out that the chairs of Executive Council’s standing committees had previously not provided much input into the budget process. The Executive Council’s newly formed Executive Committee was charged with developing a process for the triennium budget that would challenge the church to new ways of engaging God’s mission.

A summary of resolutions is here.
President of the House of Deputies Bonnie Anderson closing remarks noted her concerns about captivity to a model that is unsustainable:

We have worked hard and faithfully during this meeting, but I think the budget we have passed is captive to an ethic of survival of the institutional church as we know it. Here are my concerns:
Specifically:
I am concerned that the categories within the budget perpetuate the church’s continued reliance on an executive, staff-driven church. This model isn’t working for us, and it runs counter to the flexible networks that are being developed and embraced at other levels of the church and in the world. There are some glimmers of a future that is here, and for that, I am grateful.

If we keep relying on this old, bureaucratic model to run our church, we’re also continuing our reliance on the building at 815 Second Avenue that will cost us now up from $7.7 million dollars when I gave my opening remarks on Friday to $8.7 because of increased interest rates in facilities cost and debt repayment during the next triennium. If we continue to spend this kind of money on a building to house an executive structure, the only place we’ll be able to look for savings will be in areas that compromise the voices and leadership of clergy and laypeople in the church. That’s not faithful to our tradition as Episcopalians or to who I believe God is calling us to be.
The constraints of this meeting and our budget process have given us very little time to really understand this budget. This increases the high risk of unintended consequences.

From Ed Stetzer

2012-01-30T17:05:00.000-08:00

Monday Is for Missiology: Three Important Church Trends and the Elephant in the Church

Monday January 30, 2012 ~ 4 Comments

I write a column in each issue of Facts and Trends magazine. In the most recent issue, I shared some observations of big issues in churches today. I thought I'd share it here at the blog.

I am often asked about the future of the church and, as much as I wish I knew the future, I don't. What I do have, however, is an accumulation of research, access to some of the best ministry thinkers and leaders across a spectrum of denominations and movements, and a critical eye on the ebb and flow of church culture. So, in looking at the trends in our churches, here are three I believe are worth taking note of today.

Decline

Everywhere you look you will hear tales of the decline of the American church. Some doomsayers are saying evangelicalism will die in a decade. This type of Chicken Little-ism is unnecessary.

The truth is that, yes, there is decline among self-identified Christians in America. According to the latest American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), the number of self-professing Christians is down 11 percent over two decades. But, that same ARIS study also revealed an actual rise in the number of evangelicals.

There are concerns - and I would say that we are increasingly losing our "home field advantage" in our culture. Yet, Christianity is not in collapse. It is, however, declining in influence and increasingly being marginalized in culture.

To address the trend, we need a renewed vision and passion for God's mission in our churches.

Dropouts

Like the decline trend, the dropout trend is both troubling and troublesome. It is troubling because it is an ongoing trend. Young adults are dropping out of the church at a disturbing rate after graduating high school. But, again, although it is troublesome, the data is not as scary as some proclaim.

Our LifeWay Research data has placed the dropout number at 70 percent. But this number is not as definite as it sounds. It is not as if 70 percent of all young adults vanish in some kind of reverse rapture. More specifically, 70 percent of young adults who were active for at least one year in high school drop out for at least one year between 18-22. Half of those who leave stay gone. But then, half of those who leave return. Among evangelical churches, the number of dropouts is also lower.

To address the trend, we need parents and churches to get serious about equipping students to live their faith.

Discipleship

Or lack thereof. The elephant in the Christian church today is that we are not seeing robust disciple-making taking place. You are more likely to find evangelicals affirming that there is more than one way to get to heaven today than you were 15 or 20 years ago. Why? We've done great at getting them in the door and occupying their spiritual appetites, but we've done terrible at actually growing them up and grounding them in the faith.

Many churches are now rediscovering ways to push more depth from the Sunday morning stage, better ways to assimilate the crowds into small groups and discipling relationships, more organic ways to nurture spiritual formation, and stronger ways to create missional expansion in their communities and around the world.

To address the trend, we need to get serious about teaching believers who they are in Christ and how they are to live that out.

Trends matter--we look at them to see where we are and they help us to consider what we should be doing. With God's grace and discerning leadership, we can address these trends in biblically driven ways as we engage the future together.

Note: This article originally appeared in LifeWay's Facts and Trends magazine. Charles Long, one of our in-house graphic designers, read the line about the elephant the church and came up with the graphic. We have some extremely talented and creative people here at LifeWay.

Posted on January 30, 2012 at 11:00 AM ~

2012-01-30T03:37:00.000-08:00

AS THE WORLD TURNS

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

Today: Bonnie and Katharine have a falling-out:

Dear Deputies and First Alternates:

A confusing situation has arisen and I’d like to set the record straight:

On Thursday, the Presiding Bishop released a video directed to the House of Deputies expressing her opinion about legislative issues that will come before General Convention this summer. Yesterday, the Office of Communications sent an email to bishops that mischaracterized my response to the video’s release and asked the bishops to forward the video message to their diocese’s deputies.

On Thursday afternoon, I received word from the General Convention Office that the Presiding Bishop, via the Office of Communications, had directed that office to forward a video message from the
Presiding Bishop to all deputies. I had neither seen the video nor been consulted about it and so I told the General Convention Office to hold it.

In my nearly 25 years as a deputy, I don’t ever recall the Presiding Bishop speaking directly to the House of Deputies outside of a joint session or without giving the House due notice, while at General Convention. I don’t ever recall a Presiding Bishop corresponding directly with deputies outside of the General Convention, without the knowledge of, or in collaboration with the President.
I was surprised because I thought that the Presiding Bishop, her staff, and I had worked through some important issues of internal communications last fall. I had talked with both Bishop Sauls and the Presiding Bishop and asked that we proceed in a more collegial and cooperative manner. I thought we had agreed to do so.

But while the General Convention Office was holding the video, it was released by the Office of Communications to the whole church just hours before the Presiding Bishop and I were scheduled to arrive in Baltimore where we could have resolved the situation in person.

I am glad to tell you that, while we have been in Baltimore, Bishop Katharine and I have shared a meal and talked in person. I told her that I’m disappointed about what’s happened in the last few days and asked that we proceed toward General Convention with collegiality and a cooperative spirit even—especially—when we disagree. I also told her that I am concerned about the use of churchwide resources to lobby General Convention on only one side of a legislative issue.

Despite this productive conversation, upon direction from the Presiding Bishop, the Office of Communications sent the second email, this time to bishops, that mischaracterized my request that the video be held, thus putting me in a difficult position and making it necessary to spell all of this out.
I am confident that we can get back on track and work productively and faithfully to prepare for General Convention. I will continue to urge that those of us who lead the church talk directly with one another to resolve differences. I will also continue to ask that the resources of the Church Center be deployed in ways that present the full range of opinions on legislation that will determine how the church meets the challenges before us.

Thank you for your commitment to our work. I am looking forward to being with all of you in Indianapolis and to the work that we will accomplish together.

Peace,

Bonnie Anderson, D. D.
President, The House of Deputies

Will Katharine truly repent? Will Bonnie forgive her? Or will Bonnie begin to regard Katharine that same way that every other intelligent person does? Tune in next week for As the World Turns. Brought to you by Kellogg’s cereals. K-E-Double L-Oh-Double Great!

2012-01-29T19:03:00.001-08:00

PHILADELPHIA: Fr. Moyer Denied Pathway to Papal-driven Ordinariate
TAC Primate John Hepworth faces ouster by his fellow bishops

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
January 29, 2012

The former Anglo-Catholic priest of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, Fr. David L. Moyer has been denied his final step into the Roman Catholic Church following 10 years of ecclesiastical wandering that started with The Episcopal Church, migrated through the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Forward in Faith, the Church of the Province of Central Africa, and the Anglican Church in America, a branch of the Traditional Anglican Church.

Moyer said he received a letter from Fr. Jeffrey Steenson, Ordinary for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, informing him that Archbishop Charles Chaput (Philadelphia) has declined to give him his votum (a promise) to proceed toward ordination in the Roman Catholic Church.

Moyer received a nulla osta (no impediment) from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in early November 2011, but a votum must be given by the local Catholic bishop for someone who resides in his diocese.

TAC PRIMATE JOHN HEPWORTH

Moyer's fortunes have been tied to those of TAC Australian Archbishop John Hepworth as Moyer was consecrated a bishop in the TAC in 2006 by Hepworth, a move that many Episcopalians and Anglicans seriously questioned and actively discouraged.

Hepworth, a former Roman Catholic priest with a mixed past, expressed his intention of taking the TAC into Rome as an Anglican prelature. His hope was that he would be reinstated into the priesthood in the Ordinariate, bringing an alleged, but never confirmed, 700,000 Anglo-Catholics with him.

Hepworth hoped that revelations that he had been sexually abused by three priests would be mitigating circumstances to allow him to return to Rome as a priest. That did not happen. He revealed that he had been seduced by a sitting Roman Catholic monsignor who denied the charges. The Catholic Church in Adelaide says an investigation found no substance to allegations made by Hepworth against Fr. Ian Dempsey.

Soon after these allegations, and the stories that followed going viral, the Roman Catholic Church told Hepworth he could return to the Roman Catholic fold, but only as a layman. He was denied his yearned for return to the Roman Catholic fold as a bishop or priest. Hepworth also ruffled too many Roman Catholic feathers when he publicly blasted what he saw as efforts by Roman Catholic authorities to take over parts of his Canadian flock.

Hepworth has rejected Rome's offer and mounted a campaign to pull together whatever fragments he can find of the TAC around the world to reignite his failed leadership.

Next month, the members of the TAC College of Bishops and Vicars General of the TAC will meet in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the expectation is that Hepworth will be formally voted out from leadership of the TAC. It is expected, though not confirmed, that Indian Archbishop Prakash will be elected to replace Hepworth. The senior bishop in the TAC will likely assume a more limited Primacy that is a more collegial primacy, a source told VOL. The TAC Concordat of 1990 will likely be revised.

Contacted by VOL and asked for a comment on his rejection to the Ordinariate, Moyer replied "no."

END

Via VirtueOnline

2012-01-29T11:21:00.003-08:00

Lord Carey backs Christian psychotherapist in 'gay conversion' row
Leading church figures including the former Archbishop of Canterbury have sparked controversy by championing a psychotherapist who believes gay men can be 'cured' of their homosexuality

By Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
January 28, 2012

Lesley Pilkington was effectively barred from her professional register after attempting to convert a homosexual man in a therapy session at her home.

Her patient turned out to be a gay rights journalist, who had secretly recorded the sessions and then reported her to her professional body. Mrs Pilkington, a committed Christian, was subsequently found guilty of professional misconduct.

The therapy practised by Mrs Pilkington had been described as "absurd" by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and roundly condemned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

But ahead of her appeal against the BACP ruling, Mrs Pilkington has received backing from the Rt Rev Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

In a letter to her professional body, Lord Carey - along with a number of senior figures - suggests Mrs Pilkington is herself a victim of entrapment whose therapy should be supported. His comments - in a letter co-signed by, among others, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester and the Rt Rev Wallace Benn, the Bishop of Lewes - will cause controversy in the gay community and beyond.

The joint letter states: "Psychological care for those who are distressed by unwanted homosexual attractions has been shown to yield a range of beneficial client outcomes, especially in motivated clients ... Such therapy does not produce harm despite the Royal College of Psychiatrists and others maintaining the contrary."

It concludes: "Competent practitioners, including those working with biblical Judeo-Christian values, should be free to assist those seeking help."

Lawyers acting for Mrs Pilkington will argue at the appeal hearing on Wednesday that the counsellor did not get a fair hearing.

The case against Mrs Pilkington - first reported in The Sunday Telegraph a year ago - was brought by Patrick Strudwick, a journalist, who approached her at a largely Christian conference and asked her to treat him.

In May 2009, Mr Strudwick attended a therapy session at Mrs Pilkington's private practice, based at her home in Chorleywood, Herts, and recorded the session on a tape machine strapped to his stomach.

On the tape, Mr Strudwick asks Mrs Pilkington if she views homosexuality as "a mental illness, an addiction or an anti religious phenomenon". She replies: "It is all of that."

Last year, Mr Strudwick said: "Entering into therapy with somebody who thinks I am sick ... is the singularly most chilling experience of my life.

"If a black person goes to a GP and says I want skin bleaching treatment, that does not put the onus on the practitioner to deliver the demands of the patient. It puts the onus on the health care practitioner to behave responsibly."

Mrs Pilkington said her method of therapy - Sexual Orientation Change Efforts - is legitimate and effective.

The therapy is practised by a handful of psychotherapists in Britain. The method involves behavioural, psychoanalytical and religious techniques.

Homosexual men are sent on weekends away with heterosexual men to "encourage their masculinity" and "in time to develop healthy relationships with women", said Mrs Pilkington.

Her legal defence is being funded by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which has instructed Paul Diamond, a leading human rights barrister, to fight the case.

END

2012-01-29T11:21:00.001-08:00

OHIO: Anglican congregations moving forward after losing church buildings

from VirtueOnline

OHIO: Anglican congregations moving forward after losing church buildings

By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal religion writer
http://www.ohio.com/news/
January 28, 2012

Rev. Scott Souders of Holy Spirit Anglican Church, (left to right) local Bishop Roger Ames and Rev. Michael Kravnik of St. Luke's Anglican Church talk about what has been happening at the local Anglican churches since losing their building to the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

Anglican congregations moving forward after losing church buildingsJanuary 28,2012 02:24 PM GMTColette M. JenkinsBeacon Journal Publishing Co.

Carla Long is overcome with sadness every time she sees the unoccupied church building in her East Buchtel Avenue neighborhood.

"It's heartbreaking. That church has been a beacon of light in this neighborhood," said Long, 46. "We always called it a hospital because it was a place where you could go for comfort and healing."

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-29T03:19:00.002-08:00

(Living Church) Sue Careless—Merry Times at Mere Anglicanism

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

It was particularly symbolic when the Most Rev. Benjamin Kwashi, Archbishop of the Province of Jos, Nigeria, climbed the winding staircase to the second-story pulpit [of Saint Philip's, Charleston] to preach. Two centuries earlier most black Africans in Charleston would have been house or plantation slaves. If they had entered this church, they would have been consigned to its balconies. Now a West African bishop preached to a predominantly white congregation, at the conference’s invitation.

The escalating violence endured by Christians like Kwashi in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria remains high. The day before the archbishop spoke, two bombs had been thrown at two churches in Bauchi, while in Kano at least 166 people were killed in eight violent attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram, an Islamist sect. The archbishop and his wife, Gloria, have shared in the suffering of persecuted Christians.

Although Gloria Kwashi did not attend the conference, her presence was felt. In many ways she represents the persecuted Church that does not retaliate but continues to serve others. A few years ago, a violent mob, intent on killing her husband, brutally assaulted her, leaving her blind for six months until treatment in America restored her sight.

Read it all.

2012-01-29T03:19:00.000-08:00

CLUELESSIANITY

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

In a way, it’s actually kind of sad watching them wildly flail about like this:

The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council continued Jan. 28 to grapple with the missional, organizational and financial realities of developing a budget for the 2013-2015 triennium.

The members also grappled with a timeline that calls for council to develop a draft triennial budget to give to the church’s Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) by the close of its Jan. 27-29 meeting here at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute. This timeline was contrasted with calls by some council members to spend more time envisioning the church’s mission goals, and revising the budget proposals it received the day before.

One budget scenario calls for asking dioceses to contribute 19 percent of their income and the other calls for dioceses contributing 15 percent. The larger amount of income is $103.6 million and the 15 percent-asking budget would be reduced by approximately $13.5 million, according to Treasurer Kurt Barnes. The 19 percent scenario could result in staff reductions equivalent to eight full-time staff positions at most and the 15 percent scenario would amount to 36 full-time equivalent staff positions at most, according to the spreadsheets presented.

“The way we are currently approaching the budgeting process appears to be de facto restructuring by funding or de-funding parts of the organization. The tail is wagging the dog,” Lelanda Lee, a member of council’s Advocacy and Networking for Mission committee, told her colleagues.

“Neither iteration – 19 percent asking or 15 percent asking – provides a new vision,” Katie Sherrod said in reporting the reaction of the Governance and Administration for Mission committee. “We need a vision for the future.”

While council heard much discussion the previous day about declining mainline denominational membership and financial struggles caused both by those membership declines and the current economy, council member Brian Cole said that his table colleagues questioned the assumed implications of that information.

He said they wanted to challenge the rest of the council to consider “if we believe decline is inevitable and ongoing forever, or do we really believe we have good news to share.”

Should I tell them? Nah, probably wouldn’t matter.

The pecusa disaster

2012-01-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Where to start? The pecusa Executive Committee meeting highlights so much about the decline of a once proud church. Lack of funds, lack of vision, lack of any good vital signs in parishes and dioceses are all signs of the increasingly poor health of pecusa. The hiring of a COO Bishop shows the lack of leadership ability of the presiding bishop, as do the numbers presented to the Executive Committee by Kirk Hadaway. pecusa is in crisis, it is a crisis of their own making (I am referring to General Convention, the Presiding Bishop, 815, diocesan bishops, and the Executive Committee). and it is a crisis that no amount of spinning is going to turn around.

Until pecusa is willing to repent of their innovations and return to full Anglican and worldwide Christian standards the downward slide will continue. Unfortunately the presiding bishop and the Executive Committee are more likely to double down than change direction. This will only hasten the demise of pecusa.

pecusa meltdown continues

2012-01-28T18:23:00.001-08:00

The Hubris of Spending Other People's Money

from Anglican Curmudgeon by A. S. Haley

Budget discussions continued to be contentious today at the Maritime Center, as the various factions duking it out are beginning to realize how little control they have over the process. For the General Convention activists, it is all about losing sight of the "vision":

“Neither iteration – 19 percent asking or 15 percent asking – provides a new vision,” Katie Sherrod said in reporting the reaction of the Governance and Administration for Mission committee. “We need a vision for the future.”

(Note to Dr. [hon. causa] Sherrod: The vision is right there in front of you, but you are incapable of seeing it because it does not mesh with your view of the world. Meanwhile, facts on the ground are fast overtaking what little remains of the things over which you still have some discretion. Soon you will not have any choices left to discuss, let alone make.)

Laboring under a different form of blindness to the facts, some Council members complained that the numbers were dictating the structure, rather than the other way around:

“This was not a strategic exercise but this was a mathematical exercise,” council member Vycke McEwen said later in the morning while council further discussed the budgeting process.

Council member Lee Allison Crawford reported that her colleagues at her table felt the church was “just beginning to understand the system we inherited from General Convention 2009 with the last round of cuts.” The reorganized Church Center “has had success” and to change the system again would be wrong, she said.

“The structure has to be an authentic reflection of our values and so we really should change ministries with deliberation and care and reflection and not just by sweeping cuts in a spreadsheet,” she said.

Yet a third form of blindness manifested itself: "If we don't like what we're being told are the facts, we don't have to believe that it's really happening":

While council heard much discussion the previous day about declining mainline denominational membership and financial struggles caused both by those membership declines and the current economy, council member Brian Cole said that his table colleagues questioned the assumed implications of that information.

He said they wanted to challenge the rest of the council to consider “if we believe decline is inevitable and ongoing forever, or do we really believe we have good news to share.”

Finally, a syndrome manifested itself which is always the fatal sign of a disconnected legislative body -- that is, a body which has disconnected itself from the people who pay for the cost of their very existence in the first place. That syndrome is the belief that the legislators know better how to spend the people's money than the people themselves do:

Cole also echoed a theme of some council members who questioned what they said was an assumption that reducing the amount of money the denomination asks of its dioceses would actually result in increased spending on mission activities at that and the congregational level.

“We really have to decide what is a fair contribution for the work we want to do at the churchwide level and realize we really can’t control what other people do with the money they keep either at the diocese or a parish,” he said.

You have that right, Mr. Cole. Please do keep reminding those discussing the budget that it is not their money to spend in accordance with their own beliefs and priorities, but to spend only as responsible stewards on behalf of those who donated it. And if the national church and its member dioceses can think of little more than using their donors' hard-earned money to fund grandiose bureaucratic visions, or wasteful, alienating litigation, perhaps they should consider not accepting it in the first place.

Meanwhile, as usual, the final decisions will get made by the small group at the top, all the while as the lesser privileged receive reassurances that their concerns are "being heard":

The Executive Committee will meet later in the day Jan. 28 “to respond to recommendations and observations we’ve heard,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told council at the end of that discussion. The committee will discuss the result of that meeting with the whole of council on Jan. 29, she added.

“We’re trying to respond to what we are aware is some anxiety around this,” she said, adding that council had wanted to try a new process for crafting the 2013-2015 budget process and that the process began several months later than the process normally does.

So by tinkering with the process, they managed to leave themselves with still less time, and to create a sense of confusion and disorder:

“That new initiative I think was creative and hopeful, and it has presented us with a reality that is very different than we’ve experienced in the past,” [Jefferts Schori] said. “It’s more chaotic, but I would also remind you that the Genesis story says there’s no creation in the absence of chaos.”

And I would respectfully remind the Presiding Bishop, and the rest of the Executive Council, that they are not "creators", but stewards. Chaos is not the hallmark of good stewardship, but of its opposite.

God save the Episcopal Church (USA) -- if it be God's will, and if not: well, then, let the cup at least pass from them with a minimum of further pain and destruction.

2012-01-28T18:22:00.001-08:00

A.S. Haley on TEC’s Executive Council and the Massive Challenges they face that Cannot be Escaped

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Both the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies made opening remarks to the Council, along with CEO Bishop Sauls. (Bishop Jefferts Schori's remarks were not made from a prepared text, but are summarized in this ENS article.) Reading between the lines of each, and translating the Presiding Bishop's earlier prepared remarks about coming changes in structure, which may be viewed here, it is clear that the heads of the Church are not of one mind about how to deal with the challenges which it faces in the twenty-first century.

And those challenges are significant and substantial. They are summarized graphically in a presentation to the Council (zip file download is at this link) by Kirk Hadaway, who is the church official in charge of congregational research, and by Matthew Price, of the Church Pension Fund. Among other facts shown, 72% of Episcopal congregations were in financial stress as of 2010 (compared to 58% of other denominations for the same year) -- the highest level in the past decade, by far.

Read it all.

No stats positive for pecusa

2012-01-28T18:21:00.003-08:00

Kirk Hadaway and Matthew Price’s presentation made to TEC’s Executive Council Yesterday

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

Broader Measures of Church Vitality

To get a broad-based sense of congregational vitality, we have used a number of measurements including church school enrollment, marriages, funerals, child baptisms, adult baptisms, and confirmations. These speak to a parish's integration in the community and the possibility for future growth:

Change in church school enrollment: -33%
Change in number of marriages performed: -41%
Change in number of burials/funerals: -21%
Change in the number of child baptisms: -36%
Change in the number of adult baptisms: -40%
Change in the number of confirmations: -32%

While these numbers may not capture the totality of what is happening in the Church, we do not have a measure that is moving in a positive direction.

Do take the time to read and consider it all (please note that this is a zip file which you may open on your computer as a 42 page pdf).

2012-01-28T18:21:00.001-08:00

Article in The Tennessean on the Continuing AMIA Fracas—Former Episcopalians face more upheaval

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

For the second time in a decade, the Rev. Thomas McKenzie has found himself in an ugly church fight.

Back in 2004, it was over sexuality and salvation in the Episcopal Church.

Now it’s over power and money, the spat between leaders of the Anglican Mission in the Americas — made up mostly of former Episcopalians like McKenzie — and the overseas Anglican group that adopted them.

“It’s sinful, it’s ugly, it’s wrong,” said McKenzie, pastor of Church of the Redeemer in Nashville and a former Episcopal priest. “And it doesn’t bring honor to the name of Christ.”

Read it all.

2012-01-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

Recent Diocesan Statistics for the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

(Note that I decided to research these numbers based on the preceding post about the diocese--KSH).

According to the U.S.Census Bureau's figures, Roanoke, the see city of the diocese, has grown in population from 94,911 in 2000 to 97,032 in 2010. This represents a population growth of approximately 2.2% in this time frame.

According to Episcopal Church statistics, the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia went from Average Sunday Attendance (or ASA) of 5,311 in 2000 to 4,266 in 2010. This represents a decline of 19.7% during this decade.

Please note that if you go to the link toward the end of this sentence and enter "Southwestern Virginia" as the name of the diocese and then "View Diocese Chart" underneath on the left you can see in pictorial form some of the data from 2000-2010.

Editor's Note: I served in this diocese prior to moving to upstate New York. It is primarily a rural diocese with a small city (Roanoke) and many small towns. The two largest parishes in Roanoke are thoroughly liberal as are many of the parishes in the diocese. Many churches in the diocese are moderately liberal. The one evangelical church in the diocese is now an AMIA parish and has planted other evangelical Anglican churches in the Roanoke area.

2012-01-28T18:10:00.003-08:00

Southwestern Virginia Episcopal Bishop says it’s time for him to retire

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

"I feel it's a good decision, and it's a tender decision," [Bishop Neff] Powell said. "I love this diocese, and it's going to mean saying goodbye to it."

Powell, 64, is leaving as he nears retirement age and as the diocese - like the Episcopal Church itself - is grappling with slowly declining membership, attendance and revenues. A committee is presenting over the weekend a proposal that would partially decentralize resources to the parishes.

"Rather than me staying for these changes, I think it's time to call for a new bishop," Powell said.

Read it all.

2012-01-28T18:10:00.001-08:00

Northern California Episcopal Church to close Feb. 12

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

The closing of the church is a result of an aging congregation and others who have moved. There are no longer enough
remaining members to maintain its services or care for the building and grounds.

The congregation is saddened by its inability to do so, however, feeling that the closing of the doors will surely open God's work elsewhere in the community.

Read it all.

2012-01-28T04:40:00.000-08:00

Faith, Myth and Star Wars

from The Lead by Andrew Gerns

Liel Leibovitz writes in the Tablet why George Lucas' new film Red Tails is forcing him to look at the original Star Wars trilogy in a new light, reflecting on the difference between faith and myth.

From faith stems nuance. From myth, generalities. And, sadly for us, the spirit of myth is winning: We revere Star Wars because to our minds—modern machines that equate religion with superstition and are willing to disregard imperfections in science but never in dogma—the movies represent transcendentalist humanism at its best, a perfect manifestation of that noxious label, “spiritual,” that people use to describe themselves when they’re too dull to believe in religion and too dim to understand science. This is why the Force has become the organizing metaphor of our time; there’s no better one for those who believe that if we only open our hearts and understand people are all the same and all good we’d be enlightened enough to lift rocks with a tilt of our heads.

Just how idiotic is this logic will become evident when we examine the controversy known in geekdom as the “Han Shot First” incident. In the original release of Episode IV: A New Hope, Han Solo is seated across a table from Greedo, a reptilian-looking bounty hunter who’d come to collect a debt Han owes to galactic mobster Jabba the Hutt. Greedo points his laser gun at Han, indicating his intention to shoot the dashing smuggler dead, but Han stealthily readies his own weapon under the table, blasting Greedo first and killing him. When the movie was re-released to theaters in 1997, Lucas had edited the scene. In the new version, Greedo shoots first, somehow missing the man seated about three feet away from him and absolving Han of any moral ambiguity. The fan community was outraged, but Lucas was adamant; he had to make sure, he explained, that kids believed Han had no other choice but to kill Greedo.

Call it monomythic morality: If you believe we’re all bound by structures of sameness, you’re bound to ignore what makes us different, which means that you’re eventually left seeing nothing but bold smears of black and white with no substantive shades anywhere in between. It’s fine, perhaps, when considering the origins of the clone wars, but not so much when the conflict on screen happens to be World War II—Red Tails, a movie about the Tuskegee Airmen financed and produced by Lucas, is another literal-minded study in black and white with a heavy-handed egalitarian message and an inevitable happy ending. The intricate roots of racism and its devastating effects on American society all vanish with a few easy, CGI-enhanced midair dog fights, and it takes a particularly curmudgeonly viewer, or an especially sober one, to recall that black Americans currently comprise 12.6 percent of America’s population and 39.4 percent of its inmates.

But Lucas is largely unburdened by details. He obeys Campbell’s mantra, “follow your bliss,” and presents us with a menagerie of uncomplicated heroes who had followed theirs, urging us to do the same.

We must refuse. Bliss is a terrible guide to follow. Unlike the rules set forth by organized religions, designed, however divergently or effectively, to shepherd the frail species to something approximating goodness, bliss is gauzy and fleeting. If we’re ever to become heroes, if we’re to undergo the sort of noble quests that Campbell and Lucas valorize, we should first find something grander, and more specific, to believe.

2012-01-28T04:38:00.003-08:00

Student Punished for Article Opposing Homosexual Adoption

from Stand Firm by Jackie

Liberty Counsel Press Release

Shawano, WI – Liberty Counsel is representing the Wegner family after school officials at Shawano High School censored and punished Brandon Wegner, a 15-year-old, for writing an op-ed article explaining the Biblical view of homosexuality and supporting natural mother-father adoption. Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the school demanding it apologize for its unconstitutional and irrational censorship and humiliation of Brandon.

Brandon quoted several verses from the Bible regarding homosexuality. After Brandon wrote this article he was pulled into hours of meetings with school administrators and staff, without his parents’ knowledge. This caused him to miss exam preparation classes and at least one exam. Brandon was hauled before the superintendent on charges that he had violated the school’s bullying policy. Superintendent Todd Carlson told him that the column “went against the bullying policy,” and asked him if he “regretted” writing it. When Mr. Wegner stated that he did not regret writing it, and that he stood behind his beliefs, Superintendent Carlson told him that he “had got to be one of the most ignorant kids to try to argue with him about this topic,” that “we have the power to suspend you if we want to” and that the column had “personally offended me, so I know you offended other people!”

Brandon’s opinion was a part of an editorial page which presented viewpoints both for and against homosexual adoption, each articulated by students. After the school newspaper was published in the local town paper, a homosexual in the community complained to the school. School officials then censored Brandon's article forcing him and his classmates to pull the page out of the newspaper before distribution at the school. In a statement, the school “sincerely apologized” – not for allowing the topic to begin with, but only for the Biblical viewpoint presented by Brandon. The First Amendment protects the opinions of all, including student journalists.

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, said “The bullying at Shawano High School is by Superintendent Todd Carlson and the school officials, not the student, Brandon Wegner. The school officials have displayed blatant intolerance of a view on homosexuality held by many people. The school’s actions are shocking and unjustified. The superintendent should immediately apologize and stop the bullying.”

2012-01-28T04:38:00.001-08:00

Three cheers for the conversation between science and faith!

from The Lead by Andrew Gerns

Our own Nick Knisely, Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Pheonix, Arizona, thinks alot about science and faith and talks about the breathless news reports that physicists were ready to announce that they’d discovered, at long last, the Higgs Boson – the so-called “God Particle.” It turns out that the actual announcement was not nearly as exciting.

Dean Knisely reflects on what these events teach us:

The possibility that the Higgs won’t be found is worth reflecting on. Because the furor that would result shows the difference between the scientific method and religious practice. Science is always striving to find new and more successful ways to view the world. And when something is wrong, it means that whole existing edifice is supposed to be tossed aside and a new one created. Woe to any philosophy or theology that depends on the structures being discarded.Christianity, on the other hand, starts with a story to which we have a responsibility to conform our lives; the story of God’s creation and love of Creation, our role within that Creation and the unique expression of God’s will for us in the person of Jesus. Rather than overturning the story and starting over again, we draw close to the story and discover new facets and ways to apply a universal and timeless truth to our lives. Science changes the account to fit the present observations.

The two enterprises are often seen as being in conflict. But they’re not really. They are using different methodologies to draw as close as possible to Truth. In my mind they’ve always been complementary to each other, best used in conversation with one another.

So keep that in mind when the results of the search for the Higgs Particle are announced. If it’s found – yay. If it’s not found – then YAY! Either way, the scientific endeavor will continue to try to hunt the truth, no matter how elusive. And faith will continue to seek enlightenment by its contemplation of the truth already delivered.

2012-01-27T17:19:00.001-08:00

Episcopal Church Faces Budget and Structural Challenges

from Anglican Curmudgeon by A. S. Haley

The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church (USA) opened its winter meeting today at the Maritime Institute in Lithicum Heights, Maryland. Immediately two widely differing plans for the next triennial budget of the Church were presented for its consideration. (The Executive Council has to approve a draft budget at this meeting to hand off to the General Convention's Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance, which will finalize it between February and July for presentation at General Convention.)

The first version of the proposed budget came from the Presiding Bishop and her Chief Executive Officer, the Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls. It maintains the percentage which the Church will ask for in contributions from its member Dioceses at the current 19% for the next triennium (it had been reduced from 21% to 19% in the budget adopted in 2009 at Anaheim.) It also projects a reduction of $5.9 million in income over the period 2013-2015, and calls for a corresponding reduction in outlays.

The second version of the proposed budget came from the President of the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson. It calls for a reduced asking of 15% from the Dioceses, and would result in a budget reduction of $19.3 million, which Finances for Mission Committee Chair Del Glover admitted would lead to (further) "personnel adjustments."

Both the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies made opening remarks to the Council, along with CEO Bishop Sauls. (Bishop Jefferts Schori's remarks were not made from a prepared text, but are summarized in this ENS article.) Reading between the lines of each, and translating the Presiding Bishop's earlier prepared remarks about coming changes in structure, which may be viewed here, it is clear that the heads of the Church are not of one mind about how to deal with the challenges which it faces in the twenty-first century.

And those challenges are significant and substantial. They are summarized graphically in a presentation to the Council (zip file download is at this link) by Kirk Hadaway, who is the church official in charge of congregational research, and by Matthew Price, of the Church Pension Fund. Among other facts shown, 72% of Episcopal congregations were in financial stress as of 2010 (compared to 58% of other denominations for the same year) -- the highest level in the past decade, by far.

It is clear that there is momentum gathering for a proposal for structural changes in the Church, either to be presented at General Convention itself, or referred to its Standing Committee on Structure for analysis and a report to the 2015 Convention. There have even been hints that the Church cannot wait that long, and that a Special Convention might have to be called in the interim to make the cost-saving changes necessary if the Church is to adapt to the decline in its membership and finances. (Previously, I wrote about how the structure of the Episcopal Church as founded was not capable of carrying the modern superstructure which has gradually been imposed upon it. Those observations are even more relevant now.)

The problem is that there are, as always, at least two conflicting constituencies striving for consensus on how best to make use of the Church's dwindling resources. The first constituency consists roughly of the Church's clergy, but its political power is wielded chiefly by the Bishops, through whom all constitutional and canonical changes must pass. The second constituency is made up of the active laity, along with many clergy, who do not have the time for the national politics of a socially activist church, and who want to see more resources available to the Dioceses for strengthening mission efforts.

There is a third constituency as well, but its influence is waning. It may be said to consist of both clergy, bishop and lay activists who use the triennial General Convention as their springboard to launch ever more programs, Commissions, Committees, Agencies and Boards, and who then populate their creations in the interim between Conventions. This has resulted over time in a structure so top-heavy and convoluted that even Bishop Sauls complained he was having difficulty tracking all of them down when he began in his current position as CEO.

The Presiding Bishop appears to float above the contesting factions, mouthing reassuring platitudes about the mission of the Church in a modern age, but then confers privately with her staff and her Advisory Council to map out the moves that will actually determine the future of the Church. The resulting tension between her and President Anderson is sometimes palpable, as may be seen in the presentation to the Executive Council of the dueling budgets.

These are indeed interesting times for the leadership of the Episcoipal Church (USA). To this observer, who has been very critical of the quality of that leadership, the current deliberations at Lithicum Heights appear to signal that word has finally reached the bridge that the ship of the Church has struck some kind of floating object, perhaps an iceberg, and may be taking on water.

I say "perhaps" an iceberg, because there does not yet appear to be any open recognition, whether on the Executive Council or at 815, of just how much the disastrous policy of "sue first and worry about the costs afterward" has split the Church from its basic mission, has alienated thousands of churchgoers, and has certainly contributed to the severe decline in funds available for mission. The refusal to acknowledge facts extends through the entire House of Bishops -- as witness the remarks ascribed to Bishop Shannon Johnston of Virginia at his most recent Diocesan Council meeting (H/T: BabyBlue):

The Bishop continued, "Our diocese is under worldwide scrutiny ... In considering the return of Episcopal properties to the ministry of the diocese it is a big mistake to refer to this as a legal battle. It is about theology ... What is a stake is our polity, our ancient and defining order of being the church ... It is a matter of no less than our faithfulness ... And it will take more than the courts to settle things ..."

It certainly will, Bishop Johnston, it certainly will. And you may eventually have to eat what were reported to be your next words:

"Despite the recent court ruling in our favor we simply do not know what the future holds ... We have reason to believe our properties will be returned. For nearly two years we have considered and discussed this positive outcome. We will be fully prepared for any eventuality ... just as we have been able to sustain our case ... I strongly believe that we will be able to do what it take over the next months and years to be faithful to the church's mission in respect to each of the properties involved. We do have what it takes ... We have the critical mass to move forward. In my mind there can be no doubt we can be up to the task ahead . . . .

Bishop Johnston? You may want to review pages 11 and 12 of that presentation made to the Executive Council mentioned earlier. They show two maps depicting the changes in Average Sunday Attendance in each Diocese between 1995-2000, and 2005-2009. The first map shows the Diocese of Virginia among the group reporting growth between 5-10%. But the second map shows the Diocese of Virginia in the group of dioceses which lost between 10 to 25% in ASA. With what people, I ask again, are you going to fill the churches whose properties you just took back in your lawsuits?

As I say: big changes are coming, but no one seems to have a clue what has brought the need for them about.

2012-01-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

Breaking: Executive Council receives dueling budget proposals

from The Lead by Jim Naughton

Updated with Episcopal News Service story.

Executive Council has received two different budget proposals from its Executive Committee. One sets the diocesan asking at the current level of 19 percent, and requires cuts of almost $6 million from the $140 million2010-2012 budget adopted by the General Convention. The other lowers the diocesan asking to 15 percent and requires cuts of almost $21 million from the current budget.

Bishop Jefferts Schori favors the 19 percent asking. President Anderson favors the 15 percent asking. In heropening remarks to the council, Anderson said:

"Let’s reduce the amount that we ask dioceses to send to the Church Center. Let’s study the best use of the building at 815 Second Avenue with an eye to freeing up for mission the $7.7 million dollars that is earmarked for facilities cost and debt repayment during the next triennium. Let’s expect that dioceses and their networks know best how to build up God’s church and support ministry where it is most effective. And as we change the budget, let’s acknowledge that we also need to change our models of accountability and responsibility to be mutual and respectful of the entire people of God, not just those with ecclesial power."

In his opening remarks, Chief Operating Office Bishop Stacy Sauls said:

"This meeting, as you might imagine, is the source of no small amount of anxiety for the staff as we consider the budget. ... Managers and team leaders are engaged in conversations about how to take whatever budget comes from General Convention and dream, create, adapt, and act. But I do ask you to be sensitive to their legitimate needs in this time."

He also asked for "a serious discussion of far-reaching structural reform leaving nothing off the table and no question unasked."

The text of Bishop Jefferts Schori's remarks is not yet available. She often does not speak from a text.
The members of the Executive Committee are Jefferts Schori, Anderson, Sauls (non-voting), Secretary of General Convention Gregory Straub, Treasurer Kurt Barnes, Rosalie Ballentine, Brian Cole, Del Glover, Gay Jennings, Bryan Krislock, and Winnie Varghese.

Anderson emailed a description of the budgeting process yesterday to deputies and first alternates. To read it, click Read more.

The Process for the Development and Consideration of The Budget for the Episcopal Church:

The Executive Council develops a DRAFT Budget for the Episcopal Church for approval in January of the year of General Convention. The DRAFT Budget for the Episcopal Church is based upon priorities developed by Exeuctive Council. The DRAFT Budget for the Epsicopal Church is sent to all deputies and bishops for their study prior to the General Convention and is reviewed in detail at the pre-General Convention Provincial Synod meetings. Once the DRAFT Budget is handed off to General Convention’s Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance, (no later than 4 months prior to General Convention) the “official” role of Executive Council, with regards to the DRAFT Budget is finished.

The membership of the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) is composed of two deputies from each of the 9 provinces. The Deputies are appointed by the President of the House of Deputies. One bishop from each province is appointed by the Presiding Bishop. The PHOD and the PB are members, ex officiis, with seat voice and vote. The Secretary and Treasurer of The General Convention and the Treasurer of the Executive Council are members, ex officiis, with seat and voice, but without vote. Between conventions, PB&F acts in an advisory capacity to the Officers of the General Convention and to the Executive Council in applying balanced budget policies.

At General Convention, PB&F recommends a funding (asking from dioceses) formula and spending for the succeeding triennium and presents the budget resolution to the General Convention. At Convention, PB&F meets as a committee of the whole and in sections. Two of the sections correspond to the sections of the budget: Mission (Program) Section and Corporate/Canonical Section. The two other sections include the Funding Section, whose charge it is to determine the funding formula that PB&F will propose in resolution form to the General Convention, and the Presentation Section, whose members work on the physical (written/visual) presentation of the budget. PB&F considers concurred legislation with funding implications, considers testimony from three open hearings (spending, funding and priorities). PB&Fwill present a proposed Budget for the Episcopal Church in a Joint Session of the HOD and the HOB on July 10, 2012. The two Houses will debate and vote on the proposed Budget for the Episcopal Church in separate Houses on July 11. The Budget must pass both Houses in exactly the same language and format in order to be concurred.

The budget is offered in Spanish and English.

President of the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson prepared this budget development process summary. She was Chair of the Joint Standing Committee of Program, Budget and Finance for 9 years.

2012-01-27T17:16:00.001-08:00

LONDON, ENGLAND: More Anglican moral excesses are about to catch a wave

from VirtueOnline

LONDON, ENGLAND: More Anglican moral excesses are about to catch a wave

by Michael Coren
http://www.catholicregister.org/columns/item/13727-more-anglican-moral-excesses-are-about-to-catch-a-wave
January 24, 2012

It's more tragedy than Trollope, but my golly the Church of England has unwittingly become a producer of contemporary folly. The latest episode concerns a controversial gay dean who has threatened to take the Church of England to court after he was blocked from becoming a bishop. There are lots of deans, canons, bishops and such like in the Anglican Communion. In this case, however, the Very Rev. Jeffrey John, dean of St. Albans, just north of London, is quite well-known.

The reason is that back in 2003 he was forced to step down as bishop of Reading by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, after it became known that he was in a long-term "civil partnership" with another man. The dean claimed that the two gay men were celibate, and everybody knows that a dean always tells the truth. As a friend of the fellow commented at the time, "there were a lot of tears." Now John has been rejected for the role of bishop of Southwark, a major diocese south of the River Thames, with its cathedral just yards away from where Shakespeare lived and had his plays performed.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-27T17:10:00.001-08:00

Message from Bishop David Anderson

Bishop Anderson

Dear Anglican Brothers and Sisters and those who wish us well,

The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place for all Christians, and especially for Anglicans. In some places our property and churches are being taken from us by misguided judges who are unwilling to go beyond the rhetoric of Episcopal Church assertions to find the facts, justice and fairness that would protect us. In other cases Anglicans are being hurt and killed for their faith by Islamists intent on terror, such as in Sudan and Northern Nigeria. In still another case, a Christian 15 year old boy in Wisconsin is being threatened with suspension because he wrote an article at the school's request on why he didn't think homosexual adoption was a good idea.

Although I am not anticipating the end of the world this coming December, as some Mayan calendar theorists are postulating, I do believe that the time we are living in is approaching a time of tribulation for sincere Christians. If you really believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that our God is the only God, and that salvation comes uniquely through the work of Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Bible is the Word of God, then you already know that the media is hostile to you, the schools are hostile to you, much of the business world is hostile to you, and increasingly you will be portrayed as ignorant, hateful, atavistic and out of touch with modern life. Your and your family's ability to live your lives unmolested by government, business, and public school will grow increasingly difficult, unless by divine intervention and a huge change in American culture, the trend is reversed. It is important to push back politically, and one place to start is with the local school boards. If your elected representatives in government are not supportive of your free exercise of your Christian faith, vote them out of office. Pray fervently and become politically aware.

Our U.S. government from the president on down needs to be willing to pressure other governments to protect their religious minorities from persecution and attack. Although democracy is an important ideal to urge countries to uphold, advocating for their Christian citizens to be free from attack and death is an even deeper and more precious ideal to advance. Pray for the Christians in Sudan and in Northern and Central Nigeria as they fear for their lives because of Islamists' Jihad against believers in Christ.

Pray for the Anglicans in North America who are being forced from their houses of worship because they left the apostate and heretical leadership of TEC and wanted to take their own property with them. Even now Bishop Seabury Church in Groton, CT and Christ Church, Savannah, GA are contemplating whether they should appeal adverse court decisions to the United States Supreme Court. A Presbyterian church in Georgia is also considering the same SCOTUS appeal, for much the same reason.

Todd Starnes from FOX NEWS Radio reports that a 15-year old Wisconsin boy, Brandon Wegner, who wrote an op-ed article at the request of the school concerning homosexual adoptions has been censored and threatened with suspension. It is reported that the superintendent of the Shawano School District called the student ignorant and called the article disrespectful and a form of bullying. The young man used scripture references in citing why he believed that it was unadvisable for gay adoptions to take place, and this apparently added to the superintendent's fury at the student. Having read the young man's essay, I concede that he could have used less volitile phrasing, which although quoted from the Bible, generally makes an argument less receptive by the unconvinced public. It could have been an essayist's learning moment on argument, debate, and convincing presentation, but instead the school system which asked him specifically for the writing, nuked him for what he said which, although rough, is factually true.

Another student was asked to write an article favoring gay adoption, and this student was left alone. Matthew Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel who has intervened on the student's behalf, said "The superintendent wants everyone to accept homosexuality as normative and homosexual adoption as something that should be standard practice. In doing so, he's belittling the views and the biblical views of many people across this country." Todd Starnes of FOX assessed it, "He (Superintendent Todd Carlson) wants to cram his view down the throat of everyone else and will not tolerate an opposing viewpoint." How intimidating for this 15-year old; how amazing that he stood up to these threats including suspension and did not recant, but rested his case on the word of God. The Todd Starnes article can be found here.

Like many high school epistles, Brandon could have used some coaching on the best ways to present his point of view and how to shape his argument, but the reaction by Superintendent Carlson shows that the bias of the system is to indoctrinate the young and impressionable to a very certain and narrow pro-homosexual point of view. It raises the question of why the superintendent responded with such anger and poor judgement toward the young student. Another fair question is whether Superintendent Todd Carlson is fit to continue in his role as school superintendent with this level of animus and bias.

I suppose a take away for student Brandon is how to shape and mature an argument in a compelling and winsome manner, stating the truth in ways that invite a second look and change of mind, but that is for his future.

Until the Lord returns, stay strong in the faith and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Faithfully in Christ,

+David

The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council

2012-01-27T03:40:00.003-08:00

(Sightings) Martin Marty—How Shall We think about the American Divide?

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

One might add to the list of the many causes of the divide: cynicism spread by cynical popular culture and mass media; hyper-individualism (St. Ayn Rand) and denigration of community and support of "the common life;" polarization in politics and the loss of civility in "discourse;" quick-fix solutions to problems in religious, educational, and cultural life where patience would have more to offer; certainly the move into the world(s) of virtual reality with artificiality and insubstantiality in the bytes-world; radical pluralism and the jostling it brings. I know, I know: there is an up side to most of these, but we need to remind ourselves of more causes of division and isolation of "classes" than get much attention in Charles Murray's world.

That being said, [Charles] Murray is still worth a read, not least of all because of data with which he works and statistics he presents. Of the numerous "worlds" he headlines for the "white working class": "Marriage down 36 percentage points;" "males with jobs working fewer than 40 hours per week, " "percentage doubled;" "secularism up 21 percentage points. . . ."

Read it all.

2012-01-27T03:40:00.001-08:00

(WSJ) Charles Murray—The New American Divide

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

America is coming apart. For most of our nation's history, whatever the inequality in wealth between the richest and poorest citizens, we maintained a cultural equality known nowhere else in the world—for whites, anyway. "The more opulent citizens take great care not to stand aloof from the people," wrote Alexis de Tocqueville, the great chronicler of American democracy, in the 1830s. "On the contrary, they constantly keep on easy terms with the lower classes: They listen to them, they speak to them every day...."

When Americans used to brag about "the American way of life"—a phrase still in common use in 1960—they were talking about a civic culture that swept an extremely large proportion of Americans of all classes into its embrace. It was a culture encompassing shared experiences of daily life and shared assumptions about central American values involving marriage, honesty, hard work and religiosity.

Over the past 50 years, that common civic culture has unraveled....

Read it all.

2012-01-27T03:39:00.000-08:00

The Rev. James Schulze: Wrapping up the Raleigh Sacred Assembly

from Stand Firm by Matt Kennedy

January 19, 2012

Sometimes on vacation we will write to a friend from some temporary paradise, “I wish you were here”. I must say, if you are reading this article and could not make it to the Sacred Assembly called Moving Forward Together [MFT] I truly wish you were there. I say that because for me it was at certain points as if we were indeed in Paradise. I don’t believe I have ever been at such a large gathering where there was such intense seeking and subdued, worshipful, spiritual energy. To see such large number of clergy and laity seeking the face of God together in an atmosphere of open prolonged, sincere, and dignified worship, humility, sorrow for sin, confession, and repentance was an awesome thing.

Those who have been following the story of the dust-up between AMiA and it’s provincial home in Rwanda would, like myself, headed toward Raleigh expecting a far different program and agenda than what actually materialized over the eighteen actual hours of meeting together at the Church of the Apostles.

Some would have expected the meeting to have the spirit of a business meeting. In other words, what do we do now? What are the structures, who are the leaders, what is our new name, where is the new headquarters going to be, and etcetera? Others would have expected a time of recriminations and accusations directed at some people and explanations and justifications on the part of others. Some would have expected a ‘show’ or a ‘pep rally atmosphere’ to get everyone excited and to draw everyone in and get ‘momentum’ for a new movement. Then experienced Anglicans may have expected papering over problems and endless dialogue and committee meetings.

Speaking for myself, but also according to others, what we saw and what actually transpired in Raleigh was an unexpected and ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for an assembly of ministers in a time of crisis, confusion, and pain.

I can only attribute this to the determination made by the Americans involved to let the Rwandan bishops set the spirit and tone of the meeting. As I mentioned in my first report the initial atmosphere of anxiety and apprehension was almost immediately dispelled when Archbishop Rwaje opened the assembly with gracious words assuring continued pastoral care, ecclesiastical covering, urging healing, reconciliation, and vision for mission.

As the assembly unfolded over Tuesday and Wednesday it was very apparent that these goals were more than words. The entire assembly took place in an atmosphere of worship. A complete Holy Communion service was celebrated Monday evening and Wednesday morning. The presence of God was palpable.

Tuesday morning the day’s activities began with a complete Morning Prayer service. The worship led the saints into true times of worship and praise.

On Monday evening, immediately after the Apostle’s Creed Bishop Terrell Glenn had the assembly form groups of four and enter into a time of intercession for reconciliation, then another time to pray for the Church, then another brief period to pray for the sick and suffering, and finally a time to pray for those in the USA and Rwanda. It was a great thing to hear the gentle but intense prayers of God’s people fill the large building.

On Tuesday morning Bishop Louis Muvunyi opened morning prayers sharing about the suffering of Rwandans, including his own family during the genocide. He made the point that the Devil is responsible for most of our ‘warfare’ and that our battle is not with ‘flesh and blood’ but with spirits that want to hinder God’s work and cause divisions among Christians.

Bishop Julian Dobbs, a New Zealander serving with CANA, shared the morning sermon. This was a passionate call to ‘Arise and Build’ from the ministry of Nehemiah. It was evident that he was casting the assembled Christians in the role of Nehemiah. He spoke of looking beyond the rubble to the City we are called to build; the Kingdom of God. He mentioned the various attacks and temptations that Nehemiah had to deal with, the mockery, the opposition and hindrances of various personalities with their own agenda, the temptation to negotiate where there was no reconciliation.

He drew a laugh when he called ‘dialogue’ an Anglican disease. He did mention that Nehemiah had to deal with civil corruption and people dealing in trade and business instead of focusing on God’s will and power. These issues were dealt with in a scriptural and wise way. Most people read between the lines and understood that they must move beyond all the distractions and do God’s work.

During a question and answer session on Tuesday afternoon someone asked if any of the bishops, American or Rwandan, felt the need to ask forgiveness of anyone. Bishop Thad Barnum reflected the spirit of the assembly and touched our hearts as he brokenly confessed to several things. He spoke of not realizing the hurt he was causing to people by acquiescing to an agenda (AMiA leadership) that he knew was not right. He seemed to be apologizing also for allowing Bishop Terrell Glenn to resign at an AMiA Council of Bishops meeting without any support. He confessed his sorrow for helping to maintain the fiction that the AMiA was submitted to the new Archbishop while he, Barnham, did not object to AMiA disobeying His Grace by being involved in planning meetings for a new ‘mission society’ contrary to the Primates wishes. Finally, Bishop Barnum confessed his sorrow for the pain caused to Abp. Duncan and other in the ACNA when AMiA refused to honor their previous agreement to have full membership in the new Province in formation. Archbishop Duncan called out from the audience, “Apology received, forgiveness granted!” I tell you, it was heavenly, it was truly Christian. Bishop Thad’s heartbroken confession, sorrow, and repentance went a long way toward breaking any remaining hostility, resentment, or self-righteousness in the assembly.

Bishop Laurent Mbanda, former vice-president of Compassion International who now leads +John Rucyahana’s Shyira Diocese, gave us more words of wisdom and healing. He said that everyone seems to be looking for someone to blame. Some want to blame the Internet or various personalities. He told us that instead we should all examine our own hearts and find the blame in ourselves so we can confess, repent, and be healed. He said we need to be careful not to ‘write anyone off’, but instead to extend a hand of reconciliation to all.

At the risk of being redundant I must report that Tuesday Evening Prayer was again a powerful time of worship. If you don’t have a violin in your worship team, begin praying. Dr. Lyle Dorsett of Beeson Divinity School brought the message. At last years AMiA winter conference Dr. Dorsett gave us a sermon that was the ‘spiritual highlight’ of the meeting. We were not disappointed on Tuesday as he shared about the “George Gill Test”. George Gill, a layman, asked his pastor, “Pastor, do you love His appearing?” The pastor wasn’t sure what ol’ George meant. “Pastor, Paul told Timothy, ‘there is a crown of righteousness laid up for all who have loved His appearing.” Dr. Dorsett spent twenty minutes encouraging, challenging, and inspiring us to fight the good fight, finish the race, and do what God has called us to do because ‘we love His appearing’. He held before our eyes a litany of the suffering of Paul and the love he had for Jesus that enabled him finish his work. With hushed tones and a heavenly anointing our brother challenged us to have a vision of the Lord and a relationship with Jesus that will enable us to overcome and become better, not bitter. You could have heard a pin drop.

It was made very clear, over and over again at this assembly that the AMIA bishops who were not present were still considered part of the family. There was evidence that there was great grief and sorrow for the estrangement of those brethren and a great desire for reconciliation

Rev. Steve Breedlove (All Saints, Durham, NC) read out a brief statement from Abp. Rwaje about some decisions arrived at by the Leaders and Laity meeting together. Briefly, here are the high points. (I am sure a PDF will be available on the net soon.)

· Overall Bishops Terrell Glenn and Thad Barnum will provide general oversight for all the clergy involved in “Moving Forward Together”. (This seems to be a description more than an actual name.)

· A team of leaders rather than a hierarchy or a single personality will provide actual working leadership. This is much more in keeping with the Rwandan form of collegial leadership. These leaders will consult with and be under the authority and oversight of +Glenn and +Barnam. This leadership team will consist of Rev’s Dan Claire, Steve Breedlove, David Bryan, Chip Edgar, Clark Lowenfield, Ken Ross, and Alan Hawkins. Other leaders may be added as things develop.

· The MFT Bishop and leaders will work collaboratively with churches and bishops in the ACNA where helpful.

· A commitment was made to have total transparency on plans and financial accounting with regular monthly reports given to clergy and congregations. Feedback from clergy and laity will be encouraged.

· The team received a charge from Abp. Rwaje to develop plans over the next 6 to 12 months for long-term structures. These structures will be designed to meet the needs of congregations and clergy rather than to force everyone to accept a ‘one-size fits all’ solution.

· All churches and clergy who have been a part of the AMiA are invited to contact Bishop Terrell or Thad, or one of the aforementioned leaders to indicate interest in Moving forward together. Contact info for these men will be available by Jan. 23 at http://www.pearusa.com

Before the statement was read we again shared in a beautiful Communion service celebrated by Archbishop Rwaje. As the assembly drew to a close the Archbishop again addressed the assembly. He spoke briefly on how wonderfully his expectations for the meeting had been met. He said as Rwandan Christians they came expecting to have a time of prayer, confession, brokenness, and reconciliation. He said he was so grateful to the Lord that their expectations were exceeded not just met.

There was so much more, and it was so wonderful, worshipful, and encouraging.

Wishing you were there.

From the Midwest Conservative Journal

2012-01-27T03:37:00.000-08:00

PROMISED LAND

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Jonathan Clatworthy of Modern Churmosqagogue, the Church of England’s Spongian wing, attempts to refute a pro-Anglican Covenant paper, “Anglican Covenant – Bishop’s Council” by Peter Doll(PDF file), Canon Librarian at Norwich Cathedral, and falls flat on his face. Selections follow. The bolded quotes in italics are from that paper. Everything else in bold is Clatworthy’s ludicrously inept and thoroughly mendacious response:

There is more than an element of cultural imperialism in these American attitudes. Ironically, they resonate strongly with the gung-ho combination of domestic isolationism and foreign interventionism of American political life which so many American liberals deplore, and yet they don’t seem to be able to see the parallels here.

As it stands this is a common criticism of American culture. However it loses its force when one remembers which American action is being condemned. The imperialist intervention, in this case, is the refusal to condemn same-sex partnerships. It is difficult to imagine anything less imperialistic, and less interventionist, than the refusal to condemn other people’s lifestyles.

“The refusal to condemn other people’s lifestyles” had and has absolutely nothing to do with the Current Unpleasantness. The fact that one branch of the Communion unilaterally changed Anglican theology without so much as a by-your-leave from the churches with which they claim to be in communion is the crux of the matter and Clatworthy knows it which is why he had to so ineptly change the subject.

The American church is not prepared to accept further consultation or dialogue over this issue nor to wait for the rest of the church to catch up with its own understanding of the place of same-sex relationships in the life of the church. Whatever is acceptable and right in a particular American cultural context must be universally applicable to every other culture and context.

This complaint, though often made, misinterprets the nature of the Anglican Communion in two ways: firstly by describing it as a church when it is in fact a communion of churches, and secondly by presuming that what is decided in one part of this ‘church’ must also apply in the rest of it.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) made no attempt to make its actions ‘universally applicable’ or apply them to ‘every other culture and context’. Its understanding of Anglicanism was (correctly) that other churches, like TEC, were free to make their own decisions. It has no intention to act in an imperialist manner towards other churches, but conversely it does not want to be itself the victim of imperialism by other churches.

Interpreting the American actions as a pan-Anglican change was a mistake by TEC’s opponents, some of whom are uncomfortable with the prospect of a group of churches being in communion with each other while having different policies on some issues. If Doll wishes to resist imperialistic impositions, he should address his complaints not to TEC but to its opponents.

Oh my dear Lord. If Clatworthy actually believes those words, he is a sociopath, a liar or both. It is Clatworthy who has no Earthly conception what Anglicanism means. Or he knows full well what Anglicanism means and so he desperately needed to invent a mythical “Anglicanism” to cover his tracks.

“The Episcopal Church (TEC) made no attempt to make its actions ‘universally applicable’ or apply them to ‘every other culture and context’?” Guess what, Clatworthy. They did too. The Episcopalians knew exactly what they were doing.

Under the rules of the Anglican game, Gene Robinson became an Anglican bishop the moment he received his pointy hat and hooked stick. There was no opt-out clause and the Episcopalians never considered providing one.

If they had, things would have been different. If the Episcopal Organization had declared, “The consecration of Bishop Robinson has no meaning outside the State of New Hampshire. Gene Robinson is the Bishop of New Hampshire and only New Hampshire and will take no part on Communion affairs,” I might still be an Episcopalian today.

But they didn’t and the idea never seems to have occurred to them. TEO expected the rest of the Anglican Communion to roll over, play dead and meekly accept Robbie as an Anglican bishop regardless of what the rest of the Communion thought about it. Thus their shocked surprise when much of the rest of the Communion didn’t accept Robbie at all and began cutting all ties with the Episcopalians.

The fact that then-Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold signed his name to this statement, went home, consecrated Robbie anyway and started all the trouble completely cuts the ground out from under Clatworthy’s idiotic claims about “imperialism.” By the way, we don’t have “different policies on some issues.” We have mutually-exclusive theologies.

The Episcopalians imposed Gene Robinson on the rest of the Communion, Clatworthy, which really is a “pan-Anglican change” whether you believe it is or not. And when the Episcopalians did that, then under the rules of the Anglican Communion, 2,000 years of Christian teaching were jettisoned without the input of the churches with whom the Episcopalians claimed to share a tradition. That is what actually happened, Clatworthy, not your deliberately hallucinatory version of events.

America is a self-referring cultural power; it does not occur to most Americans to consult others, politically or spiritually, to arrive at an understanding of truth and right.

Again this is a common criticism of American culture. It characterises empires at their height; a hundred years ago the British thought of themselves as the pinnacle of civilization, thereby convincing themselves that the brutalities their troops were inflicting on others would benefit the victims. In this instance, however, the boot is on the other foot. Given that the criticism of Americans is centred on their toleration of same-sex partnerships, any serious attempt to consult others must surely pay close attention to the experiences of gays and lesbians. It is the Americans who have done this, and it is their opponents who exclude the supporters of gays and lesbians from Anglican decision-making bodies.

Once again, Clatworthy evades the question. As difficult as this might be for Clatworthy to accept, the Episcopalians did not consult the rest of the Communion before imposing Gene Robinson. They just established a fact on the ground and essentially told the other Anglican churches around the world to deal with it.

As for this notion about paying “close attention to the experiences of gays and lesbians,” a question. How does Clatworthy know that other Anglican provinces haven’t done it? Perhaps they have and decided that “the experiences of gays and lesbians” does not and should not trump the clear Word of the living God.

The matter is simple. Jonathan Clatworthy and the rest of the Anglican left know that they are obviously right about The Issue and people like me are obviously wrong. Therefore, “consultation” means that we keep talking until people like me realize that.

True consultation, on the other hand, means that both sides must be willing to admit that they might be wrong. I’ve said in this space many times that if the Episcopal left ever provides me with a solid, Scriptural case for consecrating an unrepentant sinner as a bishop, I’ll go back to my former Episcopal church this coming Sunday. But they never have and they never will because they never saw the need to.

What with being right and all.

The great American literary scholar Harold Bloom, a secular Jew, has argued that virtually all Americans, whatever their religious disposition or denominational label, are Gnostics. What does he mean by this? 1) That there is no higher religious authority than the private individual. 2) That every individual can reach religious truth by his or her own efforts. 3) External expressions of formal religion (churches, worship, creeds) are unnecessary, and potentially a harmful block to true spirituality. 4) Any attempt to tell me what to believe is a threat to religious freedom.

However, when Doll appeals to the weaknesses in early Reformation theology he should take care whose side he is on. Today the different Protestant theories have polarised into two opposing camps, usually called ‘conservatives’ and ‘liberals’. It is those who are opposed to same-sex partnerships who still defend the view that God’s will can be ascertained by individuals reading the Bible, without needing support from other Christians. It is those who accept same-sex partnerships who appeal to new insights arising within Christian communities where believers share their understandings and consciences with each other.

If you have a few minutes, Clatworthy, read the one about Elijah at Mount Carmel.

The Episcopal Church has in practice refused to be bound by communion-wide restrictions. I would argue that if the principles of communion are right, if the Gospel calls us to be subject and accountable to one another, then we must be obedient and patient and trust in the rightness of the outcome under God and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It may mean that we won’t have what we want when we want it.

This text illustrates Doll’s rhetoric at its most inventive. The ‘communion-wide restrictions’ which TEC refuses to be bound by do not as yet exist: the Anglican Covenant would create them for the first time. To say that ‘we must be obedient and patient and trust in the rightness of the outcome’ means no more than ‘we must accept the Anglican Covenant’, and ‘through the guidance of the Holy Spirit’ means, of course, ‘through the guidance of the Anglican Covenant’. This text is an excellent example of the rhetoric oppressors use to persuade the oppressed that they have a moral duty to accept their fate. When we notice that the repeated word ‘we’ in the last sentence really means ‘gays and lesbians and their supporters’, the argument loses its devotional aura; instead it is revealed as just a way of telling people to do as they are told.

Body of work. The Episcopalians treated the Windsor Report and the various primates communiqués as so much toilet paper. As for the rest of that paragraph, Clatworthy, which, once again, has absolutely nothing to do with what Canon Doll wrote, you could feed a very large herd of cattle for a year on all those straw men of yours.

Bottom line, Clatworthy. The Anglican Covenant is a weak, flawed and probably useless attempt to declare that for the first time in their 500-year history, Anglican Christians actually believe something. Not everything.

2012-01-27T03:34:00.001-08:00

(First Things) Stanton Jones—Same-Sex Science

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

To avoid misunderstanding the phenomenon of homosexuality, we must grapple with the Achilles heel of research into the homosexual condition: the issue of sample representativeness. To make general characterizations such as “homosexuals are as emotionally healthy as heterosexuals,” scientists must have sampled representative members of the broader group. But representative samples of homosexual persons are difficult to gather, first, because homosexuality is a statistically uncommon phenomenon.

A recent research synthesis by Gary Gates of the Williams Institute, a think tank at UCLA Law School dedicated to sexual-orientation law and public policy, suggests that among adults in the United States, Canada, and Europe, 1.8 percent are bisexual men and women, 1.1 percent are gay men, and 0.6 percent are lesbians. This infrequency makes it hard to find participants for research studies, leading researchers to study easy-to-access groups of persons (such as visible participants in advocacy groups) who may not be representative of the broader homosexual population. Add to this the difficulty of defining homosexuality, of establishing boundaries of what constitutes homosexuality (with individuals coming in and out of the closet, and also shifting in their experience of same-sex identity and attraction), and of the shifting perceptions of the social desirability of embracing the identity label of gay or lesbian, and the difficulty of knowing when one is studying a truly representative sample of homosexual persons becomes clear.

Read it all.

2012-01-26T13:51:00.001-08:00

AMIA Bishop Blasts CEN Reporter for Fomenting Schism in Anglican Mission

from VirtueOnline

AMIA Bishop Blasts CEN Reporter for Fomenting Schism in Anglican Mission
US Anglican Leaders say collaboration in Rwandan HOB led to collapse

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueoonline.org
January 26, 2012

A leading world Anglican theologian, author and bishop, has blasted a Church of England reporter for fomenting schism in the Anglican Mission in the Americas. Other critics assert the schism took place in collaboration with individuals within Rwanda who have been working with individuals in the US against the AMIA.

AMIA Bishop John Rodgers ripped George Conger, a recently fired Hospice Episcopal priest and part time reporter for an independent British weekly newspaper, accusing him of making false statements about Bishop Chuck Murphy and the relationship of AMIA with the Anglican Province of Rwanda and its Primate, Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje.

Others have noted that several key pieces of correspondence from Rwanda to Bishop Murphy were given to Conger before being received by Murphy. Since these documents originated from Rwanda, it implies that there are people in Rwanda who were involved with Conger in fomenting this unfortunate situation.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

pecusa liberals are getting nervous

2012-01-26T13:50:00.001-08:00

Anti-Americanism and the Anglican Covenant

from The Lead by Ann Fontaine

Jonathan Clatworthy of Modern Church discusses Canon Librarian at Norwich Cathedral Stephen Doll's paper "Anglican Covenant - Bishop's Council" which was circulated to all bishops in the Church of England. It intends to support voting for the Anglican Covenant and has the Archbishop of Canterbury's approval (including the anti-American rhetoric):

This article is a response to the paper 'Anglican Covenant - Bishop's Council' by Peter Doll, Canon Librarian at Norwich Cathedral. At the Archbishop of Canterbury's suggestion it was circulated to all the bishops in the Church of England. To have been given the Archbishop's imprimatur is significant; presumably Dr Williams approves of its content, including the strong anti-American tone.

Here is the Conclusion in Clatworthy's response:

Doll has presented many criticisms of American Anglicanism as arguments in favour of the Anglican Covenant. I have offered responses to each of them as I understand them.

The argument from hope for a new age seems to be a simple error, a lack of familiarity with New Testament scholarship. Two other arguments surprise us for appearing at all: the disapprovals, respectively, of elected bishops and the search for personal fulfilment. In these cases Doll settles for a minority view. Of the other arguments I have claimed that the majority, if accepted at all, turn out to be arguments against the Covenant. These are the arguments from imperialism, isolationism, individualism and truth, justice and communion.

This leaves two arguments which, if accepted, do present a case for the Covenant. These are the desire for greater integration at the expense of federation, and the opposition to rationalism. Greater integration can be established by two different means: uniformity of belief, or an agreed structure designed to protect diversity of belief within the one church. The Covenant would promote the former; Classic Anglican theology has in the past favoured the latter. Doll understands this only too well, and looks forward to the new authoritarianism. Others do not.

Similarly, the attack on rationalism illustrates a debate which has echoed through the centuries. Is there a proper place for individuals and communities today to question inherited religious beliefs and discover new insights? Or is it the duty of Christians to believe what they are told, accepting that divine revelation is supreme over the thoughts in the minds of mere humans? These two views have battled against each other since the later Middle Ages. The pendulum has swung back and forth, and Doll rightly sees that the Covenant would give it a decisive nudge away from human reason.

Again, some would welcome the change but others would not. Doll has, in the end, helped us to see just how high the stakes are.

To read the point by point refutation of Doll's essay to to Modern Church.

2012-01-26T13:47:00.001-08:00

What’s missing from CBS’ March for Life slides?

from GetReligion by Mollie

The online producers at CBS posted a photo slideshow the other day that appeared under the following rather literal headline:

Activists Hold Annual March For Life On Roe v. Wade Anniversary

So, just thinking out loud, what percentage of the pictures in this gallery would you expect to be of, well, the thousands and thousands of activists who traveled to Washington, D.C., in order to take part in the annual March For Life on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade?
If you guessed anything other than zero, you would be wrong.
There are literally no pictures of any pro-lifers in this feature.
Instead, the entire slideshow consists of images such as the one embedded below. Really, go click through it, if you don’t believe me.
Now, it is true that each year at the March For Life, you can count on seeing a handful of pro-abortion-rights protesters. Usually around a half dozen to two dozen.
The March for Life, on the other hand, features many more. How many more? Well, I imagine that the estimate put out by organizers of half a million is an overstatement, but you get the idea. Perhaps you can take a gander at this picture of this year’s (frigid, rain-soaked) march here that CBS was unable to get. One Mass — alone — at the National Shrine had an official attendance of 17,851. So basically about the same number on both sides, right?
No joke. Pro-lifers might recall the 2010 incident when CNN surmised that there might be more pro-choice activists at the annual March for Life than opponents of abortion. I’m not exaggerating. CNN’s Rick Sanchez stated that “there are both sides being represented” and then asked his producer, “Which side is represented the most Angie, do we know?” He didn’t get an answer and, thus, he went on to promise that CNN would “keep an eye” on the situation and report on the matter “fairly and squarely.”
When I noted in a recent post that the New York Times, which is normally accused of over-reporting on other protests, had failed to cover the march (again) and that the Washington Post was using weird language to describe Catholic doctrine on life issues, a commenter wrote:

It’s the third week of January so it must be time for the annual GR bashing of the MSM “coverage” of the annual “March for Life”.

Yep! You got it. It must be about that time. It’s really amazing, isn’t it, that we don’t fall all ourselves with praise for a media culture that ignores this large event.
Now, thankfully you can get the news from other sources, thanks to the wonders of social media. But should you have to? Of course not.
So what gives? Why do the media fail at this so consistently, year after year after year? What is it? Pro-life writer Elizabeth Scalia has some thoughts:

Unfortunately, the “big picture” is hard to come by, particularly if you’re looking for “big pictures” of this well-attended march. We have reached a remarkable era of photojournalism, as demonstrated by the once-noble Washington Post — one where a half million people can march, the headlines can call it “thousands” and the pictures show you none of it.
Someone asked me on Twitter, “why don’t they just report the truth” and I thought, “because they have given themselves wholly over to a lie, and they fear the truth. Having built up the lie for so long that it’s become their foundation, they know they cannot withstand an assault by the truth.”
So they have become truth-phobics, our mainstream media. They can’t tell you the truth about anything, anymore — they can only do whatever it takes to sustain the narratives they’ve constructed. …
You want the truth? You think you deserve it? The press can’t handle the truth; they can’t bring it to you. The New York Times just ignores inconvenient truth, entirely.
That’s why 250 people camping out in a park gets thousands of stories, while half-a-million marching on Washington does not get reported at all, or if it does, the pictures are cropped; the attendees are caricatured, mis-named and under-represented while their opponents are over-represented.

Scalia is writing from a particular point of view, obviously. But what do you think? Why do we see such problems year after year? What’s going on? What can be done to help reporters do a better job? In the case of CBS, for instance, maybe a pro-life marcher could have simply tapped the photographer on the shoulder and told him to look behind himself at the large crowds marching by the Supreme Court for hours on Monday afternoon? Something like that? What else?
Image of actual activists in annual March For Life via Telecare. And h/t to Vestal Morons.

2012-01-26T13:46:00.003-08:00

A GERMAN'S VIEW OF ISLAM

from VirtueOnline

A GERMAN'S VIEW OF ISLAM

WE OWE OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN TO DO OUR BIT TO KEEP OUR WORLD SANE.

This is by far the best explanation of the Muslim terrorist situation I have ever read. The author of this email is said to be Dr. Emanuel Tanya, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist. His references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read. - Jos Archbishop Ben Kwashi

A German's View on Islam
January 26, 2012

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories'

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-26T13:46:00.001-08:00

REDISCOVERING A DYNAMIC ANGLICAN MISSIOLOGY - Archbishop Ben Kwashi

from VirtueOnline

REDISCOVERING A DYNAMIC ANGLICAN MISSIOLOGY

A Paper presented by the Most Rev. Dr. B. A. Kwashi to MERE ANGLICANISM conference in Charleston, SC Jan. 18 -21, 2012

INTRODUCTION : APOSTOLIC MISSION AND MINISTRY

From its birth on the Day of Pentecost, the church, continuing the mission as commanded by Jesus, did not find it difficult to respond to mission. Having been with Jesus, learned from Jesus, and understood what the mind of God was and what God is about in the world today, Pentecost provided the apostles with what they had been waiting for - the promised Holy Spirit. Thereafter, the Acts of the Apostles provides us with snapshots of key moments in the life of the apostles and in the development of the mission. We hear of how they proceeded when they were faced with new situations, or with problems which could either thrust the gospel forward, or retard its growth.

The Anglican Church has always claimed the inheritance of apostolic succession. If this is to be more than just an academic "text book" type of claim it must be substantiated in our generation, and be seen in the life and witness, the ministry and mission of the church today. If we are to rediscover the urgency, the dynamism, the fire and the zeal which clearly characterized the life and work of the apostles, then we need to look again at what they did and how they did it, and we need to see how these characteristics can once again become the hallmarks of the church' mission and ministry today.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-26T04:06:00.001-08:00

Rick Warren and Saddleback tackle obesity

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

The epiphany occurred at a baptism.

With more than 800 people waiting, Pastor Rick Warren took them one by one and immersed them in the church's baptism pool. During this spiritual rite at Saddleback Church, the pastors hold the people briefly underwater, and then pull them out.

"On that particular day, I was baptizing 858 people," Warren told his congregation last fall. "That took me literally four hours."

"As I'm baptizing 858 people, along around 500, I thought this ... 'We're all fat.' "

Read it all.

2012-01-26T04:05:00.001-08:00

Airline: No prayer card for you

from GetReligion by Sarah Pulliam Bailey

A story from the Northwest today reminded me of the show Mad Men, where you might imagine executives from the show’s advertising agency coming up with the perfect perk for airline passengers in the 1960s. You could almost see Don Draper talking about why offering prayer cards for passengers offers a sense of nostalgia, tapping into a deeper bond with a product.
Anyway, here’s the 2012 story from the Associated Press:

Alaska Airlines is ending decades of giving passengers prayer cards with their meals, saying Wednesday the decision was made out of respect for all passengers.
Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said the airline heard from customers who preferred not to mix religion with transportation. The decision reflects respect for the diverse religious beliefs and cultural attitudes of Alaska Airlines’ customers and employees, the company said in announcing the change.

My immediate reaction was “What? A company would still do this?” Reuters notes how many of the Facebook commentators appear to be upset, though you might expect the people who are upset over change would take the time to comment. I’m somewhat curious if leaders in the airline had religious ties 30 years ago, but it looks like it was simply a marketing technique. The Seattle Times offers this little history detail:

Many people assumed the idea came from former CEO Bruce Kennedy, who did missionary work after leaving Alaska Airlines, but it was actually a marketing executive who brought the idea over from Continental Airlines.

The piece leads with a somewhat humorous story of how an annoyed businessman would recite the prayers out loud—until after 9/11, that is. I also thought these added details were helpful.

Only first-class passengers have received the cards since 2006, when Alaska stopped providing meals on trays to customers in coach.
Even now, the cards appear only on flights longer than four hours, when they can be presented on a meal tray as they always have been, said spokeswoman Bobbie Egan.
The decision was made by top Alaska officials last fall and is not related to a frequent-flier partnership announced last week with the Dubai-based airline Emirates, she said.

Interesting timing, nonetheless. Businesses that feature religious text include Forever 21 and In-N-Out Burgers that print John 3:16 on their bags and cups (you thought Tim Tebow started it?). Still, I’m guessing fewer business offer such explicit religious messages anymore.

2012-01-26T04:04:00.000-08:00

BRAVE NEW WORLD

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

Once again we see that when it comes to The Issue, there is only one right answer:

A 15-year-old Wisconsin boy who wrote an op-ed opposing gay adoptions was censored, threatened with suspension and called ignorant by the superintendent of the Shawano School District, according to an attorney representing the child.

Mathew Staver, the founder of the Liberty Counsel, sent a letter to Superintendent Todd Carlson demanding an apology for “Its unconstitutional and irrational censorship and humiliation” of Brandon Wegner.

Wegner, a student at Shawano High School, was asked to write an op-ed for the school newspaper about whether gays should be allowed to adopt. Wegner, who is a Christian, wrote in opposition. Another student wrote in favor of allowing gays to adopt.

Wegner used Bible passages to defend his argument, including Scripture that called homosexuality a sin.

Naturally, a couple of local gays bitched about it.

After the op-ed was published, a gay couple whose child attends the high school, complained.

Whereupon the school district went into Episcopalian mode.

The school immediately issued an apology – stating Wegner’s opinion was a “form of bullying and disrespect.”

“Offensive articles cultivating a negative environment of disrespect are not appropriate or condoned by the Shawano School District,” the statement read. “We sincerely apologize to anyone we may have offended and are taking steps to prevent items of this nature from happening in the future.”

And then graduated to full Gestapo.

But Staver said what the school system did next was absolutely outrageous. He said the 15-year-old was ordered to the superintendent’s office where he was subjected to hours of meetings and was accused of violating the school’s bullying policy.

“When Mr. Wegner stated that he did not regret writing it, and that he stood behind his beliefs, Superintendent Carlson told him that he ‘had got to be one of the most ignorant kids to try to argue with him about this topic,’” Staver said.

At that point, Staver said the superintendent told the boy that “we have the power to suspend you if we want to.”

The superintendent allegedly told Wegner that he was personally offended by Wegner’s column.

“The superintendent wants everyone to accept homosexuality as normative and homosexual adoption as something that should be standard practices,” Staver said. “In doing so, he’s belittling the views and the biblical views of many people across this country. He is playing a zero-sum game. He’s not interested in dialogue. He wants to cram his view down the throat of everyone else and will not tolerate an opposing viewpoint.”

Fortunately, a lame “apology” might not prevent the school district from getting sued into the ground.

Staver said an apology from the superintendent may not suffice – and they may consider taking legal action.

Do it, Matt. Take the bastard down.

2012-01-26T04:03:00.000-08:00

Who’s calling who an Anglican “sect”?

from GetReligion by tmatt

If you’ve been reading GetReligion for very long, you probably know that “cult” is the kind of word that is almost impossible to use in public media without causing riots. Are we talking about a dangerous sociological cult? A doctrinal cult? If so, which religious group’s doctrines are providing the frame of reference in this case?

Another word that causes trouble from time to time is “sect.” This is not a fightin’ word, per se. But it is horribly vague.

Consider the shades of meaning in the three definitions offered in one online dictionary:

sect (skt) n.
1. A group of people forming a distinct unit within a larger group by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice.
2. A religious body, especially one that has separated from a larger denomination.
3. A faction united by common interests or beliefs.

That third one is so vague that it’s useless and the second one isn’t much better.

The important thing to note, once again, is that the main definition contains an important theme — that the “sect” has left a larger body because it has made innovations or “refinements” in doctrine, belief and practice. That’s why the “sect” has chosen to leave the larger denomination or movement or, on occasion, has been forced to leave.

What kind of “refinement”? How central were the doctrines in question to the historic, mainstream form of this particular faith?

In the context of Christian history, making changes in a doctrine as central as the Holy Trinity gets you the “cult” label. Arguments about which gifts of the Holy Spirit are or are not active in the modern world may earn a breakaway body the “sect” label, in some cases.

Truth is, “sect” is a vague, yet a word with moderately nasty doctrinal implications. It’s best for journalists to avoid this term.

Which brings us to a recent story out of Cleveland, in which editors at the Plain Dealer put the following language into print. Here is the top of the story:

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — A nationwide rift among Episcopalians has fractured St. Barnabas church, where the bulk of the congregation has broken away from the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio and is worshipping in an auditorium at Bay High School.

In recent years, a number of Episcopal congregations across the country have been at odds with church hierarchy over Christian teachings. Essentially, breakaway groups see the church drifting from orthodox Christianity to a more liberal creed, including allowing openly gay, partnered clerics to serve as bishops.

“When they talk about Jesus, it’s not the same Jesus I talk about,” said the Rev. Gene Sherman, pastor of the 250-member breakaway congregation from St. Barnabas. “They say Jesus is a way to salvation. I say Jesus is the way to salvation.”

As you can see, the conservatives think that the liberal Episcopal establishment has made major innovations when it comes to doctrines linked to salvation and sexual morality. The conservative priest, however, used pretty neutral language.

Later in the story, however, the newspaper itself gets theological — whether it meant to or not.

The breakaway groups joined the Anglican Church of North America, a dissident sect not officially affiliated with what is called the Anglican Communion, a worldwide denomination headed by the Church of England. The Episcopalians, however, are a part of the Anglican Communion, though its spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams of England, sometimes raises an eyebrow over the actions of his American flock.

Several comments must be made. First of all, I am sure that the leadership of The Episcopal Church would be rather miffed to learn that they are, in any legal way, the “American flock” of Rowan Williams. That implies some kind of formal control, which is certainly lacking in Anglicanism. Second, it’s true that the Anglican Church of North America is not “officially affiliated with what is called the Anglican Communion.” (By the way, that is the “what is called” language all about?) However, the American conservatives are in Communion — with a large “C” — with many of the largest branches of the global Anglican Communion. The biggest complication is, of course, the status of Communion with the Church of England, itself.

Third, what are we to make of the “dissident sect” reference? Under the vague definitions of the term, this language is accurate. However, this story is clearly about a set of doctrinal conflicts. Thus, one needs to ask: What were the doctrines of the global Anglican Communion that this conservative body twisted or redefined in order to earn the “sect” label?

I am sure that many on the doctrinal right would say that the Anglican Church of North America is a splinter from The Episcopal Church, but that The Episcopal Church is a “sect” in comparison to the faith and practice found in the larger, growing bodies within the Anglican Communion. The doctrinal left would disagree.

So how to handle this situation in print? Don’t use this label when talking about the right or the left. It causes way more trouble than it’s worth. “Sect” has become a word that contains very little useful content.
IMAGE: Back by popular demand.

2012-01-25T09:30:00.003-08:00

Episcopal Blogger Spins Fleeing Episcopalians to Rome Via Ordinariate

from VirtueOnline

Episcopal Blogger Spins Fleeing Episcopalians to Rome Via Ordinariate

News Analysis

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
January 25, 2012

The drift of Episcopalians to the Roman Catholic Church via the Ordinariate is worrying some liberal Episcopal bloggers and ordinary Episcopalians who see the move getting more cyber ink and publicity than the flight deserves.

"Thus far, 100 priests and fewer than 1,400 people in 22 church communities have expressed an interest in the ordinariate. Gather them all in Washington National Cathedral, and the place isn't half full. Only six of these 22 communities have more than 70 members, which suggests that their long-term viability may be an issue. And there is no evidence to suggest that these small congregations are the thin edge of an as yet invisible wedge," writes Jim Naughton of Episcopal Café blog.

He is partly right. Most Anglo-Catholics and those in the Continuing Movement are not fleeing en masse to Rome as a safe haven for their catholicism, preferring to remain in TEC (though that group is rapidly diminishing.) or Forward in Faith, the Anglo-Catholic wing of TEC that is still very much alive and well. Forward in Faith North America defines itself as "a fellowship of Bishops, Clergy, Laity, Parishes and Religious Orders, who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who uphold the Evangelical Faith and Catholic Order which is the inheritance of the Anglican Way, and who work, pray and give for the reform and renewal of the Church with 'no compromise of truth and no limitation of love' FiF/NA members include faithful Anglicans both within and outside ECUSA."

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-25T09:30:00.001-08:00

Three Ways Christians Rationalize Voting for Pro-Abortion Candidates

from Stand Firm by Matt Kennedy

I've been engaged in a number of conversations lately with Christians--some of them well known orthodox Anglican thinkers and leaders--trying to justify their support for pro-abortion politicians and candidates. In almost every exchange I've run into slightly different forms of the same three arguments

The first goes something like this: "I agree that abortion is wrong but we cannot legislate moral choices. Instead, why don't we simply focus on preaching the gospel. Only changed hearts will bring about a changed culture."

The logic behind this rationalization is stunningly bad--so bad it's hard to answer without a tinge of incredulity and exasperation. But here's a paraphrased summary of my most common response: "Right you are about changed hearts. But why the false dichotomy? One might as well say: "I agree that killing toddlers is wrong, but we cannot legislate moral choices." Sure we can and we must. Not only do we proclaim the gospel and pray that God's grace will change hearts and change the culture but we also put laws on the books that prevent people from killing their children.

Both/and not either/or.

The second rationalization employs logic every bit as bad if not worse than the first but a little more subtle. It goes something like this: "Yes, abortion is a great evil and yet it is merely one great evil alongside poverty, injustice, inadequate health-care and preemptive war. Why take this one great evil and elevate it above the others? I vote for the candidate who will, overall, do the most good. Every once in a while, that will mean voting for a pro-choice politician."

The trick to this justification is to make abortion "just like" an ineffective economic policy or the failure of a particular party to resolve the health-care crisis or engaging in what some consider an unjust war. While all of these things do indeed result in destructive consequences for many people, the radical difference between abortion and any of them is that abortion is the purposeful killing of a human being. The others might result in death for many innocent people but such a result is accidental not purposeful. No free-world politician sets out purposefully to design an economic policy to kill people. Abortion has only that purpose and only that end. Comparing abortion to bad economic policy is like comparing the inept driver who accidentally swerves into oncoming traffic and kills another driver to the very good driver who purposefully drives into a crowd on the sidewalk at full speed.

In an article posted on the Christian Research Institute website Scott Klusendorf writes:

"Are pro-life advocates focused too narrowly on abortion? After all, informed voters consider many issues, not just one.

Of course abortion isn't the only issue-any more than the treatment of slaves wasn't the only issue in the 1860s or the treatment of Jews the only issue in the 1940s. But both were the dominant issues of their day. Thoughtful Christians attribute different importance to different issues, and give greater weight to fundamental moral questions. For example, if a man running for president told us that men had a right to beat their wives, most people would see that as reason enough to reject him, despite his expertise on foreign policy or economic reforms. The foundational principle of our republic is that all humans are equal in their fundamental dignity. What issue could be more important than that? You might as well blame politicians like Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt for focusing too narrowly on defeating the Nazis, to the neglect of other issues."

The truth is that the ongoing , purposeful, legalized killing of innumerable unborn infants in the United States is a moral crime of such depravity that genocide, slavery, and mass murder provide the only the only legitimate comparisons.

The third rationalization involves a kind of paradigm shift. "The question is not," some will say, "whether abortion is right or wrong. It is manifestly wrong. The question is who gets to decide? Is it right to give such power to the national government. Shouldn't these kinds of decisions be left to the mother, the one who carries the greatest burden in caring for the unborn child? A one month old 'fetus' can't survive after all unless the mother sacrifices her body to care for it? Shouldn't she be the one who ultimately decides whether she can "

On the one hand the argument is an attempt to piggy-back on the increasingly prominent libertarian sentiment among conservatives. "Hey, if you really support less government why would you want the state getting involved in a woman's womb?" On the other hand the argument suggests that the right to live ought to be determined by the measure of a human being's independence.

The "libertarian" justification betrays an implicit denial of the unborn baby's humanity. If, in fact, the unborn baby is "a baby", then whether or not to kill it, cannot be a decision left to the mother or father or both. Not even Ron Paul, I hope, would want to allow parents to kill toddlers or infants or retarded children. All these rightly enjoy the protection of the national government and the law. It should not be different for an unborn baby since "baby" it is. To argue otherwise is to implicitly accept the secularist position that a newly conceived human is somehow less human than than we are--a position both genetically and biblically repugnant.

Likewise, if we are going to define the right to live using independence or autonomy as the measure, then we will be opening a very dangerous door. There are many people who cannot survive apart from the care of another. Do they have less right to live than the more autonomous among us? Such reasoning is not very far from the "useless eater" ethics employed by health professionals in early mid-twentieth century central Europe. We are all, in fact, on some level "dependent." Where do we draw the line? A toddler is more autonomous than a one month old unborn baby but the toddler is far less autonomous than I am. So why draw the line at the unborn month old baby? Why not the toddler? Why not the homebound grandmother? Morally, it makes very little difference. Once you tie human life to autonomy, life becomes very cheap indeed.

2012-01-25T09:28:00.001-08:00

Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons Sign Letter Supporting Traditional Marriage

from VirtueOnline

Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons Sign Letter Supporting Traditional Marriage

By Anugrah Kumar
Christian Post Contributor
http://www.christianpost.com/news/
January 14, 2012

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, joined leaders of some of America's largest religious communities in signing an open letter that urges Americans to protect traditional marriage and preserve individual religious beliefs.

"We are happy to add the national voice of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to this thoughtful and articulate case for marriage between one man and one woman," Harrison said in a statement Friday, a day after he signed the letter titled "Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together."

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-25T09:27:00.003-08:00

GARDINER, MAINE: Episcopal priest suspended for two years

from VirtueOnline

GARDINER, MAINE: Episcopal priest suspended for two years
Priest engaged in inappropriate language and interpersonal boundary violations

By Mechele Cooper Kennebec
Journal Staff Writer
http://www.kjonline.com/news/gardiner-minister-suspended-for-two-years_2012-01-23.html
January 23, 2012

A longtime minister of Christ Episcopal Church has been placed on a two-year suspension following a months-long church investigation that found he engaged in sexual misconduct consisting of "inappropriate language and interpersonal boundary violations."

Church members were told at Sunday's service that the Rev. Jacob Fles had been suspended. Fles has conducted services at the city's landmark church, at the corner of Gardiner Common on Dresden Avenue, for 17 years.

A joint statement issued by both Bishop Stephen Lane and Fles said that the church's inquiry did not uncover any evidence of criminal behavior.

"The past four months have been difficult for all parties: the complainants, the people of Christ Church, Father Fles and his family, and all involved in the investigation," the statement said.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-25T09:27:00.001-08:00

Simple Country Bishop Just Like Joan of Arc

from Stand Firm by Matt Kennedy

Surprisingly, Gene Robinson, the reclusive publicity shunning Epsicopal Bishop of New Hampshire, is the subject of yet another full length documentary film. Somehow, the producers of "Love Free or Die" persuaded the embarrassed and reluctant country bishop to allow their cameras to follow him around England during the 2008 Lambeth Conference. The resulting documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this month. And now, emerging from his quiet hermitage, Gene Robinson has relented to incessant public demand and has agreed to be interviewed:

When I spoke with openly gay bishop Gene Robinson about following him through a particularly harrowing period that he was about to enter, I told him that talking to him was like talking to Joan of Arc, in a time when a doc crew could capture the drama of the church/state firestorm he had found himself in. He laughed but said that it was true – he was caught in the crosshairs of cultural change and it was important to record it along the way, so he invited me to follow him for the next four years.

The experience has been packed with revelation, some lost on the camera but many captured...more

2012-01-25T09:26:00.003-08:00

CLEVELAND, OHIO: Historic churches near Cleveland Clinic for sale

from VirtueOnline

CLEVELAND, OHIO: Historic churches near Cleveland Clinic campus at center of debate over preservation, land-banking
The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio has put the Church of the Transfiguration up for sale, for $1.9 million

By Michelle Jarboe McFee
The Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/historic_churches_near_clevela.html
January 20, 2012

The Euclid Avenue Church of God and the Church of the Transfiguration sit empty on Cleveland's former Millionaires' Row, remnants of a heyday when mansions marched east from downtown.

Their congregations have fled. And historic preservationists fear that both churches will disappear, swallowed up by the Cleveland Clinic's appetite for land.

Now the Cleveland Restoration Society, with nine employees and a million-dollar annual budget, is pitting itself against the city's largest employer, a health care giant that says it has no interest in redeveloping dilapidated churches at the edge of its main campus.

The Clinic has offered to pay $500,000 for the land beneath the Euclid Avenue Church of God, northeast of Euclid and East 86th Street. On the other side of Euclid, the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio has put Transfiguration up for sale, for $1.9 million.

Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org

2012-01-25T09:26:00.001-08:00

8 Profitable Ways to Read the Bible by J.C. Ryle

from VirtueOnline

8 Profitable Ways to Read the Bible by J.C. Ryle

January 23, 2012

1. Begin reading your Bible this very day. The way to do a thing - is to do it; and the way to read the Bible - is actually to read it. It is not merely meaning, or wishing, or resolving, or intending, or thinking about it - which will advance you one step. You must positively read. There is no royal road in this matter, any more than in the matter of prayer. If you cannot read yourself, you must persuade somebody else to read it to you. But one way or another, through eyes or ears - the words of Scripture must actually pass before your mind.

2. Read the Bible with an earnest desire to understand it. Do not think for a moment, that the great object is to turn over a certain quantity of printed paper, and that it matters nothing whether you understand it or not. Some ignorant people seem to imagine, that all is done if they advance so many chapters every day, though they may not have a notion what they are all about, and only know that they have pushed on their bookmark ahead so many pages. This is turning Bible reading into a mere ritual form. Settle it down in your mind as a general principle, that a Bible not understood - is a Bible that does no good. Say to yourself often as you read, "What is this all about?" Dig for the meaning like a man digging for gold.

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