Message from AAC President Canon David Anderson

[For the full message, go to the AAC website.]

Friday, May 11, 2007

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees... Otherwise, when you eat and are satisifed...and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God... If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish." (Deuteronomy 8:10-14,19)

Beloved in Christ,

As announced in February, the AAC is monitoring the Episcopal Church's compliance with the primates' Dar es Salaam Communiqué through its newly created Communiqué Compliance Office (CCO).

We continue to encourage you, our readers, to send us any material pertinent to this effort, by e-mail, phone (800-914-2000), or regular mail.

The most helpful materials include diocesan newsletters, church newsletters, diocesan-wide (or church-wide) e-mails, and other pieces of information that indicate compliance or defiance with respect to: (1) the primates' call for a halt to litigation; (2) the communiqué's request for clarification of the Church's position on ordination of bishops who are living active homosexual lifestyles; (3) clarification of the Church's position on same-sex blessings; and (4) the primates' pastoral scheme for providing relief to orthodox churches and dioceses. In addition, the CCO files include any material that indicates a diocese's or bishop's rejection of Scriptural authority.

The CCO is collecting information through Sept. 30, 2007, by which time the Church must respond to the communiqué's requests. Regular CCO reports are issued to global Anglican primates and leaders, as well as to the public.

The laity and clergy within U.S. Episcopal dioceses are the AAC's eyes and ears for what is happening within each diocese. Your help is imperative to the success of our efforts!

Although these Weekly Updates go out to a large number of subscribers, most of whom are supporters of the work of the American Anglican Council (AAC), some individuals of a contrary point of view also subscribe to check up on us, and that's okay. My weekly piece shares my own opinion on the current events, and from time to time, as new information arrives or circumstances change, I will want to recast my analysis. This format provides an opportunity when needed.

The Communiqué Compliance Office’s April report has just been completed, and a full PDF format will be released on the AAC Web site next week. The report is best used when you are already connected to the Internet so that all the hyperlinks to original documents work. (A limited quantity of the full-text version that includes the back-up documents will also be available for those who do not have Internet access.)

Last Saturday’s installation service in Virginia of the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns was a glorious event. The Primate of All Nigeria, the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, presided over the installation of Bishop Minns as missionary bishop for the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), the mission arm in the United States of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. Based on the anxious anticipation of the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church (TEC), as well as that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams, it appears that the installation is seen as a turning point in North American Anglican affairs. If Jefferts Schori had been paying attention, she would have known of the installation weeks in advance, and yet she waited so late to protest that it suggests that her protest wasn’t really about stopping the event so much as registering her displeasure. Perhaps the same could be said for Dr. Williams’ letter, which wasn’t sent until the Nigerian primate was in New York, en route to Virginia, at which point it was then leaked by Canon Jim Rosenthal (the Anglican Communion Office’s director of communications) to the press. However, the actual copy of the letter to Archbishop Akinola only reached him after the event had taken place. Was this on purpose?

One wag suggested that TEC was investing in a new growth area, lawsuits, by putting together their own TEC-branded law firm franchise, to be called Dewey, Suem, and Howe. Two of the principals were formally in a firm called Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe, but have now moved into liturgical litigation. The new law firm will require proper vestments and will build a company mission statement using the so-called Baptismal Covenant of TEC.

The use of lawsuits by ostensibly Christian organizations such as TEC to terrorize churches, vestry members, and the folks who sit in the pews is unconscionable. The frustration behind TEC’s rage is that they cannot force the laity or clergy to go along with their polytheistic theology and beliefs on homosexuality, and people and clergy are voting with both their feet and purses. If TEC had canon law jails, many of us would be locked up, never to see the light again—but, fortunately, they don’t. Many of the church properties on which they spend millions of dollars to seize TEC will finally have to sell for 10 cents on the $1 because the buildings won’t have viable congregations to keep the properties up and make repairs. The idea in suing vestry members and clergy is to frighten people about losing their own private homes and automobiles to a tyrannical bishop bent on punishing the orthodox Anglicans. Now the Presbyterians’ liberal leaders are joining in the fray in the Anglican world—a macabre ecumenism based on terrorizing their own church members.

The Rev. Don Armstrong, who is currently under attack by the Episcopal bishop and Diocese of Colorado, has now come under harassment and stalking by hate groups affiliated with the homosexual activist agenda. One activist crept into last Sunday’s worship service underway and threw a pie at Armstrong, narrowly missing him as he stood in the pulpit preaching. Another activist for the homosexual agenda took pictures of Fr. Don as he parked his vehicle in front of Starbuck’s to dash in for a quick cup of coffee. Multiple photos of Fr. Don appear on a homosexual activist Web site, where he is shown parking his car, text-messaging on his Blackberry, and drinking his coffee. It makes one wonder, what is the point of this if not to harass him and encourage others to do the same? As the state legislatures hurry to put “hate crime” laws into place, the laws should be crafted to also protect the free speech of the Christian community to name sin as sin, and to protect Christian leaders and clergy from harassment and violence for their witness.

It seems the entire Western world has gone crazy—and the ride isn’t over yet. Remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ should shape the world, not the other way around.

Blessings and peace in Christ Jesus,

The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson
President & CEO, American Anglican Council