Response to Prof James Jones in the Church Times

The Chaplain's Corner from the American Anglican Council:

Prof Jones' original letter is posted below. ed.

I grew up the son of an Episcopal priest and served for 18 years in The Episcopal Church (TEC). For the last four years I have served as a priest in the Anglican Church of Uganda and am now chief operating officer of the American Anglican Council. I have seen the persecution of orthodox clergy, experienced the pressure to conform to heretical theology, and heard the false gospel presented by the leadership of TEC. I don't make these claims lightly, so you may imagine my reaction to Professor James Jones who in last week's Church Times protests the criticisms of TEC that he heard at the CofE General Synod as being unfounded and untrue.

In his opinion piece, Professor Jones noted that one speaker described the American Church as "preaching a new gospel" and declared that this was "misleading, if not incorrect." Not so. The speaker at General Synod was correct. The American Church (TEC) is preaching a new gospel that radically departs from Anglicanism and historic Christianity. In their own words, the Presiding Bishop and her predecessors, bishops and other leaders of TEC have denied Jesus as the only way to the Father, denied the divinity and uniqueness of Jesus Christ as savior of the world, denied the resurrection, denied heaven and hell, denied salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ, denied the authority of Holy Scripture, denied the creeds, and denied biblical standards for human sexuality affirmed by the Anglican Communion in Lambeth Resolution 1.10 (1998). And in her own words, the current Presiding Bishop has demonstrated her affirmation of the classic heresies of Pelagianism, Marcionism, Pluralism, Universalism and Gnosticism.

In addition, the "new gospel" TEC is promoting at home and to the rest of the Anglican Communion includes a record refusal to reaffirm the historic articles of the Christian faith and of Anglicanism in particular and public liturgies that have included the worship of non-Christian deities.

These facts have been documented in a 42 page briefing prepared by the American Anglican Council for the Primates and delivered to the Archbishop of Canterbury on February 9. "The Episcopal Church: Tearing the Fabric of Communion to Shreds" can be found at http://www.americananglican.org/assets/Publications/Primates-Report-Final.pdf

Clearly, Professor Jones has ignored or is somehow unaware of these facts. Otherwise he would not have complained that "some of the speakers felt that the schismatics (as I think of them) were being persecuted by lawsuits, and needed to be protected from the American Church." If he knew or cared about the facts, he would have known that TEC has initiated almost 60 lawsuits against churches, clergy and individual lay leaders whose only offense has been to try and "mend the tear" in the fabric of our beloved Anglican Communion by seeking refuge in other Anglican jurisdictions. Those who have fled to other provinces of the Anglican Communion have been appealing to the rest of the Communion for protection from the American Church, and rightly so. Our office keeps track of these legal actions: they are increasing at an astonishing rate and in flagrant violation of the Primates Meeting in Dar es Salaam (2007) where the Primates demanded that TEC stop the litigation. Literally millions of dollars have been wasted by TEC in emptying church buildings-and to what end?

Professor Jones ought to know better than to claim that "the power of the executive branch (the President and the Presiding Bishop of TEC) is carefully circumscribed." This is nonsense. Unlike the checks and balances provided in the Constitution of the United States, TEC has no independent judicial branch that can circumscribe abuses of power by bishops. For this exact reason, the Presiding Bishop of TEC has been able to flagrantly torture the plain meaning of the canons in order to unlawfully depose 12 bishops. TEC diocesan bishops have been free to do the same to their clergy, inhibiting and deposing over 108 deacons and priests. In addition, the Presiding Bishop has violated both constitution and canons in dismissing lawfully constituted Standing Committees and substituting her own, in furtherance of litigation. These facts document both the abolition of the rule of law within TEC and an imperial expansion of the Presiding Bishop's powers.

One example of the Presiding Bishop's overreaching was her deposition for "abandonment of communion" of the Rt. Rev. Henry Scriven, a CofE bishop consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey himself. Bishop Scriven served for several years on license to TEC as an assisting bishop in Pittsburgh. He notified the TEC Presiding Bishop that he was leaving TEC to engage in other Anglican work and would be under the Bishop of Oxford, once again in the CofE. Rather than accept that he was simply surrendering his TEC license and seat in the TEC House of Bishops to return to the CofE, she deposed him for abandonment of communion and then argued that in the United States this is how it is handled. Indeed!

When bishops of TEC refuse qualified candidates access to ordination because of their theologically orthodox convictions, refuse to allow them to attend biblically orthodox Anglican seminaries, verbally harass and ridicule the faithful in diocesan and regional gatherings, exclude them from meaningful participation in the councils of the church, threaten to discipline clergy who try to help their people discern which gospel in the Anglican Communion they should choose and follow, and then take a page from The Gulag Archipelago and require orthodox clergy to undergo psychiatric evaluations because their convictions make them "mentally unsound," it is simply pathetic to claim, as Professor Jones did, that "No self-styled traditionalist has been 'driven out', asked to leave, or forbidden by the Presiding Bishop from teaching or preaching."

Here in the States, we call that grasping at straws.

Let the facts speak for themselves.

The Rev. J Philip Ashey, Esq.
Chief Operating Officer,
The American Anglican Council
Atlanta GA
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Salt & Light

A True Blueprint for the New Church in Action

On March 26th at Holy Cross Anglican Church, Loganville, GA, just before the American Anglican Council's "Blueprint" conference kicks off, Anglican history will be made. Over 25 Anglican churches from across the country are sending delegates to convene and begin charting their future together as a diocese in the new Anglican Church in North America.

The delegates that gather will have a common bond; they are all Anglicans under the jurisdiction of the Church of Uganda. While at Holy Cross, this convocation will be moving past the dream of the New Church and beginning the challenging task of making it a reality. Their goal is to be able to send their diocesan delegates to the inaugural Provincial Assembly of the Anglican Church in North America, held June 22-25th, and to vote and ratify the new constitution and canons of the church.

Before they can arrive at the Provincial Assembly in June, there is organizational work to be done. Consistent with Anglican practice, congregations come together to form a diocese and dioceses band together as a national church. This convocation will be taking the first formative step in creating a diocese. (A diocese in the ACNA can also be referred to as a "cluster" or "network.")

Prior to this meeting, the vestry of each congregation needed to adopt a resolution subscribing to the Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church in North America. They also needed to state that their church wanted to be a part of the diocese being formed from the congregations presently under the Church of Uganda. After this, a delegation from each parish was assembled with proportionate representation of lay delegates selected by the vestry, or other means, based on the congregation's average Sunday attendance. All clergy were invited to attend.

When the delegates arrive in Loganville, there will be serious work to do. Structures must be formed - a Standing Committee, Officers (Treasurer, Secretary, and Chancellor) must be elected. Delegates to the Provincial Assembly must be elected to attend the June meeting. Like any organization in formation, draft by-laws and canons need to be ratified along with articles of incorporation and an application for 501c3 status reviewed and filed. Along with these important tasks, a budget and financial report will be prepared to support the emerging organization as well. One of the easier tasks before the delegation will be that of choosing a new name for the new diocese, which will be revealed at the AAC's Blueprint conference.

As this group of parishes comes closer together, we can all thank the Lord for being one more step closer to the new Anglican Church in North America for which we have all waited so long.

- Carol Frederick,
AAC Affiliates Administrator
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Shunned for 3 Years, Bishop Bane Joins ACNA
Source: The Living Church
Date: March 12, 2009

After a long and fruitless search for an opportunity to continue active ministry within The Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. David C. Bane, Bishop of Southern Virginia from 1998-2006, has "joyfully and gratefully" accepted an invitation from Archbishop Gregory Venables to be received as a bishop in the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. He will serve in the Anglican Church of North America as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Long-simmering divisions in the Diocese of Southern Virginia culminated in Bishop Bane's decision to resign in 2006. In a March 9 letter to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop Bane said he believed that his "remaining as bishop would prevent the diocese from healing and moving forward as so much of the blame and animosity continued to be focused on me personally." He said his decision to resign also was predicated on assurances that there would still be opportunities for him to exercise his vocation within The Episcopal Church. The Living Church received a copy of Bishop Bane's letter. . .

Read the entire article by clicking on the link above.
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ACI, Communion Partner Bishops Mull Petition in Pittsburgh
Source: The Living Church
Date: March 11, 2009

A friend-of-the-court petition filed in the ongoing litigation in Pittsburgh by the Presiding Bishop's chancellor represents a new, serious challenge to the long-standing polity of The Episcopal Church, according to a joint statement to be issued March 12 by the Anglican Communion Institute (ACI) and the Communion Partner bishops.

"The historic episcopate has long been recognized as an essential, non-negotiable element of Anglican identity," the statement notes. "The polity of The Episcopal Church, clearly expressed in its name, its constitution and its history, is that of dioceses and bishops meeting in a general convention as equals. The Presiding Bishop and the Executive Council are the agents, not the superiors of dioceses." . . .

Read the entire article by clicking on the link above.

Read the ACI statement on civil litigation by clicking here.
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ADV Welcomes Two New Member Congregations
Source: Anglican District of VA - Via Email
Date: March 9, 2009

The Anglican District of Virginia welcomes two new member congregations, Church of the Resurrection, Baltimore, Md., and Church of the Redeemer, Camden, NC. With the addition of these congregations, ADV is becoming a home for orthodox Anglicans in the state of Virginia and across the mid-Atlantic region.

"We are pleased to welcome these congregations from other states that are looking to connect to the larger Anglican Communion through the Anglican District of Virginia. The two new congregations demonstrate the continued growth that orthodox Anglicans are experiencing in Virginia and around the country," said Jim Oakes, vice-chairman of ADV. . .

Read the entire release by clicking on the link above.
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Episcopal clergy take lead in staking out progressive positions
Source: Episcopal News Service
Date: March 6, 2009
By Mary Frances Schjonberg

A survey by Public Religion Research released March 6 shows that mainline Protestant clergy are much more likely to identify themselves as liberal and Democrat than conservative or Republican.

The "Clergy Voices" survey showed that clergy of The Episcopal Church, which it included in its definition of mainline Protestants, and the United Church of Christ (UCC)--66 percent and 74 percent, respectively--were the most likely to call themselves liberal. Overall, 48 percent of the clergy surveyed chose that label.

Robert P. Jones, the research group's founder and president, said during a March 6 telephone briefing that the survey showed that Episcopal Church and UCC clergy were "really staking out more progressive views" than the rest of the clergy who responded.

The two denominations also led the list of those clergy who said they believe the U.S. government should do more to solve social problems (UCC clergy were at 90 percent, Episcopal clergy 87 percent).

"Clergy play an important role in shaping congregant views" and in setting public-policy agendas, Jones said during the briefing. The survey also showed that the liberal and Democratic leanings of mainline Protestant clergy are now more likely to be shared by the laity than was the case in years previous.

"Mainline Protestants, who make up 18 percent of all Americans and nearly a quarter of all voters, have been trending Democratic in recent years, but remain fairly evenly divided in their political behavior," the research group said in a news release about the survey. Jones said during the briefing that clergy have had predominantly Democrat leanings since at least 1988.

When asked if the political views of mainline Protestant laity and clergy may be more similar now because conservatives have left those denominations, Jones said "there's still an incredible amount of diversity among this group" in terms of political and theological opinion.

The researchers, Jones told reporters during the briefing, saw a correlation between clergy's stance on biblical inerrancy and their political and ideological leanings. Episcopal clergy were the group least likely to agree with a statement that "the Bible is the inerrant word of God, both in matters of faith and in historic, geographical, and other secular matters." Eighty-nine percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, compared with 68 percent overall. At the other end of the spectrum, 58 percent of American Baptist ministers believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God.

On Episcopal stances about specific issues, the survey showed that:

- 73 percent of Episcopal clergy said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 51 percent of all clergy surveyed.

- 49 percent approved of same-gender marriage and another 38 percent supported allowing gay couples to enter into civil unions, compared with 33 percent and 32 percent, respectively, of all clergy surveyed.

- 77 percent supported the ability of otherwise-qualified lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people to adopt children, compared with 55 percent overall; 79 percent favored extending non-discrimination in employment rights to LGBT people, compared with 66 percent overall; and 79 percent support hate-crime law protection for LGBT, compared with 67 percent overall.

- 81 percent support an end to capital punishment, compared to 66 percent overall. . .

Read the entire article by clicking on the link above.
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Another Canadian parish votes to join the Anglican Network in Canada
Source: Anglican Network in Canada
Date: March 8, 2009

The congregation of St Matthias Anglican Church, in Victoria, British Columbia voted decisively on Sunday, March 8, to come under the episcopal oversight of Bishop Donald Harvey, Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), and under the Primatial authority of Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.

St Matthias, which is one of the largest Anglican parishes on Vancouver Island, is the 16th former Anglican Church of Canada parish and the third on Vancouver Island to join ANiC in the past 13 months. The official vote taken in the special vestry meeting today - which was called in careful compliance with diocesan canons (bylaws) - was 94.4 per cent in favour of realigning with ANiC, excluding spoiled ballots. Of the ballots cast, 170 were in favour and ten opposed. Seven ballots were spoilt. . .

Read the entire release by clicking on the link above.
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