Rowan Williams' latest exposition of his views of homosexuality (as quoted from 'The London Times') in which he maintains that homosexual relationships are 'comparable to marriage' and that gay sexual relationships can 'reflect the love of God') is blasphemy - pure and simple. Bottom line: If God is agape love (and He is) and God's agape love is the love between man and woman in marriage (and it is) and homosexuality is sinful (and it is), then Williams is ascribing sin to the Godhead. He is declaring an abomination to be acceptable to God. --- Rev. Dr. Tim Smith, AMiA pastor.

"My concluding comment to both the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops at Lambeth is this. "Holding paradoxes in appropriate tension" - which is the call from Lambeth 2008 - may be a useful process in certain domains. Our understanding of the behavior of light in contemporary physics is one such. But to ask Athanasius or the Cappadocians of the 4th Century, and now the Anglican Communion of the 21st Century, to stay in formal fellowship with those whose beliefs and practices are "essentially" contradictory and not merely complementary (as are the two contemporary models regarding light) is itself anathema - as many a Church Council canon has affirmed. At root, the traditional logic that undergirded the idea of comprehensiveness is no longer the contemporary logic that is driving the call for inclusivity, in all manner of spheres. It is therefore a "catastrophic failure of leadership" (Nelson Mandela), I submit, to permit, let alone to foster, the continuation of such an incoherent form of Communion as is now the result of Lambeth 2008. ---- Dr. Bryden Black is a clergy from the diocese of Christchurch , New Zealand

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
8/15/2008

The Lambeth Conference might be over, but what is flowing from it is far from over. The Anglican Communion hangs in the balance now more than ever. Sides are being drawn up with some Church of England bishops rallying around Dr. Rowan Williams while others say that the Communion is finished and an "orderly separation" is the only way forward.

Anglican Mission in America Bishop John Rodgers pointedly observed that as one reads the lengthy Lambeth 2008 Statement, with its stating the obvious, vagueness in key terms, additional commissions, utterly unrealistic demands (moratoria), and the lengthy approval process, "One can only wonder and sigh at the slowness with which we Anglicans face the inevitable.

Consider the protracted pain which the delay will cause, the loss of membership it will produce and the damage to mission that will ensue. To value unity above the revealed Truth of Christianity is, of course, utterly wrong, and aiming for unity between incompatible visions is entirely futile. There is no unifying via media between incompatible key convictions, even as there is no escaping our Lord's clear teaching that "a house divided cannot stand". He goes on to write, "Surely the GAFCON Statement is correct.

It is the historic Anglicans who bear the faithful Anglican Vision and who call all in the Communion to return to faithful Anglicanism. While it is a hard saying, I concur with the senior British Bishops who called for such charitable separations from the Anglican Communion as will save the Communion.

Such an action would allow those corporatists and revisionists who have no interest in repenting to find their distinct place outside of the Communion. The problem is to envision how that could be done, and to find the willingness in all groups to face the inevitable, instead of trying to make compatible the incompatible. It may be that Primates at their next meeting will have wisdom from above for us. Let us pray that they do."

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Speaking of which, the Primates' Council of GAFCON will meet towards the end of August when they will consult, pray and make their response to Lambeth following that meeting. A Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen reads thusly, "We have been praying for the Lambeth conference and now that it has ended, we look forward to talking with those who were there. It seems it has fulfilled the desires of the Archbishop of Canterbury and we also look forward to hearing from him. Our absence focused minds on the problems within the communion and spoke louder than our presence would have. However, the issues which have caused such division are still before us and require decisive action so that the mission of the church will not be further impaired." Dr. Williams will be very brilliant and persuasive. One hopes these primates have spiritual nerves of steel not to get drawn into any talk that a covenant will resolve their differences. It won't.

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THE Anglican Communion must prepare for 'an orderly' separation if differences cannot be healed, writes the Bishop of Winchester. In a report addressed to his diocese relaying his reflections on the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the Rt. Rev Michael Scott-Joynt said that the Archbishop of Canterbury had three realistic options ahead of him after the next Primates meeting in 2009. You can read the full story in today's digest.

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IN England things just go from bad to worse for traditionalists in the C of E. It appears that as a result of the Synod fallout, the end of comprehensiveness has now taken place and tolerance and liberalism has ended. Anglo-Catholics are history. A Single Clause Measure with or without a Code of Practice won't make much difference. This week 14 bishops wrote to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York expressing "shock and disappointment" at the vote to allow women bishops while making no sacred space available for the church's Anglo-Catholics. So all that fine talk at Lambeth about love and tolerance and a covenant that hopefully will bring everyone together is just that, talk. By the end of this year, Anglo-Catholics in The Episcopal Church will also cease to exist when the last two Anglo-Catholic dioceses vote to leave. In the UK, the remnant will scatter to Rome, a new province, or whatever, but they are no longer welcome in the Church of England. They are history. Wrote the 14 bishops, "We shall be encouraging the House of Bishops to recognize that proper ecclesial provision would enable the Church of England both to honor the wish of the majority for women to be admitted to the episcopate and also create a space in which the theological convictions of others are respected in fact as well as in words. In this way both groups would have the opportunity to flourish in as high a degree of fellowship as possible while the "open process of reception" continues."

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he big domestic news this week occurred in the DIOCESE OF FT. WORTH where four priests met with Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann to present arguments in support of going to Rome by some of the dioceses' Anglo-Catholics. The bishop of the Diocese, Jack Iker knew of the visit by the priests, but was adamant that the diocese is not set to move to Rome. It won't happen. In a statement released this week, Iker stated "there is no proposal under consideration, either publicly or privately, for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth to become part of the Roman Catholic Church." Bishop Iker said he was aware of the meeting and had encouraged the four to meet with Catholic leaders to dialogue "on the local level" on the progress towards "full, visible unity between the two communions" as envisioned by the Anglican Roman Catholic International Consultation (ARCIC).

"The priests who participated in this meeting with Bishop Vann have my trust and pastoral support," he said, but "they do not act or speak, for the Diocese of Fort Worth or on my own behalf as their Bishop." Iker said Ft. Worth's plans had not changed. In November, the diocesan synod is expected to take steps to disaffiliate the diocese from the Episcopal Church and to "realign with an orthodox Province as a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion."

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The DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH meets on October 4, when their annual convention will vote on "realignment." (VOL will be there for this historic occasion). In particular, a second vote will be taken on constitutional amendments that will declare the diocese to be in the Anglican province of the Southern Cone. It is a foregone conclusion throughout The Episcopal Church that these measures, so strongly advocated by Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert W. Duncan, will be passed by the convention.

But liberals in the diocese and some proponents are not so sure. The clergy will vote for the constitutional changes as they favored it on first reading by 109 to 24. That's a majority which is unlikely to substantially change. A 4-to-1 ratio was achieved last year. The lay vote seems likely to go the same way. Last year, lay deputies voted in favor by 118 to 58, with 1 abstention.

If the October realignment vote passes, there would be immediate lawsuits by the Rev. Harold Lewis of Calvary Episcopal. The Episcopal Church would undoubtedly join the existing suit or initiate new litigation against Duncan and the departing parishes. But Duncan now has a first class lawyer working for him, and things might just turn around.

Presiding Bishop, Katharine. Jefferts Schori wants a vote in September to depose Duncan at the next HOB meeting, but she has already lost once on that. She would be pressing her luck to try it twice without Duncan having actually done anything. But who knows. In December, the GAFCON Primates' Council will, in all likelihood, recognize the Common Cause Partnership as some sort of Anglican province, with Duncan as its leader, with a North American Province surely just around the corner.

Bishop Duncan will be its leader, another in-your-face act that will enrage the Iron Lady of Lambeth who can't wait to announce his deposition from her lofty throne at 815 2nd avenue. Whatever happens, no one doubts that Bishop Duncan will be deposed if the Pittsburgh convention votes for realignment. The case against him will be "abandonment of communion" -- the same as Bishop John-David Schofield, and you can be sure the HOB will not hesitate to vote him out...this time.

At Lambeth, Harold Lewis the rector of Calvary got himself media credentials, and paraded himself around as a press person. I asked him at one point what he would do if he won in the courts and had a whole pile of empty parishes on his hands. (I am told that the Roman Catholic Church is ready to offer a number of empty parishes to Duncan.) Lewis told VOL that it was not his intention to throw anyone out if he won in the courts. He just wants to make the point that he CAN win. Right.

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The DIOCESE OF QUINCY will also be weighing its future. Last fall the diocese, in the absence of Bishop Keith Ackerman who was ill during the synod and could not preside, passed a first draft to leave the Episcopal Church. Round two is coming up again. Now delegates will again consider a second and decisive vote to separate from TEC November 7-8- at St. John's Church, Quincy.

"No formal resolutions have been drawn up or submitted yet," said the Rev. James Marshall, president of the standing committee, "but I don't see how it could not happen." At their last diocesan synod, delegates voted by substantial majorities to amend parts of the canons and refused to elect a slate of deputies for the 76th General Convention to be held July 8-17, 2009 in Anaheim, CA. So far, Bishop Ackerman seems not to have ruffled the feathers of Jefferts Schori, but it is only a matter of time.

You can be sure that he will get the Bob Duncan/John-David Schofield treatment in due course. If all this goes as planned, it will bring to three the number of dioceses who have voted to leave TEC. (Pittsburgh, San Joaquin and Pittsburgh).

The DIOCESE OF FT. WORTH is also ready to break ranks with TEC so you can expect a year of Jefferts Schori anger and litigation. Whatever happened to all those nice things the Archbishop of Canterbury said in Lambeth about not litigating against your brother? It was all fiction, of course. Nothing ever really changes in TEC. The agenda is set. All the remains to be seen is who will still be on the SS TEC when the fuel runs out and she settles in the water after hitting an iceberg. Of course Mrs. Schori might be grateful at the end of the day for global warming...there won't be any icebergs left to hit!!!

Until a full fledged North American province is announced, immediate refuge is being sought under the Most Rev. Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone. Recently the Standing Committee of Quincy sent every household in the diocese a copy of a 35-page report seeking to address questions and provide answers regarding the proposed separation.

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The DIOCESE OF SPRINGFIELD, which is joined at the hip with the Diocese of Quincy, (bishops Peter Beckwith and Keith Ackerman are cross over bishops in each other's diocese and are close personal friends), will not move to leave TEC. The diocese is too evenly divided between liberals and conservatives, and for such a vote to be passed it would be nigh impossible. The two will, however, hold a joint meeting of clergy and lay leadership on August 30 at St. Paul's Cathedral, Springfield. Beckwith has said in the past that he intends to remain canonically resident in the House of Bishops. No vote is expected at the Oct. 24-25 in Whittington.

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The Episcopal Church's omnipresent Louie Crew wants legislation on the table at the next General Convention in 2009, (only deputies can sign on) allowing only those dioceses that have paid their full assessment to General Convention to be able to vote. Titled, "The Budget and Eligibility to Vote", what he would like to see resolved is an amendment to Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution which would read that "ONLY certified deputies are entitled to seat and voice if the deputies' diocese has contributed to the General Convention Budget the portion of its income requested multiplied by the percent canonical expenses constitute of the General Convention budget."

The explanation: goes like this. "Canonical Expenses" of the 2007-2009 Budget are 19% of the entire budget. Dioceses are asked to pay 21% of their own income. According to this resolution, deputies could not vote if the dioceses did not pay 19% of that asking. "It is unfair for a diocese to force others to pay its share of the bare minimum costs of functioning as The Episcopal Church, namely, the canonical expenses of the budget.

While all dioceses are encouraged to contribute to the Budget of General Convention (currently 21%), those who fail to meet that standard, for whatever reason, will lose their vote only if they do pay at least the asking multiplied by the percent canonical expenses represented in the overall budget."

Now I wonder who that would affect. Orthodox dioceses that can pay, but DON'T because they don't like the direction the church is heading, won't get to vote. Liberal dioceses, which are running out of money (like the Diocese of Newark) with many living off of endowments, CAN'T pay, and won't get to vote.

Said Crew; "Some dioceses intentionally contribute no money whatsoever to the mission and life of The Episcopal Church. Several others create their own formulas, always offering less than the 21% asking. Some dioceses are genuinely unable to meet the Asking (Diocese of Newark). If all our dioceses did contribute at the Asking level, our mission would be funded by an additional $8,000,000 each year, or $24,000,000 for the triennium." Never happen. Oh, and just to put a biblical spin on all this, Crew has called it the "Ananias resolution." Poison pill, anybody?

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All is not complete doom and gloom in the Church of England. As well as ALPHA, there is something called FRESH EXPRESSIONS, opportunities for training and working for lay and ordained pioneer ministers in the Church of England. Find out more from on the edge, a DVD, can be viewed here:

http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/index.asp?id=1 The Church of England has adopted the language of pioneer ministry for starting and sustaining fresh expressions of church. In 2006, the House of Bishops approved new guidelines to encourage vocations to pioneer ministry as a recognized focus of ordained ministry. There are a growing number of candidates in training and beginning to serve their title posts as pioneers.

In 2007 the House of Bishops approved a similar set of guidelines to encourage lay pioneer ministry in various forms. It is now possible to explore and be equipped for this lay ministry nationally as a Church Army Evangelist and locally in an increasing number of dioceses.

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Does being black equal being gay? Yes, say some American black Episcopalians. No, say a number of African Anglican evangelicals. The new black Bishop of Maryland, Eugene T. Sutton, and the first black Episcopal bishop in that diocese, said at Lambeth, "the historical anomaly of dioceses that have nothing to do with the black community going all the way to Africa to make these relationships."

Sutton and other black bishops at Lambeth said the use of Scripture to reject homosexuality in the Anglican Communion evokes previous eras' biblically based arguments in support of slavery and racism.

Not true.

"This is just another revisionist attempt to use anything to undermine the orthodox position of the church and spread the agenda of inclusiveness," said the Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith, the conservative bishop of Springfield, Ill.

Although the eight black Episcopal bishops at the meeting favor gay rights in their church, most Africans from the Anglican Communion disagree. In the Indaba discussion groups that formed the backbone of the conference, some black Episcopal bishops said they have framed their support for gay rights within the context of a long struggle to include blacks and women in the church and in society at large.

"As a person who knows what it means to be oppressed, I refuse to allow my brothers and sisters in the faith to be discriminated against," said Suffragan Bishop Gayle E. Harris of Massachusetts.

But Bishop Sitembela Mzamane of South Africa, who says he is also "the victim of oppression," said it's "very inappropriate to equate the struggle of blacks in Africa or in the diaspora" with those of gays. "They are not victims of human rights at all," Mzamane said.

Bishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi also disavowed comparisons between abolition and gay rights. "You cannot compare slavery with homosexuality. Slavery is a sin. Homosexuality is not about rights, it's about how God created you," he said.

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The Anglican Communion Legal Advisors Network has created a book called "Principles of Canon Law Common to the Anglican Communion." The book was given to the Bishops attending the Lambeth Conference about midway through the conference and outlines principles of canon law that all the provinces of the Anglican Communion share. The Anglican Communion Legal Advisors Network was established by resolution of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Hong Kong in September 2002.

The book is outlined into eight sections: Church Order, the Anglican Communion, Ecclesiastical Government, Ministry, Doctrine and Liturgy, Ecclesiastical Rites, Church Property and Ecumenical Relations. Canon Rees said that the principles described in the book are meant to be descriptive not proscriptive.

ENS reports: "Saying it is not intended as a covenant or a code of law, Canon John Rees, the legal adviser for the Anglican Communion, told media that a newly released draft document is intended to assist lawyers around the world and "to inform, not to oblige," especially in provinces that have limited legal provisions.

"The Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion" has been presented to the bishops at the 2008 Lambeth Conference and their feedback will inform the development of a second draft of the document. Rees told the media that the principles, which were deduced by looking at a range of legal provisions in a variety of churches around the Anglican Communion, are "descriptive, not prescriptive."

This is not new. In 1998 at Lambeth, there was an attempt to compose a universal set of canon law on the communion, but this was nixed by the Episcopal Church which didn't want anyone telling it what to do, say or think. A universal set of canons would also make it possible for the TEC to be disciplined by the wider communion for its apostate positions, which they would never allow under any circumstances.

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The DIOCESE OF LONG ISLAND is ready to end the tyrannical reign of Bishop Orris Walker and elect a new bishop coadjutor. They are looking for nominations. Walker is sick. He would not answer a New York Times reporter's question as to whether or not he has AIDS, but many suspects he has. He is 65. (Bishops can rule till they are 72). During his time, he has managed to get rid of nearly all the Anglo-Catholic priests in his diocese. He hates the Book of Common Prayer. The few remaining evangelicals have all but gone. He dares not touch the Caribbean Anglo-Catholics for fear of being called racist. His end will bring great rejoicing in that diocese which has seen such scandals as The Boys from Brazil, and a PENTHOUSE photo report of one of his priests having homoerotic sex on a church altar.

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EPISCOPALIANS FOR TRADTIONAL FAITH (ETF) wants you to have a copy of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the true Prayer Book for worship in common among all Episcopalians. You can obtain it by downloading it here. 1928 BCP pdf file.pdf - Adobe Reader or by going to their website. www.etf1928.org. g Episcopalians for Traditional Faith (ETF) is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the 1928 Book of Common Prayer within the Episcopal Church.

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The Guardian newspaper (Aug. 4) quotes Susan Russell, the president of the homoerotic Episcopal organization INTEGRITY, regarding the remarks of the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Lambeth Convention in England. "The archbishop, Rowan Williams, has stutteringly given in to the conservatives in the Anglican communion who wish to punish the more liberal churches which are pro-gay. Williams has called another meeting of all the bishops, and is making noises about punishing those who elect gay bishops and bless same-sex unions. Russell angrily referred to this as an "11th-hour sucker punch." All so very Christian.

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The British Ministry of Justice has granted a licence allowing undertakers to move the remains of CARDINAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN from a grave in Rednal, Worcestershire, to a new and special resting place at nearby Birmingham Oratory. Born in 1801, Newman was an Anglican priest who initially sought to bring the Church of England back to what he saw as its Catholic roots. However, in 1845, after a period of self-questioning and doubt, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican requested the transfer so that pilgrims can venerate his tomb in advance of Newman's expected beatification in 2009. Beatification confers the title of "blessed", and often, but not always, leads to sainthood.

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What about other religions? Well what about them? If you are concerned that pluralism might be eating away at the unique foundations of the Christian Faith, then you will want to buy the Baker Pocket Guide to WORLD RELIGIONS, written by a scholar Gerald R. McDermott, a Roanoke, VA based Lutheran theologian. The book is simply written, but is by no means simplistic. It is written for ordinary people who are wrestling with pluralism that wants you to believe that all religions are equal. (It doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you are sincere). The Episcopal Church is certainly heading down the rocky road of pluralism. While the book is not comprehensive and does not cover every religion, it does cover the major religions in an irenic way and it does give you a basic overview of the most important and visible religions, the ones you are most likely to encounter in your neighborhood. This book is must reading for everyone over 20 wrestling with their own faith. You will come away more confirmed in the Christian Faith, but sympathetic and more understanding of other religions and how they impact you and your neighborhood. www.Bakerbooks.com

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The Moyer vs Bennison trial is set for October 20 in the civil court in Norristown, PA.

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During Lambeth, more than 209,000 unique visitors came to VOL's website and read more than 767,000 pages of copy. They came from 170 countries around the world. VOL continues to grow exponentially, so much so that we will be expanding our services to reach an even wider audience in the days ahead. VOL remains the most widely read orthodox Anglican Online News Service in the Anglican Communion. If you would like to add a friend to receive our weekly digest of stories please don't hesitate to drop a line to david@virtueonline.org and we will add you. The digest comes at no charge in your e-mail.

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In His service,

David W. Virtue DD