It was a week of litigation across the country in The Episcopal Church.

In a civil court in Norristown, just outside Philadelphia, Charles E. Bennison, the disgraced and deposed Bishop of Pennsylvania, faced four days on charges he committed fraud and deceit in denying Fr. David L. Moyer a trial for allegations that he abandoned the communion of the church.

They were tense days. Your intrepid reporter sat through long and sometimes convoluted arguments as both sides sought the legal high ground. After final summations the jury retired to consider its verdict. By mid-afternoon the verdict came down. The jury tossed out the major charge of fraud, thus nullifying the other four charges. It was over. You can read the four days of testimony in today's digest.

In EL PASO, Texas, another parish has made its way out of the Episcopal Church taking 150 families with them. The evangelical Episcopal Church of St. Francis on the Hill voted unanimously to leave TEC. Their attorney, Richard Munsinger, immediately filed a motion for summary judgment in the District Court of El Paso seeking a decision on title to the property, situated in Northwest El Paso.

The Rev. Dr. Felix Orji, the Nigerian-born rector of the parish, told VOL that his vestry voted overwhelmingly to take the parish out of The Episcopal Church having waited two years for The Episcopal Church to repent and for the Diocese of the Rio Grande to leave TEC. "They have refused to repent of their heterodoxy, and to repent of their homosexual positions," he told VOL.

In SAN DIEGO it was a win for The Episcopal Church. The Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of TEC in its struggle with a San Diego County congregation seeking to leave the church over theological differences and affiliate with an Anglican church in Africa.

Holding that disaffected members of St. John's Parish in Fallbrook lost their ability to amend the parish corporation's bylaws and articles of incorporation to reflect their new affiliation when they resigned, the judge ruled in favor of a group of parishioners who sought a declaration saying they are the corporation's true directors.

The St. John's clergy, members of its governing board and a majority group of its members resigned their membership in the Episcopal Church in 2006 over long-term doctrinal differences. Rev. Donald Kroeger explained at the time that "[i]t appeared that the Episcopal Church was not going to return to its biblical roots and was moving further and further away from mainstream Anglican faith and biblical teaching."

In the DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA, lawyers for the Episcopal Diocese and nine conservative churches that broke away two years ago, tangled in Fairfax Circuit Court over who owns Falls Church, a historic Northern Virginia parish once attended by George Washington.

In Alexandria, members of historic Christ Church voted overwhelmingly that, should it be proved their parish owns part of the Falls Church land, they wish to deed it to Virginia Episcopal Bishop Peter J. Lee. The court hearing - and the church vote - is part of a multi-trial lawsuit that has lasted a year and is thought to be the largest property lawsuit in Episcopal Church history. When conservatives left the denomination in late 2006 and early 2007, they took millions of dollars of property with them, including property dating back to Colonial times.

Circuit Judge Randy I. Bellows has ruled against the diocese several times, saying the conservatives have a right to the property, thanks to a unique Virginia state "division" statute dating back to the Civil War. The diocese, in turn, has reached back to Colonial times to help establish a claim to the land.

In Albany, N.Y, a court sided with the DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER in a property dispute stemming from the national Episcopal rift over the ordination of a gay bishop. New York's top court ruled this week that the diocese can keep the building once occupied by the breakaway All Saints Anglican Church. Trial and midlevel appeals courts sided with the diocese, concluding it was entitled to the property under the rules of the church. The Court of Appeals agreed unanimously, saying All Saints had agreed years earlier to abide by a trust agreement covering ownership of the property. With about 100 similar cases in courts around the country, diocese attorney Thomas Smith has said this appeared to be the first to reach a state's top court.

And so it went. Church budgets are drying up, and dioceses are cutting back on staff. The budget of the National Church is being cut and still the lawsuits keep flying. What is truly sad in all this is the disrepute into which the gospel has fallen. Across America, people are hurting, jobs are being lost, homes are being foreclosed, and the liberal Jesus of mainline Protestantism is incapable of holding people up in their hour of need. But the leaders go on suing and suing.

The "Jesus" of a Spong, a Bennison, or a Jefferts Schori has no eye to pity and no arm to save. Jesus has been denuded of his transcendent power. Is it any wonder that over a 1,000 Episcopalians a week are leaving, fed up with the version of a Jesus who cannot save or touch the deepest needs we all have?

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While The Episcopal Church slowly comes apart, the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY and the deposed bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bob Duncan, met privately in Lambeth Palace this week. The Palace press office confirmed that the meeting took place on October 15, but would not disclose details of the conversation between Williams and Duncan, saying it was "one of many private meetings" the archbishop hosts at his London residence. Addressing the media on October 17 at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London, Duncan said that the "institutions of the Anglican Communion are in a season of real re-evaluation," adding that he thinks the Archbishop of Canterbury "has not found it possible, in terms of what he believes the limitation of his office are, to have done the things that actually would have secured the role of his office over the long haul of the 21st century. This is not an office which, in terms of the life of the Anglican Communion for the future, is going to look anything like it did for the previous century."

Duncan was charged with "abandonment of communion" for his actions in openly planning to remove his diocese from the Episcopal Church in order to align with the South America-based Province of the Southern Cone, which is led by Archbishop Gregory Venables. Fuller accounts of what took place at this church and a question and answers press conference are posted in today's digest.

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While TEC roils in pain and confusion, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said that if a proposed ANGLICAN COVENANT is released in mid-May for adoption by the Anglican Communion's provinces, she will "strongly discourage" any effort to bring that proposal to the General Convention in July. She made her remarks at a plenary session Oct. 21 during Executive Council's four-day meeting in Helena, Mont. Anglican Communion provinces have until the end of March 2009 to respond to the St. Andrew's Draft of the proposed covenant. The Covenant Design Group meets in April, and the Anglican Consultative Council is expected to review the most current draft at its meeting in May.

"My sense is that the time is far too short before our General Convention for us to have a thorough discussion of it as a church, and I'm therefore going to strongly discourage any move to bring it to General Convention," Bishop Jefferts Schori told the Executive Council. "I just think it's inappropriate to make a decision that weighty" with two months to review the document. Executive Council will be asked during its next meeting, which begins Jan. 30 in Stockton, Calif., to respond officially to the St. Andrew's Draft. The covenant drafters have asked provinces to say if they believe in principle that they can commit to the covenant, what provincial process is required for that commitment, and what changes to the St. Andrew's Draft would give them the greatest chance of being able to make the commitment.

Earlier this month, the Rev. Canon Gregory Cameron, deputy secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council, told delegates to the Diocese of Western Louisiana that individual dioceses would be given the opportunity to commit to the covenant if their province fails to do so.

So what does all this mean? It's very simple. TEC does not want any Covenant that would restrict their right to do exactly as they please. A Covenant that would tie it to a universal standard of behavior is a non starter. There is no way that a Covenant signed by the Archbishop of the Southern Cone could possibly please Mrs. Jefferts Schori. It will never happen. Dean Robert Munday of Nashotah House agrees. "Not bloody likely," he wrote in a piece at his blog this week. A covenant that Archbishop Akinola would agree to would never be acceptable to Archbishop Fred Hiltz of Canada. This whole thing is a study in futility.

Parishes will go on leaving TEC. AMiA, CANA, Uganda and Kenya will go on snapping up parishes as they head out the door. Liberalism, and its step-daughter revisionism have no future among orthodox Primates of the Global South. A church that allies itself to the world system of the age will soon be an orphan. The Episcopal Church is proving that truth with each passing day.

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In PITTSBURG this week, the national church has flown in Virginia Bishop Suffragan David Jones to serve as a "consulting bishop" for stayers in that diocese who did not move on to the Province of the Southern Cone with Bishop Robert Duncan. As a consultant, Jones will provide practical advice to the new Standing Committee "on the details of diocesan administration, clergy deployment, and support for congregations remaining in the Episcopal Church," according to an October 23 diocesan news release. This is an interesting choice. Jones is not a raving liberal and so to pick a moderate for many conservatives who still remain was a shrewd move on Mrs. Jefferts Schori's part.

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In Peoria, in the DIOCESE OF QUINCY an historic vote will be taken as to whether that diocese will remain in The Episcopal Church. All the indications are that they will vote to join the Province of the Southern Cone and Archbishop Gregory Venables, now the fastest growing province in the world.

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The Rt. Rev. Pierre Whelan who heads the "CONVOCATION OF AMERICAN CHURCHES IN EUROPE" (an overseas diocese of TEC) announced this week that his group of churches would now become known as "The Episcopal Church in Europe" which might signal that The Episcopal Church is planning its own communion. TEC ran up 16 flags (in place of the cross) at the last General Convention, indicating that they had 16 dioceses ready to rock 'n roll with them in the eventuality they might get tossed out of the Anglican Communion. They have, as you know, been excommunicating bishops who go to other provinces in the Anglican Communion as being "out of communion" such as John-David Schofield and Bob Duncan. Perhaps TEC is planning a coup d'etat if the Archbishop of the new North American Anglican province, the Most Rev. Robert Duncan shows up at the Primates meeting next year in London and is greeted with bear hugs from Ugandan Primate Henry Orombi and Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola.

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Prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins is supporting a bus campaign in Britain which tells passengers: 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life'. The atheist posters were the idea of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and have been supported by prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins. The BHA planned only to raise £5,500, which was to be matched by Professor Dawkins, but it has now raised more than £20,300 of its own accord. It aims to have two sets of 30 bendy-buses carrying the signs for four weeks in London. The Rev. Dr. Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream has written a piece saying that society will be in deep trouble if it tries to exclude God. You can read his fine piece in today's digest.

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In the PROVINCE OF RWANDA, VOL journalist Grace Mugabe reports that the Rwandan House of Bishops elected two new bishops this week. The ANGLICAN CHURCH OF RWANDA unanimously elected Rev. Nathan Gasatura and Augustin Ahimana as new bishops. The election took place in Byumba diocese in the northern part of Rwanda and was chaired by Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, the leader of the Province of the Anglican church of Rwanda. The Archbishop stated that the Anglican Church of Rwanda is set to plant more churches throughout the country. "We are determined to serve our good lord," he said.

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Clergy should not have to wear robes during services because such rules are "absurd in the 21st century", according to a leading theologian of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Garments such as the cassock and surplice are a form of "power dressing" which reinforce class divisions and prevent the wearer from getting the Lord's message across, said the Rev Andrew Atherstone. In a report titled "Clergy Robes and Mission Priorities", he called on the Church of England to allow ministers and parishioners to decide what dress code was appropriate. "The existing law, which makes robes obligatory for all, belongs to a bygone world. In the 21st century Anglican ministers must at last be given the freedom to decide their own clothing, in consultation with their congregations, based on their local setting," said Atherstone, a tutor at Wycliffe Hall. "Robes can be a barrier to mission, a hindrance rather than a help."

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Several active clergy and lay members of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND have made a stand with those parishes in Vancouver that are part of the Anglican Network in Canada, (ANiC) affirming that they are authentically Anglican. They are asking those who agree that this is true to sign a petition. The ANiC grew out of the Anglican Church in Canada, largely (though not exclusively) because of the latter's shift in its attitude towards same-sex relationships, away from that of previously-accepted biblical orthodoxy. Difficulties in the Diocese of New Westminster resulted in a number of Vancouver churches aligning themselves with the ANiC.

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A CONFERENCE FOR THE LAITY. The Anglican Laity Fellowship and The American Anglican Council of Washington, D.C. are meeting to discuss A New Anglican Province in North America: What is God calling us to do? What happened at GAFCON and Lambeth? What has happened since and what may happen in the next few months? Speakers will include David Bickel, ALF, President AAC-W, Mary McReynolds, and a number of others. If you are interested in attending this conference on October 25, 2008, call 301-447-3361.

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The CHURCH PENSION FUND is secure, says its president T. Dennis Sullivan. Assets in reserve exceed money needed to pay pension, medical, and life insurance benefits, he said recently. Despite the past six weeks of world financial turmoil that has led to what some observers are calling "wealth destruction," the president of the Episcopal Church's Church Pension Group said that active and retired participants need not worry about their benefits. On a day when the Dow Jones Industrial Average swung nearly 800 points, T. Dennis Sullivan acknowledged that "we're not immune to what is going on in the market," but emphasized that "benefits are fully secure." Sullivan's sentiments echoed an October 2 letter he sent to clergy receiving benefits from the Church Pension Fund, which is part of the pension group that also includes the church publishing company and insurance products.

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The Standing Committee of the EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF SAN JOAQUIN determined this week that 16 deacons and 36 priests, who opted to realign with the Southern Cone, have abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church. The decision paves the way for Bishop Jerry Lamb to inhibit the 52 clergy unless they recant and return to the Episcopal Church (TEC) within six months. In issuing its ruling, the committee said the clergy violated church constitution and canons both by supporting efforts to remove the Central California Valley diocese from TEC and by repudiating the ecclesiastical authority of TEC and the continuing diocese. "It's in the bishop's hands," said Nancy Key, diocesan communications director, on Friday. Inhibition would mean the clergy would not be allowed to function as Episcopal priests or deacons, or be employed by an Episcopal congregation. Clergy who do not recant will be removed from the ministry of the Episcopal Church. "This action does not imply a moral judgment of an individual clergy person," Lamb said Friday. "It speaks only about the person's relationship to the Episcopal Church. I recognize that these people may have many wonderful gifts for ministry, and perhaps these talents could be used in another Christian denomination." Under TEC canons, individuals, but not parishes or dioceses, may voluntarily leave the church without the express consent of church governing bodies.

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ANGLICAN MAINSTREAM has come out endorsing and supporting the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration. They issued this statement following their October Steering Committee meeting:

"We have received the reports of GAFCON (The Global Anglican Future Conference - Jerusalem June 2008). In the light of these reports and as an expression of our continuing commitment to the Anglican Communion, we endorse and support the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration."

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In Jacksonville, Florida, members of CHRIST CHURCH ANGLICAN gathered to burn at least 100 reels of X-rated movies from the '70s- and '80s that were discovered recently when the church bought on old drive-in theater. The 300-member congregation held a special service Sunday afternoon, which included a ceremonial burning and a 'holy hose-down' with water from a Jacksonville Fire and Rescue truck blessed by the priest. Christ Church purchased the 13-acre drive-in for $1.4 million after the 60-year-old theater closed in May. The church closed on the deal a few weeks ago and discovered the porn stash when they began cleaning up. The Rev. Mark Eldredge says the church plans to show family movies to the public after some repairs are done.

As one VOL wag noted, had it been a liberal Episcopal church, they could've saved the films for "community outreach" or "family night".

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The Rt. Rev. Herbert A. Donovan, Jr., who currently serves as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of New York, has been named as deputy to the Presiding Bishop for Anglican Communion Relations. In this newly developed position, Donovan will serve as the liaison for the Episcopal Church to the other 37 provinces in the Anglican Communion, as well as to international groups, organizations and partners, according to an October 20 press release from the Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs.

Donovan, whose office will be located at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City, retired as bishop of the Diocese of Arkansas in 1993. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Donovan received a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) and a Doctor of Divinity from Berkley at Yale University, the University of the South in Sewanee, and VTS.

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IN AUSTRALIA, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of Brisbane will serve as the primate, or national leader, of the Anglican Church of Australia for another term. The board elected by last year's national church synod met in Sydney October 17 to choose the primate. (The Board of Electors includes 12 clergy and 12 lay reps elected by the national synod, plus all of the diocesan bishops.) First elected primate in 2005, Aspinall is now set to serve for at least another six years. Aspinall cited the introduction of Australia's first two women bishops as a highlight of his first term in office. He is a known liberal on gay issues. He served as the principal spokesman for the 2008 Lambeth Conference of bishops this summer in Canterbury.

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No.10 Downing Street announced today the appointment of The Rev. Dr Steven John Lindsey Croft, 51, currently Archbishops' Missioner and Leader of the Fresh Expressions team, as the next BISHOP OF SHEFFIELD. He succeeds Bishop Jack, who retired earlier this year. Dr. Croft will be consecrated as bishop by the Archbishop of York in the New Year and is expected to be enthroned in the Cathedral in the spring.

A source in England told VOL that he was warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham which has a liberal evangelical provenance: the chair of its governing body is now the Bishop of Peterborough and formerly the Bishop of Chelmsford, both evangelicals in their youth but no longer visible as such. He trained at Cranmer Hall and was vicar of a moderately evangelical church in Halifax (St George's Ovenden). He has not been a member of the key evangelical networks, but clearly is concerned and committed to evangelism. "I think we can certainly say he is not a liberal as his predecessor was - and therefore the appointment could have been far worse. The test will be whether he will give oversight in his diocese to Christ Church Central and Tim Davies who did the church planting seminars at GAFCON. In other words will he stand up to the system which has not recognized these colleagues?"

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In Helena, Montana, THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH'S EXECUTIVE COUNCIL heard this week that the church's 2009 budget will have a $2.5 million deficit. However, Treasurer Kurt Barnes told council members that the entire 2007-2009 triennial budget will be balanced, as required by the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons. There were surpluses of $1.2 million in 2007 and $2 million in 2008, Barnes said.

Projections for the 2009 budget anticipate $54.6 million in revenues compared to $57.1 million in expenses. Barnes said that, given the triennial nature of the budget and the previous surpluses, the 2009 budget "could suffer a deficit of $2.8 million" and still be balanced.

Things are worse in the ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA. Directors at the General Synod office have been asked to slash CAN$1.3 million (US$1.07 million) from the 2009 budget, a move designed to break a recurring pattern in recent years of huge budget deficits.

Incurring yearly deficits is "not a healthy direction for us to keep moving; some would say it's irresponsible," Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said in a meeting with staff at the national office in Toronto. "There are dioceses where deficit budgeting is forbidden. It doesn't look good for us to be doing it."

"Significant" deficits are once again being projected by the national church's management team for 2009 and 2010, citing a decline in diocesan giving, increased travel costs, and fallout from the current global financial crisis resulting in an expected decrease in investment income.

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ST. GABRIEL'S ANGLICAN CHURCH in Hartsdale NY is off to a good start with an average Sunday attendance of 40, under the stewardship of the Rev. Carleton Clarke. Just down the road, The Priest-in-Charge of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Rev. Joseph Campo apparently is very worried about his appearance. He warned his parishioners that anyone from St. Andrew's who visits St. Gabriel's will be dealt with. He also remarked that only an idiot would set up a store front church. Campo asked Bishop Mark Sisk from the Diocese of NY and his Canon to the Ordinary John Osgood to call Rev. Johnny Caesar, minister of the Methodist church where St. Gabriel's meets, to have him stop St. Gabriel's from using their space. Caesar replied, "That's none of your business."

Last week Campo announced at the vestry meeting that St. Andrew's will become a mission as many have left the parish and they cannot afford to pay his medical insurance and salary anymore. He announced that he has been paying his insurance out of his own pocket. Campo is a former Roman Catholic priest who left that church to get married.

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RUTH GLEDHILL of the London Times reported this week that the Rector of St Bartholomew the Great, the Rev Dr Martin Dudley, will escape any form of discipline or reprimand for the Prayer Book-style 'wedding' service he conducted for two gay priests, the Rev. Peter Cowell and the Rev David Lord. Mr. Dudley reached an agreement with the Bishop of London, the Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres, that the matter shall now be laid to rest after the errant cleric sent a 'letter of regret' in which he pledges not to do it again and admits he was wrong. It would be pushing it too far to call it an apology. Stonewall, which has him as one of its Hero of the Year nominees for its awards dinner next month, doesn't see it as a climb down, either.

This is precisely why Global South Primates are going ballistic with the Church of England. The failure to discipline "Dud the Stud" by the Bishop of London makes them both complicit. To say that a same sex blessing is only worthy of a slap on the wrist, means that Chartres simply doesn't understand the enormity of this sin and its profound effects on society and the Anglican Communion. This would NEVER be tolerated in a Global South setting. The priest would have been fired and the bishop made to step down for not doing his pastoral duty in getting rid of this priest.

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Legal Fees in the DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES have just been released and the amount is a cool $2 million so far, according to one source. One wonders how many AIDS patients that would have helped?

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Register Now for AMiA's Winter Conference 2009. This year it will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina, January 28 - 31, 2009. Sign up here: http://theamia.org/

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Don't watch this unless you feel like throwing up. This is a video of the "marriage" of former Utah Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles and Filipe Sanchez. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFL8R4Uzs44

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The new Episcopal GROWTH statistics for 2007 are now on line. You can see them here: http://www.dfms.org/growth_60791_ENG_HTM.htm?menupage=50929

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Watch this. It is Dr. J. I. Packer speaking on same sex issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEMUn4KEVe8&feature=related

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There are some excellent columns in today's digest. I urge you to read them. They are strong, weighty pieces that deserve your attention.

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PS

Top Ten Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessing upon His people.
8. There will still be room at The Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

GOD approves this message.

Isn't it great to know who is really in charge?