Many of the faithful are now unfaithful: they do not come to the liturgy at all. To use the words of St John Paul II: many Christians are living in a state of "silent apostasy;" they "live as if God does not exist". Where is the unity the Council hoped to achieve? We have not yet reached it. Have we made real progress in calling the whole of mankind into the household of the Church? I do not think so. And yet we have done very much to the liturgy! --- Cardinal Robert Sarah

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
July 8, 2016

THE polls are in and the news is bad for the Church in America. Christianity is on the decline, Americans have given up on God, and the "Nones"--those who have no religious ties--are on the rise. It is indeed true that parts of the Christian Church in America are struggling, while a growing number of Americans are far from God, says Ed Stetzer, a renowned church missiologist.

"As head of a research firm that studies the church and culture, I often tell pastors and other Christian leaders that "facts are our friends." Surveys and other polls are a bit like running a series of tests during an annual physical. The scale, stethoscope, and blood tests don't lie. There is no positive spin on your increased weight, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Research data gives us a realistic picture of our health--rather than the overly optimistic view we'd prefer.

"So what do the numbers tell us about the Church in America?

"Overall, the Church's influence on Americans is beginning to fade. A growing number of Americans have given up on God--or at least on organized religion. They have become "Nones," a term popularized by Pew Research. And their numbers are growing.

"Pew's 2007 Religious Landscape study, which surveyed 35,000 respondents, found that about 16% of Americans claimed no religious affiliation. By 2015, that number had grown to 23%, almost one in four Americans.

"Gallup, another well-respected national firm, gives a wider view of the rise of the Nones. In 1967, Gallup found that about 2% of Americans--or 1 out of every 50--claimed no religious preference. By 2014, that number had grown to 16%, or about 1 in 7.

"Pew has also tracked the decline in the percentage of Americans who claim to be Christians. In 2007, Pew found that about 8 in 10 Americans identified as Christians. That number dropped to 7 in 10 in 2014--a statistically significant change in a relatively short time. Pew also found that less than half of Americans (46.5%) now identify as Protestants for the first time in American history.

"Pew's findings have led some to forecast the complete collapse of Christianity in the United States. The data, however, implies a more complex reality. Frankly, there is no credible research showing that Christianity is dying in America despite the flashy headlines we often see.

"Instead, American religion is simultaneously growing and in decline. Fewer people claim to be Christians, but churchgoers--those who regularly attend services--are holding steady in some segments, and thriving in others."

I think it would be fair to say that church plants and new denominational churches like the Anglican Church in North America, though numerically small, have the kind of "thriving" that Stetzer is talking about. When my own Bishop, Julian Dobbs, says that in just a few short years CANA/ACNA now has 35 parishes with two bishops, and that his Nigerian Archbishop, Nicholas Okoh, will come to the US and preach in a growing New York City parish, then you know that all is not lost, even if, a few blocks away, Episcopal parishes with all their vaunted wealth are slowly, but surely dying.

*****

An Episcopal Church's largest congregation in Washington DC is host to 300 Muslims who meet for Friday prayers. The Church of the Epiphany has been welcoming Muslims into their sanctuary for Friday prayers for eight years, and the men who meet there now outnumber the church's congregation.

The Rev. Elizabeth Gardner of the Church of the Epiphany said the congregation felt called to open the church to the Muslim community because they were in need of a place to worship.

"It's our job to be the hands and feet of peace in the world, and how do we do that is by loving one another," she told CBS News in an interview posted on Thursday. You can read the full story in today's digest.

*****

The Church of England is engaged in a desperate program to reconcile factions so opposed, that one side often does not recognize the other as real Christians.

Shared Conversations are a series of facilitated, private talks at all levels of the Church to allow the different views to be heard. The discussions feature a mixture of small group sessions and larger group exercises. It is hoped that through this process of listening, the Church will be available to avoid another painful split that has dogged Protestant Christianity's turbulent history.

The Church's governing general synod will meet between 8-10 July and. for three days afterwards, will take part in these secret talks. This comes after two years where each local region of the CofE has held local versions so all members have the opportunity to discuss their views.

Christian Today has revealed the conclusion of the plans could be a form of "pastoral accommodation" such as an authorized service of welcome for LGBT couples.

LGBT activist Jayne Ozanne recently edited the book 'Journeys in Grace and Truth' where two evangelical bishops announced they had changed their view of gay relationships.

But long before any decision has been reached, even the manner of the approach has caused arguments. One said the conversations "confirmed all my worst fears" and the "entire process is biased" against evangelicals. Another said it was immensely helpful and said the sharing of stories in the conversations allowed people to "become fully human with each other".

Andrew Symes is the executive secretary of Anglican Mainstream, an evangelical group that is opposed to same-sex marriage within the Church. Jayne Ozanne is a leading member of the Church's general synod and an LGBT activist. She described her regional talks as a "very personal" experience where "bridges of trust and understanding" were built.

"Inevitably when one understands another Christian we all start to revaluate our own thoughts and to refine each other," she told Christian Today.

But Symes is not so sure. "The positions are entrenched," he told Christian Today.

The pair both attended the same local talks in the diocese of Oxford, but their different reflections highlight the polarities in the CofE. They both discussed their mutual experience separately with Christian Today. Symes said: "What I wanted to do is step back and observe what I was expected to do or say. Am I really expected to say, 'I used to think this but actually this person is such a nice person I am actually going to change my views on it'? If that is what I am expected to do then I am afraid the thing has not worked."

Symes and Ozanne framed the debate differently. For Ozanne, the Church's struggle over gay marriage is focused on the understanding of "desire and love". She said the debate had been "hijacked" because some people have hang ups about sex.

"Some guys are really focused on sex and don't see the bigger picture which is about love and intimacy and the desire to have a unique relationship. It is the desire to have someone I can love and cherish whom God has chosen for me and is natural to me."

For Symes, the debate is really about the authority of scripture and how the church engages with culture.

"For centuries the Church has been at the heart of the nation. While there has always been a gap between confessing Christianity and cultural Christianity, a lot of the values from Christianity have embedded themselves in the nation and in the culture.

"What has happened recently is there has been a disconnect." He said the Church was at a crossroads in how it related to the culture around it.

You can read a number of stories about this issue which begins in the Church of England Synod tomorrow.

*****

The question has been raised by many and it is this; Is there a biblical view of BREXIT and the European Union?

The answer of course is that the Bible says nothing specific about Brexit or the EU any more than you can make statements about when you think the Lord will return because you happen to feel that we are living in the last of the Last Days and things look pretty grim globally.

Dispensationalists tried to fit God in to some predetermined time frame for Christ's return and got mud on their faces when nothing happened and the days slipped by with no sign of His appearing.

The Bible does speak about a range of issues, including a number of prophecies relating to the nations in general and God's general judgment on those nations that treat their populations without justice and equity.

For almost a thousand years, Europe was the center of Christendom. They promoted Christian virtues in law and society. Only a few still profess to do so. It was united around the language of its former colonial power, Latin. The European Economic Community was established by the Treaty of Rome, 1957, and so, some at the time attempted to identify the EU as the revived Roman Empire and thus relate it to the Biblical prophecies about Rome. Nevertheless, this appears a bit of a stretch of the imagination - especially since the EU has had little since then to do with Rome and included many countries outside the Roman Empire, while excluding many that were part of the Roman Empire.

To look at issues through a biblical lens we have to embrace two principles apparently in tension, writes Philip Rosenthal, a South African Anglican Christian:

The first principle is that God has given us a set of commands and we can judge human government by those commands. For example, we can judge laws relating to abortion, euthanasia, sexual immorality, economics and religious freedom. Any wise political union must include checks and balances to restrain the inherent sinfulness of human nature (Genesis 3) and tendency to rebel against those commands.

The second principle is that God has made certain promises in the Bible which include centrally: the gospel being preached to every ethnic group on earth and some of those of each tribe believing; the restoration of the nation of Israel to the land of Israel between the Euphrates and Wadi of Egypt (Genesis 12) -- and, finally, the spiritual restoration of Israel (Romans 12). To do that, he has promised to 'shake all nations' (Haggai 2), which includes ruthlessly disrupting human authority structures in multiple ways to achieve his purposes. This includes wars, political ethnic conflicts, false prophets, earthquakes and persecutions (Matthew 24). Before the return of Christ, we can expect the rise of multiple evil authorities climaxing in the anti-Christ (2 Thessalonians). All of the latter is bad news in human terms, but it is good news from an eternal perspective.

This leaves us with the tension that we need to live one way in obedience to God, but we know from the Bible that most will not do so - and so there is going to be conflict and God will use that for good. In viewing world events we must not confuse these two realities, but pray that God's will be done.

Contrary to most peoples' interpretation, the prosperity and peace of Britain, Europe and America is not central to the Bible's set of priorities. Geographically, Israel is at the center of Bible prophecy and economic peace and prosperity is a side effect (blessing) of obedience to God rather than a
primary object.

*****

Here's a chilling report. The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia (a Sewanee diocese) is promoting analfecaleroticism to all parishes in the guise of "teen issues"! Why does the Bishop of Georgia, the Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase, want homosexual men and women thinking about teens? Will parents of heteronormative teens be invited to give impact statements? Will there be a subtle or not so subtle attempt at persuading vulnerable teens into thinking they might have same-sex attractions and therefore be open to manipulation by older homosexual men ready to exploit them?

Here's the news blip: "National Integrity President Bruce Garner will facilitate Integrity Georgia's Fall Retreat. During the retreat, participants will explore our visibility as LGBTQ people and how that impacts our personal spirituality, those around us, and ultimately our church and communities. Transgender and teen issues will be discussed in a concurrent session."

QUESTION: When heteronormal teens are molested at TEC, is it a hate crime for the parents to call the police? Will the bishop form a task force to absolve the molesters of sex crimes because gays were only "holy men sharing unique gifts of love with teens in nontraditional ways"?

*****

The Archbishop of Canterbury applauded Kenya's role in promoting peace and stability in the region during a visit to that country to participate in the enthronement of the Most Rev. Jackson Nasoore Ole Sapit, the 4th new Archbishop of All Saints Cathedral and the 6th archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya. He is taking over from Eliud Wabukala.

The President met the Archbishop of Canterbury on the margins of the enthronement service of the new Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop. President Kenyatta said Kenyans are hardworking people committed to developing their country.

*****

Archaeologists recently dug up a Christian grave marker that pinpoints the site of the first Lindisfarne monastery. A crowd-funded archaeology dig uncovered evidence of the lost medieval monastery where the Lindisfarne Gospels were written.

The exact location of the Anglo-Saxon monastery on Lindisfarne has remained a mystery ever since it was destroyed by the Vikings, according to DigVentures, who raised £25,000 ($32,200) through crowdfunding to finance the dig.

A rare grave marker dug up in "Trench 2" in "Sanctuary Close" of the dig has turned up an Anglo-Saxon burial marker, commonly known as a name stone and dating from the mid seventh to eighth century, the period of Lindisfarne's first monastery.

The first monastery on Lindisfarne, a tidal island off the north-east coast of England, was ransacked by the Vikings just a century after it was founded by King Oswald in 635 CE. It was rebuilt, but the original site has never been uncovered.

*****

The Church of England's spiritual leader, Archbishop Justin Welby, is to house a family of Syrian refugees in a cottage at his official London residence, Lambeth Palace, from next month, according to a local councilor.

The archbishop pledged last September to personally take in refugees from Syria, with the gesture following a similar move by the Pope.

More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria's five-year war, with half of the population forced from their homes, leaving 6.6 million displaced inside the country and another 4.8 million fleeing, many seeking refuge in Europe.

Lambeth Council's deputy leader, Paul McGlone, said the family is due to arrive at Lambeth Palace on the banks of the River Thames next month.

A spokesman for Lambeth Palace declined to confirm details of the family's move, but said they were "working with Lambeth Council and the Home Office towards a family moving in soon".

The welcoming of a refugee family onto the Archbishop's estate comes 11 months after Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to offer asylum to 20,000 Syrians, a figure openly criticized by Welby.

*****

The Archbishop of Canterbury has wished Muslims "Eid Mubarak" as the Islamic fast in Ramadan comes to an end and the celebrations begin.

Justin Welby said his prayer for Muslims was that they were "filled afresh with being able to share with and support one another". The greeting means "a blessed Eid" or "happy Eid" and is used to mark the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations at the end of the fast.

In a video statement, Welby spoke of the "great confusion" and "uncertain times" in the UK, and assured Muslims they were "very much part of our community".

*****

A Royal Commission released details about a hearing intochild sexual abuse in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, Australia.

The hearing, starting on August 2, will look at the past and present systems, policies and practices within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle for responding to allegations of child sexual abuse.

In particular, it will look at the response by the diocese to allegations made against a number of clergy and lay people, including Graeme Lawrence, Gregory Goyette, Andrew Duncan, Bruce Hoare, Graeme Sturt, Peter Rushton, Ian Barrack, James Michael Brown and another Anglican priest.

In 2012, then Bishop Brian Farran defrocked the former Dean of Newcastle, Graeme Lawrence, along with Reverends Bruce Hoare and Andrew Duncan over what he described as "disturbing" allegations of abuse that allegedly occurred in the 70s and 80s. He also banned Reverend Graeme Sturt from the Ministry for five years.

*****

Three Anglican Church of Kenya priests accused of being homosexuals want the High Court to establish if Mount Kenya West Diocese Bishop, Joseph Kagunda, caused them to suffer loss of their dignity and integrity.

Through their lawyers, Archdeacon John Njogu Gachau, the Rev. James Maina Maigua and the Rev. Paul Mwangi Warui want the court to find that Bishop Kagunda made false, slanderous and defamatory statements against them.

The three have sued Bishop Kagunda and the registered trustees of the ACK for defamation.

"Whether the quoted statements used are a vehicle for character assassination and destruction without decency, fairness, without any regard to the plaintiff's rights," said lawyer Moraa Onsare.

Archdeacon Gachau, who served as the head of the diocese and ministered at St Andrew's Kangogo Parish, said his dismissal letter, as read to the congregation at a Sunday service, was understood to mean that he was not worthy of the good reputation he possessed.

He said the letter portrayed him as a morally corrupt man who was not fit to hold any office.

*****

The Rev. Ellen Bruce, of Old Crow, Yukon, a widely respected spiritual leader among the Gwich'in people of northwest Canada and Alaska, will be recognized--along with other Indigenous trailblazers in the church--at a display booth at General Synod.

The Yukon woman, who died in 2010, has been confirmed as the first Indigenous woman to have been ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. She was ordained a deacon in 1985 and a priest in 1987, when she was in her late 70s. She had already served as a spiritual leader at St. Luke's Anglican Church in Old Crow, Yukon, where she made her home, for several decades. In 1990, she was named a Member of the Order of Canada; according to the Order of Canada website, Bruce was "the North's first native woman to be ordained an Anglican minister."

*****

Writing on Canadian issues, David of Samizdat says that General Synod 2016 has begun, and a vote to change the marriage canon is scheduled for Monday. In the unlikely event it passes, the few remaining conservatives will have yet more incentive to leave. If it fails to pass, many dioceses are determined to proceed with same-sex marriages without the approval of synod. For the national church this would be ideal, since it accomplishes what their leaders want, while allowing them to protest that no official approval has been granted. Either result signals further division, resulting in more people leaving and less revenue for clergy salaries; a tragedy of biblical proportions. That which the bishops fear most is about to come upon them...losing their stipend.

*****

The Rev. Jules Gomes, who had a run in with his former Church of England Bishop on the Isle of Man and then left the CofE to form his own new parish -- St. Augustine -- under another Anglican jurisdiction, still finds himself legally entangled with the diocese, even though he is no longer in the CofE. Citing 'bullying and harassment' and subsequent ill health, Canon Gomes resigned his post as vicar of Arbory and Castletown and Canon Theologian. Separately, Dr. Gomes' wife launched a Clergy Discipline Measure against the Bishop, specifying sustained bullying and harassment of her husband. The Archbishop of York has allowed this CDM against the Bishop to proceed.

You can watch an interview Dr. Gomes gave to a local television station here: http://www.manx.net/tv/mt-tv/watch/79878/pastor-jules-gomes-update

*****

Donald Trump is fodder for much criticism and adulation these days. VOL's concern about him is not his political positions, but his use and misuse of the Bible and his endorsement by a number of evangelicals that we find troubling. Very troubling. One article that appeared in the New York Times titled The Theology of Donald Trump by Peter Wehner is one of the best we have seen to date. Now, lest you think that Mr. Wehner is some left wing op-ed writer, you would be wrong. He is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC. He also served in the last three Republican administrations. For the record, there are a number of conservative writers on the Grey Lady. David Brooks, a former secular Jew, is now a Christian I am told and appears as a Republican counterpoint on PBS-TV to Mark Shields, a Democrat. Furthermore, Ross Douthat, an op-ed writer, is a solid conservative Roman Catholic writer whom I know personally and he is VERY sympathetic to evangelical Anglicans.

*****

After months of deliberation and discussion, the ETF Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting in May approved a change in name from Episcopalians for Traditional Faith (ETF) to 1928 Prayer Book Alliance. The name re-emphasizes its purpose: to maintain and increase use of the classic 1928 Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

The word "Alliance" defines its intention to work with other traditionalist Anglican churches, organizations, and individuals who share our ideals. Our purpose, centered on the scripture-based 1928 BCP, remains as it has been since ETF's founding in 2002.

Some Episcopalians stay in a church they believe has become antithetical to scripture. They remain in their disintegrating home parishes, clinging to the wreckage, bearing witness to the faith that surely will survive despite all efforts to abolish it. Those fortunate enough to live within driving distance of a 1928 Episcopal parish, choose to worship there, practicing religion based on the Word of God.

Others have left The Episcopal Church as a matter of conscience, and now attend Anglican churches that worship with the 1928 BCP, as all Episcopal parishes once did. Millions have left the church they say "left us," to join an Anglican continuing church, the Roman Catholic Church, or another denomination. Still others have become unchurched, a terribly sad state that goes against everything Christ demanded of his followers - to spread the gospel throughout all nations.

It is their goal to make the 1928 BCP available to all who wish to worship as they believe, in the beauty of holiness.

*****

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