Morality and Holiness. Daily living. Paul's epistles refer often to the Christian's private life in the home. He tells husbands to love their wives and wives to be submissive to their husbands; children to obey their parents and parents to discipline their children; slaves to serve their masters and masters to be fair to their slaves. He tells citizens to respect authority and to pay their taxes. He has some very practical and outspoken words to say about telling lies, losing one's temper, stealing, using bad language and being cantankerous; about impurity of deed and word; about wasting time and getting drunk; about being cheerful, appreciative and humble. He urges on his Philippian friends the Christian virtues of humility and unselfishness; of joy, prayer, peace and contentment. It is a Christian duty, he tells the Thessalonians, to work for your living and not to be idle. He is quite clear that the Christian life is a life of moral purity. Above all, Christians are not to seek revenge, but to love each other, and all men, for love is the fulfilling of the law. --- From "Men with a Message" by John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
February 2, 2009

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt. The Pearl of the Mediterranean. I am writing to you from this historic city on the shores of the Mediterranean, a city that can trace its heritage to such illustrious church fathers as Athanasius and Origen. It is symbolically important that the archbishops of the Anglican Communion be here.

Through the centuries this city has struggled with the great heresies of the faith.

The heresies have been about discerning the true nature of Jesus (both human and divine) that saw a struggle between Athanasius and Arius, and the battle over homoousious. Now, 18 centuries later, it is a battle over homo without the ousios with global warming tossed in.

Assembled here at the beautiful Helnan Palestine Hotel, 35 Primates are gathered in solemn conclave weighing the future of the Anglican Communion, tip toeing around a Covenant they hope will bind them together. As things now stand it would seem to be wishful thinking. TEC won't even address the issue till 2015. The truth is no one will ever be permitted to tell TEC what to do, nor will they accept sanctions from any other province including the Church of England.

Among the 35 primates (two from India and one from Pakistan could not attend for varying reasons) are eight first time Primates. They are being thrown in at the deep end to weigh the implications of a Covenant, the Windsor Continuation Group, and such weighty issues as global warming, the financial collapse of the world markets, MDGs, the situation in Zimbabwe and so forth.

It is difficult for those whose first language is not English. How does one translate MDGs into Burmese? This, like the Lambeth Conference, is Rowan William's show. He is Primus inter pares and the intellectual tour de force behind the scenes. He is ably assisted by Australian Archbishop Philip Aspinall who daily leads the small flock of journalists into the mysteries of what goes on behind closed doors.

There is no denying Aspinall's brilliance. His liberal credentials make the small handful of conservative reporters wary and uneasy. He is a master of the English tongue so one has to listen carefully as he weaves his way through awkward questions with enormous linguistic dexterity to find his answers.

This Primatial gathering is a low-keyed event, at least so far. No raised voices I am told, but things are simmering. It has not got the steam of a Dromantine or Dar es Salaam, but the story is not yet fully told.

For first time Primates, it is heady stuff. While talking about global warming, MDGs and the world's economic system they are, paradoxically, situated in a five star hotel overlooking the Mediterranean. There is enough contradiction all around.

The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop is here alone. This in itself is a departure. Whenever Frank Griswold travelled, he always took Barbara Braver and often travelled with four in his entourage contributing to the world's environmental footprint considerably more than Jefferts Schori.

All of the Primates (men) are dressed in purple shirts and severe dark trousers. Mrs. Jefferts Schori, by contrast, bounded into the meeting room (dubbed, oddly enough dahabia, (not quite Indaba), dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and faded blue jeans. One can only imagine what Primates from the Global South must have been thinking.

Among the stories so far from this conference are that the Sudanese still believe Bishop Gene Robinson and those who consecrated him should be tossed out of the church. The primates all believe that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe should also be tossed out of office with two Anglican archbishops saying that military intervention is necessary while two archbishops are wary of that idea. The simmering issue of a Covenant got the royal treatment from "Guardian" writer Riazaz Butt who titled her story, "Covenant of the Paddington Stare." She writes, "The primates seem happy to accept a disciplinary framework in which cuddly disapproval is as bad as it gets. So the Anglican Covenant might not have teeth and it might not have sanctions. The worse that could happen for ordaining a homosexual to the episcopate, extraordinary intervention or blessing a same-sex union is not being invited to a meeting. Well, knock me down and call me Rowan."

What unites the primates, other than their commitment to eradicating world poverty, climate change and the crisis in Zimbabwe, is their wariness of the media. They will not be drawn out, but some are happy and cheery to shake hands without counting how many fingers they still have afterwards.

You can read all the stories from Alexandria in today's digest.

*****

Prior to leaving for Egypt, I was in Greensboro, North Carolina, attending the Anglican Mission in America Winter Conference. You can read my stories from that convention which saw more than 1400 in attendance and learn that this Anglican mission continues to grow by leaps and bounds. They have 143 parishes moving and growing across the U.S. with 50-60 more in the pipeline.

Unlike The Episcopal Church, which is losing market share, they are not having financial problems and are growing. The gospel seems to open check books, not close them. TEC's "gospel" is closing them across the U.S. with devastating consequences.

*****

IN other global news, The TRADITIONAL ANGLICAN COMMUNION'S Primate, Adelaide-based Archbishop John Hepworth, told "The Record" that a personal prelature was in the works for his group of Anglo-Catholics. When the story first appeared, it raced around the world bringing hope to other Anglo-Catholics who want to cross the Tiber, but who want to retain their Anglican identity. Within a few days, a denial issued forth from the Vatican saying that this was all wishful thinking and that nothing had changed. The source of the "Rumors Denied" story is not evident. But as one Anglo-Catholic noted assuming it's from a legitimate source, it didn't exactly report a denial, but rather that the Vatican spokesperson quoted said that no decision had been made regarding a personal prelature for the TAC. Furthermore, there are rival schools of thought - different camps of officials - within the Vatican, with the result that one can get a different picture of a story based on which Vatican spokesperson is quoted therein. Which camp will prevail in this matter probably pivots on who is Pope. Benedict is said to have held for a number of years a keen interest in the plight of traditional Anglicans displaced from their "official" provinces due to revisionism. Another chapter is sure to be written in the future of Anglican catholic relations.

*****

On the domestic front, word came down that Bishop CHARLES E. BENNISON of the diocese of Pennsylvania has failed in his attempt to get his deposition lowered to a less painful sentence. The deposition stands. He can appeal to 9 bishops, but as Mrs. Jefferts Schori has said, she wants him gone and so does the Diocesan Standing Committee. If so, it is hard to imagine he has a future in TEC. A source told me that Bennison is worshipping at St. Clement's in Philadelphia, a high church Anglo-Catholic congregation that recently got a visitation from the newly retired Bishop of Quincy Keith Ackerman.

*****

In the DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE this week we learned that the homogenital Bishop Gene Robinson has major league financial problems and has cut back on his budget, staff and much more. The diocese is suffering from fleeing parishioners, lower income, thus giving light to the lie that thousands of homosexuals would flood into the church following his election and consecration. The homosexual influx is all fiction. Sodomy is killing The Episcopal Church. You can read the full story in today's digest.

*****

In the Diocese of WESTERN NEW YORK Bishop Michael Garrison is trying to form the anti-St. Bartholomew's church in Tonawanda on their old site. He has put in a woman priest for a whopping 4 parishioners to work with. One doubts that six weeks from now it will be a viable parish. Watch for an announcement about closing doors.

*****

In the Diocese of MILWAUKEE, Bishop Steven Miller is leaving town on a three-month sabbatical even as a battle heats up over a parish that has left the diocese and The Episcopal Church and steadfastly refuses to turn the property over to him.

In a letter to the parish of St. Edmund's Episcopal Church in Elm Grove dated January 22, Miller writes that a recent meeting of twenty or so members (though VOL was told that many of them were ringers) met with the bishop to make plans for taking the next steps in the ongoing life of the parish "within the Diocese of Milwaukee and The Episcopal Church."

Miller said that as a response to the meeting he would call another scheduled meeting of the congregation of St. Edmund's at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, at the Congregational Church in Wauwatosa, WI. We will report on that when we know more. Stay tuned.

The Episcopal Church Asked to Pay for San Joaquin Lawsuit, according to blogger A.S. Haley. The litigation in San Joaquin has entered a new phase with the filing of a cross-complaint against the Episcopal Church (USA) by the parties it initially sued last April. The cross-complaint, brought by Bishop Schofield and two diocesan investment entities which he heads (the Episcopal Foundation and the Diocesan Investment Trust), seeks an award against ECUSA for the amount of attorneys' fees those defendants are being called upon to expend in defending the suit instigated by Bishop Jerry A. Lamb and a group calling itself the "Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin", and joined in by ECUSA.

The cross-complaint states two claims for relief. The first asserts that ECUSA in effect put Bishop Lamb and his followers up to bringing the lawsuit that was filed in Fresno County Superior Court on April 24, 2008, by making false representations to them that they could be plaintiffs because they were now a genuine diocese of the Episcopal Church who had met in a legitimate "special convention" the previous month and approved a bishop.. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, convened the special convention herself, and proposed the Rt. Rev. Jerry A. Lamb, the resigned (retired) bishop of the Diocese of Northern California, to be its "provisional bishop". After it concurred, the convention proceeded to adopt resolutions authorizing him to claim ownership of the corporation sole that holds title to diocesan real property, and to file the present lawsuit against Bishop Schofield and the investment entities, which manage the funds belonging to the diocese.

Bishop Schofield alone asserts the second claim for relief in the cross-complaint. It is a contingent claim, dependent on the outcome of the principal lawsuit against him. In essence, it asserts that Bishop Schofield simply followed the wishes of his employer, the Diocese of San Joaquin, in taking the steps for which he has been sued by the plaintiffs, and that he believed those steps were lawful. He has an agreement of indemnity with his employer, the cross-complaint alleges, whereby the Diocese is required to reimburse him for any legal expenses incurred as a result of his good-faith obedience to its decisions. Therefore, if the plaintiffs succeed in their lawsuit against him, and regain all the property and other assets of the diocese, he alleges that they will have to reimburse him for all his legal expenses under the provisions of California Labor Code section 2802 and the general indemnity statute, Civil Code section 2778 (4). The cross-complaint also names as a defendant the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of ECUSA, which it alleges is the alter ego of ECUSA, and is the entity that actually holds its funds and property. In order to be able to collect any judgment awarded against ECUSA, the cross-complaint alleges, judgment would have to be awarded against the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society as well.

*****

Money, money, money. The EPISCOPAL CHURCH is scheduled to forward $713,880 in assessment funds to the Anglican Consultative Council in London this year. During the last triennium, TEC committed to contributing slightly more than $2 million in assessment funds. That amount represented 27 percent of the ACC operating budget, making it the second largest donor province, after the Church of England. In her opening remarks to Executive Council, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said the church is facing a budget shortage due to the performance of the endowment, which lost an estimated 30 percent of its value during the recent stock market downturn, making budget cuts possible.

*****

Jonathan Gough, Senior Chaplain at Sandhurst Military Academy has dropped the Church of England creed over fears that it may offend religious minorities. The move has outraged worshippers who say centuries of religious tradition have been sacrificed for the sake of political correctness. The chaplain dropped the Christian declaration of faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, when he took office earlier this month. Mr. Gough - nicknamed the 'Right On Rev' by some of his flock - says he wants to avoid offending non-believers. Christian cadets and civilians were furious when the traditional Anglican service abruptly ended without the Creed being read last Sunday. Although no official announcement was made, a fellow Chaplain said it had been removed 'to stop upsetting cadets who do not believe in God'. Last night, the Ministry of Defence confirmed the Creed, which also refutes heresy, had been withdrawn from services at the Royal Memorial Chapel to make the church more inclusive.

*****

In Canada, six priests from the diocese of OTTAWA have voluntarily surrendered their licences to leave the Anglican Church of Canada and join the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). The diocesan bishop of Ottawa, John Chapman, announced "with regret" on Nov. 19 the resignation of the priests - Archdeacon Tim Parent of Holy Trinity Church in Pembroke, Ont., Rev. David Crawley, Rev. Jennifer Wickham, Rev. Archie Hunter, and Rev. Gregory Bloomquist and the Rev Frere Kennedy. He is a monk who made special monastic vows to the Bishop of Ottawa. They have all made their vows to Bishop Donald Harvey.

*****

Making a mockery of atheist slogans on LONDON buses reading ""There's probably no God so just get on with it", a new slogan has appeared on London buses now which read, "There's probably no bus, so stop waiting and get on your bike."

*****

The Rt. Rev. Rustin R. Kimsey, Bishop of Eastern Oregon from 1980 to 2000, has agreed to serve as an assisting Bishop of Alaska until a diocesan bishop is elected. He assumed his new post effective Feb. 1. In a recent letter to the diocese, The Rev. Dawn Allen-Herron, president of the standing committee, said Bishop Kimsey will not be in Alaska full time, but that he intends to make extended trips which will include attendance at every deanery meeting as well as diocesan convention. The arrangement replaces a previous policy in which episcopal sacramental duties were delegated to visiting bishops, as required. After resigning from episcopal jurisdiction in Eastern Oregon, Bishop Kimsey served as assisting Bishop of Navajoland in 2005 and 2006. The Diocese of Alaska has been without a bishop since The Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald resigned in 2006 to become National Indigenous Bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada. He also received consent from General Convention that year to serve as Assisting Bishop of Navajoland in The Episcopal Church.

*****

GENE ROBINSON never seems to be far from the spotlight. This past week he led a prayer in the Maryland Senate in which he asked God to bless the legislators with "anger at discrimination in all its forms." During the invocation prayer, Robinson also asked for the legislators to be blessed with "freedom from fear," including fear of their next election and criticism from unpopular votes. Robinson was in Annapolis to lobby for a gay marriage bill and a measure that prohibits discrimination against transgender people. Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said he hasn't had a chance to read either measure yet, but that based on past history, the bills might face difficulty in the Senate.

*****

In Worcester, Massachusetts the parish of St. John's Episcopal Church closed its doors after 125 years. It is the first area Episcopal Church in years to shutter its doors because of financial constraints and a decline in active members. About 100 people were in the church when it had its final service. The church property, which costs $25,000 a year to maintain, will revert to the Episcopal Diocese of WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. A Hispanic congregation, Iglesia Cristiana National, which rents the building for weekly services, will continue to worship there.

*****

AUSTRALIA'S newest Christian bishop has broken with the religious tradition in which he was raised and worked for almost 25 years, vowing to appoint women as bishops in the Anglican Church. The Rev. Stuart Robinson, who trained at Moore College in the conservative Sydney Anglican diocese, was consecrated as the bishop of Canberra-Goulburn in St Saviour's Cathedral, in Goulburn. He has spent most of his career in a diocese where women are not even allowed to be ordained priests. The issue of female church leadership has split the worldwide Anglican Communion. Australia has only two women bishops, Barbara Darling in Melbourne and Kay Goldsworthy in Perth.

*****

Is Canon Kenneth Kearon, Executive Director of the ANGLICAN COMMUNION OFFICE, out the door to the WCC General Secretariat position? Rumor has it that Rowan Williams is not happy with Kearon's performance at the ACC and would be happy to recommend he goes. Sources tell VOL that they don't think Kearon is up to the job despite his ultra liberal credentials so to foist him on the WCC might backfire on Williams, if he does a lousy job. Both the WCC and NCC have fallen on hard times. They have achieved very little over the years except as a sounding board for liberal Protestant hopes and aspirations. They have been sidelined by the emergence of a vigorous world-wide evangelicalism that has made them increasingly irrelevant.

*****

A new website has been launched for the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.

www.fca.net

The GAFCON site has also been redesigned and re-launched, at:

www.gafcon.org

*****

Please consider a tax deductible donation to support my travels so you can receive the latest word on what is happening in the Anglican Communion.

You can send a snail mail check to:

VIRTUEONLINE
1236 Waterford Rd.,
West Chester, PA 19380

If you would prefer to make a donation through PAYPAL you can do so by going to www.virtueonline.org

Thank you for your support.

All Blessings,

David