21% of Americans said they attend religious services weekly, while 9% said they go nearly every week. However, 11% of respondents said they attend about once a month, 25% reported attending "seldom," while 31% said they "never" go to worship. -- Gallup Poll

The Commission of Inquiry into Discrimination Against Christians (CIDAC), which is tasked with investigating impartially the nature, context and scale of discrimination faced by Christians in the UK, has released its interim report. This shows Christians are subjected to loss of employment and livelihood, baseless criminal investigations, the closing of bank accounts, humiliation, bullying and even physical attack. -- C.I.D.A.C.

There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergymen. -- C.S. Lewis

We should not ask, 'What is wrong with the world?' for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather we should ask, "What has happened to salt and light? -- John Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
October 18, 2024

ON VOTING. Upwards of 104 million people of faith -- including some 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church services -- are expected to sit out of the 2024 presidential election.

They are likely to hold back from the Nov. 5 contest due to a lack of interest, according to new data from Arizona Christian University's Cultural Research Center, operated by evangelical pollster George Barna.

Voter enthusiasm, the study found, decreased significantly from 2020 to 2024.

"The research asked people who indicated they were not likely to vote to explain the reasons for that choice," wrote the researchers. "The most common reason, offered by two-thirds of the non-voters (68%), was a lack of interest in politics and elections."

More than half of survey respondents -- 57% -- said they dislike both leading candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump. And 55% said they don't feel either candidate reflects their values.

But should Christians not vote. Do we not have a civic duty in a free and open society to do nothing?

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing, said Edmund Burke.

Jesus called his followers "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). But what happens when 41 million points of light hide under a bushel?

That's the alarming reality we face this election season, as millions of self-described born-again Christians consider skipping one of our most critical civic duties, said one Anglican blogger.

"Many Christians today are ambivalent about the culture. Some hate the culture, some are hopeful, and many are jaundiced by the juggernaut of progressivism. As a result, there are millions of Christians planning to sit this election out."

The deeper truth is we are exiles; we have always been exiles and strangers. That does not mean we sit on our hands. We may not change much in the world anymore. We've lost presence in nearly every public sphere. We are being humbled and humiliated in the world. So be it.

So, should Christians vote? The answer is an unequivocal yes. Moreover, every Christian should vote. This imperative extends even to those whose conscience might be troubled by the available candidates.

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/32-million-self-identified-christians-who-regularly-attend-church-might-sit-out-2024-presidential

Distinguished Christian sociologist and evangelical commentator, Dr. Os Guinness had this to say: 'The Whole of the West Is in Crisis' and for Christians to Disengage Is 'Absolutely Appalling', he said.

Americans may not agree on much, but they agree on this: we're at a pivotal moment. Exactly how pivotal depends on who you ask. After all, our country's had its share of challenges in its relatively young existence. We've survived a civil war, segregation, the Great Depression, two World Wars, presidential assassinations, natural disasters, national tragedies, terror attacks, a global pandemic, and so much more. Maybe that's why so many people underestimate the gravity of this moment, Os Guinness says. But they shouldn't.

"I wish people understood [this] moment," the beloved intellectual told Joseph Backholm on the latest episode of "Outstanding." "The whole of the West [is] in crisis," he warned, calling it a "civilizational moment" for both the church and the American Republic. It's different than what the divided nation faced under Abraham Lincoln, Guinness insisted. If radical Marxism prevails, "that's as much a secession from the Republic as the South and its division from the North. We're on the verge of America becoming unrecognizable," and if we don't address something as simple as the border crisis, the best-selling author wanted people to know, the country as we know it is "finished." "President Biden's policies are literally ... suicidal," he said somberly.

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/whole-west-crisis-and-christians-disengage-absolutely-appalling-os-guinness

**

Is the Archbishop of Canterbury misleading everyone about the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF)?

Evangelical theologian Andrew Goddard thinks he is, and he is right.

Goddard writes: A recent statement about PLF by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is significantly misleading in relation to what the bishops have decided, what the church teaches on sexual ethics, who PLF is for, and what PLF offers. This development, contradicting and undermining past theological and legal advice as well as statements to General Synod, raises serious questions as to how and why such misrepresentations of the facts have been made and can only further damage trust in the PLF process and the archbishop's leadership.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has revealed why the Prayers of Love and Faith introduced under his leadership are causing so much damage to the Church of England.

Faced with a question alluding back to another interview seven years ago then Archbishop Welby said he could not offer a "straight answer" about "Is gay sex sinful?" as "I know I haven't got a good answer" and so he said in November 2017, "Yes. I am copping out because I am struggling with the issue". Asked now if he had a better answer he replied "Yes I do" before joking that this was the sort of question Alastair Campbell would have been signaling to Tony Blair to cut out of answering.

Welby goes on to claim that he and a "majority" of bishops have "put forward a proposal" whereby people "who have been through a civil partnership or a same-sex marriage" ceremony "should be able to come along to... a church, and have a service of prayer and blessing for them in their lives together".

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/archbishop-canterbury-misleading-everyone-about-prayers-love-and-faith-plf

**

The Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, recently visited people and places in dioceses across the Anglican Church of Canada, with a message on "Becoming a Church of Missionary Disciples." His two-week visit began in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and ended in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Cottrell met with clergy and lay leaders and delivered several addresses on spirituality, evangelism, and discipleship as they contribute toward becoming a church of missionary disciples.

Now the ACoC is rapidly dying, and his message is unlikely to change anything as the exiting Bishop of the Arctic Joey Royal noted this week when he said; "Isn't it strange that the more the ACoC faces its own extinction, the more its leadership speaks in increasingly abstract terms? Last General Synod [2023], we approved five 'transformational aspirations' with very little understanding of what any of it is supposed to accomplish. The main problem with the ACoC is that for decades it has been 'reimagining' itself into the image of the prevailing culture, and not the gospel. More 'reimagining' will only make it worse. All of this is a big distraction from the core task our Lord has given the Church in the Great Commission: to evangelize all nations, to baptize new converts, and teach them the Lord's commandments. That the ACoC's members are determined to do everything but that is proof that they've lost their way."

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/archbishop-york-visits-and-preaches-dying-anglican-church-canada

**

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) wants you to imagine a de facto parallel province as a reality. They want you to know why it's needed and what they hope will be achieved by it.

What is a de facto parallel province? The obvious point to make is that it is not an actual or real province. At the same time, it can in practice be a very real and positive reality. Imagine between 500 and 1,000 churches working together 'as if' they were an orthodox province within the Church of England. Imagine them using their money to support orthodox mission, ministry, and evangelism.

Imagine them receiving spiritual oversight from orthodox men and women of recognized national leadership stature. Imagine their ordinands being trained for ministry in institutions committed to orthodoxy, and curates being ordained by bishops upholding the apostolic faith as we have received it and being placed with orthodox training incumbents. And imagine all this being served by a leadership of bishops, clergy and lay people whose biblical teaching and personal integrity is entirely consistent with the historic doctrine and teaching of the Church of England. This would describe what a 'de facto parallel province' looks like on the ground.

The second question that people are asking is, 'Why do we need a de facto parallel province?' In part, this is in order to enable the House of Bishops, and Church of England more widely, to appreciate just how widespread and deep is the concern caused by the ongoing LLF project.

It has been suggested that the challenge of the autumn could be summed up as one of engaging in 'principled protest', in order that 2025 can see the emergence of 'permanent provision' through structural rearrangement within the Church of England.

BUT IS SUCH A PROVINCE REALISTIC? I asked a few informed persons in the UK and here is what they said: "This is the first real admission from CEEC that the bishops are not even interested in talking to them about the kind of provision they claim to need - let alone a third province. In fact there is a danger that by creating their Spiritual overseers they have undermined the argument for anything more than delegated oversight.

In better news - the third diocese of the Anglican Network in England (ANiE) has been inaugurated - and that means there will be a real province very soon in Europe.

Here is what another well-informed senior clergyman who knows the ins and outs as well as the political forces in play had to say; "I tried very hard to persuade CEEC that a third province was a hopeless ambition. I was a member until 2022.

"Welby and the bishops -- who are vastly unrepresentative of the Church of England -- have complete control of the levers of power, and they will not concede one inch of ground or one penny of the endowments. It is a game of Winner Takes All."

"Nor will they permit unofficial jurisdictions to operate. They have all the legal power to prevent it apart from one minor amendment to canon law which can be swiftly made by General Synod. Synod members are all too enthusiastic to please the bishops."

"Orthodox people in the Church of England now face the existential choice which was made by St John's Shaughnessy in Vancouver: not to participate any longer in a denomination which has far exceeded the legitimate bounds of debate and has opted for the immorality of the spirit of the age. St John's was the largest parish church in Canada. It walked away from its significant assets and buildings to ensure its adherence to the word of God rather than that of a corrupt and decaying denomination."

"It will be bitterly painful to give up the heritage of 1,400 years and the labours of many lifetimes in building and growing the Church of England. But the reality is that it is no longer the Church of England. The Archmanager has taken care of that."

VOL will keep you informed as this movement takes shape, if it does.

**

Driving home just how bad things are in the Anglican Church of Canada, Arctic evangelical Suffragan Bishop Joey Royal has resigned his bishopric to take up a new position with an organization that ministers to diplomats and politicians in Ottawa, according to reports out of Canada.

Royal, an evangelical and a major thorn in the flesh to the liberal Canadian Church's House of Bishops, stunned Anglicans across Canada by his sudden departure, leaving gaps in all three of his diocesan roles: suffragan bishop, director of the Arctic's theological college and parish rector. His resignation takes effect October 20.

As he exits to Ottawa, Royal smacks down the Anglican Church of Canada and says it is fundamentally "at odds with Scripture and has walked away from the historic Christian faith, and I lament that. I would love to see it seek repentance. It can change, but only by God's grace not human ingenuity."

"The main problem with the ACoC is that for decades it has been 'reimagining' itself into the image of the prevailing culture, and not the gospel. More 'reimagining' will only make it worse. All of this is a big distraction from the core task our Lord has given the Church in the Great Commission: to evangelize all nations, to baptize new converts, and teach them the Lord's commandments. That the ACoC's members are determined to do everything but that is proof that they've lost their way." You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/exiting-arctic-evangelical-bishop-blasts-anglican-church-canada-searing-condemnation-liberalism

It should be noted that the Suffragan Bishop of the Arctic, David Parsons has just announced his retirement, which leaves the diocese bereft of leadership, and this at a time when the whole province is in free fall.

**

Diocesan officials announced this week that former Diocese of California Bishop Marc Andrus has been suspended from ministry as a result of allegations of an inappropriate relationship with an adult while serving as bishop diocesan. The move illustrates the denomination's dated approach to ethics and clergy discipline.

The suspension was issued by the presiding bishop's delegate, the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, as part of a Title IV proceeding, which established that the underlying claims were credible. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/bishop-marc-andrus-suspended-move-illustrates-tecs-dated-approach-ethics-and-clergy-discipline

**

Retired Bishop Jack Iker (III Fort Worth) died on October 5. To date the Episcopal Church has yet to make mention of a godly man who for 34 years labored in the Episcopal Church vineyard -- 19 years as an Episcopal priest followed by 15 years (1993-2008) as a sitting Episcopal bishop. Nor have I seen any member of the Episcopal House of Bishops pay their respects to a brother bishop at his passing.

However, several former parishioners from Sarasota's Episcopal Church of the Redeemer flooded the Florida church's Facebook with messages, memories, and sentiments for their beloved former rector -- Fr. Jack Iker even as Hurricane Milton was taking a bead on the Florida Gulf Coast. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/former-episcopal-bishop-jack-iker-ignored-episcopal-church-death

You can more here: https://virtueonline.org/titan-american-anglicanism-has-died

**

New Diocese of Susquehanna could see two more Dioceses Re-Unite in 2024.

On October 19, 2024, representatives and clergy of the Diocese of Bethlehem, and the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, will gather at State College, PA in an agreed upon joint convention of both dioceses. On the agenda is a proposal that the two dioceses re-unite and become one after 100 years of separation.

Subsequently, both groups will vote separately to unite, or remain as one. If the vote is passed by both bodies an agreement will be drawn up for the birth of a new diocese -- The Diocese of the Susquehanna. There will then be a year of transition during which time both bishops, Audrey Scanlon and Kevin Nichols, will remain in place in their respective dioceses.

In 2026, the two dioceses will then become "The Diocese of Susquehanna". At this stage, both bishops will continue to serve, one as bishop diocesan, and the other as assistant. Also, during the transition nine committees will be at work dealing with Constitutions, Finances, Diocesan Staff, Commissions on ministry, Convocations, and other departments. For more click here: https://virtueonline.org/new-diocese-susquehanna-could-see-two-more-dioceses-re-unite-2024

**

The Scottish Episcopal Church has decided not to pursue allegations of bullying made against Scotland's first female bishop, the Rt. Rev. Anne Dyer.

The Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney was suspended in August 2022 and was due to face a disciplinary tribunal after three complaints were made against her.

Following a review, the church's independent procurator said it was not in the public interest to pursue a tribunal - but there was enough evidence to provide "a realistic prospect of conviction" under the church's canon law.

Bishop Dyer always denied the allegations of bullying and previously claimed she had faced "significant bullying and harassment" since taking up the role in 2018. To read more click here: https://virtueonline.org/scotland-church-will-not-pursue-bullying-claims-against-bishop

**

The Church of England is having a hard time finding new bishops. The Church of England has worked itself into a new position, Nemo episcopari nobody will be bishoped. In the past year, the process for appointing new bishops to Ely and Carlisle fell apart as the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) decided not to appoint any of the shortlisted candidates.

This has created a sense of crisis in the Church, and an emergency meeting of the House of Bishops was held after a report was hastily drafted by the Bishop of London. The problem is that it doesn't ask the basic question at the heart of all this: are the right people being considered in the right way?

There is another reason for the new Nemo episcopari: that the Church is very split, especially about sexuality. It is heavily implied that when none of the candidates for Carlisle and Ely could get to the necessary two-thirds majority in the CNC it was because of their views on gay blessings (too pro in one case, too anti in the other). There you have it. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/why-c-e-bishops-are-so-bland

**

Muslim militants slaughtered 16,769 Christians in Nigeria in just the four years between 2019 and 2023. That comes out to 4,192 Christians killed on average per year--or one Christian murdered for his/her faith every two hours. Most of these Christians are Catholics and Anglicans but you don't see this reported on by ENS or the ACNS. This report comes from the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa. It should also be noted that the Anglican Church in Nigeria is the largest province in the Anglican Communion. Persecution is clearly not stopping the growth of the church.

**

EIGHTH DAYS OF PRAYERS: Daily Hope for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Devotional books are not new, but in this slim volume, Sally Breedlove, Willa Kane, Madison Perry and Alysia Yates have compiled an excellent number of scripture-based devotionals as an invitation to a new way of keeping time, one rooted in the rhythm of creation that nonetheless draws us on toward new creation. I highly recommend this book to VOL readers. You can purchase this book at www.eighthdayprayer.org

**
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I have started a SUBSTACK with scribblings on the Middle East over the war in Israel. You can see them here: https://substack.com/@davidvirtue2

Warmly in Christ,

David

BREAKING: An open letter to Episcopal Presiding Bishop-Elect Sean Rowe: https://virtueonline.org/open-letter-episcopal-presiding-bishop-elect-sean-rowe