Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
5/24/2006

COUNTDOWN TO CONVENTION. It was another week of mayhem, misunderstanding and increasing tension in the Anglican Communion, with a resolution to General Convention from Dr. Louie Crew, the church's leading lay homosexual, in which he wants to change the canons on marriage used in the '79 Book of Common Prayer. In place of 'husband and wife' he wants to substitute the words "two persons". If it passes it will inflame the Global South as much as electing an openly gay bishop in California would have done. You can read that story in today's digest or click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4089

It might be prudent then to recall what the Archbishop of Canterbury said in a recent interview about all this:

INTERVIEWER: If the North American churches do not observe moratoria on the consecration of so called gay bishops and the blessing of same sex unions, will they be welcome as full members of the next Lambeth Conference?

ABC: I do not want to second guess what the official bodies of the North American churches might do on this. I think what has been said to them is that the cost of carrying on with this particular set of unilateral developments is very high. It might mean that they may not be welcome at the next Lambeth conference.

INTERVIEWER: Some of course have called on ECUSA to repent. They are most unlikely to do so. Do you think they should express repentance both for the actions and for the consequences of their actions?

ABC: The kind of repentance that has been called for that has been implied in the Windsor Report and has been touched on in our meeting is not only about the substantive issue but it is about the fact that the cost of actions and decisions like this was put to them and the feeling in some provinces is very, very strongly that even if this were another kind of issue the injury to the development of a common mind is so strong that it is something for which they ought to repent, not just express regret.

INTERVIEWER: Is that your view?

ABC: It is.

There you have it. No fudge. The only question is will he hold ECUSA's feet to the fire when the time comes? One can't help but imagine that leaning over his shoulder will be the evangelical face of Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria.

VOL reported in the last digest that there would be a meeting of a dozen or so ECUSA bishops meeting in Lambeth this week. A half-n-half gang of purple shirts have made their way across the Atlantic. It is true, but no one is talking. VOL can now reveal more names of those slipping out of their dioceses and heading to airports. They include Bob Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, John B. Lipscomb, Southwest Florida and Ed Little, Northern Indiana.

AN article by Jonathan Petre of the TELEGRAPH saying that the Archbishop of Canterbury was backing a two-track Church to heal divisions" appears to suggest that there is a planned strategy to divide the Anglican Communion in this way to achieve this end. That is not the case, says Canon Gregory Cameron, Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. A Covenant is being discussed at the moment in terms of finding members, nothing more. The idea of a twin track does not relate to anything I have heard or seen. You can read the full story in today's digest or click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4100

ON the plus side of the ledger, over 800 orthodox priests from 83 Episcopal dioceses have signed a petition to the House of Bishops in anticipation of the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, calling on the bishops to remain true to their vows. The Rev. David Roseberry, rector of Christ Church in Plano, Texas who got the petition going is calling on the bishops to uphold the recommendations of the Windsor Report. The petition is at www.bcp526.org and you are free to hit the link and sign up.

In the DIOCESE OF FLORIDA, the Church of the Nativity in Jacksonville, FL (formerly Episcopal then Anglican) was told to vacate the premises by Bishop John Howard. Only a handful of people have remained. Closing is imminent.

A VOL reader in the DICOESE OF FLORIDA wrote to say he drove over to Grace Episcopal Church and attended the service in the former parish of the Rev. Sam Pascoe. "Knowing you want to keep things honest, I want to tell you that there were about 90 people there, including disabled, men, women, varying ages, a full complement of acolytes and chalice servers, and the priest-in-charge, Rev. Barnum McCarty, though older, certainly did give an extremely challenging and fascinating sermon."

SEWANEE AGAIN. Following my expose last week on the proposed changes in the university's purpose statement, VOL got this response. "The May 18-24 issue of a local weekly paper, The Asheville Tribune, ran a front-page, above-the-fold headline about the Trustees meeting, titled "Sewanee faculty asks University to drop Christianity", including a nice color picture of the Cross and of Leonidas himself. The article inside ran a similar headline, "Sewanee faculty committee wants to dump Christianity". The article itself is plagiarized directly from the VirtueOnline.com article (and the reader comments!) including referring to the school as "Sewanee Episcopal University" and using the phrase "self-categorized students". On the same day the newspaper hit the stands, I received this email from two Trustees: "The item concerns a headline article in today's local weekly news magazine, The Asheville Tribune. The headline in today's issue reads, "Sewanee Faculty asks University to drop Christianity". According to the article, a faculty committee of 18 came to the Trustee meeting to lecture us on the offensiveness of the school's traditional Christian faith. No faculty members came to the Trustee meeting with any such message. It is true that a committee of faculty members is looking at the University's purpose statement with some suggested revisions that would emphasize Sewanee's welcoming nature. Sewanee's purpose statement has, from time to time been reworked or restated, and it could certainly be reconsidered again in the future, but no changes will be made to the purpose statement without full consideration of the Trustees. As your representatives to the Trustees and as members of the orientation committee charged with getting to know and engage every new Trustee, allow us to assure you that there is not a movement within the Trustees, nor the faculty for that matter, to disconnect from our Christian, Episcopal Church roots. In fact, our orientation training for Trustees begins at All Saints' Chapel where we purposely instruct new Trustees about the significance and symbolism of the chapel as the center of the campus."

Ah the spin. VOL also got word that Alumni giving is way down. "Alumni giving is critically low so close to Jun. 30, only 31 percent of alumni have made a gift to the Sewanee Fund," wrote a certain Charlie Brock. You'll notice he doesn't say "I'd love to hear from each of those 69% of you who haven't given and we understand your concerns and we want to know why you are reluctant to entrust your donations to the employees of Sewanee Episcopal University."

"Let us move on with a new mission statement. Boom - there you have it - they still aren't satisfied with the Trustees' statement of purpose approved 2005. And when they get more of what they want in a new mission statement, then "we" have all moved on. But move on to what? Move on to their utopia that is welcoming of hostile faiths and ideologies that are anathema to the very Gospel foundation of The University of the South? What do they offer in return for our submission? What would Sewanee look like if they got what they wanted, and why would donors want their $ to help pay for their celebration of depravity? Sewanee Episcopal University is as blind as ECUSA's open communion - notice how they worship recruitment and the importance of "outward appearance. Christ goes to the dustbin, welcoming acceptance to the high altar," wrote one irate Alumnus.

COMMON CAUSE APPALACHIA (CCA) is in place. A press release sent to VOL said an initial alliance of seven Common Cause parishes up and down the spine of the Smokies is open for business. "We are similar to the Anglican Alliance of North Florida, Anglican Common Cause Mid-South, Great Lakes Anglican Alliance, etc. In our geographical area, there is not a single ECUSA Network or AAC Parish, although several of us are Common Cause or FiFNA members of the Network. The CCA Charter Group comes from the REC, the APA, the AMiA, the EMC, FiFNA, and the ACN (through our Common Cause Partner Membership in ACN)," wrote Dick Schier, for CCA. "We intend to be a part of the on-going New Day of Anglican cooperation here in this country and the world." Amen to that.

AND at the national church headquarters of ECUSA in NYC, the Episcopal Bookstore is offering another book on paganism, sort of like the raccoon spirit guide story at the last General Convention. This is a book on casting spells! So then a reasonable person would want to know, who is this Teresa Moorey that the official Episcopal Church is promoting? Well there is an informational page telling a little about her and her other pagan and witchcraft books. Are we an inclusive church or what? I'm still waiting to see if they will promote our book "Good and Right in the Eyes of God": Truth, Compassion and Homosexuality. Nobody is calling looking for orders.

From Bishop Joe Burnett of the DIOCESE OF NEBRASKA comes word that racism is still a besetting ECUSA sin. In a Pastoral Letter, approved by the HOB, and delivered to his clergy this week, the bishop said, "The church is still sundered by the legacy of racism in multiple ways." Ironic when you think about. ECUSA has less than 1 percent Blacks and most are happily integrated into parishes and have been there for years. The most openly racist bishops in ECUSA are Jack Spong for his outrageous remarks about Africans at Lambeth '98 and Frank Griswold who has suggested, on more than one occasion, that African thinking about homosexuality is backward and needs upgrading to a more enlightened Western mindset. There is an inherent racism when you say one group of Anglicans (who happen to be black) are less qualified to talk about sexuality issues because you happen to think YOU are right and they are wrong. It might well be that the boot is on the other foot. The last letter the HOB put out was 1994 and not a lot has changed. Of course talking about racism deflects from the REAL issue which is pansexuality and that IS the issue which is dividing the church. Racism is not.

A PALESTINIAN Anglican priest will receive the US Episcopal Church's peace prize this year. Canon Naim Ateek, who has drawn criticism from Jewish and pro-Israeli Christian groups, has won a prestigious peace prize awarded by the Episcopal Church. "Canon Naim Ateek's voice is heard around the world as a strong voice of faith and peace. His message of non-violence states, As a Christian, I know that the way of Christ is the way of non-violence and, therefore, I condemn all forms of violence and terrorism whether coming from the government (of Israel) or from militant (Palestinian) groups," the Episcopal Peace Fellowship declared in its citation. Ateek is the founder of Sabeel, a movement of Palestinian Christians, which works with churches in North America and Europe to host regional and international conferences, witness trips to the Holy Land, and theological education.

But that's not how everyone sees Mr. Ateek. They say he wants to see the elimination of the one state of Israel for a bi-national state of Palestine-Israel. "This [award] is not only an error -- it is a shame and a disgrace. The Rev. Ateek and his organization promote neither peace nor justice," says the Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, Director, Institute of Advanced Theology and the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College in Annandale-On-Hudson, New York. He also serves on the Executive Committee of Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East.

Writes Chilton: "Their writings and declarations demonize Israel in the name of uplifting the Palestinian people. Christians should find it especially disturbing that Rev. Ateek uses the language of Deicide when he talks about Israel. Most of our churches left Deicide, the theology which condemned the Jewish people as Christ killers, well behind after the Holocaust. In an Easter message, Rev. Ateek preached that the "Israeli government crucifixion system is operating daily." In a Christmas message, he described the Israeli government as "modern day 'Herods" and in a sermon he gave in Jerusalem, Ateek likened the Israeli occupation to the boulder sealing Christ's tomb. Historically, imagery like this has contributed to centuries of Jewish isolation and persecution. Its use against the Jewish State is inexcusable. We seriously question the Episcopal Peace Fellowship's wisdom in honoring Rev. Ateek," said Chilton, who is also an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of New York. THINKING OF CONVERTING TO CATHOLICISM? A number of former ECUSA priests have crossed the Tiber. The 2006 Anglican Use Conference, co-sponsored by the Anglican Use Society and St. Thomas More Society of St. Clare Church will be held Monday, June 5th and Tuesday, June 6th at St. Clare Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Featured speakers will be Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. Laurence J. McGinley Professor, Fordham University, Bronx, New York; David Mills Editor, Touchstone Magazine, and formerly a professor at Trinity Episcopal Seminary in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Fr. Carleton Jones, O.P. Pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City, and the past Assistant Provincial of the Dominicans in the Northeast Province with Fr. William Stetson Secretary to the Ecclesiastical Delegate for the Pastoral Provision, The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, will also be present. The Anglican Use is the Sacred Liturgy approved by the Holy See. VOL spoke with the Rev. Eric Bergman who said there are still openings. If you are interested please call him at 570-343-0634.

A story out of the DIOCESE OF OTTAWA in today's digest about how Bishop Peter Coffin allowed a married lesbian priest and grandmother to perform sacramentally in his diocese has all the drama of a major sitcom if it wasn't so tragic. The Rev. Linda Privitera had been looking forward to practicing her calling as an Anglican priest and living with her spouse, Melissa Haussman when a number of orthodox Anglican priests rose up in righteous anger and wrote to the bishop condemning his action in allowing her to function even temporarily. Well Coffin had to back off and tell her that he would not allow her to be fully licensed, but not without a lot of hand-wringing on his part. The 59-year-old grandmother was an ordained minister for 19 years in the Diocese of Massachusetts before she married Ms. Haussman in 2004.

The Ottawa Citizen ran the story; eight priests responded and the bishop responded to the diocese (all three documents are in today's digest.) Well, an orthodox Anglican rector wrote to VOL saying that this was pure hypocrisy on the bishop's part in his letter justifying his actions. "His licensing of this woman happens at the same time that he is refusing to ordain orthodox candidates for the priesthood - since Christmas two postulants have been essentially told he will not ordain them because he could not count on their "loyalty" (loyalty to him, of course, not to the scriptures). Other potential candidates are being sidelined before they even get to that point, on the basis that biblical orthodoxy is a black mark against them. In this sense, if you live in the Diocese of Ottawa, "inclusion" means that there is room for everyone at the table except those who adhere to the traditional teachings of the church and the authority of the scripture. Well, at least the mask is off," he wrote.

THE DA VINCI CODE is provoking the anger and wrath of the both the Roman Catholic Church and evangelicals worldwide. According to a review in The New Yorker the movie is baloney; the movie is an accurate representation of the book; therefore, the book is also baloney, although it takes even longer to consume. Movie history is awash, of course, with fine pictures that have been made from daft or unreadable books; indeed, you are statistically more likely to squeeze a decent movie out of a potboiler than you are out of a novel of high repute. The trouble with Howard's film is that it is far too dense and talkative to function efficiently as a thriller, while also being too credulous and childish to bear more than a second's scrutiny as an exploration of religious history or spiritual strife. There is plenty going on here, from gunfights to masked orgiastic rituals and mini-scenes of knights besieging Jerusalem, yet the outcome feels at once ponderous and vacant, like a damp and deconsecrated Victorian church....The Catholic Church has nothing to fear from this film. It is not just tripe. It is self-evident, spirit-lowering tripe that could not conceivably cause a single member of the flock to turn aside from the faith...

The following audio clip is an absolutely brilliant (and hilarious) piece of satire, spoken from the perspective of C.S. Lewis' famous devil, "Screwtape," in praise of The Da Vinci Code. Enjoy.

http://www.ericmetaxas.com/audio/PlayAudio.html

"Never mind, Wormwood, that in this Nature goddess silliness they are worshipping deities that don't exist! The only thing that matters is that they are not worshiping the deity that does!"

In the DIOCESE OF CENTRAL NEW YORK, an Episcopal priest VOL exposed as being a pedophile resigned after a five-month investigation of allegations he sexually abused a boy in the 1970s while serving as rector of St. Paul's Church in Owego. Ralph E. Johnson, 79, voluntarily renounced his orders but has not admitted guilt, said Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams, spiritual leader of the diocese. "He is no longer a priest," Adams said. Johnson's name appeared in a lawsuit filed in January when the Rev. David Bollinger, rector of St. Paul's Church in Owego, sued Adams and the diocese for $4.35 million. Bollinger has accused the bishop of failing to respond to allegations of abuse by Johnson. Bollinger said Adams retaliated against him for raising the issue by disciplining him and auditing his parish's finances. Adams has denied he tried to silence Bollinger. Until January, Adams said, no victim had notified him of alleged abuse by Johnson. But this week another man stepped forward and filed a complaint in the DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM claiming he too was abused by Johnson. Fr. Bollinger's case grows stronger by the day.

IN ITS EVER unfolding illumination about the horrors of patriarchy and all things male the Episcopal Church is now experimenting with the EUCHARIST using female nouns and pronouns. The deep thinkers say it is to be used only in discussion...for the moment.

The Word

A hymn, psalm, or anthem may be sung.

The people ( P) standing, the celebrant (C) says

Blessed be the Lady who births, redeems and sanctifies us. P: And blessed be all of her creation forever. Amen

Read the rest of the liturgy here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4070

IN KENYA, a Church of England Bishop John Gladwin attempted a preaching tour but got put on hold by Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi over allegations that Gladwin was pro-gay. He denied it, but the bishop would not promote his itinerary and stopped him dead in his tracks. Gladwin was categorical that the Church of England did not condone homosexuality. "Bishop John Gladwin refuses to say whether he supported gay and lesbian relationships," said Canon Roger Matthews who is with him. But then VOL was sent a link showing that the bishop is a patron of "Changing Attitude" - see their website at: http://www.changingattitude.org.uk/aboutCA/patrons.asp. So how can he say he does not support gay and lesbian relationships? He does. The archbishop had the right to nix his preaching tour. TWENTY ANGLICAN COMMUNION NETWORK bishops have re-issued for GC2006, their Position Statement reaffirming the statement they made after the approval of the election of V. Gene Robinson at GC2003 supporting the recommendations of the Windsor Report. An excerpt appears here: "The issue for the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in June 2006 is whether the 2003 decision can be reversed and the tear in the fabric of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion can be repaired. Failing this reversal, the state of impaired or broken communion among those formerly together in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion can be expected to become permanent. We, the Network Bishops, are prepared to be part of the efforts to reverse the situation, precisely because we are committed both to the Anglican Communion and the Constitution of the Episcopal Church, and because we long to be instruments of healing and reconciliation in the face of division.

"To that end, we unanimously support the recommendations of the Windsor Report as the basis on which our divisions may begin to be mended. We pledge to work with all bishops of this Church and of the Communion who also support the Windsor report, and the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates in particular, in working toward greater unity and mutual responsibility under Scripture and within the Anglican heritage."

The CHURCH OF SCOTLAND became Britain's first major denomination to pave the way for the blessing of gay "marriages", but it deferred a final decision until next year, reports the Jonathan Petre of the TELEGRAPH. The contentious decision by Scotland's national Church will almost certainly be used by campaigners to increase pressure on the Church of England to relax its ban. Serious splits were exposed within the Church of Scotland in the run up to the vote, with ministers on both sides threatening to resign. After a highly-charged debate, the Church's general assembly in Edinburgh agreed, by 372 votes to 240, with the principle that individual ministers have the freedom to bless couples who have entered civil partnerships. However, it also decided that the issue was so divisive it should be referred to individual presbyteries. If a majority back the motion, it will return next year to be voted on again.

APART from VOL's exclusive stories in today's digest, please read what Australian Archbishop Peter Jensen had to say in New Zealand recently about homosexuality and how it will divide the Anglican Communion. Click here for immediate access. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4103

ANGLICANS AT PRAYER: As President of the Prayer Book Society USA, The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon has been working tirelessly toward the renewal of the Anglican Way in North America. As we move toward June's General Convention, Dr. Toon has created a new website, www.anglicansatprayer.org. This website is a call to Anglicans and Episcopalians to prayer in the Holy Spirit for the renewal of the Anglican Way, especially in North America. VOL encourages our readers to us this site as a prayer and mediation resource. Collects, meditations and articles are published weekly. http://www.anglicansatprayer.org

WE ARE LESS THAN Twenty days from General Convention. Many of you have given generously. Thank you. We are going down to the wire. If you have not made a donation please consider doing so this week. The VOL "A" Team us ready and in place. Click here to see them. They will be working for you. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4079

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All blessings,

David W. Virtue DD