Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
September 24, 2009

It has been a week that orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans might prayerfully remember as a watershed week in North American Anglicanism.

The Supreme Court of South Carolina resolved a long-running dispute between All Saints Church, Pawleys Island, and the Diocese of South Carolina. In a unanimous ruling written by Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal, the court said that the Episcopal Church's Dennis Canon does not create a trust. The congregation was founded before the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Chuck Murphy (AMiA) hailed the ruling in a message which he sent to AMiA congregations saying, "In addition to being a complete victory for all of us here at All Saints, Pawleys Island, it is a profoundly important legal decision repudiating the 'authority' of the Dennis Canon. I believe that this will have enormous implications not only for the two Episcopal dioceses in South Carolina, but, I suspect, for other churches throughout the U.S.A."

Speaking for The Episcopal Church, Neva Rae Fox, TEC's public affairs officer said it is not yet clear whether the Episcopal Church will appeal the decision. "My understanding is that the legal team is currently reviewing the ruling."

South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence was decidedly non-committal saying "there's a long wisdom of tradition in the scriptures, and counsel in the book of Ecclesiastes that there is a time to keep silent and a time to speak, and as picked up in the letter of James, where James says, 'Know this my beloved brothers and sisters, let everyone be quick to hear and slow to speak.' I believe this is such a time."

You can read full reports on this decision in today's digest.

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In Peoria, Illinois The Rt. Rev. John Buchanan, Episcopal Bishop of the Potemkin Diocese of Quincy, inhibited and deposed 34 priests and deacons from the original Diocese of Quincy, saying they had renounced their orders and could no longer function as priests in The Episcopal Church.

In late August, Buchanan sent letters accepting their alleged "renunciation of the ordained ministry" of the Episcopal Church to several Quincy clergy and declaring that those clergy are now deprived of all the authority conveyed in ordination.

"We did leave the Episcopal Church," said Fr. John Spencer, President of the Quincy Standing Committee. "We did not renounce our ordination vows, or abandon our ministries," he said in a press statement from the Anglican Diocese of Quincy.

"The supposed inhibitions and depositions of our clergy have no bearing on those clergy, or on their ministries, since our diocese is no longer under the authority of the Episcopal Church. The actions of Episcopal Bishop John Buchanan simply mean that the Episcopal Church no longer wants these clergy to be allowed to function in any of their churches," said Fr. Spencer.

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Attorneys in the DIOCESE OF FT. WORTH filed a Motion for reconsideration of the Court's Sept. 16 decision. As reported last Wednesday, at the conclusion of its hearing, the 141st Court granted partial relief in response to a Rule 12 Motion by amending the text of the motion.

In a Motion for Reconsideration, the Diocese is asking the Court to grant full relief by declaring that, as a matter of law, there is only one Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and one Corporation of the diocese.

This would not prevent attorneys Jonathan Nelson and Kathleen Wells from representing the individuals who hired them, but they would not represent them as duly-elected officers of the Diocese or Corporation.

You can read the Motion for Reconsideration of the Rule 12 Decision here: http://www.fwepiscopal.org/downloads/MotionforReconsiderationofRule12Order.pdf

Transcript of the Sept. 16 hearing: http://www.fwepiscopal.org/downloads/Transcriptof09-16-09Hearing.pdf

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The Fifth District Court of Appeal in San Joaquin has formally accepted Bishop Schofield's petition on behalf of the DIOCESE OF SAN JOAQUIN to review the ruling and order entered by the trial court granting Bishop Lamb's and ECUSA's motion for summary adjudication. This means that the trial court's decision and ruling are suspended, pending a determination by the Court of Appeal, and the entry of a new order either vacating the trial court's ruling, or directing the entry of a new summary adjudication.

Here is a link to a copy of the Order. http://tinyurl.com/l4amoe

This is great news for the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, and should stop ECUSA and Bishop Gulick's attorneys in the Fort Worth litigation from continuing to cite the trial court's ruling as "the law", writes San Joaquin attorney Allan S. Haley.

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It is out with the old and in with the new in the DIOCESE OF LONG ISLAND. Orris Walker, the outgoing bishop, will not be let off the hook lightly. I have written my final blast at this venal bishop who wreaked havoc in the years he was there.

Sometime in May, Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, made a phone call to Orris G. Walker, the Bishop of Long Island. In a no holds barred conversation she told the bishop, a man who has been in and out of rehab for years with serious drinking problems, that he was out, finished as bishop, and that any attempt by him to hold on for three more years following the election of a new bishop would invite canonical charges.

Specifically she informed Walker that he had better bow out gracefully and fade away, or the House of Bishops would formally look into the voluminous charges against him, not the least of which are his numerous cases of failure to comply with the canonical visitation to parishes.

Walker took the conversation to heart and reluctantly agreed. You can read the full story in today's digest.

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The DIOCESE OF NEW YORK faces a fiscal crisis, even though it has a budget of some twelve million dollars. Few parishes can pay their full assessment, endowments are emptying, staff is being laid off in parishes all over the diocese and much more. A report VOL wrote says that 2010 will be even worse than 2009.

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It cost the DIOCESE OF COLORADO millions of dollars to sue the rector and Grace & St. Stephens parish in Colorado Springs. Bishop Rob O'Neill wrote to his diocese saying that as a result of the extraordinary legal expenses associated with the property litigation involving Grace Church in Colorado Springs their reserves have been substantially reduced. Litigation totaled $2,900,000. The combination of withdrawals for litigation expenditures and the stock market decline have caused the Diocesan unrestricted reserves to decline from $4,900,000 at January 1, 2006 to $750,000 currently. This decline has also led to a significant decrease in the investment income to be received from these reserves in 2010." A lesson for the National Church. The only ones who win in litigation are the lawyers. Who is the better steward of resources: the Bishop of Colorado or the Bishop of Central Florida? Bishop John W. Howe never paid a penny to attorneys. He allowed parishes to go in peace to love and serve the Lord. What bitterness and hatred must O'Neill be harboring against Fr. Don Armstrong? It defies the imagination. The Diocese of Colorado is consuming itself. *****

A mid-term report on the effects New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson has had on the church might surprise you. He might possibly be the single greatest reason we have an Anglican realignment. It ain't all bad. You can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/ycdvlg2

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The clergy of the realigned Diocese of Pittsburgh (ACNA) recently held its annual clergy conference. Fr. Joseph Martin has prepared a recap of the conference. With Fr. Martin's permission, it is posted below.

A New Day for Clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh just completed their annual Clergy Conference at Antiochian Village in Ligonier Pennsylvania, and the post realignment experience was exhilarating. Some of us present felt like frogs having been lifted out of the proverbial warming pot finally realizing what normal clergy life ought to feel like, wrote The Rev. Joseph R. Martin, Church of Our Saviour, Glenshaw, PA

"Because of realignment budget constraints, the normal three day conference had to be reduced to two, along with the elimination of the traditional golf outing, white water rafting, and bicycle trip option. Missing from the gathering, unfortunately, was the noticeable number of clergy who had joined us in the past but had decided not to realign. Also missing, but not unfortunately, were the various factions and dissentions over traditional, biblical theology and sexuality, and the often times disrespectful and contentious attitudes toward one another and the bishop. In its place purveyed a wholesome sense of fellowship and mutual affection that one can only characterize as loving, encouraging, and unified.

The highlight of the conference was the veritable feast of God's Word served up each day by the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Rodgers. The three sessions focusing on such foundational elements of the faith as the cross, the empty tomb, justification, substitutionary atonement, and life in the Spirit made many in attendance feel as though we were walking the road to Emmaus, our hearts burning as the scriptures were opened to us in all their plain and historical meaning as once delivered to the saints. Archbishop Duncan placed the exclamation point on the gathering as he administered the sacraments in Holy Communion and recapped our time together with a succinct yet powerful reminder of Jesus as the absolute cornerstone of our life in ministry. A new day had dawned for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and no one was going back.

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Although the CHURCH OF ENGLAND has had women priests for 15 years, some traditionalists still believe the fact that they are women means they cannot validly carry out all priestly functions, writes Robert Pigott. Not all congregations approve of female Anglican priests and bishops. But now liberal Anglicans are celebrating a decision by Blackburn Cathedral to reverse a controversial concession it made to traditionalists. A year ago, the cathedral began providing communion bread blessed by a male priest for use when a woman was taking a service. The concession was introduced after a female canon was appointed to the cathedral staff. Now the cathedral has apologized for any hurt caused by that decision, but it has also acknowledged that the ordination of women priests still causes "sorrow and pain" to some Anglicans, and said it would continue to provide Sunday services taken by a male priest.

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Gay candidate withdraws from Kirk ministry. Some 40 parishes have said they will not accept the ordination of homosexuals. The CHURCH OF SCOTLAND was saved from fresh controversy over gay clergy after a homosexual man seeking to become a minister withdrew his candidacy. Dmitri Ross, who is in a civil partnership, said that he did not wish to become a "source of division" in the Kirk. He also urged his opponents to withdraw their protests against him "in the interests of peace and unity in the Church". Ross, 42, was selected to train by the Hamilton Presbytery, the third largest in Scotland, two weeks ago. His nomination came despite a ban on the ordination or induction of gay ministers. The moratorium was imposed after the divisive appointment of Scott Rennie, who lives openly with his male partner, in Aberdeen. The ban is in place until 2011 to allow a special commission to examine the issue. A separate ban on discussing the issue is also in place.

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The ANGLICAN PROVINCE OF NIGERIA has a new leader. Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, 58, will bring strict conservatism from his military background and years of close collaboration with out-going Primate Peter Akinola to bear on the Church, write Hendrix Oliomogbe (Asaba), Lawrence Njoku (Enugu) and Wole Oyebade (Lagos).

"The worldwide Anglican Communion should not expect any deviation from Archbishop Okoh. In fact, he has been one of the greatest and most fastidious supporters of Archbishop Akinola on the Nigerian Anglican Communion's stand against the 'sins' of the Episcopal Church of the North Americas on the matter of embrace of gays and homosexuality in the Church."

In March 2010, Okoh will begin to lead the over 18 million Nigerian Anglicans. You can read more about him in today's digest.

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DIOCESE OF LAKE MALAWI Court of Confirmation chooses new bishop. At a lawfully constituted Elective Assembly of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) in August 2009, a majority of electors present were from the Diocese of Lake Malawi, over two thirds of the voters were in favor of the Rev. Francis Kaulanda being appointed bishop of that Diocese.

No objections were forthcoming. To ensure transparency and give a final chance to come forward with specified objections, a Court of Confirmation, consisting of the bishops of the CPCA (Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) or their commissaries, was convened. It is an Open Court to determine the eligibility of the recommended bishop. Anyone can appear to oppose the confirmation of the election of such a person as a bishop of the Anglican Communion Worldwide. The confirmation can be held at any convenient place in any of the four countries mentioned above.

The Dean of the CPCA chose Lilongwe for the venue and gave notice accordingly. The court was convened on the 22nd September 2009. Various written objections were lodged. The court called for the opposers to present themselves to give evidence. No opposers appeared. Mercifully, this is the end of the road for the vicar of All Saints', Ealing, the Rev. Nick Henderson, a bachelor who wanted and tried to manipulate to get the position after pouring tens of thousands of pounds into the diocese.

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Sadly we note the death of the former Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan and Bishop of Juba, Dr. Joseph Marona. He passed away at a relative's home in Khartoum, Sudan.

He retired as the third Archbishop of the ECS on 30th December 2007 and was replaced by the Fourth Archbishop, Dr. Daniel Deng Bul, in February 2008. Recently, my wife spent time with Deborah Deng Bul at the cathedral in Juba and learned what she is doing for poor and impoverished women.

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Roof rot hits church over Shakespeare's grave. Something is rotten in the city of Stratford-upon-Avon. It's the beam that supports the roof over the grave of William Shakespeare. The church where he lies is urgently seeking 50,000 pounds ($80,000) for repairs.

The Rev. Martin Gorick, vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, said the problem was discovered three weeks ago by workmen on the roof of the church, who were alarmed to find bits of the beam falling off.

The church has raised nearly 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) in the past seven years for restoration work on the building, which is about 800 years old.

Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity on April 26, 1564. The church's burial register lists him as "Gulielimus, filius Johannes Shakspeare," (William, son of John Shakespeare.)

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Diverse interfaith leaders call for comprehensive Middle East peace. Matthew Davies writing for Episcopal News Service says that as more than 120 heads of state and government prepare for seven days of debate at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a diverse group of interfaith leaders are raising their voices in support of "a negotiated, sustainable resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict -- a fundamental American interest" that they say crosses racial, ethnic and religious lines.

The statement was drafted by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) -- a coalition of 22 Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant national church bodies, including the Episcopal Church -- and signed by 30 religious leaders, including Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. The leaders express their support for President Barack Obama's determination "to provide sustained, hands-on diplomatic leadership to bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end through the creation of two viable, secure and independent states living side by side in peace and security."

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Even as The Episcopal Church slowly declines, there is good news on other fronts. The ANGLICAN MISSION IN THE AMERICAS consecrated three new bishops in Pasadena, California, recently with more than 300 Anglicans in attendance from across the U.S. and Canada. The event, which took place at the Church of the Nazarene, saw Bishops Todd Hunter, Doc Loomis and Silas Ng (Canada) consecrated. Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini (Rwanda) presided at the service. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church preached a sermon charging the three leaders to faithfully shepherd the flocks God has placed in their care. "If God has called you to shepherd His flock, don't give up that call to do anything else," Pastor Warren said. "There is no higher calling." Drawing on three principles from Hebrews 13:7, he urged the new bishops to "Proclaim a message worth remembering [the Gospel], to live a life worth considering and to build a faith worth imitating."

Hunter is the founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, California, and also leads Churches for the Sake of Others, a church planting movement within the Anglican Mission in the Americas designed to develop leaders committed to planting churches located primarily, but not exclusively, on the West Coast of the US. Loomis has been involved with planting new churches, raising up leaders and opening new territory since 2007 in both the US and Canada. His ministry will center in the Great Lakes region - affectionately known as the "Heart of North America" -- as well as the mid-west and will extend into Ontario and Quebec. Ng, rector of Richmond Emmanuel Church in British Columbia will serve as missionary bishop overseeing the ACiC and Asian Initiative networks. The new bishops were elected during a meeting of the House of Bishops of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda (PEAR), held in Kigali June 12-13, 2009 and were appointed to serve in the Anglican Mission.

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We have posted a number of excellent stand alone articles and think pieces in today's digest and at the website. I attended a FELLOWSHIP OF CONFESSING CHURCHMEN conference in Delaware this past week and will, over the course of coming weeks post stories from that event.

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ERRATUM. In last week's VIEWPOINTS, I wrote that St. John's in Savannah, Georgia, was the subject of litigation by the diocese. This is incorrect. The parish in question is Christ Church, Savannah. We regret any hurt this may have caused.

An irate priest wrote VOL about a statement declaring that Bishop Ronald Haines ordained no straight white males in his eight years as Bishop of Washington, choosing gays, lesbians and women to fill pulpits, sometimes pushing them on unsuspecting parishes. VOL was told that he apparently he ordained one. We accept the correction.

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In Christ,

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