Our Fallen Nature. The teaching of Jesus. It is difficult to understand those who cling to the doctrine of the fundamental goodness of human nature, and do so in a generation which has witnessed two devastating world wars and especially the horrors which occasioned and accompanied the second. It is even harder to understand those who attribute this belief to Jesus Christ. For he taught nothing of the kind. Jesus taught that within the soil of every man's heart there lie buried the ugly seeds of every conceivable sin -'evil thoughts, acts of fornication, of theft, murder, adultery, ruthless greed, and malice; fraud, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.' All thirteen are 'evil things', and they come out of the heart of 'the man' or 'the men', every man. This is Jesus Christ's estimate of fallen human nature. - John R. W. Stott

Be Not Dismayed Attributed to Gustavus Adolphus. Tr. Elizabeth Charles (1594–1632)

Be not dismayed, thou little flock,
Although the foe's fierce battle-shock,
Loud on all sides, assail thee.
Though o'er thy fall they laugh secure,
Their triumph cannot long endure:
5 Let not thy courage fail thee.
Thy cause is God's: go at his call,
And to his hand commit thy all.
Fear thou no ill impending.
His Gideon shall arise for thee,
10 God's word and people manfully,
In God's own time, defending.
Our hope is sure in Jesus' might;
Against themselves the godless fight,
Themselves, not us, distressing.
15 Shame and contempt their lot shall be;
God is with us, with him are we;
To us belongs his blessing.

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
February 18, 2011

If you want a fore taste of where the Episcopal Church is going, read what a liberal Episcopal blogger wrote on the HOB/D list, recently. "We should not let another General Convention go by without defining when we can take action against Dioceses, Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Conventions. Appropriate language does not exist because we never imagine anyone being so uncouth as to do what these [orthodox] folks have done. Time to close all loopholes."

There you have it. The Diocese of South Carolina should take note. The Episcopal Church has you on its radar screen. TEC has closed all the loopholes on women's ordination. It is only a matter of time when it will be compulsory for priests, who still have a moral conscience and refuse to perform same-sex marriages and are forced to use rites for same-sex unions, to get the same treatment.

As if to make the point, TEC Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori made a visit to the Diocese of North Texas this week and proclaimed that she will recover the lost properties that are under Jack Iker, Bishop of the Diocese of Ft. Worth.

The Presiding Bishop's rump bishop of North Texas, Wallis Ohl tried to hold a parish meeting of the diocese's leading evangelical congregation, St. Andrew's, led by The Rev. Dr. Bill Dickson. He got a blistering letter from the evangelical rector accusing him of masquerading as the Bishop of Ft. Worth under the orders of the Episcopal Church. He called "absurd" a letter Ohl had sent the parish inviting them to attend the Parish's annual meeting.

Dickson, an outspoken evangelical theologian in a predominantly Anglo-Catholic diocese, ripped the liberal interloping bishop calling his persistence in taking over the parish "a charade in an effort to confuse the courts and assume control of our churches and and our assets." He rounded off his rip saying, "The conduct of TEC is an abomination; have no fear."

The full exchange can be read in today's digest.

*****

All is not going well in the wonderland of Episcopaldom where Jefferts Schori is meeting with her Executive Council in Fort Worth this week. The Episcopal Church Center's Chief Operating Officer, Linda Watt, reported that things are messy at national headquarters in New York. She began by saying that a human resources consultant hired by the Episcopal Church Center (located at 815 Second Avenue) reported his impression that it is a place of broken wings where the primary focus is placed upon caring for individual staff members with less attention being paid to the work those individual staff members were accomplishing.

She said that "this inward focus was troubling" to Jefferts Schori, who was just beginning her term, and who "also recognized that there were dangers inherent in a staff that consisted in considerable part of individuals whose working style was fundamentally isolated in silos.

"Many mission staff considered themselves to be in charge of an area - to be the expert - individually in control of events and budget and information," Watt continued. "Bishops and others in leadership positions around the church expressed annoyance and even hostility toward 815, and some staff members exhibited some patronizing attitudes. There was really very little accountability on how money was spent, or if events had to take place or if goals were met, if indeed goals were set."

Well whadaya know. There is chaos at 815. Really. No theology, just MDGs and the constant bleat for pansexual acceptance. The center is not holding. Perhaps the end is closer than we think.

Here is another completely disingenuous statement by Jefferts Schori as reported by Cheryl Wetzel of Anglicans United. She is attending the Executive Council meeting in Ft. Worth."The Primates' Meeting in Dublin, Ireland in late January was the most pleasant of those meetings I have attended....[I] was encouraged by the tenor of the meeting and the decision that the Primate's Council is not a "legislative" or - she paused here for several seconds of thought before she continued - "a regulatory group" for the Communion. She found a new spirit of mutuality and partnership in God's mission there. On the whole, I found this is to be a gentle beginning to this meeting. The voices were less strident and spoke with a conciliatory tone that I have not heard in the past. The defiant voices were quieter, the sharp edge was muted. It is my hope that this will continue throughout the rest of this meeting."

Allow me to unspin this. The reason things were "pleasant" in Dublin is because the ORTHODOX PRIMATES WERE NOT THERE and Rowan Williams did not have to play shuttle diplomacy between rooms to try and find a non-existent middle ground between sodomy and heterosexual behavior. She was also able to weave TEC's revisionist web in the hope that the new primates (about one third) would buy her nonsense.

"The defiant voices were quieter, the sharp edge was muted," said Jefferts Schori. The defiant voices of Nigeria and Uganda were NOT THERE. There was NO sharp edge. Like the New Jersey state motto, "Rowan Williams and Jefferts Schori perfect together."

*****

The Anglican Mission's Winter Conference 2011 drew over 1200 participants for the three and a half day event February 9-12. The crowd swelled to 1400 for the opening worship service on Wednesday night. Held for the third time in Greensboro, North Carolina, theAM welcomed guests from 36 states and five countries as they celebrated Jesus...Heart of the Mission.

Thirty-seven practical workshops addressed topics organized in several general categories: Anglican Liturgy & Worship; Beyond Church Walls (outreach and social ministry); Children, Youth and Family; Healing & Wholeness; Leadership & theAM; Ministry on the Frontier; Spiritual Formation & Prayer; and Transformed & Empowered for Life and Ministry. Archbishop Moses Tay's daily Bible studies were a highlight for many participants, and as always, worship and prayer were central in the conference. Andy Piercy's worship team from around theAM showcased original songs as well as Winter Conference favorites. The Soaking Prayer service and the Power Ministry service led by Bishop Murphy were powerful and transformational for many.

I have posted two new stories on this event with more to come. One tells the story of Kay Warren's struggle with cancer and her families various illnesses. She is the wife of Rick Warren, the highly successful pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose-Driven Life. The other is by a university professor who exhorted his listeners to get back to the "old paths" and make Christ known. Both are excellent stories of courage and hope. I have also posted a new start-up parish story by AMIA in Hawaii.

*****

In Pittsburgh this week, Somerset Anglican Fellowship resolved a three-year dispute and reached an agreement with the rump Episcopal diocese under Bishop Kenneth Price. The Fellowship will move from its Georgian Place location to a larger church along East Union Street - a Presbyterian Church - and has agreed to return all the property it took in the move.

Under the terms of the agreement, the congregation must return all diocesan property and promise not to support any litigation other churches may bring against the diocese. The Rev. Mark Zimmerman said "It's not something I had to think hard about," he said. "It hasn't been a major sacrifice to give these materials back."

There seems to be a divide and conquer strategy by the rump diocese. This is the third parish it has dealt with on a one-to-one basis. They have a ways to go with all the parishes in the diocese. The truth is the faux diocese doesn't have enough money to litigate against all of them and this one-on-on approach seems to be working. We'll see what time does with the rest of the diocesan parishes still loyal to Bishop Robert Duncan.

The full story can be read in today's digest.

*****

In the Diocese of Connecticut, Bishop Seabury Church, under the safeguard of Fr. Ron Gauss, will have its future decided by the Connecticut Supreme Court. This parish is in conflict with the diocese over TEC's anointing of an avowed sodomite, Gene Robinson, to the episcopacy. His appointment nearly a decade ago prompted the exodus of several conservative Episcopal congregations in Connecticut, which later became known as "The Connecticut Six".

The fallout from the battle has pitted worshiper against worshiper and congregation against congregation. Now the state's highest court is being asked to decide if the members of the Bishop Seabury Church of Groton (one of The Connecticut Six) own the church they have been worshiping in for the past 35 years, or if it is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

In March, the trial court determined that Bishop Seabury is now and always has been a part of the diocese and, as such, the property of the parish is held in trust for The Episcopal Church. The 300-member congregation appealed, arguing that it built the structure with its own funds, and did it without getting into any debt - all without help from the diocese. Similar lawsuits have been waged across the country as local parishes attempt to keep properties after breaking from the national church.

I am in touch with this godly rector. However it goes, the diocese will be the loser, as they will lose upwards of 800 dues-paying Episcopalians. Owning the property will be a hollow victory. Some of us thought that under new bishop Ian T. Douglas that a voice for sanity would be heard. No such luck. He has turned out to be as venal as his predecessor. He could follow in the footsteps of the Bishop of New Jersey, George Counsell, a generous liberal, but, apparently, Douglas is under the thrall of Katharine Jefferts Schori.

*****

Episcopalians and Moravians inaugurated full communion this past week by bringing five churches in inter-communion with each other. They include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht, the Philippine Independent Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India.

An evening Eucharist blended elements of the liturgical and musical practices of both traditions. Representatives of the Episcopal Church and the two provinces of the Moravian Church in North America formally inaugurated a full-communion relationship between the denominations.

The service at Central Moravian Church in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the seat of the Moravian Church's Northern Province, included a newly written Liturgy for Christian Unity from the Moravian Book of Worship and an Eucharistic prayer adapted from the 4th century liturgy attributed to St. Basil the Great (The Book of Common Prayer's Eucharistic Prayer D. Most of the hymns came from the Moravian Book of Worship. While some hymns are also found in the Episcopal Church's 1982 hymnal, many are unique to the Moravian tradition.

Close to a dozen Episcopal bishops, bishops of the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church, members of the Episcopal Church's Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations and the Moravian-Episcopal Dialogue (the group that guided the development of the full-communion proposal), and representatives from ecumenical partners and from the Anglican Church of Canada participated in the Eucharist. A near-capacity congregation filled Central Moravian Church.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Moravian Provincial Elders Conference presidents, the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth D. Miller (Northern Province) and the Rev. David Guthrie (Southern Province) officiated at the service.

Bishops in the Moravian Church trace their succession back to their founding in 1457 while Episcopal Church bishops trace theirs through the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church of England. Episcopal bishops are elected by a diocese and have oversight of that specific geographic region. Moravians elect bishops on a province-wide basis for a special ministry of pastoral care and oversight, but Moravian bishops do not have administrative duties unless elected to those offices.

Jefferts Schori said the "visible witness of two different traditions coming together is a profound sign of the possibility of reconciliation to the world around us."

That's one interpretation. Another might be that as mainline denominations shrivel and die because they refuse to preach the transcendent gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, they merge to stay propped up. Malcolm Muggeridge once observed that the present ecumenical delirium gives one the distinct impression that the Christian denominations are indifferently falling over one another, like so many drunks supporting each other...to keep from tripping on the track they are stumbling over on their way home, in his case to Rome.

*****

In the Diocese of Rhode Island, Episcopal parish members of the Episcopal Christ Church of Lonsdale in Lincoln voted against the idea of merging with Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Cumberland. The Valley Breeze reports it was a fairly close vote -- 112 to 83.

Church leaders say immediate cuts in staff, programming and ministry are needed now because of budgetary problems. The church's rector, who supported the merger, says he doesn't think the church can last another year on its own.

Stubbornness will be rewarded with death.

*****

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop says The Good Friday offering to assist churches in Jerusalem and the Middle East is a tradition in the Episcopal Church that dates over 80 years. Mrs. Jefferts Schori has sent a letter to all congregations asking for their continued support.

The Good Friday offering, the Presiding Bishop writes, "offers us the opportunity to join in deepening the bond we have with the churches and people in the land of the Holy One." Funds collected on Good Friday are gathered and distributed to the Dioceses of Jerusalem and Cyprus and the Gulf, all members of the Anglican Communion.

One diocese that won't accept her gifts is headed by Dr. Mouneer Anis, the Egyptian bishop of the Episcopal /Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa. He has turned down money before and he certainly won't accept this money. It comes tainted with the blood of orthodox bishops and priests who have been tossed out or deposed by the PB and with the knowledge that the sin of consecrating an avowed sodomite to the episcopacy is an abomination to the living God.

*****

Civil Partnership ceremonies may be allowed in Church of England churches, but Dr. John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, is none too happy about it. He told BBC One's Andrew Marr, "I live in a liberal democracy and I want equality for everybody. I cannot say the Quakers shouldn't do it. Nor do I want somebody to tell me the Church of England must do it or the Roman Catholic Church must do it because actually that is not what equality is about."

The Roman Catholic Church has already expressed its abhorrence of same-sex unions, with Pope Benedict saying last year that gay marriage and civil partnerships are among the "most insidious and dangerous challenges that today confront the common good."

The Independent reports that the Church of England has "pledged not to allow any of its buildings to be used for civil partnership ceremonies."

Dr Philip Giddings and Dr Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream commented thusly about the changes: "Civil partnerships are not marriage. The legal protections available to civil partnerships should not be confused with marriage. Marriage as between a man and a woman is God's provision for human flourishing. Research has shown it offers the best environment for the care and nurture of children and family stability which our society needs." Amen to that.

The Liberal Democrat Minister for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone, said: "Over the past few months I've spoken to a lot of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB and T) people and campaign groups, and it quickly became clear that there is a real desire to address the differences between civil marriage and civil partnerships."

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, stressed that no religious group would be forced to host a civil partnership ceremony against its will.

*****

In a world of political correctness gone mad, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey has criticized "unnecessary" criminal record checks after disclosing he has undergone five just to conduct a service or preach a sermon.

Lord Carey said that after he retired from his role in 2002, he was asked by some dioceses to help out as an assistant bishop. He said that every time he agreed to a new role, he was required to have a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check - to vet those working with children or the vulnerable - even if he would not be working with children.

"I had five sometimes," he said. "It's crazy." Friends of Lord Carey, 75, who was an assistant bishop in Bristol and Southwark, South London, said the repeated CRB checks took place over several years. As an assistant bishop, he would occasionally stand in for a bishop at a service, but would never have any role working with children.

One friend said: "Similar to supply teachers, clergy who work in a number of dioceses can have endless checks.' He said another retired bishop, who had been asked to work in a neighbouring diocese, refused because he did not want to undergo the onerous checks. Lord Carey made his comments on the BBC1's This Week programme on Thursday night, the day before the Government announced it is to scale back Labour's controversial Vetting and Barring Scheme."

Twenty women from Gloucester Cathedral Flower Guild, including the head flower arranger, have refused to have their pasts examined. Meantime, the Rev. Colin Coward of Changing Attitude can have his relationship with Nigerian male model Bobby Egbele blessed in a church. Someone will need to define ecclesiastical Anglican insanity for Wikipedia.

*****

In a brazen act that only a diocese that has travelled far down the path of gay and liberal agit-prop can perpetrate, the Diocese of New Westminster has run articles on the front page of its own web page from Xtra West, which is a paper that attacks Christianity and openly promotes the gay/ lesbian lifestyle. This is not supporting an "oppressed" minority; this goes far beyond that and gives credence to the expansion and encouragement of that lifestyle. It's quite unbelievable and quite PAGAN, wrote a VOL observer in Vancouver. This is blatant advertising for the homosexual lifestyle. Check it out here: http://www.xtra.ca/public/Vancouver/Vancouver_honours_Ugandas_modern_day_martyr-9735.aspx

*****

In yet another sign of the diminishing Christian faith in the Anglican Church of Canada, a cross in the Oakville Senior Citizen Residence chapel on Oakville, Ontario, Canada, has vanished. Apparently, it was deemed offensive to those of non-Christian faiths and removed; the chapel is now a "spiritual centre". The fact that all the senior citizens who use the "spiritual centre" are Christians and are upset has no bearing on the matter.

Why did no-one in charge object? The volunteer manager is Susan Bird, Bishop Michael Bird's wife. I'm sure she fought tooth and nail to keep the cross and not to rename the chapel a "spiritual centre". Or maybe not. (Source Anglican Samisdat)

*****

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, will on Wednesday, begin a three-day pastoral visit to the United Kingdom, The Rev. Cannon Ben Enwuchola, Chaplain in charge of the Nigerian Chaplaincy in London, disclosed in an interview with the Europe correspondents.

He said that during the visit, Okoh would meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

Enwuchola explained that Okoh would also meet with Nigerian Anglicans resident in the UK and officials of the Nigerian High Commission in London.

*****

Australian Anglicans planning to enter a Catholic ordinariate discussed the practical arrangements for the move at a conference last week. Bishop Peter Elliott, an auxiliary of the Melbourne archdiocese, said that those interested in entering the Catholic Church should make a written application. The process will entail providing evidence of Baptism, making a Confession and a statement of faith, and Confirmation. Bishop Elliott stressed that the ordinariate should not be seen as a one-time effort to accommodate a certain group of Anglicans, but as a path that would remain open to others. "We can't let the ordinariate be a Jurassic Park," he said. "We must keep the doors open."

In the US, the ACA has split over the Ordinariate offer by the Pope. Bishop Louis Campese, formerly head of the ACA-DEUS, this week made a statement as the new Bishop Ordinary Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family on why he is following Archbishop John Hepworth and going to Rome. You can read his statement in today's digest. In another move, Hepworth moved to clarify his relationship with Bishop David L. Moyer of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, PA.

Hepworth wrote: "I hope I can provide the honest answer that has been requested concerning the ecclesial status of Bishop Moyer. He was deposed from the clergy of the TEC by Bishop Bennison, and lost the court case that followed. He is therefore not in any way a clergyman of the TEC. He has remained as parish priest in a parish whose buildings are part of the TEC. His parish intends to join the US Ordinariate. At this time, he is a bishop in good standing in the TAC. The Patrimony of the Primate in the US has been accepted until the past two weeks by all the bishops of the ACA, the US province of the TAC. There is now some contesting in the ACA of the status of bishops and clergy in the Patrimony (a strictly temporary device until the Ordinariate is erected). It should be appreciated that in the highly belligerent environment of TEC, it has not always been wise to signal one's intentions too soon. As a frequent visitor to Good Shepherd, and Bishop Moyer's consecrator, I have never been in any doubt about his ecclesial position. But it has been wise to keep the TEC in doubt. Fortunately, the Ordinariate is regarded as a more honest destination than ACNA by some of the belligerents, and the situation for very brave people such as we find at Rosemont is becoming a little better. In short, he is leading his people to the Ordinariate as part of the TAC contingent. And he is doing the same in England as Episcopal Visitor to the TAC there."

*****

A Who's Who of liberal primates were elected as members of the Primates' Standing Committee at the recent Primates' Meeting in Dublin, Ireland, and will serve for three years. Only one, African Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak (Sudan), is orthodox. The rest are liberal.

The full story can be read in today's digest.

One of the most disingenuous choices was to elect US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to represent the Central, North, South Americas and the Caribbean. She no more represents the Global South in Latin America than Manchester United represents Real Madrid.

*****

Trustees of Bexley Hall in Columbus, OH, and Seabury Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, ratified a joint operating agreement to begin immediately and extend through June 30, 2012. During that time, a joint trustee committee will draft proposals for a permanent partnership between the two Episcopal seminaries.

The partnership will allow the two schools to share resources and offer a full spectrum of theological education from a residential three-year M.Div. program to certificate and doctoral programs in a variety of settings. Robert Bottoms will serve as the interim joint president of Seabury and Bexley. During this time, the boards of the two seminaries will study the model of having a single president with the intent of searching for a permanent joint president.

A news release explains more: "This partnership forms an innovative, flexible theological center in the Midwest," said Robert Bottoms, interim dean and president of Seabury. "We will educate clergy and laypeople to lead a rapidly changing church and realize efficiencies from streamlining operations while preserving our distinctive traditions and characters."

Through the new partnership, Bexley and Seabury plan to share personnel in financial services, fundraising, communications and other operations. Institutional budgets will remain separate, though closely coordinated, and faculty will work toward joint operations.

What this means is that as theological liberalism goes into decline, more and more of the old guard seminaries will be forced into mergers. Most of TEC's seminaries, with the exception of Sewanee, are in a state of financial and student decline. Watch for more of this in the coming months.

*****

Are you a parish priest in need of vestments mostly suitable for a warm climate? If so the following are available:

1 black cassock, size 40/42
2 black rabat vests,
full 1 black rabat vest,
short 1 black tippet
1 black stole
3 green stoles
5 purple stoles
3 red stoles
4 white stoles
4 black belt/sashes
6 white surplices, various fabrics (linen, cotton, no-iron).

Each has one embroidered cross, no lace. Medium length.

Call Marianne Aiken or drop her an e-mail.
msaiken@triad.rr.com
336-627-0375

*****

Before going to cyber press I posted a world exclusive on a major cover-up by homosexual priests and the sexual subversion of young men going on for decades in South Africa. This is a must read as it outlines exactly what homosexuality can and does do to young people and what happens decades later. An Anglo-Catholic priest blew the whistle on the lot of them and got defrocked for his exposing them. You can read the story here or in today's digest. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=13990

*****

VOL's stories. From time to time we get requests from bloggers to post VOL's stories. We are delighted to have our stories posted on blogs around the world. All we request is that you would post our website www.virtueonline.org. We also ask that you do not change the content of the story. Thank you.

*****

Please consider a tax-deductible donation. It has been a joy to sit down with archbishops and bishops from the Global South at recent meetings I have attended and to hear how vibrant the church is in different parts of the world. Your support makes my travels possible. We apologize for the delay in sending out Nov. Dec. 2010 tax donation receipts. They are going out this week.

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All blessings,

David