"The world has changed for gay men. I have to add the ritual disclaimer that of course there's still homophobia, but the fact is that in law we have all-but total equality. Yet we continue to behave as if we are a disconnected minority, shut out from the world of responsibility. Gay men have a lot of catching up to do. Hooked on drugs and sex and looks, we call it gay culture. The figures are staggering: 20% of gay men in London use the incredibly damaging crystal meth. Studies show that men who do are twice as likely to become HIV positive. Since 1999, the figures for HIV infections have continued to rise in the UK. Syphilis infection rates among gay men have increased by 616% in the past five years."--- Simon Fanshawe (a gay man) writing in The Guardian newspaper

Full Salvation. The New Testament gospel is good news about what God has done in Christ. It is the proclamation of an achievement. It is the heralding of an accomplished salvation---From "Fundamentalism and Evangelism" Article VI, which is based on St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Fathers of the ancient Church: "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." Instant acceptance. Justification is a legal pronouncement which is instantaneous. As soon as any sinner turns from his sin and commits himself in absolute trust to Jesus Christ who died for him and rose again, God pronounces him righteous. He is 'accepted in the Beloved' (Eph. 1:6), or 'justified in Christ' (Gal. 2:17). --- From "Men with a Message" by John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
9/5/2008

The spiritual logjam in which we have been living since 2003 is just now releasing. The Anglican flotilla will accelerate slowly and then carry forward in a rush. With these words the Rev. Cn. Daryl Fenton, editor of the Newsletter of the Anglican Communion Network spoke prophetically of the coming Anglican Communion and its future.

Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan echoed this with his own take on GAFCON and Lambeth. He wrote, "We find ourselves between two eras of church history, certainly as Anglicans. The contrast between two great international gatherings this summer, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and the Lambeth Conference of Bishops could not be more striking."

GAFCON met to find a way forward.
Lambeth was structured to avoid any decision.

Unity at GAFCON was palpable.
Lambeth's divisions were a sorrow for all.

GAFCON empowered church leaders to lead the church.
Lambeth proposed another committee.

GAFCON gave promise of a post-colonial Anglicanism.
Lambeth substituted process for substance.

GAFCON's declaration made 14 mainstream Christian points.
Lambeth's indaba summary has 161 paragraphs.

It would seem that after years of endless and fruitless Canterbury-centered statements, meetings, commissions, panels, reports, and crises, orthodox Anglicans are now taking responsibility for their own future.

In my article "The Anglican Communion: The End is the Beginning" which can be read in today's digest, I have tried to pull together all the ingredients of the current crisis in the Anglican Communion to give you an overall picture as we move into the fall. The winter of the Anglican Communion's discontent is upon us. It is going to be a hard winter with several dioceses including Ft. Worth, Quincy and Pittsburgh deciding their future in The Episcopal Church.

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MOVES are afoot at the national church's headquarters in Manhattan. TEC's New York staff will have to move in with its theological relatives into General Theological Seminary as the seminary cuts staff. The seminary faces budget woes for which an endowment of $20 million is too small to fund everything that is needed, according to Dean Ward Ewing. The seminary's response includes a plan to downsize its staff and part-time faculty by at least seven positions. The school will eliminate its full-time sub-dean position, a job now held by the Rev. Titus Pressler. Ewing noted, "It was also our greatest liability in that we faced a rapidly deteriorating plant with over $100 million in deferred maintenance." According to Episcopal Life Monthly's September edition, "One of five proposed regional offices of the Episcopal Church Center in New York is now open in Omaha, Neb. The office, located on the campus of Trinity Cathedral and provided rent free by the Diocese of Nebraska, will be home to staff members. The first staff members to arrive in Omaha were Bishop Christopher Epting, program officer for ecumenical and inter-religious relations, and Dr. Tom Ferguson, the office's associate program officer."

The two, having arrived in early July, met with diocesan staff, ecumenical partners at the headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Nebraska Synod, and the Omaha Tri-Faith Initiative, a partnership of Temple Israel, The American Institute of Islamic Studies, and the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska. The three entities are exploring a plan to locate houses of worship on an interfaith campus. Three other liberal Episcopal seminaries have faced down-sizing and closure., Iironically, that is not the case with the two orthodox seminaries, Trinity School for Mission and Nashotah House, both of which are thriving. One intelligent observer noted that it might have something to do with what is being taught and the message being proclaimed at these schools.

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The DIOCESE OF QUINCY will vote to leave the Episcopal Church when the diocese meets Nov. 7-8. The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Quincy has sent a 35-page report to all members of the diocese, responding to questions and concerns over the diocese's plans to quit the Episcopal Church. This is the second reading of a constitutional amendment that would permit the diocese to withdraw from the Episcopal Church and affiliate with another province of the Anglican Communion. While so far no formal resolution has been submitted to the synod that would seek formal separation, the president of the standing committee, the Rev James Marshall told us he believes it is a foregone conclusion they will go. Bishop Keith Ackerman told VOL at Lambeth that he saw little hope of his diocese voting to stay in TEC.

Other dioceses including Ft. Worth and Pittsburgh have scheduled votes before the year is out that would permit them to leave TEC. Pittsburgh Diocesan convention votes October 4. Last year the Diocese of San Joaquin voted to leave TEC. Bishop John-David Schofield survived a vote by the HOB, but Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori nonetheless declared Bishop Schofield deposed and appointed retired Northern California Bishop Jerry Lamb as bishop of the newly constituted diocese.

Recently, the Diocese of Quincy and the Diocese of Springfield met at a joint meeting of clergy and laity to figure out how to move forward after GAFCON and Lambeth. The two dioceses pledged to assist each other's ministries in any way possible, but they did not move to formally unite their dioceses. You can read the full story in today's digest.

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THE DIOCESE OF RECIFE has completed its new Book of Common Prayer - BCP-Brazil. It is in Portuguese and will be made available to the clergy of this evangelical diocese and to other Portuguese-speaking Brazilians. How many they can print depends on how much money they can raise to publish for their clergy. Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti told VOL that this was is a priority for his diocese. The diocese initially needs $4,000.00 to begin printing and to make this possible. If you would like to make a donation towards its production, you can make a tax -deductible donation to:
The account´s name: DIOCESE DO RECIFE
The Diocese's Account number is: 110446-2
The Branch's number: 3699-4
The SWIFT Code: BRASBRRJSDR
Bank: BANCO DO BRASIL S/A Bank address in Recife: Av. Domingos Ferreira, 2050 - Boa Viagem - Recife CEP: 51111-020 - Brasil The
Bank's Phone: 81-3465-3753
Bank's e-mail: 3699@bb.com.br

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The CHURCH OF ENGLAND could have its first homosexual bishop, following in the footsteps of the US Episcopal Church's V. Gene Robinson. The Dean of St. Alban's, Jeffrey John is on a short list to be the next Bishop of Bangor, Wales. Welsh Archbishop Barry Morgan has no problem with John's candidacy. However, it will be a very provocative move so soon after Lambeth, but Morgan has admitted it will happen so it won't come as much of a shock. It does fly in the face of one of the three moratoria set forth by the ABC at Lambeth, but then no one really believed the moratoria would be followed anyway. A Canon in the diocese, the Rev. Peter Jones said he would resign Jeffrey John, become the new Bishop of Bangor.

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The BRITISH GOVERNMENT is "religiously illiterate" says a new report commissioned by the Church of England. It goes on to say that the government is also uninterested in the church's social role focusing instead on minority religions. "We encountered on the part of government, a significant lack of understanding of, or interest in, the Church of England's current or potential contribution in the public sphere," says the report, Moral, But No Compass, which was launched in London on June 9. The study, from the Von Hügel Institute at St Edmund's College, Cambridge, is based on interviews over the past year with 70 bishops, lawmakers, civil servants and academics. The report describes the government as being "religiously illiterate" and knowing little about the church's work. "Indeed, we were told that the government had consciously decided to focus its evidence gathering almost exclusively on minority religions," the report stated. "'We've got a tiny minority of people in this country who seek to pervert Islam and use it as a backdrop to the kind of extremist message that poses a significant threat to this country." ' Hazel Blears, MP Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the church's second-ranking cleric, Archbishop of York John Sentamu, said in a joint statement that the study detailed remarkable examples of public good delivered by the church and faith-based organizations which, if grasped imaginatively by the state, would yield extraordinarily positive results.

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The DIOCESE OF THE ARCTIC doesn't like same-sex blessings and recently said so. The diocese expressed criticism of four dioceses to the south. The synod of the diocese of the Arctic passed a motion criticizing decisions by the four dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada that support blessing same-sex unions. "Synod expressed great disappointment as some diocesan synods have decided to move forward with approving the blessing of same-sex civil marriages, after General Synod 2007 (made) it clear that this would not be allowed until the Lambeth Conference had time to discuss the issues this summer," said a press release issued by the diocese of the Arctic synod. "This then indicates that Canadians are not serious about unity elements that hold the church together." It also passed a motion expressing "strong support ... for those in the Southern Cone dioceses, recognizing them as members of the Anglican Communion." The diocesan bishop of the Arctic, Andrew Atagotaaluk, said the synod wanted to express that, while some Canadian Anglicans have left their parishes and joined the province of the Southern Cone, "that doesn't say that they're separated from the Anglican Church as a whole; they're still part of the Communion."

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Defiance continues apace in the DIOCESE OF SEATTLE. St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral reports on their website that they will continue to celebrate and bless marriages with weddings for both heterosexual and same-sex couples. So much for restraint called for by the ABC.

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ACROSS THE AISLE, a coalition of Episcopal clergy and laypeople in the DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH announced a unity event for the Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese. They are pitching a propaganda campaign under the banner of something called "A Hopeful Future for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh: An Alternative Solution." They will present the case for rejecting proposals that, purportedly, would remove the diocese from The Episcopal Church. Speakers will explain how continuity of the diocese as a judicatory of The Episcopal Church will be maintained irrespective of the outcome of the vote on "realignment" at the October 4 diocesan convention. They believe that a foreign Anglican province is neither a proper nor a helpful response to the current controversies within The Episcopal Church. However the diocese has a right to withdraw from The Episcopal Church and no one loses their position by exercising their constitutional right to withdraw from TEC.

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A former Episcopal priest in the DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA who got outed as a Wiccan priest and resigned from the priesthood has written a tell-all book "The Apple and the Thorn". The Rev. William Melnyk (formerly with St. James) says the book has done well which just goes to show that Wiccan and Druid practices tickle the ears of the alleged faithful. His wife, the Rev. Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk (St. Francis in the Field's) dabbles with Druid circles and Wiccan spirituality. Bishop Charles Bennison said at that time that he would not depose them as this was "exploratory thinking", another good reason why Bennison should be deposed. Both priests are involved in Druid practices and Wiccan worship. Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk AKA the "Raven" and "Glispa" has stayed on at her parish with the full support of the vestry. She recently was given a $30,000 Pew sabbatical scholarship. Melnyk blamed "right wing" groups out to destabilize the Episcopal Church.

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An Episcopal priest, the Rev. Robert Certain gave the invocation at the Republican National Convention. Certain was a POW in Vietnam, reports the Episcopal News Service. Certain asked God to "grant wisdom and grace" to President Bush and other U.S. leaders and that the presidential, vice-presidential and other political candidates be granted the "courage to face the rigors of the campaign (and) honesty and integrity to cast a vision of unity, progress and liberty." He also asked God to "teach our people to rely on your strength, and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may put country first, elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society."

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The Anglican Primate of the ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA is in a snit. Archbishop Fred Hiltz says he was frustrated that a request to allow the Anglican Church of Canada to state its position at the Lambeth Conference fell on deaf ears. Hiltz expressed "frustration" that the Canadian church was not given an opportunity to present its situation with regards to the blessing of same-sex unions during hearings in order "to salvage its fractured unity."

In an interview, Archbishop Hiltz said, "The frustration that I have and I think other Canadians have is that I asked point blank in the second session around the Windsor Continuation Group for Canada to be heard in this conference. My understanding of a hearing is obviously different from their understanding of a hearing. My understanding is if you're going to have a hearing, you sit and listen and you allow a church, a province to tell its story. What I said in the hearing was, will you please accord to the province of Canada the same courtesy that was extended to them at the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Nottingham?"

"I think what we're running into is a kind of difficult rubbing between the indaba process which has been in large measure very conversational, very relational" and the work of the WCG, which is "seeking to find structures and procedures whereby we can remain in communion with one another," said Archbishop Hiltz.

Here are six reasons why he was not and should not have been given a hearing.

1. Everyone knows what the ultra-liberal Canadian Church thinks. No one gives a rasher of Canadian bacon as to what Hiltz might have said. It is hardly news.

2. New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham has done enough damage, been given enough press time to make the Canadian church's position very clear.

3. The Canadian Church tacitly allows rites for same-sex blessings to occur (local option please) even though the national church has not taken an official position.

4. The Canadian church is so small (about 600,000) it is not much bigger than one decent-sized Ugandan diocese, so who cares what Hiltz might have come up with.

5. Ingham deposed the godliest, most orthodox, and surely one of the most brilliant theologian's in the Anglican Communion - Dr. J.I. Packer - so who would want to listen to anything Hiltz has to say.

6. The Anglican Church of Canada is in free fall and will likely not be around by the next Lambeth Conference except as a tiny sect that meets in large hotel room suites across the country.

To make the point even more explicitly, the national office of the Anglican Church of Canada reported a deficit for the fifth straight year in 2007. With a shortfall of $777,195; the amount is $290,768 more than the loss recorded in 2006 of $486,427.

The deficit would have been $1.97 million had the General Synod not received a refund last year of $1.17 million from the federal government as part of the revised Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the financial statements showed. The statements reported revenue of $13.68 million, and expenses of $14.46 million.

General Synod treasurer Peter Blachford said there were a number of reasons for the deficit, but that the biggest cost was related to the transfer of Anglican Book Centre (ABC), the church's Toronto-based bookstore, to the Lutheran bookseller, Augsburg Fortress Canada. Orthodox Anglicans leaving the church have nothing to do with their declining fortunes apparently.

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PERSECUTION IN INDIA continues. Anglican Mainstream is appealing for assistance to aid Christians made homeless under persecution in Orissa, and flood victims in Bihar. Following are reports of violence against Christians in Orissa (see latest at: www.lapidomedia.com/news/christian-persecution-india_01-09-2008.php),. Anglican Mainstream has been asked to support the work of Christian mission groups in Orissa state assisting the thousands of Christians who have been made homeless.

The police have been protecting people's lives. But the Christians have been driven out of their homes to take refuge in the forest areas. Militant gangs have been burning and looting their houses so that the people do not even have the utensils needed to cook their food. The Hindu fundamentalists want to drive Christians from the state and the Maoists want to recruit the homeless Christians to their cause. So the Christians are caught between the two. On 18th September a major meeting has been called of Christian leaders in Orissa state to address the situation.

Nearly 5000 families have fled to the jungles and cannot return till relief centers are set up where Christian presence is significant. As of September 1st, over 50,000 people have been displaced; 300 villages attacked; over 4000 homes totally destroyed; 10000 people who fled into the forest are still hiding there waiting to get into relief camps; 13000 are now in relief camps; 20 bodies have been recovered and more bodies are found each day. Many will have to live in relief camps for at least 6 months. They have lost their homes as well as their livelihoods. They need immediate food, shelter and medicines.

Since then several new towns and districts have been targeted. The toll is rapidly increasing. World Vision, which has significant work in the area and has done a tremendous job over the decades, has been the target of Hindu fundamentalists who have even accused Christians of the murder of the Swamiji,. whose murder was admitted by Maoists and sparked the current violence. Some of its workers have had to flee from danger. The Church and church related bodies must organize relief and rehabilitation of the victims.

There has also been utter devastation from floods in the neighboring state of Bihar. A major river broke its banks and one third of the state has been flooded. Three million people have been stranded for almost two weeks with more than a million still waiting to be rescued. Food riots are reported in the relief camps. This is also the area where Christian mission has been very significant in the past 20 years. Support is also needed and will be sent there through Christian agencies. In both areas, relief will concentrate on basic shelter, food, clothing, and cooking utensils so that people can get back to work.

In the relief for the Indian Tsunami, funds raised through Anglican Mainstream were channeled to a Christian organization working directly on the ground with affected people. All the relief raised (over £40,000) reached the people who needed it. The same organization (Divya Shanti Christian Organisation) in Bangalore South India is working closely with mission groups across the denominations in Orissa and Bihar to channel this help. Anglican Mainstream which is a charity will pass on all the funds received and make no administrative deductions. No amount is too small to make a difference. Funds may be sent to Anglican Mainstream, 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE, England or donated through PAYPAL on the Anglican Mainstream site (under Fast Navigation - click Donations and Appeals) on the button labeled Orissa and Bihar relief (click here www.anglican-mainstream.net/donations-and-appeals/)

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DADS WALKING DAUGHTERS DOWN THE AISLE A NO-NO IN STOCKHOLM. Brides in Stockholm who want their fathers to walk them down the aisle are likely to be told it can't be done, as some pastors are refusing to allow the practice they say is sexist. "In Sweden we have worked hard in many different ways to eliminate everything that is unequal," a Lutheran Church vicar in the Stockholm region, Yvonne Hallin said. She said she would not allow the custom in her parish, and noted that Stockholm's bishop issued a recommendation in 2003 that pastors discourage it. Couples who marry "are equal when it comes to finances, politics and values but when they come to the church the woman suddenly turns into a man's property", she said. The issue came to light when Hallin recently informed a father who was to walk his daughter down the aisle that he would not be allowed to do so. The mother of the bride, who was shocked by the news, said that the ceremony will go ahead as planned, but the couple has had to give in to the pastor's wishes. "In this case it wasn't the couple who became angry, but the parents," Hallin said, adding that most people "don't find it strange". She noted that the custom of fathers walking their daughters down the aisle "is not a Swedish tradition - it has been imported from American and British films". Source: Agence France-Press.

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END OF SUMMER READING. For a brief but concise read on the life of "Charles Simeon: Prince of Evangelicals, a portrait of a true man of God" can be read here: http://www.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_102_2_Bennett.pdf VOL strongly urges its readers to read several very fine articles by religion/philosopher Gerald McDermott in today's digest as well as the thoughts of several bishops about the Anglican Communion. Mike McManus raises the issue of adoption in the case of Palin's daughter's pregnancy.

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