Do not underestimate the will and force of Satan to supplant Christianity with this perverse woke religion through which he seeks to eclipse truth. His aim is to starve humanity of the truth of the Gospel -- Doug Mainwaring for LifeSite News

The Catholic Church saw the largest decline in religious affiliation of any religious group in 2023. -- Religion News Service

Our urgent need today is not to follow the path into decadence but to enhance our capacity for guilt by repentance and forgiveness. St. Paul has taught us: "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so let every mouth be stopped and all the world become guilty before God" (Rom. 3:19) and "...God has consigned all men to disobedience so that he might have mercy upon all" (Rom. 11:32). -- Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison

The West's preoccupation with material wealth and economic growth is a sign of its moral decadence and spiritual poverty. The recent history of the West is a tale of moral decline, in which those robust virtues needed to build a civilization have been slowly corrupted by materialism and complacency. Our nations have become geographical areas without purpose where our governing class, in Wilde's words, 'know the price of everything and the value of nothing'. The shallow Left who control our media and politics have abandoned the intellect in order to shelter in emotion. For them the greatest sin of all is disagreement, which they term 'hate'. -- Campbell Campbell-Jack

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
March 29, 2024

PEOPLE often write and ask me, 'have we reached the bottom of the pit yet, are their further depths the Anglican Communion has yet to plunge before the insanity ends.'

It's a good question and worth answering. The short answer is no. I thought that when The Episcopal Church fully embraced homosexual marriage, and then turned around and kicked out a bishop who disagreed with that decision, despite all the lovely talk about inclusion and diversity, that we had reached the bottom? Not even close.

The full range of accepting LGBTQI sexualities had yet to kick in, and then along came the whole transgender nightmare. Boys wanting to be girls and vice versa; hormone replacement therapy; banning reparative therapy when there was overwhelming evidence that it worked. Anti-racism training for aging geriatrics; reparations for crimes like slavery they never committed, and to top it off apologizing for Christianity itself. Missionaries who gave their lives to bring the gospel to Africa and other parts of the world were now being vilified, their lives shredded, statues torn down, because they dared to say 'Jesus saves,' and 'there is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved.' Such absolutes mock Islam. There are photos of the Archbishop of Canterbury hosting hardline Islamists for tea and cake; leaders who will, in time, (replete with smiles), replace the Bible with the Koran, kicking the ABC to the curb.

One unspeakable evil is western Anglican efforts to infiltrate and turn orthodox African Anglican provinces on the issue of homosexuality. To date they have not been very successful, (except Southern Africa), but money is a powerful weapon for financially struggling provinces.

One unholy act was allowing a married homosexual to be the new dean of the iconic and historic Canterbury cathedral. This degradation, for me personally, where I had worshipped attending several Lambeth conferences, was the final straw. I could not, in all honesty darken the doors of the cathedral again. It is spiritually dead to me. I suspect I am not the only one who feels this way. Mercifully I will be dead when and if there is ever another Lambeth Conference.

The biggest offender and compromiser in this slow but steady erosion and desecration of the faith is the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

He is steadily eroding the foundations of 'the faith once for all delivered to the saints.' The mother church is no more for millions of African Anglicans who once saw the Church of England as their historic home. Today a dozen GAFCON primates no longer recognize the ABC as primus inter pares, they have turned their backs on him. He is dead to them.

It's a tragedy beyond all human understanding.
I wish I could tell you that revival is on the way, but I cannot. Sin in all is forms is becoming more deeply embedded in the life of the communion. CofE Synod bishops compromise their souls every time they gather. The Church of England is toying with a soft core 'living in love and faith' report, blessing same-sex unions,
that will in time become the law of the church, with full blown homosexual marriage just a few years away. There is talk of schism in the CofE, but that is probably not going to happen. Church and state are too intertwined to allow a parallel church.

The archbishop himself has been asked to resign on several occasions but is steadfastly refusing to do so. He is two years from retirement.

To say it is an unholy mess is to state the obvious. Perhaps the final descent is about to begin. We shall see.

***

The Anglican Church in North America will celebrate 15 years as a Province this June 2024. Reflecting on the early formation of the Province, Archbishop Emeritus Duncan said, "you trust the Lord and you say your prayers. It's amazing how the Lord shows up and shows you a way when you thought there was no way."

The theme for this year's Provincial Assembly is, "Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks" which will also be the occasion for the election of a new archbishop to replace Archbishop Foley Beach. By April 2 we will have a list of candidates. The assembly will be held at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA from June 25-28, 2024.

Recent figures show Anglican congregations in the United States, Canada and Mexico reporting a significant attendance increase of 17,228 persons following a widespread return to regular worship services post-COVID. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) reported modest growth in both membership and total number of churches in 2022.

Overall Average Principal Service Attendance in 2022 was 75,583, up 30 percent from 58,255 in 2021. Membership increased 2,549 (up 2 percent from 122,450) in 2021 to 124,999 in 2022. Congregations grew by three to 977 total. 2023 totals will be revealed at the conference. The ACNA has a higher Sunday attendance than the Anglican Church of Canada.

***

A rising star in TEC, the Episcopal Bishop of Wyoming, the Rt. Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, has been deposed under Title IV charges brought against him. The Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, acting in her role as presiding bishop-designate for some Title IV matters, made the announcement.

The Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs provided no information about the nature of the allegations against Chandler, though a letter to the diocese from the chair of its standing committee cited "an alleged indiscretion with a member of our diocesan team."

Under the terms of the accord, Chandler has voluntarily submitted to a sentence of deposition, which deprives him of the right to exercise the gifts and spiritual authority of God's word and sacraments conferred at ordination.

A native of West Africa, he previously served as rector of the Anglican Church in Qatar and is also known for his work as an art curator. He was founder of CARAVAN, an international nonprofit affiliated with The Episcopal Church that uses art to bring people together. This year, Chandler helped create a touring art exhibition, "Grounded," that features the works of 15 Native American Artists. He had been scheduled to speak on Oct. 16 in Charleston, South Carolina, about his book on Kahlil Gibran, but that event was canceled by the organizer three days earlier without explanation. (ENS contributed to this report).

The resolution of Chandler's case comes at a time when bishops and other church leaders have been calling for greater oversight and transparency in disciplinary cases involving bishops.

***

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA IS ON DEATH WATCH. It will come as no surprise that that the ACoC is slowly going out of business. VOL has been tracking the numbers for years. The latest figures released by the national church reveal a church with an overall average Sunday attendance in 2024 of 64,774 down from 172,255 in 1999.

In 2017, the last time there was a public census, the Anglican Church of Canada had an average Sunday attendance of 97,421 -- a one third drop. The church which took a serious hit through COVID has not recovered, and now seems unlikely it will.

The better news is that Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is now bigger than the ACoC and has been growing exponentially year over year for the 15 years it has been in business. In June they will select their third Primate with a vision to keep spreading the gospel which the ACoC has been failing to do for as long as I remember. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/anglican-church-canada-death-watch

***

The flagship St. Thomas Episcopal Church, in New York City is in deep financial trouble and is making plans to close its school music program as money drains from plate, pledge and endowments.

An ominous report put out by the vestry of the flagship St. Thomas Episcopal Church on New York city's illustrious Fifth Avenue, reveals a church in long-term decline both in numbers and income, erupting in closure of its choir school and a down grading of its historic programs.

St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, built on "millionaires Row" because of its ostentatious mansions, now finds its general fund has depleted to a point of critical concern and the Vestry has advised the School Board of Trustees that the current Choir School is at risk of closure.

The vestry warned that for the past 50 years, St. Thomas Church has balanced its budget by drawing what was needed from invested funds and spending bequests as they came in, but successive treasurers have warned that this practice was unsustainable. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/nyc-flagship-episcopal-church-deep-financial-trouble

***

To say that the Archbishop of Canterbury is increasingly out of touch with reality is probably to state the obvious.

The Living in Love and Faith (LLF) report will probably split the church if conservative concerns are ignored or sidelined in favor of the woke left dictating the terms of future sexual behavior.

If you think pouring 30 million pounds ($38 Million) into various climate change proposals to reach net zero by 2030 is right, you are probably rolling your eyes.

Finally, if you think pouring a billion pounds ($1.263 Billion) into reparations for something which you and he never did, will salve the church's conscience over long-outlawed slave trade, when local vicars can barely put food on the table and their parishes are leaking like sieves, then you get the picture. See this excellent article on the subject of reparations here: https://www.christiantoday.com/article/is.there.a.biblical.case.for.making.reparations.for.slavery/141525.htm

A former race tsar in the UK says the reparation fund is almost bribery. You san read what he says here: https://virtueonline.org/former-race-tsar-says-reparation-fund-almost-bribery

Welby, realizing the growing criticism of reparations wrote his own reasoning here: https://virtueonline.org/benefits-billion-pound-slavery-fund-will-reach-far-and-wide-justin-welby

***

Just when you think things couldn't get worse, we learned this week that up to a quarter of Church of England parishes have no wardens. The voluntary role is responsible for a number of duties, including the maintenance of church buildings.

They are also generally responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the parish. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/quarter-church-england-parishes-have-no-wardens

***

Once upon a time, people used to speak about a Christian mission to "darkest Africa". The extent of the change is visible in a job advert recently put out by the Diocese of York. It appears to be announcing a mission to whitest England.

The diocese is seeking a "racial justice enabler", a half-time post for which he/she will be paid £32,000 -- more than double the annual rate of pay for a full-time vicar. Thrown in on top of the pension scheme are free parking in York, the benefits of a cycle to work scheme and eye-care vouchers.

Charles Moore of the Telegraph breaks it down. First of all, the post will not be offered to a white person. The ad cannot state as much (such racial discrimination is against the law), but I think that is what the "person specification" means when it says that the successful candidate will have "a passion for racial justice and radical hospitality borne out of lived experience".

I am not sufficiently educated in modern missionary lingo to know exactly what "radical hospitality" means, but I do know that "lived experience" is something that white people, in racial questions, are considered incapable of possessing.

"I find this all rather tragic. Christianity is at a low ebb in most of Europe. Energetic missionaries from black Africa would be very welcome. Instead, an Anglican diocese is disrespecting "those who our biases cause us not to see" -- 97 per cent of its population." You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/racial-justice-enablers-hills-north-rejoice

***

Justin Welby the Archbishop of Canterbury has once again jumped in with both feet on the war in Israel, urging Israel to a ceasefire so hungry Gazans can be fed.

His noble intentions notwithstanding, any kind of a ceasefire only benefits Hamas.

Food is getting into Gaza by air, sea, and land; but not enough to feed 1.5 million Gazans we are told. We are also not told that when food does arrive and Gazans scrounge for food and water, Hamas sits on a rich trove of supplies. The Israeli military has deployed troops to "secure the area" around a jetty bringing food from Cyprus while cargoes of aid are unloaded. So, without naming Israel by name, Welby puts the onus for peace on the democratic state, mentioning in passing the hostages being held by Hamas. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/archbishop-canterburys-misplaced-compassion-over-israel

FOR A BRILLIANT TAKE DOWN ON THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, read this by Campbell Campbell-Jack.

"There are many good and godly men and women in the Church of England who simply want to worship and serve God as best they can in the way their parents did. There are ministers whose preaching and teaching has enriched us and whose books Christians read with profit. Such Christians have been betrayed by their denomination.

"Sadly today the CofE, an institution which has been of inestimable benefit to Christians across the globe, has been captured by woke ideological extremists who appear determined to set the Church on a course leading to gross doctrinal error and institutional suicide. All this with the support of the liberal bishops and the middle-of-the-road clergy."

"The CofE has drifted so far from the faith that it has come to renounce what was once held and which made it a church. Many of the leaders of the CofE pretend to be something they are not, they profess adherence to a creed in which they no longer believe." You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/decline-and-fall-church-england

You can read another take here: https://virtueonline.org/church-england-replacing-its-christian-nature-fit-woke-frenzy

***

JEWS, GENOCIDE AND THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL. Jews make up just 0.2% of the world's population yet they experienced harassment by governments and social groups or individuals in 91 countries in 2021, down from 94 countries in 2020.

With friends Like Chuck Schumer, who needs enemies? The Gaza War rumbles on, and increasingly the US is acting like it is taking up Hamas's case without mentioning the word; while IDF forces thread the needle, killing Hamas terrorists while avoiding Gazan citizens as best it can in a war that could end in 24 hours if Hamas surrendered its remaining forces and freed the 130, mainly Jewish hostages.

But Hamas is on a suicidal mission and public relations campaign dragging out the war to garner worldwide sympathy and support. A case in point. Every time NPR shows us the war, it is always about civilians being wounded in Gaza and rushed into hospitals where limited resources are available to heal them.

No mention is ever made of the fact that hospitals are Hamas hotspots for terrorists using Gazans as shields while IDF forces do their best to uncover tunnels underneath the hospitals where the terrorists hide. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/jews-genocide-and-future-israel

***

NIGERIA faces internal pain not only with some 5,000 Christians murdered by Islamic terrorists; an Anglican Archbishop says the situation in his country "remains dire with hunger, violent acts and protests proving not to be the answer."

"We must strongly resist the temptation of falling into the hands of our enemies, including bandits and terrorists, who will not miss any opportunity to overrun this country, should there be any breakdown of law and order," said the Anglican Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, the Most Rev. David Onuoha. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/nigeria-archbishop-says-nigerian-situation-remains-dire

***

The Anglican Province of Uganda is going through a nightmarish situation with what looks to be a split in its ranks.

'Bishop' Charles Okunya Ooode, formerly Bishop-elect in Uganda's Anglican Church, became a religious rebel a year ago and started a breakaway Church in the Eastern Uganda Diocese of Kumi and called it Reformed Anglican Church.

He gained some followers and they grabbed 34 Churches belonging to the Anglican Church and sent away the priests and workers.

But last week, The Church of Uganda, Diocese of Kumi started an operation to reclaim the churches previously taken over by the RAC its members and Bishop Oode.

According to The Independent magazine, an operation started March 8, was led by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, The Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu and the Bishop of Kumi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Michael Okwi Esakhan in the company of security heads and local government leaders in Kumi and Ngora districts.

Archbishop Kaziinga was called in to take back churches that had absconded to the Reform Episcopal Church. https://virtueonline.org/anglican-church-uganda-reclaims-34-churches

And here: https://virtueonline.org/anglican-archbishop-uganda-blocked-enter-some-churches-rebellious-anglican-church-group

Now the Reformed Anglican Church which recently became popular in eastern Uganda Anglican Church (also called Church of Uganda) Diocese of Kumi has started spreading to other parts of the country.

In Kumi Diocese, it broke away from the Anglican Church of Uganda after a disagreement on the appointment of a new Bishop in Kumi Diocese. It has now been introduced in western Uganda in Kigezi Sub region.

According to the Redpepper publication, Christians in Kigezi Anglican Church Archdeaconry have an additional sect to exercise their right to worship following the introduction of the Reformed Anglican Church in their region. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/reformed-anglican-church-introduced-western-uganda-archdeaconary

***

THERE IS MORE DISQUIETING NEWS ON THE HOME FRONT. A recent Gallup poll reveals that more than half of Americans rarely go to church.

"The most popular church in America might be St. Mattress, followed by Bedside Baptist.

"Those two -- euphemisms for sleeping in on Sundays -- increasingly describe the attitude of many Americans toward attending churches or other houses of worship.

"More than half of Americans (56%) say they seldom or never attend religious services, according to new data from Gallup. Less than a third (30%) say they attend on a weekly or almost weekly basis.

"Gallup found that almost all of the so-called Nones (95%) say they seldom or never attend services. More than half of Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Orthodox Christians say they rarely attend as well.

"Among religious Americans, Latter-Day Saints (67%) are most likely to say they attend weekly or almost weekly, followed by Protestants (44%), Muslims (38%) and Catholics (33%)."

The lesson for liberals and revisionists is this -- your focus on woke issues is not working. Sermons on these issues is not filling pews. Most of that information is available on social media, one doesn't need to attend church to hear it spouted at you from the pulpit.

Conservatives should also learn the lesson that politicizing the gospel is not a winning strategy. Plugging for a certain candidate to win the next election has little to do with gospel proclamation. In fact, it might harm winning over skeptics, agnostics and atheists into hearing our gospel.

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/gallup-poll-more-half-americans-rarely-go-church

***

CULTURE WARS

People say they're leaving religion due to anti-LGBTQ teachings and sexual abuse.
https://virtueonline.org/people-say-theyre-leaving-religion-due-anti-lgbtq-teachings-and-sexual-abuse

The evil trans ideology is in retreat, at last
https://virtueonline.org/evil-trans-ideology-retreat-last

THEOLOGY STORIES FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Paradoxes in Passion Week by John Stackhouse
https://virtueonline.org/paradoxes-passion-week

THOMAS CRANMER: The Most Important Theologian of the English Reformation by Chuck Collins
https://virtueonline.org/thomas-cranmer-most-important-theologian-english-reformation

WHO'S YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS? By Chuck Collins
https://virtueonline.org/whos-your-righteousness-0

I Believe in the Death of Julius Caesar and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by Steve Bateman
https://virtueonline.org/i-believe-death-julius-caesar-and-resurrection-jesus-christ

***

Dear friends,

Over a year ago I learned that my webmaster James Syrow had been stricken with ALS at the tender age of 41. ALS is considered to be among the top 1-to-2 worst neurological diseases a person can get, worse than Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

He writes: "In just 18 months, Larisa and I have gone from the news that my ALS is incurable with a lifespan of 2-to-4 years -- to watching it kill off muscles one by one -- to finally being unable to move, speak, walk, shift in bed, or even lift my hands to scratch an itch. On the surface, the grim prognosis of the doctors was coming true. But we also knew of a counter-narrative: that there HAVE been people who overcame ALS. What's more, they all followed a similar course of treatment.

We have hired a full-time caretaker, to help me from morning to evening. He makes me walk daily, to spur bodily recovery. He is in addition to hiring a babysitter we need to have for our kids. We are also pursuing a huge number of treatments, like the very expensive dental procedure in 2023 to replace all of my old mercury (!) tooth fillings which were poisoning me. But what really kicked off my recovery four months ago was a crazy new therapy called Klawitherapy.

Now I need your help. Help me raise $25,000 so I can receive all of the necessary treatments, and finish my recovery. Together, we can beat this! Thank you all, James Syrow and Family."

If you can help James then please hit the gofundme button below:
https://gofund.me/157d3d48

***

ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach writes: "In Holy Week I encourage you to invite friends and family to Holy Week services. What did Mary do on Easter morning after she found the tomb empty and then encountered the risen Lord? She went back and told the disciples and her friends! Likewise, we are challenged to reach out and invite those we know to church in this special season. Share the good news this Holy Week, the transforming love of the risen Savior, Jesus Christ!"

VOL wishes all its readers a blessed Easter.

David