No matter what religion we profess, we have, for the most part, learned in this country to treat one another with respect and decency. But if we Christians claim to believe what happened on the Cross, why it happened and what happened three days later, we cannot pray with people who don't believe it. Because the moment we do, Christ's agonizing death for our sins becomes optional. And the moment the Cross becomes optional, we have essentially rejected it. And the moment we reject it, we can pray to anything we want or to nothing at all because it won't make a bit of difference either way. --- M.C. Johnson in Midwestern Conservative Journal

"I do not deny the claim that homosexual relationships can be loving. . . . [but] they are incompatible with true love because they are incompatible with God's law. Love is concerned for the highest welfare of the beloved. And our highest human welfare is found in obedience to God's law and purpose, not in a revolt against them." --- John R. W. Stott

Fellowship with God. God's self-revelation is ethical, and there can be no fellowship with him without righteousness. --- From "The Letters of John" by John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
May 14, 2010

The silence is deafening.

We are now only 24 hours from The Episcopal Church's "consecration" of an avowed lesbian to the episcopacy and the Archbishop of Canterbury is strangely silent about Mary Glasspool.

TEC and its leaders have been repeatedly warned about pursuing these consecrations in the face of scripture, reason, tradition, and history. The vast majority of Anglicans view this as a communion breaking act and TEC is not listening. Truth is they have never had any intention of reversing themselves or "listening" (the now infamous word that applies only to those who will listen to them) to the whine of sodomites but not to orthodox folk. Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori has said she will be there as chief consecrator and her word to orthodox Anglicans is, "Get over it."

Contrast that to the scenario during the weeks following the confirmation of the election of V. Gene Robinson at General Convention in 2003. Archbishop George Carey summoned an emergency meeting of the Primates at Lambeth Palace three weeks before the date of the proposed consecration which included Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and issued a communiqué, signed by everyone present -- including Griswold -- agreeing that it would tear the fabric of the Communion if such a consecration proceeded.

Three weeks later, Griswold consecrated Robinson. The Episcopal Church has not been the same since. Neither has the Anglican Communion. Griswold betrayed himself, and the primates, preferring to enjoy the adulation of TEC's pansexualists and his morally relativistic House of Bishops.

Although both the Archbishops of Uganda and the Indian Ocean have called upon him to do it, the Archbishop of Canterbury has summoned no special meeting of the Primates in response to Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's letter announcing her intent to officiate at the consecration of Canon Glasspool.

It is the unquestionable role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, as the protector of the majority within the Communion, to deploy every means at his disposal to uphold and support traditional interpretation of Scripture. To leave that role to lesser figures is to invite anarchy within the collegial Communion. He has failed and the whole Anglican Communion is slowly coming apart. You can read more stories about this in today's digest including a condemnation of Glasspool's consecration from a number of orthodox Irish Anglican groups.

Scripture is clear: "Now I appeal to the elders of your community, as a fellow elder and a witness to Christ's sufferings, and as one who has shared in the glory to be revealed: look after the flock of God whose shepherd you are." (1 Peter 5.1, 2a)

*****

The Covenant is getting a global working over. This week bishops and groups in Canada and New Zealand have come out condemning it. They don't like the disciplinary aspects of Section 4. Of course they don't. If groups in Australia, Wales, Scotland and the UK step up to the plate and say they don't like it, what hope is there of the Covenant uniting us altogether. Homosexual groups in the UK (Changing Attitude) and in the U.S. (Integrity) have also condemned it. So who is for it? Orthodox Anglicans, of course. So if whole provinces don't sign on to it and adhere to it, will it be worth the paper it is printed on? You can read several reports from around the globe in today's digest.

*****

The Church of England published a draft measure on May 8 that would authorize the church to consecrate women as bishops. The revision committee explained its proposal in a detailed 142-page report. Their General Synod will debate the draft measure, possibly clause for clause, when it meets in July.

If General Synod approves the measure, it must be approved by Parliament and receive Royal Assent before being enacted. With those debates still ahead, the church has stated, "2014 remains the earliest realistic date when the first women might be consecrated as bishops."

The draft measure would abolish the roles of Provincial Episcopal Visitors, also called "flying bishops," who were created in 1993, after the Church of England agreed to ordain women to the priesthood.

The draft measure, as it now stands, offers nothing but the prospect of local arrangements whereby a parish may ask - at the discretion of the Diocesan Synod - for the ministry, in certain very circumscribed areas, of a male bishop or priest rather than a female one. The question is: Can these two views be held with integrity in the Church of England about the sacramental ministry of women priests and bishops?

*****

More on Bishop elect Michael Vono of the Diocese of the Rio Grande. At the walkabout, he said he had been married and divorced but offered no other details. VOL has since learned from a source that his ex-wife left him for a woman. (This is bound to garner sympathy votes). This is not unlike the Bishop of Western New York, The Rt. Rev. J. Michael Garrison whose former wife left him for a woman.

Now you have to ask, why do we not hear screams of joy from TEC's lesbian elite (Susan Russell et al) about how noble these women are to come out and leave their husbands for better feel good pastures? One doesn't of course, because it's embarrassing, especially as these poor slobs happen to wear purple shirts, a pay grade or two above Russell. Of course, in TEC, self-discovery is way more important than faithfulness to the covenant of marriage. We all just have to be ourselves and do what we think is right and never mind the consequences. In TEC there are no consequences unless you are an out and out adulterer. Then watch the hypocritical sexual floodgates open.

*****

In New Orleans this past week in a cathedral packed with local Episcopalians and their guests, the Presiding Bishop and her colleagues ordained the Rev. Morris Thompson Jr. to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana. By convention, Thompson, 54, did not speak, leaving that to former bishop, Bishop Stacy Sauls of Lexington, who exhorted the audience to help Thompson bring social and economic justice to the region. Thompson succeeds Bishop Charles Jenkins, who took early medical retirement on Dec. 31.

A former Episcopal priest who stayed with the diocese all through Katrina wrote VOL saying that only six parishes out of 40 in the diocese are viable. "[The diocese] is held together with bubble gum, tape and shoelaces. It's also the most dysfunctional presbyterate in Christendom. Clergy meetings look like the Star Wars bar scene. The cathedral has spent down 3/4 of its endowment in the past few years and has now leveraged against the remainder. Positively irrelevant; no one is buying what they're selling. The parish in Slidell, booming growing area - now with 50,000 people - is looking to close due to lack of funding and people while new, mostly evangelical churches are popping up like mad. The same goes with the city of New Orleans. The population is now back to pre Katrina levels, evangelical churches are opening all over, the majority of TEO parishes are looking at decline and death."

*****

The Diocese of Quincy is searching for a new bishop. There was a meeting Saturday, May 8, at Grace Church, Galesburg, Ill, for the purpose of meeting the candidates for the 9th Bishop of the Diocese of Quincy. The election will take place on June 12.

The candidates are:
The Rt. Rev. Alberto Morales, Abbot of St. Benedict's Abbey, Bartonville, Illinois
The Very Rev. Canon Edward den Blaauwen, SSC, Dean & Rector, Christ Church Cathedral, Moline, Illinois
The Rev. Canon Michael Brooks, SSC, Rector, St. Peter's Church, Canton, Illinois

Sources tell VOL that Blaauwen, a South African, is the odds on favorite.

*****

The case of the missing bishop. A source tells VOL that Suffragan Bishop Gayle Harris of the Diocese of Massachusetts is on an extended leave of absence. That's the official line from the diocese. Unofficially a priest advised VOL that recent clergy conference attendees were told that Harris's duties have been reduced to zero. The reasons: there was strife among the three bishops; and her job performance was unsatisfactory.

At some point in the past year, the bishops submitted themselves to some process of "mediation." The original story last October was that she was taking a leave of absence for health reasons. The priest says that Harris did, indeed, undergo an extensive health evaluation that showed that she was in fine fettle. Why was her health an issue at all, I asked the priest. The priest didn't know. Furthermore when the new president of Episcopal Divinity School was installed, Bishops Shaw and Cederholm were present, as well as former suffragan Bishop Barbara Harris. Gayle Harris however, was not present, and her name did not appear in any of the printed matter that was handed out.

*****

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT. A final note about the property of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Binghamton, NY that was once the home of the congregation of Fr. Matt Kennedy and his flock. It was sold off to a Muslim Awareness group for $50,000.

VOL was told, and others also ran the story, that it was sold for a mere fraction of the church's assessed $386,400 value. Apparently, that was not true. VOL has subsequently learned that when assessors went it to look at the property, they found it in such horrible condition that it was only worth $50,000. Apparently, the diocese was lucky even to get that amount. We were not told this at the time because the diocese had no official communications person as it can not afford one.

*****

In Kampala, Uganda, two top lecturers at the Uganda Christian University have been nominated to contest for the post of vice chancellor to succeed Dr. Stephen Noll. The Chancellor along with Anglican Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi will choose between Dr Alex Kagume Mugisha and Dr John Ssenyonyi.

Dr. Mugisha is currently the deputy vice chancellor for academic affairs while Dr. Ssenyonyi is in charge of development and external relations. Prof. Stephen Noll will retire when his contract expires on August 31. The chosen vice chancellor will be the first Ugandan to take on the institution's top management job.

Since his appointment in 2000, the university has become chartered under the National Council for Higher Education. In addition, student enrollment has increased from a few hundred in 2000 to over 7,000 today. "The fact that more and more parents are now willing to send their children to UCU is indicative of the reputation this university has gained over the years," he said.

*****

Bishop Winston Halapua was elected May 12 to serve as the next bishop of Polynesia -- and becomes one of three archbishops of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Halapua succeeds the late Bishop Jabez Bryce, who led the Diocese of Polynesia for 35 years, and who died in February of this year. Halapua was elected as an assistant bishop of Polynesia in 2005. Halapua served as chaplain for the Lambeth Conference of bishops in 2008, at the invitation of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

Halapua will be installed at Suva's Holy Trinity Cathedral on August 1. VOL was told that while this man is orthodox, he is not a "fighter". He won't rock the Anglican boat.

*****

Australian Anglican Bishop Michael Hough has spoken out for the first time about an attack against his leadership from within his diocese. Some parishioners are attacking Hough as they aren't happy with his leadership.

Bishop Hough says some Anglicans in his diocese are resisting changes he's wanting to implement - namely, taking the church beyond the pulpit in the cathedral to the community at large, in keeping with his background as a missionary and as a former Franciscan Catholic priest.

"It's difficult to be a member of a church in the modern world today. "As we often say the world's become very secular, very individualistic; and being part of a church is a message that seems to be opposed to the world. "I think Christians are under siege a bit: We Anglicans in particular, and we struggle.

"We only have 2,000 Anglicans in the whole of the diocese with an average age of 67, so we are a diocese in crisis; and we're wondering is this the last generation of believers, and there's a tendency when we're in difficult situations to circle the wagons and hold on to what we've got.

"I'm a missionary, and I think the more we engage with the world the better off we're going to be." An episcopal standards investigation has been underway for 18 months, hearing complaints from Anglicans; despite this, the Bishop thinks he'll remain as the Anglican Bishop of Ballarat.

*****

Parish secretary found guilty of embezzlement. Debra Lee Epps, former secretary at Church Church, Smithfield, VA, pled guilty April 30 in Circuit Court to eight counts of embezzlement and one count each of forging and uttering checks. During the trial, Ms. Epps apologized to the congregation for embezzling more than $300,000, according to the Associated Press.

Wayne Farmer, prosecutor for the Commonwealth of Virginia, told the court that Mrs. Epps took the money over a 10-year period beginning in 1998. He said Mrs. Epps told investigators she used the money to pay for school tuition, credit card bills, horseback riding lessons, and her family's annual trip to Florida. Mrs. Epps faces up to 180 years in prison when she returns to court for sentencing on July 7. (Source TLC)

*****

A Letter to Signers of the Manhattan Declaration believe they are making headway in the culture wars.

"If you've been to the website in the last few days, you saw the story of the eight nurses in New York who refused to participate in taking the life of an unborn child by abortion. They were punished, but held their ground. (Later their employer relented and even apologized to them.) Here are people who refused to render to Caesar that which belongs to God.

"The second bit of exciting news comes from England. Weeks ago, a group of British pastors and Christian leaders, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, posted on a website a condensed version of the Manhattan Declaration. They called it, appropriately, the Westminster Declaration. In the first week, they had 5,000 signatures. As we write, they have close to 50,000. This is extraordinary. The church in England has not, in recent years, distinguished itself by giving Christian witness on public moral issues. So this was welcome change and big news - all inspired by the Manhattan Declaration.

"Around the world we're getting similar reports of the Declaration being picked up and circulated. It has been translated into a number of foreign languages.

"Here at home, we're looking forward to a very busy fall. There will be a New Mexico Christian worldview summit, August 24-26 in Albuquerque, bringing together 600 Catholic and evangelical pastors. It is being co-chaired by Archbishop Michael Sheehan and former congressman Bill Redmond, who is a Colson Center-commissioned Centurion. Chuck Colson, along with the eminent Catholic theologian Michael Novak, will be present for this event.

"You may be wondering whether our efforts are bearing fruit. This Declaration has been the most galvanizing force for the Christian church within anyone's memory. It has brought together leaders across the confessional divides to take a clear, unequivocal stand for life, marriage, and liberty."

Dr. Timothy George
Dr. Robert George
Chuck Colson

*****

Fr. Gregory Mashburn, OFM Minister General of the Franciscan Missionaries of Divine Compassion wrote VOL to say that Brother Tom Rafter was received and admitted as a novice by Archbishop Robert Duncan at St. Peter's Anglican Church, Uniontown, PA., recently. Another novice, Adam Warrenfells will be admitted and received by Bishop Sam Seamans on the first Sunday in June at St. Thomas Anglican Church, Mountain Home, AR. Parish by parish, ordination by ordination, ACNA is continuing to grow while TEC is closing parishes.

*****

A reliable informant tells VOL while the Diocese of British Columbia is cannibalizing its parishes for funds to keep it afloat, Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria is going ahead with plans to construct a central tower to the cathedral. Years ago when it expanded the east end of the structure, it used substandard materials, which are now falling apart. These also will have to be upgraded or replaced.

What price glory, eh?

*****

A resolution has been put on the table for debate at the upcoming Diocese of New Westminster that will have Bishop Michael Ingham fit to be tied. Here is the motion:

"Whereas we being a Christian Community are obligated to prevent the very public and acrimonious legal dispute between the Diocese of New Westminster and the Churches in dispute from further embarrassing and diminishing the whole Christian Community; and because such disputes are:

- Contrary to Scripture.

- Detrimental to Christs' Salvation Gospel to the world.

- Confuses and saddens our Brothers and Sisters in both the world wide Anglican Church and other Denominations.

- Trivializes our voice in the World.

- Are both irrelevant and counter-productive in a time of actual and planned Church closures in this Diocese.

- Are a total waste of scarce Time, Talent and Treasure, better used in other activities

Therefore it is moved that the 2010 Diocesan Synod respectfully direct the Bishop to, faithfully and earnestly negotiate a just and timely solution that will allow the Churches in dispute to indefinitely continue Ministry and Worship in their existing Facilities'."

Moved by: George Goater
Seconded by: Lyn Stringer

*****

A British judge has said Christian beliefs have no standing in the law, because they can't be proven. Lord Justice John Grant McKenzie Laws made the statement in a ruling against a Christian counselor who sued his employer. According to the Religion News Service, the counselor was fired after refusing to offer sex therapy to same-sex couples because it violates his Christian principles.

In his ruling, Laws wrote, "Religious faith is necessarily subjective, being incommunicable by any kind of proof or evidence," and that as far as the law is concerned, "a position held on purely religious grounds cannot therefore be justified."

Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said the ruling is "deeply worrying" and a sign that Britain is becoming a secular state rather than a neutral one.

*****

John Stott Ministries (JSM) announced that Benjamin K. Homan has accepted the position of president, effective Aug. 9, 2010. "We are so happy that God has led Ben to join us in the task of raising up a new generation of Bible teachers and preachers," said Greg Scharf, JSM's board chair. "We are praying that God will use Ben to identify and encourage stewards of God-given wealth to invest in this global work."

From 2001 until 2010, Homan served as president and chief executive officer of Food for the Hungry, a relief and development organization serving in more than 26 developing countries. In his leadership role, Homan has led assessment teams to Iraq, Afghanistan, tsunami-ravaged Indonesia, Sudan's Darfur region, and other devastated zones of the world. In 2006, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the HELP Commission, an entity that was established by Congress to recommend reform of all of the U.S. government's foreign assistance. Homan has also served as president of the Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations (AERDO) and as chairman for the Alliance for Food Aid.

"John Stott Ministries' laser-like precision on what can most effectively mature the Majority World church sets off exciting chain-reactions of transformation," said Homan. "I am humbled by and in awe of the invitation to serve as part of such a proven strategy."

*****

The Rt. Rev. John Rabb bishop suffragan of the north Baltimore-based Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, is retiring, the diocese has announced. Rabb, 65, of Tuscany-Canterbury, has been a suffragan, for 12 years. He served as bishop-in-charge in 2007-08, after Bishop Robert Ihloff retired, and until the Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton was elected bishop. Rabb's retirement will be effective Jan. 1, when he will have been an ordained priest for 34 years, said Sharon Tillman, a spokeswoman for the diocese.

The diocese of 22,000 households and 116 congregations is based at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, on University Parkway. "I am responding to what God is calling me to in a new season of ministry," Rabb said in his address during the 226th Diocesan Convention, April 30 to May 1 in Hunt Valley. He said he will do "a combination of teaching, continued work in ministry development, preaching in a different venue, my Franciscan studies and writing."

*****

Susan Blakney, a paintings conservator from New York, has scrambled up a mound of rubble left by the collapse of the Episcopal Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince searching for small shards of the cathedral's murals. The cathedral is a cherished part of the country's cultural heritage. Most of its murals were destroyed in the earthquake that struck here in January. Two from the north transept, though, one depicting the Last Supper and the other the baptism of Christ, remain largely intact.

The rescue is being organized by the Smithsonian Institution, which is to open a center here in June where American conservators will work side-by-side with Haitian staff members to repair torn paintings, shattered sculptures and other works pulled from the rubble of museums and churches.

Haitian artists and cultural professionals have been conducting informal salvage operations for the past four months. The Americans are bringing conservation expertise - there are few if any professionally trained art conservators in Haiti - and special equipment, much of it paid for by private money.

*****

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey has slammed a secular attack on the centuries-old tradition of saying prayers before town hall meetings.

The National Secular Society (NSS) hopes to take legal action against Bideford Town Council, which has held prayers before meetings ever since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Lord Carey has opined, "The centuries-long tradition of saying of prayers before council meetings is simply an acknowledgment of the important role the Christian faith plays in civic life. The attempt to rule such prayers as discriminatory is an attack on freedom and a cynical maneuver to drive public expressions of faith from national as well as local life.

"This should not be a matter for the courts as it concerns democratic freedoms. His concerns were echoed by Bishop Bob Evens, the Bishop of Crediton in north Devon, who said: "The saying of prayers before meetings is an integral part of the British system of Government."

*****

The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in the Diocese of PA is hosting Obama's former pastor and friend for a revival meeting Tuesday, June 1st and Wednesday June 2nd, at 7:00 P.M.

And the "revivalist" is (drum roll please) The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright who, in the name of Black Liberation Theology famously said all white people are rich and racist. You'll forgive me if I don't attend. I am not rich and neither are tens of millions of white people in America. Furthermore, I don't like being labeled racist because of the color of MY skin. His sermon, "Weathering the Storm: Peace on the Horizon" might need a little honing.

*****

Bishop Ed Liedel the former Bishop of Eastern Michigan will function on one third time at the Diocese of Eau Claire and resident in Milwaukee, the bishop Eastern Michigan told VOL. There is much talk of juncturing these smaller mid-west dioceses. A member of the standing committee and Fr. Scott Kirby, retired Dean of the cathedral in Eau Claire will be meeting today to decide whether they will be hiring on a one third time basis the retired former Bishop.

*****

The Anglican Church in Australia wants Australians to have fewer children and has urged the federal government to scrap the baby bonus and cut immigration.

Wading into the population debate, the General Synod of the Anglican Church has warned that current rates of population growth are unsustainable and potentially out of step with church doctrine - including the eighth commandment, "Thou shall not steal". In a significant intervention, the Anglican Public Affairs Commission has warned concerned Christians that remaining silent "is little different from supporting further overpopulation and ecological degradation.

"Unless we take account of the needs of future life on Earth, there is a case that we break the eighth commandment - 'Thou shall not steal'."

The discussion paper, prepared in March, claims that federal government financial incentives encouraging childbirth - particularly the baby bonus - should be scrapped and replaced with improved support for parenting through increased paid parental leave.

*****

An Australian doctor who was sexually abused by a teacher almost 30 years ago has spoken out about the Anglican Church's "hypocrisy" in blocking his bid for compensation. Dr. Chris Wetherall says fighting the church in court has been almost as damaging as his abuse by Gregory Robert Knight, who was jailed for more than 30 offences.

"The church has fought me every step of the way and it's been a struggle," Dr. Wetherall, 41, said, going public for the first time. "Nothing will change unless people like me stand up and have their say and people in the church, in government, in the courts take notice."

Knight, a former music teacher at St Paul's School at Bald Hills in Brisbane's north, was jailed for three years in 2005 for indecently dealing with Dr. Wetherall (then aged 12 to 15) from 1981 to 1983.

Dr Wetherall's life fell to pieces in 2002, after publicity about abuse of children by Anglican teachers revived memories of his own abuse. Dr. Wetherall has rebuilt his life with the help of his new wife, Vanessa, 35, and his two stepdaughters and is back working as a GP.

He says the church's "relentless denial" of his right to pursue compensation has chipped away at the strength he gained after the trial, when Knight was jailed.

Anglican Diocese general manager Peter Read said the church apologized and has made repeated attempts to provide the victim with substantial financial assistance. He said the church would provide financial assistance directly to the victim, but not if his lawyers were going to take a large part of it.

*****

A new bishop has been consecrated and enthroned in the Diocese of Lake Malawiin the Province of Central Africa. The Diocese of Lake Malawi has been without an incumbent since 2005 when London-based Nicholas Henderson was elected as bishop, but was later rejected for his public support of homosexuality and being of "unsound faith". The province enthroned the Venerable Francis Kaulanda, formerly Archdeacon of Lilongwe. His consecration and enthronement took place at All Saints' Cathedral, Nkhota-kota, Malawi. The chief consecrator was the acting Dean of the Central African Province, the Rt Rev'd Albert Chama.

*****

Numbers for the Anglican Communion. If you have ever wondered what the true numbers are for the Anglican Communion, the following statistics should be of interest to you. The Global South Communique (Singapore) speaks of the Global South being "the vast majority of the active membership of the Anglican Communion". A review of the statistics gives a percentage of about 80 percent.

On the Anglican Communion Office website, the number of total Anglicans is given as 80 million.

This cannot be the case given a proper understanding of the figures for the Church of England. Of the 80 million, 26 million are reckoned to be with the Church of England. The Church of England official statistics gives the total attendance for all ages on Christmas Eve / Christmas Day 2008 as 2.6 million. (See http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/statistics/) So the real total for the Anglican Communion needs to be reduced by at least 20 million

Figures for the Global South:

Nigeria: 20 million (VOL was told the figure could be as high now as 25 million)
Uganda: 8,782,821 2002 Census. (It is 9.3 million according to Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi)
Kenya: 5,000,000 ACK website
Southern Africa 3 million to 4 million
ACSA website 3.5 million
Church of South India 3.8 million Wikipedia
Church of North India 1,250,000 Wikipedia
Tanzania 2.5 million Wikipedia
Rwanda 1 million West Africa 1 million
West Indies 770,000 Lambeth Directory 1998
Pakistan 800,000 Wikipedia and Lambeth Directory 1998
Indian Ocean 120,000 Anglican Communion website
Burundi 425,000 Lambeth Directory
Central Africa 600,000 Lambeth Directory
Congo 300,000 Lambeth Directory
Myanmar (Burma) 49,000 Lambeth Directory
South East Asia 98,000 Wikipedia
Jerusalem and Middle East 10,000

The total of the above is 50,004,821

The totals for other provinces are:
Australia 3,903,324 (Anglican Communion Website)
New Zealand 584,793 (Anglican Communion website)
CofE 2.6 million (CofE statistics)
USA 2,285,000 worldwide Wikipedia. This figure is exaggerated. There are now less than 2 million with ASA now just below 700,000.
Canada 2,035,500 Wikipedia
Ireland 410,000 Lambeth Directory
Scotland 53,000
Southern Cone of America (Spanish: Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de América) is theecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion that covers the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay province reported 22,000 members.

Lambeth Directory Total 11,871,617

Combined totals 61,876,438

As a percentage the Global South is 80 per cent of the Anglican Communion.

*****

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali will speak at the May 20 Nashotah House Commencement where 25 degrees and certificates will be conferred. Anglican Bishop and theologian Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali is a leader in the Global Anglican Futures movement and the Global South Encounter.

The commencement exercises, which will include a Solemn Eucharist, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 20, at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Oconomowoc, WI. Twenty-two graduates will receive earned degrees and diplomas.

At the same service, the Nashotah House Board of Trustees will confer Doctor of Divinity degrees, honoris causa, upon the Commencement speaker, The Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, and the Rt. Rev. Gregory K. Kerr-Wilson, Bishop of the Diocese of Qu'Appelle, Canada. The Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa, will be conferred on Mrs Edwina Thomas, who served for 20 years as Director of SOMA-USA (Sharing of Ministries Abroad), the US branch of an international Anglican organization devoted to short term missions. To make a reservation for the reception, please call Mrs. Sandy Mills (262) 646-6508.
http://www.nashotah.edu/images/nazirali.jpg

*****

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In Christ,

David