"They believe that the church has gone wrong in regard to sexual ethics, so that they need to separate from the Episcopal Church. This stands in clear contradiction to the teaching of the New Testament, where unity is a cardinal virtue for Christians, even in the face of doctrinal and ethical disagreements. Also, the ordained people who joined this chorus of division are in clear contradiction of their ordination vows," wrote the bishop.

"The tone of these organizations has become increasingly angry and judgmental. Again, this is in clear contradiction to the teaching of the New Testament. Anger and judgment are never considered gifts of the Spirit."

"Further, these groups have spread misinformation. In the letter you received, you were told that there is good reason to believe that the General Convention will not deal adequately with the Windsor Report. In fact, there is good reason to think just the opposite, based on the Resolutions that the Convention will be asked to pass. Also, the person signing the letter is not a priest of this Church and never has been."

"You probably sense that the letter is an attempted end-run around the bishop and clergy of the diocese. The DVD was, in fact, informally shown at the last House of Bishops meeting, and it is a call to schism."

Brookhart then told his people, "I would recommend that you ignore the letter. But if you do choose to view the DVD, (Choose this Day) I ask that you do so with an analytical mind, and do not buy its assumptions at face value. Also, I recommend if you or your congregation are a part of these organizations that you give careful consideration to revoking your membership in these groups. They are not advancing the cause of the Gospel."

Anderson, a former Episcopal priest who now attends an Anglican parish in Atlanta responded to the bishop, and in a "Dear Fellow Episcopalian," letter accused the bishop of making "inaccurate statements." He said the AAC did not participate in the mailing or manufacture of the DVDs and the bishop's references about the AAC were misleading.

"The ACN (Anglican Communion Network) is the child of the American Anglican Council (AAC), a group formed ten or fifteen years ago as a needed counterbalance to the apparent hegemony of the "liberal" wing of our Church." The AAC was formed ten years ago in 1996, and the letters stand for the American Anglican Council; the American Anglican Congress is unknown to us, although some years ago there was an organization that was called the US Anglican Congress," writes Anderson.

"My organization, the American Anglican Council, did indeed help form the Anglican Communion Network, at the suggestion of the Archbishop of Canterbury in private conversations with me and another individual in Lambeth Palace, but the ACN has emerged as a separate entity. If you visit their website, you will see that they are very much a part of the Episcopal Church; all the ACN bishops sit with Bishop Brookhart in the Episcopal House of Bishops. Bishop Brookhart's remarks are therefore somewhat misleading, which is unfortunate."

Anderson then rips Brookhart over his comments that the AAC and the ACN are actively calling for division and schism in the church. "Both groups, the AAC and the ACN, are saying that the Episcopal Church itself at the Minneapolis General Convention in 2003 initiated schism within the Anglican Communion based on the Episcopal Church's actions. Twenty-two of the thirty-eight Provinces of the Anglican Communion have declared impaired or broken communion with the Episcopal Church. This is a fact that the bishop didn't mention. All of us as Episcopalians have already been excommunicated from the largest portion of the Global Communion, and probably no one told you. I have today read the letter from the Rev. D.O. Smart that your bishop takes issue with, and factually, everything Fr. Smart says is true, although the truth does sting and hurt."

Bishop Brookhart goes on to say, "This (schism) stands in clear contradiction to the teaching of the New Testament, where unity is a cardinal virtue for Christians, even in the face of doctrinal and ethical disagreements. Also, the ordained people who joined this chorus of division are in clear contradiction of their ordination vows".

Brookhart is partly right, says Anderson. "The New Testament does uphold unity, as does the witness of the early church; however, heresy steps ahead of schism by the time of the Church Councils, when key doctrines of the Church were being distorted and changed. Today, as in the time of the early councils, departure from settled Christian doctrine clearly evidenced at General Convention 2006, means that heresy, at least on the part of leading segments of the Episcopal Church, is the cause of the schism that has already happened. Your bishop should have known and have mentioned this."

Anderson then rips Brookhart saying that since those who have caused the schism are the Episcopal Church's top leadership themselves, who may have violated their ordination vows.

"The bishop excoriates both the AAC and the ACN for being judgmental, without any proof or citation, and in doing so, seems to become angry and judgmental just as he accuses others of having become."

"Bishop Brookhart seems concerned that Fr. D.O. Smart (Christ Church Overland Park, Kansas) isn't an Episcopal priest, and indeed he isn't, he is a priest in good standing within the Anglican Communion under the Province of Uganda, Diocese of Kampala, and his bishop is the Primate of the Province, the Most Reverend Henry Orombi. On the other hand, I am an Episcopal priest of some 35 years, in good standing, having been in the Episcopal Church all of my nearly 62 years. I can tell you that the dire state of affairs in the Episcopal Church is known throughout most of the communion, but is often kept from the people in the pews by bishops and other information gatekeepers for fear of the response."

Your bishop continues, "I recommend if you or your congregation are a part of these organizations that you give careful consideration to revoking your membership in these groups." In fact, if you are concerned about the problems in the Episcopal Church, the AAC and the ACN are some of the few places where you can hear and read the truth that the official Episcopal Church is afraid to tell you."

END