The preaching of the cross. Of this we are clear: man's salvation rests on the fact of the cross, and neither on the preacher's interpretation of it, nor on the hearers' understanding of it. Our desire is that men should believe that fact, not accept our explanations. 'Christ died for our sins' is enough without any further elucidation. Moreover, our appeal is never that men should accept a theory about the cross but that they should receive a Person who died for them. To this end we shall continue to preach Christ crucified, because what is folly to the intellectualist and a stumbling block to the moralist, remains the wisdom and the power of God (1 Cor. 1:23-24). --- From "Fundamentalism and Evangelism" John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
11/20/2009

A recent Pew Forum survey revealed some interesting data about The Episcopal Church.

Some 20% of those raised Episcopal/Anglican now have no religion. It is tied for the denomination with the most converts to the 'no religion' category along with the Congregationalists.

By way of comparison, only 11% of those raised Baptist now have no religion. 45% of those raised Episcopal/Anglican remain Episcopal/Anglican. Compare that to 60% of Baptists raised Baptist who are still Baptist to explain why the church is aging - it simply didn't pass along its message to its children. For the full report click here: http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf

From the 2008 Religious Landscape Survey come these statistics. The denominations with most members over the age of 50 years are:

Anglican Church (Mainline Tradition) - 68% of members are over 50 United Church of Christ (Mainline Tradition) - 62% of members are over 50 Presbyterian Church USA (Mainline Tradition) - 62% of members are over 50 Episcopal Church in the USA (Mainline Tradition) - 59% of members are over 50 Presbyterian Church in America (Evangelical Tradition) - 59% of members are over 50

Compare that with: Total Population (41% are over the age of 50). In nondenominational Charismatic Churches (Evangelical Tradition) -- 28% of members are over 50 Independent Baptist (Historically Black Tradition) - 29% of members are over 50 Nondenominational Evangelical Churches (Evangelical Traditional) - 30% of members are over 50 Roman Catholic Church - 40% of members are over the age of 50 Southern Baptist Convention (Evangelical Tradition) - 49% of members are over 50 From this it is not difficult to see where the future of the church is heading.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says the church needs to figure out ways to attract younger people, non-church members and a growing Hispanic population. If the Presiding Bishop is looking for an answer to that question, she might well heed these words of Daniel P. Smith and Mary K. Sellon:

"Declining congregations have lost connection with the Christian church's basic mission of helping people experience God and live the gospel message of life and hope. Without this sense of mission to keep the congregation focused beyond the doors of the church, the congregation turns inward and loses connection with its community. Before others will turn to a congregation as a life-giving resource in their lives, the congregation has to be a place that offers life. When traveling by plane, passengers are reminded that in the event of an emergency they should put on their own oxygen masks before helping others. In congregational renewal, a congregation reminds itself of and intentionally engages in the basic practices of Christianity. It realigns itself with the basic outward-focused mission of church."

Clearly Mrs. Jefferts Schori just doesn't get it. She is putting the cart of Millennium Development Goals ahead of the (horse) of the gospel of salvation and eternal life entirely reversing the process.

Pollster George Barna did a survey that revealed the following:

- if you want to reach unchurched 18-34 year olds, they are more likely to attend a church that focuses on Bible teaching.

- if you want to reach unchurched Hispanics, they are most interested in a church that focuses on Bible teaching and serving the needy.

- if you want to reach unchurched 50-64 years olds, they are most interested in a church that focuses on serving the needy. So, the answer is simple. If the Episcopal Church wants to attract more Hispanics and young people, start teaching from the Bible. A real no brainer.

*****

The beat goes on with yet another diocese, this time the DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM, announcing it will allow same sex blessings. Bishop Paul Marshall said that he has established "interim measures" to allow clergy to bless same-gender relationships. Marshall's letter to his clergy is available here. http://tinyurl.com/ydntsc2

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The two DIOCESES OF FT. WORTH staked out their positions and claims this past week. Now that the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Southern Cone) are separate entities, they are both reporting unanimous decisions by their respective legislative bodies. The decisions move the dioceses away from one another and toward their respective theological commitments. You can read the full story in today's digest.

*****

The Episcopal Church's seminaries continue in a state of crisis with the SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST announcing this past week that it was restructuring itself to, as it put it, "secure, strengthen its future with budget-efficiency measures include staffing changes and administrative cost cuts."

The seminary's budgetary constraints forced its leadership into the thorniest of dilemmas and decisions. In a special meeting on Nov. 13, the board determined that in addition to administrative cost cuts, 12 seminary staff positions must be eliminated and one expected faculty retirement will not be replaced.

"We are committed to aligning our personnel resources with the seminary's core educational mission," said Harrison. "And we will continue to build on the strength of our program, admissions and advancement for the future. But right now, our choices are limited -- and hard."

******

V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of the DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE announced at his diocesan convention this week that all is not well in the diocese. The homogenital Bishop told delegates to the diocese's 207th annual convention at St. Paul's Church in Concord that budget cuts in 2009 would only get worse in 2010.

"I have demanded of the Diocesan Council that we make the cuts necessary to live within our means. I will not spend money we don't have. Early in the year, we cut $125,000 out of our 2009 budget; in June, further cuts were made, including the decision to let three part-time staff go - one immediately, and two at the end of the year."

He said the budget is $350,000 less than the budget passed in 2008, describing it as a "huge reduction in a small diocesan budget. I believe it is responsible - but it is NOT commendable or anything to be happy about. In my opinion, we go into 2010 understaffed, underfunded and unable to provide the level of excellent service you deserve."

Robinson spent most of his address speaking about the diocese's budget. "The problem with our diocese's common life budget is not the formula for calculating giving, but rather our congregations' compliance and commitment to that asking," he said, lamenting cuts that had to be made in the 2009 budget and noting that the proposed 2010 budget was smaller still. Clearly homosexuals are not rushing in to fill the gap as aging geriatric Episcopalians die off and several parishes are conflicted over the moral teaching of the church.

*****

The first in a three-part series on the changing world of SEWANEE: The University of the South is posted and you can read it in today's digest. This story has been in the works for some months with much research going into it. It will probably come as no surprise that the university and the theology school attached to it have succumbed to the siren call of The Episcopal Church on sexuality issues with classes on gender issues that endorse pansexuality. As we complete the other two parts, they will be posted to the website. www.virtueonline.org

*****

It will probably also come as no surprise that The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington and the Episcopal Bishop of Washington are at odds over same-sex marriage. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl issued a Pastoral Message for Homosexual Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington affirming the church's teaching of marriage between a man and a woman and faithfulness within marriage. By contrast Episcopal Bishop John Byson Chane announced his support for the D.C. marriage legislation. Chane gave his support for legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia and made his endorsement in a column on the Web site of The Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/yaze3xu

*****

The 144th Convention of the ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH welcomed four congregations to full parish status this past week including three from beyond the immediate region, a joyful outcome made possible by new freedoms permitted by the constitution and canons of the Anglican Church in North America.

Harvest Anglican Church in Homer City, Pennsylvania, Holy Trinity (Raleigh, North Carolina), St. James (San Jose, California), and Transfiguration (Cleveland, Ohio) became the newest members of the recently renamed Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh by the unanimous accord of the gathered clergy and lay deputies. One of the deputies from St. James, San Jose, was able to capture video of Archbishop Robert Duncan gifting the new parishes with their own Terrible Towels, to the thundering applause of all those gathered.

By unanimous vote on adjusting the districting system to match new parish distributions, these parishes (and others joining the Diocese from beyond old geographic boundaries) will become a part of District 9. "This positive growth reflects the goal of the Anglican Church in North America to plant 1000 new congregations within the next five years, a challenge that is mirrored by a matching goal of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh to plant 10 new congregations by the end of 2010," said Archbishop Robert Duncan.

*****

The Episcopal Church might yet prove to be one of the most litigious denominations in American history. Sixty churches and four dioceses are fighting to keep their properties. Literally millions of dollars are being spent to keep properties from changing hands. So speaking of litigation, Fr. David Moyer, an Anglo-Catholic priest testified under oath (when he was duking it out in the courts with PA Bishop Charles E. Bennison) that it is a violation of scripture for one brother in the Christian church to sue another. According to Moyer, it is OK to violate scripture so long as you have the permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Moyer testified as follows: "It is a violation of scripture and it shouldn't be done, but when one has no other choice, one does it with the advice and consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury." Both sides it seems, need to re-read their bibles.

*****

ARCHBISHOP ROWAN WILLIAMS flew to Rome this week and made it clear that there will be no turning back on women priests and future women bishops. In his most outspoken challenge to the Roman Catholic Church since the Pope invited disaffected Anglicans to switch to Rome, he told a conference in Rome that the Catholic Church's refusal to ordain women is a bar to Christian unity.

"For many Anglicans, not ordaining women has a possible unwelcome implication about the difference between baptized men and baptized women," he said. One observer noted, "Now he refuses to subject the Anglican apologetic for W.O. to further severe scrutiny ('get over it') in the context of ecumenism. Apostolic succession is merely an anachronism. This 11th-hour bravado on the part of the Archbishop fails to persuade. His rhetoric will only serve to accelerate the Anglican demise under his failed leadership." You can read the full story in today's digest.

*****

IN CANADA things are truly moving along for orthodox Anglicans. In St. Catharines, Ontario, three new bishops were recently consecrated for ministry in the Anglican Network in Canada. The Rt. Rev. Stephen Leung, the Rt. Rev. Charles Masters and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Trevor Walters were consecrated by the Most Reverend Robert Duncan, Archbishop of the Anglican church in North America in a service which saw the participation of 15 bishops and more than 60 priests and deacons from across North America.

The service of consecration was the culmination of the second synod (church convention) of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). During the synod, ANiC moderator, the Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey announced his intention to step down in November 2010.

It was also announced that the third synod would be held in Ottawa in early November 2010. The synod is planned to coincide with the visit by the Rt. Rev. Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, recently retired Bishop of Rochester, to ANiC's St George's Anglican Church for their 125th anniversary celebration.

ANiC is under the Episcopal authority of Bishop Harvey and is a diocese in the Anglican Church in North America which unites over 100,000 faithful Anglicans from across this continent. It now numbers 33 parishes and eight forming congregations in North America with more than 3,500 in church on an average Sunday.

If this doesn't send shivers down the spine of ACoC Archbishop Fred Hiltz, I don't know what will. He is watching the erosion of his own Anglican version of The Episcopal Church and is powerless to stop it. No gospel, no vision but inclusion is a recipe for disaster. Making the point, The Council of General Synod of the ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA approved a 2010 budget that includes $450,000 in cuts in order to reduce the General Synod's deficit to $492,000 for 2010. The cuts are in keeping with a commitment to eliminate deficits by 2012.

In 2009, the budgeted deficit was reduced to $800,000. The deficit-elimination plan called for a further reduction of $300,000 in 2010, but because revenues are also down, George said the cuts in spending had to be about $450,000. Proportional giving from the dioceses, the largest portion of General Synod's revenue, is down. While the economic downturn may be the immediate cause, declining numbers of people attending church is a larger and more long-term problem, she said.

*****

PRINCE CHARLES and wife Camilla attended an Anglican Church service in Victoria, BC, recently. About 200 people waited under leaden skies today to get a glimpse of the couple.

The church was filled for the Sunday service as Charles and Camilla dedicated a stained-glass window commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia.

But all is not well in the failing diocese. The next Sunday, the cathedral was two thirds empty, according to a VOL reader who went back to investigate. "Now, if Bishop James Cowan could get one of the members of the Royal Family to drop in on him every Sunday, Christ Church Cathedral would be full all the time; as it is, next Sunday and every one after this, CCC will be two-thirds EMPTY."

*****

Anglican Professor, The Rev. Clive Newman who narrowly escaped murder when he was a 27-year-old businessman in 1991, was found dead on Nov. 9. Fr. Newman, 45, had been a lecturer at College of the Transfiguration in Grahamstown, South Africa, for the past four years. He taught in the fields of Anglican studies, worship and early African church history. He was ordained in 2007. The Rev. Canon William Domeris, rector of the college, found Fr. Newman's body in his campus apartment. Canon Domeris said he checked on Fr. Newman because he had not shown up for teaching duties or for worship. The attack in 1991, by two men who had already killed three other people, left Fr. Newman with sliced vocal chords and gaping wound in his neck. He was told that he may never regain his voice, and he suffered a stroke. He regained 80 percent of his voice and went on to sing in the St. Mary's Church choir in Port Elizabeth.

*****

ROME can make provision for traditional Anglicans, but Anglicans can't. What is the matter with this scenario? The CofE is dropping its plans to make provision for those opposed to women bishops, according to today's BBC lunchtime radio news. And if there IS no provision, that will open the door for many to claim constructive dismissal from a church which has changed clergy terms of employment retrospectively ... "obedient to the Bishop and his successors" indeed. A paragraph from the Manchester Group's Press Release which is most relevant says: "The effect of the Committee's decision is therefore that such arrangements as are made for those unable to receive the episcopal ministry of women will need to be by way of delegation from the diocesan bishop rather than vesting. Hurrah. Now we can get on with the serious business of applying to the Holy Father for shepherds instead of having to rely any longer on the CofE's ravening wolves."

*****

The former Director General of the BBC has called for atheists and humanists to contribute to BBC Radio 4's Thought For the Day. Lord Birt said in a House of Lords debate that the BBC must 'soon loosen the stranglehold' of established religious organizations and 'fully embrace' the humanist movement. The debate took place in the House of Lords on the eve of the BBC Trust's deliberations on whether to allow non-religious contributors to the Today programme's religious slot.

Lord Harrison, an outspoken humanist who tabled Question for Short Debate, also asked to pay 'sufficient regard to the importance of reflecting humanism' and spoke about 'combined debates of humanists and religionists' to examine, among other things, 'what new uses our wonderful churches could be put to in a modern, secular age'.

*****

Mainline churches in East Germany have rediscovered a sense of mission, according to Uwe Siemon-Netto, director of the Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life. He says the German Protestant church recognized the fall of the Berlin Wall as a miracle. "Then," he said, "it flipped back and returned to its goofy liberal ways." To many East Germans, the social gospel preached from many Protestant pulpits sounded very much like a successor to Nazi and Soviet propaganda, Siemon-Netto said. It failed to draw people. Read more at christianitytoday.com

*****

SMALL VICTORIES. Who Needs 'Gay' Newspapers When You've Got the Liberal Media? Two well-known gay rags, the Washington Blade and the Southern Voice shut down this past week which begs the questions, Is the gay movement running out of steam? The Washington Blade was the leading newspaper for homosexuals in the United States. It reported a lot of bad news about the realities of the homosexual lifestyle to those practicing that behavior. The Blade, Southern Voice, a homosexual newspaper in Atlanta, and other "gay" newspapers closed their doors Monday when the nation's largest homosexual publishing company, Window Media LLC, shut down. The full text of the story is available at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09111608.html

*****

Death certificate for liberation theology premature, says WCC leader. Forty years after liberation theology first gained widespread attention, the movement remains an inspiration for people who want to create a more just world, despite critics who assert it is outdated, says Brazilian Lutheran theologian Walter Altmann. The test for its relevance is, "whether the basic insights and aspirations of liberation theology continue to be alive", Altmann, the moderator of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, told Ecumenical News International in an interview. He also wrote on the Web site of the WCC this week that most of those who derided liberation theology, "did so because they understood it to be an apology of bygone Soviet-style socialism. It seems, though, that this death certificate has been issued prematurely." Ecumenical News International

*****

From the ANGLICAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (Traditional Anglican Communion) comes this word from Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Brian R. Marsh.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Many of you are no doubt aware of the recent news, news that made the front page of the New York Times last Wednesday and has been widely reported in the press since then. In that very prominent article, Cardinal William J. Levada was quoted as saying that Anglicans would be able "to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony." Needless to say, this is an extraordinary development in the life and witness of both Anglicans and Roman Catholics worldwide. The letter from the Holy See expresses generosity toward Anglicans while recognizing the ultimate goal of intercommunion, a goal the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion has worked patiently toward.

Many of us have been answering phone calls and email messages virtually nonstop since this news broke. In all cases, these conversations and communications lean toward one fundamental question: "what does this mean for me and my church?" For the time being, there are and will be no changes at all. Our structures haven't changed, our worship services and pastoral care will continue as they always have. The only thing, in fact, that has changed is that we have received an affirmative letter from the Holy See, a letter that holds out the promise of greater unity for our church. Our next step will be to study the Apostolic Constitution that has been developed for the purpose of providing a structure to any intercommunion arrangement. The House of Bishops has agreed to give "serious, prayerful reflection" to this document once we receive it.

We all need to pray as well. We must offer our prayers to God for guidance and I ask your prayers for us all; prayers for the unity of the church, prayers for our Anglican traditions and prayers that we may all exercise the discernment to see God's will. I also ask that passages from St. John's gospel that we hold so dear (St. John 17 vv. 20-26) be read on this Sunday and for the next four weeks at an appropriate place in our worship services. May this help to bring us to a clearer understanding of God's will for all of us.

At this moment, we have received a message. It is a message of hope and encouragement. While it is a glorious moment in time, we must remember that it is a moment only. There are many more steps that we must take, many more decisions we must reach and many prayers that must be prayed before we attain that final goal of intercommunion, where we may all be unified once again in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church where God wishes us to be.

Faithfully,
+Brian

This branch of the Continuing Church movement is in turmoil, a source has told VOL. "Many in the ACA are very upset that the people in the pew were not consulted about seeking the protection of the Roman Catholic Church. Many are now threatening to move to other jurisdictions as they have no intention of going that path. The Bishops in the ACA have sent out pastoral letters asking for a time of study of the Apostolic Constitution, but the people are saying they have no interest whatsoever to do so. The Bishops backs now are against the wall."

*****

In CALIFORNIA, voters oppose putting gay marriage back on the ballot, according to a Times/USC poll. A small majority of California voters supports the right of gay couples to marry, but a much larger portion of voters opposes efforts to place the issue back on the ballot next year. Views on same-sex marriage were sharply polarized based on political party, with 66% of Democrats thinking it should be legal and 71% of Republicans in opposition. Nonpartisan voters were less enthusiastic than Democrats but still backed it, 59%-34%. This has gay Episcopalians like Susan Russell steaming mad. Integrity's website is beside itself with rage.

*****

In the UK, a move to severely restrict the number of people whose details are held in the national DNA database has been supported by the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Bishop John Saxbee said the move could help to end a "culture of growing mistrust".

Tory and Liberal Democrat peers made an attempt in the House of Lords to cut down on the number of innocent people whose profiles are kept on the database. The Government is currently considering its position after the European Court of Human Rights ruled last year that keeping samples from all suspects, whether charged or not, was "blanket and indiscriminate".

Bishop Saxbee said: "My sense is that in recent years there has been a significant erosion of confidence."

*****

Some 84 percent of ITALIANS oppose a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that crucifixes should be removed from Italian classrooms, according to a recent poll. The poll in the Corriere della Sera newspaper said only 14 percent favor taking them down and two percent have no opinion. Those in favor include many who are not practicing Catholics. Some 68 percent of those who said they never attended Mass said they still wanted the crucifixes to stay in schools. On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights fined the Italian government for having crucifixes in its schools. The European Court of Human Rights ordered that the government pay 5,000 Euro ($7,390) to Soile Lautsi, a mother of two who claimed that public schools in her northern Italian town refused eight years ago to remove the crucifix from the classroom.

*****

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