God may let the diocese seize the church sanctuary in which we have soaked up God's word like sponges only to never share its life-giving water with others. We have grown too comfortable and too complacent. We have become hot-tub Christians luxuriating in the steamy warmth of our churches, heedless of the needs of the lost and unsaved. --- Robin Jordan

Sick of Your Sins? Then Come to Christ. I know not what you may have been in your past life - it matters nothing. You may have broken every commandment under heaven; you may have sinned with a high hand against light and knowledge; you may have despised a father's warnings and a mother's tears; you may have run greedily into every excess of riot, and plunged into every kind of abominable behavior - you may have turned your back entirely on God, His day, His house, His ministers, His word. I say again it matters nothing. Do you feel your sins? Are you sick of them? Are you ashamed of them? Are you weary of them? Then come to Christ just as you are, and Christ's blood shall make you clean. --- Bishop J.C. Ryle

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
January 21, 2011

In a move that heightened tensions in the Anglican Communion, the Pope this past week approved a Personal Ordinariate welcoming Anglican clergy, including married priests, into the bosom of Rome allowing them to retain their traditions and liturgy, whilst professing fidelity to Rome.

It was a bold move. In the space of a week, the usually snail-paced Roman Catholic Church laicized, made three former Anglican bishops deacons, and two days later, made them priests, all at warp speed. Later in the week it was announced that the Ordinariate now set up in England and Wales would be available in Australia and Japan.

As the Ordinariate was set up by decree of the Pope, its opponents cannot dismantle it. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham, thus establishing a spiritual bond between the Ordinariate and the pre-Reformation devotion that inspired the Catholic movement in the Church of England. Its patron is Newman, signifying that its members are following in his footsteps in leaving Anglicanism. It will be led, not by a Catholic bishop of England and Wales, but by a Catholic priest who was an Anglican bishop until last month, assisted by two of his former fellow bishops.

The deeper question in all this is: What is this doing to the reputation of Dr. Rowan Williams who has watched while five of his bishops have fled to Rome because they cannot stomach the ordination of women to the episcopacy? Furthermore, the Anglican Communion is in disarray with a dozen or so of his archbishops, the orthodox ones, absenting themselves from his call for a Primates meeting in Dublin this coming week because they no longer believe that their place at the table has any meaning because the decisions are fait accompli. In their opinion, their voices will count for nothing because Mrs. Jefferts Schori's call for the full inclusion of homosexuals to all ministries in the church is a bridge too far. In addition, the refusal to see Holy Scripture as the final authority for the church has alienated more than 70% of the communion.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is now more isolated than ever. A recent book by the Rev. Charles Raven begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting "Shadow Gospel, Rowan Williams and he Anglican Communion" is a stinging rebuttal and repudiation of Dr. Williams' understanding of Scripture. His support of homosexual behavior along with his attempt to find an Hegelian synthesis through the deep problems of the church has met with a stone wall of resistance not only from the Global South bishops, but also from orthodox Western Anglican bishops. The latter now view him with deep suspicion, as he cannot seem to articulate a clear apostolic gospel in the face of both Islam and Western post-modernism.

This begs the deeper question: Can he stay much longer in the job? Has he reached the end of the road? Will the British establishment and the Queen watch as Williams continues to alienate The Commonwealth over which the Queen still has a filial relationship. The full acceptance of non-celibate homosexuals, women's ordination, along with the refusal to see Scripture as the final authority on all matters of faith and practice are lightning rod issues. Is his job on the line?

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The Bishop of North Dakota, Michael Smith has written a letter to members of the Gethsemane Cathedral Chapter and the North Dakota Diocesan Council telling them that the idea of a Bishop/Rector, or in this case a Bishop/Dean, model of ministry is the way forward for his financially strapped diocese. He suggests it might be the way forward for an increasing number of dioceses across The Episcopal Church as they face smaller congregations and diminishing income.

Smith, who is orthodox in faith and morals, wisely assesses the situation noting that such a move would actually be a return to the original practice of The Episcopal Church wherein all bishops served as rectors of congregations.

What is behind this, of course, is the steadily shrinking dioceses of the Episcopal Church and what can be done about it. VOL catalogued the situation in the Diocese of Newark recently. Now VOL has learned that whoever inherits the mantle to become the next bishop of the Diocese of Nebraska may face the same questions. A pie chart of the diocese revealed the following information.

23 of their churches have an Average Sunday Attendance of less than 20 13 have an ASA of between 20 and 50 12 have an ASA of between 50 and 100 7 have an ASA between 100 and 250 2 have an ASA over 250 So 23 of their 57 churches have an Average Sunday Attendance of less than 20 people with a total of 36 under 50. With the average age of Episcopalians now in the mid 60's, what sort of future can dioceses like this have? This is shocking news for any wannabe bishop. It is living proof that when you replace the Gospel with the new fangled Episcopal "gospel" of "radical inclusion", churches don't grow. They empty then die. *****

Christ Church Savannah, Georgia, got some good news. The Supreme Court of Georgia has agreed to hear their case in its dispute with the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia over who owns their property.

"We are very pleased and glad to have an opportunity to have our day in court. It is the first bit of good news on the legal front," the Rev. Marc Robertson told VOL by phone today. "My hope is that the Georgia Supreme Court will see this as a substantial case that could affect thousands of congregations across the state."

Asked if he believes that a recent ruling in South Carolina, which positively affected the outcome for the Diocese of South Carolina and its properties, would have any bearing on their case, Robertson stated that the South Carolina decision ruling would be folded into the case here. "We think the Supreme Court of South Carolina got it right and we hope the court in Georgia gets it right."

Robertson, an evangelical, noted that two well-written amicus briefs helped his parish. "We believed they helped our case. We believe this might be the end of the power of the Dennis Canon which has been part of the legal case used by the diocese." You can read the full story in today's digest.

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A really tragic piece of news emerged from the Diocese of Lexington this past week when VOL learned of the death of The Rev. Mann Satterwhite "Chip" Valentine. He died at his home in Fort Thomas, Ky. He was 63.He served as priest at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Fort Thomas since 2009.

He was the last of the orthodox priests in the ultra liberal diocese run by Bishop Stacy Sauls whose pathological hatred of orthodoxy is well known. Chip, along with several other orthodox priests including Martin Gornick and Dr. Alice Linsley, attended the Dallas-Plano conference in Oct. 2003. "When we returned, Bishop Stacy Sauls put the screws to all of us," Linsley wrote at her blog. "Fr. Gornick's congregation abandoned their new church building and went under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda. Fr. Chip fell in line with Bishop's Sauls, compromising here and there. He advised me to 'obey' the bishop, but I left parish ministry on the Sunday that Gene Robinson was consecrated. Knowing how Fr. Chip had chosen at one point to stand up to TEC's innovations, I wonder if he couldn't live with his subsequent choices."

Often there is a tragic end for those who believe their own deceptions, writes Linsley who now teaches at a local university. VOL spoke with Fr. Gornick and several other persons known to Chip who they all said was a godly man and a very sensitive soul who was not up to the fight with Sauls. "He may well have reached the end of his rope and realized he could no longer live with the consequences of his own compromises," a medical doctor told VOL.

This is what revisionism does. It kills off those who don't conform. In the Diocese of Pennsylvania, Charles Bennison, a few years back, wrested a church from a black priest in the city of Chester because he wanted the endowment. The priest's wife was also a priest with her own parish. The black priest had a stroke as a result of what happened to him and was admitted to the hospital. When Bennison paid a "pastoral" visit on the priest, the wife, who was present, screamed at Bennison to get out of the room, blaming the bishop for her husband's condition. The priest later died.

These are not the only stories of what revisionist bishops do to orthodox clergy. I know numerous orthodox priests who, over the years, have gotten so physically sick because of what revisionist bishops have done to them, that they have had to take early retirement or simply dropped out to look for a different line of work. The stronger ones have started over under AMIA, CANA and ACNA, but many have fallen between the cracks unable to bear the pressure and have simply vanished from sight. A small number, like "Chip" Valentine take the road less travelled and kill themselves. May God have mercy.

A few days before Chip died, Christopher Platt, a former priest in the Diocese of Lexington, and Canon to the Ordinary, died in his sleep. Platt was dragged needlessly through an ecclesiastical trial which received much publicity at the time. He was accused of theft from the Bishop's discretionary accounts, but "those who know him and were privy to the 'evidence' would state to the contrary that probably all that occurred was bad or non-existent bookkeeping." Platt, when confronted with the charges, denied them, but dutifully submitted to the Bishop's discipline, even passing a polygraph test. Instead of dealing with his Canon in a loving manner, Bishop Sauls subjected him to a show trial intended to intimidate. Platt was subsequently defrocked.

*****

The realignment of North American Anglicanism is truly underway. This past week the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod began a dialogue with the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA. It is the first session of a four-part dialogue between representatives of the Synod and ACNA, which brought together the heads of both church bodies. Archbishop Robert Duncan, primate of the ACNA, and Synod President of the LC-MS the Rev. Matthew C. Harrison are talking.

Of course, The Episcopal Church (TEC) has a concordat with the more liberal of the Lutheran Church bodies, namely the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). It'll be interesting to see how far all this goes. Will we see a grand coalition of evangelicals in the US with orthodox believers in the Presbyterian and Methodist churches linking with the likes of ACNA and the LC-MS? Time will tell.

*****

In England, a British judge has fined a Christian couple for refusing to allow a gay couple the use of a double room at their hotel in southern England. Judge Andrew Rutherford says Peter and Hazelmary Bull broke the law when they turned away Martyn Hall and his partner Steven Preddy in late 2008. Bull and his wife, both evangelical Christians, cited religious objections, but insisted their policy was not solely aimed at homosexuals but all unmarried couples.

Equality campaigners condemned the Bulls' decision. In a written ruling at Bristol County Court on Tuesday, Rutherford awarded the gay couple 1,800 pounds (about $2,900) each in damages. It is being appealed.

Christians have expressed concern over lawsuits and rulings such as this. For example, a Christian pastor was cited for hate speech in 2010 for expressing his Christian belief that homosexual behavior is sinful. As for the Bull's case, the Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester, along with the former Bishop of Rochester, the Rt. Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, have expressed in a letter to British daily Telegraph their "very great concern" at the legal action. "Mr. and Mrs. Bull's understanding of marriage is the same as that of the English law and of the Christian church," the bishops wrote.

Other observers feel that the ruling is evidence of further eroding of the civil rights of Britons. Wrote Mike Judge of The Christian Institute, "The guesthouse is not just the Bulls' livelihood, it's their home. Surely they should be allowed the freedom to live by their own values under their own roof. Everyone benefits from these important liberties, and everyone suffers when they are eroded."

One bishop who is stepping up to the plate in the Culture Wars is the former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali. He is attending the Mere Anglican conference in Charleston, SC, where he is a guest speaker. VOL will report on this event.

*****

THE Iranian authorities are carrying out a campaign of arrests against converts to Christianity and Christian evangelists.

The government has not issued figures, but diplomats believe that as many as 70 Iranian Christians have been detained over the past month.

Some of those charged with apostasy face the death sentence. Under the Iranian con­stitution, Christians and Jews, along with Zoroastrians, are protected minor­ities, and established Chris­tian com­munities, such as the Roman Cath­olics and the Armenians, are free to worship in churches.

But the current government in Iran, which is strongly influenced by the Revolu­tionary Guards, views with suspicion the work of evangelists and those converted by them.

The official Iranian News Agency quoted the Governor of Tehran, Morteza Tamadon, as saying that such Christians were "hardline missionaries" who had "inserted themselves into Iran like a parasite.

*****

In the department of good news, Bishop Neil G. Lebhar, ACNA bishop of the Diocese of the Gulf Atlantic, wrote to VOL to say that the Diocese of Florida, under Bishop Samuel John Howard, sold one of their church properties to one of his congregations, Christ the King in St. Augustine, last fall. "This was not the property the parish had left behind but another one of an earlier church plant (Church of the Reconciliation) that eventually closed in the same general area." What this says, of course, is that the diocese is desperate for money and will even resist the siren call of New York not to sell to fellow Anglicans when push comes to shove. Mrs. Jefferts Schori is apparently not selling her Anglican "love" as well as she might. Recently, the liberal bishop of New Jersey, George Counsell negotiated a deal with a parish that wanted to leave TEC. 815 spoke not a word of rebuke...at least not in public.

*****

The re-election of Christina Rees, a strong supporter of women's ministries, to the Church of England's Archbishops' Council is a sign that the church's mainstream wants to move forward on the ordination of women as bishops, observers have noted.

"The trend within the Church of England is to push ahead and the way forward is towards women as bishops. Basically, that has been agreed and of course Christina is not the only person on the Archbishops' Council calling for the ordination of women as bishops. In a way, it would have been surprising had she not been re-elected," said Paul Handley, editor of the weekly newspaper Church Times, in an interview with ENInews.

Rees, who is from Long Island, N.Y., said she will continue to keep the needs of the whole church, both lay and ordained members, in the forefront of her mind as she begins a new term on the Archbishops' Council.

Rees was a founding member of the Council in 1999, which meets every six weeks. Her new term runs until 2015. By that time, say senior members of the Church of England and media commentators, women will be ordained as bishops in the established church whose head is Queen Elizabeth II

*****

The Standing Committee of the rump Diocese of San Joaquinhas selected the Rt. Rev. Chester L. Talton, retired bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Los Angeles, as the candidate for its next provisional bishop. They will vote March 5. Talton succeeds the Rt. Rev. Jerry A. Lamb, who has served as Provisional Bishop since his election at the March 29, 2008 Special Meeting of the Diocesan Convention. Talton is a Bruno (Bishop of LA) crony and a lackluster leader, VOL was told. He will do whatever 815 tells him.

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In a not unsurprising move, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori officially deposed the Rev. Jerry Kramer this past week. He makes his way to the Kenyan branch of the ACNA. His "certificate of deposition" was forwarded to the American Anglican Council's, Wall of Honor in Atlanta where the depositions of 400 orthodox, formerly Episcopal rectors now hang. Kramer made the national news when Katrina flooded his parish, The Free Church of the Annunciation in the Diocese of Louisiana. He stayed and fought to bring the parish back, both physically and spiritually from the edge of extinction. He left it in fine shape. He will be taking his family off to Tanzania where he will work to being the gospel to the Muslim world in that region. For more about the Kramers and how you might support them click here: WWW.kramermission.org

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Have you ever thought of being a monk or nun? The Franciscan Missionaries of Divine Compassion, an Anglican religious order, invite unmarried men and women ages 15 and up to join us for a weekend of learning about religious life, meeting Sister, the friars and other discerners, and seeking God's will in prayer. To register for a free retreat, call Sr. Sarah. We will hold two spring retreats, and the first is January 28 & 29 at Divine Compassion House in Winona Lake, IN. For more information see http://orders.anglican.org/mdc or find us on Facebook.

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I am attending the Sixth Annual "Mere Anglican" conference here in Charleston and last night the opening lecture was given by the Rev. Dr. Bill Dickson from St. Andrew's Church in Ft. Worth, TX. on RECOVERING THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD at St. Philips' Church, Charleston, South Carolina. Mere Anglicanism succeeds S.E.A.D. (Scholarly Engagement with Anglican Doctrine) Conferences which were held for 10 years (1990 to 2005). This occasion is special because it honors the Rt. Rev. Fitzsimmons Allison, bishop of South Carolina, (ret) for his life time service to orthodox Anglicanism. It is well deserved. Tonight a dinner is being given in his honor at a local hotel. The conference has some significant lecturers including Archbishop Mouneer Anis of the Middle East, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, Dr. Ashley Null. A video presentation was delivered by Archbishop Bob Duncan (ACNA) congratulating Dr. Allison for his years of service to the gospel and to the church.

This event will overlap with my flying to Dublin next week, so stories from this very significant event will be posted from Ireland.

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All blessings,

David