Stupid quote of the week: "As I looked into the eyes of Katharine Jefferts Schori that day I believed in my heart that she sincerely wanted to create a reconciling spirit in the Episcopal Church that would find a respectful place for all of us." Rev. Brian Cox, professional reconciler and Episcopal priest.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
wwwvirtueonline.org
10/2/2008

GOD IS OUR SOURCE, THE ECONOMY IS NOT. With these words the rector of the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, PA stood in front of his large orthodox congregation last week and reminded us of just who is in charge of the universe and who is not. We should not be driven by the ups and downs of Wall Street or Main Street, he said. We should not get caught up in avarice and greed, nor should we be foolish about our investments, above all we should remember who is in charge - and it is not us.

Many Christians have been caught up in the ways of the world and are now suffering both financially and emotionally. Others remember what their father told them. You remember what he said: pay cash, owe no man anything, don't buy what you cannot afford, steer clear of debt, never put up your house as a guarantee for anything or anyone, and so on. Never expect a bank to help you when you need help.

Do you remember your dad's other pieces of advice such as, "'Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves." "Do not put all your eggs into one basket." "Your best investment will always be in your own house." "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

As John Wesley advised his early converts, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. As for money, gain all you can without hurting anybody. With wisdom, save all you can. Then give all you can."

Timely words, indeed. One commentator noted that the U.S. has always feared real or potential attacks on itself by outsiders - the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of J.F.K. Sept 11, 2001. This time, we did it to ourselves. We are learning that no economic system is perfect and mistakes can be made by allegedly very intelligent people who often have their own best interests at heart but not necessarily anyone else's.

But this crisis is as much spiritual as economic.

"In many ways, the spiritual/ecclesiastical Anglican Communion meltdown is comparable to the financial meltdown in the US business world. In the latter, people bought sub-prime loans that were in effect bad paper, passed them on to others as if they were the real thing, trust was broken, and lies and deceit led to the economic ruination of many - and it isn't over yet! In the spiritual/ecclesiastical realm, church leaders in North America put together sub-prime, bogus spiritual truths, passed them on to others as if they were the real thing, persecuted those who raised the alarm, and as a result, trust has been broken, lives spiritually ruined, lies and deceit have caused many to leave their churches and reorganize in line with traditional Christian beliefs, and this is leading to the ecclesiastical ruination of many. The problem with spiritual ruination is that you might wind up in hell (yes, that place that TEC leaders don't believe in - or if it does exist, only a few of us will be in it!)," said American Anglican Council president Bishop David C. Anderson.

As Mrs. Jefferts Schori recently observed there are no goats, she might have observed that tens of thousands of Episcopal sheep have some seriously revisionist shepherds leading them.

Is it any wonder then that bishops and clergy of whole dioceses are leaving The Episcopal Church fearful that if they stay they will endanger the souls of those they minister to. Whatever the inside strategy was supposed to have achieved with the Windsor Report, it has clearly failed. A Covenant won't be worth the paper it is written on, according to Dr. J.I. Packer, Anglican patriarch and one of its best and ablest orthodox theologians.

You can read my interview with him in today's digest. He spoke at the Anglican District of Virginia second annual Synod Council in Herndon, VA where I had the privilege of meeting the octogenarian theologian. He covered a lot of ground and again called for the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign, saying the man was over a barrel over sexuality issues. He should retire to academia, he said. Read the full story here or in today's digest. http://tinyurl.com/3j6mv8

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This coming weekend the DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH will vote on leaving The Episcopal Church. In all likelihood, they will get the votes and move to come under the ecclesiastical authority of the Province of the Southern Cone. Bishop Robert Duncan has already made his move. The diocese is expected to follow him.

The treatment he has received at the hands of Jefferts Schori and the House of Bishops is nothing short of abominable and has deeply angered archbishops and bishops of the Global South.

The fact, timing and manner of the action taken by the American House of Bishops toward Bishop Duncan filled the GAFCON Primates' Council with dismay. They wrote and said so.

"He is a Bishop in good standing in the Anglican Communion, and is guilty only of guarding his people from false teaching and corrupt behavior as he promised to do. Once more the upholders of the orthodox faith are made to suffer at the hands of those who have introduced new teachings.

"However, the action has also had the effect of clarifying matters even further. It is now impossible to believe that the exhortations of the Lambeth Conference and the Windsor Continuation Group will be heeded.

"No Pastoral Forum has been established. We remain convinced that the faithful Anglicans of North America need to have their own Province recognized by the Communion as a whole. We are determined to stand with Bishop Duncan and those who, like him, have protested in the name of God against the unscriptural innovations which have caused such divisions amongst us.

"In the absence of other substantive provision from the historic structures of the Communion, the Primates' Council gives its full support to Archbishop Greg Venables in receiving Bishop Duncan as a Bishop in good standing in the Province of the Southern Cone."

Activist Episcopal layman and Washington attorney, Rufus Peckham wrote in outrage, "As far as I'm concerned, the deposition of Bishop Duncan is the greatest obscenity committed in the name of religion since the burning of Joan of Arc."

Earlier this week I listened to Washington Bishop John Bryson Chane explain that he "had no choice" but to vote in favor of the deposition. I nearly vomited on the spot, he wrote VOL. When the Diocese of Pittsburgh leaves, litigation will be almost immediate, with Jefferts Schori flying in a bishop a al Jerry Lamb of San Joaquin, announcing new headquarters and offering a para phony diocese. The same will undoubtedly happen when the dioceses of Ft. Worth and Quincy make their moves out of TEC. Watch the legal fees hit the millions when the proverbial ecclesiastical fat hits the national church fan.

One Church of England bishop who has come out in solidarity with Bishop Duncan is the Bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt. Rev. Keith Sinclair. Here is what he said. "I was privileged to meet +Bob at the Lambeth Conference and I can't understand why those also present have now acted against him in this way. To have split the Communion by ignoring all the pleas not to innovate against the clearly expressed mind of the Communion and then to pretend that it is +Bob who has in some way departed from the faith is an example of profound self deception. To have proceeded in this way seems to myself, who first met TEC Bishops at Lambeth, that for all the fine words, a deeper force is driving this which is immune to the calls for unity and truth. TEC asked for diversity to be respected. Where is even elementary respect for the diversity of gospel orthodoxy represented by +Bob and the diocese of Pittsburgh? If the diocese was still undecided as to how to proceed in relation to TEC, this action would surely move them to leave. TEC may want to uphold its own distorted sense of its own polity. It should not now be surprised if the rest of the Anglican Communion now moves to assert its polity, without TEC."

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In Ambridge, PA this week, the installation of the Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry as the new president at TRINITY SCHOOL FOR MINISTRY at St. Stephens, Sewickley took place. It was an amazing event, a participant told VOL. The church was packed with standing room only. Four Bishops and 7 Dean/Presidents from other Episcopal seminaries were also present. They represented Virginia Seminary, General Theological Seminary, EDS, etc. and they all received communion. Ah, inclusivity. Oxford canon theologian/evangelist Dr. Michael Green preached and ripped The Episcopal Church's apostasies and Bishop Duncan's "deposition". Duncan received an amazing 5-minute standing/cheering ovation. A VOL reader wrote to say, "I have never seen anything quite like it."

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And in the DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA, the diocese and The Episcopal Church settled property disputes with two congregations this week. The diocese reached a legal settlement with Potomac Falls Church in Potomac Falls and Christ the Redeemer Church in Chantilly

Under the settlement, the two congregations will make a payment of $10,000 to the diocese and will be released from any claims or future liability arising from the litigation. Neither congregation held any real property.

Potomac Falls and Christ the Redeemer are two of 11 congregations in which the majority of the laity and clergy voted to leave the diocese over theological disagreements. The departing members joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). The other nine congregations are still in litigation as there are millions of dollars worth of property at stake.

A trial involving the remaining congregations is scheduled to begin October 6, and will focus solely on the issue of those properties currently held by the CANA congregations. To date the diocese has lost in the courts, and if it loses the next round, the diocese will appeal the court's rulings on the applicability and validity of the Division Statute. The Presiding Bishop's Office has said that the Episcopal Church will also appeal the trial court's decisions.

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Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi is coming to the U.S. and he has been invited to speak at a number of Episcopal parishes. One is St. Paul's, Darien, CT under the leadership of the Rev. Christopher Leighton. According to Leighton, Orombi is coming to "bring encouragement from other brothers and sisters in Uganda" NOT celebrate the sacraments. This is a great way to skirt diocesan boundaries. Leighton should be applauded for his ingenuity.

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On Oct. 20 at precisely 9.30am in yet another courtroom, Charles Bennison, the inhibited BISHOP OF PENNSYLVANIA will come face to face with his accuser, Fr. David Moyer, a priest he inhibited and "deposed". In Norristown, PA, Bennison will have to look the Anglo-Catholic priest in the eye and say he didn't commit fraud against this godly man. If Bennison thought he had had a rough time of it at his ecclesiastical trial, he doesn't have a clue what he will now face in a secular court of law. He would have done better to settle out of court. But then sociopaths never see the beam in their own eyes.

To make that point, this week in Buffalo, New York, another revisionist Bishop Michael Garrsion of the DIOCESE OF WESTERN NEW YORK, quickly settled out of court with a former priest in his diocese, one Simon Howson. It all started at St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia in October of 2004. At that time, Howson, was accused of stealing church funds, forging church documents and misrepresenting himself. Howson in turn accused a homosexual priest of harassing him. That priest was subsequently fired. Howson himself was publicly removed from the church and the priesthood. Five years later, his law suit against the church and the bishop is settled. Howson was publicly exonerated and the bishop was forced to apologize in writing, said his attorney Andrew Fleming. Howson will also get a monetary settlement.

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Litigation is not confined to the US. In Windsor, Ontario, Canada, a court battle is brewing over a congregation that wants to leave the revisionist PROVINCE OF ONTARIO in the Anglican Church of Canada. In a meeting on Sunday, 109 congregation members of St. Aidan's Anglican Church voted unanimously to leave the national church and join a theologically traditional group called the Anglican Network in Canada.

"We see an erosion of the orthodox, or historic, Christian faith within our Anglican Church of Canada," said Rev. Tom Carman, rector of St. Aidan's. Carman said the parting of ways happened after more than a year of discussion among congregants. In May, more than 400 delegates to the Huron diocese's synod meeting in London, Ont., voted to ask their bishop to "grant permission to clergy, whose conscience permits, to bless the duly solemnized and registered civil marriages between same-gender couples, where at least one party is baptized." Delegates also asked the bishop to authorize the creation of an appropriate ritual for the blessings.

"In order to do that, it shows a disregard for what Scripture clearly says," said Carman. But while he announced parishioners are leaving the Anglican Church of Canada, they don't plan to surrender their pews."We believe the (church) building belongs to the parish," he said. "So we intend to stay."

*****

The closure of Native American Episcopal parishes in the DIOCESE OF SOUTH DAKOTA is causing anguish to Native Americans and they have hired an advocate to halt the closings. Advocate Marwin Smith who will be representing the group said an injunction will be filed against the diocese in tribal court since all the land involved is trust land. The injunction was filled in order to halt the closing of the churches and to halt the disposition of any land and buildings that are affected. It is hoped that all those involved can come to a settlement that will be satisfactory to both parties.

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On the brighter side, the 4th annual GREAT LAKES ANGLICAN NETWORK gathering meets October 21-23, 2008 in Akron, OH. Clergy and laity are both welcome. "With only three weeks remaining until this important gathering, we still have 100 seats remaining and we need you to fill them up. If you have not registered, please do so today. Registration online ends this week and door prices are $15 higher than the online special," writes convener Doc Loomis. The keynote address will be given by Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh, Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership. The event will be held Wednesday, October 22 at 7PM St. Luke's Church, Akron, OH. You can sign up here:hudsonanglican@yahoo.com VOL will be there for this lively gospel affirming occasion where more than 1,000 are expected to attend.

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A new ORTHODOX JOURNAL FOR ANGLICANS IN NORTH AMERICA is making its debut. The Orthodox Journal for Anglicans in North America called the North American Anglican Volume I, is ready for the printer. The Winter 2008 issue will be available in early November.

Pastor Joseph Gleason is the brains behind this new journal. Subscriptions can be obtained here: http://www.39articles.com/

The authors come from the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC), the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), The Anglican Coalition in Canada (ACiC), the Anglican Province in America (APA), the Diocese of the Holy Cross (DHC), and the Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC), as well as several other conservative denominations.

The Subscriptions/Store page is now accepting orders. To view sample articles see articles page, and to see their updated author index for a list of published material by author.

Article and Review Submissions: Please mail the Editor regarding submissions for publication or see the Submissions page for more details. http://www.39articles.com/

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Bishop Ted Gulick, 60, of the DIOCESE OF KENTUCKY will step down in 2010 as bishop after 16 years, citing family reasons. The bishop claims that 10,000 Episcopal Church members live in the diocese, which includes Louisville and much of Central and Western Kentucky, but there are less than 4,000 Average Sunday Attendees. In recent years, Gulick spent much of his time responding to the controversy surrounding the 2003 ordination of the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson. Conservatives in the Episcopal Church have objected to the ordination -- with some congregations splitting from the denomination. Overall, Gulick said the diocese is "in very, very good shape. It has wonderful clergy leadership, a solid sense of mission and ministry and a strong financial base." He said the diocese will begin a search for his successor. Gulick voted to depose Bishop Robert Duncan.

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The DIOCESE OF SOUTHERN VIRGINIA has a new bishop. He is the Rev. Herman "Holly" Hollerith, IV who currently serves as rector of Bruton Parish, Williamsburg. Asked why he wanted to become a bishop, he replied that "love is measured by its ability to handle maximum diversity". "I am persuaded that the critical issue is not how well we live together in our common agreements and shared likenesses, but rather how well we live with one another in our differences and in the midst of conflict. This passion informs my model for pastoral ministry." In that case, he will watch as his diocese begins to see fleeing parishes. It will be interesting to see just how "inflamed" he will become when he is informed by David Booth Beers to fight for the properties in the name of Mrs. Jefferts Schori. All indicators are that he is an institutionalist who will go along to get along. One VOL reader who knows him wrote; "He's just a yawn. Another benign left leaning bishop."

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ORTHODOX CANADIAN ANGLICANS are on the march. The Anglican Communion Network is planning gatherings nationwide this Fall to report on recent developments like the Lambeth and Global Anglican Future conferences and the Common Cause Partnership. They will also outline how the Anglican Network in Canada is preparing and what has been happening with its parishes and our ministries. Information can be obtained here: http://anglicannetwork.ca/looking-to-Jesus.htm

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The ANGLICAN ALLIANCE OF NORTH FLORIDA AND GEORGIA has made a new addition in St. Andrews Reformed Episcopal Church in Savannah, GA. They are the third church in Georgia and will become the 23rd member church in the Alliance. "Under the leadership and direction of the Rev. Marc Robertson, we are planning for additional growth of new church plants and other possible existing churches from that region. St. Andrew's can be found on our website: www.standrewsrec.org"

*****

And this from a VOL reader: The ACC and TAC are a big part of the continuing church. "They have abandoned historic Anglicanism in seeking union with Rome. By rejecting the 39 Articles, they reject true Anglicanism."

*****

Coming to a seminary near you. At EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL in Cambridge, Mass two lectures will be delivered, one by Renita J. Weems and another by Marvin Ellison. They are featured speakers honoring feminist scholars in the Church. Weems, an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a Hebrew Bible scholar, will deliver the Joanna Dewey Lecture in Feminist Biblical Studies. Her talk is titled "Baking Cakes to the Queen of Heaven: God, Goddesses, (please don't laugh) and Growing Up Black and Female in America.

She will be followed by Ellison, a Presbyterian minister and William S. Bass Professor of Christian Ethics at Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine, who will deliver the Carter Heyward (ouch) lecture titled "Is Marriage a 'Must' or a 'Bust'? Enlarging the Justice Agenda." But those moral innovations may be only the beginning, says Ellison. Why not legitimize threesomes and foursomes? What about bisexuals, who are attracted to both genders? And why not abolish marriage altogether?

Well, the answer may lie in the fact that Ellison was married to a woman but didn't find that estate "particularly user-friendly" and now lives openly with a gay partner. And you wonder why liberalism has no future. No brainer really. This sort of craziness is why all the Episcopal seminaries are drying up fast.

A verse of Scripture to bear in mind while hearing Mother-Father god talk spewing forth form liberal seminaries is this: "We will not listen to what you say in the name of the LORD. Rather we will continue doing what we had proposed; we will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out libations to her, as we and our fathers, our kings and princes have done in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had enough food to eat and we were well off; we suffered no misfortune. But since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out libations to her, we are in need of everything and are being destroyed by the sword and by hunger" (Jeremiah 44:18-19). Thank God for the prophets.

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CHURCH OF ENGLAND relaxes the rules on where you can marry. The Church of England has opened its aisles to thousands of couples previously unable to marry in their church of choice. New rules have eliminated restrictions that meant brides or grooms could have their wedding only in a church close to their home. Now anyone who can show a connection to a parish church can claim the right to get married there. Church leaders hope the easing of regulations will encourage traditional weddings. In recent years, numbers of religious weddings have declined as options such as stately homes or hotels have become more popular.

*****

A UK vicar carried out a church blessing of a lesbian "wedding", in defiance of Anglican rules. Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent for The "Telegraph", said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, warned liberals at the Lambeth Conference of "grave" consequences if they do not stop inflaming tensions by blessing same-sex unions. The Rev Jim Cotter said the service celebrating the civil partnership of the two women was a "day of great delight and healing". However, a complaint was made and he has now been reprimanded by the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan. It is the latest example of priests defying Anglican Communion guidelines over homosexuality - which state that practicing homosexuals should not become clergy and same-sex unions cannot be blessed in church - in a row that has driven the 80 million-strong worldwide church to the brink of schism.

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CHURCH ADS OR CHURCH MADNESS. The Church of England is putting out ads to induce people to return to the church. The nativity story is being told in the style of horse-racing and football commentaries in the latest in a series of controversial advertising campaigns by a church group. Following posters depicting Jesus Christ as Che Guevara, Santa Claus and the foam on a pint glass, the Church Advertising Network is now "re-branding" the Christmas story as a sporting event. In one of the joke-filled recordings, which will be broadcast on commercial radio stations across Britain during December, a commentator tells the tale of Jesus' birth as if it were a horse race called the Christmas Day Stakes, complete with the sound of cheering crowds and thundering hooves in the background. The voiceover runs through the main characters in the nativity story as if they were horses, starting with "Angel Gabriel with Mary" and moving on to "Mary, Joseph and donkey coming in on the inside" followed by "three kings and Herod". The 30-second advert ends with the commentator declaring the winner to be "Baby Jesus, from Mary, Joseph and virgin birth". In the other advert, the commentator refers to the holy family as if they were players on a football team. It begins with a "nice pass" from Gabriel to Mary before the "innkeeper gets in the way" at Bethlehem and the shepherd "looking completely stunned". It continues: "Jesus on for mankind, mankind really sagging in the first half." The advert ends as if Jesus has scored a goal, with the commentator shouting: "Absolutely majestic." Both of the adverts then feature a voice inviting radio listeners to "be part of the action at church this Christmas". In addition to the irreverent adverts, the Church Advertising Network is running a competition with a prize of £500 for the best re-telling of the Christmas story in under 30 seconds.

Francis Goodwin, chairman of the Churches Advertising Network, added: "The increasing external pressures to secularize Christmas and even the attempts to rebrand it as 'Winterval' show that we cannot be complacent about actively promoting the Christmas story to a new generation, some of whom may never have had the invitation to get to know Jesus." However, some church organizations said that although they welcomed attempts to educate people about the true meaning of Christmas, taking such a humorous approach could backfire. David Phillips, general secretary of the traditionalist Church Society, said: "It wouldn't necessarily be the approach I would take and I can see the problems with it. It could be counter-productive and make people think it is just foolishness. "But I can see why they're doing it. So few people have a grasp of the facts, which is a serious issue that churches must face. How have we got to this stage, when so many children are taught in Church of England schools?" people back into the church, but it looks more like mADness to VOL. http://www.churchads.org.uk

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CHRISTIAN ATTACKS IN INDIA SEEN AS "MILITARY-LIKE OPERATIONS". In an incisive analysis of the wave of the anti-Christian violence that has swept India, Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Mumbai-based Catholic Secular Forum, told the Indian news portal Rediff.com that anti-Christian attacks are "military-like operations, carried out with clinical precision and are brutal, with no discrimination, sparing neither clergy, women, nor children. The objectives are manifold -- consolidation of the Hindu vote, polarization of the majority and minorities, demonizing the community, crippling Christians economically."

In Italy, bishops called upon the EU to add anti-Christian violence to the agenda of the September 29 EU-India summit. While in Karnataka, Archbishop Bernard Moras told the leader of the state government "I am prepared to shed my blood and give my life for protection of churches."

*****

Check this out: Subcutaneous Sinsick Blues-Episcopal Style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgGDA8spnl8

If you want to watch a "tribute" to the Presiding Bishop click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_knN0c7I0A

*****

Among the stories you will find in today's journal is an interview VOL did with the patriarch of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, Archbishop Craig W. Bates. I have also posted an excellent analysis piece by Canon Gary L'Hommedieu on Jefferts Schori that is worth your read.

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VOL welcomes new readers this week from Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and Afghanistan.

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All Blessings,

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PS. VOL will be in Pittsburgh to cover this historic Diocesan Convention this weekend. We will post stories and Anglican-TV will have it all on video which can also now be seen on VOL. Anglican-TV will now be syndicated through VirtueOnline thus providing new and expanding avenues of communication to all its readers. Kevin Kallsen is the founder of Anglican-TV. He is based in Connecticut.