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Schori Threatens Schofield...New TEC Province?...Diocesan News...more

"I am determined to avoid every assembly of bishops. I have never seen a single instance in which a synod did any good. Strife and ambition dominate them to an incredible degree. From councils and synods I will keep myself at a distance, for I have experienced that most of them, to speak with moderation, are not worth much. I will not sit in the seat of synods, while geese and cranes confusedly wrangle." -- Gregory of Nazienzen, "Letter to Procopius," A.D. 382.

"Wait till the end and you will see the outcome of events. Don't fuss, don't worry yet awhile. Imagine someone who is not of the trade watching a blacksmith start melting down gold and mixing in ashes and straw. If he does not wait till the end, he will think that the poor piece of gold is going to be destroyed...and when I speak of the final outcome, I am not referring to the end of this present life, but to the future life -- God's plan for us aims at our salvation and glory." -- St. John Chrysostom, On Providence 9. 1

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
11/22/2006

There is a lot of worry out there, among "traditional" Christians of The Episcopal Church, concerning our destination. People are asking, 'Now that the Episcopal Church has de-camped on us and gone straight down the track of the "New Age," where do we go? Where can we go? Do we wait for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates to provide some sort of alternative Province and safe haven without our country? DOP we shelter 'neath and with The Network and with those faithful Network dioceses such as Pittsburgh and South Carolina? Do we look to the Global South bishops to come to our aid? Do we tie in with the Anglican Mission in America? Or to one of the 'continuing' Anglican bodies?

Thus wrote the Rev. Dr. Paul Zahl, president and dean of Trinity School for Ministry in the latest issue of Seed & Harvest, the school's official publication.

He continues: "I think that the grand question of "Whither?" is not the right question. It presupposes that there is some church body out there, some supervising entity or person which, when we find it, will be seen definitely to be "The One." The question of "Whither?" is based on the idea that there is, at this point in time, a verifiable protecting safe place."

Dr. Zahl goes on to opine that there is no such thing as a "safe place" and cites Hebrews 13:14 where the writer declares that "we have no continuing city, but we seek the city which is to come."

He is right of course. The balkanization of The Episcopal Church has begin in earnest and you can read my story about this in today's digest or click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5033 You can also read Dr. Zahl's AS EYE SEE IT piece here: http://tinyurl.com/yhhmc3

COMPLIANCE or how much can you extort, coerce or demand from parishes is becoming the new game in liberal dioceses across the country, as they face shrinking and closing parishes, and fewer and aging Episcopalians.

Consider this from the DIOCESE OF CHICAGO: The convention defeated a resolution that would have directed the Diocesan Council to develop and present to the 170th annual convention for approval, a system of mutual accountability for congregations based on their level of compliance with the guidelines for giving established by the convention.

Or this from the recent convention of the DIOCESE OF IOWA: [We must] change the funding formula for congregational pledges.

Or this from the DIOCESE OF MINNESOTA. There has been significant decline since the 60s in all categories of the diocese which follows the national trend for the Episcopal Church. Of pledged income to the diocese VOL was a sent a report showing that the number of persons pledging continues to decline. A VOL reader wrote to say that Minnesota Bishop James Jelinek's Commission plan for pulling the diocese out of sustained decline has much talk about advocacy and social justice, but none about Jesus and Gospel. Odds of success: about zero. "We've traveled this road before under different names. They just don't get it. They cater to the left, who tend to be skeptical or non-believing of any religion to begin with. They bring in con men like Spong and Borg as leading theological lights to basically make Jesus into a mere "spiritual leader" or wise man and a reasonable person can ask why should anybody believe anything they say." Indeed.

And this from the DIOCESE OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: At their recent convention they dealt with 15 resolutions with the largest discussion being about the changing of the present assessment rate to a tithe system of assessment.

All these are resolutions meaning fewer people, smaller parishes, less income and in many cases lower salaries for priests. Two dioceses, Iowa and Pennsylvania both raised the issue that rectors were not earning what they should, but how can they when congregations are declining. Sodomy is not a formula for church growth OR more money in the coffers.

WELL, the fat truly hit the fan this week when the new PB, Mrs. Schori wrote a very threatening letter to the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of San Joaquin telling him, in no uncertain terms, that his efforts urging delegates to his upcoming Diocesan convention to take action to leave the Episcopal Church could result in his being brought up on charges that he violated his ordination vows to "uphold the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them."

She went on to opine that if he felt that he could no longer do so, the more honorable course would be for him to renounce his orders in this Church and seek a home elsewhere.

The irony in all this is that it is Bishop Schofield who wants to uphold the discipline and doctrine of the church and it is Mrs. Schori and her ilk who have abandoned same! In her letter she links "upholding the doctrine...etc" with property ownership which of course is the great lie and has nothing to do with it at all!

If the whole diocese should secede from The Episcopal Church and come under the Province of the Southern Cone then watch the lawsuits start to fly. David Booth Beers will have those flying out the door faster than a resolution supporting sodomite archbishops in the church.

The story is heating up, and the P.B. is showing how she's gonna play things - i.e. with property being a major concern - no surprise.

Nota Bene: Mrs. Schori maintains that Schofield is bound by two different sets of vows. Today, these vows contradict each other!

The Fresno-based Diocese of San Joaquin is scheduled to meet in convention December 1-2. The diocese has an estimated 10,000 Episcopalians in some 48 congregations. You can read Mrs. Schori's letter here: http://tinyurl.com/yg8hp5 http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5036

AND if you thought you had had enough reading about the life and times of Charles Bennison the Bishop of Pennsylvania, well he reared his head again this week and came unasked, uninvited, unwanted to the evangelical parish of The Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, the largest parish in the diocese. He was basically shunned with only about 120 of the parishes 750 parishioners even bothering to show up. But your scribe was there and wrote up a story which you can in today's digest. He visit was made under duress. But Bennison's sins came back to haunt him big time when I learned of a book "In Praise of Congregations," he had written and from it we get this choice paragraph that just about says it all. On page 192 he writes: "Congregations that harbor secrets surrounding events in their collective lives--such as sexual or financial misconduct on the part of the clergy--experience cognitive dissonance between reality and what is said about it. Within the life of the congregation secrecy becomes toxic. When the memory of misconduct is repressed in this way, it results in the congregation's defensiveness about particular eras in its history, and selective amnesia about certain events." Bennison's actions over the past few weeks regarding his brother's sexual folly demonstrate fully the truth of his own words.

THE Executive Council meeting in Chicago recently kicked even more sand in the face of the Global South and orthodox Episcopalians everywhere, when they announced the possible formation of an Anglican Convocation in the Americas. The idea they said was "to better equip churches for mutuality and interdependence in God's mission."

The group would consult with the Anglican Church of Canada, the Anglican Council of Latin America (Concilio Anglicano Latino Americano or CALA), and the Province of the West Indies. The other major convocation of Anglican provinces consists of churches in the Global South.

What's going on here? A couple of bishops VOL consulted said it is a pre-emptive strike to get the ball rolling for the TEC to form its own province just in case they get kicked out of the Anglican Communion.

When VOL inquired from a source about the inclusion of the West Indies we were told that this was pure fantasy. Archbishop Drexel Gomez would never be drawn into such a relationship with the TEC. Perhaps the Executive Council has a handful of parishes in the West Indies and the Bahamas in mind, but it certainly does not have the approval of Apb. Gomez for such inclusion.

Another orthodox bishop told VOL, "Perhaps it is time to dust CAPAC off the shelf where it has been lying dormant for a year, and jump start it into action." Certainly now would be the time.

Lexington Bishop Stacy Sauls gave the council a written report about the work of the House of Bishops Task Force on Property Disputes, whose work began at the September 2005 House of Bishops meeting and was sanctioned by the council earlier this year. At that time, the council appropriated $100,000 for the task force's work. The group also has $25,000 available to it from the Church Pension Fund.

But a source close to the CPF said the funds did not come from the Pension Fund but from one of its subsidiaries, a casualty insurance company. The stated purpose of the funding is to keep the insurance company abreast of what is happening with churches that it insures. It is, he said, an action by the management of the insurance company for what it sees as business purposes.

Sauls' said that the task force had developed a "brief bank" of various court filings and research memoranda that are available to aid dioceses with litigation, and had identified potential expert witnesses; evaluated options that might be available through processes of mediation, reconciliation and settlement. He introduced General Convention Resolution B032 stating that none of the Windsor Report-related responses contemplated or established by various dioceses "is intended to affect either the historic separate and independent status of the churches of the Anglican Communion or the legal identity of The Episcopal Church." The report says that the resolution was proposed because it appeared that part of the Windsor Report-response strategy of some dioceses was to "force the Archbishop of Canterbury to sanction such activity and to provide a 'safe haven' for those wishing to pursue that course of action." They decided to monitor the efforts of what the report called "problem dioceses," including Pittsburgh, Quincy, Springfield, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Joaquin and Rio Grande. They said they would continue to support litigation that supports the Episcopal Church. Two dioceses not on that list were Central Florida and South Carolina even though they have appealed for alternative oversight.

In the DIOCESE OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA they added four new names to the slate for bishop coadjutor. The first three names were not acceptable to the diocese's liberals because they actually said they would not buy into the church's pansexual notions and demanded adherence to the Windsor report so, lo and behold, four new persons were added to the list including one woman. As of this writing VOL does not know who among them are out and out liberals on sexuality issues, but we have not heard any squawking from the Via Media or Integrity crowd, so clearly there is a sleeper among them that pleases the revisionists. They were added by petition.

The four are the Rev. John S. Adler, 64, vicar, Iona-Hope Church, Fort Myers, Florida; the Rev. Michael P. Durning, 55, canon to the ordinary of the diocese; the Rev. Edward J. Henley Jr., 58, rector, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Tampa; and the Rev. Sharon L. Lewis, 62, rector, Church of the Holy Spirit, Osprey, Florida. The election of the coadjutor, who will become the fifth bishop when Bishop John Lipscomb, 56, retires in 2009, will take place December 9 at St. Peter's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Lipscomb has been bishop since 1997.

And from the DIOCESE OF THE RIO GRANDE comes this word: The Diocesan Council voted 7-2 to affirm the Bishop's support for and having official representation in the Anglican Network. Bishop Jeffrey Steenson gave open support for this. This follows both Bishops Terence Kelshaw and Steenson supporting Network representation. The Standing Committee of the Diocese had previously voted unanimously to have representation at the Network meetings. VOL was told that one Dean stormed out of Council as debate took place. "This is another huge victory for the orthodox in the diocese, supporting the increasing clarity of Bishop Steenson as a Windsor and Network Bishop. The Budget passed at the Diocesan Convocation in October includes funds to support official Network representation, without dissent. A Resolution to uphold and pray for the new Presiding Bishop and invite her to the Diocese failed, at Convocation. Subsequently, Bishop Steenson did not attend the new PB's investiture."

And in the DIOCESE OF CENTRAL NEW YORK, The Rev. Tony Seel of St. Andrew's, Vestal NY presented a resolution crafted by his Senior Warden, Warren Musselman asking that the convention allow his parish, to become part of another diocese of The Episcopal Church. The resolutions committee reported to the full convention that they found the resolution "not in canonical order." They then recommended to convention that a special committee be formed "for the purpose of future study of this issue" and to report to 2007 Convention. "I questioned the chancellor of the diocese whether that committee could recommend that we be allowed to join another diocese, and he would not answer my question. I told the resolutions committee and the full convention, our vestry has been clear that they are not willing to wait another year. By the beginning of Advent, our parish will have completed the 40 Days of Discernment program as formulated by The Falls Church and Truro. I anticipate that we will have a parish meeting and possibly a parish vote at that time.

In the DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA two parishes could be out the door by the year's end if the parishes vote for it. That almost seems a certainty. The struggle then is going to be over who owns the property. Truro Church and The Falls Church have a combined average weekend attendance of approximately 3,000 people, making them two of the larger parishes in the Diocese of Virginia. Both churches were part of the historic Truro Parish founded in 1732 that President George Washington served as a vestry member. Both the parishes and the diocese signed on to protocol but the diocese seems not to want to honor it. Millions of dollars worth of properties are at stake. Given what is going on in the TEC, numerous Episcopal parishes around the country will soon confront a similar choice--including other parishes in Virginia undergoing the same discernment process.

The refrain repeatedly being uttered by the orthodox is that the TEC must choose whether to continue on its course away from the majority of the Anglican Communion, or move back into the Anglican mainstream.

The DIOCESE OF FT. WORTH held its convention this past week and did a number of things including adopting resolutions appealing for Alternate Primatial Oversight and withdrawing Consent for Membership in Province VII. You can read a number of stories in today's digest including the bishop's message. Another Anglo-Catholic bishop the Rt. Rev. Bill Wantland was also present for this convention, lending greater gravitas to the occasion.

FICTION WRITING OR STORY TELLING has become the art form of the Rev. Dr. Ian Douglas. He told the Executive Council in Chicago recently that the Communion has never been stronger and that this was an exciting time to be an Anglican. "I never would have imagined that the hottest ticket at General Convention last summer would be the hearing on the Anglican Communion," said Prof. Douglas, a member of the national Executive Council and professor of world mission at Episcopal Divinity School. "I take that as a positive sign. We are discovering a deeper understanding of communion. God has given us such an opportunity to serve. Of course, the Devil is going to try and pull us apart."

No Dr. Douglas, it is revisionists like you that is pulling the communion apart aided by the Devil, and whether you like it or not it IS coming apart. Try and stop it.

Dr. Douglas is also a member of the Lambeth Design Team, and he said the conference theme is "Equipping Bishops for Mission," and the format will differ in a number of respects from those held over the previous two decades, he said, but it would be naïve to assume that there won't be discussion on human sexuality at multiple levels. You can count on that Dr. Douglas. The Global South will have much to say on the subject, the only issue is whether they attend or not. Archbishop Akinola is more than ready to have a parallel Lambeth on African soil, so he says, so nothing is for certain right now. If the homogenital Bishop of New Hampshire is invited then all bets are off.

IF YOU ever wondered how theologians talk to each other and if in fact they ever make sense, then read the following paragraph about ABC Rowan Williams as it is found in a new book "Seeing the Word" by Cambridge theologian Markus Bockmuehl. Take a deep breath: "Williams's version of the sensus literalis, by contrast, privileges the principle of inner-canonical conflict by prioritizing ideological tension between biblical texts and between the allegedly suppressed voices of their redactional layers. By denying any hermeneutical precedence of canonical texts over this stratification of their textual genesis, like many biblical critics Williams on this account defers scriptural meaning in quasi-Derridean terms." Ah, clarity at last.

But if you really want to read a couple of books that VOL believes will bless you, read N. T. Wright's new book "Simply Christian" - Why Christianity Makes Sense. Anne Rice says of this book that it goes beyond C. S. Lewis's great classic Mere Christianity. N. T. Wright is simply crucial; his writing can transform one's life. Walter Brueggeman says of this book "Wright lives imaginatively at the interface of critical thought and church faith. And John Ortberg says of this book, "I can't think of anyone who has done more to clarify what thoughtful historic Christianity looks like in our day than Tom Wright." In short, in non-theological language, buy this book.

Another book, hot off the press is the Rev. Ed Hird's, "Battle for the Soul of Canada" - Raising up the Emerging generation of Leaders. This book is not just about Canada, it is contextually important for all North Americans. The book, says Hird, is aimed towards people that might enjoy taking an Alpha course. You can read about it at this link http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4685. It is now available in time for Christmas. You can send a check addressed to "Ed Hird" for $15.00 (Can), plus shipping and handling ($3.50 in Canada). By surface to the USA, the total cost for the book plus S &H is $20.00 USD. Mention "Virtue Online" in your order for $2.00 off. The mailing address is:
Ed Hird
#1008-555 West 28th Street
North Vancouver, BC, V7N 2J7,
Canada.
Checks can only be accepted from USA, England and Canada. All others need to send bank drafts.

SCHORI INTERVIEW: Mrs. Schori gave an interview to the New York Times magazine editors (see digest for full interview) but the interviewer asked her a couple of questions that prompted some very strange replies.

Interviewer: How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country? Schori : About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentage wise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children. Interviewer: Episcopalians aren't interested in replenishing their ranks by having children? Schori : No. It's probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.

So, no kids please, we're Episcopalians.

And then there is another rather odd answer about her moving to NYC from Nevada with her husband...maybe. Here is what she said: "He is actually in Nevada. He is a retired mathematician. He will be here in New York when it makes sense."

So I told my wife, "Honey, I'm out the door to Cabo San Lucas, where they party all day and all night. I'll return when it makes sense. Don't wait up."

THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK Dr. John Sentamu blasted British Airways when they fired an employee for wearing a cross around her neck, while allowing male Sikh staff to wear turbans and female Muslim staff to wear hijabs. The Ugandan Archbishop called BA's decision 'flawed reasoning' and derided BA's statement that the decision was "purely a question of practicality" suggesting that BA's explanation meant an employee turning up for work with a 'three foot cross must be allowed to wear it because to hide such a cross under their uniform would be impractical'. Political correctness is killing the UK.

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH IN SEWANEE, VOL has learned that the Diocese of Central Florida has pulled three seminarians who will be not be returning to Sewanee next semester. VOL was also told that the Diocese of South Carolina will no longer send postulants to Sewanee in the near future. That adds to the growing number of "owning dioceses" which do not have the School of Theology on their lists of acceptable seminaries. It's a sad day, but many of us saw it coming, said a student. Sewanee's loss could be TSM's gain. Ah revisionism.

THE GLOBAL SOUTH Steering Committee reported from its meetings on Nov 15-17, 2006 more than one hundred congregations now separated from the Episcopal Church also joined them. Respective presentations were received expressing the increasingly difficult and, in some cases, untenable situations in which they attempt to live out apostolic faith and historic order. "We were distressed to hear of the legalistic and autocratic environment in which some now find themselves as they seek to remain faithful Anglicans within The Episcopal Church."

The Steering Committee will make its report and recommendation to the Global South Primates when they next meet and will also share them with the Archbishop of Canterbury. "Deeply touched by the oftentimes painful and gravely disconcerting testimonies that we heard, the Global South Steering Committee feels morally and spiritually compelled to reassert its deepest solidarity with these orthodox and faithful bishops and representatives," they said.

They elected the Rev. The Rev. John C. Bauerschmidt from The Diocese of Louisiana to be the 11th Bishop of the DIOCESE OF TENNESSEE. After 12 votes and a daylong series of compromises, the diocese made its decision after 56 clergy votes and 93 laity. He is a "moderate" VOL was told. But will he be an institutionalist and corporatist or something more. Time will tell. We should not forget that the orthodox were briefly singing John Howard Bishop of Florida's praises when he was elected. Now they are singing a different tune. Bauerschmidt will replace outgoing evangelical bishop Bertram Herlong who is retiring this year after leading the diocese for 13 years. After the vote, Herlong said divisions in the church have been exaggerated by some, particularly in the media, and that most Episcopalians feel they can agree to disagree. He dismissed assertions by some that the conservative Anglican Communion Network is maneuvering to take over the Episcopal Church and ostracize those with more liberal views. "There are always people out there using scare tactics and putting a bogyman under the bed," he said.

CORRECTION: In my story Court Rules All Saints' Parish Owns Property in Los Angeles that VOL ran in the last digest, a reader wrote to say that was old news, a year old in fact. VOL apologizes for the error and any inconvenience or hurt it might have caused.

VIRTUEONLINE wants to wish all its readers a very Happy Thanksgiving, and for those VOL readers in the other 44 countries of the world, please share in our joy. The U.S. is going through turbulent times in more ways than one. The Episcopal Church and the country's Culture Wars seem to mirror each other. Please keep us in your prayers.

If you have never supported VOL with a donation, perhaps you might consider doing so with a tax deductible donation. We bring a weekly digest directly into your e-mail the equivalent of a small booklet each week, with hard news, news analysis and top line columnists. A website is updated daily, sometimes hourly with the latest and best news. www.virtueonline.org

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All Blessings

David W. Virtue DD

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