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By Ron Boyd-MacMillan   In 2002 it was my privilege to spend a weekend with 10 top house-church leaders in China. What I heard changed my life.   But it was what I smelled that made the first impression. These men had not washed in months. They preach often for eight hours a day, sleep on a floor, and travel the next day to do it all again. They carry one suit of clothes, which they rarely have time to launder, and the reek of unwashed bodies and bad socks roared up my nose like a cavalry charge. After a couple of days, though, you stop noticing.   These 10 were amazing. I knew the brother who had begun the ministry in 1987. He saw 200 converted in the first year. When I visited him in 1991, there were 30,000 in the movement; now, he estimates there are 750,000 members!   You would think that with this kind of growth these leaders would be leaping and dancing. When they told me about the growth, I shouted, "Hallelujah." They smiled, then promptly burst into tears. "What am I missing?" I asked.   "You are missing the reason we are gathered here this weekend: to ask God why he brings people to himself far faster than we can disciple them."   If this sounds ungrateful, consider their challenges. Last year over 10,000 of their membership left to join a vicious cult called "Lightning from the East." As one leader explained, "We can only ask new converts to disciple new converts, and it results in so much bad teaching that we are beginning to fear that the gains of the revival could be undone."   Another said, "This revival looks statistically incredible, but it is spiritually vulnerable. Millions of Chinese Christians are just one unanswered prayer away from moving on to another religion."   As many know, the largest and longest revival in the history of Christendom took place in China in the past 30 years. The church has grown from a couple of million in the late 1970s to upwards of 60 million today.   And yet the Chinese church has precious few resources to disciple the millions of new converts. This is partly because they are a persecuted community, where it is hazardous for independent house-church movements to maintain links with Western churches, and partly because the growth is so overwhelming.   The 10 were studying the history of revival. I had brought them a syllabus from my old professor, and as we went through all the revivals two points became clear.   First, revivals don't last very long. They are temporary phenomena. "We may not enjoy this growth very much longer," said one of the group, "because the revival killer is coming: consumerism." In the words of Li Tien En, a famous Shanghai pastor, "Consumerism makes you think you don't have to suffer to follow Jesus. It makes you think you can have lots of things, and Christ as well. In reality, you just end up with lots of things, and most of the time you don't even realize Christ has gone." China is experiencing rampant capitalism. Everyone wants to get rich quick, and many are.   Second, revivals do not necessarily have a long-term impact. Some revivals disappear without a trace. Think of the Welsh revival of 1904. What has Wales got to show for that but empty churches today? These men were all concerned and asked us for our help: "This is the Chinese church's most urgent need--for the Western church to enable us to turn new believers into mature believers, so that this revival will change Chinese society."   Said one of the leaders, "Westerners seem to see China's Christians either as an entirely persecuted church - which it isn't, or as an entirely free church - which it isn't either. Torture happens, but not to most of us. Make a hue and cry about torture by all means, but don't be distracted from realizing what the Chinese church really is and needs - we are a revival church, and we need your assistance with the blessing and burdens that revival brings."   He added, "Remember, it's your revival too. You prayed for it as much as we did, and we will come to you with the blessing as China opens up more in the future."   (Ron Boyd-MacMillan works for Open Doors International [ www.od.org ], a ministry that offers an in-depth leadership and Bible-training program to over 5,000 Chinese teachers a year. They also deliver desperately needed Bibles and Christian literature extensively throughout China. This article was featured in the Jan/Feb 2004 issue of PRISM Magazine, which looked at both the persecuted church in China and the new religious freedom flourishing there.)

Commentary   By Uwe Siemon-Netto UPI Religious Affairs Editor   PARIS, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- As one analyzes the pope's weekend pilgrimage to Lourdes, U.S. baseball great Yogi Berra curiously comes to mind. Here was the ailing John Paul II whispering urgently in Polish during a sermon given in French: "Help me; I must finish." Here, Belgian cardinal Godfried Daneels hinted to a newspaper at the possibility of the 84-year old pontiff's impending death.   But then no sooner was the pope back in Rome than he offered his good services to end the carnage in Najaf in Iraq, where rebellious Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr had appealed to the head of the Catholic church to intervene.   Clearly, Berra's adage applies just as well to the ecclesial realm as its does to his sport: "It ain't over till it's over."   For the last few years, every one of the pope's foreign journeys triggered expressions of fret over his weakened health. Cardinal Daneels, considered by many as a possible candidate for St. Peter's throne, has articulated such concerns before. Now one of 11 princes of the church in John Paul's entourage during last weekend's pilgrimage, Daneels told the Brussels daily, Het Laatste Nieuws (Latest News), "It was his goodbye to Lourdes and maybe also to his life."   Indeed, it would amount to a miracle if the pope were alive or in good enough health to travel to Lourdes in 2008 for the 150th anniversary of the Virgin Mary's first apparition to Saint Bernardette Soubirous near that village in the Pyrenees. Nevertheless, he already is planning his next trip to another Marian shrine: On Sept. 5 he will visit Loretto in Italy.   What 300,000 other pilgrims witnessed during John Paul's stay in Lourdes was the normal evolution of the Parkinson's syndrome of which he himself had informed the world in 1996. This disease is well advanced, but according to Vatican insiders it has in no way affected his intellectual acumen and feistiness.   This might well have been his farewell to France, but as during his first visit there almost a quarter-century ago, he reminded this nation, the "Church's first daughter," of her baptismal vows. What has she done with it? Why is she wavering in such essential matters as bioethics, abortion, or the Christian roots of her civilization?   One hopes that French President Jacques Chirac, once retired, will have the grandeur to reveal to future generations what it felt like when this shaking old Pole gave it to him straight during a 20-minute tete-a-tete on the tarmac of Tarbes airport near Lourdes.   It was France -- governed by conservatives -- that prevented any mention of God and Christianity in the draft of the new European constitution. And it is France to which John Paul appealed: "Defend your liberty." It was first and foremost the French whom he reminded that the ideals of their 1789 revolution -- liberte, egalite, fraternite (freedom, equality and brotherhood) -- have Christian roots.   It is easy to mistake the pope's frailty for weakness. Crippled, he rubbed shoulders with thousands of fellow cripples looking hauntingly like Hieronymus Bosch figures. But at the world's largest site of pilgrimage -- a site dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the quintessence of the "new woman" (Christianly understood) -- he once again proved his ability to transmit a powerful message.   This message won't please everybody, especially not self-centered post-moderns, but it nonetheless conveys an anthropology common to Judaism and Christianity alike: "Today's society needs the essential values that can be seen only with 'the eyes of the heart.' It is up to you women to be witnesses to that which cannot be seen."   It doesn't matter if the mouth conveying such words emits spittle. What matters is that the world is once again reminded that the most important eyes are the ones of the heart. And as long as that can still happen, Yogi Berra's words apply: "It ain't over."   END

By David W. Virtue   Two large, wealthy, orthodox parishes in the Diocese of Los Angeles; St. James Church Newport Beach and All Saints' Church, Long Beach, have announced that they will leave the diocese and the Episcopal Church USA and come under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of Uganda.   According to a joint press release issued by both churches they will remain members of the worldwide Anglican Communion.   Both St. James and All Saints' want to remain loyal to the historic teachings of the Christian Faith, observed by the mainstream of the Anglican Communion but their members believe the Episcopal Church USA has chosen a path that no longer reflects this steadfast faith, said the release.   All Saints' Church, a biblically orthodox church since 1926, affirms its membership in the Anglican Communion and has formally come under the jurisdictional oversight of the Anglican Province of Uganda in the Diocese of Luweero, thus retaining its membership in the worldwide Anglican Communion.   "Holy Scripture remains a constant in our lives," said Senior Warden David Thornburg. "It holds authority over us and inspiration for us. As we watch the Episcopal Church USA move away from this authority, we remain convinced of its truth. Therefore, our prayerful decision is to continue in that scriptural authority with the vast majority of our fellow Anglicans around the world."   The decision to leave the ECUSA after 80 years was unanimous with the members of All Saints' steadfastly wishing to remain loyal in their commitment to the Holy Scripture, the historic teachings of Christianity and the Anglican Communion. They believe the Episcopal Church USA has chosen a path that no longer reflects their membership's steadfast faith.   "This has not been an easy decision for us," said the Rev. Thompson, rector of All Saints' Church for 29 years. "We have struggled with this for a number of years. It is with great regret we have realized that if we are going to be able to focus our attention on the call that our Lord has placed upon us, we must move beyond this distraction so that we can focus all of our energies on being faithful to God.   "The vestry and members of All Saints' realize we now must move beyond this issue, so that we can concentrate on our core mission: To know Christ and to make Him known to others," concluded Rev. Thompson.   All Saints' will continue to hold worship services in the same location where it was incorporated in 1926 and carry on with its usual programs and activities. All Saints' is a self-supported, growing church with more than 450 members.   St. James Church in Newport Beach, a biblically orthodox church since 1949, also left the diocese and the Episcopal Church and affiliated with the Uganda Province affirming its right to stay in the Anglican Communion.   Members of St. James have remained steadfast and loyal in their commitment to the Holy Scripture, the historic teachings of Christianity and the Anglican Communion for 55 years. They believe the Episcopal Church USA has chosen a path that no longer reflects the membership's steadfast faith.   "St. James is a biblically orthodox church that accepts Jesus Christ as the One and Only Lord and Savior, and acknowledges the authority of the Holy Scripture as the Word of God," said Senior Warden Jim Dale. "Our devotion is to God, not a particular institution. When an institution no longer represents our understanding of God's Word and His Will, we must have the courage and faith to stand by our convictions."   The members and vestry of St. James made their decision with the support of The Rev. Praveen Bunyan, reflecting the desire of the church to stand firm on its religious convictions.   "We at St. James have prayed and struggled with this decision for many years," said Rev. Bunyan, the rector of St. James Church. "It is after much deliberation that we came to this conclusion, but it is our only recourse if we are to stay true to the historic faith and teachings of the church.   "St. James worked very hard for many years to reconcile our differences with the Episcopal Church USA and the Diocese of Los Angeles, both in our own hearts and through extensive dialogue. However, that effort has brought no comfort to ease our pain.   "The members of St. James wish to move beyond this issue, so we can concentrate on our core mission: To glorify God, uphold the Holy Scripture, raise our children to love and serve Jesus Christ and share the Gospel with the world," concluded Rev. Bunyan.   St. James will continue to hold worship services in the same location where it was incorporated in 1949 and carry on with its usual programs and activities. St. James is a self-supported, growing church with more than 1,200 members.   The worldwide Anglican Communion has churches in 164 countries with about 77 million members. The Episcopal Church USA represents 2.5 million members both here and abroad, which is only three percent of the Anglican Communion.   The Anglican Province of Uganda represents eight million Anglicans, more than three times the membership in the entire Episcopal Church USA. St. James has a close and longstanding relationship with the Province of Uganda and the Diocese of Luweero, where many of its missionaries have served.   Reached at The Diocese of Los Angeles, Janet Kawamoto, Media Director said bishop Jon Bruno had not seen the letters from the two parishes and had "no comment" to make at this time.   END _______________________________________________

By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer   KIBBUTZ TZUBA, Israel - Archaeologists said Monday they have found a cave where they believe John the Baptist anointed many of his disciples - a huge cistern with 28 steps leading to an underground pool of water.   During an exclusive tour of the cave by The Associated Press, archaeologists presented wall carvings they said tell the story of the fiery New Testament preacher, as well as a stone they believe was used for ceremonial foot washing.   They also pulled about 250,000 pottery shards from the cave, the apparent remnants of small water jugs used in baptismal ritual.   "John the Baptist, who was just a figure from the Gospels, now comes to life," said British archaeologist Shimon Gibson, who supervised the dig outside Jerusalem.   However, others said there was no proof that John the Baptist ever set foot in the cave, about 2 1/2 miles from Ein Kerem, the preacher's hometown and now part of Jerusalem.   "Unfortunately, we didn't find any inscriptions," said James Tabor, a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.   Tabor and his students have participated in the excavations.   Both Tabor and Gibson said it was very likely that the wall carvings, including one showing a man with a staff and wearing animal skin, told the story of John the Baptist. The carvings stem from the Byzantine period and apparently were made by monks in the fourth or fifth century.   Gibson said he believed the monks commemorated John at a site linked to him by local tradition.   Gibson said the carvings, the foot washing stone and other finds, taken together with the proximity of John's hometown, constituted strong circumstantial evidence that the cave was used by John.   John, a contemporary of Jesus who also preached a message of redemption, is one of the most important figures in Christianity. The discovery, if confirmed, would be among the most significant breakthroughs for biblical scholars in memory.   The cave is on the property of Kibbutz Tzuba, an Israeli communal farm just outside Jerusalem. A member of the kibbutz, Reuven Kalifon, knew of the cave's existence - the community's nectarine orchards run right up to the mouth of the cave - but it was filled with soil almost to the ceiling.   In 1999, Kalifon asked Gibson to inspect the cave more closely.   The archaeologist, who has excavated in the Holy Land for three decades, crawled through the small opening and began removing boulders near the wall of the cave. When he pushed aside one of the stones, he saw a head carved into the wall - the top of the figure he believes depicts John.   Gibson, who heads the Jerusalem Archaeological Field Unit, a private research group, organized an excavation. During the five-year project, he wrote a book, entitled "The Cave of John the Baptist," to be published later this week.   Gibson said the cave - 24 yards long, around four yards wide and four yards deep - was carved in the Iron Age, somewhere between 800 and 500 B.C., by the Israelites who apparently used it as an immersion pool.   "It apparently was adopted by John the Baptist, who wanted a place where he could bring people to undergo their rituals, pertaining to his ideas of baptism," Gibson said.   Believers would have walked down 28 stone steps. To their right, they would have discarded their clothes in a niche carved into the wall.   At the bottom of the steps, they would have placed the right foot onto a stone with an imprint of a foot. A small depression to the right of the imprint would have contained oil, to be poured over the foot for cleansing, Gibson said.   END

EMMANUEL KOLINI: AFRICAN LEADER OPPOSES U.S. GAY BISHOP   By John Blake Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff   The following is a question and answer with the African Primate   August 14, 2004   Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda saw his homeland torn apart by genocide. Now he's watching his church rupture over what he calls another form of evil --- the consecration of an openly gay bishop.   Most people in the United States have not heard of Kolini. That may change this fall. Kolini is a central player in the Anglican Communion's struggle with the global aftershocks from the Episcopal Church USA's consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson.   This fall, a special commission formed because of the controversy will release its report on keeping the Anglican Communion together despite deep theological division. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, rejected requests last fall to discipline the U.S. church but created the commission to address objections to Robinson's consecration.   Williams heads the denomination, a 68 million-member global alliance of churches, including the Episcopal Church USA.   Kolini will have plenty to say in that report. He has helped direct an international alliance against Robinson that could lead to the end of the Anglican Communion. He says at least 11 Anglican primates in Africa (a primate is one of 38 Anglican provincial leaders worldwide) will break off relations with the U.S. church if the commission does nothing.   "Their argument is that it's interpretation of the Bible," Kolini said of Episcopal leaders. "We think it's culture. It's not biblical. You can't impose your culture onto other people."   Robinson's defenders cite Anglican tradition of autonomy, but Kolini has numbers on his side --- the denomination is growing rapidly in Africa and Latin America but declining in the United States.   Kolini, who will speak at the Church of the Messiah in Canton on Sunday, is in the United States for a meeting of the Episcopal World Mission. While in Atlanta, he answered questions about the crisis.   Q: Episcopal leaders say they're not trying to impose their culture on other Anglican provinces because other provinces like Rwanda can set their own policy on gay or lesbian bishops.   A: Yes, but there are some essentials you can't go around. To be Christian, there are some fundamentals, some basics to our faith. The question is "is homosexuality a sin or not?" If the Scripture calls it a sin, then it's a sin.   Q: How can you cite Scripture to exclude a group of people when people citing Scriptures have used them to justify the enslavement and murder of your ancestors?   A: We don't exclude people. I have friends who are gay and lesbians. And they have asked me, why do you hate us? And I said, "If I hate you, I can't claim to be a Christian. I don't agree with you." That's where I stand.   There are hundreds, maybe thousands of homosexuals in the churches: priests, bishops. We kept quiet. We asked each province to deal with the problem... The word of God is powerful enough to transform us. I wasn't born into a Christian family. I was born in an African, traditional religion family until I went to school, and one day the Lord transformed my life. We feel like the word can transform our habits, our way of living.   Q: What effect has Robinson's consecration had on your province in Rwanda?   A: It's become a debate in the bars and in the villages between believers and nonbelievers. We have looked ridiculous. Some of our people have said we can't belong to that kind of church. It took time to explain what we mean by communion and the autonomy of each province. Some of our members are leaving the church.   Q: What actions do you want Archbishop Williams to take against the Episcopal Church?   A: His role is to investigate the thinking of many people and what should the primates come up with to help the Episcopal Church. There are two alternatives. It's up to them to pick one, not two. Since 1998, we have called the Episcopal Church to repentance. If they don't, we said there will be broken communion.   Q: What happens if the commission formed by Williams recommends no action against the U.S. church? What will you do?   A: When we met in Nairobi as the African primates, we made it clear that we will declare broken communion. I stand by that. We have spent so much time in church politics, but our mission is to reach out to those who don't know Christ. We'll probably need time apart like Paul and Barnabas did when they were arguing because of Mark. Let them go their way and we go our own way.   Q: Why is the church growing so rapidly in places like Rwanda and not in the United States?   A: Human beings look for God when they're in trouble. When people are well-off, they may think they don't need God. They have all they need. Materialism has become kind of an idolatry.   What has amazed me is in Rwanda people should be angry because [the Christian church] was directly involved [in genocide]. So they should be saying that the God of Christians is not a good God. Genocide took place. It's not the case. When I go to prepare for the service between 6 and 7 in the morning, thousands, young and old, are walking to Mass. I ask myself, why are all these people going to Mass, knowing that people were killed in these church buildings? Naturally, they know that their only safe refuge is God. It doesn't matter if the priests handed them over. They're not there for the priests. They're there for God.   END

Dear Brothers and Sisters,   This week the polarities in The Episcopal Church grew starker.   Five senior ECUSA bishops dubbed the "Ohio Five" wrote a letter to the Presiding Bishop of the ECUSA and his Council of Advice saying that they would not attend a meeting planned for August 13 led by the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice Louisiana Bishop Charles Edward Jenkins III. The bishops cancelled the meeting after the Presiding Bishop refused to allow non-participating observers to attend. (More than gay sex goes on behind closed doors apparently.)   "We feel strongly that a meeting of this importance should not be held in secret," their letter read. "There is a history of closed door meetings in the House of Bishops. Our distrust of closed meetings on vital issues, as well as our assessment of the gravity of the current crisis in this Church, compelled us to insist that our meeting with your Council of Advice include non-participating observers."   The five bishops included C. FitzSimons Allison, Maurice Benitez, William Cox, Alex Dickson and William Wantland know only too well what such a meeting without observers would yield, and they were not about to get ambushed. You can read the full report, plus their letter and commentary in today's digest.   This week's DUMB BISHOP AWARD (DBA) goes to Oklahoma Bishop Robert L. Moody. He managed to put both feet in his mouth, extract them and then stick them in again a second time. He is living proof that some scripts just write themselves.   Here is what he did. He wrote a letter (which Virtuosity obtained) condemning fellow bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh for something he never did and misinterpreting information he had received. And then he sent the letter to the entire House of Bishops. In the letter he berated Duncan for sending an unwelcome priest into his diocese. The letter accused Duncan of sending the Rev. Vern Caswell under the ecclesiastical authority of the Network which was plain rubbish, as the Network has no power to send anybody anywhere.   Moody, who has driven good orthodox priests from his diocese, bungled in writing the letter saying things that were blatantly wrong and canonically incorrect. He made a fool of himself and you can read all about it for yourself. Then he compounded his error by stating that St. James Anglican Church (which he drove from his diocese) and is now a parish of the Diocese of Argentina, under Primate Greg Venables is not part of the Anglican Communion. He is wrong, they are. Would the bishop please extract both feet from his mouth....again.   And in the DIOCESE OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA a group of theologically orthodox Episcopalians has decided to strengthen ties by officially forming a chapter of the American Anglican Council there. The group, which has involved members of 20 parishes, has been meeting informally since the national church's General Convention in 2003, said the group's moderator, Doug Spangler, a parishioner at the Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota. "There's been a desire to have a structure that would provide continuity," he explained, "and there has been a feeling to do something more visible."   Seven parishes in Southwest Florida are already affiliated with the AAC and the national group lists chapters in 23 dioceses, including Florida and Central Florida. "Most of the energy for this comes through those [affiliated] parishes," Spangler said, so the decision to align with the AAC was a natural one.   The birth of the AAC chapter comes two months after the formation of another local group at the opposite end of the theological spectrum, Southwest Florida Via Media Episcopalians. While the orthodox group was thinking about organizing before the Via Media group appeared, "it did, perhaps, provide a catalyst for people to become more involved," Spangler said.   LIPSCOMB BACK FROM AFRICA. Southwest Bishop John Lipscomb has returned to the diocese a month earlier than planned, after a second trip this year to East Africa. His trips raise more questions than there are answers. He went with Bishop Ted Daniels of Texas and Dr. Titus Pressler of ETSS in Texas.   The meetings were private and no information about the substance of the discussions will be released, according to Justus Waimiri, communications officer for Council of Anglican of Provinces of Africa. And Lipscomb isn't talking either. But a source told Virtuosity that he was definitely sent by Frank Griswold and 815 paid the tab. All three were greeted politely but were told by one primate that there would be no change in their policy towards the ECUSA and Griswold, in short there was no wiggle room. The three "wise men" were greeted as "individuals" and not as representatives of the Episcopal Church.   Lipscomb did admit that "we are at a crossroads as members of the Anglican Communion, and the actions in the U.S. have created a situation in which we struggle with what it means to live in strained or impaired communion with many of those who have been our partners in mission."   TRANSLATION: He and the other two "wise men" got nothing.   In the DIOCESE OF SOUTHERN VIRGINIA, isolated Anglo-Catholics are treading water while the diocese tries to jump start itself with two new initiatives. A Virtuosity reader says this has about as much chance of working as proclaiming the virtues of gourmet cooking with a 10-day old dead cod. The diocese is committed to a Parish Visitation Program to take place between September 15 and November 1, in which Executive Board Members will LISTEN to the people of the Diocese and COMMUNICATE our excitement about the two new initiatives and the up-coming SUMMITS - all favorite leftist buzzwords. When in doubt listen, when you have nothing to proclaim, listen some more, till you fall asleep. No sleeping pills necessary.   And the financial news from the diocese is not good either. They are $57,000 in the hole with things only promising to get worse. The diocese also received Bishop David Bane's report on Grace Episcopal Church, Newport News, (they fled recently) and now they want to dispose of the property, hopefully to another denomination or hold on to it until land values increase.   And in the DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, V. Gene Robinson has sent out a letter to his entire diocese asking people to leave money in their wills to the Diocese or their own church in 2004 and letting their names be published for doing this. The idea here, said a Virtuosity reader and sister in Christ, is to instill the notion that all is well with the church. "It is not," she writes. I suppose that when the last person leaves and the diocese falls apart it is important to have the lights still on, courtesy of John Doe's will. One wonders what thousands of Episcopalians who left millions to the national church would do if they rose from the dead and saw how their money was being spent to push pansexuality!   In the DIOCESE OF QUINCY Bishop Keith Ackerman celebrated 30 years in the ministry this week, 10 years as bishop, at the same time Bishop William Swing of California celebrated 25 years in the ministry as a bishop. Virtuosity took a long hard comparative look at both men's careers and you can read the results in today's digest.   And in the DIOCESE OF FORT WORTH, the small but growing Anglo-Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in Burleson whose rector is Fr. John Cornelius, SSC, has done a little in-your-face act. He has set up a lovely new church sign announcing they are members of the "Worldwide Anglican Communion", nowhere to be found is the word "Episcopal" on the sign. This is not the first parish to do this and certainly not the last, but it is a small but rebellious act that could spread like wildfire.   MAINSTREAM AMERICA a liberal group which includes a number of Episcopalians, and monitoring what conservative churches and their pastors have to say about endorsing political candidates, is apparently running into a roadblock. In an interview with Caroline McKnight of Mainstream Coalition in Overland Park on Michael Medved's radio program she expressed frustration over the fact that the IRS has neither the resources nor the will to go after the tax-exempt status of churches for their political activism.   Mainstream Coalition which is a decidedly left-of-center organization in the mold of Americans for the Separation of Church and State insists that it is only monitoring those churches that endorse political candidates, not those churches that discuss and promote stances on various political and social issues (e.g., abortion, same-sex marriage, etc.). Of course.   IN VANCOUVER, CANADA, St. Martin's parish on the north shore, a parish this writer visited last year, saw its congregation leave the diocese this week rather than get into a dog fight with revisionist Bishop Michael Ingham over property issues. Many left in tears but truth was more important in the long run. They left a beautiful old building and a $600,000 endowment, which Ingham will undoubtedly pillage.   That's not the only problems orthodox Christians face in Canada. The Canadian Federal Revenue Agency Warned Churches to be silent during elections or lose their charitable status. This is being viewed as an extraordinary abuse of influence by the Liberal government. The legal counsel for both the Catholic Church in Canada and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada were asked to be present at a meeting with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in early March. Legal Counsel for both the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), and Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops were warned by revenue officials that should their churches become involved in "partisan" political activity during the then-upcoming 2004 federal election they would risk losing their tax-exempt status.   According to the federal agency, to avoid being 'partisan' means to not address issues on which the competing political parties have opposing views such as abortion or same-sex 'marriage'.   AND IN AUSTRALIA the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne spoke out on abortion, and in an opinion piece in The Age wrote, "The church can no longer ignore this difficult issue in our congregations" on the issue of abortion. Are we not moved by the 100,000 pregnancies that are terminated each year in Australia? Do we think this is unimportant? Have we bought the line that this is just an individual private decision for women to make? Are we intimidated by the feminist rhetoric that links any opposition to abortion with misogynist, oppressive attitudes to women?"   In an opposing opinion piece in The Age, Melbourne laywoman Muriel Porter criticized Archbishop Watson saying that she is "tired of hierarchical male church leaders presuming to tell women how they should behave".   In the DIOCESE OF SYDNEY, the lay administration of the Lord's Supper has been an issue as they see no prohibition or restriction in the holy Scriptures, or in Christian doctrine opposing the idea. But not wanting to rock the boat and perhaps realizing there are bigger issues at stake, they are not intending to promote any legislation in the form of an ordinance. But the Standing Committee will ask synod to consider a resolution, which will come before the Sydney synod when it meets in October. Instead of attempting to legalize lay presidency, the motion simply proposes that "no disciplinary or other action" should be taken against any person who permits a deacon or lay person to "administer the Lord's Supper", or who is involved in such a service. The Sydney diocese prefers the term "administration" to "presidency".   And from England comes this word on STEPHEN HAWKING. The brilliant scientist whose studies in general relativity and cosmology has made him a household name and who suffers from ALS, a motor neuron disease, occasionally gets wheeled into an evangelical Anglican church in Cambridge for a family service, said a source. He is often quoted as saying that nothing in the laws of physics is inconsistent with the idea of God. I suppose there are no atheists in black holes.   And in IRAQ Christians warily returned to bombed churches after a series of bombings at Christian parishes, said the Barnabas Fund who monitors these things. Attendance was unusually light at Christian churches in Baghdad, particularly those that had been hit by the previous week's bombings, in which 11 people were killed about more than 50 wounded. At a Syrian Catholic parish in Baghdad, where the liturgy was celebrated in a parish hall because the church was still under repairs after a deadly explosion last week, Father Raphael Kutaimi told the Reuters news service, "They won't come as they used to before." The terrorist bombers were obviously trying to discourage Christians from worship, he observe, and "of course this will affect our members." However, Christian leaders vowed that they would not succumb to the pressure from Islamic fundamentalists by leaving Iraq. The country's Christian community makes up about 3 percent of the total population. Iraq's largest Christian churches-- the Chaldean Catholic and Assyrian churches-- have an ancient lineage, having been linked with Iraqi culture and history since the 1st century.   Perhaps the moral of this story is that ECUSA's orthodox should not willingly give up the church to its theological infidels until the last trump has sounded....which might be next February.   The Anglican Mission in America added three new churches recently and seems to grow even as the fallout from ECUSA continues. You can read that story in today's digest.   AMIA Bishop John Rodgers has named the first recipients of the John and Blanche Rodgers Scholarship. The two students are preparing for ordained ministry in the Anglican Mission in America and will share a scholarship of $10,000 as they continue in their studies and involvement in mission oriented ministry. The two are Jonathan M. Holland of Winter Springs, FL and Benjamin C. Reed of Minneapolis. Both are actively involved in Anglican Mission congregations and were selected by a committee from a strong pool of applicants in this the first year of the scholarship.   Bishop John and Blanche Rodgers have influenced generations of pastors and theological students through their gifted, warm and godly mentoring.   ON CANON KEARON the newly anointed Anglican Communion Office general secretary comes this word from a Virtuosity source in England. "Canon Kearon, according to Crockford's, has somewhere acquired an MPhil in addition to his undergraduate degree at Trinity College Dublin, but there is no information about what class of degree he obtained. He is very small beer, it seems, compared to some of those who might have been appointed. But when the interviewers included Archbishop Robin Eames, and the Welsh primate Barry Morgan, it is unsurprising that someone so close to home should get the job. Jobs for the 'boys' is an unbroken tradition in such places."   THE BRITISH BIBLE SOCIETY is distancing itself from the new Contemporary English Version (CEV) of the Bible for youth because of some of its radical views on sexuality. The Youth Bible is a CEV with notes produced by Collins. The Bible Society supports the way Collins is helping young people understand how the Bible can speak into their lives today," but Philip Poole, Deputy Chief Executive Collins have put out a press release in which it claims it had no editorial role. The Lord's Day Observance Society and the Catholic Mass Society are not at all happy with the new Bible.   THE NIGERIAN ANGLICAN CHURCH is making HIV test mandatory for couples, comes a report out of Lagos. The HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has resulted in the infection of more than three million people in Nigeria, has led the country's Anglican Church to join other denominations in demanding that church members intending to wed must undertake HIV tests to qualify to marry in church.   The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) said its decision to make it mandatory for intending couples to be screened for HIV was to contain the spread of the disease, and came in advance of a statement on Monday from the Interfaith HIV/AIDS Coalition of Nigeria, that the pandemic had affected every community in the nation.   Anglican Archbishop Ephraim Ademowo of Lagos said the AIDS pandemic had reached such an alarming level that the church needed to do everything to contain its spread. "Priests in our churches must take the responsibility of preaching chastity," as a contingency he told Ecumenical News International. The archbishop also cautioned Nigerians and Christians especially against the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS, adding "infected people should not be ostracized but rather embraced."   PET-OWNERS should pray with their pets each day, so that the animals behave well when they come to church, an Oxfordshire priest has told her flock. The Revd Elizabeth Lakey, an Ordained Local Minister in the benefice of Nettlebed with Bix, Highmoor, Pishill and Rotherfield Greys, has asked parishioners to start training their pets with prayers to get them used to religion. She reckons their owners should be able to get them ready by the time of the annual pet service in September. "If people get into the habit of praying with their pets, then they won't think it strange when they bring them to church," she said. Mrs. Lakey has been praying with her dog, Shane, for five years. "I say evening prayer on Wednesdays in church, and Shane started sitting on a kneeler beside me. I would pat him to reassure him that he only had to be still for another few minutes while I said my prayers. Now he finds his own place in church."   Last year, Shane nearly got into trouble when he took too much interest in some hamsters at the pet service. "I had to hold on tight to his lead. We all went up into a beautiful Noah's ark we had built at one end of the church. I prayed that Shane would do what he was told. Then I blessed the animals as they came out through the door of the ark," said Mrs. Lakey. She advised keeping a dustpan, brush and some sawdust handy, in case some of the pets' house-training had not been 100-per-cent effective.   Do you pray with your pet? Answer on the Forum. The bigger question is, just how tightly wrapped is this woman, how many cards short of a full deck is she playing with? But then, of course, this is the C of E where almost anything goes.   ESSENTIALS CANADA will hold its "The Way Forward Conference" August 30 - Sept 1 in Ottawa this year. Virtuosity will be in attendance. The annual event will be held at Bethel Pentecostal Church, 500 Viewmount Dr., Ottawa, Ontario . Those interested in attending can drop a note to: essentials@cogeco.ca . Doug McKenzie, coordinator says that more than 500 have signed up but there's still room for more. This group represents the orthodox wing of the Anglican Church in Canada.   I am delighted to announce today that Virtuosity's very own cyber theologian the Rev. Dr. Robert Sanders has completed his first novel, Face To Face. It is a profound and beautiful book. Writes Sanders, "All my theology and hopes are poured into this book, the theology of Trinity and Incarnation." I hope you will buy it. Read the review.   VIRTUOSITY ON VACATION. Dear friends, I am taking a much needed break for the next ten days. My wife threatens to take away my laptop if I don't stop writing for a few days. No stories will be written, but stories from around the Anglican Communion will be posted to the website as they emerge.   WEBSITE: Virtuosity's website is in the process of a makeover which will make it even easier to read with better type faces and more when we switch officially from Virtuosity to VirtueOnLine before the end of the year. Thousands of you go to the website each day, hundreds of you write comments, and we want to make it even more user friendly. I am grateful for Mr. Robert Turner for making this possible.   I hope you will take a few moments to read URGENT APPEAL at the website. It says far more about what Virtuosity is doing and trying to do than anything I could say. It was written by a long time Virtuosity clergyman reader with no axe to grind except to say how much he both enjoys and NEEDS virtuosity. www.virtuosityonline.org .   WELCOME TO VIRTUOSITY. Please consider a tax deductible donation as these are low months for income. For this vital ministry to continue, we do need your support. You can make out your tax deductible donation to:   VIRTUOSITY 1236 Waterford Rd., West Chester, PA 19380   Or you can make a donation through PAYPAL at the website. Your gift will be acknowledged promptly. Go to: www.virtuosityonline.org See PAYPAL on the left hand side of the front page. Go to www.virtuosityonline.org and scroll down the front page on the left.   If you are in England, Virtuosity is a registered charity and you can send your donation to:   VIRTUOSITY c/- Brycedale 105 Ridgeway Northaw Herts EN6 4BG   Thank you for your support.   All blessings,   David W. Virtue DD

Reviewed by Betty Bedell   When I read Robert J. Sanders' novel Face To Face I knew after the first twenty pages this was a potential classic and by the time I put this exquisitely formed masterpiece down I was certain. Sanders sustains the power and brilliance of the narrative until the last word and the result is a gorgeous book about love, in its highest and purest form. He is a master of technique, dialogue and characterization.   I have been an editor for many years, founding editor of Kalliope, editor for some of the better writers today, and here is a first time novel by a priest and theologian, who also edited his book, that is brilliantly conceived and crafted. Jack McFarland, an Episcopal priest and missionary in Honduras, interacts with a splendid cast of characters, Sonia, Alicia, the Professor, and various others of "the poorest of the poor."   In an interview with Dr. Sanders I asked the author to tell me how his theological beliefs are married into the text and bodied forth in the lives and surroundings of the characters in this story of ordinary people caught in a web of corruption--social, economic, political, spiritual and ecclesiastical. Here are his words,   All my theology and hopes are poured into this book, the theology of Trinity and Incarnation. Face To Face begins with a short prologue, denoting creation by the Father as an original sense of the beauty of the world and love of family. This is followed by the Fall, a darkness that comes across existence and brings untold suffering. All these events were sensed "in the beginning," when Jack McFarland was ten years old.   After the prologue, we are plunged into life, the life redeemed by the Incarnation. Jack McFarland goes to Honduras, a little country on the edge of the world where the darkness is clearly seen. There he struggles with his own darkness, his sin, his broken soul, and all of this in the face of the corruption that devours the church, the economic system, the political order, and international relations. He comes to believe that he cannot resolve his own darkness, nor the suffering of the people around him.   But God is good, and into this darkness he sends his people--Alicia, the Professor, Sonia, great but flawed souls who lead the way to the Lord Jesus, who, to quote the Professor, 'entered into hell so that we might find heaven.' This is what Incarnation means.   As the novel approaches the end, the End is revealed in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Eden restored, the eschatological banquet, the vision of God in a redeemed heaven and earth brought by the Holy Spirit who, to quote the Creed, brings the 'life of the world to come.'   This is the Trinitarian and Incarnational pattern made flesh in Face To Face, a novel of God's love conquering all, won by obedience and suffering, face to face.   In the Epilogue, the novel returns to life in this world of suffering and hope, a life now touched by heaven, where we hear, see and know the "love that moves the sun and other stars."   Face To Face is a beautiful story, rendered on many levels, from the daily interactions of the characters to the deep theological meaning embedded in the text. Sanders' prose does not miss a beat. It is sheer poetry.   Dr. Sanders, who has a Ph.D. in systematic theology, also did graduate work in mathematics and creative writing. He is a sublimely gifted writer and profound thinker. I believe Face To Face will be read, studied and reread for many years. Read it and travel out of the darkness into the heart of light.   Betty Snyder Bedell, is Founding Editor, Kalliope, writer, poet.   Face to Face can be ordered from Borders, Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, independent books sellers, and Amazon.com , etc. It is also available from www.xlibris.com/bookstore or 1-888-7954274. _______________________________________________

Firstly their email mailboxes filled to overflowing, then they saw the whites of the eyes of the "silent majority" as they voted with their feet and filled to overflowing, the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.   The reason. The Christians of the nation were simply telling our Federal Politicians that they wanted marriage to be retained as "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life".   It all started when the Federal Government presented legislation to tighten the Marriage Act to enshrine hetrosexual marriage as the only legal form that would be recognised in Australia.   When the opposition parties in the Senate thwarted that intention by referring the proposed amendment to a Senate Committee for investigation, in the hope that an election would be called before the Committee could report back thus nullifying the bill, Christians said this is the line in the sand issue and we will fight for what we believe in.   In response to the Senate call for public submissions on the issue, informed sources tell us that some 12,000 people forwarded submissions supporting the proposed amendment with only 100 received against it.   This was inspite of frantic attempts by the homosexual lobby to rally support against the amendment amongst their constituants. The true comparative size of the homosexual lobby was finally exposed.   When the National Marriage Forum was called almost 1,000 people travelled from every State and Territory to make the point that social re-engineering had gone as far as we were prepared to accept and on this issue we would not give ground. They came by car, air and bus arriving in the early hours of Wednesday 4th August and not leaving until the sun went down that afternoon. The Great Hall was filled to overflowing, the public galleries filled to capacity, whilst close circuit television carried it to those who did not have a place to sit in the foyer.   Everyone, including the media, politicians and the organisers themselves, were staggered and deeply impacted by the massive turnout.   Speakers included the Prime Minister John Howard. His 20 minute speech was often interrupted by applause, and he received a standing ovation at the end. Mr Howard reaffirmed the Government's intention to keep marriage between a man and a woman, and announced that he would reintroduce his marriage amendment legislation "within a fortnight".   This caught many off guard, but resulted in huge rounds of applause. This is something that pro-family groups had been actively lobbying for. It is possible it even took shadow Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, who spoke on Labor's behalf, by surprise. When it was her turn to speak, she pledged that Labor would go along with such a bill. That of course represented a major turnaround as it was Labor which had voted to refer the Bill upon first presentation to a Senate Committee and the Committee had still not finished their deliberations!   Other speakers included amongst others, Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, Law Professor Patrick Parkinson, newspaper columnist Angela Shanahan, doctor and lecturer David van Gend, family activist Babette Francis, Fred Nile and 'Digger' James. All offered articulate and informed defences of marriage and family, and all were warmly received by an enthusiastic and decidedly partial audience.   The understandable response from the homosexual lobby expressed through Tasmanian homosexual activist Rodney Croome was one of bitter disappointment. He lamented the next day that this was a significant turning point: "John Howard's announcement spoke of the fact that Australia's far right - once lost on the fringe of national politics - is now determining public policy across the political spectrum and across a range of issues. It also says that the influence of the social left as well as the nation's homosexual community has shrunk to next-to-nothing."   One should not read "surrender" into such a statement and no doubt they will return to fight another day, so we must remain alert and on guard, but if promises are followed through by the two major political parties it was indeed a major victory for the Christian community that showed the level of social and political "muscle" than we can flex when moral and spiritual values come under attack.   Thank you to all who placed submissions before the Senate Committee, to those who attended the National Marriage Forum and also those who covered the issue in prayer. We are proud that you came to the fore when the chips were down. Please however remain alert, as the winning of one battle does not mean the end of the war.   A final thank you to Warwick Marsh (Fatherhood Foundation), Jim Wallace (Australian Christian Lobby) and Bill Muehlenberg (Australian Family Association) who gave so much of their time and energy to organise and bring off the National Marriage Forum. To them and many others we owe a debt of gratitude. Well done!   Brian Pickering is the National Coordinator, Australian Prayer Network _______________________________________________

By Mouneer Anis FIRST THINGS March 31, 2026 For more than a century, the archbishop of Canterbury has been regarded as primus inter pares, the “first among equals,” and the head of the Anglican Communion. This leading role signified a historic focus of unity for Anglicans around the world. Yet recent developments within global Anglicanism raise serious questions about whether the Church of England can still maintain that role in the life of what was once widely known as the Anglican Communion. One of the most visible signs of this shift is the absence of sixteen (of forty-two) Anglican primates from the enthronement of Sarah Mullally, the new archbishop of Canterbury. Four could not attend due to extenuating circumstances. The other twelve represent more than 75 percent of the world’s Anglicans. Their absence is not a minor matter. It reflects a deep fracture in the global fellowship of Anglican churches. When the leaders of the majority of Anglicans no longer recognize Canterbury as the focal point of communion, the historical structure that once held the communion together becomes irrelevant. The enthronement of Sarah Mullally as the archbishop of Canterbury differed significantly from the earlier enthronement of Justin Welby. His enthronement drew wide representation from across the Anglican world. Today, the diminished presence of Global South leadership underscores a widening division in the Anglican Communion. This division resulted from decades of doctrinal innovation. These innovations reached a climax when the General Synod of the Church of England passed a motion raised by Mullally to allow the blessing of same-sex couples. Because of trends repudiating historic orthodox Christian teaching on sex and marriage at the beginning of this century, the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) protested in its Jerusalem Declaration: “We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.” In a statement suggesting the enormity of Canterbury’s failure to be a focus for unity, the former archbishop Rowan Williams recently admitted: “I honestly don’t know whether the communion will survive.” Such a statement from a former leader of the Church of England reflects the gravity of the current crisis. It is not merely a matter of internal disagreement but a question about the very future of Anglicanism. A significant turning point came in 2023 when the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) issued what became known as the Ash Wednesday Statement. In this declaration, the GSFA announced that it would no longer recognize the archbishop of Canterbury as primus inter pares and the head of the Anglican Communion. This decision marked a historic shift: The symbolic center of Anglican unity was effectively withdrawn by churches representing the majority of Anglicans worldwide. The roots of this shift are not only historical but also theological and structural. The traditional configuration of the Anglican Communion emerged during the era of the British Empire. During that time, the Church of England functioned naturally as a coordinating center for Anglican churches established through missionary and colonial expansion. However, the global context has changed dramatically. The demographic center of Anglicanism has moved decisively to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Today, the vast majority of Anglicans live in what is commonly called the Global South. The departure of several western provinces from the traditional Anglican faith inevitably raises questions about unity, governance, and authority. Structures designed for a colonial or post-colonial context no longer adequately reflect the realities of a global Church in which leadership, theological vitality, and numerical strength lie in the southern provinces. Many Global South leaders argue that unity cannot be sustained merely by historic ties to Canterbury; rather, it must be grounded in a shared commitment to biblical faith and apostolic doctrine and tradition. In response to this need, GSFA developed a new Covenantal Structure aimed at providing theological coherence, ecclesial accountability, and interdependence among participating provinces. This covenantal framework was formally agreed upon at the Global South gathering in Cairo in 2019. Unlike the older relational model of the Anglican Communion—which relied largely on informal bonds of affection—the covenantal structure seeks to establish clearer commitments to orthodox doctrine, mission, and mutual responsibility. The adoption of this structure has progressed steadily. Fourteen Anglican provinces have already embraced the GSFA Covenantal Structure, along with several Anglican missions. This development signals the emergence of a new pattern of global Anglican cooperation, one that is not centered on Canterbury and more shaped by shared theological commitments among churches of the Global South. This new structure does not signal the end of Anglicanism as a global movement but the development of a more united and interdependent communion. The question regarding the future of Anglicanism depends on how the diverse orthodox Anglican groups, like the Global South, GAFCON, and other fellowships, might work together. Each in its own way seeks to advance the Kingdom of God in today’s broken world. I am hopeful that the upcoming conference on the “Future of Global Anglicanism,” which I will be attending along with five other Anglican leaders, will suggest a way forward. Unity must be preserved without sacrificing truth. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis was Bishop of Egypt from 2000 to 2021, and the first Anglican Archbishop of Alexandria from 2020 to 2021. He was the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

COMMENTARY By David W. Virtue, DD VirtueOnline.org March 31, 2026 The headline demands explanation. For years — even decades — Americans were told theirs was a God-fearing nation, made up of mostly Christian men and women who loved their neighbors. Entrepreneurs and capitalists were successful but not greedy, ready to share their wealth so that all could participate in the American Dream. We dreamed big, cared big, and gave big. We went to war to save democracy and proclaim freedom to those in captivity. This was the image the world saw — and, for the most part, loved and respected. People came to these shores seeking opportunity and a new life. Many still do. But the truth runs much deeper, and new technologies — with artificial intelligence at the forefront — are telling a very different story. CHURCH ATTENDANCE The University of Chicago recently examined millions of cell phone records on Sunday mornings and discovered that real church attendance bears no resemblance to the self-reported figure of 20 percent. People lied. The actual number, researchers found, is only 5 percent — roughly 18 million people out of a nation of 340 million, according to demographer Ryan Burge. EVANGELISM Only 1 percent of churches actively engage in evangelistic outreach. Recent studies indicate that 99 percent of pastors believe their congregations are ineffective at reaching the unchurched — a staggering admission that reveals a critical failure in the Church's core mission. Notably, these are not theologically liberal congregations where the Great Commission has been quietly shelved, but evangelical churches where it is presumed to be central. Multiple surveys — most famously Barna's 2018 study — found that only about 51 percent of churchgoing Christians had even heard the term "Great Commission," and only 17 percent could correctly identify it when shown several Bible passages side by side. That means half of practicing Christians do not recognize the central marching orders Jesus gave the Church. If one further subtracts the millions of nominal Catholics and Protestants — the "pray, pay, and obey" crowd — what remains may be no more than two million truly born-again believers. The late Anglican theologian J. I. Packer described American Christianity as "3,000 miles wide and half an inch deep." That description has only grown more apt. Consider, too, the prosperity preachers and megachurch pastors driven by money and power. Fraud and greed lie at the heart of what has become, in some quarters, an industry. At least fifteen prominent pastors have been found guilty of financial or sexual abuse and have either gone to prison or been publicly disgraced. GIVING Research confirms what many suspect: while Americans claim to believe in generosity, charitable giving is declining. Studies show that nearly half of all Americans give nothing to charity — not one dollar. Yet religion remains the single largest charitable category in the United States. In 2024, 23 percent of all charitable dollars went to religious organizations — roughly $136 billion. Divided across the U.S. population of 349 million, that works out to approximately $390 per person. Since only about half of Americans give anything at all, the average giver contributes closer to $777 per year. Generous by some measures; a modest tithe by others. DRUGS AND ALCOHOL As the country drifts deeper into secularism and self-absorption, America has become, in significant measure, a nation of addicts — to drugs, alcohol, and, increasingly, to death by one's own hand. Drug addiction remains a severe public health crisis. Approximately 25 percent of Americans — around 70 million people this past year — report using illicit drugs. Nearly half of all Americans aged 12 and older have used an illicit substance at least once in their lives. The cost of alcohol misuse in the United States runs approximately $249 billion annually. Around 178,000 Americans die each year from excessive alcohol use — a 29 percent increase from 2016–2017, when the figure stood at roughly 138,000. These deaths have shortened lives by an average of 24 years, resulting in approximately 4 million years of potential life lost. A personal note: a driver impaired by drugs and alcohol recently crashed onto our property, striking a tree before losing consciousness near our lake. Police and EMTs found him atop our septic system. His dog was uninjured. One hopes justice was served. EUTHANASIA Medical Aid in Dying claimed nearly 13,000 American lives last year, though reporting practices vary considerably by state. This is a growing trend with no signs of slowing. TRUMP, GREED AND LIES No president in American history has profited more personally from the office than Donald J. Trump. Estimated business revenue to the Trump Organization while he was in office (first term): roughly $1.6–1.7 billion. Documented political and campaign spending at Trump properties: at least tens of millions of dollars (around $40 million in OpenSecrets’ broader tally). Documented taxpayer and foreign-government spending: millions of dollars, with watchdogs stressing that available figures are floor estimates, not ceilings. So while no single precise “profit” number exists, the evidence shows that Trump and his family derived very large, ongoing financial benefits—well over a billion dollars in business revenue plus substantial political, taxpayer, and foreign-government spending—directly linked to his time in the White House. Meanwhile, his self-styled evangelical base keeps him in power while ordinary Americans struggle with rising costs of living, food, gas, heating, and housing. The Washington Post’s fact-checking database recorded 30,573 false or misleading claims from Donald Trump between January 20, 2017 and January 20, 2021—about 21 per day on average. CONCLUSION This is the uncomfortable truth about America today. Much of the mainstream media will not report it, because doing so would undermine a prevailing narrative that blames systems rather than individuals. Victimhood, oppression, and grievance have become the dominant cultural language. "It is not your fault" is the punchline of countless television programs. Preachers cry out for revival, but few demonstrate any willingness to change. A deep and terrifying spiritual darkness is settling over this nation. Some blame the culture wars; others point to economic stagnation. But whatever the cause, unless there is a dramatic, broad-based moral and spiritual turnaround, America is on a trajectory from which it may not recover. It took Rome centuries to fall. America is now celebrating its 250th anniversary — and, by many measures, following a familiar path. END

By Hans Zeiger MensNewsDaily.com August 13, 2004   NOTE: The Episcopal Church House of Bishops along with the House of Deputies at the 2000 General Convention in Denver passed a resolution (C031) encouraging the Boy Scouts of America to allow adult leaders to serve regardless of their sexual orientation. Big Canadian real estate is on the market. A rather sizable chunk of Lord Robert Baden-Powell's Empire is available for investors, homebuilders, fishing resort prospectors, or blacktop barons. Scouts Canada is pounding in "for sale" signs at the entrances of a number of Scout camps across the country, including at least twenty camps in Ontario. But don't worry. No Boy Scouts will mourn the loss of their summer camps, for the Boy Scouts of Canada no longer exist. Thinking they could become more inclusive, the Boy Scouts of Canada Board of Governors decided in November 1998 to admit females, atheists, agnostics, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals into troops. Despite that established troops were not even allowed to remain all-male groups, Scouts Canada approved the establishment of the world's first all-homosexual troop in 1999. The troop marches in homosexual pride parades and loudly symbolizes what Scouts Canada calls its commitment to diversity. And so, in its attempt to include everybody and everything, Scouts Canada is effectively dead. Budgets have run dry. Troop halls and old campsites sit vacant. Professional staff salaries are severed. Membership is mostly decimated. In the past, membership roles consistently exceeded 300,000. Around the peak in 1965, there were 320,000 Boy Scouts. Today, despite a one third population increase in Canada over four decades and a doubling of the demographic possibilities (with female members), Scouts Canada has dwindled to a puny 130,000 and it is rapidly declining. Esprit de corps has evaporated. Last year, wearing a uniform at official Scout events became optional. Scoutmasters were deprived of the authority to demand the wearing of uniforms. It seems that change is not so attractive to the traditional core of Scouts Canada. "It is disheartening. Everything seems to be going down and down," laments veteran Scouter Bill Stauttener who manages Union Marsh Scout Camp which is set to go on the chopping block. Eastern Ontario's Camp Apple Hill is expected to sell for just $30,000, a bargain considering that it is 300 acres. "It's very heartbreaking and very distressing," says three-decade Scout leader Pat Tugwood. It may be a sad affair for some who've been around Canadian Scouting for a while, but the Scout Oath and Scout Law are obliterated in the land of the red maple leaf north of Parallel 49. It is doubtful that this organization can be resuscitated. Political correctness, having infected whole institutions, does not easily reverse. But we Americans might well consider this malady and contain it at the border. "In meeting the challenges of a multi-faith society which is increasingly gay-positive, the [Boy Scouts of America] might follow the lead of Scouts Canada," urges a writer at ReligiousTolerance.org . And thus the far Left attacks the Boy Scouts of America, relentlessly for the past two decades. There are prices to be paid by the BSA for standing on traditional moral values, but none so severe as this eulogy of Scouts Canada. In America, United Way funding may be cut, cities and school districts may abandon the Scouts, courts may order the Scouts to leave public property. But so long as the Scout Oath and Law remain intact, the Boy Scouts of America can survive.

By Frank Stirk CW BC Correspondent, Christian Week North Vancouver, BC, August 16, 2004   Weary of being caught up in the ongoing conflicts within the Anglican Church of Canada, most of the members of one Lower Mainland parish have walked away from a mortgage-free building and a $600,000 endowment fund to start a new church that meets in a warehouse. "It's a wonderful opportunity to be able to stand up and be counted," says Peter Haigh, speaking for the 80 or so members of St. Timothy's Anglican Church. "Property is not an issue. It's proclaiming the gospel and going forward." The bulk of the members had been part of St. Martin's, one of several conservative-minded parishes that had broken with the Anglican diocese of New Westminster two years ago over its approval of a rite of blessing for same-sex couples. Last September, New Westminster bishop Michael Ingham declared that the parish — now without a rector — was in turmoil and assumed direct control. He appointed a priest and lay leadership of his choosing and denied a request from about three-quarters of the members to hold alternative worship services on church property. They began worshipping Monday evenings at a nearby Presbyterian church under the leadership of orthodox priests. It was the failure of the General Synod in May to oppose Ingham that finally forced them to abandon any hope of achieving a made-in-Canada solution, says Haigh. "There are bishops that disagree with him, but basically they're all in each other's pocket." Instead, they joined the newly formed Anglican Communion in Canada (ACiC) — a small group of parishes and priests under the episcopal oversight of five Primates in Africa and southeast Asia — and founded St. Timothy's. "They could see no future within the Anglican Church of Canada," says ACiC spokesman Paul Carter, "and that's when some of them said, 'We want to stay Anglican, but we're going to go the circuitous route to Canterbury via the ACiC and licensed priests from the Province of Rwanda.'" Carter, who is one of those priests, is also now St. Timothy's interim rector. "These are very brave, godly, often elderly folk who are saying, 'Enough is enough. My faith matters more to me than the [physical] plant,'" he says. "I find that most encouraging." Even so, for many longtime members, the decision to quit St. Martin's was wrenching. For Haigh, it meant leaving behind a stained-glass rose window that his family had put in less than a year ago in memory of his mother. "Her ashes are in the memorial garden at the church, so yes, it was very difficult, very emotional to leave," he says. "What I love about [St. Timothy's]," says Carter, "is not only the refreshment that it's brought to their personal faith, but the vitality with which they are embracing this — the sheer hard work and dedication and the growing sense of commitment to Christ and His Word — that is just so evident." In fact, the church has already outgrown its existing rented facility and is in search of somewhere else to meet. Haigh says what matters to them is that they finally have a new bishop — T. J. Johnston — appointed for them by the Primates who share their theological convictions. "At St. Martin's, we never saw the local bishop — well, very rarely — and so that [Johnston] happens to be a few further miles away is neither here nor there. At least he is a godly man and we are biblically-based, and that's really where we wanted to get to." — END —