Two significant events will take place in September.

The first will take place in New York (Sept. 11-13) called by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr. Rowan Williams (who will not be present) has drawn together a spectrum of bishops ranging from PB Frank Griswold and PB-elect Katherine Schori on the far left to Jack Iker (Ft. Worth) and Bob Duncan (Pittsburgh) on the right, with two middle of the road bishops John Lipscomb (Southwest Florida) and Peter Lee (Virginia) in what Griswold calls the "diverse center," a center that many believe no longer exists.

The archbishop will be represented by Canon Kenneth Kearon, the arch-liberal secretary general of the London-based Anglican Communion Office, and who depends on The Episcopal Church to pay most of his budget. Both liberals and conservatives don't believe much will come from this. They are probably right. This is a case of a dozen motorcyclists without helmets hitting a brick wall simultaneously and wondering why their heads hurt. Kearon will try and fudge it, but the lines are too deeply drawn and the combatants too deeply entrenched at this point for much to change. After all two of the bishops have asked for alternative primatial oversight from Dr. Williams and Griswold says that he [Williams] cannot interfere in The Episcopal Church's internal affairs, so where does this leave this group? Williams will call for some kind of accommodation, but who will do the accommodating? Short term fixes are done, we await the outcome.

What the conservatives are hoping for perhaps, is that Schori will see that no compromises are possible and accept the inevitable that ECUSA must split. Griswold will hold out till November as he does not want to see the whole church come apart on his watch.

THE SECOND (not to be confused with the Second Coming) meeting will be held at Camp Allen near Navasota, Texas hosted by Don Wimberly, the Bishop of Texas. He is bringing Windsor-Affirming bishops Sept. 19-22 for what is called a "consultation that can produce a way forward that both prevents some in our Church from 'walking apart', and others from seeking irregular means of preserving their Anglican identity."

Appearing on this occasion will be two Church of England bishops the Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, and the Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester. They are coming with the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to discuss future relations with the See of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion.

Again not much will come from this except a lot of hand-wringing about the actions of GC2006, but these are Windsor bishops not Network bishops, so they will try and have their cake and eat it too, meaning they want to stay in the TEC and stay in the Anglican Communion with invitations to Lambeth 2008. There will be much self-congratulation and calls for "listening" and the two CofE bishops will affirm their right to stay in the communion and be heard. They will not be visiting Griswold in New York before returning to London to brief Williams.

The four points the Windsor bishops agree on is: An agreement that Lambeth 1.10 now constitutes the teaching of the Anglican Communion. A commitment to the Windsor Report as marking the way ahead for the Communion, and acceptance of its recommendations in respect to blessing same-sex unions and the ordination of persons engaged in sexual relations outside the bonds of Holy Matrimony. Acceptance of the Communiqué from Dromantine issued by the Meeting of the Primates in response to the Windsor Report. Agreement that the response of ECUSA's General Convention to the Windsor Report does not go far enough.

The trouble here is that bishops like V. Gene Robinson, Tom Shaw and John Chane don't buy any of this, so we have a stalemate, with Griswold saying, one more time, "why can't we all just get along, in the name of reconciliation, of course."

BUT into the ecclesiastical quagmire this week stepped two theologian bishops calling on the orthodox in both The Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion to break communion with any church in the Communion that does not hold to the Anglican faith in an explicit fashion, and that orthodox Anglican churches should be united around the Anglican faith with Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola and the Global South giving the essential leadership.

While not calling openly for schism, Rwandan Bishop John K. Rucyahana and American Bishop John H. Rodgers, Jr., believe that the crisis in the communion is so severe that waiting to act until the 2008 Lambeth Conference or the 2007 Primates' Meeting is "very dangerous" and unacceptable, they write in a petition to the Global South Leadership team.

Both these men have impeccable credentials and you can read my own story and there 40-page petition in today's digest. For immediate access click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4655 and here for the full statement: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4647

NOW if you had any doubt about what liberals really think about conservatives then read how they are waging a campaign of disinformation in The Episcopal Church. Two prominent liberals, one a homosexual bishop, the other a media communications expert, have written articles blasting The Episcopal Church's conservatives, with one accusing them of being driven by power and control, and the other accusing African bishops of practicing polygamy. Both are distortions and, in the latter case, an outright lie. Click here or read it in today's digest: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4649

ACROSS THE NATION churches continue to leave the Episcopal Church and new churches are forming.

In Jacksonville, FLORIDA two churches, one formerly Episcopal and the other a start up merged into one to form Christ Church, Anglican (coming under the AMIA) and already it has 300 members, six times larger than the average Episcopal parish in the U.S. and they have only just opened the doors! http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4654

In the DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO, the Rev. Dr. Eric Menees, rector of Grace Episcopal Church, with an average Sunday attendance of 230 in San Marcos, announced that he was resigning and will start a new congregation, The Anglican Church of the Resurrection, also in San Marcos.

The 44-year old Evangelical catholic priest who has been an ECUSA priest for 19 years told VOL that he was leaving because there were now two gospels being preached in the TEC - one of radical inclusion and the other based on repentance, forgiveness and transformation. "The two are diametrically opposed to each other" Fr. Menees told VOL. "I can no longer live in that situation. I simply cannot be obedient to my ordinal vows and remain in constant conflict with the theological position of ECUSA or my bishop so the right thing, the graceful thing to do is step out from under the authority of ECUSA and, with God's help plant a new biblically faithful Anglican Church."

He is stepping out in faith with his wife and two children aged 13 and 6, and will come under the ecclesiastical authority of the Most Rev. Greg Venables Primate of the Southern Cone.

Menees said a local non-denominational church - Community Christian Church - opened its doors and allowed them to come in and as a "matter of grace" to use its facilities.

"I have submitted my resignation in writing to Bishop Mathes." While he is unsure how many will follow him, Menees said the ministry staff, entire vestry and many of the congregation will follow him."

It is not a surprise to the parish's majority. All the vestry and administrative staff will move with the orthodox priest, but a retired priest in the congregation will stay to assist in the transition, he said.

Asked why he was not suing to keep the property, Menees said the legal advice he got indicated he would probably not win, so it was best to just leave and start over.

This is the 5th rector and parish to leave the Diocese of San Diego in eight months, and more is expected to follow, said a VOL source in the diocese.

In the DIOCESE OF MINNESOTA, Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota recently voted to join the Anglican Communion Network. It will keep its ties with the Episcopal Church.

Messiah is the only parish in the diocese that has elected to do so. The Rev. John Newton, rector of Messiah said, "I don't think we have an exact blueprint of how this will affect our relationship with other parishes...we see joining the network as a way of strengthening our relationship with Anglicans who have a number of grave misgivings about actions of the Episcopal Church over the past three or four years. Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper.

In the DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA things just go from bad to worse. Bishop Charles E. Bennison faces two lawsuits from Fr. David Moyer and not only are churches closing, so are the diocese's schools. First, Fr. David Ousley's church school at St. James the Less was forced to close because of litigation brought by Bennison against St. James the Less. Now Germantown's St. Barnabas Elementary school is closing. The school has been there for more than three decades and provided Black city students with a strong academic background in a nurturing, faith-based environment. Now its doors will close forever. A story in The Philadelphia INQUIRER newspaper said the school's trustees made the painful decision to close earlier this month after realizing that only 53 students had registered for the fall - far short of the 70-student minimum that the board said was needed to sustain the private school. "It hurts that for - $65,000 - we had to close our doors," principal Cynthia Wright said of the school that largely serves African American students. "It is heartbreaking. The students we serve are so in need of the school, as is the community."

One irate Episcopal parent, Terraine Smith, wrote VOL saying, "I am just a poor parishioner with a situation concerning my grandson. My grandson was going to St. Barnabas Episcopal School in Germantown and his mother, (as all the other parents that send their children to that school) received a notice on July 28th that the school would not be opening again. My daughter is so upset as she is a single parent trying to make ends meet and trying to give her son the best she can afford so maybe he will not become another 'statistic.'" I have a problem with the Episcopal Diocese that let this happen and the Bishop of this Diocese spends money on improving a property [Camp Wapiti] that is not [even] owned by the Diocese. We need help in our fight against this injustice." The medium income in this neighborhood is $27,500 the average price of a home is $55,400. The school was situated on the grounds of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Germantown.

IN OTHER NEWS from a PA deanery meeting sent to VOL comes this. More closures: St, Martin's, Oak Lane was sold for $268,144.04 on August 30. Churches that have closed leaving property, assets or both include: Calvary/St. Paul's; St. Alban's, Olney; St. Peter's Broomall; St. Bart's, Wissingoming; St. Peter's Germantown; St. Martin's, Boothwyn; Emmanuel/Good Shepherd, Kensington. Ah revisionism.

EVANGELIST LEE BUCK DIES. A leading lay Episcopal evangelist in The Episcopal Church for many years, Lee Buck, 83, went to be with the Lord Tuesday at his home in Atlanta. It was a joyful occasion said his daughter Melody. He was surrounded by his wife Audrey of 62 years, his four daughters, grandchildren and great grand children. They sang hymns to him as he went to be with the Lord. The funeral will be held Saturday at the Church of the Apostles, Northside Parkway, Atlanta at 2pm. All are welcome. "It will be a time of celebration of his life and ministry," said his daughter, Melody.

Miffed by the Russian Orthodox Church's recognition of orthodox ECUSA bishops who won't bow the knee to sodomy or Schori, Episcopal Bishop Christopher Epting, deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for TEC, accused the Russian Orthodox Church of "unilateralism". He issued the following statement: "The Episcopal Church's position on the full equality of women and men in the light of the Christian Gospel is already well known and is nothing of which we are ashamed. The Episcopal Church has regularly declined to comment or take sides on divisive issues within any of our ecumenical partners, and we have no intention of doing so now. We have always honored the jurisdictional boundaries of our ecumenical partners and have not attempted to interfere in others' internal conflicts."

Canon Bill Atwood of Ekklesia observed, "If he means what he says about respecting the jurisdiction of other bodies, then is ECUSA/TEC going to depart everywhere there is a Greek or Russian Orthodox Diocese and leave things to them? In addition, the suggestion that the actions of the General Convention have not intruded and impacted things inside the Orthodox churches reflects a pretty limited view of the realities." Indeed.

FROM Louisiana attorney Bradley L. Drell activist Episcopalian and attorney comes this on the whole idea of Alternative Primatial Oversight. "I think this geography business is all hogwash. We have no problem intrinsically with multi-national provinces, extra-provincial oversight by Canterbury, two or more provinces in one country, etc. Did we object when Canterbury intervened in the Sudan and decry it as un-Anglican? No. Did we even give one whit when the Anglican Church in India divided so it could unite with other Christian churches regionally? No. What happened to all you [liberal] folks who talk about Anglicanism being flexible? The reason why this is all so difficult when it comes to our situation in ECUSA is that this is a family squabble. The fact that we can't really divide things geographically and have it fit theologically. The fact is that a number of Dioceses can't afford to lose parishes that have money and still function. But, that doesn't mean you can rely on a sort of national church formulation being intrinsic to Anglicanism. That was the case in the beginning, but it just isn't the case now."

FEMINIST PLEDGE AT SEWANEE UNIVERSITY. "I am a feminist. I pledge to use the power of my education to actualize my feminist ideals. I will live my life aware of the restrictions traditionally placed on male and female behavior and work to reduce their power over myself and others. I will respect women as decision-makers. I will make my political and consumer choices with awareness of their implications for women around the world. I will recognize that oppressions intersect, that the interplay of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and nationality create multiple vulnerabilities for women." Apparently no pledge to submit to the Lordship of Jesus, his authority, even over their feminism. http://www.sewanee.edu/womensstudies/Events

As one alumnus wrote VOL: Here's what happens to sweet Southern girls when their parents pay $36,000/yr to send them to "the Episcopal University:"

MAP NEWS UPDATE: The Anglican map project has crossed 450 parishes tonight. When I first emailed you about it, I had about 120 entered. The internet community has filled in the rest over the last several weeks. "I expect that there is about another 50 in the US and Canada still to go. They still trickle in one or two a day," said Ken Blackwell. This map will be updated frequently and you are free to send Mr. Blackwell any additions or changes you think should be made. His e-mail is KenBlackwell@yahoo.com.

http://www.greaterdanburyanglicans.org/AMiAChurches/AMiAChurches.html?ShowAll

FROM UGANDA comes this word from the Prime Minister of that country. Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, lauded the firm stand the Anglican communion has taken against homosexuality and other perverted practices. "There is a lot of international pressure for Uganda to back down from its position on marriage between one man and one woman," Nsibambi said. You can read the full story here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4656

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF KENYA has appointed has appointed the Assistant Bishop of Mombasa Diocese the Rt. Rev. Lawrence K. Dena Provincial Secretary, to succeed the late Bishop William Waqo who perished in the plane crash on 10th April, 2006. Assistant Bishop Dena becomes the 6th Provincial Secretary in the Anglican Church of Kenya with effect from tomorrow, 1st September 2006. Please pray for Lawrence as he takes up this very heavy load of coordinating the Anglican Church of Kenya affairs, said The Most Rev. Benjamin Nzimbi Archbishop of Kenya.

TWO-TIER CHURCH ANATHEMA. Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, primate of the ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA, said he welcomes the concept of an Anglican covenant "as a process" that would indicate the church is "entering a serious and protracted conversation as to who we are as a church and the mission we share."

In an interview after General Convention, Archbishop Hutchison noted that the Canadian church has reached a covenant with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada that "affirms what we share in mission and ministry;" he said that type of covenant "would be welcomed by Canadians." However, if an Anglican covenant "is intended to define sharp boundaries and exclude people who don't think in a certain way, then that would be devilish."

Concerning Archbishop Rowan Williams' concept of "constituent" and "associated" churches, Archbishop Hutchison said the idea of "a two-tier church is anathema, but that it may be a pragmatic way of moving into the future and I'm prepared to consider that possibility."

IN OTHER CANADIAN news The College of Emmanuel and St. Chad in Saskatoon announced it has sold three buildings on the University of Saskatchewan campus to the university for $1.1 million. "We believe that we have reached a good arrangement with the university," said Dr. Walter Deller, principal of Emmanuel and St. Chad. "Our relationship goes back nearly a century to the earliest period of the founding of the university and the establishment of the Saskatoon campus. The negotiations honoured that history but also recognized the fact that our buildings were aging and pose some challenges for any future user," he added.

From the DIOCESE OF RECIFE (under the Primatial Authority of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America) comes news that ten Priests were ordained, two hundred and nine were confirmed, four Lay Readers were installed, and more than fifty students were enrolled in the two diocesan theological seminaries. Four new congregations were opened in two States. As well as the regular Marriage and Youth Encounters, Male and Female Cursillos, Alpha Courses and Seminaries of Life in the Spirit, and several social projects, a new evangelistic program for youth was started in partnership with the Diocese of Pittsburgh: "Happening", an exchange program has also been initiated with Trinity Seminary in Ambridge, PA (USA). The Rt. Revd Robinson Cavalcanti will shortly celebrate the launching of the "Partners of a Common Cause" movement, for dialogue and fellowship, formed by orthodox Anglicans from several jurisdictions.

PLEASE CONSIDER a gift to VOL at this time to keep these digests coming to you week in and week out. The next time I write to you all it will be from a trailer in New Orleans courtesy of the Rev. Jerry Kramer whose Free Church of the Annunciation and home got hit with a 30ft wall of water. I'll bring you the latest news from there about how the church is faring. Please keep me, Jerry, his wife Stacy and their children and the church in your prayers.

And if you can send a tax deductible donation please send it to:

VIRTUEONLINE
1236 Waterford Rd.,
West Chester, PA 19380

Or you can use PAYPAL at www.virtueonline.org Thank you for your support.

All blessings,

David W. Virtue DD