The news came swiftly and decisively. After being told that no action would be taken at the Camp Allen House of Bishops meeting in Texas, and with a complete news blackout in place, the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion woke up on Monday to the news that the Episcopal Church HOB had thumbed its nose at the Primates Communique to be in full accord with the Windsor Report

In particular, the bishops rejected the communique's "pastoral scheme," which proposed that a primatial vicar be appointed and a pastoral council be formed to care for those Anglicans in the Episcopal Church who could not accept the oversight of either their bishop or their presiding bishop. The Episcopal Church HOB said it intends to conduct church-wide conversations over the next several months, and the House of Bishops will discuss the communique again in their September meeting. The primates of the Anglican Communion have given the Episcopal Church until September 30 to meet the requests of the communique.

The stunning defiance of the bishops' rejection took everyone by surprise, most notably the Bishop of San Joaquin, the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield whose diocese may well vote to leave The Episcopal Church. Here is what he said: "I am not surprised at all by what the HOB did, but only the speed with which it happened. I thought the HOB would meet prior to Sept. 30, but they dismissed the Primates call out of hand. Now they have the gall to ask for the Archbishop of Canterbury to spend three days in prayer with them!"

"The pastoral scheme that the primates have proposed aims to, in their communique's words, 'facilitate and encourage healing and reconciliation' at all levels in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. But the bishops rejected this healing balm, saying that the primates' pastoral scheme 'violates' both the Episcopal Church's polity and founding principles, and that it 'abandons' orthodox Anglican tradition.

The bishops offered no substitute pastoral alternative and then they had the gall to charge that 'great suffering' has resulted from primates and other bishops acting to meet the pastoral needs of orthodox Anglicans who are either currently in the Episcopal Church or who have left the denomination.

No mention was made of the suffering orthodox priests in such dioceses as Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Indianapolis and Massachusetts, to name but a few, have experienced at the hands of revisionist bishops. That, apparently was not on their radar screen of pain.

What the bishops said was, "We cannot accept what would be injurious to the church and could well lead to its permanent division." This, of course begs the question as to who is doing the dividing, which has broken faith with The Faith, who has walked apart from historic Christianity!

"If that means that others reject us and communion with us, as some have already done, we must with great regret and sorrow accept their decision," opined the bishops.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, reacted quickly to the bishops' statements, issuing a two-paragraph statement calling them "discouraging" and saying further discussion was needed. "Some important questions have still to be addressed. No one is underestimating the challenges ahead," he said.

The HOB threw Dr. Williams a bone and invited him to a three-day prayer meeting, as though, by some miracle the fence sitting leader would miraculously see the pansexual light and emerge a humbler, holier (but not thou) leader and explain to the rest of us that we just need to be patient and allow the communique, covenant, listening process and now hermeneutics to work itself out ad infinitum, ad nauseum so the orthodox, like aging Brontosaurus, will roll over in exhaustion and roll out the white flag.

For Dr. Louie Crew, the first sodomite of The Episcopal Church's said that what transpired at Camp Allen was a triumphant moment; "Oxygen tastes so good!" he cried on the heavily loaded liberal HOB/D listserv; for orthodox Episcopalians it was more like Zyklon B being emptied into a Network conference in downtown Pittsburgh.

Contacted in Canterbury the Archbishop of York John Sentamu told VOL that he accepted the ABC's statement and said "if there is to be a further statement from York you will certainly receive it. "

When VOL contacted Bishop Martyn Minns (CANA) for a statement from Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, we were told that Akinola is completing his marathon of installing 20 new bishops throughout Nigeria, and a statement would have to come after consulting with the Global South Steering Committee.

Observed Minns, "It does seem that the ECUSA Bishops have helped clarify the situation quite dramatically... although I am sure that you noted that at the press conference they tried to muddy things up again."

You can read all the documents and resolutions that came out of the Camp Allen meeting and VOL's own report on what a number of orthodox Episcopal bishops thought about what happened at Camp Allen today's digest or click here: http://tinyurl.com/397r4z

The root of the issue now is who will blink first. Will the TEC announce that it will no longer do business with the Anglican Communion unless it is on their terms, or will the Global South move to strike itself away from the TEC, leaving Dr. Rowan Williams to decide who he will side with. It would seem that the Windsor Bishops have decided to go with the majority of the HOB which leaves only the Network bishops to decide how they will decide. As of going to cyber press Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan had not issued a statement, however he did tell a reporter with the New York Times as he exited the meeting, "I'm really thinking through what all this means."

But one thing seems certain, there will be no structural alternative acceptable to the Episcopal Church's HOB to act as a safety valve for orthodox priests, parishes or dioceses. Absolute control reigns. No compromise. The juggernaut of revisionist hegemony brooks no opposition. Subjugate, conform, roll over or leave...and not without your property.

Now it is the turn of Duncan and the Anglican Communion Network that must decide what they will do. We wait anxiously for a response to the iron fist of Mrs. Schori and her chancellor David Booth Beers are not following the canons, they are twisting and misusing the canons.

There is no longer any middle ground. Either fidelity to the gospel or fidelity to something else that is "another gospel". The bishops have defied the Anglican Communion. It is now the duty of the orthodox to defy their revisionist bishops.

CLEARLY, The Episcopal Church is in transition. She is also on a collision course with history, and while she has the money and power, she does not have the numbers to finally win the day. The Anglican Communion is no longer predominantly white, middle class, young and vibrant. The TEC is old, blue blood with much money and not a shred of evangelistic zeal, versus vibrant African/Asian/Latin zeal and biblical faithfulness. For a look at how TEC money influences the Anglican Communion (it pays about 30 percent of its budget) you can read the New York Times article linked here: http://tinyurl.com/2xcew8 The truth is, the Episcopal Church bankrolls much of the Communion's operations and a cutoff of that money, could, over time, deal the Communion a devastating blow. Hardest hit would be the British-based Anglican Consultative Council which relentlessly presses to keep the TEC as a player at the table, and for its unctuousness is rewarded with large checks from the TEC coffers.

For the remaining orthodox in the TEC is going to be a time of great transition. As one noted rector observed, "people will make their journeys down different roads and it is important not to demonize one another as we make our way out of the Episcopal darkness." He is right. "Don't hurt one another we don't know outcome."

BUT HURTING is still the standard means by which revisionist bishops deal with fleeing orthodox priests. In the DIOCESE OF INDIANAPOLIS this past week, Bishop Catherine Waynick inhibited a priest and a deacon for "abandoning communion". You can read that story here or in today's digest: http://tinyurl.com/2g396x

AND to ante up the meanness the HOB declared that they would be going after an 86-year old retired TEC Bishop and put him on trial for violating the Constitutions and Canons of the TEC for ministering in a geographic area without permission of the local diocesan bishop. You can read that story here or in today's digest: http://tinyurl.com/38zh3j

An iron curtain is descending over The Episcopal Church, thousands of Episcopalians who held out hope that something, anything like a bone would be thrown them have now learned the awful truth - they will get absolutely nothing. You can leave, but leave everything behind. DEPO, AEO, even the Archbishop of Canterbury's Panel of Reference POR will not save you. Just ask the Rev. Neil Lebhar, Redeemer Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, Florida. He got the message this week that his bishop John Howard had raised his middle finger at Communion authority, rejecting Dr. Williams Panel of Reference Florida report recommendations. Now Lebhar will have to decide what he will do. You can read all the letters and correspondence here: http://tinyurl.com/368rl3

Other statements by TEC bishops, including declarations by some that they will defy the primates' communique and continue lawsuits against local parishes and individual clergy and vestry members, also point toward the church's total disregard for the Anglican primates' authority and for Communion relationships. Furthermore, last week's rejection of South Carolina Bishop-elect Mark Lawrence based on procedural technicalities points toward TEC's absolute submission to its own canons at whatever cost, observed Canon David C. Anderson of the American Anglican Council.

In the DIOCESE OF CENTRAL NEW YORK, two local Episcopal churches want to withdraw from their regional diocese and affiliate themselves with others who abide by orthodox Anglican doctrine, which teaches that homosexual behavior is incompatible with Christian teaching. St. Andrew's in Vestal and Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton are talking with officials at the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York about moving their membership rolls and properties to other jurisdictions. You can read that story or click here: http://tinyurl.com/28srle

In the DIOCESE OF WESTERN MICHIGAN the cathedral that is up for sale has been sort of an off and on thing for the last few years, a VOL reader wrote to VOL. "After a "study" it now appears it will be offered for sale. I was in the Diocese when the money was raised for the monstrosity, which was to be a "genuine" cathedral, without a parish church. Several years ago the Parish Church of Christ the King came into existence, under Bishop Edward Lee. Bishop Robert Gepert didn't like the facility (understandable) so he moved the diocesan offices to Lovers Lane, creating an even greater negative cash flow by renting elsewhere instead of paying rent to the Cathedral Corporation. One doesn't exactly need a PhD in finance to realize this isn't good business. +Gepert has also closed St Matthew's, Sparta (a booming area) after renaming it Holy Spirit, and then selling it, taking the assets and moving to Belmont, and calling it a new church plant. Last year he closed St. Paul's, Grand Rapids, an old Anglo-Catholic parish, into which Bishop Lee put a very liberal priest. It's now for sale. And, these bishops are the same ones who would have us believe the Episcopal Church is in such great shape!"

Writing, tongue in cheek, he said, "It's just that there are a few of us old fuddy duddy conservatives that don't understand the Church needs to change with the times. Too bad they [the liberals] are in such a state of denial over cause and effect, and refuse to accept the fact that people vote with their feet and wallets. It certainly shows the fallacy of the polity of the American Church; it is our own undoing.

Responding to a news item in last week's VIEWPOINTS about the DIOCESE OF DALLAS and fleeing parishes, the Rt. Rev. James Stanton wrote a note on "separations" to his clergy, a copy of which was forwarded to VOL. Here is what he said:

I thought it good to bring you up to date on the "separations" from the Diocese in addition to those effected earlier (Christ Church, Plano, Sept 2006; St. Matthias, Dallas, Dec 2006).

As you will recall, the Rev. Henry Pendergrass resigned his cure, and a subset of St. Nicholas, Flower Mound, withdrew from the Diocese in early Dec. 2006. This did not affect the real property.

The majority of the congregation at St. Nicholas has stayed, and Canon Neal Michell has been Priest in Charge, pending the call of a new rector. Trinity Church , Hillcrest, in the City of Dallas decided to withdraw their request after the Communique of the Primates was issued.

Holy Trinity, Garland: The Rev. Lawrence Harrison resigned his cure, and a subset of that congregation decided to withdraw from the Diocese, effective March 12, 2007. This group has formed a new congregation in connection with CANA in Rowlett. This withdrawal did not affect the real property.

The congregation in union with the Diocese continues at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Garland. I have appointed Canon Paul Lambert to be Priest in Charge until we find an interim Priest. The Vestry is being reorganized.

Faith Church, Allen: The Rev. John Clifford resigned his cure, and the Vestry at Faith Church declared its independence of the Diocese. I recognized these actions on March 12, 2007. The withdrawal does not affect the real property which is owned by the Corporation of the Diocese. The congregation will continue to occupy the present facility for a nominal rent until the Corporation of the Diocese decides the future use of the property.

St. Francis, Dallas, may soon request to come under the "Dallas Plan" agreement with the Diocese of Fort Worth. In that event, that congregation will be overseen by the Bishop of Fort Worth while remaining canonically within the Diocese of Dallas.

Still pending: Church of the Resurrection, Dallas. "This is the state of affairs as they now exist," he concluded.

The Right Rev. John Bauerschmidt, the newly elected bishop of the DIOCESE OF TENNESSSEE who said at his consecration that he was committed to the principles set out by global Anglican leaders apparently had a memory lapse.

Fr. Ray Kasch of St. Patrick's, Smyrna, a CANA church plant whose parish voted last fall by 86% to seek foreign oversight (formerly All Saints' Smyrna which became St. Patrick's) got an inhibition notice in the mail from the new Tennessee bishop. "He has inhibited me without ever meeting or speaking with me," he wrote VOL. "We had told (his predecessor Bishop Bert Herlong) to only go through a lawyer because he was being abusive to me and to the Vestry and would not discuss things like a rational person. But I at least expected to speak with Bauerschmidt before being inhibited.

I wrote him a letter in response challenging his accusations and calling him to repentance." Never mind the parish has been officially accepted by CANA so TEC is in their rear view mirror.

Here is what he wrote VOL: We are worshipping at 2pm in a Pentecostal Church, looking for land and not looking back. Fox News did a follow up story and asked if I had any regrets and without even thinking about it I said with passion, "No, not one, I would do it all over again." I doubt that the handful of people left with the stiff mortgage can make that same claim. The diocese had to come up with over $50,000 just to keep All Saints' afloat meanwhile St. Patrick's is doing better financially.

Here is the letter he wrote to Bishop Bauerschmidt.
March 14, 2007

Right Reverend Sir:

I received your Letter of Inhibition on March 9, 2006 and after considering it closely I wish to reply. Your letter contained a number of inaccuracies which is understandable given that you have never met me, spoken with me by phone or even sent me an email.

Your first accusation is that I am not in obedience to my bishop. I invite you to ask him if that is true. I am submitted to the authority of The Right Reverend Martyn Minns of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America . He in turn is under the authority of Archbishop Peter Akinola who is in communion with the see of Canterbury .

Your second accusation is that I am guilty of "habitual neglect of Public Worship according to the Order and Use of the Episcopal Church." I would have been guilty of this had I abandoned the 86% who voted to seek foreign oversight. But since I chose to remain with the congregation I have not neglected public worship. We meet for Mass each Sunday at 2pm at Smyrna Assembly of God and every holy day at 7am in the chapel in my home. You are welcome to attend worship with us and witness it for yourself. We use Rites One and Two of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the latest edition of the Hymnal.

Your third accusation is that I have broken my promise "to conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church." You left out the fact that immediately before this promise I vowed that "I solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation." The clear implication when I made this vow was should The Episcopal Church abandon the Word of God then it loses its moral authority to demand allegiance to its doctrine, discipline and/or worship. The Episcopal Church has done just that and since it is in either broken or impaired communion with 2/3rds of the Anglican Communion, that is hardly my personal opinion.

I also find it curious that this fundamentalist approach to the canons has been inconsistently applied. Months ago I requested that my Letters Dismissory be transferred under Canon III.9.4(a). The canons are clear that this request "shall" be honored unless I was guilty of being "justly liable to evil report, error in religion or viciousness of life." Although I was not charged with any of these, still my request was denied. The clear reading of the canon is in the imperative term of "shall" not "may" and therefore requires that the requested bishop provide such Letters. Further this does not require a physical relocation as evidenced when Bishop Herzog transferred Bishop Bena without requiring his relocation.

Again, the ecclesial authority has no discretion to refuse a valid request for Letters Dismissory and yet I was refused, for what I must conclude to be punitive reasons. Even more to the point is that I honestly don't believe that Jesus gave His life for the Church so that we can pharisaically out maneuver one another with the canons. This leads me to my last point.

I note with particular interest that your letter did not contain one reference to Holy Scripture or one reference to Jesus Christ. Could it be because you do not have any scriptural reasons for your actions and because you know that this vengeful act brings neither honor nor glory to Christ?

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave clear instructions to the Church about engaging in church discipline. It is contained in Matthew 18. You have not followed His instructions but I will. Your accusations are slanderous and your actions vengeful. These are not violations of the canons; these are sins for which all of us must give an accounting.

Therefore as a presbyter in Christ's holy catholic Church, I call upon you to retract your accusations and repent of your actions.

To do so would be to engage in the ministry of reconciliation to which we are called. Your example of a godly response would bring honor to Christ. Failure to do so, however, will result in further discipline as prescribed by Matthew 18 and ultimately place your ability to receive the Sacrament at St. Patrick's in jeopardy.

On a personal note. I received your Letter of Inhibition on my birthday and so it was filled with bitter sweetness. Bitter because I have given some of my best work and best years to this diocese and was dismissed by the stroke of a pen by someone who has never even bothered to meet me. Sweet because it represented one more step away from an institution that has become so corrupt that it will promote bishops engaged in sexual immorality and prideful heresy but will punish priests for not abandoning their flocks. Jesus said that we are blessed when people accuse us falsely and so in a moment of irony, that only the Holy Spirit could have orchestrated, you actually gave me a birthday blessing.

Thank you.

Fr. Ray Kasch, SSC Rector
St. Patrick's Anglican Church, CANA

And to complete the week Florida Bishop Samuel "John" Howard rejected a "good neighbor" episcopal ministry plan proposed by the Archbishop of Canterbury's Panel of Reference. The report, saw nearly two years of "hard and painstaking work," washed down the drain, was made in response to an appeal made by the rector and vestry of Church of the Redeemer in Jacksonville, the Rev. Neil Lebhar. The priest told VOL by phone that he and his congregation know they will probably lose the property in a court battle, but they are ready to move on.

The report, which was released to the public on March 16, called for Church of the Redeemer to return to the oversight of Bishop Howard and to active participation in the fiscal and corporate life of the diocese. In return, Bishop Howard was asked to lift canonical sanctions against the clergy, end litigation, and permit alternate episcopal oversight for the parish from a neighboring Episcopal bishop acceptable t o both the parish and the diocese. It won't happen. The parish will walk.

Events in the DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA brought this out in one priest in the Diocese of New Jersey:

Re: Nullification of SC Bishop's Election

The Most Rev. Presiding Bishop
815 Second Avenue
New York NY

Dear Bishop Schori:

Greetings in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ.

I protest your nullification of the election of the Bishop of South Carolina. Your action was un-canonical under Canon III.16.6. You are authorized to "declare the election null and void" only "in case a majority of all the Standing Committees of the Dioceses do not consent to the ordination of the Bishop-elect within 120 days." A majority did so consent. Your concern is that the Consenting Dioceses did not put their consent in proper form. This is a ministerial technicality that your office should have seen to have corrected.

The expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a new election would be immoral.

Incidentally, since the consents are given by the consenting diocese, not by the electing diocese, I request from you information about all the other elections held since the change in Canon III.16.4(b): Were they given in proper form for other elections, but not for South Carolina's? It seems odd that consenting dioceses would suddenly change the way they consent. Has this problem has never occurred before -- until now and for South Carolina? I await your reply.

Faithfully yours,

Rev Peter Manzo Rector
St. Bartholomew's
Cherry Hill NJ

The Rev. Lynn H. Johnson, Deacon
The Rev. Dudley D. Pendleton, Priest Associate
The Rev. Charles A. Hulet, Priest Associate

The DIOCESE OF THE HOLY CROSS is seeking to join the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas. On February 26, the DHC Standing Committee met and voted unanimously to apply for membership in the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas. The Federation is now comprised of the Anglican Province of America (APA), the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC), the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), the Anglican Church in America (ACA), and the Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC), totaling some 450 parishes. The Episcopal Visitor is Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of the Americas. Two Federation members, the APA and the REC, have a 'Covenant Union of Anglican Churches in Concordat' with the Church of the Province of Nigeria and the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola. The purpose of the Federation is the common cause of the Gospel and the furtherance of cooperation, communication, support, discipline and accountability among the various jurisdictions, each of which retains its sovereignty. The Federation is linked with Forward in Faith through mutual membership in Common Cause. Copies of The Articles of the Federation are available at http://anglicanfederation.org/articles.html.

If you believe the liberal TEC media, African archbishops are socially and politically naive. Not true. AFRICAN PRIMATES IMPACT POLITICS screamed one headline. According to the East African Standard (Nairobi) Presidential candidates who fail to sign the proposed accountability charter should not be allowed to ascend to power, religious and civil society leaders have said. Presidential aspirants are expected to commit themselves to democratic governance. Among the signers was the Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop, Benjamin Nzimbi, who termed the document important, adding that it would hold leaders accountable. Among other things he urged politicians to be answerable to the people and called for a reduction of senior civil servants pay.

IN HONG KONG the new leader of the Anglican Church Archbishop Paul Kwong says a moderate and inclusive approach is required to resolve a "power struggle" within the worldwide Anglican Communion that is linked to homosexuality. "We disagree with the ordination of homosexuals as bishops, and blessing a 'same-sex union'," Archbishop Paul Kwong said in an interview with Ecumenical News International. "However, the objection within the Anglican Communion involves [a] power struggle." Kwong, elected on February 3 to lead the Hong Kong church, said Robinson's consecration had intensified an already existing power struggle within the Anglican Communion. "As Christianity, including Anglicanism, grows in the Global South, Christians in the South want to get a greater influencing power," said the archbishop. Kwong suggested Asian Anglicans might have a role to play in alleviating the tensions in the Anglican Communion, noting that religious plurality in Asia had helped the Church to be aware that it should be more inclusive and moderate. Kwong is the Primate of the 30,000 strong Anglican-community in Hong Kong, known as the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui. The province is composed of three dioceses in Hong Kong and one missionary area in Macau.

THE SWEDISH church says matrimony is only for heterosexuals, according to a news report by Ecumenical News International. The Church of Sweden, the largest national church in the Lutheran World Federation, says it will oppose a recommendation made by a one-person commission to the country's government that laws should be passed to enable homosexual couples to marry. "We support the view that matrimony is between a man and a woman. This is a commonly accepted definition acceptable to most societies and religions," said Archbishop Anders Wejryd, the Church of Sweden primate.

If you are looking for an orthodox congregation in your area VOL recommends Shelter in the Storm www.shelterinthestorm.org.

The finding of ossuaries in Israel recently that were supposed to contain the bones of Jesus, Mary and Joseph prompted Private Eye magazine to observe: "This completely shakes my faith, which is based on a Literal Interpretation of the Da Vinci Code."

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