Strong-arming smaller countries into accepting LGBT rights is an explicit element in the Obama Administration's foreign policy. The half-dozen gay US ambassadors, including Mr. Brewster, (Dominican Republic) have openly acknowledged that trade agreements are being used to advance "equality" and "tolerance" for gays and lesbians. "We know firsthand that US interests are best served when we pursue policies that also advance our values. That's why trade policy is among our most promising tools," they say on the White House website. --- Michael Cook for www.mercatornet.com

The pastor as theologian was an important model in the church until the early 19th century. Since then, the pastor-theologian has been downplayed and even undermined. The result being, theology has become the domain of academic theologians in universities, while pastors do the practical work of leading churches --- Peter Bush in Presbyterian RECORD

According to the British medical journal, The Lancet, new research shows that global obesity is now a bigger problem than global hunger. --- Marcus Roberts for mercatornet.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
April 7, 2016

A fourth Global South archbishop has stepped up to the plate and announced that he will not now be attending the Anglican Consultative Council gabfest in Lusaka. The first three are Archbishops Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala of Kenya and Archbishop Stanley Ntagali of Uganda who have said they will not attend this TEC paid for gabfest.

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis of Egypt has written a letter to his fellow archbishops and said his decision not to go has come after a long period of prayer and conversations. "As many of you know, it is not easy for me to withdraw from meetings, but this time I felt that if I were to attend, I would be betraying my conscience, my people, and the Primates who worked hard last January to reach a temporary solution in order to keep walking together until such time as we can reach a permanent solution." His backing down has sent shockwaves throughout the Anglican Communion, reports Phil Ashey, COO of the American Anglican Council.

"I thought that the decision of the Primates' Meeting in January would be followed through and TEC would not be represented in the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion but sadly this is not the case. I don't mind the participation of TEC in the General Meeting of the ACC, but the decision of the Primates was very clear that they should not be nominated or elected in internal standing committees."

The Egyptian archbishop said he was disturbed by statements made by the chairman of the ACC while he was in the USA. "I had still intended to attend the meeting. However, as it became clear that the decision of the Primates' Meeting about the participation of TEC in the Standing Committee would be disregarded, it was then that I decided not to attend."

You can read the full account in today's digest, and a story by Canon Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council.

*****

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, has fired three high level staff members for complaints and allegations of violations of personnel policies of the DFMS, received from multiple members of the staff of the Church to the Church's new leader.

Public Affairs Officer Neva Rae Fox would neither confirm nor deny that it was about sexual harassment.

The time frame points to an unsettling discovery that Executive Council, in Nov. 2015, had been bugged by a hidden audio recorder during sessions relating to compensation for salaries of all officers, agents and employees of the Council and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.

The two officers who were fired are Sam McDonald, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Director of Mission, and Alex Baumgarten, Director of Public Engagement and Mission Communications, who were found "to have violated established workplace policies."

Bishop Stacy Sauls, Chief Operating Officer of the DFMS, was also axed, though the report said he did not violate workplace policy, was unaware of the policy violations of the two staff members reporting to him, and had operated within the scope of his office.

Conversations are underway to implement this decision, said Curry in a news release from the Church's national headquarters in New York City.

*****

In Fresno, California, The Protestant Episcopal Church owns the Central Valley churches and other property that were in place before a dissident group in the San Joaquin Valley voted to leave the church and affiliate with a more traditional Anglican Church, says the California 5th District Court of Appeal.

The appellate court ruling, upholding a lower court's decision, is the latest chapter in a religious and litigious dispute that dates back more than a decade, when the late John-David Schofield, who had been bishop of the San Joaquin Diocese since 1988, led a movement to disaffiliate with the national church.

In 2007, the diocese, which stretched from Kern County in the south to San Joaquin County in the north, declared that it was "a full member of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of South America."

In 2008, Bishop Schofield filed a document with the California Secretary of State titled "Amendment to Articles of Incorporation Changing Name of The Protestant Episcopal Bishop of San Joaquin (A Corporation Sole) to The Anglican Bishop of San Joaquin (A Corporation Sole)."

"Schofield stated in the document that, as the Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, he was the chief officer of the corporation sole and that the amendment had been duly authorized by the Diocese. However, the annual convention did not consider or authorize any such amendments as is required to amend the articles of incorporation of the corporation sole," the appellate court notes.

"Schofield was attempting to change the title holder of the property in dispute from the corporation sole known as The Protestant Episcopal Bishop of San Joaquin to the corporation sole known as The Anglican Bishop of San Joaquin. However, because the amendment changing the name of the corporation sole to The Anglican Bishop of San Joaquin was invalid, no corporation sole known as The Anglican Bishop of San Joaquin existed when these deeds were executed and recorded," the decision says.

"Out-of-state cases have held that an attempted conveyance of real property to a nonexistent entity is void. This is a logical conclusion and should be adopted here. Title cannot be held by an entity that does not exist. Therefore, these deeds were a nullity. Accordingly, title to the disputed property remained with The Protestant Episcopal Bishop of San Joaquin," the court says.

Canon lawyer Alan Haley said that the opinion was "contorted", the Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled that "the trial court made several errors in its analysis of the case", it would nevertheless affirm that court's decision to turn over all the disputed property of the former Diocese of San Joaquin to the remnant Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, which was first organized in March 2008 after its predecessor voted to leave the Episcopal Church (USA).

In so deciding, the Court of Appeals first rejected the contention that ECUSA and its remnant group were collaterally bound by the final decision of the Illinois Court of Appeals, rendered last year, which reached the opposite result for the Anglican Diocese of Quincy. It did not consider the Illinois case to be on all fours with this one, because the title to the church property in Illinois was held by an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, while in the San Joaquin case, the title was held by a California corporation sole.

With all due respect, this is a distinction without a difference. A corporation sole is every bit as much a religious organization as a religious not-for-profit corporation. The key question in the California case is: which diocese -- the Anglican one that withdrew from ECUSA in December 2007, or the newbie Episcopal one that started up on March 29, 2008 -- has the legal control of the corporation sole under California law?

The decision by the Court of Appeals does not address this key question. Indeed, it barely mentions the Anglican Diocese, and does not acknowledge its separate existence under California law, let alone its connection to the corporation sole. (The Episcopal plaintiffs made a strategic decision not to name the Anglican Diocese in their lawsuit, and to make the corp sole a plaintiff, as though they already controlled it, because they wanted to pretend that they were the "only" diocese in San Joaquin. It looks as though the strategy confused the civil courts -- as it was doubtlessly intended to do.)

The case is not over yet, writes Allan Haley of Anglican Curmudgeon -- the Anglican parties can ask the Court for a rehearing based on the factual mistakes it made in its opinion, and if the Court refuses to grant that request, they can ask the California Supreme Court to review the decision, which the Court of Appeal ordered be published in the official reports. (The California Supreme Court tends not to review unpublished opinions.) If such a request is filed, the parties will not know the disposition of the case for another 60 to 120 days.

*****

In Georgia, a former Savannah Episcopal priest has been sentenced to three years in federal prison on a guilty plea, to possession of child pornography at his Druid Circle home in Savannah.

Bruce Fehr, a 55-year-old former priest at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Wilmington Island, must also pay a $10,000 fine and serve a 10-year term of supervised release after he completes his incarceration, U.S. District Chief Judge Lisa Godbey Wood ordered Wednesday in Savannah.

Fehr was indicted by a federal grand jury in September, on a four-count indictment for distribution, possession and receipt of child pornography last year, as part of a FBI-led Southeast Georgia Child Exploitation Task Force operation.

*****

BDSM and Kinks: Addressing taboo and sexual preferences at Sewanee University. THESEWANEEPURPLE campus newspaper in a report by Frances Marion Givhan says:

The Wick aims to foster conversations on campus about various issues that students may not discuss on a day-to-day basis. Recently, the Wick hosted a #NoFilter discussion entitled "Don't Shame My Kink," where the residents invited students to join them for an "open, confidential dialogue on what rough sex and kink can mean for empowerment, consent, and communication in bed," according to their Facebook event page. The event, held on Tuesday, March 29, drew a crowd of people who could barely fit into the Wick's living room.

"The thing that surprised me most was the number of students who attended," said Gracie Gibson (C'17), who coordinated the event. Even a prospective student had decided to come and hear what some may view as an uncomfortable topic.

According to Gibson, none of the Wick residents had ever talked about having an event on BDSM or kinks. "We received an anonymous request to host an event covering BDSM and safety, so I decided to present it to the other residents, and everyone was on board," said Gibson.

Ben Sadler (C'17) attended the event because he did not know what the discussion would entail. "I was curious," he says. "I wasn't sure what was in store, so I wanted to see how the Wick would discuss a pretty underdiscussed subject."

Gibson kick-started the event by addressing the fact that BDSM is a sensitive topic, and made a point to remind the people gathered to "respect everyone who's here." To initiate the discussion, Gibson showed a video by Laci Green called "BDSM 101" that addressed the basics of BDSM and kink culture, as well as the accompanying criticisms. The video emphasized the "safe, sane, and consensual" nature of BDSM and argued that people should not judge consenting adults for their sexuality.

You can read the full, very sick, vile report here: http://thesewaneepurple.org/2016/04/05/bdsm-and-kinks-addressing-taboo-and-sexual-preferences/

Question for Vice-Chancellor McCardell. "Will you tell rich donors that their money will help Sewanee students feel safe to experiment with dangerous, disease spreading sex games on campus?"

IN OTHER SEWANEE NEWS, a drug bust took place at a Sewanee fraternity. Last weekend, the Sewanee Police stopped a student for possession of prescription drugs and marijuana in a fraternity parking lot.

The officers arrived after receiving an anonymous tip earlier, so they had probable cause, and stopped to question the student. When the officer approached, he smelled marijuana and saw the student trying to hide a lock box. The officer confiscated the box when the student refused to open it, which contained Xanax, marijuana, a glass pipe, and rolling papers. Since there were prescription drugs in another student's name, the police gave three citations and referred him to the Dean.

Other students witnessed the officer take the box and they, "were convinced we would have to go to jail tomorrow to bail our other friend out." According to the Sewanee Police, the amount of drugs determines whether to arrest or cite a student. In this case, only a small amount of drugs was in the lock box, so the police issued a citation, since the amount implied recreation rather than distribution.

*****

Applications are now open for the 2016 grant cycle for new church starts and Mission Enterprise Zones in The Episcopal Church. Resolution D005 and Resolution A012, approved by General Convention in July, 2015, authorized new and continued funding for church plants and Mission Enterprise Zones throughout the Episcopal Church. Additionally, newly created grants will be awarded to dioceses and already-established ministries exploring possibilities for new initiatives or expansion. General Convention Advisory Group on Church Planting is also conducting a design contest for a new logo to depict church planting for The Episcopal Church. Really!

So the hope is, that with a couple or resolutions, TEC thinks it can jump start the future with new parishes, even as parishes across the country are closing, and nearly 50% can't afford a full time rector. If you don't have a message that reflects the gospel on sin and salvation and the preaching of the great doctrines of the church, what exactly is TEC selling? Does anyone honestly think you can build a church on evangelism involving anti-racism training, bashing white privilege, LGBTQI interests and concerns, diversity and inclusion and parading around in rainbow vestments at gay parades will suddenly bring in the masses!?The delusion continues. For the record, the ACNA is growing precisely because they are preaching a message of God's love tied to Christ's cross and the need for repentance. Go figure.

*****

Anglicans and Mennonites in Canada haven't historically had much to do with each other, but that could change if General Synod--which meets July 7-12--votes to adopt a resolution put forward by the faith, worship and ministry committee to enter into a five-year, bilateral dialogue with Mennonite Church Canada.

Archdeacon Bruce Myers, until recently the Anglican Church of Canada's coordinator for ecumenical and interfaith relations, said this would be the first time the Anglican Church of Canada has engaged in a bilateral dialogue with a denomination from the Anabaptist tradition. In an interview with the Anglican Journal, he explained why he thinks the two groups could learn a lot from each other.

"The Anglican Church of Canada, is increasingly...becoming a church on the margins, a church away from the centers of power, when historically we were a church of empire, establishment and privilege," he said. "Mennonites have [made]...a conscious decision to be very separate from the principalities and powers, and to take a stance that is often in opposition to empire."

Myers said the decision to consider a dialogue has also been spurred by increasing grassroots interaction and co-operation between Mennonites and Anglicans in cities such as Winnipeg and Kitchener-Waterloo, which have large Mennonite populations.

While the Canadian church has often focused on matters of doctrine in its bilateral dialogues, with an aim to finding areas of agreement or common understanding, Myers said that conversations with the Mennonite church would be more about what he called "receptive ecumenism"--an approach to dialogue that works to learn from rather than to resolve differences.

"Doctrinal questions, like baptism--we know the differences and how we practice and understand baptism, that's already been documented and it's not necessarily a theological knot we need to start to untie at this moment," he said. "[But] what is it like for a church like ours to learn to be something [Mennonites] have almost always been, which is outside the center and increasingly marginalized?"

VOL: So this is what happens when traditional Christian denominations break down. When you have little, or no theological depth in your understanding of the faith you grab onto any lifeboat that will keep you afloat. The Episcopal Church has a concordat with the Lutherans (ELCA) and the Moravians for example. Malcolm Muggeridge once said that the definition of the ecumenical movement was like three men coming out of a pub on a Saturday night who are so unsteady that they have to hold onto each other lest they collapse into a heap.

Of course, collapse is inevitable. This only staves off things for a while. The overwhelming evidence is that the ACoC and the United Church of Canada, and what's left of the Presbyterian Church, will be out of business on or before 2050. They are not making new converts largely because they don't believe in what Jesus said they should do. QED

*****

Oxford University will no longer require theology students to study Christianity, dropping an 800-year-old tradition.

Is this a sign of how the academic world is giving less and less value to Christian teachings? The University of Oxford, the oldest such institution in the English-speaking world dating back to 1096, will no longer require its undergraduate theology students to enroll in a course tackling Christianity after their first year.

This development signals the end of a tradition that lasted for over eight centuries. Instead of requiring the study of Christianity, the educational institution located in Oxford, England, will allow students to take courses tackling feminism, Buddhism, Islam and even mysticism. Is this a sign of how the academic world is giving less and less value to Christian teachings? Apparently.

*****

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced Monday, that he has vetoed a religious liberty bill passed by the state legislature.

Evangelical Christians strongly supported the legislation, citing its protections for pastors to opt out of performing same-sex weddings. The Washington Post reports that the legislation would have given religious organizations the ability to refuse certain services, including charitable services, if doing so clashed with their religious beliefs.

The legislation sparked objections from major donors and corporations, including AT&T, Bank of America and Delta Airlines, who saw it as discriminatory against persons who identify as gay or transgender.

IRD Evangelical Action Director Chelsen Vicari commented: "When corporate bullies dangling dollar bills is enough to cause a Baptist governor to veto a bill protecting freedom of conscience and speech, a bigger problem exists.

"Gov. Nathan Deal's veto of Georgia's religious freedom bill represents a wider movement among America's Christians to compromise Scripture and morality for the sake of votes and popularity." Unfortunately, many Evangelicals, Mainline Protestants, and Catholics are bowing down at altars of sexual liberation and political correctness, erected by cultural Leftists. You can read more here: http://tinyurl.com/hozuvar

*****

An Indian priest abducted by gunmen in Yemen last month is safe and could be released soon, a Catholic group said on Sunday, quoting the Indian foreign minister. Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil was captured from the southern Yemeni city of Aden by gunmen, who killed at least 15 people at an old people's home, in an attack that was condemned by Pope Francis.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) said a delegation met Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said the government was working to secure the priest's safe return.

"She has assured us Father Tom is safe and negotiations are on for his release, which could happen very soon," said Father Joseph Chinnaiyan, deputy secretary of the CBCI.

Media reports last week said the priest was killed by Islamic State militants on Good Friday, although no one has claimed responsibility for last month's attack, in which gunmen killed four Indian nuns, two Yemeni female staff members, eight elderly residents and a guard. Fr. Chinnaiyan said the reports were inaccurate.

*****

Now it's undeniable: Deobandi mosques are radicalizing Britain's Muslims. UK media have revealed that the Islamic Tarbiyah Academy, a private school in the Yorkshire city of Dewsbury, was under investigation by the Department for Education for radical teachings.

The school has 140 primary students, who attend an after-school madrassah for ten hours per week, as well as full-time classes for pupils above age 16 and adults, according to Sky News.

The academy was established by Mufti Zubair Dudha, a representative of the Deobandi sect.

Originating in India in the mid-1800s, Deobandism is the doctrine that inspired the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, whose imams trained at the school in Uttar Pradesh, northeast of Delhi.

Deobandi clerics, operating out of an anti-imperialist rubric devised to rid India of the British following the suppression of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, have made a serious effort to seize control of British mosques.

They are allied with the puritanical, Saudi-based Wahhabi sect and with other jihadists in South Asia.

These groups allege that they must 'reform' Islam by separating Muslims from other believers, especially in the West.

*****

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