And let's be clear, Evangelical Christians have as much at stake in this issue as do Catholic charities and other organizations of a religious convictional nature there in Philadelphia and, of course, all over the nation, because this case in Philadelphia now becomes ground zero for the future of religious liberty in a very real sense everywhere throughout the United States of America. --- Albert Mohler

A common truth and life. The Christian unity for which Christ prayed in John 17:20- 23 was not primarily unity with each other, but unity with the apostles (a common truth) and unity with the Father and the Son (a common life). The visible, structural unity of the church is a proper goal. Yet it will be pleasing to God only if it is the visible expression of something deeper, namely unity in truth and in life. In our ecumenical concern, therefore, nothing is more important than the quest for more apostolic truth and more divine life through the Holy Spirit. As William Temple put it, 'the way to the union of Christendom does not lie through committee-rooms, though there is a task of formulation to be done there. It lies through personal union with the Lord so deep and real as to be comparable with his union with the Father.' --- John R. W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
March 6, 2020

Across the globe, the coronavirus is impacting not just businesses and travel, it is profoundly affecting church life as well.

Denominational leaders are calling for caution about how to take holy communion (intinction, please) to how we should pass the peace. We are told that it is something we should not panic about (by President Donald Trump) to the possibility of a pandemic.

The virus has the capability of reaching biblical proportions, so perhaps there is a lesson there for us all to learn.

Our hi-tech lives, electronic toys and fancy lifestyles cannot will away a virus capable of killing tens of thousands. We are going back to basics.

Might this be the judgement of God on our decadent, materialistic lives? Don't laugh, it's happened before. Prophets railed; leaders did not listen. People died.

In the tower of Siloam story, Jesus was a realist; "repent, lest it happen to you." No scientific explanation, no apology, no 'why do bad things happen to good people'. They can and they do. Repent.

*****

Just when Archbishop Justin Welby thought he might win orthodox Global South bishops to the Lambeth Conference in July, along comes a spiritual and ecclesial hurricane to blow his hopes right out the cathedral doors.

In a move designed to incense orthodox Anglican bishops from the Global South, Episcopal lesbian bishop Mary Glasspool, along with Rev. Canon Tutu van Furth who came out as a lesbian in 2016, will conduct an "inclusive eucharist" service ahead of the opening of the Lambeth Conference.

Glasspool explained the need for an inclusive service, saying: "It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of this 'inclusive eucharist', in which we say to all people everywhere: 'You are loved by our Loving God and welcome at Christ's table.'

Welby must be wincing as he reads this. These two daughters of lesbos just destroyed all his best laid plans. The Anglican leftwaffe leader got his head handed to him on a plate.

Global South bishops will see this as a blasphemous act and will have nothing to do with it, with him or the Lambeth Conference. He is English toast.

This act not only embarrasses Welby who has been doing his best to persuade Global South bishops who disapprove of sodomy and homosexual marriage to attend the 2020 Lambeth Conference, it will also confirm to African Anglicans that to attend such a gathering would violate both Holy Scripture and their consciences.

It will also confirm to the mind of GAFCON chairman Foley Beach that it was right to call together a meeting of GAFCON bishops. These bishops, who number more than 300, will meet in Kigali, Rwanda in June. They will affirm the Gospel and uphold Lambeth resolution 1:10 which strictly forbids homosexual behavior, affirming marriage between a man and a woman.

It will further alienate those Global South bishops who still feel loyal to Canterbury and who have one foot in GAFCON and the other with the Lambeth Conference. It will seal the deal with them that Justin Welby is no longer in control of his fellow bishops, and that he himself has gone over to the dark side on pansexuality.

Orthodox and progressive bishops have been at each other's throats over LGBTQI issues for two decades and this will seal the deal that those who are faithful to the teaching of Scripture have no place at the Canterbury table. They say it is "inappropriate" to invite the married spouses of same-sex unions to this year's gathering after Welby issued a ban on those partners from attending. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/global-south-bishops-will-be-rocked-american-lesbian-bishop-will-lead-inclusive-eucharist-service

*****

But this was not the only humiliating moment for the Archbishop of Canterbury this week. Earlier, he found himself sidelined in the consecration of the new Ugandan Archbishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Kaziimba.

Welby and Archbishop Foley Beach, Primate of the ACNA and GAFCON chairman found themselves on the same stage, but Welby found himself eclipsed by Beach who preached and stole the show from his English rival.

It was a humiliating moment for the titular head of 85 million Anglicans who found the enthronement occasion of an African Primate taken from him by an archbishop he does not recognize as authentically Anglican.

Welby had earlier in the year told Beach that he was welcome to the Lambeth Conference as an "observer", as though he were a bishop with leprosy, tolerated if he had taken his daily dose of Dapsone. But Kaziimba is squarely on board with Beach and he and his fellow bishops will boycott the Lambeth Conference precisely because Welby has ignored the mandate of Lambeth resolution 1:10 to discipline errant Western bishops over their adoption of sodomy and homosexual marriage.

Archbishop Kazimba Mugalu started his tenure in a colorful ceremony at the cathedral by making fresh vows never to accept homosexual marriages in the church.

He said the Church in Uganda would continue to emphasize heterosexual marriage as the lifelong, exclusive bond between one man and one woman for procreation as reflected in the Bible.

"...the trend in the Western world and some Anglican churches in those contexts are being pressured into doing this, including our mother church of England. But for us in Uganda, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," said the prelate shortly after receiving the episcopal authority from his predecessor, Stanley Ntagali, who retired at 65 years.

Guest preacher ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach described Archbishop Kaziimba's enthronement as a historic occasion and commended the Church of Uganda for its faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"You have been a bright light for the world. You said no to disobeying the word of God, you said no to immorality, many wish their leaders would be like you...thank you for your boldness and your example," Archbishop Beach told the congregation.

You can read the full story here: https://virtueonline.org/uganda-archbishop-welby-and-archbishop-beach-clash-titans

*****

The Church of England's Synod might want to think long and hard as they ponder whether they will cave into a minority of pansexualists urging the Church to fully embrace homosexual marriage; more than 15 million Brits oppose same-sex marriage.

After six years of same-sex marriage in the UK and near-saturation in state and corporate propaganda about how normal same-sex families are, it is incredible to think that millions of Britons remain unconvinced.

The startling finding was made in a new YouGov poll commissioned by church same-sex marriage campaigner Jayne Ozanne. The survey showed that almost a quarter (24 per cent) of Brits are actively opposed to same-sex marriage, while a further 16 per cent say they don't know.

These figures, from a sample of over 5,000 people, represent the views of around 15.5 million people opposed and around over 10 million undecided.

*****

First there was the Methodists, then the Moravians and now it is the Presbyterians...will liberal Baptists be in TEC's future? As the mainline denominations slowly sink into the sunset, they are joining together like two drunks supporting each other. If one collapses, they both go down together.

This week, representatives of the Episcopal-Presbyterian Bilateral Dialogue met and considered how the two ecclesial traditions could partner with each other, considering the context of the 21st century Church.

That "context" includes abandoning Scripture on human sexuality, redefining sin and salvation. After that there isn't much left except of course endless angst about climate change and whether or not we all ought to be vegan.

*****

A trial that should shame all Anglicans. Remember that lovely, smiley American bishop who spoke at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle a couple of years ago?

And do you recall how he spoke so inspiringly, in the opinion of many, about love? Yes, how the words of Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church, soared with poetry in the chapel at Windsor Castle as he declared: 'When love is the way, there's plenty good room -- plenty good room -- for all of God's children.'

Turns out, however, that Bishop Curry seems to have forgotten his own sermon -- at least if his treatment of a fellow bishop in the US is anything to go by. For in a few weeks' time, the Bishop of Albany, William Love, will go on trial, after Michael Curry restricted his ministry just over a year ago.

You might rightly wonder about Bishop Love's crime. Was he siphoning off diocesan money, for example? Has he had a series of secret affairs? Does he not believe the Bible or deny that Jesus is the Christ? Has he, perish the thought, engaged in repugnant sexual acts with children?

But no. Bishop Love has done none of those things. Bishop Love stands accused of believing what most Christians -- Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, Evangelical, and indeed Anglican -- believe, and have always believed, about sex and marriage. His crime, if one can call it that, is not to permit same-sex marriages in his diocese.

You can read David Baker's piece here and then ask yourself why TEC can call itself a Christian denomination. https://virtueonline.org/trial-should-shame-all-anglicans

*****

Some of you may have read an article by a certain Julian Mann titled, Is GAFCON turning into a waffle shop? on the blog of Anglican Ink. It concerns the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox, meeting with the Archbishop of South America, Greg Venables. Wilcox is solidly evangelical, but was not entirely supportive of Franklin Graham coming to preach in Sheffield because of Graham's political views, views his father would never have told us about were he still alive. Billy stood above politics, even though his son said he voted from Donald Trump. Billy met with Barack Obama just days before he died, demonstrating his call to be above the political fray. Mann tried to position this as a slam against GAFCON. Not true.

VOL got in touch with Venables and he told VOL, "The person who wrote this is ex (CofE) Sheffield now ex FCE. It is a foolish piece of writing. The Bishop of Sheffield is here for us to get to know each other and see if we want the link to continue. So far I am impressed by his orthodox appearance." The moral of this story is be careful even when people claim to be on your side of the fence, sometimes that turns out not to be the case.

*****

The Anglican Church in North America continues to expand its footprint across North America and recently it solidified its footing in Mexico, announcing they now had nine parishes that country.

Four years ago, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) began a work to bring the gospel to Mexico, a country that is predominantly (92%) Roman Catholic.

The ACNA started with one congregation in Fresnillo, the second largest city in Zacatecas state in north central Mexico. The church had an average Sunday attendance of 200 plus and two house groups in Aguascalientes with an ASA of 15 and Guadalajara also with an ASA of 15, Bishop Mark Zimmerman, ACNA Bishop of the Diocese of the Southwest, told VOL. You can read the full story here: https://virtueonline.org/anglican-church-north-america-solidifies-footing-mexico

*****

In his February newsletter, GAFCON Primate and ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach said there would be no partnership with false teachers in the Anglican Communion. Some Anglican provinces are filled with those "practicing immorality", said Beach. We dishonor the Body of Christ if we stay in communion with them, he said.

The chairman railed against "false teachers" and those who "practice immorality" and partner with them, in his February newsletter to GAFCON followers.

The ACNA archbishop said Christian discipleship and leadership calls us to make disciples of all nations and requires us to protect the flock from false teachers. "Encountering false teachers is nothing new in the history of the Church. The New Testament is filled with exhortations regarding false teachers." You can read the full story here: https://virtueonline.org/gafcon-primate-says-no-partnership-false-teachers-anglican-communion

*****

Was Sir Edward Heath a closet homosexual? The Lord Bishop of Salisbury asked this; "My Lords, can the Minister explain how we will learn from the sorts of examples that we have had--for instance, the case of Sir Edward Heath in Salisbury--unless there is an independent review? In the past, we have been told that the Home Office cannot do that and that it is the responsibility of the police and crime commissioner. The police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire says that the police force there was acting as a lead authority on behalf of others. We need to accept that more than 40 allegations had to be investigated. How will we learn unless there is a review, and what can the Home Office do that will help to restore the reputation of both Sir Edward and, I have to say, Wiltshire Police?

In 2007, the Guardian ran a piece Out on the Heath? Did Tory prime minister Sir Edward Heath make a habit of cottaging on Hampstead Heath? (Cottaging is a homosexual slang term, referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory (a "cottage", "tea-room"), or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere.)

The charge was made by the Conservative London Assembly member Brian Coleman in an online column for the New Statesman. According to the Mirror, Mr. Coleman says it was "common knowledge" that Sir Edward had sex with men in public toilets, and only stopped when he was warned it would affect his political career.

The Mirror, which headlines the story Hampstead Heath, says friends of the former prime minister regard the allegations as "scandalous".

*****

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa spun off two Portuguese speaking dioceses into a new province, it was announced this week. The ACSA celebrated its 150th anniversary as a Province of the Anglican Communion with the news that dioceses in Angola and Mozambique are planning to "multiply", with plans eventually to form a new Province.

Since Portuguese is an official language in both countries, such a development would create the Communion's second Lusophone province, after the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil. (The Lusitanian Church in Portugal is an extraprovincial diocese under the metropolitical authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.)

There are at present four dioceses in the two countries: one covering the whole of Angola, and three -- Lebombo, Niassa and Nampula -- in Mozambique.

A communique released after the February session of the Synod of Bishops said that after a comprehensive overview of these "vast" dioceses, "the vision to multiply the number of Dioceses in Angola and Mozambique was motivated with conviction."

The communique added that the plea for expanding the number of dioceses "was enthusiastically received and endorsed by us. In time it is envisaged that growing the number of Dioceses in both areas will enable them to apply to form a united new Province."

ACSA was formed as the Church of the Province of South Africa in 1870.

IN other news, The Ven Joshua Louw, Archdeacon of the Waterfront in Cape Town, has been elected the new Bishop-elect of Table Bay, in the liberal province of Southern Africa.

Bishop-elect Louw was chosen on the third ballot in an Electoral College for the Diocese of Cape Town, held at the Synod of Bishops in Gauteng. The Bishops considered seven candidates for election, four of them women.

*****

In the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, a priest, the Rev. Gregory Lisby, pled guilty to child pornography possession, coupled with an abuse allegation.

Lisby had been living with his husband, then the rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Worcester, in the church's rectory with their two children when the FBI found nearly 200 images and videos of child pornography in a Microsoft account Lisby used, according to court records.

The Living Church updated the story this week with questions from a woman who wanted to know how Lisby came in 2019 to teach kindergarten at Morgan Elementary School where her four grandchildren are enrolled.

Lisby stunned the school community six days into the job last September by resigning at 2:30 A.M. with a note explaining: "I've been accused of an awful crime." Federal agents had raided his home, found a cache of illicit material and charged him with child porn possession. In February, Lisby pled guilty. He awaits sentencing, which could bring up to 20 years in prison.

Now DeJesus wants to understand why the Holyoke School District hired him. He'd lost his job as rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Worcester after a 2018 investigation found he'd violated boundaries and had an inappropriate relationship. To be restored to good standing in the priesthood, he would have needed to petition Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas Fisher after serving his two-year suspension.

She's also asking why that same Title IV disciplinary investigation didn't uncover more about Lisby's past. "Devastating credible evidence" that Lisby sexually abused a teenager has since come to light, according to the Rt. Rev. Fisher, but that evidence only turned up after the criminal probe began. Lisby's attorney, Timothy Watkins, did not respond to request for comment on the sex abuse allegation.

"Why didn't [the church] just keep on with the investigation and find out what was going on?" DeJesus said as she picked up her grandchildren at school a few days after the sex abuse allegation was announced. "Keep on track, you know? I mean, he comes to work in the public school system after you were already checking him in your church. Why let him keep on with what he was doing?"

At this point, the book on Lisby is far from closed. The Hampden County District Attorney could still bring charges of sexual abuse if a grand jury were to indict him. More accusations could potentially be passed along to law enforcement if any should surface in the current Title IV proceeding, which Fisher launched in February to have Lisby defrocked, or permanently removed from ordained ministry. The Holyoke School District has received no reports of Lisby harming any children during his brief tenure as a teacher, according to Taylor.

*****

The Diocese of Oregon announced a slate of candidates for XI bishop this week and lo and behold a daughter of lesbos is in the running. The "married" lesbian is The Rev. Canon Tanya R. Wallace, Rector, All Saints' Episcopal Church (Hadley, MA). She is one of three females who want the position. There is of course one token straight white male The Rev. Andrew T. O'Connor, Rector, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church (Wichita, KS). The odds of him getting it, well you can guess. The deeper truth is that having a homosexual or lesbian Episcopal bishop is now almost passe, nobody cares.

*****

CANADA NEWS. David of Samizdat, an orthodox Anglican blogger in Canada, writes about an Islamic call to pray in Vancouver's Christ Church Cathedral.

"No doubt about it, the Cathedral clerics are practicing for the year 2040 when, according to recent projections, the Anglican Church of Canada will cease to exist. Something will take its place and it will probably be Islam, so the church might as well get a head start and turn the cathedral into a mosque now."

The event was billed as an attempt to "improve interfaith understanding and constructive engagement".

Here is the Islamic call to prayer which, you will not be surprised to see, makes no mention of Jesus but makes much of Muhammad being the messenger of God, a contention which, if true, makes nonsense of Christianity.

God is Great! God is Great! God is Great! God is Great!
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Hurry to the prayer. Hurry to the prayer.
Hurry to salvation. Hurry to salvation.
God is Great! God is Great!
There is no god except the One God.

"The Muslims attending the event were there to explain Jesus to the Christians who attended. An odd choice considering that Islam teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross, was not resurrected, was not the Son of God and did not make atonement for the sins of the world."

Trash Wednesday. There is something about Ash Wednesday that brings out the worst in those Canadian Anglican panjandra who are desperate to create a spurious aura of relevance in a culture that has no use for them.

Here we have Ashes to Go from the Diocese of Toronto, brought to you by three McDonald's ex-employees who found their way into the Anglican priesthood to continue their fast food vocation in another form:

Instead of ash, the service used fake oil. "Like ash we are using oil, made from dead matter, as a symbol of mortality and of our struggle to live more compassionate lives."

Finally, this. Christ Church Anglican to conduct same-sex marriages. The rector, one Rev. Yme Woensdregt of Christ Church Anglican in the Diocese of Kootenay, thinks this is "quite wonderful" whereas, in reality for today's Canadian Anglican church, it is rather common-place and mundane. There is no wonder in it at all.

What is interesting about it is that it is billed as same-gender marriage, not same-sex marriage. Sex is, of course, determined by chromosomes but gender, we are told, is a social construct. The church has already moved on -- as I knew it would -- from same-sex marriage to the marriage of a biological man who identifies as a woman and a biological woman who identifies as a man. Or any possible permutation thereof. If you are not confused yet, I expect you soon will be when the ACoC concocts its next yet more inclusive and improved marriage menage.

And you thought that TEC had the corner on theological and moral insanity. Well no, it shares that honor with the Anglican Church of Canada.

*****

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