He first visits the Episcopal Church, the former mainstay of the mainline denominations that has declined significantly in recent years. He learned how they reasoned away tradition and Scripture, how "contemporary virtues [like] tolerance have won out over biblical admonition," and how "admonitions to holy living suddenly become hate speech." They have followed all the popular trends, yet they have become unpopular, he writes.

Shiflett goes on to visit with Orthodox, Catholics, Southern Baptists, and other traditionalists who still believe in the unchanging, omnipotent God who revealed Himself in infallible Scripture. The same God who was preached in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. "Such old-fashioned, rigid beliefs should marginalize their adherents in our open-minded, indulgent culture. But people are flocking to such churches, even if they don't agree with everything that is preached there. People obviously prefer a powerful God."

Shiflett concludes that people will not go to church on Sunday to sit on a hard pew to hear what they could hear from their television or read in a newspaper while sitting on their comfortable couch. For religion to capture their interest, it must have a higher standard than the nightly news. It must demand something of them; it must impact their entire lives.

The result is Episcopalians are leaving the church in droves. The best figures we have are that as many as 100 Episcopalians a day are leaving the ECUSA, that's the equivalent of one church closing every day.

Mr. Shiflett is absolutely right and you can read my article on precisely that issue in today's digest.

IN THE DECLINING NUMBERS game in the Episcopal Church, it is important to make at least one serious distinction. It is not the number of parishes that are closing their doors that is the central issue it is the number of dues paying Episcopalians walking out the door that is the biggest factor.

For example, closing 30 parishes in the Diocese of Newark with 20 - 25 people in them is not nearly as significant as one parish - St. John's in Tallahassee, Florida - losing 1,600 members in one weekend! That's big. Or take what happened in the Diocese of Northwest Texas. Bishop Wallis Ohl lost his biggest parish St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, and then pled that without their money the whole diocese would be in trouble.

Now you should know that the vast bulk of Florida Bishop John Howard's diocese comes from two geographic areas, Tallahassee and Jacksonville, and the majority of them are orthodox in faith and morals. Now that should have Howard worried.

If the big orthodox parishes begin to pull out, fight him for the properties or walk away with 75 percent of the parishioners, he is in deep trouble. The rest of the diocese is Hicksville small parishes, mostly liberal and going nowhere. Howard needs the big parishes and their money to make his financial world go round, and if he loses them some of his six figure salaried staff might just have to go. The new Anglican Alliance of North Florida is bound to be giving him a headache. Pass the Scotch and Ibuprofen please.

In the DIOCESE OF OHIO one parishioner wrote VirtueOnline with the following about Bishop Hollingsworth and the Church of the Annunciation:
1. They can appear to oppose gambling, but take over the benefits.
2. They reclaim some financial losses from dying parishes.
3. They can hold Simon Oketch, Bishop of Maseno North "accountable" for his unauthorized visit to Ohio and displace fellow parish priest Kenyan Abraham Fiodemo.
4. They can shut down a parish based local newspaper, daycare center, art school, and young boy and girls youth activities. The parish is really left lifeless.
5. Bishop Hollingsworth does not have to test his "reconciliation" techniques in his home diocese.

In the DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA Bishop Peter James Lee is allowing the former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. George Carey to provide for a supplemental confirmation service at 6:00pm Sunday, November 20, 2005 at the Falls Church. The bishop is allowing any congregation to participate. All you have to do is ask for it.

Now Lord George, who is evangelical, and Bishop Lee who is liberal, are not exactly working off the same theological page so this is being viewed as an olive branch to the large wealthy evangelical parishes in the northern half of the diocese who don't want Lee to come a calling. Lee is mindful that if he ticks off his large dues paying orthodox parishes, the likes of which include The Falls Church, Church of the Apostles and Truro Church he could have a fight on his hands worthy of what is happening in the Diocese of Florida and even he can read the tea leaves. By allowing Lord Carey to come he eliminates the possibility of conservative parishes rejecting him by their telling him they do not want him to come. Rumor has it that Lee is going to call for the election of a coadjutor at the January Diocesan Convention 2006. If that is the case he would have the perfect case for not pursuing any discussions with conservatives for the foreseeable future in order not to tie the hands of the next bishop. QED

Visiting the DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA this past week was the Primate of Ireland, Robin Eames. He delivered a couple of lectures at Virginia Theological Seminary titled THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION: WHAT COMMUNION? And THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION: A GROWING REALITY. In these lectures he admits the communion is at a cross roads and could go either way. He portrayed the ECUSA and Canadians as the aggrieved parties. He said, "As one who has long valued the contribution of North America to the Anglican Communion I share the pain of ECUSA and Canada." What about the REAL pain they have both caused the entire Anglican Communion!

Eames said he hoped Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, would reconsider his recent actions in which he removed all references to communion with the See of Canterbury from its constitution, replacing them with a provision that placed the church in communion with all Anglican churches, dioceses and provinces that "hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacrament and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." Eames said this could damage efforts to keep the Anglican Communion intact. "I was personally very, very anxious when I heard about this development," Eames said. "What happens when an individual province redefines orthodoxy? It is cutting across the due process that I and others have lived by." Really.

What about the major league "redefinition" ECUSA has done to Holy Scripture and the entire communion for consecrating V. Gene Robinson, the pain of which has resulted in 22 provinces declaring themselves in impaired or broken communion with ECUSA, not to mention what the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches also think about ECUSA's actions. You can read Eames lectures at this link: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3067

In the DIOCESE OF CENTRAL NEW YORK, VirtueOnline has been watching for some time now the antics of the bishop there one Gladstone "Skip" Adams. He inhibited a priest, the Rev. David Bollinger a priest for 20 years at St. Paul's, Owego, NY for financial irregularities allegedly to shut the priest up after he had a dispute with the bishop at last year's diocesan convention following allegations of a sex abuse scandal, which the priest says Adams is trying to cover up. VirtueOnline has the whole story including revelations as to who the priest was who allegedly sexually assaulted 16 young men. The diocese is in disarray and, like a lot of revisionist dioceses, is in financial free fall. You can read the full story in today's digest.

A PROPERTY TASK FORCE with legal overtones, set up by 28 bishops of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops at their recent meeting in Puerto Rico, is an ominous admission that the Episcopal Church might come apart at the seams with millions of dollars being spent on lawsuits over divided and fleeing parishes who believe that the Episcopal Church has abandoned the historic Christian Faith.

The House of Bishops created a 10-member task force of attorneys and other experts to help defend the Episcopal Church and its dioceses against attempts by congregations or other dioceses to secede from the Episcopal Church with their property. You can read the full story in today's digest.

A resolution resolutely stating that PROVINCE VII will remain in the Anglican Communion and requests General Convention comply with the Windsor Report was passed by an extremely large margin at last week's pre-Convention meetings in Dallas. The resolution was authored by the new BISHOP OF THE RIO GRANDE, Jeffrey Steenson. This diocese will meet next week and consider this resolution, now backed by large Province majority, said a priest in Santa Fe. Here is the proposed Resolution.

"Resolved, that this 2005 Convocation of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande memorializes the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church to reaffirm its constitutional obligation to be a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, in communion with the See of Canterbury, and to respond positively to the findings and recommendation of the 2004 Windsor Report. The resolution also urged the General Convention to recognize the very real possibility and the danger of "Walking Apart". [Windsor Report, p. 157].

In the DIOCESE OF ARKANSAS St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville recently became the first congregation in Arkansas to support a rite of blessing for gay couples. Although St. Paul's is the first of the state's 55 churches in the Episcopal Church USA to approve a rite of blessing for same-sex couples, it is not the first congregation in the state to consider holding such ceremonies. Congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Fayetteville and Little Rock have offered commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples. This has Bishop Larry Maze's whole hearted approval of course. Does this mean that the Episcopal diocese and the UUC might enter into a covenant? Theologically, it would appear, the two don't seem that far apart.

THE HOPE AND FUTURE CONFERENCE is filling up fast. The conference is set to take place Nov. 10 -12 at the convention center in Pittsburgh and thousands have signed up to go. Among the featured speakers is Baroness Cox of Queensbury who has a deep concern for the persecuted in Sudan. Keynote speaker Rick Warren will add flavor to the event and VirtueOnline will obtain an exclusive interview with him for its readers. Go to www.anglicanhope.org or call 1 800 946 3754. A bevy of international Anglican archbishops will also be in attendance along with such evangelical luminaries as Canon Michael Green and Joni Eareckson Tada.

AN INVESTMENT PANEL of the Episcopal Church has recommended against divesting church investments in companies that profit from Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories. The Social Responsibility and Investments Committee said in a report that "the goal is for selected companies to change behavior resulting in a more hopeful climate for peace. If the church simply divests, nothing positive has happened." Instead, the committee suggested adopting a strategy of "corporate engagement," that would encourage companies to adopt practices that bring about "positive changes in Israeli government policy", "as well as urging the Palestinian Authority to oppose violence as a means of resistance." Several mainline Protestant churches have angered Jewish leaders by researching divestment as a way to create pressure on Israel. The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church and its Social Responsibility in Investments (SRI) committee have taken a lot of heat over divestment ideas, and recently the Bishop of New York Mark Sisk recently reversed the church's official Israeli bashing stance by arguing fully against divestment. The action, which affirms "positive investment" and "corporate engagement," came on October 8 during the council's fall meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

COMPARE ROMAN CATHOLIC and Episcopal attitudes to homosexuality and you get a study in contrasts. A forthcoming Vatican document on homosexuals in seminaries will not demand an absolute ban, a senior Vatican official told the National Catholic Register. But they will insist that seminary officials exercise "prudential judgment" that gay candidates should not be admitted in three cases.

Those three cases are:

* If candidates have not demonstrated a capacity to live celibate lives for at least three years;
* If they are part of a "gay culture," for example, attending gay pride rallies (a point, the official said, which applies both to professors at seminaries as well as students);
* If their homosexual orientation is sufficiently "strong, permanent and univocal" as to make an all-male environment a risk.

In any case, the Vatican official said, whether or not these criteria exclude a particular candidate is a judgment that must be made in the context of individual spiritual direction, rather than by applying a rigid litmus test.

By contrast the Episcopal Church does not demand celibacy of its gay clergy; it does attend gay pride rallies and it sees homosexual orientation as no ban to anything. The Rev. Canon David Roseberry of Plano, Texas was with a fellow clergyman in NY this summer and wrote this to VirtueOnline: "As we were wandering the streets we came upon a giant gay parade. As we walked along viewing the hundreds of men in underwear and dresses, we came upon a float that was sobering, actually shocking. The float said, "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You." Across the top of the float it said, "The first gay ordained bishop, Gene Robinson." I wondered if the diocese [of New Hampshire] sponsored this float. Sad.

THE ANGLICAN MISSION IN AMERICA will hold its 2006 Winter Conference January 11-15 in Birmingham, Alabama. This major annual event continues to draw an ever widening circle of attendees from the United States, Canada, South America and around the world, says Jay L. Greener, Communications Director.

"This year's event will feature plenary speakers and workshops to help hone tools for evangelism and church growth as the AMiA continues to focus its efforts on planting new congregations and reaching out to the un-churched and hurting." The theme of "Pressing on Toward the Goal" the five-day event will feature opportunities for worship, encouragement and challenge.

The Rev. Dr John Richardson, Pastor of St. Peter's Anglican Church (AMiA) in Birmingham is hosting the conference. The following plenary speakers are scheduled to appear: Timothy George founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at Stamford University in Birmingham, AL. and author of 20 books, has a passion for raising up young leaders for the mission of the church. Graham Tomlin from Holy Trinity, Brompton, England will speak on evangelism. Ron Sylvia, founder of Church at the Springs in Ocala, Florida, has planted 10 daughter congregations. Ron has trained thousands of church planters and is the author of Starting High Definition Churches. Dan Southerland , Director of Church Transitions, an organization committed to helping churches transition from what they are to what they can be. He is author of Transitioning: Leading Your Church Through Change. Bishop Chuck Murphy will share his address on the vision for the Anglican Mission. This is a vital annual presentation to bring us all up to speed on the state of the mission. The Winter Conference 2006 will also draw nine Primates from the Anglican Communion. Based at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Birmingham, special room rates have been arranged and can be obtained by calling (205) 324-5000 or by booking a room online through the Anglican Mission website, www.anglicanmissioninamerica.org. Separate online registration for the conference is also available through the AMiA website. For more information visit the web site or call 843-237-0318. The appearance of some nine primates is significant and indicates that the AMIA has come of age and can no longer be considered a mere side show in the realignment of North American Anglicanism.

Recently the AMIA announced a new church in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Christ Church officially "launched" on Sunday, September 18th. After months of preparation, prayer and hosting two "preview services" over the summer, Christ Church opened its doors to about 180 persons in attendance. To put that into Episcopal Church perspective, that's the equivalent of two parishes (average size 77 parishioners). Christ Church is a "daughter church" of All Saints Church, Pawleys Island, which sent out thirty households to join the launch team of this new church plant. Somebody's been reading their Acts of the Apostles.

AT TRURO CHURCH in northern Virginia, Judge Clarence Thomas once a practicing Catholic has been attending the charismatic Episcopal church, for about a year, says David Corn in THE NATION magazine. "On a recent Friday night, several hundred suburbanites gathered in Fairfax, Virginia, to sing battle songs. 'We are an army of salvation,' they chorused. 'Lead us into battle,' they roared. The congregation vowed in song that they would fight until every nation is on its knees before Jesus Christ. During prayer, one worshiper cried loudly, 'Lord, bless Clarence Thomas in his hour of need. . . .'

". . . Charismatics are instructed to heed orders. On one tape, the Rev. Brian Cox, associate rector of a sister church, the Church of the Apostles, exhorts Truro's congregants to obey unquestioningly God's commands. 'When the father tells you to do something,' Cox says, 'you don't argue with him... You don't need to know why.' During a 1987 sermon at his church, according to two people who were there, Cox preached that the goal of charismatics is to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth, adding, 'The Kingdom of God is not a democracy.' After that sermon, he embraced a member of his flock, Oliver North. On another tape, Os Guinness, a 'Christian author,' examines 'the problem of constitutionalism.' By 'problem' he means that the U.S. Constitution has no 'transcendence' because it does not rely on religious values."

IS HARRY POTTER GAY? A British cleric turned top-selling author of supernatural children's novels was thrown out of a school where he was delivering a talk after he told pupils that Harry Potter was "gay."

The Rev. Graham Taylor, who penned the novel "Shadowmancer" which, like the tales of the famous boy wizard created by J.K. Rowling, centers on witchcraft and battling evil, got his marching orders after teachers accused him of homophobia.

"As for Harry Potter, well, he's not the only gay in the village," the former Anglican priest told children at Penair School in Truro, southwest England, referring to a catchphrase from the popular British comedy TV show "Little Britain."

"We were very disappointed to have to curtail a visit from Mr. Taylor," the school said in a statement." The seven staff from the school who were present were very embarrassed and uncomfortable with what was being said.

"The remarks that were made were thought by the staff to be offensive and were well below the standards that we expect of responsible and thoughtful adults working in our school."

Taylor, whose book topped the UK book charts for 15 weeks with the film rights also sold for £2.25 million ($4 million), was unrepentant and accused staff of censorship.

IN ENGLAND African Anglican John Sentamu was confirmed as Archbishop of York last week amidst a formal legal ceremony in London, the Ugandan Archbishop said, "We are living at a time of great opportunity and challenge for the Church of England, and I am looking forward to working with the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops, laity and clergy to take forward the mission of the Church to our nation. "The Christian gospel has the power to transform people's lives, and to transform our nation. We in the Church need to play our part in communicating that gospel in both words and actions, and to speak out and work for justice. Together, we can help people of all kinds to respond to God's invitation in Jesus Christ." The new archbishop did say he has been receiving a load of racist hate mail since his appointment but he will fight on undeterred.

Also in England the Compass Rose Society met in London with more than 80 Anglicans from Canada, Hong Kong and the USA. They met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, and the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, and heard reports on theological education and communication.

Now a photo VirtueOnline received showed New Westminster bishop Michael Ingham standing there with a big grin on his face! What happened to this heretical bishop and his province that was asked to step back from the Anglican Communion till he repents of his action in performing same-sex blessings? Nothing apparently. It's business as usual. And you wonder why Nigerian primate Peter Akinola is hopping made with the C of E and the ACC. This only feeds the alienation.

IN THE MIDDLE EAST a new Anglican Church Center is to be built in the State of Qatar in the Arabian Gulf. According to the Episcopal News Service the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf the initiative arose from the generosity of the country's Ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who ensured an allocation of land for churches and church communities in Doha, the country's rapidly-developing capital.

Embarking on the first such construction of church premises in the country since the seventh century, the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf has drawn up plans for a development on the site. The Anglican Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf, the Most Rev. Clive Handford, said that the center will also be used for interfaith dialogue.

AND JUST when you think that Jack Spong was off the radar screen, the controversial bishop's life is the focus of a new play. Larry B. Stammer, Staff Writer for the Los Angeles Times said that when word leaked out the protests started as soon as playwright Colin Cox e-mailed churches to announce the opening Sunday of his new play. "I can't tell you how excited I was to get your e-mail," went one sardonic reply. "I misread it and thought that Bishop Spong had died and was being memorialized in the play. Sadly, I was mistaken." At 74, Spong, the retired bishop of Newark, N.J., continues to rile many Christians with his denial of the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of Jesus and a God who works miracles and exacts punishment. His critics call him a heretic. The title of the play is "A Pebble In My Shoe." Some of us think it should be called "Rocks in my head - How I managed to destroy the Episcopal Church in my Lifetime."

CHICAGO Mayor Richard Daley mistakenly welcomed a Palestinian nationalist group whose leader denies Israel's right to exist in the Holy Land by sending greetings to a Sabeel conference at the Lutheran School of Theology. "Sabeel masquerades as a peace group, but its founder, Anglican Canon Naim Ateek, has portrayed Israel as a baby- and Christ killing nation that blocks the political salvation of the Middle East," says Dexter Van Zile, Christian outreach director of the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership and member of the United Church of Christ. "He has also denied the Jews' right to live in the Holy land and encouraged his Muslim countrymen to fight the Israelis during the Second Intifada. This is not the language of peace."

NIGERIAN PRIMATE Archbishop Akinola disclosed a letter he had written to the Archbishop of Canterbury at a news conference in the Nigerian capital of Abuja following the Church's triennial synod. In it Akinola stated his Church's decision to delete references to the Archbishop of Canterbury from its constitution had been misconstrued by some as a prelude to schism by Nigeria. This was not true, he said, as the Church of Nigeria "treasured its place in the Anglican Communion."

AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY wrote to the Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Akinola, assuring him of the Church of England's orthodoxy, pledging he will not put the Anglican Communion at risk by altering its teaching on marriage.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH has announced the nomination of Dr. Allen C. Guelzo, the Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College, to the National Council on the Humanities. The Council serves as an advisory board to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and is composed of 26 scholars, artists, writers, and composers who serve staggered six-year terms. Dr. Guelzo's nomination goes now to the U.S. Senate for confirmation. Dr. Guelzo was a priest in the Reformed Episcopal Church but was later ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church by the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman (Quincy). Dr. Guelzo was not permitted to practice as a priest in the Diocese of Pennsylvania when he lived in Philadelphia and taught at Eastern University. PA Bishop Charles Bennison does not share Dr. Guelzo's orthodox views on just about anything related to the historic Christian Faith and banned him from his pulpits.

CORRECTION: The Anglican Alliance of North Florida, mentioned in my last digest is not under the authority of any bishop. It is just a loose association of parishes still in ECUSA but in the network along with two AMIA parishes and the new Anglican parish of St. Peters in Tallahassee. "That may change after GC2006 but at the present time they are just a loose association of orthodox clergy and parishes who strongly support Fr. Dudley and St Peters." My statement in Viewpoints jumped the gun, writes Max C. Karrer, M.D. VirtueOnline regrets the error and is happy to make the correction.

THE VIRTUEONLINE WEBSITE crossed a threshold this week. The 8 millionth hit at the website marks a milestone in the life of this ministry. Webmaster Robert Turner noted that VirtueOnline, as the Anglican Communion's largest Biblically Orthodox Online News Service, will be read by 2,000,000 readers in 45 countries in 2005. In 2004, VirtueOnline had 1,000,000 readers.

Stories written by this writer, and posted to the website, are each being read more than 3,000 times before they are sent out to the digest. The email digest goes out to thousands each week, and the website receives more than 20,000 daily hits.

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