Of the Son's 'identification' with the world into which he was sent, there can be no shadow of doubt. He did not remain in heaven; he came into the world. The word was not spoken from the sky; 'the Word was made flesh'. And then he 'dwelt among us'. He did not come on a fleeting visit and hurry back home again. He stayed in the world into which he came. He gave men a chance to behold his glory. Nor did he only let them gaze from a distance. He scandalized the church leaders of his day by mixing with the riff-raff they avoided. 'Friend of publicans and sinners', they dubbed him. To them it was a term of opprobrium; to us it is a title of honour. He touched untouchable lepers. He did not recoil from the caresses of a prostitute. And then he, who at his birth had been 'made flesh', was in his death 'made sin' and 'made a curse'. He had assumed our nature; he now assumed our transgressions, our doom, our death. His self-identification with man was utter and complete. Therefore when he says to us 'Go', this is what he means. --- From "Our Guilty Silence" John R.W. Stott

Academia, with the help of the media, has labeled all reference to manly virtue as patriarchal, sexist, and homophobic. Womanly virtue, on the other hand, is extolled. Caring, compassion, sensitivity, and understanding are virtues meant to blur the distinction between good and evil and drown out the call of manly conscience to "do the right thing." Like a mother who refuses to see the evil in her son, the feminist professors cast all moral standards as relative and subjective. --- Tom Hoffman for American Thinker

William Stringfellow reminds us again and again that nowhere is the Word not speaking and present and active in working to bring all into conformity by redemption to God's will. This world and the world are God's in Christ Jesus despite all appearances, despite our denials, despite our not knowing, despite our sins, despite our open rebellion. This is what we, Christ's own Body, are called to profess and proclaim and most importantly, hymn: "Jesus Christ is Lord." By those four words as creed, empires have been brought to their knees and oppressions made to cease, by them we laud Christ as head and only and blessed: Holy, holy, holy.

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
June 4, 2010

The Archbishop of Canterbury kicked the ball into the long grass. His moment came and went. He has refused, once again, to come out publicly against the ecclesiastically, morally and spiritually deficient Episcopal Church. From Gene Robinson to Mary Glasspool, Dr. Williams has ducked, bobbed and weaved. His Pentecost message resolved nothing. It was a wrist slap for PB Jefferts Schori and a diminution of TEC's role in the councils of the church. It all amounts to nothing. Once again, he is endeavoring to put everything off till God knows when. Ironically, TEC's liberals are angrier about Williams' message than the orthodox. They are outraged that Rowan would slap them without an accompanying strong smack at the Global South's fundamentalism over homosexual prohibition.

Similarly rooted in relativism is the Anglican Church, where Dr. Williams is attempting to apply sanctions to member congregations that deviate to either the left or the right (so to speak) of the so-called worldwide consensus established within the Anglican Communion on how best to handle homosexuality.

Neva Rae Fox, the Episcopal Church's program officer for public affairs, said that an Episcopal Church response is not expected at this time. As the week wore on, it became apparent that the Presiding Bishop would not let Williams go unanswered. On Wednesday, Jefferts Schori issued a pastoral letter to The Episcopal Church, titled "Pentecost Continues."

She took umbrage at Williams' understanding of Pentecost, arguing that Pentecost is "a continuing gift of the Spirit, rather than a limitation or quenching of that Spirit," ergo; homosexuality is good and right in the eyes of God.

Said Jefferts Schori, "The Spirit does seem to be saying to many within The Episcopal Church that gay and lesbian persons are God's good creation, that an aspect of good creation is the possibility of lifelong, faithful partnership, and that such persons may indeed be good and healthy exemplars of gifted leadership within the Church, as baptized leaders and ordained ones. The Spirit also seems to be saying the same thing in other parts of the Anglican Communion, and among some of our Christian partners, including Lutheran churches in North America and Europe, the Old Catholic churches of Europe, and a number of others."

You can read several commentary pieces on Dr. Williams' message and that of Jefferts Schori in today's digest.

One commentary piece I urge you strongly to read is that of the Rev. Charles Raven, a British commentator. His piece "Disorganized Doubt" brilliantly captures what Williams says and the theology that underpins it. The story can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/2ercyhf

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Following a three year sojourn in the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop Dan Herzog has returned to the Episcopal fold. VOL obtained an exclusive interview with him. He is proof that you can take the man out of the Anglican Communion, but you can't take Anglicanism out of the man.

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The Bishop of Milwaukee Steven A. Miller is in a lather about a Sunday worship service at Nashotah House, the official TEC Anglo-Catholic seminary in Wisconsin. A new Sunday worship experience at The House got bloggers talking and whispering. With rumors flying, e-mails zipping across cyberspace and letters between several bishops, VOL got an exclusive on the whole story. Bishop Ed Salmon noted that while Nashotah House is an Episcopal-related institution, it is not under the authority of a diocesan bishop. Bishop Miller believes he was blindsided. The full story can be read in today's digest.

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Should he or should he not be allowed to continue to serve on the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council, now that he is a bishop? A minor storm has erupted over whether the newly anointed Bishop of Connecticut, Ian Douglas, should step down. He is a professor of missiology at the Episcopal Divinity School, a clergy delegate to ACC-14, and has served on a number of pan- Anglican commissions including the Lambeth 2008 organizing committee.

When asked whether he should have to step down from the ACC's Standing Committee due to his change in status from priest to bishop, Dr Douglas told CEN he would remain in place. "Election to the Standing Committee by the ACC is irrespective of orders. Therefore, if I am elected the episcopal ACC member from TEC by the Executive Council in June, then I remain on the Standing Committee," he said.

The truth is that not only is Douglas's position largely irrelevant, so is the ACC. The Global South have all but given up on anything good coming out of the ACC as it is largely in the hands of the Communion's liberals and the Episcopal Church and upholds gay and liberal agit-prop for their liberal paymasters. Canon Kenneth Kearon is more concerned about the 60% of his budget funded by TEC. He won't upset that apple cart for anything in the world.

The usurpation of powers by the Standing Committee has irritated Global South Anglican leaders. It is fair to say they will simply isolate and ignore anything that comes from the ACC for the foreseeable future.

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Anglican Church of Canada will debate gay marriage when they gather for their tri-annual General Synod today. Approximately 375 voting delegates are expected to address the subject of same sex unions in the context of the church's long-term vision. The hope is that the synod will come up with a statement that encapsulates the opinions of all members.

At the last national gathering in Winnipeg in 2007, a divided Anglican Church of Canada ultimately decided on a technicality not to give individual dioceses the right to decide for themselves whether priests should be allowed to bless same-sex unions. Two dioceses have since interpreted the vote as a draw and are now blessing same sex unions, while others are considering the idea. The church's overall shift to the left of the political spectrum has prompted more conservative elements to break away and join the Anglican Network in Canada.

However, Anglican ex-gays will make their case at the upcoming Synod. The Zacchaeus Fellowship said in a statement that the Anglican Church of Canada must hold to the church's historic teaching concerning sexuality. The Zacchaeus Fellowship describes itself as a fellowship of men and women who hold to the church's historic view on sexuality in the face of former or present struggles with same-sex attractions.

"We have encountered Christ in our lives, and have found new life in him. We take Romans 12:1-2 seriously and our experience is that faithfulness and obedience to Christ is the only sure way to spiritual fulfillment and happiness."

Their full statement can be read in today's digest. In a message to Canadian Anglicans, Archbishop Fred Hiltz called on leaders to take courageous and concrete actions at the upcoming Synod. He asked delegates to address poverty, address climate change prioritizing long-term environmental sustainability, to address factors that feed cycles of violent conflict and costly militarism, and to invest in peace.

"Our deep desire is that 2010 be a year of monumental progress in addressing these issues. We will assure world leaders of our commitment to pray for them, to follow their deliberations and to support new actions in working together for the good of all humanity." There was no mention of the Great Commission to save souls or grow the church. Meanwhile, more legal attacks on orthodox parishes are expected in Canada.

The Diocese of Ottawa has commenced legal action against two ANiC parishes in Ottawa. Both St Alban's and St George's received notice on May 26, 2010, that the diocese is suing them for ownership of their church buildings. They wish to evict the faithful congregations that became members of ANiC in 2008.

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Nothing but the dames at York Synod. It still could go either way. The issue of women bishops will dominate their forthcoming meeting in York. The Bishop of Durham, Dr Tom Wright, has said he would prefer to delay a decision on women bishops, in contrast to the House of Bishops' statement last week (News, 21 May). In a diocesan address he said: "Like many bishops who are in principle committed to the ordination of women to the episcopate, I do not think I have yet seen the scheme which would enable us to proceed as one body, without further and deepening division, without straining one another's consciences. . . I hope and pray we will be able to square that circle, and I would rather get the right answer in two or three years' time than the wrong one tomorrow. I really do believe that ordaining women is the right thing to do; but St Paul's insistence on how adiaphora ['things that don't make a difference'] works prohibits me from forcing it on those who in conscience are not ready for it. And the answer here, I believe, is a proper theological argument, which we have not yet had."

Background. The legal office at Church House, Westminster, has issued a legal briefing paper, explaining the functions of each clause in the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure. It can be found at: www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/july2010/gspapers/gs1708ax.pdf.

Writing in New Directions George Austin said that this is the most crucial and dramatic year that the Church of England has had to face since the Reformation, a year which will make it or - more likely - break it.

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Episco-Disco in TEC. Yoga classes and dancing at churches after dark occur as moonlight leads the way to California Grace Cathedral's 1-ton bronze Doors of Paradise. Behind them, dancers are swaying on the labyrinth as a reverend pins ephemeral techno music. A black-and-white art film flickers on the church wall. Couples quietly stroll the aisles in private conversation, while others play high-tech hide and seek, text and send photos from pew to pew.

It's not your grandmother's church - it's Episco Disco, a monthly nondenominational gathering of people in their 20s and 30s designed to take the fear factor out of church and to embrace young people's religious fluidity.

From synagogues with Super Bowl parties to churches with Charlie Chaplin film festivals, houses of worship are recasting themselves as places to socialize at night in response to Generation 2.0, which is increasingly turning away from their parents and grandparents' strict adherence to one faith and describing themselves as "spiritual," said Paul Giurlanda, professor of religion and modern life at St. Mary's College in Moraga.

This sampling or blending of multiple faiths is a cultural shift recently documented by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, and brought on by a blurring of ethnic and class lines, combined with instant Google access to information about every possible religion.

"The new spiritual communities will be very different from the old ones: less permanent, less restrictive, less directive," Giurlanda said. "And when people get what they want out of them, they will simply move on."

The majority of Episco Disco-ers are not church members of Grace Cathedral, or any church. "It's important that people feel they can come to a sacred space and be themselves before God," said the Rev. Bertie Pearson, 32, a former concert promoter and club hopper who created Episco Disco as an outreach ministry for the Diocese of California.

"A lot of my friends are deeply spiritual, and that manifests itself for them through music and art," he said. "They don't see themselves as denominations, they have their own private relationship with their God."

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An article in the Huffington Post, written by liberal aficionado and Episcopalian Diana Butler Bass extolling the virtues of Mrs. Jefferts Schori over Rowan Williams in their current "Pentecost" battle, brought this response from a VOL reader: "Rubbish. The esteemed bishop of Arizona has opined that this is the 'storm before the calm,' that most Episcopalians (indeed, most Anglicans) don't give a wit about homosexuality. The strategy is now to 'mainstream' this heresy, hoping that knuckle-dragging Christians will just capitulate. 'Conservative' or 'traditional' parishes will simply retreat to their sinecures ('an ecclesiastical benefice without cure of souls') and shallow the tripe that Schori and her minions spew that TEC is 'reaching out' to traditionalists. Such a viewpoint belies the power of the Holy Spirit. As you have often said, God will not be mocked." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-butler-bass/rowan-williams-katharine-jefferts_b_600115.html

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For the fifth year in a row, the government of the city of Moscow has defied the international homosexual lobby by refusing to issue a permit for a "gay pride" parade. Nokolai Alexeiv, the organizer of the event, said that the permit was denied because of risks to public order, as well as security concerns.

Gay pride marches are often scenes of public lewdness, in which participants violate nudity laws and engage in simulated and even real sex acts in public. The mayor's office has denounced homosexual behavior as "satanic" and said that it spreads disease. The refusal of the Moscow government to permit homosexual marches has received the unambiguous support of the religious leadership in the city, Christian and non-Christian.

*****

World churches begin a week for prayers for peace in Holy Land. Initiators of a World Week for Peace have urged Christians to pray and act for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. The call is "timely", they said, after a number of peace activists were killed when Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip this morning.

"We are uniting our voices with others, to speak with one voice against the injustices being suffered by the Palestinian people living under occupation for now more than 43 years," said Rev. John Calhoun preaching at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva to mark the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel (WWPPI) on 31 May. You can read Mike McManus's take on what happened on the high seas this past week. It can be read here or in today's digest. http://tinyurl.com/2bgx67e

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Thousands of young British women living in the UK decide to convert to Islam. It's a controversial time for British women to be wearing the hijab, the basic Muslim headscarf. Last month, Belgium became the first European country to pass legislation to ban the burka (the most concealing of Islamic veils), calling it a "threat" to female dignity, while France looks poised to follow suit. In Italy earlier this month, a Muslim woman was fined €500 (£430) for wearing the Islamic veil outside a post office.

While less than 2 per cent of the population now attends a Church of England service every week, the number of female converts to Islam is on the rise. At the London Central Mosque in Regent's Park, women account for roughly two thirds of the "New Muslims" who make their official declarations of faith there - most of them are under the age of 30.

"Our liberal, pluralistic 21st-century society means we can choose our careers, our politics - and we can pick and choose who we want to be spiritually," explains Dr Mohammad S. Seddon, lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Chester. We're in an era of the "religious supermarket", he says.

The question is where in God's name are the CofE's evangelists? The church is arguing over women bishops, most of whom couldn't lead a Muslim to Christ if their lives depended on it. All the while the spiritual darkness in England grows daily. God help the Church of England.

*****

On a brighter note, the ACNA will hold Diaconal Ordinations at St. Stephen's , Sewickley, PA, at 10 a.m. on June 5. The four ordinations to the transitional diaconate include: Constance Keck Hughes (Trinity, Beaver), James Perry Russell (Seeds of Hope), Teresa Lynn Russell (Seeds of Hope), and James Wilson Kuahiwi Apple (St. Christopher's). Archbishop Robert Duncan will preside.

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Dear Colleagues

We are writing to commend to you the support of Archdeacon Peter Gur from the Sudan to complete his studies at St Paul's University, Nairobi.

As you will be aware, Southern Sudan has been through turbulent times. A 21 year civil war ended in 2005 with a Comprehensive Peace Agreement. A referendum will take place in 2011 to determine the future, whether Southern Sudan will become an independent nation.

During the war, theological training was naturally at a minimum. The Episcopal Church of Sudan counts 4 million members among the population of 12 million. The ECS has a critical role in the future of the country.

Archdeacon Gur is completing theological studies at St Paul's Nairobi. He has just over one year of this three year course for a BD to complete. BD's are not offered in Sudan at the moment.

Anglican Mainstream has supported his training for the past two years, with the support of individuals, a trust and a church. The remaining costs are £2700 for his fees and £2000 for living expenses. If you would like further details of his calling and testimony please email csugden@anglican-mainstream.net to receive them. Would you be able to help him to complete his training with a donation of £20 or more through Anglican Mainstream (which can be Gift Aided) at 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE, or through Paypal on www.anglican-mainstream.net, specifying Sudan Theological Education Fund

The letter is signed by Dr. Chris Sugden and Dr. Vinay Samuel

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The PERFECT Patron Saint for Anglicans. Who could be better disposed to watch over our motley clan than the Patron Saint of Dysfunctional Families, Saint Eugene de Mazenod. A child himself of divorcing parents, hee spent his youth seeking refuge in Italy, along with his father's family, during the French Revolution. His father, born to the French nobility, and his mother, herself enthrall to her own wealthy, ambitious and controlling bourgeois mother, married for convenience, not love. Before answering the call to the priesthood, de Mazenod lived alternately in high luxury and extreme poverty. A sort of clerical entrepreneur, de Mazenod asked that his first assignment after ordination NOT include parish work, so that he would be free to work among youth and the poor at large. He later would establish the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, an international religious order of men whose many ministries included offering retreats and spiritual direction at a spectacular retreat center here in Minnesota, Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo.

As TEC began breaking apart in the aftermath of General Convention 2003, Bishop Keith Ackerman of Quincy was among those who quipped, "We're leaving, and we want the house, the bank accounts, and the kids." Conservative Episcopalians, whose spiritual kin reside on both sides of TEC's ecclesial divide, unfortunately are well-acquainted with the squabbles of their parents, both in court and out. Saint Eugene de Mazenod offers a wonderful spiritual companionship to conservative Anglicans as we now live in the aftermath of an ecclesial divorce.

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The Provincial Board of the Anglican Fourth Day Movement of the Anglican Church of North America has announced that Archbishop Robert Duncan will be the special guest speaker for the Friday evening banquet at the first Provincial Ultreya.

Arrangements have been made with St. Vincent's Cathedral in Bedford, TX, near the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, to host the three day event Friday, August 13th, 14th and 15th. The program will include teaching, worship, fellowship, and networking.

According to Ken Herbst, Provincial Board President, "Everyone is welcome to attend who is interested in advancing the Fourth Day Movement whether inside or outside of the Anglican Church. We want to reaffirm the original intent and structure of the movement we love so we can continue to advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through His church."

Additional information can be found in the attached issue of the A4D Pilgrim and going to the Provincial A4D webpage at: http://www.anglican4thday.com/

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From the Diocese of Recife comes this word. "This week we are celebrating 200 years since the first British chaplaincies arrived in Brazil and 120 years since the first service in Portuguese for Brazilians. In 1810 the Portuguese king (Brazil was a colony of Portugal at this time) allowed the presence of British chaplaincies in his territory. On the first Sunday of June 1890, pioneer missionaries from the Episcopal Seminary of Virginia, Lucien Lee Kinsolving (later to become the first Bishop) and James Watson Morris, held the first service for Brazilians in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state. In the latter half of the 19th Century, Kinsolving and Morris joined free evangelicals, Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists who were also preaching the Gospel in the nominally Christian and syncretistic country. "

The aforementioned churches have remained true to their evangelical roots to the present day. The national Anglican Church, however has broken with its evangelical heritage and wholly embraced theological liberalism. In contrast, the evangelical Diocese of Recife, which sees itself as standing in the tradition of Bishop Kinsolving, commemorates these important dates for Anglicanism this Saturday with a clergy fellowship meeting and a thanksgiving service in the Anglican Cathedral of the Good Samaritan, Recife.

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In Christ,

David