The uproar that ensued was predictable. British evangelicals excoriated Dr. Williams for his action, but a report that said evangelicals in the Diocese of London had asked London Bishop Richard Chartres to prevent Robinson from speaking was inaccurate. They asked that Robinson address the meeting in a secular venue, not in St. Martins. The evangelicals could not then be accused of trying to stifle free speech.

Evangelical churches first asked Bishop Chartres to write to Robinson asking him not to come at all because of his being the center of disunity in the Anglican Communion. A source in London told VirtueOnline that evangelicals pointed out that his visit would be hugely embarrassing for those who wished to stand on the authority of Scripture, and secondly, it would give an entirely erroneous perception to the Church in Africa and the Global South that evangelicals in London condoned and welcomed the visit of Robinson. They did not.

The final result was that the bishop of London did the minimum in that when he became aware of the pending visit, he told Robinson that he was not allowed to preside at the service at St Martins, which was to celebrate 10 years of "changing attitudes," and he was not allowed to preach but could only speak afterwards. He spoke on the chancel steps as opposed to the pulpit. The event was advertised in the liberal Church Times.

The rector of St. Martins, a liberal, was very annoyed with the London Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship for not writing or speaking to him before they wrote to the bishop of London, but it was seen as an entirely episcopal matter and further, the bishop is the patron of St. Martins. The diocesan bishop does have the power to forbid another bishop to come into his diocese.

"We praise the Lord in that it did not do too much damage for orthodoxy and offered a very limited amount of 'oxygen' for the opposition," said a member of General Synod for the Diocese of London.

HOWEVER, this did not stop Robinson from going on a verbal rampage in England accusing the pope (whom he called "Pope Ratzinger" instead of Benedict XVI) of being "vile" because of the Roman Catholic leader's stand on homosexuality. Robinson said, "Pope Ratzinger may be the best thing that ever happened to the Episcopal Church." Robinson also told Dr. Williams that he had lost only one parish in his diocese, but he failed to mention the dozens, perhaps hundreds of individual Episcopalians who are leaving parishes in his diocese because of his in-your-face stand on homosexuality.

He said homosexuals would eventually be fully welcomed in the church but warned that it may take some time. "This is going to end with our full inclusion," he said. "We won't live to see it, but it's going to happen."

Bishop Robinson insisted that his consecration had not damaged the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire and said it had gained members while losing only one parish! Really. "We are quite a happy group," he said. "We may be the only diocese in the Anglican Communion that is not talking about homosexuality. It is settled for the people of New Hampshire." Nonsense. Sodomy is emptying churches in the United States, including his own diocese. Just about every diocese in the ECUSA is in disarray over the brokering in of pansexual sinful behavior with departing parishes, fleeing individuals, and lost income sometimes in the millions of dollars.

The facts about the DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE are these. It is one of the smallest dioceses in EUSA, with only 49 parishes. It claims more than 12,000 communicants in good standing but average Sunday attendance is less than 5,000! If Robinson thinks his election is a no-brainer he should ask Florida Bishop John Howard what his election is doing to Howard's diocese. Before it is all over Howard will lose fully a third of all his parishioners. Furthermore, gays are not flooding into ECUSA. Most already belong to the Metropolitan Community Church, and only a handful of Episcopal parishes run by gay and lesbian priests are seeing a minor uptick. Nationally the Episcopal Church is losing the equivalent of a parish a day with 100 or more fleeing Episcopalians. That's not chump change. And if more gay bishops are elected to office, watch for the numbers to sink even further.

WHILE Robinson was busy bashing the Roman Catholic Church in London and praising sodomy in general, across town in South London. the Church of England faced a highly "irregular" but nonetheless valid ordination of a number of clergy because they oppose homosexuality.

A parish imported Bishop Martin Morrison, from the Church of England in South Africa, to conduct an ordination service for three men. It was seen as an act of defiance against the bishop of Southwark, the Rt. Rev. Tom Butler, who normally performs all ordinations in his diocese but who some conservatives regard as too liberal on the issue of homosexuality in the Church.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, is expected to be drawn into the row over the "valid but irregular" ordinations, which could mark the beginning of the formal split in the Church over gays. Significantly, the ordinations have the backing of the conservative evangelical grouping Reform, which endorsed them at its conference this week. Reform insiders are predicting that many similar actions could follow in the dozens of Church of England parishes aligned with Reform throughout the country, writes Ruth Gledhill of the London Times.

AND TO COMPLETE THE PICTURE IN ENGLAND, VirtueOnline has learned that when the consecration takes place later this month of the ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, Uganda-born Dr. John Sentanu, that no African archbishop will attend because ECUSA Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold plans to go. Only Ugandan Archbishop Henry Orombi will attend, but he will not vest, the source said.

This is clearly the new face of schism. The ECUSA and Canada have chosen to walk apart, and so the orthodox bishops of the Global South will not be seen with Griswold, will not have koinonia with him, and will certainly not share Eucharist with him. Now they won't even be seen in the same church with him. Does anyone see a picture emerging here?

SEXUAL ABUSE is not just the province of the Roman Catholic Church, apparently. The most recent figures reveal that among all Protestant denominations 838 clergy have been indicted. These are findings from national surveys by Christian Ministry Resources (CMR).

And the "winner" is 251 for "Bible" Church ministers (fundamentalist/evangelical). There were 147 Baptist ministers, and following a close third was 140 Anglican/Episcopalian ministers. As ECUSA is the by far the smallest numerically of these groups, it is, as a percentage of the whole, far higher than the others.

ON THE ECUSA HOME FRONT in the DIOCESE OF WESTERN KANSAS, where the Rt. Rev. James M. Adams presides, the bishop has apparently told the clergy that anyone who speaks negatively of him will be subject to discipline. A source told VirtueOnline that 11 clergy voted against the motion that would have had the diocese join the "Network," but those who did are afraid to talk. They have received word that it would be best for them to keep their mouths shut. "Western Kansas is a pretty quiet place right now -- with many fearful about their positions," said the source. So now we see intimidation as another catchword for revisionist bishops.

In the DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA, at the diocesan convention on Saturday, Bishop Charles "Chuckles" Bennison got gob-smacked not once but twice. A threatened mandatory assessment on all parishes was overwhelmingly defeated by delegates to the convention. Apparently liberals and conservatives don't like his reported financial mismanagement of the endowment and seeing it being spent for non-designated purposes. The budget was also roundly defeated for the same reason. The mandatory assessment was set up by Bennison to "punish" wealthy orthodox parishes into paying 12 percent down to zero per cent for liberal parishes that will now go out of business, and should.

Here's a line that is worthy of deep thought from Lou Temme, Director, Trinity Center for Urban Life: "Parishes are admitted to Convention so that they can become a part of the Episcopal denomination in this five-county area. The ministries that happen through the Diocesan budget are things that are best done by pooling our local resources. The Convention decides what that ministry should be and how much we will spend. It is only fair that we find a method that will fund the ministries that we determine should be done on our behalf through the Diocesan budget. Resolution R-4 is a way of funding our agreed common ministries."

The implication of this is that being part of the Episcopal Church is being connected to diocesan convention. So parishes that are not admitted to convention are not part of the Episcopal Church? If a parish is expelled from convention for, say, not paying its dues, it necessarily follows that the diocese forfeits its claim to the property of that parish, a claim that is based upon the parish being part of the national church. It'll be interesting to see this tested in a court of law. Bennison might just have bitten his own backside on this one.

The "visionary" bishop who once said the church wrote the Bible and could rewrite it; that Jesus was a sinner who forgave himself, and who has written his own Visigoth Rite to marry just about any sexual combination you can think of, went down in flames with no fire extinguisher at his own convention. In his address he told the diocese that if it wanted him to resign he would. The only remaining question is how long will the Standing Committee put up with this idiot savant? In the meantime Bennison will start taking his begging bowl to wealthy orthodox parishes and threaten them, but the giving is back to voluntary, and there is not a lot he can do about it.

And in the DIOCESE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, Bishop Creighton L. Robertson told delegates to the diocesan convention that there would be a deficit budget of $1.3 million. He asked delegates to draw up plans for increased giving to the church. According to a report in The Living Church, he told 250 delegates at the Pierre Hotel that "dwindling finances, fewer available grants, and eroding national church support are issues small dioceses will need to face" in the coming years. According to the 2005 Red Book, the diocese has 88 parishes and claims more than 6,700 members in good standing, but actual average Sunday attendance is only 2,600. Can you imagine that being the case in Uganda?

In Philadelphia this week Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi told a high-level gathering of economic development leaders that his province now has 9.2 million PRACTICING Anglicans, up from 7 million just a few short years ago. Compare that to the Episcopal Church which claims 2.3 million members but ONLY 800,000 PRACTICING Episcopalians, and it is sinking. It's enough to shock the system. He also told a symposium of global leaders that his country has been successful in fighting AIDS through preaching abstinence and faithfulness in marriage. You can read a story about in today's digest.

The DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO is looking at a $4.5 million deficit in 2006, a source told VirtueOnline. New Bishop James R. Mathes, formerly Canon Mathes from the Diocese of Chicago, has increased the expected church contributions to the diocese from 10 percent to 12 percent to cover the problem.

In the DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES the IRS sent a letter of warning to All Saint's Episcopal Church in Pasadena, probably the most in-your-face gay Episcopal parish in the United States that its tax-exempt status faces examination after a 2004 anti-war sermon. The IRS cited a sermon delivered by a guest preacher on October 31, 2004, the Sunday before the 2004 presidential election, after a local newspaper reported on the sermon, as evidence that an inquiry was warranted. The IRS has alleged that the sermon may have contained "implicit" intervention in the 2004 presidential election because it contained references to the two major candidates' positions on certain moral issues, and it reminded the congregation they need to consider their values when voting. All Saints Church spokesman Ed Bacon denies that any regulations were broken and affirms its First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion. The parish has hired lawyers to appeal its case. The liberals are now getting hammered from the state as well as the civil courts.

THE NATIONAL Episcopal Church is going to be asked to apologize for its "complicity" in slavery at the GC2006 Convention with the possibility that economic "benefits," or reparations, should be shared with black Episcopalians.

A resolution was approved last Monday by the church's Executive Council that asks the church's General Convention to express "profound regret" for its support of slavery that was partially rationalized using Scripture. The church wants to mark a "Day of Repentance and Reconciliation." Slavery and the Civil War split many churches into northern and southern branches, including Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians, while the Episcopal Church managed to stay intact. The money part might be a little difficult to manage for the national church as it would need to deep into its trust funds to pay for the guilt. Those benefits "would essentially be reparations, although some do not want to use that word," said the Rev. Kwasi Thornell chairman of national concerns for the Episcopal Church. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold said the move could be "costly ... in terms of our immediate resources." Will someone please bring the check book to the Trust Funds to GC2006?

IF YOU THINK LUNACY is strictly in the Episcopal Church read this: "Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, N.Y., a congregation that has lost nearly half of its members in the past 10 years will observe a 'Transgender Day of Remembrance' during its worship service on Nov. 20." The mainline denominations seem bent on extinguishing themselves. But the United Methodist Church recently dealt a blow for orthodoxy and upheld two rulings by the denomination's highest court –- one defrocking a lesbian minister and the other supporting a pastor who refused to grant membership to an openly homosexual man –- as evidence that United Methodism is not moving in the direction of the Episcopal Church and declining liberal Protestantism in the West.

Both rulings were handed down by the Judicial Council, reversing previous decisions by a United Methodist appellate court and a Virginia bishop. They were key rulings in upholding United Methodist teaching and polity that homosexual practice is sinful.

THE ROYAL road show tour of Camilla and Charles gave St. Columba Church in California its moment in the sun when the couple said prayers and sang hymns during an hour-long Sunday service in the village chapel. On the seventh day of their U.S. visit, the couple sang hymns and said prayers at the parish church in Inverness, near San Francisco. However, the former archbishop of York, Lord Hope of Thornes, said in England last week that Camilla should not be crowned queen when Charles becomes king. Oh dear; more tea, please.

IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, The Anglican Church of the Resurrection, formerly Good Shepherd Episcopal, has found a leased space to use for its worship space and for its parish activities. It is now in the process of furnishing the space appropriately for those purposes and will begin worshiping there regularly this month. Fr. Paul Walter took most of the congregation and became an AMiA parish a year and a half ago. He has thriven despite losing in a property suit with the Diocese of Missouri. There are now three AMiA parishes in St. Louis, which are reaching out to the orthodox in the Episcopal church and to the larger unchurched community, a source told VirtueOnline.

IN CANADA this week there was some truly good news. Orthodox Bishop Terry Buckle of the Yukon was voted metropolitan over British Columbia and the Yukon. He now has authority over five dioceses, including the infamous New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham. Metropolitans have the power to discipline bishops in their areas. In recent years, Archbishop Buckle and Bishop Ingham clashed over the issue of same-sex blessings. After New Westminster voted in 2002 to allow such ceremonies, several dissenting parishes asked Bishop Buckle, a theological conservative, to come into the diocese to perform such episcopal acts as confirmations. Bishop Ingham barred him from visiting parishes in the diocese, and Bishop Buckle was threatened with disciplinary action from then-metropolitan Archbishop Crawley. Well, now the boot is on the other foot and Buckle can give Ingham the boot. Ya gotta love it. Here's how the voting went: There were 21 electors, and three votes, with a simple majority needed for election: Round 1: Buckle - 9; Ingham - 8; Cowan - 4. Round 2: Buckle - 10; Ingham - 8; Cowan - 3. Cowan withdrew. Round 3: Buckle - 13; Ingham - 8. Buckle elected. You can read the full story in today's digest.

REFORM UK, the evangelical C of E movement, supported the Diocese of Recife at its recent conference in England. The Reform conference approved the following motion: "This Conference Commits itself to assisting Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti and his clergy in the ministry of the Diocese of Recife in Southern Cone, by raising funds for clergy housing, salaries and seminary books, to replace funds that have been lost as a result of their principled stand against both the consecration of Gene Robinson and the Province of Brazil's support for that consecration." Reform has 1,000 members and some 600 clergy.

ARE WE SEEING the beginnings of a Clash of Civilizations taking place? France in Flames, bombings in London, Australia discovers bomb supplies, Indonesia attacks, 911. In the current issue of City Journal, Theodore Dalrymple concludes a piece on British suicide bombers with this grim summation of the new Europe: "The sweet dream of universal cultural compatibility has been replaced by the nightmare of permanent conflict." This sounds an awful lot like a new Dark Ages, says Mark Steyn. In the meantime Frank Griswold blames American foreign policies for the anger and rage of Islam. When they come for him, there will, of course, be no one left to speak for him.

You have to wonder if Frank Griswold is in the early stages of dementia these days. He was in South Korea recently and said this about policy toward North Korea: "Support and promote a nonaggression pact that will move all parties toward a comprehensive peace formally ending the 'state of war' that has existed since 1953 by following through in the current negotiations to pledge not to preemptively attack the DPRK in exchange for the DPRK's abandonment of its nuclear weapons program ... refrain from demonization of the DPRK in favor of supporting the building of relations between the north and south which hold the promise of peace and reunification ... make every effort to invite the DPRK into the international community as a full member so that the country can develop and pursue internationally recognized norms and standards for its people to enjoy..."

Someone should tell Frank that North Korean President Kim Il-sung has slaughtered and starved more than 2 million of his people in the name of a failed communism. There must be something in "pluriform truths" that we may have missed.

IN FLORIDA, Calvary Anglican Church in Jacksonville got off to a great start. The Rev. David Sandifer, 39, held his first service last Sunday after breaking away from the DIOCESE OF FLORIDA. About 240 people turned out to hear him preach on being just the church. He took all 160 members and walked away from the church property. They now meet at the University of North Florida. Bishop John Howard has agreed not to depose or inhibit Sandifer or the other fleeing priests before next January.

SOME 50 lay leaders and clergy from 7 churches and 3 church plants gathered October 27-29 for the first Northeast Network meeting of the ANGLICAN MISSION IN AMERICA. The group gathered at St. John the Evangelist Church in Huntington Valley, a suburb of Philadelphia. The main speaker was Bishop Thad Barnum, with sessions devoted to organization, coaching, strategic planning, and equipping for mission. Anglican Bishop Sadok Makaya from Tanzania was present. An interim steering committee was established to serve the network in the creation of its leadership team, and a resource team was established to lead in financial stewardship for the network. The AMIA's growth, while the Diocese of Pennsylvania goes into decline, should cause some heartburn downtown.

WORD on the street is that The Anglican Digest is in financial trouble. Apparently South Carolina Bishop Ed Salmon has sent out letters asking for financial help. The magazine is basically a piece of Episcopal stained glass window fluff with a large readership. Kendall Harmon is the editor.

THE NEXT TIME I WRITE to you all it will be from the Anglican Hope conference in Pittsburgh where some 2,200 will gather. I will be posting stories daily to the website: www.virtueonline.org.

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT and send a tax deductible donation to VirtueOnline, the worlds largest and most widely read Anglican Online News Service. We reach out to thousands each day through the website and through a weekly digest of stories. Without your support we could not do this. Please be generous.

You can send your donation to:

VIRTUEONLINE
1236 Waterford Rd
West Chester, PA 19380

OR you can make a donation through PAYPAL at the Web site: www.virtueonline.org.

Thank you for your support.

All blessings,

David W. Virtue, DD