The statement by Dr. Williams this past week was the clearest warning yet - but the question is, is the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops listening?

Dr Williams has also been very critical of the possibility of a gay bishop being consecrated in the Diocese of California, said that if there is ever to be a change on the discipline and teaching of the Anglican Communion [on homosexuality] it should not be the decision of one Church alone. "The Church must have the highest degree of consensus for such a radical change," he argued.

Dr Williams added that he was also very uneasy about the way in which the church in America has pushed ahead with change over this issue.

The election of the new bishop must be affirmed by the Church's General Convention in June, with many warning that the approval of the Convention of a homosexual bishop may be enough to bring about a schism in the Anglican Communion and a fracture within the Episcopal Church itself.

The Archbishop of Canterbury also launched a scathing attack on Guantanamo Bay, branding the US prison camp an "extraordinary legal anomaly". Dr Rowan Williams said holding people who had not been found guilty, or allowed access to proper legal channels, set a dangerous precedent.

FOLLOWING MY STORY ON GRISWOLD and his consorting with gays in Paris and bringing them to the cathedral and being told to leave by the bishop, a number of people wrote to VirtueOnline confirming that they too, had heard the same story about Griswold.

THE UPCOMING MEETING of the new International Convocation in Overland Park, Kansas called by Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan of the Anglican Communion Network is not open to the press. Is it the first step in a new Anglican Province in the US? Representatives of more than seventy of the Anglican Communion Network's 1000 plus congregations will meet together to discuss their future. The ten dioceses and six convocations of the Network will shortly be joined by a seventh 'international' convocation," Bishop Duncan said. Is this the parallel province coming out party?

Fr. Bill Thompson, the Dean of the Western Convocation, said this: "This new structure will end the growing fragmentation among us and allow us to begin to live a new life of biblical servant ministry and mission for the sake of our Lord's sacrifice and compassion for those who do not yet know the joy of His salvation. The Primates who have been offering oversight have not only given their full support to the International Convocation but also have delegated their oversight authority to the offices of American bishops and archdeacons here in the United States. Those who join the IC will still be under the oversight of the Province and Diocese that has given them succor. The only difference is that these overseeing Primates and Diocesan Bishops have asked Bishop Duncan of Pittsburgh and Archdeacons to provide unified oversight for all those outside ECUSA."

Thompson said that these Archdeacons will function in the IC and will receive their authority to oversee the IC parishes in their archdeaconry from the four oversees primates through Bishop Duncan. "Who are going to be the archdeacons and what will be the boundaries of the Archdeaconries? It just so happens that the present deans of the Network will also be the Archdeacons of the IC, and the Archdeaconries will be co-terminus with the original Convocations."

THE NEXT GENERAL CONVENTION MAY WELL BE THE LAST for orthodox Episcopalians in the ECUSA. Word is coming down that the new configurations and realignment emerging through the Network is that no change of direction can be expected from the national church; that it will not repent as called for by the Windsor Report and therefore to all intents and purposes, attending future conventions is deemed useless.

VirtueOnline has learned that whatever comes out of General Convention regarding the Windsor Report that there will be no minority report, but the moratorium against further consecrations could continue. As things now stand there is still no resolution for the blessing and rites for same-sex unions, but things are still up in the air and that could change. If there is a resolution for a moratorium on the ordination of gay and lesbian bishops, and California goes ahead and ordains one such person, then the church would be in defiance not only of the Windsor Report but of General Convention! We shall see.

ECHOING CONCERNS that the Episcopal Church is spending money like water, the orthodox Bishop of Western Kansas the Rt. Rev. James M. Adams, Jr. wrote a blistering letter to The Living Church saying, "Here we go again. The Episcopal Church is getting to have its General Convention. A Church which has fewer than 800,000 people attending its churches every Sunday, will again spend tens of millions of dollars to have a nine or ten day meeting at which thousands of pounds of paper will be used and thrown away and resolutions which will long be forgotten, for the most part, will be passed. To get ready for this meeting, the House of Bishops will have met six times and the Executive Council will have met approximately 12 times, in and out of the country, and we know that these meetings cost well over $1.5 million collectively.

"So what will be done? What will be accomplished? Will any of the problems of the past three years be resolved, or even discussed? Will the worldwide Anglican Communion who and what the Episcopal Church is all about when it is over, or will be recognizable as an Anglican Church at all?

"Who will be the Presiding Bishop? And will it make a bit of difference? Will the Episcopal Church continue the trend of the past 40 years, when we have spent $30 million per year to lose congregational strength? And how will the Kingdom of God be moved forward and God glorified by what goes on in Columbus?

"Time will tell.....or is time up? It is time to say what the Church (the Episcopal Church), which calls itself Anglican, is all about, and if it truly Anglican? Does it even care? We as a Church are being called to stand up for what we believe and have faith to live. What will we say? We might as well make some solid decisions. We have spent enough of God's money to get it accomplished, don't you think?"

ANOTHER BISHOP has thrown his hat in the ring to be the next Presiding Bishop. The Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls, Bishop of Lexington apparently wants to wear the Supreme Miter. He wrote: "This week I received a letter saying that several of my colleagues have nominated me by petition as an additional candidate. I have not sought this nomination, and indeed, I have others plans that excite me greatly, both with you in mission and to use my upcoming sabbatical to study canon law in Wales. I do not know if I have a call to be Presiding Bishop, and I am not even asking myself that. What I am asking myself is if I am called to let the Church decide if I have gifts that might be useful to it at this particular moment." Oh the modesty. Sauls consented to the consecration of Gene Robinson, so he will be no knight in shining armor ready to rescue the orthodox in their time of trial.

THERE IS GROWING OPPOSITION to the Episcopal Church's possible affiliation with abortion rights Group at GC2006. The 75th General Convention will be asked for an up-or-down vote on the recent decision by the Executive Council to approve membership for the Episcopal Church in an abortion rights organization.

The Rev. Patrick Allen, rector of St. Joseph's, Hendersonville, Tenn., told the annual convention in the Diocese of Tennessee that he was "profoundly troubled" to learn he was supporting an organization "which promotes an act we believe to be gravely contrary to Christian morality." Speaking on a point of personal privilege, Fr. Allen said the Executive Council decision to join on behalf of the Episcopal Church served to "preempt dialogue, further dividing an already polarized Church by taking away one more plot of middle ground upon which we could meet and seek in charity to persuade one another."

Delegates to the recent Diocese of San Diego convention wants General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, "to confirm or deny" the Executive Council decision to join the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) on behalf of the Episcopal Church. That decision was made during a regularly scheduled Executive Council meeting Jan. 9-12 meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.

Disassociation from membership in the RCRC has already occurred in the Diocese of Springfield. On Feb. 11, the diocesan council approved a resolution "on its own behalf and on behalf of the Diocese of Springfield" to disassociate from membership in the RCRC. Under the canons of the Diocese of Springfield, the council is authorized to act on behalf of the diocese when the diocesan synod is not in session. The Diocese of Springfield held its annual synod Oct. 28-29. The Living Church contributed to this report.

A REPLY TO FR. TRIPP OF ATLANTA: A VirtueOnline reader, incensed by what Fr. Norris had to say about my article on his bishop wrote the following. "Tripp Norris' comments are not as straight-forward as he might like to make them seem. First, I challenge his statement that a new church has been founded in our diocese every year of Bp Alexander's time here ... his is the only one I know of, and he leaves out the point that portions of several churches have left since GC 2003 ... Bp Lyons of Bolivia has at least 3 churches in this diocese and there may be 5. Also, Norris fails to tell you that his church is in the fastest growing area of GA, an area that has grown from almost nothing to close to 70,000 people in less than 10 years. So even though his church has grown significantly, it has not kept pace by any stretch of the imagination with the general population growth. Finally, Norris says the Atlanta Diocesan budget is normalizing, but that is only after a canon was passed taking away the vote of any church who doesn't contribute the 10% required after the first year and making the parish "aided" after the second year."

"If Jesus were alive today, he would have been a rapper."--The Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam, bishop suffragan of New York. Just when you thought you had heard it all, along comes the The Hip Hop Prayer Book touted by the bishop as "a powerful evangelism tool, developed at Trinity Church of Morrisania in the birthplace of Hip Hop, the South Bronx, The Hip Hop Prayer Book offers a means to worship that will draw in the young and speak to those not generally spoken to by the Church, said the bishop. Really. Look what they have done with the 23rd Psalm adapted by Ryan Kearse:

The Lord is all that, I need for nothing. He allows me to chill. He keeps me from being heated and allows me to breathe easy. He guides my life so that I can represent and give shouts out in his Name. And even though I walk through the Hood of death, I don't back down for you have my back. The fact that you have me covered allows me to chill. He provides me with back-up in front of my player-haters and I know that I am a baller and life will be phat. I fall back in the Lord's crib for the rest of my life.

Public burnings of this Prayer Book available on request. IN AN EXTRAORDINARY DISPLAY OF ANGLICAN UNITY the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, (CEEC) Province of Saint Peter, ordained Deacon Allen Lincoln and Deacon Andrew Kosarik to the sacred order of Deacons. The new Deacons are both Masters of Divinity graduates of Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge Pennsylvania. The ordinations took place recently in Shields chapel, Edgeworth, Pennsylvania. The facility is an Episcopalian chapel within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The ordaining Bishop was the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, Anglican Mission in America (AMiA). Bishop Rodgers is a long time friend of the CEEC, and former Dean of Trinity School for Ministry. He acted on behalf of the Most Reverend Dr. Russell McClanahan, presiding Bishop of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. The preacher was the Rev. Dr. Rod Whitacre, professor at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and a priest in the Reformed Episcopal Church.

"The unity expressed by this celebration is in keeping with the convergence vision of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches and in keeping with the very essence of our belief in Communion," acknowledged Abp. Russ McClanahan. "Most, if not all, of those involved in the ordinations would describe themselves theologically as Evangelical, Charismatic and Sacramental." This celebration of God's mission was truly a blessing to all who participated.

AND FROM PITTSBURGH BISHOP ROBERT DUNCAN comes this message.

To orthodox Anglicans everywhere, and especially in the US:

Beloved in the Lord,

The late pontiff, John Paul II, took as the message of his pontificate the invariable message of the angels: "Do not be afraid." It is time for us all to listen to that message. Our anxieties are creating untold problems for us as we project our fears onto the words of others, bringing vast confusion and risking untold damage on our sodality.

There is apparently great fear that I, as Bishop of Pittsburgh and Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, have somehow reversed or changed direction. Let me speak for myself. Nothing could be further from the truth. (Folks are reading me through their own fears and words that others are speaking.) My heart is no less brave in March 2006 than it was in September 2002 (Rosemont), August 2003 (Minneapolis), January 2004 (Bedford), February 2005 (Dromantine) or October-November 2005 (Cairo-Pittsburgh). They say that past behavior is the best indicator of future leadership. Remember the past record before you assess today's trajectory. Don't lose heart. Be not afraid. Courage breeds courage. In all of this, there's just an audience of One.

Blessed Lent! Affectionately in Christ, +Bob Pittsburgh

SPIN FROM PENNSYLVANIA. This writer has said that a "year of reconciliation" was being pushed by Bishop Clayton Matthews in the Standing Committee's desire to get rid of Bishop Charles E. Bennison. But a local rector wrote this to VirtueOnline: "There is no known document where Bishop Clay Matthews has called for a "year of reconciliation." Just the opposite: he has yet to present any formal recommendations to the Standing Committee. This whole "reconciliation" idea is all spin that has no source in Bishop Matthews.

IN NIGERIA the Government has proposed a law to ban homosexual relations and same-sex marriage, in what the justice minister says is an attempt to avoid such practices spreading to the country from the West. Said Justice Minister Bayo Ojo, "Basically it is un-African to have a [sexual] relationship with the same sex. If you look at the holy books, the Bible and the Koran, it is prohibited." Priests or other clerics or anyone helping to arrange such a union would be subject to jail. An on-line article from the newspaper Nigeria First said, "This progressive legislation is expected to put a check on homosexuality and lesbianism, a deviant social behavior fast gaining acceptance in Western countries." Opposition to gay relations is deep-rooted in Nigeria, with the bulk of the north's Muslims and the south's Christians united in their hostility toward homosexuality. The government's move to criminalize same-sex marriage and homosexual relations comes as the country's Anglican Church is leading global opposition to same-sex marriage and ordination of gay priests in the West. The 17-million-strong membership of the church in Nigeria is second in size only to that of the Church of England.

Washington Bishop John Chane recently condemned Primate Peter Akinola for taking a stand against sodomy and accusing him of intolerance. "The archbishop's support for this law violates numerous Anglican Communion documents that call for a "listening process" involving gay Christians and their leaders. But nowhere does the "listening" process mean an endorsement of the behavior. The "listening" process might just conclude that the behavior is aberrant, dangerous and the lifestyle has no biblical basis. If so, would Chane conclude that the Listening post in London is also intolerant?

In today's digest you can read the blast a group of orthodox laity fired back at Chane about his article in the Washington POST.

THIS PAST WEEK I attended the annual convention of the DIOCESE OF NEW JERSEY held in Cherry Hill, NJ where I had the opportunity to meet with the remnant of orthodox priests and their wives. They by and large had good things to say about their liberal Bishop, the Rt. Rev. George E. Councell. Basically he leaves them alone to let them get on with the job, and apparently doesn't want to get into legal battles over property and other issues. They realize of course that they will never win any resolution battles and that was apparent in that delegates rejected two resolutions calling for moratoriums on blessing same-sex unions and on the ordination of "any person who is in a sexual relationship other than holy matrimony."

The Rev. Peter T. Manzo, the orthodox priest of St. Bartholomew's Church in Cherry Hill was among the sponsors of the moratorium resolutions. Voting against the moratorium would be like cutting the strings of a kite, he said. "This may be the last convention of the Diocese of New Jersey as we now know it," said Manzo. You can read a full report on what happened in this diocese in today's digest. Sociologist, evangelist and author Tony Campolo gave a rousing sermon on the need for a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and to keep the church's pressure on concern for the poor of the world.

In the DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER, NY things are getting downright nasty with the bishop Jack McKelvey filing a lawsuit this week asking for the property of the former All Saints Protestant Episcopal Church in Irondequoit to be returned to him. He wants the property, which was an Episcopal parish BEFORE the diocese ever came into being. The parish was voted out of the diocese in November, so the property - including religious records - should be returned and the legal corporation of the parish should be dissolved, the suit states. You can read the full story in today's digest.

From the DIOCESE OF FLORIDA, a former priest, the Rev. Bob Coon, who left the ECUSA and formed Holy Cross Anglican Church in Tallahassee, Florida wrote to say that his first services on Ash Wednesday and the first Sunday in Lent went beyond their expectations. "We had 180 on Ash Wednesday. We took time to bless our new worship space before we officially began Lent. On Sunday 250+ came to celebrate and have lunch together. It was a glorious day and a tremendous beginning."

The EXECUTIVE COUNCIL of the Episcopal Church met in Philadelphia this week and your scribe tip-toed to the Warwick Hotel (one of the more expensive in the city) and listened to the proceedings. Listening to PB Frank Griswold, outgoing House of Deputies president George Werner and other Episcopal luminaries talk, one would never think there was a problem in the church. Glowing reports from ERD, Women's caucuses and much more preoccupied their time. Anglican Consultative Council chairman John Paterson personally apologized, for a second time, at the bad treatment the Episcopal Church received at Nottingham last year, calling Frank Griswold, ECUSA's Presiding Bishop, "a man of integrity, with a faith that is insightful, and a mind that is able to communicate that faith." When I discretely inquired what they thought of Dr. Rowan Williams' recent remarks that the Anglican Communion was heading into rupture over homosexuality no one seemed the slightest bit concerned or had an opinion. They just shrugged it off.

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