Anglican Mainstream

From AAC

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Recently I wrote of the harm that abortion does to the mother and father who take the life of their unborn child, and the healing that can come from confession and repentance. A reader wrote me almost immediately as follows:

"Thank you for your articulate and straightforward article on the harm that abortion has on mothers and fathers as well as the unborn child. I was one of those women that received God's forgiveness, grace, and mercy through the Forgiven and Set Free program at St. James and not a week goes by that I am given an opportunity to sharing this healing ministry with others in agony over their actions. Thank you for reaching out to those who are still burdened and in pain for their earlier decision, especially the fathers who are often forgotten about in the process and for letting each of them know there is hope on the other side of all the tears. May the Lord continue to bless you as you speak out on this issue and may the lives of many be made whole once again by our Lord's love and forgiveness."

God's grace in action can touch many lives where the door is left open even just a crack.

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From AAC

Within the orthodox Anglican family there are a number of issues that have general agreement, and some that don't. Within the family, there seems to be general agreement on the sanctity of life. This subject encompasses concern for the unborn child and also concern over capital punishment. There is broad agreement about the sacredness of the life of the not-yet-born child, innocent and helpless within the safety of his or her mother's womb. There is less agreement on the issue of capital punishment, with some entirely against it …and others strongly supportive. The orthodox Anglican family in the United States is divided on the latter issue, but increasingly committed to the former, where the innocent unborn are at risk.

By Robert H Lundy, AAC

The Anglican Communion Standing Committee met in London from July 23-27 for what proved to be a telling event. As the meeting progressed and information from sources inside and outside the meeting emerged, the dominance of biblical revisionists and Episcopal Church allies within the committee was made clearer and clearer.

Before the meeting began, the orthodox voice and witness on the committee had already been diminished by the resignations of the Bishop of Iran, Azad Marshall, and the Archbishop of West Africa, Justice Akrofi. These two resignations from the 14-member group only compounded the effect of the earlier resignations of Archbishops Henry Orombi (Uganda) in December, 2009 and Mouneer Anis (Jerusalem and the Middle East) in February of this year. These resignations were not the only concerns going into this meeting.

At its last meeting in December of 2009, the Standing Committee violated its own constitution in electing a priest, the Rev. Canon Janet Trisk (South Africa), as a replacement for a lay representative to the committee.

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From AAC

There is much positive progress to report in the Anglican realignment, with the orthodox Anglicans coming together and becoming stronger. The maturing of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is proceeding apace and showing that it has real staying power. At our recent meeting in Amesbury, Massachusetts, the ACNA gathering took part in the installation of Bishop Bill Murdoch as the diocesan in his new pro-cathedral. The feeling as the service progressed was "this is us"-this is the ACNA growing and expanding, and now the New England area has a cathedral and a settled bishop.

Additionally the ACNA approved and welcomed two applicant dioceses, the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes (ADGL) and the Anglican Diocese of the South (ADOTS). These dioceses have the potential of having some churches fully seated as members, and other churches maintaining ties to another ACNA judicatory for the time being-having dual citizenship if you will. In ADOTS, some of the churches that I have covered as a CANA bishop are maintaining ties to CANA, but are also partner parishes with the new diocese. This allows a transition time that avoids abrupt endings of established relationships.

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By Phil Ashey, AAC

Just last Friday I concluded my Chaplain's Corner article "The Writing is on the Wall" with an appeal for credible leadership and governance structures within the Anglican Communion, and an appeal for prayer that these would take the place of the obviously discredited Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion (SCAC).  Saturday morning, I received this paper from the Rev. Dr. Steven Noll, retired Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University, "Communion Governance: A Revised Anglican Covenant."  Is the timing coincidental, or is this perhaps an answer to prayer?

On behalf of the American Anglican Council, we commend this paper for your prayerful study and consideration as potentially the best possible way forward for the Communion at this time, for the following reasons:

• Revision 1: Strengthens the historic and normative role of the Anglican Formularies (page 4)  by restoring the Nassau Draft's specific inclusion of the Thirty Nine Articles, the 1662 BCP and its Ordinal as the common doctrinal basis for Anglicans worldwide.  This may assure evangelical Anglicans that their position is upheld within the Communion.

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From AAC

I learned much about life while playing fraternity football in the inter-fraternity league at the University of Maryland many years ago. I learned never to take my eyes off of the football, even while we were in the huddle, for the ball could be moved against us either by players on the opposing team or because of bad or malicious officiating.

Now, when I attend my grandchildren's soccer games, occasionally a stray soccer ball will careen across the field from somewhere else. It is important for the players to know which soccer ball is theirs, and to leave the other one alone. In today's world setting, there are seemingly many footballs or soccer balls on the field, and many of them are quite important and significant. It is often hard to know which one to pay the most attention to, and which ones to leave for others to cover.

Regarding our life in Christ lived out in both the Anglican Communion and for some of us, in the United States, there are several issues that are critical, and some of us need to be working on each of them as we are called. The first issue is holy worship done well, in a manner that glorifies God, and where men, women and children feel they are brought into the nearer presence of Almighty God, and are fed and nurtured from that encounter. The second issue is that the Gospel is preached and lived in such a way that men, women and children are desirous of accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Sovereign Lord, and then can grow in that faith, experiencing the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit day by day.

Where these issues are in play in the Anglican setting touches on the new teachings and beliefs of many American Episcopal Church (TEC) leaders and the Presiding Bishop, where Jesus is a way, a savior, but there are many ways to God. In Episcopal and Anglican Church settings, the historic Gospel is in combat with the heretical Polytheism of the "many ways to God" belief of TEC leaders.

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By Phil Ashey, AAC

The American Anglican Council has posted a report by the Rev. George Conger from this week's Church of England Newspaper.  The article is entitled "Rules out at ACC."  It concerns the recent resignations from and appointments to the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.  Specifically, the report focuses on the replacement of a resigned lay member from South Africa with a clerical member, the Rev. Canon Janet Trisk (also from South Africa), as well as the continued seating of Ian Douglas from The Episcopal Church (TEC), who is no longer a clerical member but is now a bishop.

The constitution and bylaws of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) govern the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC (JSC), which has now morphed into the "Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion," with substantial powers under Section 4 of the proposed Anglican Covenant to determine membership within the Anglican Communion under the terms of the Covenant.  The very legitimacy of the "Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion" (SCAC) has been called into question, most notably by the Anglican Communion Institute and also Professor Stephen Noll, regarding the manner in which it has evolved from the JSC without constitutional warrant.  Be that as it may, both the appointment of Canon Janet Trisk and the continued seating of Bishop Ian Douglas from TEC are in clear violation of Bylaw 7 which states that "the Standing Committee itself shall have power to appoint a member of the council of the same order as the representative who filled the vacant place."  Canon Trisk, a priest and lawyer, is taking the place of Ms. Nomfundo Walaza of South Africa, a member of the lay order. Bishop Douglas was elected at ACC-14 to serve as a member in the clerical order.  As a bishop, he is now in a different order and therefore ineligible to continue to serve as such.  His continued seating without question also violates Bylaw 7.

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From AAC

Beloved in Christ,

If you have been listening to some of the Anglican internet chatter, you may have heard the allegation that the Prime Minister of the UK has asked for a study to be done on what procedure he should follow if the Archbishop of Canterbury (ABC) were to resign. I don't believe that it has been proven that the PM did ask for such a study, but if he did, the question would be "why?"

Would the alleged study imply an impending resignation by the ABC, or would the study be a signal sent to Lambeth that such a decision might be appropriate? Until it is clear that a study was actually requested, it is all chasing after shadows. It is possible that some group unhappy with the ABC might have concocted the story and released it to cause the ABC further difficulty. The ABC has been facing real opposition in the General Synod in his attempt to provide a safe harbor for those opposing women in the episcopate. Our highly reliable sources tell us that Dr. Rowan Williams is absolutely not considering a resignation, and we hope that this is fact.

It seems that, in the last few weeks, Dr. Williams might finally be realizing that TEC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's "Global TEC Communion" is really trying to take his job away – that is, to supplant the historic Anglican Communion with an international American-controlled, TEC-run communion, with Dr. Jefferts Schori as the queen bishop. Dr. Williams may be close to grasping the severity of his problem, and certainly he seems to be understanding the belligerence of TEC when asked to play by Communion rules, as seen in TEC's reaction to Kenneth Kearon's recently announced sanctions against them.

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from AAC

Beloved in Christ,

In last week's Update, I made a remark about the pending appointment of a new diocesan bishop of Southwark, and I said that surely they would be careful and avoid the debacle that occurred at Reading. Then, a few days later, the news broke that the name of Dean Jeffrey John, prior appointee to Reading (he resigned), had been submitted to be the new bishop of Southwark. The news story implied that his appointment had been cleared by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and was all but dry ink from the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). Then, just a day or so later, word came that the CNC would not select Dr. John. This raises a question – what was really going on here?

Did the Archbishop of Canterbury not want to take the heat from the gay lobby in turning Dr. John down, and therefore did he consider allowing his selection to proceed, knowing that considerable opposition all the way to petitions to the Queen would be immediately forthcoming, and that could give him cover for once again having Dr. John fall short? Make no mistake, the gay lobby, augmented by the American Episcopal Church and the empire-building Katharine Jefferts Schori, were working to pull off the Jeffrey John appointment, since it would put a homosexual activist bishop nearly next door to Lambeth Palace. It would have been a consummate flanking maneuver of Williams by Jefferts Schori. Or did the nomination fail at the last minute because Dr. Williams was furious that the fact of Dr. John's candidacy was leaked, and it made him look duplicitous? Is there duplicity involved, and if so by whom? Might Lambeth Palace have leaked the candidacy themselves in order to give the orthodox Anglicans a chance to mount opposition to which Dr. Williams could then give in, or might it have been leaked by Lambeth Palace so that Dr. Williams could be incensed that some unnamed source leaked it? Or was it leaked by someone else for some other purpose?

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From AAC

From AAC

By Robert Lundy, AAC

Following The Episcopal Church's Executive Council meeting held June 16-18, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson gave a press conference. The following is a transcript of part of the press conference. In light of this recent article from the Church of England Newspaper, note the Presiding Bishop's remarks on whether or not The Episcopal Church was asked to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council.

From AAC

Dearly Beloved in Christ,

We note the Archbishop of Canterbury's Pentecost letter to the Anglican Communion, and are most interested to see how and when Section 4 will actually be implemented. We will write more about the implications of this letter after having had some time for reflection. At first reading, it appears that in an hour when the Anglican Church globally needs sound, clear and orthodox leadership at the top, the captain of the Anglican Communion seems to be below decks preoccupied with lesser things, and neither the wheel nor the reef charts are being minded.

As we approach this Sunday we are reminded of one of the key beliefs – and mysteries – of the Christian faith: the Holy Trinity.

In the United States, this is also Memorial Day weekend. It commemorates the U.S. men and women who have given their life in service while in the military. It began as a way to honor Union soldiers of the American War Between the States, but was expanded after the first and second world wars and is now inclusive of all those who have given their life in military service.

It is also a time when we can honor those still alive who have served their country, and us, by serving in the military. I travel using the Atlanta airport as my home base, and there is an active group called the USO which welcomes troops in uniform, either leaving or returning from overseas deployment. To see 20 to 40 military people in uniform, carrying their heavy rucksacks, suddenly greeted by a crowd cheering and clapping, and to watch the expressions of happiness come across the faces of the uniformed travelers is very heart-warming.

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From AAC

Beloved in Christ,

A great deal of Anglican news has been piling up on all of us lately. Of particular interest to many on both sides of the great theological divide has been the American Episcopal Church's (TEC) consecration of Mary Glasspool as a bishop in Los Angeles, California. Bishop Glasspool is openly lesbian and living with her female partner, and this is almost seen as an additional qualification or bonus by many in TEC. For those on one side of the issue, sexuality is seen as a human rights concern, on a par with race, nationality, gender, etc. For them, sexual preference doesn't matter if certain (and varying) boundaries are observed. For example, most would agree that adult-child sexual relations are wrong – but then, there is a continued push to lower the age of consent, so that adulthood is expanded and childhood is constricted.

The relatively new bishop of Maryland, Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton (who attended the Glasspool consecration), recently stated that the communion is in the midst of a fight and it's a fight worth having. He added, "Whenever the church has tried to limit leadership based on a person's biology, in most cases they have had to admit that was a mistake." Bishop Sutton says this as an African American, and thus is in effect equating biology, such as skin color and race, with moral conduct. One cannot change one's skin color to any significant degree, but one certainly can change one's moral or immoral conduct. Yet he equates the two as if they are equally unchangeable. I believe the bishop has actually insulted many people by insinuating that their gender, or race or basic physical attributes are on the same level as homosexual conduct. That argument doesn't work for me. Read the rest of this entry »

From AAC 

Beloved in Christ,

Among the many things that come across my desk from various sources around the world was this interesting item from The Episcopal Church (TEC):

"As a follow up to the request by the Office of Pastoral Development to list any uninvited interventions/incursions in your Diocese, it is important to name not only those that are happening at present, but also what has already occurred and when. The history of this behavior is important to note, even if groups have already left to form another kind of "Anglican" church and/or retaining property. Thank you for your help in this.

The Rev. Canon C. K. Robertson, Ph.D.
Canon to the Presiding Bishop & Primate"

Does this mean that the TEC bishop has to inform on the Roman Catholic bishop who is performing uninvited services within the geography of a TEC diocese? No, of course we don't think this is the case; although the language is a bit sloppy, what TEC means is just Anglican bishops. The idea of incursions from Africa or elsewhere has really annoyed TEC because they couldn't stop it, and then when it did stop with the appointment of resident US citizens as bishops and the formation of the Anglican Church in North America, things got worse for TEC and their cohorts, the Anglican Church in Canada.

Now TEC wants to compile a book of "Infractions, Incursions and Non-invited Events" in THEIR yard. If they wish to start their list, they could begin with the Anglican Mission in the Americas and go back about 10 years – but if they wish to be even more comprehensive, they can go back to the formation of the Reformed Episcopal Church in the 1870's. This could be quite an extensive project!

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From AAC

Upon my return from the Fourth Anglican Global South to South Encounter (GSE4) in Singapore, I needed to plunge immediately into the organizational Synod of the newly forming Anglican Diocese of the South-a new diocese in the AC-NA that the AAC has helped to launch through our organizational work and our conference on "Sharing our Faith." Now that the Synod and conference are completed, I have had time to reflect on the things I saw and heard at the GSE4, and my observations can be summed up in three words: Gratitude, Caution and Hope.

Gratitude: I am grateful for the privilege and honor of representing the AC-NA with Archbishop Duncan, Bishop Guernsey and Mr. Hugo Blankingship, chancellor of the AC-NA. I am grateful for the opportunities to fellowship with Communion Partner Bishops Mark Lawrence and John Howe. I am grateful for the exceptional organization and hospitality extended by Archbishop John Chew, the clergy and the people of the Diocese of Singapore. I am grateful for the anointed Bible studies by Bishop Rennis Ponniah, assisting Bishop of Singapore, from Isaiah on a new vision for God, the Church and leadership. The Bible studies and prayer times brought us daily into the presence of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit! I am grateful for the special meeting called by the primates to hear the concerns of the AC-NA and Communion Partners and better understand the situation we face in North America. I am grateful for the mutually supporting words offered by Archbishop Duncan and Bishop Howe in response to their questions. I am grateful that the primates recognized the flaws in the current version of the Anglican Covenant, insisted upon compliance with Lambeth Resolution 1.10 as a precondition for signing the Covenant, called for the primates to review and enforce the Covenant rather than the ersatz "Standing Committee," and thereby reaffirmed the authority and responsibility of the primates regarding faith and order in the Anglican Communion.

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From AAC

On the international level, it seems we are seeing what we would have to call the case of the disappearing Anglican Covenant. Archbishop John Chew, of Southeast Asia, and others were confident that the Covenant would be fully endorsed "as is" by all of the Global South Provinces that were in attendance in Singapore recently. This was to have been a major part of their gathering, and a gift for Dr. Williams in Lambeth – but what happened? The Covenant has come under fire from several quarters for different reasons: the ultra-revisionist American Episcopal Church (TEC) doesn't like it because it seems to tell them what they can and can't do; many faithful orthodox Anglicans find fault with it because it has no teeth and it is premised on structures and bodies that have no ability to accomplish anything, based on past performance. Some do want to affirm the Covenant, but with modifications and "teeth."

When the Fourth Anglican Global South to South Encounter ended and the participants went home, where was the Covenant? There was no signing ceremony, no endorsement by the gathering, just the case of the amazing disappearing Anglican Covenant. Well, given its present form with no teeth, and lacking key parts, and the impossibility of enforcement, perhaps it is just as well.

Other surprises came from the USA – from Albany, New York, where former TEC bishop Dan Hertzog, who had retired and raced into the arms of Rome, has made a U-turn and come back to Albany and TEC. Since former bishop Hertzog renounced his orders in leaving TEC and had to go to Rome as a layman, it must have been hard to adjust, as I think it would be for me. Why he chose to go back to Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori is known best by Hertzog alone, but he has in the past been a strong critic of her beliefs and actions. Nevertheless, she restored him to his orders – there has to be more to this story. Meanwhile Jefferts Schori is gleefully publicizing this "prodigal's return." If she hopes for a stampede, she will be very disappointed.

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From AAC

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Some of you may be aware that in addition to being the President and CEO of the American Anglican Council, I am also a CANA bishop, serving churches in several states. Recently, I visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where The Episcopal Church (TEC) has been closing mission chapels to save money. The people served by the chapels can often trace their spiritual ancestry back to The Episcopal Church's arrival in South Dakota in the 1860's, when the Santee Sioux were forcibly relocated from Minnesota. These parishioners have been loyal to TEC, though often questioning some of the new theological innovations.

Since TEC Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori has been running short of money (due in part to her incessant lawsuits against Anglicans who left TEC), funding that formerly was available to support mission work in the Dakotas has now been diverted to support lawsuits and other higher priorities. With many mission chapels in South Dakota now closed, questions are being raised by some tribal groups about what has happened to the land that the tribe gave to the chapels to support the work at each. Hundreds of acres at each chapel, and thousands of acres in total need to be examined to see if TEC improperly sold off chapel land to raise money. At a recent Black Hills Treaty Council meeting, there was a call for TEC to account for the land and where the money went, since there is some suspicion that it was funneled into non-reservation Diocesan use.

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From AAC

Dearly Beloved in Christ,

Have you noticed the number of destructive earthquakes that have occurred around the world just since the beginning of January this year? It is almost as if the vibrations of one quake travel through the earth and cause another quake on the opposite side, with the most recent being in Mexico, just south of the US border. Not to establish a cause and effect relationship, but the religious world has been suffering from spiritual quakes as well.

The spiritual quakes and turmoil found in the Anglican Church world are rapidly being exported by The Episcopal Church (TEC) to dioceses all across the globe, and the fault lines don't stop at the Anglican front yard. The ELCA Lutherans have generally followed TEC in their theological innovation, and are now suffering a Synodical split, with many of the orthodox Lutherans in the ELCA pulling out and reforming as a new body. The Presbyterian Church USA is having tensions over spiritual innovation within their church as well, and most of the major Christian denominations report some degree of stress between those who would accommodate the culture into their present theology, and those who resist and hold to the traditional faith as they understand it.

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