Pittsburgh clergy break ranks

From Religious Intelligence:

A dozen priests in the Diocese of Pittsburgh have indicated that they will remain in the Episcopal Church, even if the diocesan convention goes ahead with moves later this year to realign the diocese outside the Episcopal Church.

The open letter from the group, who say they are not part of a political movement, says that the best way forward for the diocese would be to support the Windsor process. They intended that their letter would ‘let people know that there is going to be an alternative’ to the plans of Bishop Bob Duncan, the Bishop of Pittsburgh.

“We are rectors and clergy in good standing of the Diocese of Pittsburgh who believe the best way forward for renewal and reformation of the Episcopal Church is support for the Windsor Report and its recommendations. While we understand the need of many of our brothers and sisters to leave the Episcopal Church, we have determined to remain within, and not re-align out of, the Episcopal Church. We intend to ‘keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints’ (Ephesians 6:6),” they write.

Last November the Pittsburgh diocesan convention began the first moves to quit the national Church, but a second vote is needed, and is expected this November. However, in the meantime, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has written to Bishop Duncan asking him to desist from the moves. An effort by her to inhibit the Bishop failed to win support, but it remains a threat.

One of the signatories of the letter, the Rev Dr James Simons, said that the diocese had never been ‘monochromatically’ conservative and predicted that a ‘significant’ number of clergy and laity would remain in the Episcopal Church even if the vote goes ahead.

A spokesman for Bishop Duncan commented: “It’s still sad to see friends signal their intention to end in a different place than many of their fellow priests. “The bottom line is that we all face momentous decisions in the Episcopal diocese this year.”

You can read the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s coverage of the same story here. The actual text of the letter with a list of its signatories is here.

English bishops urge Lambeth attendance

This summary of a report in the Church of England Newspaper appeared on Anglican Mainstream today:

An open letter from a group of evangelical bishops in the Church of England has urged those Primates threatening to boycott this year’s Lambeth Conference to attend the 10- yearly meeting. In an open letter to the Archbishops of Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, the clerics, who describe themselves as ‘the evangelical bishops in the Church of England’, say they share the Primates’ ‘increasing sorrow and alarm at the developing situation around the Anglican Communion’, and highlight their support for the Windsor process and the idea of a pan-Anglican Covenant. The bishops give their backing to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Advent Letter which encouraged the Global South Primates to attend Lambeth, and point to Dr Williams’ determination to base the conference on Scripture. They go on to offer their support to the Archbishop ‘in his immensely difficult task of developing the life of our Communion in new ways of mutual understanding and support’, and urge the Primates ‘to be present to help us do this’. The Bishops acknowledge that the whole Windsor process has been ‘tortuous and frustrating and much slower than we would all have wished’, but warn if it is abandoned it ‘would inevitably split apart those who share an equally high regard for Scriptures and for the historic faith of the Church’. They continue: “We cannot believe this to be the mind of the Spirit or indeed that you yourselves would really want such a result. “We urge you therefore to take the long route, waiting for God to work through the processes that are already in train and praying for him to work his purposes in us and through us together. “We long to share with you in fellowship and long to share with you in fellowship and in celebration at Lambeth and, beyond that, we look to sharing with you in our common calling to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord throughout the world.”

The letter has been signed by the following 21 bishops: David James (Bishop of Bradford), Mike Hill (Bristol), Graham Dow (Carlisle), Tom Wright (Durham), Jonathan Gledhill (Lichfield), John Pritchard (Oxford), George Cassidy (Southwell), David Hawkins (Barking), Richard Inwood (Bedford), Bob Evens (Crediton), Nick Baines (Croydon), Cyril Ashton (Doncaster), Clive Young (Dunwich), Geoffrey Pearson (Lancaster), James Langstaff (Lynn), Graham Cray (Maidstone), James Newcombe (Penrith), Paul Butler (Southampton), Lee Rayfield (Swindon), John Went (Tewkesbury)

I am unable top access the original article, or the open letter it reports. The whole Anglican Mainstream story is here. I am sorry that the Archbishop of York is not on the list, or the Bishops of Rochester and Lewes.

Bishop Howe: Church Litigation a Travesty

From the Living Church:

The Diocese of Central Florida is “poised for a new round of significant growth,” after three months of tense negotiations with clergy and lay leadership from nine congregations seeking to leave The Episcopal Church, according to Bishop John W. Howe…

“We are on the best of terms with all those leaving,” he said. “And we are committed to rebuilding where there have been losses.”

In his address to convention, Bishop Howe said the last three months had been the worst period of his life. However, amicable solutions had been reached with the members of the eight congregations who sought to withdraw from the diocese.

“There are those who simply have to leave The Episcopal Church for conscience sake,” he said. “I understand that. I don’t agree, but I don’t believe we should punish them. We shouldn’t sue them. We shouldn’t depose the clergy. Our brokenness is a tragedy. The litigation that is going on in so many places is a travesty. And although some seem to be trying to do so, I don’t think you can hold a church together by taking everybody you disagree with to court.”

During the business portion of the meeting, delegates passed the first reading of an amendment to Article III of the diocese’s constitution, designed to strengthen the diocese’s ties to the wider Anglican Communion.

The resolution “does not change the constitution,” the Very Rev. Eric Turner told the convention, but “clarifies what once did not need clarifying.”

Proposed by the diocesan board, the resolution appended a sentence to the constitutional article defining the diocese’s “purpose,” stating the diocese was a “constituent member” of the Anglican Communion.

The amendment defines the Anglican Communion as a “fellowship of those duly constitution Dioceses, Provinces and regional Churches in Communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer”.

I think that Bishop Howe provides a model of faithfulness, patience, and charity for those of us who are not willing to act independently or make a precipitate move in our relationship with the Episcopal Church. I know for many it is painfully slow. Yet in the long run I believe it is something that God will honor. The rest of the article is here.

GAFCON: Is the fissure widening?

More news about the Global Anglican Future Conference, scheduled for June in Jerusalem. While their website insists that they are not an alternative to Lambeth, Archbishop Akinola’s words contradict that assertion, and are harsh and dismissive towards those who (apparently for whatever reason) do not support him. It appears to be either “my way or the highway”, and it makes me want to weep, hearing a brother in Christ speak that way.

We are planning a conference in the Holy Land in the month of June: GAFCON – Global Anglican Future Conference. That conference is called by those members of the Anglican Family who see themselves as orthodox Anglicans, who are upholding the authority of scriptures, and believe that the time has come to come together to fashion the future of our Anglican family. This has to be done within a theological framework. They will be producing a book to help all members of the conference to study beforehand. That book will cover the themes for the conference. What are the challenges? Why are some people deviating from the orthodox faith? Why are they allowing modern culture to overwhelm the word of God. They will be highlighting the Lordship of Jesus Christ over his church and over the world. If the Lord is king why are people not following his leadership? Why are people interpreting this word in a way that suits their fancy?

We must also look at the Church of God in our time and the whole area of its mission : what is God doing in our time, responding to the needs of our time – e.g. AIDS, poverty, corruption, good and bad governance. We are going to use that conference to address all these issues.

By early May the book will be available. These are very exciting times. On behalf of the Church of Nigeria and GAFCON I want to thank you for spending sleepless nights brainstorming for us to give us the road map that will guide us in our generation."

Press Questions: What led to the creation of GAFCON? There is the Lambeth Conference and the ACC. There are three bodies. Is the church of USA represented in GAFCON?

Primate: Let me answer the last question first: America as a church is not part of GAFCON. But there are many individual members of the church, bishops, each in his own right that will be part of GAFCON. Officially TEC is not part of GAFCON.

What led to GAFCON? It is a very long story. In the last five years we have had this endless controversy in the Anglican Communion. To the world this is about homosexuality. To us it is just a symptom of the real problem. Homosexuality is not peculiar to Anglicans but Anglicans have the courage to discuss it openly. The issue is that there are members of our Anglican family who are not paying attention to scripture, but are giving prominence to modern culture. They are bringing new principles to interpret scripture. The word of God has precedence over any culture. Those of us who will abide with the Word of God, come rain come fire, are those who are in GAFCON.

Those who say it does not matter are the ones who are attending Lambeth. There might be a view, for whatever it is worth, that they want to be there to observe what is going on. But Uganda, Rwanda, Sydney, Nigeria: we are not going to Lambeth conference. What is the use of the Lambeth conference for a three weeks’ jamboree which will sweep these issues under the carpet. GAFCON will confer about the future of the church, which will set a road map for the future. We are a movement that will move away from the “maybe – maybe not”.

The issue is that church leaders are endorsing what is wrong. They are not willing to make the gospel that the Lord can bring change available. We want to move forward with commitment to the word of God. The question is asked how many people we are. The question is rather how many people we are representing. Four primates who are in the leadership of GAFCON represent more than 30 million Anglicans.

The whole of the press conference, of which this is an excerpt, may be read here.

A Mountaintop and a Hilltop

A brief reflection on the Transfiguration, from Bishop Tom Wright:

In fact, the scene at the transfiguration (as it’s normally called) offers a strange parallel and contrast to the crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-54). If you’re going to meditate on the one, you might like to hold the other in your mind as well, as a sort of backdrop. Here, on a mountain, is Jesus, revealed in glory; there, on a hill outside Jerusalem, is Jesus, revealed in shame. Here his clothes are shining white; there, they have been stripped off, and soldiers have gambled for them. Here he is flanked by Moses and Elijah, two of Israel’s greatest heroes, representing the law and the prophets; there, he is flanked by two brigands, representing the level to which Israel had sunk in rebellion against God. Here, a bright cloud overshadows the scene; there, darkness comes upon the land. Here Peter blurts out how wonderful it all is; there, he is hiding in shame after denying he even knows Jesus. Here a voice from God himself declares that this is his wonderful son; there, a pagan soldier declares in surprise, that this really was God’s son.

[Matthew for Everyone, Part 2, page 14]

Another perspective on Pakistan

Here is a comment I received from an insider on the article I posted a few days about Pakistan. It contrasts with much of what we have been hearing and reading through the media. The photo is of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Sialkot.

Thanks for posting the article and drawing our attention to it. I think it is for the most part accurate, though if the author would like to lionize the Bhuttos (the late Benazir and her father before her) I just won’t buy it. Their times in office were not enormously helpful to Christians.

The article neglects to mention some things, too. For one thing, Benazir’s father, while in power in the ’70s, nationalized a great many institutions, including schools and hospitals owned and run by Christians. The present president, Pervez Musharraf, returned at least many of these institutions to the Christians despite opposition from many Muslims.

Sunday Times Cryptic Crossword

And here is yesterday’s cryptic crossword puzzle from the Sunday London Times:

Crossword Solution

Here is my proposed solution to last Sunday’s London Times cryptic crossword:

Tough times for Pakistan’s Christians

A perspective on what it is like to be a Christian in Pakistan, from the Associated Press:

Christians have felt more vulnerable in Pakistan since the Sept. 11 attacks that were followed by a spike of militant attacks against churches, in some cases directed at the foreign community. While Christians continue to practice, few wear outward symbols of their faith.

Pakistan was established as an Islamic state 60 years ago, but nearly 6 million of the 165 million population are from religious minorities, according to the government.

Private estimates run far higher. Shahbaz Bhatti, head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, an umbrella organization for minority religions, claimed there were more than 10 million Christians, up to 6 million Hindus and 5 million Buddhists, Zoroastrians and others.

Although a Muslim, Bhutto was rare among major politicians in actively cultivating the support of minorities among an electorate where Islam has far more currency. She was particularly outspoken about the need to combat the Taliban and al-Qaida forces whom the government says killed her.

“Bhutto’s assassination is a tremendous setback for Pakistan’s religious minorities,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, South Asia researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Bhutto attended Christian schools in Karachi, which are widely respected among the elite for their discipline and high academic standards. President Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz both attended St. Patrick’s High School in Karachi.

Father Anthony Martis, principal of St. Paul’s School, another prestigious institute in the city, said there was no attempt to convert Muslims who make up more than 70 percent of the student body. Classes on Islam and Christianity are offered separately for students from each faith.

Tolerance for religious minorities has deteriorated in Pakistan since Bhutto’s father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was forced from power and executed in 1979 under the regime of Gen. Zia ul-Haq.

Zia introduced Islamist reforms including laws banning blasphemy against Islam. The offense is punishable by death although such a sentence is not known to have been carried out.

Such laws are often abused to settle local disputes and discriminate against minorities, according to the U.S. State Department’s latest report on religious freedom in Pakistan.

Bhatti of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance said the law was a “weapon in the hands of the Islamic extremists to persecute and victimize Christian minorities,” adding that more than 100 Christians remained jailed for blasphemy. Churches are also attacked every year, he said.

Other than their European-sounding names, there is little to distinguish Christians from other Pakistanis. But they are often employed in menial jobs such as cleaners or domestic staff although their education and command of English is relatively high.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Questions About Your Personal Finances? Read the Bible

I am a great admirer of Howard Dayton and the work of Crown Financial Ministries. He was interviewed on ABC’s Nightline last evening. Here is the gist of it:

Howard Dayton, a self-described former “greedy” businessman, underwent a transformation before becoming a self-proclaimed guru on how to spend money God's way. He believes that if people handle money according to scripture, it’s possible to have “a greater relationship with Christ”. But he navigated a rocky path to arrive at that realization.

Today, his empire includes a radio show, dozens of books and a financial organization. More than 1,000 radio stations broadcast his program, which reaches about 2 million people each week…

The Bible may have been written long before the IRS, mortgages or IRAs came into existence, but Dayton said it’s still “incredibly practical”. “Obviously, it doesn’t deal with home mortgages and Roth IRAs, and that sort of thing. But the basic fundamental principles are there,” he said.

One of those principles: Debt is bad. As it says in Proverbs 22:7, “The borrower is the servant to the lender.” Debt is not a sin, according to Dayton, although he notes that it is discouraged in scripture.

“It’s not a ‘Thou shalt not be in debt, or else,’ ” Dayton said. “But it’s a principle of life that [you] should seek to get out of debt as quickly as you can.” Dayton understands families must take out loans for big ticket items such as a home, but he tells people … to save aggressively to pay off that debt early…

“I think prayer is part of it. I really do,” Dayton said.

He claims to practice what he preaches. Dayton and his wife Bev have paid off their home and cars. They keep one credit card, and pay it off immediately after using it. But Dayton hasn’t always been this way—certainly not when he was an aggressive young deal-maker in the restaurant and real estate businesses.

At one point, he said, money was his God. “It was my total focus in life,” he said. “I literally didn’t care about people. I just wanted to make as much money as I could.”

Dayton got himself into some serious debt before he found God. That’s when he started to comb through the Bible for financial wisdom. He found more than 2,350 mentions of money and possessions, and typed them up. He and his wife started to live by what those passages had to say…

“One of the things that the Bible teaches is that of contentment … not that we are to be lazy and not try to improve our lives. But what you have at the moment, be content with it. And that was a huge concept for me, particularly coming from a place where I had just wanted to get filthy rich.”

The basics of Dayton’s message sound similar to that of a secular person: Live within your means, and stay out of debt. But Dayton said his message is different. “Not many folks are going to say … you’re not the owner of what you have,” he said. “God’s the manager, and this is the way He wants to manage the resources. It really gets the focus off yourself and onto the Lord.” This is where his teachings about how to manage your personal and business finances stray from your average CPA.

Another big difference: Dayton said people should give 10 percent of their money to their local church. “We serve a big God, and I think the Lord recognizes that for all of us, particularly if money is tight, giving is a step of faith,” Dayton said. “He’s not saying that I’ll make you rich, but he is saying, I’ll meet your needs.”

The rest is here.

Evangelicals are not about to jump ship

Thanks to the folks at Covenant-Communion for making available this recent statement by Bishop Tom Wright in the Church Times. This is the kind of wise, careful, measured, sane, and (above all) biblical statement many of us have been waiting for. Let’s pray that other leaders in the Anglican Communion will listen and take heed.

ST PAUL, facing shipwreck off Malta, spotted the soldiers getting into a small boat to rescue themselves. “Unless these men stay in the ship,” he said to the centurion, “you cannot be saved.”

A similar urgent plea must now be addressed to those who, envisaging the imminent break-up of the good ship Anglican, are getting into a lifeboat called GAFCON, leaving the rest of us to face the future without them.

I have shared the frustration of the past five years, both in the United States and around the world. I have often wished that the Windsor report could have provided a more solid and speedy resolution. But the ship hasn’t sunk yet.

The rationale of GAFCON (the Global Anglican Future Conference) is: “The Communion is finished; nothing new can happen; it’s time to split.” No mention is made of the Windsor report, the proposed Anglican Covenant, or, indeed, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Advent letter, insisting as it does on scriptural authority, which GAFCON seems to regard as its monopoly.

That last point is crucial. To say “scripture is our authority” does not commit anyone to joining the small group represented by Chris Sugden, Martyn Minns, and Peter Jensen. It is clear that they are the prime movers and drafters, making a mockery of Canon Sugden’s claim (Comment, 11 January) that GAFCON is about rescuing the Churches from Western culture. But they have marshalled impressive support, particularly from great leaders like Henry Orombi of Uganda.

But where are Archbishops Mouneer Anis, John Chew, and Drexel Gomez, not to mention the Windsor and Camp Allen bishops in the States, and the great majority of traditionalist Anglicans, including most Evangelicals, in the UK? The rhetoric of “We are the Bible-believing orthodox; so this is what we must do” simply isn’t good enough. Many others share the belief, but draw different practical conclusions.

DESPITE official denials, GAFCON will appear to many to be an alternative to the Lambeth Conference. Some who want to go to Lambeth are under primatial pressure not to do so, and to go to GAFCON instead. Even those free to choose may find two trips beyond their limited means.

Going to the Holy Land shows an alarming lack of awareness of Christian realities in the Middle East, including what looks dangerously like a casual disregard for the local bishop and Primate, who were informed at the last minute.
The Jerusalem Post article about the conference, proudly displayed on the GAFCON website, highlights different Anglican attitudes to the Israel/Palestine question. Do the organisers really want to raise those matters? Do they know what will happen if they do?

THE DANGER of GAFCON is that the rhetoric — “the Communion’s finished” — could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some of the organisers actually seem to want a Lambeth Conference robbed of lively, orthodox bishops from around the world, so that they can point to the results and say: “There you are: told you so.”

If, instead, such bishops come, bringing their cheerful worship, their deep understanding of scripture, and their wide experience of mission among the world’s poorest, this could be a great moment of renewal. Dr Williams has made it clear that Windsor and the Covenant are the tools with which to forge our future. “Orthodox” bishops should celebrate that, and join in the task.

Our Communion has for the past five years been living through 2 Corinthians: the challenge to re-establish an authority based on the gospel alone and embodied in human weakness. Inevitably, “super-apostles” then emerge, declaring that such theology is for wimps.

To them I would say: Are they Evangelicals? So am I. Are they orthodox? So am I. Do they believe in the authority of scripture? So do I (including the bits they regularly downplay). Are they keen on mission? So am I, and on the full mission of God’s kingdom which an older Evangelicalism often ignores.

Those who want to be biblical should ponder what the Bible itself says about such things. There are many in the GAFCON movement whom I admire and long to see at Lambeth, but the movement itself is deeply flawed. It does not hold the moral, biblical, or Evangelical high ground.

To say no to GAFCON is not to say yes to the revisionist agendas prevailing in much of the Episcopal Church in the US. It is to say yes to a Lambeth Conference based on and taking forward the Archbishop’s agenda of Windsor and the Covenant, in pursuit of what Dr Williams refers to in his recent letter as “an authoritative common voice”.

It is, in other words, to say yes to a future Anglican Communion rooted in the full authority of scripture. The Archbishop has spoken of the Lambeth invitation in terms of facing the suffering of the cross together, in order to share the glory of the resurrection. When Jesus said that to his followers, James and John immediately started to think about their own chances of power and prestige.

Thomas, however, had the right idea: “Let’s go with him, so that we may die with him.” And, before they even arrived, they saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.

Here is my response, which I emailed to Tom Wright:

Dear Tom,

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your recent statement that appeared in the Church Times.

It is a welcome antidote to the madness and power-grabbing of some of the conservatives in the present debate within Anglicanism, which is really serving to undermine the biblical witness.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to read what you have written, and am praying that the Holy Spirit will use it to turn hearts that have hardened away from the use of crass, secular political tactics to reform the church.

Praying for the Holy Spirit’s strengthening for you as you continue “to fight the good fight” of faith,

John

What’s So Great About Christianity

Another book that has caught my interest recently is What’s So Great About Christianity, by Dinesh D’Souza. Click on the cover below to hear an NPR interview with the author.

The Conversion of St Paul

Today (January 25th) is the date on which the church annually marks the Conversion of St Paul. Here is a quote from a book I have been reading recently, Conversion in the New Testament, by Richard Peace:

Whatever else one might say about Paul’s conversion, it must be conceded that it had a momentous impact on the church. “No single event, apart from the Christ-event itself, has proved so determinant for the course of Christian history as the conversion and commissioning of Paul” [F.F. Bruce]. From that event sprang the ministry of St Paul. From the ministry of St Paul came the Gentile church. From these churches Western Christianity emerged as it is known today. “The importance of Paul’s conversion and of the consequences he drew from it can hardly be exaggerated. He made the free development of Gentile Christianity possible…” [H.G. Wood]. Furthermore many consider Paul’s conversion to be a central “proof” for the validity of Christianity. As F.F. Bruce writes: “For anyone who accepts Paul’s own explanation of his Damascus-road experience, it would be difficult to disagree with the observation of an eighteenth-century writer [G. Lyttleton] that ‘the conversion and apostleship of St Paul alone, duly considered, was of itself a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be a divine revelation.’”

Whatever the wider impact, Paul’s conversion was for him the most crucial event of his life. His vision of the risen Christ while on the Damascus road literally stopped him in his tracks, turned his whole life around, and launched him in a totally new direction. From a Pharisee of the Pharisees, bent on the destruction of the church, he became a tireless evangelist, planting churches around the Mediterranean, despite great personal hardship and suffering. In fact, this very change in Paul himself is a further demonstration of the resurrection of Jesus. It has been asserted that nothing less than an encounter with the living Jesus could have accounted for so radical a change in Paul that he became willing to head up the Gentile mission of the church.

Myanmar elects Stephen Than Myint Oo as Primate and Bishop of Rangoon

From the Episcopal News Service, an article of interest with the recent influx of Burmese Karen people to St Paul, Minnesota:

The Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma) elected Stephen Than Myint Oo as its Primate and Bishop of Rangoon out of a field of five nominees on January 15 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Yangon, Myanmar.

Myint, 50, has served as Bishop of Hpa’an since 2005. He will be consecrated and enthroned as Bishop of Rangoon and Myanmar’s sixth Anglican Primate on February 17 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Yangon.

From 1993-2004, Myint served Holy Cross Theological College in Yangon as a librarian, lecturer, and dean of Studies. He has also served as an assistant priest and priest-in-charge of two Myanmar churches. He received his M.Th from Trinity Theological College in Singapore, where he continues his study for a D.Th.

Myint is married to Nan Myint Yi and they have three sons: Sa Sai Naw Aye, Sa Sai Luker and Michael Wyne Myat San.

According to colonial church tradition held within the Constitution of Myanmar’s Anglican Church, the Bishop of Rangoon simultaneously serves as the Archbishop of the Province. There are six dioceses in the province: Rangoon, which is the former seat of the national government, Hpa'an, Toungoo, Mandalay, Myitkyina, and Sittwe.

Anglican chaplains and missionaries worked in Burma in the early and mid-nineteenth century. The Province of Myanmar was formed in 1970, nine years after the declaration of Buddhism as the state religion and four years after all foreign missionaries were forced to leave.

Discipline and the Bishops in a Time of Confusion and Discernment

Ephraim Radner of the Anglican Communion Institute (and a member of the international Covenant Design Committee) issues a plea for sanity to the leaders of the Episcopal Church.

In brief, I would urge TEC and other Anglican bishops to pray for and take action so that this process pauses indefinitely. They should do this for the sake of genuinely seeking discernment and resolution as to the ordering of our common life as Anglicans…

1. The engagement of the process itself appears to have been inevitable, at least once the various positions regarding the actions of General Convention 2003 were laid out, adopted, and embraced by different parties in the church. That is not in dispute…

2. The use of Title IV.9 – “abandonment of communion” – was reasonably applied in this determination, since at issue in the charges was whether Bp. Duncan was actively and deliberately working to disengage himself and his diocese from the legally organized life of the Episcopal Church…

3. It is an open question as to whether “the Doctrine, Discipline, or Worship of this church” are in fact being upheld and/or embodied by the current executive offices of the Episcopal Church…

4. … When, as has happened in now literally hundreds of cases among clergy (and some bishops), an ordained Episcopalian declares that it is no longer possible to “keep” his or her “ordination vows” given the formal teaching, decisions, and actions of the executive leadership of the Episcopal Church itself, and on grounds that have been concretely enumerated in a host of cases and with respect to a host of matters, just insofar as this, the question of whether that leadership itself has openly renounced the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of this church has been formally raised.

5. The Title Review Committee that received the charges against Bishop Duncan and formally “certified” his “abandonment of communion” simply and irresponsibly ignored this serious dispute in question…

6. … There has certainly been no method accepted where each party to the dispute accuses the other of such a renunciation, and the very instruments of (quite limited) disciplinary adjudication within the church are governed by the very executive leadership who is an accused party to the dispute…

7. There are difficult and maddeningly slow formal attempts unfolding, yet unfolding nonetheless, within the Anglican Communion as a whole to begin to identify a means of getting through this adjudicatory impasse…

8. It is a vocational imperative incumbent upon the executive leadership of TEC as well as upon those questioning its legitimacy, to defer to the burden and grace of these gifts and fruit during this time. This is a large part of what it means to be a “Christian leader”. This must mean setting aside the legal—including canonical—strategies and manipulations designed to create new formal relationships of what used to be called “dominion” – “lordship” over property, goods, and persons…

9. I would urge the bishops of TEC, when the matter of Bp. Duncan’s status and discipline is raised before them, as now it must be, to vote to table it indefinitely. That is within their power; and it is demanded, I believe, by the evangelical needs of this church and her people. The bishops might then use the disciplinary energies and resources of our church, instead, to pursue and submit in patience to the task and outcome of our larger Church’s resolution of our dispute…

Read it all here.

A prayer on the anniversary of Roe v Wade

Eternal God, author of life, and giver of all that is good:
for the gift of human life
and for the wonder of being created in your image,
for the fatherly care you extend to all creation,
and to us in particular,
we praise you, we thank you, and we bless you.
Help us to hallow the life you have entrusted to us,
especially those who are yet unborn,
that they may live to see the light of day and give you glory.
To that end we implore you
to extend your hand of protection
over those threatened by abortion,
and to save them from its destructive power.
Look with compassion upon mothers
who are driven by distress and delusion
to seek the lives of their own offspring.
Ease the burdens of all women with problem pregnancies
and bring healing to all affected by past abortions.
Give courage to all fathers,
that they may never give in to the fears
that may tempt them to facilitate abortions.
Work in the hearts of those
who turn their training in the healing arts
to the purposes of death.
Enlighten the minds and strengthen the wills
of those who frame and implement the laws of our land,
that they may use their powers to guard the sanctity of life.
Guide our efforts to educate and serve,
that we may conduct them in the spirit of humility and love
that will win minds and hearts to accept the truth,
and enable us to minister to those in need.
Bless our families and bless our land,
that we may have the joy
of welcoming and nurturing the life of which you are the giver.
All this we ask for the sake of your unbounded love. Amen.

The Sunday London Times Cryptic Crosssword

I love cryptic crossword puzzles. They are hard to find in the U.S. Anyone want to try this one? Just click on it.

Carey says Anglican Communion is in crisis

This article from the Houston Chronicle is now ten days old, but anything Dr Carey says is worthy of attention, so I am posting just the quotes from Carey himself:

“It has created enormous tidal waves, shock waves around the world,” Carey said of the consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson. “It has hindered missions in Muslim countries. It has distressed conservative congregations everywhere. There is no place in the Anglican Communion that has been impervious to the shock waves.”

“If I were in my successor’s shoes, what I would be wanting to do is say that the American House of Bishops must commit itself to the Windsor Covenant and be wholehearted about that,” Carey said of the 2004 report calling for the moratorium. “Around the Windsor Covenant we can actually find a way to deepen the dialogue and get people there. If we don’t insist upon that, then I think our number is up and so I worry about that,” he said.

“If the Jerusalem conference is an alternative to the Lambeth Conference, which I perceive it is, then I think it is regrettable,” said Carey, a conservative. “The irony is that all they are going to do is weaken the Lambeth Conference. They are going to give the liberals a more powerful voice because they are absent and they are going to act as if they are schismatics. It’s crazy.”

“So what the American church has done by the election and then ordination of Gene Robinson is really actually turn its back on the voice, the moral voice of the Lambeth Conference. That’s the problem basically. There is no way out of the problem now.”

“If the Episcopal Church says, ‘No, dammit, we are not going to go that way,’ then there is no dialogue,” he said. “They are actually saying they are walking away from the family, they are closing the door. But if they are prepared to say, ‘We will fall in behind the convenant,’ then we can find a resolution.

“But there is no sign that the American House of Bishops realizes how serious it is,” he said.

Carey said he remains active in the church although he is an ex-archbishop. “What I am trying to do now is make a contribution towards healing the church,” he said.

He also is working as head of a British education program and for interfaith understanding. He travels regularly with his wife to Africa, where the “church is strong”.

“My problem is that I am probably doing too much,” he said. “I need to slow down a bit.”

But one thing he won’t be doing is leaving the Anglican Communion.

“Basically the Anglican spirit aches for unity and I don’t think there are going to be many people who are going to be in a rush to run away from the See of Canterbury.”

You can find the whole article here.

Where to go?

To those wondering whether to stay in the Episcopal Church or leave, Dr Peter Toon of the American Prayer Book Society offers a sobering dose of reality:

1. Bear in mind that the grass is not necessarily greener in the next field. The extra-mural Anglicanism out there has its own multiple problems and you may be going out of the frying pan into the fire.

2. It may be preferable to grin and bear the Episcopal situation and to fortify yourselves with home prayer meetings and bible study to edify you in fellowship and discernment. Certainly it may be preferable to maintain this situation until the results and fallout of Lambeth 08 are fully known–say late 08 or early 09.

3. However, if after most careful study, prayer and the exercise of spiritual discrimination, you believe that you must secede from TEC then recognize that what you are entering is, if not a mine-field, then a very hazardous terrain. Out there already are many “Anglican” groupings, many of whom will be happy to embrace you if you submit to their entry requirements. Please be truly aware that most regrettably you cannot simply leave the “apostate TEC” and enter the “new, orthodox Province of North America” for the latter does not exist and is not yet even on the horizon. So before exiting you have to decide what kind of “Anglican” you wish to be: a real traditional one (investigate the churches from the 1977 secession); a contemporary-style evangelical, charismatic one (investigate the groups affiliated with Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda etc.), or something in between (then look to such groups as the REC and EMC). To do justice to the possibilities will take you a very long time in study and research. And be aware that those who sell their group to you will probably not tell you of its weakness and faults!

4. Have specific questions to ask of the salesmen for the various Anglican groupings: What liturgy do you use and why? What is you doctrinal position? How far are you still tied to the worship, doctrine and ways of living found in TEC? How do you relate to the other Anglican groups in terms of cooperation, intercommunion, and acceptance of female clergy? How far are you controlled by your overseas sponsors and legitimators? And so on.

5. Having decided which specific one of the many houses you will enter, then dialogue with yourself in order to persuade yourself to be satisfied with the group you enter—even though it is one amongst many and by definition cannot be the wholeness of the Anglican Way, only a step towards that fullness. Be aware that you are said to be in a holding position—theoretically waiting for take-off into a new unified province of North America—which will last a long time, and may never actually end (for to produce a Province out of the multiple parts in the U.S.A. will require special divine intervention and much human wisdom and mutual submission). So be prepared for your holding position to be a permanent position and your group a permanent American “Anglican denomination” alongside many others. So choose people who you can live with for the long term!

6. Once with your chosen group, gently but firmly press for as many contacts and cooperative activities as possible with others around who also bear the name “Anglican.” Try to keep alive the vision of one genuinely Anglican Province for North America into which all the “orthodox” will merge and merging lose their autonomy. You will experience the powerful pressure of American individualism and voluntarism causing you to think that, if you own group seems to be doing well, then that is fine and the whole does not really matter. Resist such feelings and retain the vision of one, unified Anglican Province.

7. Be aware that once a particular schism has occurred, to be part of further schism is easier the second time around! And also be aware that one real danger of there being so many parallel Anglican groups is that each one will major on minors in order to establish its distinctiveness, and this search for distinctive will lead to centrifugal forces forcing the groups farther apart ( as we have since the 1977 schism with the more traditional seceders).

The entire article is here.

Announcing Lambeth 2008

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s official announcement of the 2008 Lambeth Conference:

The Conference has never been a lawmaking body in the strict sense and it wasn’t designed to be one: every local Anglican province around the world has its own independent system of church law and there is no supreme court. But there was already in 1867 a deep concern to find ways short of passing formal laws that would make sure that Anglicans around the world acted in a responsible way towards each other and stayed faithful to the common inheritance of biblical and doctrinal faith. This is as much a challenge now as it was then. But the very fact of the Conference shows that we have always been willing to look for such ways of setting our common life on a firm basis so that we can act and serve more effectively in our world.

The Conference this year has two key points of focus: strengthening the sense of a shared Anglican identity among the bishops from around the world, and helping to equip bishops for the role they increasingly have as leaders in mission, involved in a whole variety of ways in helping the Church grow. Because none of this would happen without a deeper commitment to prayer and studying the Bible, this year’s Conference will begin with a couple of days’ retreat, in which we can spend time together in quiet and begin to direct our minds towards the central issues of faith. And as in previous Conferences, every day will begin with worship and Bible study in small groups…

In spite of the painful controversies which have clouded the life of the Communion for the last few years, there remains, as many people have repeatedly said, a very strong loyalty to each other and a desire to stay together. The fact that about 70% of bishops worldwide have already formally registered for the Conference, with a number of others who have signalled that they will attend, shows something of this desire. But it is also reflected in the life of so many Anglican organisations that continue to work across national and regional boundaries–the Mothers’ Union, the enormous variety of church-based development projects dealing with HIV/AIDS or educational matters, the partnership relations between bishops and dioceses from different parts of the globe…

The whole announcement is here.

And from the “glass is half empty department”:

The fact is that perhaps one bishop in five has therefore not even indicated they are coming. The fact also is that these ‘painful controversies’ have not ‘clouded the life of the Communion’ like some inconvenience obscuring an otherwise-healthy picture. They have brought the Communion as we knew it in 1998 to an end. Only the most drastic surgery will save it from complete collapse some time before 2018, when the next Lambeth Conference would be scheduled.

(From the blog, The Ugley Vicar.)

‘A Saturday morning massacre’

Some disturbing news from San Joaquin, from the blog Confessions of a Carioca:

First, a message from Bishop Schofield:

On December 8th at our Diocesan Convention the overwhelming vote to transfer from the Episcopal Church to the Province of the Southern Cone was passed. At that time I became a member of the House of Bishops of that Province. Therefore, the Standing Committee, which is my council of advice, must be composed of clergy members who are Anglican priests of the Southern Cone. This is required by Diocesan Canons and the Archbishop of the Southern Cone of South America, who writes:

“In welcoming you to the Province of the Southern Cone on December 8th it is my clear understanding that even though you are allowing a period of discernment for those clergy who are still undecided, it would be highly inappropriate for any officer or leader within the Diocese of San Joaquin to be currently undecided or clearly within the Episcopal Church and continue as an officer or leader. The requirement governing each diocese of the Southern Cone is that all members of Diocesan Council, Standing Committee, and those selected as representatives at Synod be recognized Members of this Province.”

Therefore, this morning I received the resignation of those members of the Standing Committee who do not meet the above qualifications. Communication and correspondence related to the Standing Committee should now be directed to the new President of the Standing Committee, ---------, at the Diocesan Offices.

Then we have this, from the duly-elected president of the Standing Committee:

During the Standing Committee meeting of January 19th, the Bishop determined that the elected members of the Standing Committee who had not publicly affirmed their standing in the Southern Cone [whose congregations are in discernment, some over the legality of conventions actions] were unqualified to hold any position of leadership in the Diocese, including any elected office. He pronounced us as unqualified. No resignations were given. The question of resignations was raised and rejected. The members of the committee at this morning’s meeting were quite clear on this point, we did not resign, we were declared unqualified to hold office. The Bishop’s decision affects up to 6 of the 8 elected members of the Committee including all of the clergy members.

Let the record show that three of the four clergy members who are now clearly not members of the Standing Committee of the Southern Cone Diocese of San Joaquin are rectors of the three largest parishes of the diocese. Two of them are the two most senior priests of the diocese (in terms of time in cure) and the other is in the top five, having held his position for 12 years.

This is the closest to a first-hand source I could find on this story. If these shenanigans are actually occurring as they appear above, it is one more egg on the face of Anglican conservatives—and more evidence that power and party loyalties are every bit as important in the current goings-on as orthodoxy is. The whole report is here.

Where’s the Science? A Conversation with the Presiding Bishop

From the Anglican Communion Institute, a series of letters between veterinarian Jackie Keenan and presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori:

I cited the work of homosexual researchers in refuting the claim that homosexuality is necessarily fixed, so it seems that it is possible to make that claim and still love homosexuals. I have a close friend who is gay and likes to discuss this issue with me. He knows that I love him, but regardless of how he came to be gay, he also knows that I have some valid concerns about this not being a one size fits all issue. Yet many people in TEC are treating it that way. Because of the difference in women and girls, there is a high rate of homosexuality in American young women and girls. This rate is much lower in societies that do not claim homosexuality as being fixed and just another acceptable option. In my article I cited the work of a gay researcher named Ritch Savin-Williams, who is the best known expert on prevalence rates in youth.

I love my neighbor and I love myself. But for many years I carried a weed in my own heart that did not seem to be a choice, yet it was the worst possible sin. Because of abuse as a child, I quietly did not forgive people who hurt me. While I still carried that weed, I did remarkable work at church in our children's programs, the music programs, and education. People saw me as having wonderful fruits of the Spirit and I was very loving with the children. But when the Spirit did finally enter my life, the first thing that it did was start to pull the weed. That was very painful, and until it finally came loose, I doubted that I could ever change. In no way do the visible fruits of the Spirit testify to holiness regarding our other behaviors.

I particularly have love and care for our young people, who are led to believe that same-sex attractions are normal and unchanging. What science can do is to help us test the claims that are made about the nature of homosexuality. The notion that homosexuality is created is not being supported by research, and any revelation of creation should be supported by scripture. Scripture says nothing about homosexuality as being created by God…

I am surprised that you have not kept up with recent understandings of homosexuality. I know that you are busy, but you cannot tell children that homosexuality is not a good option, yet if you take that option, we will bless it. As much as your stance reflects the dogma on TV and in the newspapers, it does not reflect what is being learned. The bibliography of my article would be a good starting place for you to educate yourself. Since attractions change so often, it makes a difference whether people choose to act on those attractions. Reinforcement is an issue, especially in women. Again, look into the articles that I cited. There has been some important new research done by some very fine researchers. Most of them are homosexual.

So I assume that your answer means that you have no new evidence that would show homosexuality to be biological or fixed. Therefore, you don’t mind that I intend to point that out to the communion. Apparently, you don’t need to know what is going on in the world of research, because you think that you have a revelation that counters the actual research and scriptural statements about homosexuality. At least people in TEC and the communion will know the basis for your direction.

Thank you for being clear.

This was an excerpt from Dr Keenan’s final letter so far. The whole correspondence may be found here.

Duncan cited for ‘abandonment of communion’

From the Episcopal News Service:

The Episcopal Church’s Title IV Review Committee has certified that Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan has abandoned the communion of the church.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori informed Duncan on January 15 of the certification and sent him a copy.

Her letter told Duncan that she sought the canonically required permission from the House’s three senior bishops with jurisdiction to inhibit him, based on the certification, from the performance of any episcopal, ministerial or canonical acts.

“On 11 January 2008 they informed me that such consents would not be given at this time by all three bishops,” Jefferts Schori wrote.

“Pursuant to the time limits stated in Canon IV.9, the matter will not come before the House of Bishops at its next scheduled meeting in March 2008, but will come before the House at the next meeting thereafter,” the Presiding Bishop wrote in her letter.

“I would, however, welcome a statement by you within the next two months providing evidence that you once more consider yourself fully subject to the doctrine, discipline and worship of this Church,” Jefferts Schori wrote in her letter to Duncan.

The three senior bishops with jurisdiction—Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, Peter Lee of Virginia, and Don Wimberly of Texas—did give their permission on January 11 for Jefferts Schori to inhibit Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield in another case where the Title IV Review Committee certified an abandonment of the communion of the church. The House will consider the case matter involving Schofield in March.

The time limit to which Jefferts Schori referred is a two-month period afforded to bishops subject to such a certification to retract their acts, demonstrate that the facts alleged in certification are false, or renounce their orders by way of Title IV, Canon 8, Sec. 2 or Title III, Canon 12, Sec. 7.

The Title IV Review Committee told Jefferts Schori on December 17 that a majority of its nine members agreed that Duncan had abandoned the communion of the church “by an open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline or Worship of this Church”.

The Review Committee’s certification from Upper South Carolina Bishop Dorsey Henderson, committee chair, said that the committee received submissions alleging Duncan’s abandonment of communion from “counsel representing individuals who are either clergy or communicants in the Diocese of Pittsburgh” and from the Presiding Bishop’s chancellor, David Beers, and his colleague, Mary E. Kostel. They asked the Review Committee for a determination.

Some 40 pages of material submitted by Pittsburgh counsel, which allegedly “trace the course of Bishop Duncan’s actions from the meeting of the General Convention in 2003 through the most recent Annual Convention of the Diocese” in early November, is included in the committee’s certification and is available here.

The complete article is available here.