No to new Province says Rectors

This just out from The Living Church Online...

While understanding that for some conservative constituents another path may soon be chosen, the advisory board of the Communion Partner rectors said recently that a new Anglican province in North America “is not something we desire or a structure in which we wish to participate.”

The Communion Partner rectors met Nov. 6-7 at St. Martin’s Church, Houston. The initial list of rectors has grown from 17 parishes representing 25,000 communicants to 45 parishes representing 42,000 communicants, according to a news release prepared by the group.

The group said that although they appreciate the “serious challenges of this present season in our greater Communion and The Episcopal Church,” they were “firmly committed to remain in The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, respecting and honoring the proper authority of our bishops and working in concert with them to strengthen our voice with the church.

“We wish to support and encourage the Windsor process, the development of an Anglican Covenant and the Instruments of Communion. We believe this is the path Christ is calling us to follow together with faithful leadership throughout the world-wide Anglican Communion.”

It seems that Pope Bob the Great of Pittsburgh doesn't have the support he thinks he has...

Three Cheers for the Level Headed!!!

Remembrance Day

New Crusade

Fr. Giles Fraser shares in his recent column...

I spoke at a small day-conference for members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem last weekend. Founded after the end of the first crusade in 1099, the Order was originally intended to be a military presence at Christ’s tomb.

In the 19th century, however, it was given new instructions by Pope Pius IX. No longer would its members be a quasi-military reli­gious army in the Holy Land. Instead, they would guard Christ’s sepulchre by expressing their solidarity with indigenous Christians. Today, this means activities such as raising money to plant olive trees and supporting Bethlehem University.

Read the rest of this great column here...

St. Paul-Quincy to remain in ECUSA

Lines are being drawn in the church between liberal or moderate factions and traditional or conservative ones. Arguments center on the national church’s decisions to allow women in the clergy, which occurred in the 1970s, and to promote an openly gay minister to a bishop’s post in 2003.

The schism widened when the national church appointed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to the job. The Quincy Diocese, which numbers 24 churches (including those in Moline, Rock Island, Silvis, Geneseo and Kewanee) and 1,800 members, has never allowed women or gays to be part of the clergy.

“We are working to assist in the reorganization of diocesan affairs,” Schori said. It now appears that four churches, including St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Peoria, Ill., the largest in the diocese, will continue to align with the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, which includes churches in the Iowa Quad-Cities, has no intention of leaving the national affiliation, officials have said.

Read the whole article...

Homecoming

On Saturday 8th November 2008 the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) reburied the remains of its first Archbishop, the late Most Rev. Elinana J. Ngalamu, in a grave behind All Saints’ Cathedral, Juba, Southern Sudan. The first Archbishop’s coffin, originally buried in Khartoum in October 1992 following his death there on 29th September 1992, was exhumed on Thursday 6th November 2008 and flown to Juba with an accompanying delegation on Friday 7th.

On the morning of Saturday 8th a brief burial ceremony was conducted by the current Archbishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul, accompanied by the bishops of Khartoum, Rokon, Lainya, Rumbek, Ibba, Rejaf, Mundri and Lui, the assistant bishops of Torit, Bor and Juba, and the retired bishop of Mundri. Archbishop Daniel, sighting Moses’ reburial of Joseph’s bones in Canaan after his return to the Promised Land from exile in Egypt, prayed that Archbishop Elinana’s “homecoming” be symbolic in the hearts of Sudanese Anglicans in all marginalised areas as a final homecoming. He pleaded that never again should the Church have to flee from these areas as Archbishop Elinana fled from Juba to Khartoum in the 1980s to die in exile in 1992. He thanked God for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the 21-year civil war in 2005 and allowed the homecoming of the first Archbishop.

Read more here...

One word for you....

Vote!

Keeping me Sane

Things have been busy the last few weeks with lots of out of town meetings, lots of pastoral care needs and on top of every thing, getting ready for Diocesan Convention. So what keeps me sane in moments like these. The music of my ancestors of course...enjoy...

A few good words from Fleet Street

Here are the recent comments of The Guardian religion report Riazat Butt,

In the month of fasting I can think of no better example to set than a complete avoidance of phrases such as openly gay and Anglican Communion in the same sentence, especially when ever one is stuffed to the gills already with stories of schism. A little bit of perspective and reflection is required here. There are 80m Anglicans in the world. There are more than 800m Hindus, more than 300m Buddhists and more than 1bn Catholics. The Anglican Communion is, much like Springfield, Illinois, a one-horse town...

Read it all here.

Some words of wisdom from our Islamic sister on Fleet Street. Helps to put things into a little better perspective. One of the tendencies of Anglicanism is our propensity to navel-gaze.

God have mercy on us...

An Irish Moment

Yes, this sounds like a new brand of tea. I'll admit that. But it is actually a reflection on recent events surrounding the Lambeth Conference....

The Lambeth Conference is, precisely, a conference. It is not a synod. To that extent, its resolutions do, indeed, carry great moral weight, but the Lambeth Conference’s decisions are neither definitive nor binding in the Churches of the Anglican Communion.

Read the entire editorial here.

I'll try to post more of the reflections as they become available.

Reflections on Lambeth

Jim Naughton, director of communications for the Diocese of Washington, writes of his recent experience covering the Lambeth conference. Here is a taste...

What is most objectionable about Williams' recent machinations are his efforts to construct a Communion in which only one response is permissible. He has sacrificed his opportunity to act on his convictions because he believes that his office demands it. One may disagree with that choice, but one can respect it. What one cannot respect, and must not accept, are his efforts to impose a similar sacrifice on those who believe that their offices — as pastors, as friends, as Christians — demand a different conclusion.

Read it all here.

One Reason I'm an Episcopalian

Here are the recent remarks by Bishop Ducan Gray of Mississippi in reaction to the Anglican Covenant currently being developed and the misguided view many in the Global South have of the Episcopal Church and many of its leaders...

Remarks by Bishop Duncan Gray III
At the Windsor Continuation Group HearingLambeth Conference
July 28th 2008

A bit of personal history: I have been nurtured and shaped within the Evangelical tradition of my Church. Most importantly, this means that the ultimate authority of the Holy Scripture and the necessity of an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus as the way to the Father are foundational and non-negotiable components of my faith.

Within my own province, I voted not to consent to the election of Gene Robinson, for reasons both theological and ecclesiological. I have followed to the letter and the spirit of the Windsor Report — before there was a Windsor Report. For my faithfulness to this communion I have been rewarded by regular incursions into our diocese by primates and bishops who have no apparent regard for either my theology or ecclesiology.

I have made some peace with this reality, preferring to think of the irregularly ordained as Methodists — and some of my best friends are Methodists! What I cannot make peace with is the portrayal of my sister and brother bishops in the Episcopal Church, who disagree with me, as bearers of a false gospel. That portrayal does violence to the imperfect, but faithful, grace-filled, and often costly way, in which they live out their love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, I am in serious disagreement with many of them on the very critical sacramental and ethical issues about which the Communion is in deep conflict. Are we sometimes, at best, insensitive to the wider context in which we do ministry, and at worst, deeply embedded in American arrogance — Absolutely! And for that insensitivity and arrogance we have begged the Communion's forgiveness on several occasions. “But do I see the Church in them?” as the most serious question at the last hearing asked. As God is my witness, I do. Despite my profound disagreements I continue to pray “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” We continue to reaffirm our creedal faith together. We continue to gather round the Lord’s table together, bringing the brokenness and imperfectness of our lives into the healing embrace of our Lord who sends us out together to the poor, the weak and the hopeless. And, in the midst of our internal conflicts, they show me Jesus.

There are dozens of bishops like me in the Episcopal Church. We are not a one, or even two dimensional Church. We are a multitude of diverse theological, ecclesiological and sacramental perspectives — and the vast majority of us have figured out a way to stay together. How is this possible? I think it begins with the gift from Saint Paul, who taught us the great limitations of even our most insightful thought. We do, every one of us, “see through a glass, darkly.” And none of us can say to the other, “I have no need of you.”

One day, Saint Paul says, we will see face to face, the glory that we now only glimpse. But in the meantime, as each of us struggles to be faithful, may each of us, the Episcopal Church and the wider communion, find the courage, and the humility, to say to one another, “I need you — for my salvation and for the salvation of the world.”

Lambeth and Human Rights

I enjoy reading the blog of the provoost of St. Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow. Here is a quote of his recent piece on Lambeth...

I don’t actually think that the attempt to sum up the “liberal” side comes anywhere near to my position at all. The things is, its all about human rights, Rowan. This is not just about the rights of gay and lesbian people in the US, it is about all of us. It is about the rights of people in all parts of the world to self expression, to practise their religion, to live freely with dignity before God.

It's worth the read. See the post here.

Bishopcam

I keep looking for our Bishops in the photos coming out of Lambeth Conference. Can You see Bishop Tom in this pic? Look toward the middle. Thanks to Bishop David, who I link to below, for this view of the official Lambeth Photo.

What it should be about

Jane Williams (++Rowan's better half) and Helen Wangusa, Anglican Observer to the UN, fellowship at a recent Lambeth event. This is what its all about, not headline seeking, not end-runs around leadership, and not the bigoted spew in the guise of religious purity coming from the self-righteous. If only we would all be willing to listen a little more and talk a little less, oh what a world that would be.

Watch Out for the Spin

There is an overabundance of news coming out of the Lambeth Conference. However, many of the items put out by the mainstream press and the critics are being sensationalized to make headlines. I find it more helpful to read everything, then reflect on it through the voices of the actual participants...

Here is a blogroll of Bishops to help process the information.

Two that I recommend highly are +David Chillingworth of Scotland

And +Russ Jacobus of Fon du Lac

More Lambeth

Here is a picture of the Opening Eucharist on Sunday, July 20th.

Here is a link to the daily activity of the Lambeth Conference.

Here is a link to the photo diary.

There is a lot of material coming out of the conference and lots of spin depending on the source. But all in all, it seems to be a meaningful event for those attending.

Pray for the Church.

Lambeth is underway...

Can you spot Bishops Tom and Ken in the picture. This is from the opening worship.

Here is a link to find up to date info on the conference.

Women Bishops for the C of E

It has been a long road, but the legislative synod for the Church of England has voted to move forward with elevating women to the Episcopate. In doing so they will join a growing minority of provinces in the Anglican Communion that has women serving in all three orders of the historic Apostolic ministry.

Here is the official word from the Anglican News Service...

The Guardian Newspaper offers these remarks...

The church has tried hard to find a way of accommodating the reactionaries who declare, as a matter of theological conviction, that they cannot receive the Christian ministry from women. All such objections, however, embody three propositions that are ultimately unacceptable. One is that the opposition of the minority should permanently prevent the will of the majority from being put into practice. The second is that extensive special treatment for the anti-women minority - whether in the form of separate or parallel male-only structures and appointments - inevitably demeans female clergy as being lesser bishops than men. The third is the underlying indignity itself of the belief that women are not made to be bishops. The synod's concession of a code of conduct - not yet drawn up - is as far as the church should go in making concessions to its conscientious objectors.

Read the entire editorial here...

And here is one of my favorite C of E commentators, Fr. Giles Fraser, who never pulls any punches...

The debate threw up some unlikely heroes. Foremost among them the Bishop of Liverpool, who has had his troubles of late, chiefly as chair of governors of the Oxford college, Wycliffe Hall that has made the news for sacking most of its staff and going so right wing it has been nicknamed an Anglican madrasa. But his speech steered the women bishops debate to its conclusion. The job description of bishops, he argued, was to feed the body of Christ. And yet, before the body of Christ became a metaphor for the people of God, it was a women that feed Christ’s physical body and looked after him. Here was the Biblical argument for women bishops. Indeed - on this argument - the very first bishop was a woman.

Read his entire comments here...

A Sad Day

It has started, and this will not be the last time. And it is only a sign of the greater intolerance alive and well among us. Recently a private citizen, Douglas Kmiec, was denied the sacrament in the Roman Church because he has publically endorsed Obama. What makes this even more insane is that this person is a conservative, known for his pro-life stance.

I'm glad I belong to the part of Christ's holy Catholic Church that doesn't have the desire to punish you if you disagree with it.

Listen to the story here.

Or read it here.

Round Three

The folks at St. Mikes are at it again. I recently blogged about their smear campaign here. They have since written another op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer. It too is full of half-truths, much like the original article about the closing of the church.

For the sake of full disclosure, I am a member of COCL (Committee on Congregational Life) that made the recommendation to the Bishop to close the mission. We--I mean COCL and diocesan staff--worked very hard to tell the truth in this situation. And I refuse to accept a level of blame about this, simply because the people at St. Mikes are prancing around like childish asses.

COCL did what needed to be done, the Bishop did what needed to be done. And as one who has been accosted by some of the angry and completely-blinded-to-reality members of that church, I can honestly say that our only mistake is that this should have happened a long time ago.

I am fed up to my back teeth with those in the Episcopal Church who believe that "being church" is only about social justice. Evangelism and church-growth are an absolute and necessary part of the equation. And if bringing people to God is not at the very foundation and root cause of all we do, than we have become a very inept branch of the local department of Health and Human Services.

Since the closing of St. Micheal and All Angels the former parishioners have expended infinitely more energy in bitching about the establishment (that has kept them afloat for several decades) than they ever did in bringing people to Christ in the last half century. They are dissembling and cloaking they're sinful lack of ministry over the years in the guise of righteous indignation, and I for one will not excuse it.