Keep On Keeping On

9/26/07

Dear Friends,

Some of you may have been following the Episcopal House of Bishops' Meeting in New Orleans (September 20-25).  The bishops accepted a statement in reply to the Anglican Primates' Communique'.  Although some of the orthodox bishops had already left prior to the writing of statement, apparently there were enough bishops remaining to form a quorum.  When the vote to accept the statement was taken; there was only one lone voice of dissent.

As to whether or not the House of Bishops' statement will help in keeping the Anglican Communion intact, we will all have to wait and see. In all fairness, the Primates were asking the revisionist bishops to repent of something of which they see no need of repentance. In fact, the revisionists believe that the orthodox need to repent of acts of injustice against the homosexual community for seeking to inhibit ordinations of active homosexuals and to inhibit same sex blessings. This is the quandary that The Episcopal Church finds itself.

The New York Times summed up the outcome of the House of Bishops deliberations:

"Episcopal Bishops Reject Anglican Church's Orders

Bishops of the Episcopal Church on Tuesday rejected demands by leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion to roll back the church's liberal stance on homosexuality, increasing the possibility of fracture within the communion and the Episcopal Church itself.

After nearly a week of talks at their semiannual meeting in New Orleans, the House of Bishops adopted a resolution that defied a directive by the Anglican Communion's regional leaders, or primates, to change several church policies regarding the place of gay men and lesbians in their church. But the bishops also expressed a desire to remain part of the communion, and they appeared to be trying to stake out a middle ground that would allow them to do so."

"The Response by the House of Bishops, joined with their earlier responses and those of the Executive Council, represents an utter rejection of the Primate's request. There is a bold commitment to permit same sex blessings. There is an avenue ripe for exploitation with regard to episcopal consents. And, as was evident in past statement and in this Response, there will be no attempt to provide adequate oversight for dissenting people, parishes, and/or dioceses. The very sad thing is that the Windsor Bishops did not lose the fight. They did not fight..."

The formal response from the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury will be released shortly. Some of the Episcopal orthodox bishops met in Pittsburgh for the meeting of the Common Cause Council of Bishops, which unites various Anglican orthodox groups under one umbrella.

In the meantime, we here at St. Raphael's will continue to keep on doing the Lord's work. Or as the saying goes, "Keep on keeping on".  We will continue to be "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

In His Love,

The Reverend Alice Marcrum, Rector

Chip Bunting, son of Bob and Ellie Bunting,  earned his Eagle Scout ranking in a ceremony at St. Raphael's Parish Hall on Saturday, September 22.  Chip, who is a member of Fort Myers Beach Troop 999, was given Scouting's highest honor by Beach Scoutmaster, Ray DeRosiers. Chip joins four other Eagle Scouts who are members of Troop 999, an amazing statistic considering that only 5% of scouts ever earn this rank.  For his Eagle project, Chip worked with the Estero Island Historic Society and reconstructed the last remaining rain barrel on Fort Myers Beach.  The original rain barrel was located on Hercules Street and was blown down during Hurricane Charley.  It was donated to the Historical Society and was dissembled and placed on the cottage property.  Chip built a platform on the side of the cottage and then began the task of re-assembling the rain barrel.  The project took almost one year to complete and can now be seen at the Historic Cottage on Bay Road.  A dedication of the rain barrel will be held in the near future.