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"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ..." Titus 2:11-13 KJ21
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Message from Bishop David Anderson
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Bishop Anderson
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Our Lord taught us to avoid going to court, because he knew that real justice is hard to come by. Justice is supposed to be blind, but sometimes it appears that judges who try ecclesiastical cases have well-set opinions before the court convenes. Today I want to tell you what the Episcopal Church and Judge J. Mac Davis are apparently up to in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. A trial concerning ownership of St. Edmund's Anglican Church property in Elm Grove, Wisconsin is underway, and in the middle of hearing motions, Judge Davis on Thursday suddenly issued an injunction ordering the parish and clergy out of their property and rectory within 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours! How does any clergy family pack up their rectory and move out within 24 hours? How does a church family cease operations and move to a new, unknown location in 24 hours? How does a day school that operates in the basement of the church, with little children coloring pictures of the baby Jesus, move out in 24 hours? And how do they do this a week before Christmas? Strangely, as Judge Davis issued the injunction that appeared to have been previously written, he kept referring to St. Edmund's as St. Matthias, which is an Episcopal Church in the diocese of Milwaukee. Even more strange, we are told, is that St. Matthias' Senior Warden, Judge Lee Dreyfus, is a fellow judge and friend of Judge Davis, and that both of them are active Episcopalians in the Diocese of Milwaukee. Just as we were going to press on this Friday afternoon, we were told that the Court of Appeals in Madison has granted St. Edmund's Church a three week stay while the issues of judicial handling of the case are looked at. How can the Episcopal Church and Bishop Miller of Milwaukee behave in this manner, to even think of eviction in 24 hours? Please pray for the rector and parish of St. Edmund's who are under such biased assault, as we try to turn our minds to things more spiritually grounded - the gift of God in Jesus Christ, and his nativity in Bethlehem. Have a blessed Advent IV. +David The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr. President and CEO, American Anglican Council
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Chaplain's Corner
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Canon Ashey
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The Chaplain's Corner
By The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey, J.D.
Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council
Canon Ashey's comments this week may be viewed in the following video:
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Anglican Perspective: Humility
| Humility has been called "the great ornament and jewel of the Christian faith." In this week's Anglican Perspective, Canon Ashey explores what Christian humility looks like and challenges us to be humble at heart. Key Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11
View Anglican Perspective here.
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Archbishop Duncan's Advent and Christmas letter
| Source: ACNA via email
16th December, A.D.2011
O sapientia
TO ALL FAITHFUL ANGLICANS IN NORTH AMERICA:
Beloved in the Lord,
Advent begins to turn toward Christmas. In the early days of the season, Charles
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Archbishop Duncan
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Wesley's hymn "Lo, He comes with Clouds, descending" summarizes the focus on Christ's coming again at the end of the ages. Now the strains of "O come, o come Emmanuel" direct us toward all the prophecies of the first coming at Bethlehem in Judea.
In Britain, eight different evening antiphons were used (seven on the continent) - a different one each evening - as a "countdown to Christmas." These eight antiphons are the source of the hymn now known to almost everyone. Come Wisdom (O sapientia)! Come Lord! Come Root of Jesse! Come Key of David! Come Dayspring! Come King of Gentiles! Come Emmanuel! Come Virgin Born!
The ancient Advent antiphons are cries to the Lord that He would come and "ransom" us, that He would fulfill His promises to us, that He would be God with us.
In this Advent of the Year of our Lord 2011, as we shift our call from Revelation's Maranatha! [Rev.22.20] to Isaiah's Emmanuel [Isa.7.14] there are many, many situations where we need the wisdom, the key, the dayspring and everything else promised in Scripture and rehearsed in the familiar hymn. There are so many needs that require the Lord's help and our conversion: hunger, homelessness, sickness, despair, oppression, conflict, addiction, abuse, no one to care...
One need is peculiar to us as Anglicans and as Christians: unity in Christ. These last weeks have been filled with much heart-break for our brothers and sisters of the Anglican Mission in the Americas and, as a consequence, for us in the Anglican Church in North America. At Pentecost of 2004 Bishops Leonard Riches, David Anderson, Chuck Murphy, Keith Ackerman, Don Harvey and I wrote to Archbishop Rowan Williams pledging to make "common cause for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America." The crisis of the moment is also opportunity. We need the wisdom, the key and the dayspring for this as for every situation. We need to seek the Lord's help and commit our best efforts to this Anglican need as well as to all the other needs of our human family. I, as Archbishop, will do my part. As your gift to Jesus this year, I trust you will do yours.
We received word this week of a decision by the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan that their House of Bishops had taken action to recognize "fully" the Anglican Church in North America as a "true faithful Orthodox Church" and to commit to "work with [us] to expand the Kingdom of God in the world." I pray we will prove worthy of the trust this Province has expressed. I pray we will do it in the same fidelity to the Word of God and with the same Christ-like charity they have shown. I pray we will do it with the same courage and unity in adversity as the Church of the Sudan has shown through thirty years of civil war, suffering and martyrdom. What trust they place in us!
"O come, o come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lowly exile here, until the Son of God appear." Our God has come and is coming. We have nothing to fear with Him, as long as we are in Him.
Be assured of my prayers for every one of you in these closing Advent days, in the twelve days of Christmas, and in all the days that are ahead.
Faithfully in Christ,
+Robert Duncan
Archbishop and Primate
Anglican Church in North America
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SC Standing Committee Responds to Province IV Bishops' Request to Meet with Bishop Lawrence
| Source: Diocese of South Carolina
 On Friday, December 9, 2011 the Standing Committee responded to the December 5th letter from Bishop Clifton Daniel, acting as Vice-President of Province IV. The letter, whose text is below, summarizes the unanimous belief of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina regarding the issues raised by Bishop Daniel's letter. It is asked that the people of the Diocese keep the scheduled Wednesday afternoon, (December 14th) meeting of Bishop Lawrence with the representative bishops in your prayers.
The Rev. Canon Jim Lewis
Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
Canon to the Ordinary
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December 9, 2011
The Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina
Vice President of Province IV of The Episcopal Church
Rt. Rev.d Sir,
"May the God of peace sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit be kept safe and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." I Thess. 5:23
Your letter to Bp. Lawrence on Monday of this second week of Advent raises several concerns to which the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina feels it must respond.
First, the stated purpose of your inquiry concerns the release of quitclaim deeds to the parishes of this Diocese. Given the very public nature of their release, the accompanying explanation (all still widely available on the internet), and their availability from any county deed registrar, the necessity of such questions is puzzling. Of more concern, however, is the character of your requests.
We are sure you are aware that the Constitution of The Episcopal Church does not allow a bishop to act within any other Diocese on any basis except for episcopal acts and then only by request of the Bishop of that Diocese. (Art. II, Sec. 3). It also provides that a diocese only participates in provincial matters if it consents to such participation. (Art. VII). Further, only the provincial Synod can determine the provincial synodical "rights and privileges of the several dioceses within the Province." (Canon 1.9.3) and the Synod expressly lacks any "power to regulate or control the internal policy or affairs of any constituent diocese." (Canon 1.9.8)
Therefore, the bishops of Province IV have no constitutional or canonical grounds for these requests, which relate exclusively and entirely to matters involving the internal policies and affairs of this Diocese. Our decisions to date have been made out of a fully informed concern for the people of South Carolina, which we shall continue to exercise, as we prayerfully believe God directs.
Second, the theological underpinning of your request, Matthew 18:15-20 and your oath, is very troubling. We fail to see how the issuance of quitclaim deeds to the parishes of this diocese could be construed to be a "sin against you", and of course you have ignored the meeting between "you and him alone" and proceeded to the last scriptural step by "tell[ing] it to the church" through your publication of the matter. As to your oaths, if that perceived basis is to uphold the "doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal church", then you must realize that your inquiries into the affairs of this diocese, without constitutional or canonical support, are contrary to that oath.
Third, this diocese grows weary of the constant interference in its internal affairs that continues to disrupt our mission. First, there was the non-canonical intrusion by the Presiding Bishop's office hiring counsel for the episcopal church in this diocese to investigate our parishes, then there was the assertion by a subcommittee of the executive council that our constitutional and canonical amendments duly considered and passed were somehow not effective, then there were charges brought against our bishop now correctly recognized by the Disciplinary Board of Bishops for what they were at the outset - without merit. Yet, within less than two weeks of that decision, we have yet another attempt without canonical or constitutional support to inject others into the internal affairs of this autonomous diocese....
The rest of the letter may be found here.
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| Communique from Bishops Terrell Glenn and Thad Barnum regarding AMiA & PEAR | Source: Apostles Mission Network
Dec. 10th, 2011
To whom it may concern:
We are deeply saddened and dismayed by the recent turn of events that have brought pain and separation between the Province of Rwanda and the Anglican Mission in the Americas. We are also deeply grieved by the subsequent "Internet" eruptions and email trails that have contributed to further damage in our witness before believers and non-believers alike.
On December 9th, 2011, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Province of Rwanda (PEAR) appointed Bishop Terrell Glenn, Jr., of Charlotte, NC and Bishop Thad Barnum of Fairfield, CT to oversee the care and shepherding of all clergy who are canonically resident in PEAR and affiliated with the Anglican Mission in the Americas. Bishops Glenn and Barnum hope to work on behalf of PEAR and with the leadership of The Anglican Mission in the Americas in assisting clergy and congregations with their present and future canonical residencies.
To that end, we are requesting an 'Advent Respite' while leaders representing those clergy and congregations concerned can honorably and honestly work through their respective issues. We respectfully ask members of the different media sites and those who 'blog' to observe this respite as well. We recognize this situation has raised numerous questions, especially those of canonical status and future affiliations. We believe these situations will be addressed and questions will be answered "in a manner worthy of the gospel" of Jesus Christ. We also know that, in God's time, there will be an opportunity to bear witness a positive and a Christ-honoring resolution to this painful situation.
In addition, we request of all clergy and congregations in PEAR, that all recruiting, posturing, and gathering for allegiance to one side or another in these matters cease immediately. In place of these, we commit to join everyone in fervent prayer to our Lord that His reconciling love would prevail in our hearts and that His grace would abound as we seek a way forward that blesses Him and brings glory to His Name.
Humbly submitted,
The Rev. Alan Hawkins
Network Leader, Apostles Mission Network
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| Out of Africa: What AMIA's Exodus from Rwanda Portends for Global Christianity | Source: Christianity Today
December 9, 2011
By Bobby Ross Jr.
Divorce is messy, the lessons from a failed marriage often complicated.
Such is the case with this week's split of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMIA) from its majority-world leadership in the Church of Rwanda. Until the 11-year-old partnership crumbled, it seemed to embody the potential for Global South church leaders to rise up and provide spiritual oversight and direction in the developed world.
Now?
"It would be unwise to draw any general conclusions for the future from a dispute which is clearly about particular human relationships," said Brian Stanley, director of the Centre for the Study of World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh....
AMIA's break from the Rwandan church illustrates the complexity and difficulty of shifting denominational power across cultures and continents, other experts said.
"There are real missiological challenges when you seek to move across cultures with ecclesiastical oversight, which is why most denominations do not function that way," said Ed Stetzer, Lifeway Research president and missiologist in residence.
"Finances, communication and leadership are exercised differently in different cultures and contexts," said Stetzer, who has been a speaker at AMIA conferences. "So, my perception is that the ascendancy of the Global South is real and coming, but we are in new territory in regard to polity here due to economic and cultural differences."
Nations such as Rwanda operate as tightly wrapped, authoritarian states in which democratic ideals and political freedoms are minimal at best, said Phillip Cantrell, who teaches world, Asian, and African history at Longwood University and has studied AMIA's relationship with Rwandan politics.
"Thus, when American church bodies, which are steeped in the Western liberal tradition of separation of church and state and are so deeply planted in an independent civil society that they don't even realize it, suddenly find themselves under the direction of a church hierarchy in an authoritarian society, issues and misunderstandings are bound to result," Cantrell said....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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New TEC resources offer information on proposed same-gender blessing rites
| Source: Episcopal News Service
December 9, 2011
The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music has released educational materials and other information surrounding its plan to ask General Convention to authorize a three-year trial use of its proposed rite for blessing same-gender unions.
The downloadable materials are available in English and Spanish here.
They are part of the commission's 18 months of work in response to General Convention's mandate (via Resolution C056) that it work with the House of Bishops to collect and develop theological resources and liturgies for blessing same-gender relationships, and report to the 77th General Convention July 5- 12, 2012 in Indianapolis....
The blessing resources to be released in the spring are due to include the rite for blessing same-gender relationships, a theological essay on the issues involved in blessing such relationships, a pastoral resource to guide clergy and trained lay people who would prepare same-gender couples to receive a blessing (the church requires heterosexual couples to engage in pre-marital counseling as well) and a discussion guide for helping congregations and other groups to discuss the rite and other materials....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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| Kashmir priest arrested to placate Muslim extremists, report finds |
Source: Church of England Newspaper
December 15, 2011
By George Conger
Fears of an anti-government rising by Muslim extremists prompted the imprisonment of an Anglican priest in Kashmir, an investigation by the All India Christian Council has found.
In an 8000-word report paper released on 5 Dec 2011, the All India Christian Council
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Rev. Khanna
(Photo courtesy George Conger)
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stated that the Rev. C.M. Khanna, the vicar of All Saints Church in Srinigar, was arrested to placate Muslim leaders, angered by his baptism of seven young Muslim men. The baptismal liturgy's call to renounce Satan and all his works and make amendment for one's past life was "blasphemous," local mullahs charged.
On 19 Nov, police arrested Mr. Khanna and charged him with "fomenting communal strife." The arrest followed the circulation of a mobile phone video of a baptismal service he conducted for seven Muslim men. The priest has since been released from prison on bail on 1 Dec, and warned neither to leave the state nor to baptize any more Muslims....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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