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"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24 NKJV
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Message from Bishop David Anderson
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Bishop Anderson
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Beloved in Christ, Those of us who are of a certain age will remember going to the grocery store and seeing a Toledo scale with the inscription "No springs, honest weight." That's what people wanted, a scale that would give honest weight, not skewed by tired springs, not distorted by the store clerk's thumb pressing down or holding the scale, but pure, honest weight. When it comes to other areas of our life, that's what we need as well - the honest weight. As in the grocery store, in the court of law an honest weighing of the law and facts is crucial to the honest functioning of commerce, government and even church. So if a judge has an interest in a case, either with one side or the other, he or she is expected to "recuse" himself - because whether the conflict is a real one or "only" perceived, it would taint the decision due to the apparent conflict of interest. I'm proud of the orthodox Christian judges who have recused themselves in cases involving the Episcopal Church vs. Anglican Church cases, but it may well have cost us some important court decisions, since it appears that judges who are members or have an interest in The Episcopal Church almost never recuse themselves when trying cases which involve Episcopal dioceses suing Anglican congregations. One case in point that is particularly galling to Anglicans in Georgia is the example of Judge David E. Nahmias. The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, which includes Savannah, was suing Christ Church Savannah for everything including the Sunday School crayons, despite the fact that the parish of Christ Church predated the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, predated the State of Georgia, and in fact predated the United States of America. Christ Church has had as previous rectors both THE John Wesley of later Methodist Movement fame, and THE George Whitefield, renowned Church of England evangelist.
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Judge David Nahmias
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The lawsuit by the Episcopal Church against Christ Church Savannah wound up in the Georgia State Supreme Court, and Judge Nahmias is an active justice on that court. He is also a prominent and active member of Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, and as an active Episcopalian, he certainly did have a dog in the fight. Did he recuse himself? No, of course not, his view of ethical conduct apparently did not require that.
On the other hand, the Presiding Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, the Hon. George H. Carley, is an equally prominent member of a church, but in this case his membership is in a church that has joined the Anglican Province of America. As Alex Haley, writer of the Anglican Curmudgeon, succinctly puts it: "The latter [Carley] saw enough of a potential conflict in the Christ Church case to recuse himself from participation in it, while Justice Nahmias not only did not see fit to recuse himself, but authored the majority opinions in both cases! It's pretty good when you find yourself in a position to be able to take a decisive stance in favor of your own Church, while purporting to decide the case on purely secular grounds."
The same court, on the same day, was deciding the fate of Timberridge Presbyterian Church, which had left the Presbyterian Church USA, and was similarly being sued by their former denomination. In this case, Justice P. Harris Hines did not participate because he serves as an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, and he recused himself in keeping with high ethical standards.
In Wisconsin, we have similar apparent lapses of ethical standards by seated judges. It appears that Wisconsin's Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge J. Mac Davis had an interest in ensuring that the property and buildings of St. Edmund's Anglican Church were abruptly returned to the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee. I covered that story in a previous Update, but the point I am making is that it appears that conservative orthodox judges typically do the ethical thing and recuse themselves when they have either an actual or a perceived interest in a case that they would be ruling on. Episcopal Church revisionist judges apparently do not, and are willing to sit in judgment with either an actual or perceived thumb on the scale of justice. So much for judicial ethics for them.
Elsewhere in our weekly update we have an article on why Baptists are standing with Roman Catholics over the Obama administration's mandate on birth control. Clearly the Baptists get it.
Now that we are in the first week of Lent, having eaten our pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, received ashes on our foreheads with the words, "Remember....that dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return," we enter a time of putting our own lives and practices on the Toledo scale: no springs, honest weight. Hopefully we will have the ability to look honestly at our own life and see the holes, the damaged areas, and the areas corrupted by sin, the devil and the world. This is something that takes work to achieve. We need God's help to put the light on the areas of our life that need repentance, the areas to strengthen, and the areas to give thanks for, asking for that divine help and receiving it, then using it as appropriate for our Easter preparation as well as our preparation for eternity. In this vein, I want to point you to the latest news of a Christian pastor in Iran who may well be a Lenten martyr to his and our faith.
An Iranian court has issued its final verdict and decree, upholding the immediate death sentence for leaving Islam and accepting Christ. The 34 year-old pastor, who has two children, has been under arrest for several years. Now, having apparently exhausted his appeal process, he may be executed at any time without prior notice. Imagine the uncertainty of the day or hour, not knowing when he is taken out of his cell whether it is for further interrogation and abuse or to be summarily hung is part of their diabolical torture. Read the entire article in this week's Update.
During your Lenten quiet time, continue to pray for Pastor Nadarkhani and his family, for his church community, and that mercy might find him.
May our Lord bless your time of preparation.
+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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 By The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council
Canon Ashey is out of the office today and will not be writing a message.
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Lenten Message from Archbishop Robert Duncan, ACNA
| Source: ACNA
 | Archbishop Duncan
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22nd February, A.D. 2012
Ash Wednesday
Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil. [Joel 2:13]
So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled with God. [I Cor.5:20]
TO ALL WHO SHARE IN THE LIFE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA:
Beloved in the Lord,
We have come again to the awesome season of Lent. The name of the season comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning spring. Our English word lengthen comes from the same root, for this is the season when days lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the season when we, too, are lengthened or stretched because we are invited to get our relationship with our God and our relationships with each other restored and renewed. Getting things right is hard work, often painful work, but from the effort comes the immense fruitfulness of an Easter and Pentecost - a summertime, if you will - of our souls. Lent is when I must prune my roses - and when I need to allow my Lord to prune me - so that a riot of color and beauty and fragrance can occur in a couple months' time.
As I have said my prayers in recent days, I have had a very strong sense that it was time to write you again, both to invite you into the opportunity of Lenten discipline and devotion and to share with you the results of some of the corporate pruning our God has already been engaged in.
HOLY LENT
Self-examination and confession are foundational to the Christian life. Whether it is the "sinner's prayer" that invites the Lord Jesus in the very first time, or the penitential opening of daily morning and evening prayer, or the regular accountability of the sacrament of reconciliation, we cannot make progress without personal repentance and conversion. Because we are sinners, the need to restore right relationship - with God, with our spouse, with our parents, our children, our friends, with our priest (or our people), with fellow-workers and fellow-worshippers, with neighbors, with the poor and needy - is as constant as our need to breathe and our need to give thanks. "I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a Holy Lent."[1]
Immersion in God's Word and contemplation on the mighty acts of our Savior in his Incarnation, Passion and Death-on-the-Cross are also means by which our lives - both individually and corporately - are anchored in Christ. There is no substitute for them, and there is no exercise more central to our discipleship than these twin enterprises. . .
Read the entire letter here.
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Washington State: A legal victory for conscience
| Source: OneNewsNow
February 23, 2012
By Charlie Butts
A pro-family group in the state of Washington hopes the rest of the nation is taking note of Wednesday's ruling by a federal judge that pharmacists can't be forced to dispense contraceptives that violate their religious beliefs.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton ruled Wednesday that Washington state cannot force pharmacies to sell Plan B or other emergency contraceptives....
Joseph Backholm, who heads the Family Policy Institute of Washington, says it is sad that it took so long to finally end with this result. "But it is a very American idea that the government will not tell small-business owners what they have to sell in their stores," he tells OneNewsNow.
Backholm agrees the other Washington - Washington, DC - ought to take note of the ruling.
"There is a growing tendency by government to want to not only tell people what they must sell, but also tell people what they must purchase," he observes....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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| Why Baptists stand with Catholics on birth control mandate | Source: Washington Post
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Bryant Wright
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February 22, 2012
By Bryant Wright, Richard Land and O.S. Hawkins
We acknowledge that Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists have differing views on how we understand and practice our faith, stemming from our differing concepts of what we view as our supreme authority. For Southern Baptists, authority is in Scripture alone. For Catholics, authority is in Scripture and the church.
For example, most Baptists have a different perspective than do Catholics on the use of contraceptives by a married couple, because we believe Scripture does not condemn it, yet we hold an almost identical perspective on abortion because of the Bible's clear teaching on the sanctity of every human life.
Despite our theological differences, we cannot remain silent while others find their First Amendment freedom of religion rights trampled.
As Baptists we defend Catholics' right to not have their consciences coerced by government edict on the issue of contraception.
In the Manhattan Declaration (2009), Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians proclaimed, "Christians confess that God alone is Lord of the conscience. Immunity from religious coercion is the cornerstone of an unconstrained conscience."
Pope John Paul II wrote that religious freedom is the "first freedom." It is, he continued, "the premise and guarantee of all freedoms that ensure the common good."
There are areas of our lives in which we are to submit to the state and there are areas, clearly delineated by our faith, in which the state must not intrude. As Christ Himself said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Mark 12:17).
As Americans-Catholics and Baptists alike-we are in absolute agreement on the inviolable freedom of conscience, a right recognized and guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution to every American citizen.
It is difficult to comprehend why the Obama administration would so excessively overreach in their January 20 mandate that health insurance plans for Catholic and other faith-based hospitals and charities, etc., must subsidize coverage for contraceptives as preventive services. . .
The rest of the article may be found here.
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VA Anglicans File Motion for Reconsideration on Personal Property Ruling
| Source: Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic
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Truro Church, Fairfax, VA is one of the 7 churches involved
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February 22, 2012
Seven Anglican congregations in Virginia that are parties to the church property case brought by The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia have filed a motion for partial reconsideration with the Fairfax County Circuit Court asking that the court reconsider the portion of its January ruling stating that certain personal property, including monetary gifts, given to the congregations prior to January 31, 2007, belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.
Since at least 2003, the congregations permitted donors to designate whether or not their donations were to be given to The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. By 2006, virtually all of the contributions held by these congregations were from donors who had indicated that their gifts were not to go to or be used for the benefit of The Episcopal Church or the Diocese.
"The core issue that we are asking the court to reconsider is the right of donors to restrict the use of their own gifts to the church of their choice. We believe that they could. This is a religious liberty issue at its core as the courts are not lawfully able to coerce contributions to a specific religious entity against the wishes of the donors. We ask that the court honor the gift restrictions designated by individuals that have faithfully offered their contributions to these congregations," said Jim Oakes, spokesperson for the seven Anglican congregations....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Iran court convicts Christian pastor convert to death
| Source: FoxNews
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Youcef Nadarkhani
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February 22, 2012
By Lisa Daftari
A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team. Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years. It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.
"The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith," said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
"This one case is not just about one execution. We have been able to expose the system instead of just letting one man disappear, like so many other Christians have in the past."
It is also feared that Nadarkhani will be executed in retaliation as Iran endures crippling sanctions and international pressure in response to its nuclear agenda and rogue rhetoric. The number of executions in Iran has increased significantly in the last month.
"This is defiance," Sekulow said. "They want to say they will carry out what they say they will do."
The order to execute Nadarkhani came only days after lawmakers in Congress supported a resolution sponsored by Pennsylvania Rep. Joseph Pitts denouncing the apostasy charge and calling for his immediate release....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Rwandan bishop confronts Islam in Tanzania
| Source: Anglican Ink
February 20, 2012
By James Gibson
The spread of Islam in Africa, like the spread of communism in Europe after World War II, threatens to enslave the entire continent. Over 50 per cent of the inhabitants of Africa are Muslim and Islamic leaders have a stated goal of making it the first "Islamic continent." East Africa, which includes the poverty-stricken nations of Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the Eastern Congo, has become a particular target for Islamic takeover.
In Tanzania, more than 30 per cent of the population is Muslim and churches in that country are, according to its own leaders, weak, fractured, and worldly. During the Global Anglican Future Conference in 2009, Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo of the Gahini Diocese of the Anglican Church of Rwanda was asked by two Tanznanian church leaders to help combat the Muslim takeover. After prayerfully considering their request, the bishop invited them to attend the annual East Africa Revival Convention in Gahini. From that gathering was launched a new missionary initiative, the East Africa Revival Network. Eighteen lay evangelists were initially commissioned and sent to Tanzania. Since that time, the effort has expanded into an interdenominational and international movement, confronting the challenge of Islam with a renewed emphasis on evangelism and church planting.
Dr. David Cashin, Director of Intercultural and Muslim Studies at the Seminary and School of Missions at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina, is an advisor to the Network. He and Bishop Bilindabagabo developed a close friendship during the bishop's two year stint at the school from 2008-2009.
"He has been the driving force behind [the initiative]," Cashin said. "The reality is that there is a major turning of Muslims to Christ. It's still very gradual. We saw some inklings of it in the 70's, and with each passing decade, it's expanded."
Cashin credits Bishop Bilindabagabo for understanding a reality within Islam with which most Westerners are unfamiliar. "Increasingly, you have groups within Islam which are trying to force their version of Islam on everybody else," he said. "What has happened over the past few years is that 30,000 Muslims have blown themselves up, and 90 per cent of them have done so in the presence of fellow Muslims. What is driving this is, if you have a kingdom of God that is established on earth by means of human hands through the agency of coercive violence, you're going to have a mess."
Radical Islam, where it has won out, has invariably created failed states, Cashin said. This has resulted in a backlash, particularly among youth who are beginning to question Islam as never before.
"That is why Christian missions need to focus on the Muslim world," Cashin said. "We think of them as the ones that are most closed to the Gospel. I believe the opposite is true. They are the people most open to the Gospel right now. This is a time of harvest. Satan's strategy is to get Christians to ignore Islam or, worse yet, to hate Islam. That is the only way to stop the Muslims from coming to Christ."...
The rest of the article may be found here.
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