TEC did move in much more liberal directions, and they did lose hundreds of thousands of members to the Baptist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal and Anglican churches, but what didn't happen was a tsunami of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people flooding into nearly empty Episcopal Churches bringing wads of money. A few liberal "light house" Episcopal Churches in major cities such as Atlanta, Pasadena, and elsewhere did see some growth, but overall, the surge didn't happen. Fewer new members, the graying of the older ones and things have gone from bad to worse. In fairness, other liberal church denominations have seen huge losses as well, and even conservative churches such as the Mormon and Roman Catholics have seen membership growth stagnate. Part of the problem is the culture and society which is increasingly materialistic, humanitarian in belief, and not wanting any moral restraints placed by old fashioned religion.

Some Episcopal pundits optimistically wrote that if TEC was getting older and grayer there was at least a new candidate turning 65 somewhere every minute, someone who might be interested in an older liberal church. The problem that TEC has, along with many churches, is relevancy. Why believe what TEC says is true? Is there a message that you would risk your life to have?  Why are Christians in China, parts of Africa, and anywhere that Islam rules so convinced of their faith that they are willing (no, not eager, but willing) to die for it if necessary? What do they have that TEC doesn't have?

In the United States and Canada, why did former Episcopalians believe so firmly in the Bible, and historic church doctrine that they were willing to be thrown out of their churches, lose their jobs, rectories, medical insurance and pensions, be sued by TEC and pronounced deposed from ministry? Why couldn't they just go along and get along? Many churches today are still pretty on the outside, but empty on the inside, empty of people, empty of historic Christian doctrine and teaching, and puzzled about why they are dying off and running out of money. In the Episcopal Church, just when they need to conserve their money for real mission, they are squandering millions per year on litigation, trying to sue former Episcopalians to teach them a lesson about leaving TEC. 

The largest group of former Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans have coalesced into the Anglican Church in North America, and next week will meet in North Carolina for their every-three-year business and mission meeting. This body of Anglicans will have good news to report with new churches founded, clergy ordained, and signs of growth everywhere.  At some point in the not too distant future the old Episcopal Church with its steep declines continuing will on its way downward pass the Anglican Church in North America on its way upward. One has lost its message; one has saved its message and is eager to share it with those who need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, other mainline American denominations are also shrinking, and seeing those that have broken off from them grow and prosper; it seems to be one way that God sorts things out.

Blessings and Peace,

David 

The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council

Canon Ashey is traveling this week and was unable to write a message.

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Source: Anglican Network in Canada
May 31, 2012

Burlington, ON - Three parishes of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) - St George's (Burlington), St Hilda's (Oakville) and Church of the Good Shepherd (St Catharines) - have reached a negotiated settlement with the Anglican Church of Canada's (ACoC) Diocese of Niagara.  This resolves a five-year legal dispute initiated by the Diocese of Niagara against the three parishes - and even against individual leaders of the parishes - for control of parish properties.

The settlement will be effective 1 June 2012 and entails the following:

* All three congregations turned over the keys to their long-time properties to the ACoC diocese today.
* Guarantees that neither party will initiate legal action against the other party.
* Agreement that each party will cover all its own legal fees.
* Each parish will retain specified worship, liturgical and memorial items which had been donated by members over the years for parish ministry, or which are of importance to the parishes' ongoing ministry.
* A financial settlement that includes the repayment to one parish by the ACoC diocese of the cost of specific property improvements, as well as a division among the parties of the proceeds of the sale of one of the rectories. . .

Read the entire article here.   

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Source: Anglican Communion News Service

June 1, 2012

2012 Standing Committee Bulletin - Day 1, May 30, 2012

* Anglican Communion needs to consider "a mixed economy"
* Consideration ofthe Covenant should continue until after ACC-15
* Global ecumenical talks are "moving forward"

The Standing Committee-comprising elected members of the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates' Standing Committee and the Archbishop of Canterbury-met for its three-day annual meeting in London, England, yesterday (Wednesday). Only the Primate of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, the Most Reverend Daniel Deng Bul was unable to attend after not getting a travel visa. Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi (who is also the new Chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa) is attending as his alternate.

As the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is meeting later this year, the Standing Committee agenda is lighter than previous years. Nevertheless, members still met from 9am until 6pm during considering agenda items including finance, membership of the ACC, and the lease of St Andrew's House.

Other topics included a short review by the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Canon Kenneth Kearon, of the process of election of a Primate to the Crown Nomination Committee. Canon Kearon also presented his annual report to the committee which highlighted, among other things, the positive progress of the global ecumenical talks (Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogues, Anglican-Methodist dialogues, etc.) He told the committee that such conversations were moving forward, on from solely doctrinal issues towards greater co-operation.

The Standing Committee received an update on the progress of the Anglican Communion Covenant. It was noted that eight Provinces had endorsed the Covenant to date, in some cases with a degree of qualification. They were the only responses received so far by the Secretary General. The committee also noted that the President, Chair, and Vice-Chair all hold their offices other than as representatives of their Provinces.

There was general agreement that no timeframe should yet be introduced for the process of adoption of the Covenant by Provinces. The Standing Committee will return to this question following ACC-15.

The first day of the meeting also saw members of the Finance Committee and Director for Finance, Tim Trimble, present the Report and Financial Statements for 2011 to the Standing Committee.

While the report indicated that an increased number of Provinces had paid their inter-Anglican contribution in 2011, a graph revealed that, since 2005, the amount given by Provinces to the work of the Anglican Communion has largely remained at the same level. It is the increase in restricted/grant funding, sourced by Anglican Communion Staff and others, that has allowed the work of that office, and of the Anglican Network members, plus other official commissions, committees and working groups to grow.

It was suggested, though not resolved, that there should be some more thought about "a mixed economy" in which Anglican Communion work is funded through a range of ways.

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DAY 2 - May 31, 2012

* Anglican Communion officially represented on campaign to end gender-based violence
* The Anglican Alliance to have new governance structure
* Committee gets an overview of proposed ACC-15 programme
* Central Africa invites ACC-16 to meet in its Province.

Day two began with a short presentation by the Revd Terrie Robinson the Anglican Networks Co-ordinator and Women's Desk Officer on the efforts of the Anglican Communion against gender-based violence, and on her role on the We Will Speak Out coalition. The Standing Committee was united in its agreement that ending violence, particularly against women and children, was a responsibility of the Church. Considering the support for this initiative at the last Lambeth Conference, the 2011 Primates' Meeting and at the Standing Committee, members agreed that Mrs Robinson should act as a representative of the Anglican Communion on this coalition, and asked that they should receive regular updates on it in the future.

Sally Keeble, Director of the Anglican Alliance - Relief, Development and Advocacy, then gave the committee an overview of its work during the past year-and-a-half, and introduced a report done by an independent company to identify a suitable governance model for the Anglican Alliance. She said it was vital that there was 'robust' governance for the future integrity of the Alliance. This was echoed by members of the committee as they considered the five proposed models of governance laid out in the review document. The committee resolved that, in principle, the Alliance would best serve the Anglican Communion by becoming a subsidiary charitable company with board members nominated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, for appointment by the Standing Committee for an initial period.

The committee then heard a presentation by Stephen Lyon on the proposed structure of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meeting programme in Auckland, New Zealand. Proposed items on the programme include reports from staff of the Anglican Communion Office on such topics as ecumenical dialogues, communications, the Anglican networks and mission; presentations and discussions around such issues as gender-based violence, the environment, and Christian witness.

Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Canon Kenneth Kearon announced that the bishops of the Church of the Province of Central Africa had invited the ACC to next meet in their Province. This is expected to be in 2015. That offer was accepted by the committee. Canon Kearon went on to report back on the committee's requested revisions to the Guidelines for the Creation of New Provinces and Dioceses document. The committee also endorsed some proposed Guidelines for Anglican Participants in Ecumenical Dialogues document.

Other issues for the committee included considering a name change of the Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative to Anglican Witness. The committee encouraged the group to settle on Anglican Witness: Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative. They also received a request from the Anglican Communion Environmental Network for an Environmental Network desk officer located at the Anglican Communion Office.

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DAY 3 - June 1, 2012

On the final day of the meeting Bishop Michael Doe presented a report on the future of the Anglican Communion's representation at the United Nations in New York and Geneva.

He identified several possible options for developing the work of the Anglican Communion in relation to the United Nations. It was recognised that there are different needs in New York and Geneva because of the different nature of the UN organisations in both locations.

In response to a question about 'Observer' status it was explained that the Anglican Communion has ECOSOC Special Consultative Status. The only faith tradition to have Observer status is the Roman Catholic Church which is designated 'Non-member State Permanent Observer' due to the Holy See being a sovereign entity.

The committee thanked Bishop Michael for his work. The meeting concluded, at midday, with the committee expressing their thanks to Dato' Stanley Isaacs who is unable to attend ACC-15 and so was attending his last meeting as a Standing Committee member.  

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Source: Church Times

June 1, 2012
By Ed Thornton

AMENDMENTS to the women-bishops Draft Measure (News, 25 May) will not help it receive final approval in the General Synod in July, the majority of respondents to a Church Times poll say.

As the Church Times went to press on Wednesday, more than 400 people had responded to the question: "Do you think that the amendments increase the Measure's chances of receiving final approval in July?" Seventy-eight per cent of those respondents said: "No".

Last Friday, Dr Williams and Dr Sentamu released a statement saying that they hoped that the two new amendments would help the Measure to "be carried with more confidence".

The statement was issued the day after a group of six senior officials, which includes Dr Williams and Dr Sentamu, judged that the amend­ments were not significant enough to warrant a reference back to the dioceses. Their decision paves the way for the General Synod to con­sider the draft for final approval when it meets in York in July.

Addressing the Bishops' first amendment, the Archbishops said that "delegation . . . does not take anything away from the diocesan bishop who delegates; it just allows another bishop to minister legally in the diocesan's area of oversight. The amendment simply declares what the law and practice of the Church already is, and what we mean by delegation in other contexts."

The Archbishops then addressed the Bishops' second amendment, on the Code of Conduct, which bishops will need to abide by when drawing up a scheme for any parish that makes a formal request for alter­native provision.

The Archbishops said that the amendment "requires the Code of Practice which the bishops will draw up to offer guidance" on how "a bishop who could work construct­ively" with a requesting parish would be found.

"This was already something the bishops and the Synod would have been able to include in the Code. The change is that they will now have to include such guidance. It does not give parishes the right to 'choose their own bishop' or insist that their bishop has a particular set of beliefs. It allows them to ask for episcopal ministry . . . only on the grounds of theological conviction about women's ordained ministry." . . .

Read the entire article here. 
 

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