"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." James 3:17 KJV
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Message from Bishop David Anderson
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Bishop Anderson
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Bishop Anderson is traveling today, and was not able to write an article.
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Message from Canon Ashey
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Canon Ashey
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By The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council
All eyes on South Carolina
Dear Friends in Christ,
Tomorrow, August 25, the Rev. Steve Wood of St. Andrew's-Mt. Pleasant, SC, will be consecrated as the first Bishop of the ACNA Diocese of the Carolinas. This new diocese stretches from Raleigh, NC through Charlotte, NC and all the way into South Carolina. It was a particular pleasure for the American Anglican Council to assist Steve and his design team from all across the Carolinas as they drew up the formative documents for this new diocese. You can see Steve's testimony about the help the AAC gave here.
One of the most welcome changes to the Ordinal in the Anglican Church in North America is the charge given to those who are to be consecrated bishops. The charge returns the teaching office to the Bishop as a priority, based on the Holy Bible and the faith once delivered to the saints. In the charge is this particularly welcome reminder:
Archbishop or Bishop Consecrating:
Will you be ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away from the Body of Christ all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's Word; and to use both public and private admonitions and exhortations, to the weak as well as the strong, within your charge, as need shall require, and occasion shall be given?
Bishop-elect:
I will, the Lord being my helper. |
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We hope you will join us in praying for Bishop-elect Steve Wood as he accepts this
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Bishop-elect Wood (Post and Courier)
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charge to be a faithful shepherd of the flock and guardian of the faith to all Anglicans in the new Diocese of the Carolinas.
The AAC's President, Bishop David Anderson, will be present at this consecration, along with Archbishop Duncan and bishops and vicars-general from throughout the ACNA. (I sent my regrets to Bishop-elect Steve, since we have a previously-scheduled Sure Foundation session tomorrow in Atlanta). Bishop Anderson will not only be there to add his prayers and hands to the consecration, but on behalf of the AAC to provide ongoing strategic counsel to those Anglicans and Episcopalians who are facing litigation from TEC.
And that brings us to our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in the TEC Diocese of South Carolina, with +Mark Lawrence as their bishop. We are mindful that Bishop Lawrence is returning from a time of discernment and prayer, and that difficult choices lie ahead for orthodox Episcopalians in the Diocese of South Carolina.
As usual, attorney Alan Haley has done a masterful analysis of what is likely to happen if the Diocese of South Carolina decides to leave TEC:
"Following a now well-tested strategy, [Presiding Bishop Jefferts-Schori and her Chancellor David Booth Biers] will
(1) try to have the Diocese's bank and investment accounts immediately frozen;
(2) declare the see of South Carolina vacant, because of Bishop Lawrence's voluntary "abandonment" of communion with ECUSA;
(3) "derecognize" the diocesan Standing Committee and arrange to have a new one appointed from among members of the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina and other dissident clergy;
(4) call a "Special Convention" to elect a "provisional bishop" of the Diocese; and
(5) see that the convention passes a resolution authorizing the bishop so designated to file a lawsuit in a South Carolina court to recover all of the real and personal property of the Diocese.
The lawsuit may have little chance of ultimate success, given the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision in the All Saints Waccamaw case, but that would be of no consequence to the Presiding Bishop and her Chancellor. The point would be to make the choice to withdraw as expensive as possible for Bishop Lawrence and his diocese. And if the ongoing litigation in San Joaquin and Fort Worth is any guide, there will be individual lawsuits brought against individual parishes, as well, in an effort to multiply the costs."
You can find the rest of Alan Haley's analysis here.
Based on our experience assisting congregations and dioceses who have been leaving TEC since 2004, I believe (regretfully) that Alan Haley's predictions are spot-on.
At one time the Archbishops/Primates of the Anglican Communion suggested a "fourth" Windsor Moratorium against litigation-- and specifically that TEC would stop suing individual congregations and individuals. Of course, that "fourth moratorium" was not endorsed, failing by one vote at the 2009 Anglican Consultative Council-14 in Kingston, Jamaica, due in significant part to the personal intervention in the debate by the Archbishop of Canterbury himself. With the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion displacing the role of the Primates gatherings in guarding faith and order in the Communion, the possibility of such a moratorium being taken up again at ACC-15 is slim to none.
So as we celebrate the formation of a new Anglican diocese in the Carolinas and its new bishop, may we also keep in fervent prayer Bishop Mark Lawrence and our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Diocese of South Carolina, that our great and gracious Lord will give them wisdom and provision for the way ahead.
Yours in Christ,
Phil+
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International
Update
from the AAC
| On Tuesdays, the AAC publishes an additional weekly email - the "International Update," featuring Anglican Communion news. Along with focusing on international events, this free email will include unique perspectives from around the world with guest writers.
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Survey reveals growing attacks on religious freedom in US
| Source: Lifesitenews
August 21, 2012
By Thaddeus Baklinski
TAMPA, Florida - Hostility against religious liberty has reached an all-time high in America, and the attacks are increasing at an unprecedented rate, say two pro-family groups that track attacks on religious freedom in the U.S.
Liberty Institute and the Family Research Council, two organizations committed to protecting and advancing religious liberty in the U.S., have released the updated edition of their Survey of Religious Hostility in America -- a compilation of more than 600 documented incidents of hostility to religion that have occurred in the United States over the last 10 years.
Kelly Shackelford, President & CEO of Liberty Institute, and Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, announced the release of the survey on Monday during the platform week of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
"America today would be unrecognizable to our Founders," said Shackelford in the presentation. "Our First Liberty is facing a relentless onslaught from well-funded and aggressive groups and individuals who are using the courts, Congress, and the vast federal bureaucracy to suppress and limit religious freedom. This radicalized minority is driven by an anti-religious ideology that is turning the First Amendment upside down."
Mr. Perkins said, "As dark as this survey is, there is much light. The secularists' agenda only advances when those who love liberty are apathetic. Let this be a call to stand for religious liberty in the United States."...
The rest of the article may be found here.
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| AMiA's Ugandan option closes | Source: Anglican Ink
August 22, 2012
By George Conger
The Anglican Mission in America (AMiA)'s Society for Mission and Apostolic Works has lost one of its two ecclesial sponsors. In a 22 August 2012 statement given to Anglican Ink, the Church of Uganda said the canonical cover offered by one of its bishops to clergy who wish to affiliate with the society under the leadership of Bishop Chuck Murphy had been withdrawn.
Earlier this month clergy who had been affiliated with the AMiA received a letter from its headquarters in Pawleys Island, South Carolina asking that they choose one of two canonical jurisdictions. Last month Bishop Murphy, accompanied by his assistant the Rev. Canon Kevin Donlon, traveled to Africa to arrange alternative provincial oversight in light of the severance of relations with the Anglican Province of Rwanda and the end to the temporary oversight provided by the Anglican Province of the Congo.
Following his return to the U.S., the AMiA leader wrote that clergy may choose to affiliate with the Diocese of Bunyoro-Kitara of the Church of the Province of Uganda under Bishop Nathan Kyamanywa, or the Diocese of Dunkwa-on-Offin of the Church of the Province of West Africa in Ghana under Bishop Edmund Dawson Ahmoah.
Clergy were allowed to choose which jurisdiction they wanted to enter, or the office in Pawleys Island would assign a jurisdiction. Clergy were asked to respond by 31 August.
However, on 22 August, the Provincial Office of the Church of the Province of Uganda in Kampala released a statement saying: "The Rt. Rev. Nathan Kyamanywa, Bishop of Bunyoro-Kitara Diocese, in consultation with the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, has withdrawn his offer, effective immediately, to provide canonical residency to clergy in the AMiA, the Society of Mission and Apostolic Works."...
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Canada: United Church elects its first openly gay leader
| Source: Ottawa Sun
August 17, 2012
 | | Dr. Paterson (LifeSiteNews) |
The United Church of Canada has elected an openly gay pastor as its new leader.
Rev. Dr. Gary Paterson of St. Andrew's Wesley Church in Vancouver was voted inThursday at the church's 41st general council, taking place this week in Ottawa.
He was chosen on the sixth ballot of an election that lasted more than eight hours and included 15 nominees....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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| England: Christians not convinced by promise to protect churches | Source: Christian Today
August 18, 2012
David Cameron has promised that churches and other places of worship will not be forced to carry out gay marriages, but Christians remain unconvinced.
A poll by ComRes has found that nearly eight out of 10 churchgoers (79%) believe that the Prime Minister's pledge is worthless.
Of the 569 churchgoers surveyed, 86% said that even if the Government changes the law to exempt religious buildings this will be overturned by the European Court of Human Rights.
Colin Hart, campaign director of C4M, which commissioned the ComRes poll, said the Government's plans to legalise gay marriage were "ill thought out and undemocratic".
"Churchgoers simply don't believe the assurances from the Government that these changes will not be forced on churches," he said....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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| Egypt: President Mursi meets with religious leaders for the second time | Source: Anglican Ink
August 22, 2012
A letter from The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis describing his second meeting with President Mursi:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
President Mohammed Mursi, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, invited the  Heads of Denominations in Egypt in order to dialogue with us. The two-hour long meeting was attended by 13 bishops and pastors representing the Coptic Orthodox, the Catholic, the Greek Orthodox, the Anglican, and the Protestant Churches. I, and all my colleagues, appreciated the fact that the President called us twice in less than two months to talk and listen to us. This never happened in the last 30 years.
The President shared with us the reasons behind his recent decisions to dismiss the military chiefs and the cancelling of the constitutional declarations they made. By these decisions the President put an end to the military ruling of the country which started since 1952. He also shared his hopes that the new Constitution would represent the hopes and views of all Egyptian regardless of their religion, ethnic background and political views. This will guarantee the support of the vast majority of people to the new constitution.
President Mursi expressed his deep appreciation of our assurance that we pray for him in our churches. He also assured us that his Islamic faith commands him to be gracious and just with people of other faiths.The President then gave the opportunity for each of one of us to speak frankly about current situation in Egypt and our hopes for the future. We shared the following points...
The rest of the letter may be found here.
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