When I said, "My foot slippeth," Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. Psalm 94:18 KJ21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Message from Bishop David Anderson
|
 | |
Bishop Anderson
|
Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus,
This last year has been a time of tribulation for many theologically orthodox Anglican churches in the United States that previously had broken off from the American Episcopal Church (TEC). Indeed, for those whose property has been seized it would appear to be an "annus horribilis."
When a person professes faith in Jesus Christ and thus becomes a Christian, an individual who lives in the Western world seldom weighs fully the cost of that decision. It has been said of the Platte River in Nebraska that in the Spring runoff it is a mile wide at the mouth and only six inches deep. From this observation by early travelers has come the frequently used expression "a mile wide and an inch deep" to connote something that is wide and impressive but shallow and lacking depth of content. Much of Western Christianity is figuratively a mile wide, but the depth of commitment is untested and whether the individual Christian is willing to suffer discrimination, marginalization, abuse, loss of property or even life is unknown.
A martyr is a witness, and martyrdom may take different forms in various countries. For example, in parts of Africa, it may mean loss of life; in some Muslim countries, it may mean being run out of your home and having all your property taken away. In England and North America, it may mean financial loss or loss of employment. Included today is a story about Christian innkeepers in Vermont, USA, who have had to pay a stiff penalty for living out their Christian faith by running their business on Christian moral principles. Remember them in your prayers. They are witnesses, being obedient to what they believe God requires in Holy Scripture.
|
|
|
|
There are many times individuals have demonstrated their faith and their understanding of the consequences of following Jesus to the point of great pain and even loss of life. Many Anglican leaders during the short reign of Queen Mary were hung, drawn, and quartered, while others were simply burned alive at the stake. One of my Amish/Mennonite ancestors on my mother's side of the family was Jacob Hochstetler from Berks County, Pennsylvania. On the night of Sept. 19-20, 1757, a group of Delaware Indians surrounded his cabin, inside which he and his wife and several of his adult children had taken refuge. On the table were several loaded rifles ready for a hunting excursion, and as the Indians broke into the cabin, the young teenage sons, Joseph and Christian, reached for their hunting rifles in an attempt to kill or scare off the attackers, but their father, true to their Christian pacifism, did not allow them to kill or injure the attackers even at the risk of their own death. The sons obeyed their father and the Indians immediately killed Barbara, the mother, a daughter and a son Jacob. The father Jacob and his sons Joseph and Christian were taken captive. Although I am not a pacifist, and an Anglican rather than a Mennonite, I fully appreciate the depth of this family's commitment to their Christian faith as they understood it, and to the Savior that they loved. I don't advocate their approach for Anglicans, but I am moved by their willingness to go the full distance. Their faith was tested as they all were martyrs.
Our situation today in America and Europe is much different, and yet still unfolding. In England it is lawful to discriminate against Christians who wear a cross as a sign of their faith, yet it is permissible for others of different faiths to wear some identification. It seems that in England and Europe, no religion or other religions are somehow chic but faith in Jesus Christ is odious. I believe that this calls for activism on the part of Christians to defend their right to practice their faith, but also a resolute peacefulness to stand up under abuse without responding in equal kind.
My heart breaks for those faithful Anglicans in Canada and the United States who have built their churches, paid for them, and now have been legally defrauded of them and expelled. Let those Canadian and American heterodox leaders in the Canadian Anglican and American Episcopal churches consider what they will tell the Lord Jesus Christ when they come before the judgment seat and are asked what they did to their departing church members. For those faithful who departed and have suffered such loss, God be with you. Your witness shows the depth of your faith and commitment to Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures, and your losses, though great, will be returned with blessings beyond measure. You have endured your loss with grace and good character, you have defended the faith. May our Lord Jesus Christ watch over you and prosper you, granting you such depth of faith that you will be more than conquerors in Him. May God add to your house those who the Holy Spirit is bringing to faith, give you songs of joy instead of tears, and a new home to replace those taken away.
To all those who suffer and thus witness to the Holy Faith, may you receive a crown that shall not be taken away.
Faithfully in Christ,
+David
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council
|
| Anglican Perspective by Canon Phil Ashey | September 7, 2012
This week, the AAC hosted a meeting of clergy interested in reaching college students with the Gospel. One thing Anglicans in North America lack is a pipeline for not only reaching the generation to come but recruiting future Anglican leaders. One way of addressing this need is through a possible Anglican Campus Fellowship at colleges and universities around North America. This week's Anglican Perspective provides some more insight into the hopes of those involved in this ministry initiative.
View Anglican Perspective here.
Back to top
|
Ft. Worth: Supreme Court sets date for Oral Argument
| Source: Diocese of Ft. Worth
August 31, 2012
An announcement by the Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth (ACNA):
We are pleased to announce that the Texas Supreme Court has set October 16, 2012,
 | |
Bishop Iker
|
as the date to hear oral arguments in our direct appeal of the trial court ruling in the property litigation brought against us by The Episcopal Church. This is the same date previously set to hear a similar case involving the Church of the Good Shepherd in San Angelo.
Bishop Iker and our legal team are extremely pleased with this development, which brings us closer to a complete resolution of the lawsuits which began in April 2009 against the Diocese and Corporation.
Please continue to remember our attorneys - Scott Brister, Shelby Sharpe, and David Weaver - in your prayers as they prepare for their appearance before the court on our behalf.
Back to top |
Catholic innkeepers fined $30,000 and lose wedding business for not hosting reception for gender-segregated couple
| Source: RenewAmerica
August 25, 2012
By Frances Kelly
What's the price for defending gender-integrated marriage? How much did it cost a Vermont business to live out its faith?
The answer: $30,000.
Two women from New York, Kate Baker and Ming Linsley, sued the Wildflower Inn of  | |
Wildflower Inn
|
Vermont for declining to host their wedding reception.
The owners of the inn, Jim and Mary O'Reilly, are Catholic and believe in pro-gender marriage. They refused to celebrate the marriage of the gender-segregated couple.
The American Civil Liberties Union helped the monogender couple win their lawsuit.
ACLU:
A Vermont resort . . . finalized an agreement to resolve the lawsuit today. As part of the settlement, the resort will pay $10,000 to the Vermont Human Rights Commission as a civil penalty and will place $20,000 in a charitable trust to be disbursed by the couple.
According to the ACLU press release, Vermont law prohibits businesses from recognizing gender differences: "As part of the settlement agreement, however, the Wildflower Inn agreed that Vermont law prohibits unequal treatment of same-sex couples." As part of the settlement, the resort agreed to stop hosting wedding receptions for all couples....
The rest of the article may be found here.
Back to top |
| British Christians Take Complaints to European Court | Source: The Church Report
September 4, 2012
Four British Christians who say they lost their jobs because of their Christian beliefs on Tuesday took their cases to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
In a challenge to what former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey described as the "reigning orthodoxy of diversity and equality", the four alleged they suffered discrimination as a result of their Christian values.
Two of the four lost their jobs over their conviction that homosexual relationships are contrary to God's law and that it is incompatible with their religion to do anything to condone homosexuality.
One, a registrar, objected to officiating at civil partnership ceremonies between same-sex couples, while the other, a therapist, did not wish to give counselling to same-sex couples.
The other two -- an airline worker and a nurse -- fell foul of their employers after wearing necklaces with crosses at work....
The rest of the article may be found here.
Back to top
|
| Christian girl hailed as 'daughter of nation' by senior Pakistani cleric | Source: Guardian (UK)
September 3, 2012
By Jon Boone
The Christian girl who was allegedly framed for blasphemy by her local mullah has been hailed as a "daughter of the nation" by one of Pakistan's most senior Islamic clerics, who also vowed to guarantee her safety if she is eventually released from prison.
The heavyweight support for Rimsha Masih from the chairman of the All Pakistan Ulema Council, a grouping of Islamic clerics, is being seen as a remarkable turn of events in a country where individuals accused of insulting Islam are almost never helped by powerful public figures.
In a fiery press conference at a central Islamabad hotel, Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, flanked by other senior clerics, demanded all the organs of the Pakistani state come together to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest last month of a girl who it is claimed has Down's syndrome.
He also lambasted Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, the imam from the Mehrabadi slum neighbourhood on the edge of Islamabad, who was accused over the weekend of tampering with evidence in order to ensure the girl's conviction.
"Our heads are bowed with shame for what Chishti did," Ashrafi said.
He later said Chishti was merely the front man for other individuals "behind the scene" who wanted to stoke local antagonism against the Christian minority in the area in order to force them to flee....
The rest of the article may be found here.
Back to top
|
| West Africa set to have two provinces, two Archbishops | Source: Anglican Communion News Service
September 4, 2012
The Church of the Province of West Africa has revealed that it is holding a special synod at the end of the month to adopt a constitutional change that will see the creation of two provinces with two archbishops.
The Provincial Secretary, The Revd Canon Fr Anthony Eiwuley, said today that the Church will be meeting at Cuttington University in Liberia September 27-29 for a special synod.
"At this synod, we shall be adopting an amendment to our constitution to give room for the establishment of two administrative provinces," he said. "One to contain all the dioceses in Ghana and the other, the rest of the six dioceses in Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cameroon.
"Each of the smaller province will then elect an administrative Archbishop and out of the two, one will be elected the Primate of the Province."
The current Primate, The Most Revd. Dr. Justice Akrofi, retires on October 29, 2012 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Canon Eiwuley added, "We seek for the prayers of the entire Communion."
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
