"For the Lord will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance."
Psalm 94:14 KJ21
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Message from Bishop David Anderson
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Bishop Anderson
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
It is election season in the United States, and those residing therein are being bombarded with TV adverts and phone solicitations on behalf of candidates of both parties. I for one am disappointed with the quality of many of the candidates running for office, and the fact that while many candidates do have something of value to offer, it seems that many also have other serious issues as baggage that they bring along. I'm not a single-issue voter, but I do wish for candidates of higher moral caliber with a more finely developed sense of ethics, a better grasp of world history and geography, a better appreciation for economics and the things that drive men and women to work hard, defer gratification, and not look to bigger government for all of the answers. Oh well, I can hope.
While our campaigns for public office in the USA are quite open, the Church of England's politics are quite closely held and confidential. A small group of people on the Crown Nominations Commission will soon decide, if they haven't already, who the next Archbishop of Canterbury (ABC) will be. The name of their preferred candidate, without the affirmation of the rest of the Anglican world or even the pew sitters in the CofE, will go to the Prime Minister for his perfunctory rubber stamp and then to the Queen herself. I understand that the preferred candidate is the one that is to be "chosen" by the Monarch, but there is a backup candidate in case something very untoward were to happen, such as sudden death or disability, previously unknown skeletons falling out of the closet, or some equivalent.
The Monarch is expected by custom to freely choose the primary name given to her, but who will that be? Adrian Hilton of the Daily Mail in London has a good analysis that we include with this Update. Of the names he mentions, John Sentamu and Richard Chartres both seem to be solid choices from an orthodox Anglican Christian standpoint, realizing that anyone put forward has said or done something, sometime, to give others concern. Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, has a number of things to recommend him, and Chartres of London has done a good job and is friendly with the royal family.
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The idea of an additional person with title and portfolio to help lead the Anglican Communion, as a President or some other title of top rank, seems to me to be conditionally a good idea. The current Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested that at some point this might be helpful and necessary and confesses to having bungled the job himself without this assistance being available. I think the time to begin implementation of such an office is about one year after the new ABC takes office, before he is worn out or has made too many miscalculations. The new position would require more of an executive-type candidate who is a person of profound faith but also gifted in listening, thinking (in the normal sense of the word), speaking and writing in ways that people can understand and appreciate what is being conveyed.
This person should not be chosen in the usual manner by a cloistered few, but with as broad a representation as possible reflected in the selection process. It should be someone who can understand the West, but also relate to the East and the South. Should the Anglican Communion Primates elect the President from among themselves? Does the President need to be a primate, or should the skill set required be the determinant? Should all of the Anglican Communion bishops elect the President, and should the President be an Archbishop or Bishop? How would the screening be done and by whom? Much of the present infrastructure wouldn't be trusted to bring forth orthodox candidates that could be viable contenders; if some factions, including the American Episcopal Church, were able to influence the screening and short list selection, anyone acceptable to the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) provinces would be screened out before the list saw the light of day.
In the new structure, perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury would provide the role that the Monarch provides in the English government, and the President of the Communion could be chosen by and answerable to the entire Anglican Communion. It's an idea that we will hear discussed further in the next few years; let's consider now the possible good that could come as well as the rocks in the water that we might inadvertently dash the ship against.
Anglicans throughout the world are asked to pray for the appointment process and then for the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus,
+David
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council
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A Message from Canon Ashey
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Canon Ashey
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AAC to Host Ecumenical Leadership Summit
Dear Friends in Christ,
For several years, The American Anglican Council has been working with other mainline churches and Christians in North America who have also been under attack from leaders within their own denominations - leaders who have pressed and continue to press an agenda that is unbiblical. Serious divisions over the authority of scripture, the uniqueness of Christ, the nature of revelation and human sexuality are just some of the issues plaguing our respective denominations - Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists and Lutherans alike.
In the course of these discussions, a longing has emerged to develop a more robust partnership around common convictions and common action. And so I am pleased to announce that the American Anglican Council will be hosting an Ecumenical Leadership Summit of 30 Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian leaders on October 22-25 in Dallas, Texas. This October ecumenical summit will gather leaders from Lutheran Core, the Presbyterian Lay Committee, The Institute on Religion and Democracy, the Anglican Church in North America, the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, the Good News Methodists and the North American Lutheran Church. The group of 30 leaders, representing almost 600,000 evangelical and orthodox Christians in North America, is seeking convergence on common theological grounds for partnership and action together in areas of theology, engaging North American culture, mission, church planting and social witness.
Over the last six months, I have been working with the leaders of these groups to come together for common action that will build up and defend Great Commission followers of Jesus Christ in each of our denominations. Already we have discerned at least two areas of mutual action: (1) sharing of resources/seminaries to prepare candidates for ministry in locations where they are unavailable to some of us, and (2) sharing of worship space when one of our congregations is displaced due to litigation with revisionist mainline leaders.
The Rev. Carmen Fowler LaBerge, president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, says the drift from orthodoxy in our denominations is a collective failure with severe impact. "We've lost a generation of Christians and we've all failed to faithfully help people connect the Word of God with everyday life....When people in the pulpit and people in the pew feel entitled to replace the Word of God with their own ideas and equate Jesus with other prophets, the Church has shifted off its foundation. Those challenges are not unique to Presbyterians."
The Rev. Mark Chavez, General Secretary of the North American Lutheran Church, will also be present at the fall meeting. "My hopes for the gathering are that orthodox Christians from the four historic traditions will find ways to cooperate in clearly and boldly witnessing to the only Savior for all of humanity, Jesus Christ, in an increasingly secular culture, and support each other in the challenges from secularism. I also hope that we can mutually support the upbuilding of the body of Christ in our congregations so that they thrive and grow in making disciples of Christ."
Though all of us have experienced a tumultuous decade within our denominations, we are all excited about the future and about what Jesus will do through us and through opportunities like this as we seek to remain faithful to Him. Please pray for us as we come together to lay the foundations for Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians to come together around the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of all, engaging North American culture with a Christian worldview, planting churches and doing social witness and mission together - and all under the lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of his word!
Yours in Christ,
Phil+
The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council
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Anglican Perspective: Works without Faith
| Canon Ashey comments on the Gospel imperative to address both material and spiritual poverty.
View Anglican Perspective here.
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The 105th Archbishop of Canterbury is about to be revealed
| Source: Mail Online
September 25, 2012
By Adrian Hilton
The time has come to select a new Most Reverend Father in God, by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan. The CVs have been sifted, references requested, candidates shortlisted, and Google consulted (just in case.. skeletons.. cupboard..).
The betting shops display the usual array of odds, with the favourites presently enthroned in the cathedrals of York, Liverpool, Durham, Norwich and Coventry. You can even get 200/1 on Richard Dawkins succeeding Dr Rowan Williams, of which there's about as much chance as the Pope beatifying Martin Luther....
The rest of the article may be found here.
The procedures for the appointment of the ABC may be found here.
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Obama administration appeals ruling which protected Catholic family business from HHS mandate
| Source: LifeSiteNews
September 26, 2012
By Ben Johnson
DENVER - A judge's order will not stop the Obama administration from pressing forward
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The owners of Hercules Industries -- from left to right, James Newland, Paul Newland, William Newland, Andrew Newland (Courtesy: ADFMedia.org)
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in its quest to punish a Catholic family's business for refusing to comply with the HHS mandate.
Hercules Industries, an HVAC business in Denver, won an injunction against the controversial provision requiring employers to cover contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs in its health care plans on July 27.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department appealed the ruling to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, also based in Denver....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Virginia Supreme Court to Hear Falls Church Petition
| Source: Anglican Curmudgeon blog
September 25, 2012
By A. S. Haley
Today, the Supreme Court of Virginia informed the parties that it would hear a brief oral argument on October 16, beginning at 1 p.m., on the petition filed by The Falls Church to review the judgment entered against it in Fairfax County Circuit Court. In Virginia, appeals from civil judgments are not a matter of right. Only the Supreme Court hears civil appeals, and it has discretion to refuse review. The purpose of the brief argument is to give the appellant's attorneys an opportunity to emphasize to the Court's writ panel (which will consist of just three of the Court's seven justices) the reasons why it should accept the case for review.
The argument is limited to just ten minutes. Only the appellant's attorneys (the ones who filed the petition seeking review) may argue, but the appellees, their attorneys, and members of the general public may attend and listen to the proceedings. There is more about the writ panel procedure at this link....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Chick-fil-A has made 'no such concessions' to the gay agenda: Dan Cathy denies media reports
| Source: LifeSiteNews
September 24, 2012
by Ben Johnson
CHICAGO - After a Chicago alderman claimed last week that Chick-fil-A had agreed not to fund pro-family organizations, the fast food chain's president Dan Cathy has set the record straight.
"Chick-fil-A made no such concessions, and we remain true to who we are and who we
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Dan Cathy
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have been," he said in a statement posted on Mike Huckabee's website on Friday.
Last week, First Ward Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno, who has been opposing Chick-fil-A's attempts to open a franchise because of Cathy's traditional marriage views, claimed that the Christian business had agreed that its philanthropy arm, the WinShape Foundation, would no longer support organizations that oppose redefining marriage. The news was widely reported in the mainstream media as a major "victory" for the pro-homosexual movement.
However, the pro-family organization MassResistance told LifeSiteNews.com in an e-mail that a spokeswoman for the fast food chain specifically said the foundation would continue to fund the Family Research Council, Exodus International, Eagle Forum, and Focus on the Family, among others.
Moreno had held up the restaurant's efforts to open a store in the Big Windy for 10 months.
"There continues to be erroneous implications in the media that Chick-fil-A changed our practices and priorities in order to obtain permission for a new restaurant in Chicago. That is incorrect," Cathy said....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Gloomy financial future facing the Anglican Church of Canada
| Source: Anglican Ink
September 25, 2012
By George Conger
A strict regime of cost cutting and layoffs has not cured the Anglican Church of Canada's cash crunch, the primate Archbishop Fred Hiltz told members of the synod of the ecclesiastical province of Canada last week in Montreal.
Archbishop Hiltz stated that the close of the second quarter of 2012, the Anglican
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Archbishop Hiltz
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Church of Canada was running a deficit of C$900,000.
The national offices of the Anglican Church of Canada are not the only institutions facing financial shortfalls, dioceses and church institutions are reporting a decline in income, and last week a seminary announced it was closing its doors.
"The General Synod is struggling financially and if the truth be known we have been on this trajectory for a long time," Archbishop Hiltz according a report printed by the Montreal Anglican....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Gay marriage defeated in Australia's parliament
| Source: MercatorNet
September 20, 2012
By Michael Cook
Two attempts to legalise same-sex marriage failed in Australia's Federal Parliament this week. On Wednesday, a private member's bill sponsored by a Labor MP, Stephen Jones, was defeated by 98 votes to 42 in the House of Representatives. And today, the Senate defeated another bill sponsored by three Labor Senators by 41 votes to 26.
The governing Labor Party (ALP)allowed its members a conscience vote on the issue -  meaning they were not bound to vote as a bloc - but Liberal-National Party coalition did not. Ten of the 17 cabinet ministers in the lower house voted in favour of the bill. The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and former PM Kevin Rudd were amongst the ALP members who voted against it. Two Liberal Party Senators were absent to avoid crossing the floor after making passionate pleas for gay marriage in the debate....
Even though marriage is a Federal responsibility under the Australian constitution, some states are ignoring the constitutional difficulties. In Tasmania the lower house has already approved a same-sex marriage bill and the upper house votes on it next week. With only two or three members undecided, it will be a nail-biting finish to an exhausting debate.
The rest of the article may be found here.
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