"Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and depend upon horses and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen hecause they are very strong, but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord! Isaiah 31:1 KJ21
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This Week's News
Message from Bishop Anderson
Message from Canon Ashey
Archbishop of Canterbury appoints Director of Reconciliation
New archbishop for Tanzania
Anti-euthanasia activists launch European coalition in 'historic' meeting in Rome
China's Christians see mounting persecution in country's effort to disband churches, report finds
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 Message from Bishop David Anderson    
  
Bishop Anderson
Bishop Anderson


Dear Friends of the Anglican Realignment,

As we prepare for the second Sunday in Lent, I am reminded of the disarray of the world in the secular realm and within the major churches, and that our hope finally isn't with human leadership no matter how godly they may seem. It is with the Lord Jesus Christ who is both all-knowing and completely trustworthy.

As the world waits for the Roman Catholic College of Cardinals to meet and choose the next pope, articles are beginning to appear speculating about why Pope Benedict decided to step down. Some of them point to deep divisions and tension in the Vatican between factions in the Curia. Others suggest it is the Curia in tension with other parts of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. The Curia is best defined by Vatican documents: "In exercising supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church, the Roman pontiff makes use of the departments of the Roman Curia which, therefore, perform their duties in his name and with his authority for the good of the churches and in the service of the sacred pastors" (Decree concerning the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church, Christus Dominus.)   Unless someone on the inside decides to write a tell-all book in the future, we may well never know all of the ins and outs of this decision, but then there are enough ins and outs in the Anglican world to keep us busy in our own yard. Nevertheless, many Anglicans felt that Pope Benedict was supportive of our orthodox realignment and we can only hope that the next Pope is similarly inclined.
It is being suggested that the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will try to deal with the deep divisions in Anglicanism at his upcoming Enthronement. The previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, used a Hegelian approach, putting thesis against the anti-thesis, and letting the two come to resolution through pushing and pulling. This would suppose that both the thesis and the anti-thesis are acceptable and that essentially some middle point would be acceptable as well. Sometimes this could work. In other cases this doesn't work, such as when precious faith and belief are on one side and renunciation of historic faith is on the other. In that case, a midpoint is still unacceptable, yet that was the only trick that Dr. Williams seemed to know. If all you have is a hammer, then I guess everything looks like a nail. In the case of Dr. Williams, that meant more and more Indaba and less ability to find a middle ground that anyone was willing to buy into. Unfortunately, when Dr. Williams left he didn't take Indaba with him.

Now we have a new Archbishop and it appears that his approach will be reconciliation. He has appointed the Rev. Canon David Porter, who says of himself that he is an Ulster Scot, a High Church Anabaptist, and Canon for Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral. From his experiences in Ireland, and especially in Northern Ireland, he would have had plenty of opportunity to practice reconciliation. I can somewhat empathize with him as an Ulster Scot, since my father's lineage was Ulster Scot also, though he left in 1729 for America, and he was resolutely Presbyterian. Still, in the troubles in Northern Ireland we have devout Christians on both sides of an issue of governance and safety, and Canon Porter's work at reconciliation is very appropriate. In England, however, and in the global Anglican Communion the situation is a little different. There are forces at work in both the Church of England and in other provinces of the communion which seek to do such damage to the historic Christian faith that the reconciliation plan may not work.

In the English church, those who are so deeply committed to having women bishops and driving those who can't agree out of the church entirely don't want reconciliation, they want total victory. In the case of the Anglican provinces of Canada and the United States, the heterodox faith being promulgated does not mix well with actual historic Christianity. Is Jesus Christ the only authentic way to the Father or is he not? If he is, then go one way. If he is not, then for starters he is a liar, and it calls into question all of the other things that Jesus said that we fully rely upon. Many in The Episcopal Church (TEC) leadership believe that Jesus is A WAY, one of many, but not THE way. That is not mixable with the historic exclusivity claim for Jesus. Either he is or he isn't the only way. There is nothing for those who hold the truth to repent of, and no way for them to split the difference in order to be "reconciled" with those who have departed the faith. With the appointment of Canon Porter as his "Director of Reconciliation," is Archbishop Welby making a one-size-fits-all commitment to reconciliation as the answer to what ails the Church and the Communion? But if reconciliation is his hammer, he will miss the mark, because the problems in the communion aren't all nails. This is a time for church discipline, and an opportunity for those holding heretical views to be called to repentance and restoration, or failing that, separation from the body of the faithful.
 
Archbishop Welby will be challenged to grow into the job, discover other tools besides reconciliation, and reform and bring together the Anglican Communion. If he can't, there will almost certainly become two Anglican Communions, one based on TEC and one on the GAFCON alliance. David Virtue's article has additional coverage of the new Archbishop.

Now on a positive and hopeful note, the Anglican Church in North America's fairly new Diocese of the Carolinas just keeps growing. Part of the reason is their determined commitment to church planting and congregational development. Using a diocese-based plan, they are planning on planting thirty new churches in the next three years. They have an ambitious goal, but based on Bishop Steve Woods' track record for starting new congregations, I think he'll make his goal and be an encouragement to other dioceses to do as well.

When the very first church was founded in the Carolinas, the year was 1681 and it was called St. Philip's Anglican Church (later Episcopal). At that time, the Anglican churches were within the geographical boundaries of the Province of Carolina, which included both present-day North and South Carolina. The division of the Province into two entities began in 1691 and was completed in 1712. The division meant that Anglicans who lived in the Carolinas were now in two different colonial bodies, but all colonial churches in America were under the minimal supervision of the Bishop of London. Exactly three hundred years after the Carolinas were separated as governmental colonies, the Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas was formed, in 2012, with a commitment to preach the Gospel and bring men and women to Jesus Christ throughout the entire Carolinas. Their new church plants are typically made by bringing unchurched non-Anglican/Episcopalians into a discovery of faith and community. May God prosper their work and enlarge their tent.

Blessings and peace in Christ Jesus,

+David

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

 

A Message from Canon Ashey         
 

Canon Ashey
Canon Ashey

Building up Leaders... everywhere!

Dear friends in Christ,

For the next three weeks and during Holy Week I will be on the road for the American Anglican Council and our initiatives in developing faithful Anglican leaders in North America and beyond, helping congregations grow in every biblical way, and to further the realignment of Christians - Anglican and beyond - around a common confession of faith in Christ Jesus and shared witness and mission.

Next week (Feb 26 - March 1)  I will be at The Cove (The Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, NC) for the third gathering of our southeast Clergy Leadership Training Institute (CLTI).  Our main speaker will be the Rev. Canon David Roseberry of Christ Church, Plano, TX, and the theme of this gathering is "Compounding Results:  Raising up and developing leaders in your ministry."  Dr. Jim Osterhaus and I will also be there to continue our talks on how clergy can effectively lead through church conflicts and the competing values that drive conflict.

For those of you who may not know about our Clergy Leadership Training Institute, the CLTI is for the development of clergy beyond seminary in the four "C's" of leadership:  Character, Competency (ministry life skills), Compounding Results (multiplying leaders) and Church Conflict.  We focus especially on younger clergy and those who are in positions to disciple younger clergy.  Our goal is to equip clergy leaders with healthy boundaries - spiritual, emotional and professional - and effective skills to lead growing and healthy Anglican churches in North America.  We do this through three gatherings over an 18-24 month period, with speakers who have proven and fruitful ministries in the four "C's" of leadership.  We provide one-on-one coaching/spiritual direction for each participant during our gatherings, and on-site intercessors are available for prayer ministry.  You can see the testimonies of this first CLTI group here.

In addition, we ask each participant to make two commitments:  (1) meet with other participants at least one a month for ongoing peer coaching, mutual support, accountability and prayer, and (2) we provide Bible studies for these meetings and each participant is asked to take them back to their congregation and use them to raise up 10-12 new leaders!  You can see a sample of the Bible studies we provide here. The AAC is partnering with EQUIP ministries who have developed these Bible studies for leaders globally - approximately 3 million in 54 countries!  These Bible studies (108 in all, or 9 years worth of monthly studies!)  may also be printed in the native languages of any of those 54 countries, and used for short term missions.
 
You can find out more about our CLTI here or call me or Mary Orr for more information.

We will be holding our second session of the CLTI for clergy in Fort Worth March 5-7.  Our main speaker will be The Rev. Dr. Doug McGlynn and the theme will be "Competency: The ministry life of the Leader."  Dr. Jim Osterhaus and I will also be there to speak on church conflict.
 
On March 11-13 I will be at the Cedar Springs, WA Retreat Center to do the first session of our CLTI on "The Character of the Leader" for clergy in the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC).  After a short break, the clergy from the Diocese of Cascadia will join those ANiC clergy who wish to stay for our second session of CLTI on "The Competency of the Leader," March 13-15.  Our main speakers will be Bishops Trevor Walters of ANiC and Kevin Allen of Cascadia. And I will be there to assist and speak on how leaders can maintain healthy boundaries, especially during church conflict.

I hope you will keep these gatherings and dates in your prayers - please pray that all of the clergy who will be attending will be refreshed and renewed in their leadership, ministries and families!

I also bid your prayers for the second gathering of our coalition of confessing churches - Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian - at Anglican1000 in Wheaton, IL on March 4-6.  This is a follow up to our October 2012 gathering in Dallas, TX, where 32 leaders from these four denominations agreed on a common confession of faith - Jesus Christ: Our Common Ground and Common Cause - and pledged to work together on theological education, engaging North American culture, church planting and social witness.  The AAC continues to play a major leadership role in gathering this coalition, and it is significant that our first gathering after Dallas will be to focus on sharing best practices in church planting, and exploring next steps we can take together in the months and years ahead.  You can see a description of this A1000 Summit and the Ecumenical dimension here.

Finally, I bid your prayers for a mission I will be taking March 26-April 3 to the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan to assess the needs for clergy leadership development in the South Sudan.  As the ACNA Canon for Special Initiatives, and on behalf of the AAC, I will be meeting with Archbishop Deng Bul and other Sudanese Anglican leaders to assess their needs for clergy development and to see how we can adapt our CLTI to those needs.  I am sure we will also be drawing upon the experience and resources of other ministries such as SOMA.  In any event, this represents an exciting door of opportunity and extension of our CLTI to brothers and sisters in the Global South!  Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to be faithful to our mission of developing faithful leaders.
                                          
Yours in Christ,

Phil+

The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council

Donate here to support the AAC's Clergy Leadership Training Institute.   
 

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Archbishop of Canterbury appoints Director of Reconciliation    
Source: Archbishop of Canterbury website
Porter
Canon Porter

February 18, 2013

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is delighted to announce the appointment of Canon David Porter as Director for Reconciliation at Lambeth Palace.

David Porter will work part time on the Archbishop's personal staff, seconded by Coventry Cathedral where he remains Canon Director for Reconciliation Ministry - bringing first-hand knowledge of the Cathedral's eminent and longstanding reconciliation work to Lambeth Palace and the wider Church.

The focus of Canon David Porter's role will be to enable the Church to make a powerful contribution to transforming the often violent conflicts which overshadow the lives of so many people in the world. His initial focus will be on supporting creative ways for renewing conversations and relationships around deeply held differences within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.

David Porter brings extensive front-line experience in the area of reconciliation having served on the Northern Ireland Civic Forum, chairing its working group on peacebuilding and reconciliation, as well serving as a member of the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council. Since September 2008 David has been the Canon Director for Reconciliation Ministry at Coventry Cathedral, England. An experienced community relations activist, peacebuilding practitioner and community theologian he has thirty years experience in regional, national and international faith based organisations....

The rest of the article may be found here.
 

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New archbishop for Tanzania         
Source: Anglican Ink 
Chimeledya
Archbishop elect Chimeledya

February 22, 2013  
By George Conger

The Archbishop of Tanzania was rebuffed yesterday in his bid for a second five year term as the Bishop of Mpwapwa, the Rt. Rev. Jacobo Chimeledya, was elected primate of the Anglican Church of Tanzania.

On 21 Feb 2012 a special electoral synod was convened in Dar es Salaam to elect an archbishop and primate. Under the church's constitution a diocesan bishop who is less than 60 years of age may stand for election for the five year position and if elected may be re-elected for a second five year term.

In 2007 the synod elected the Bishop of Dar es Salaam Valentino Mokiwa, who last year announced his intention to seek re-election.  However, after three rounds of voting the 129 delegates elected Bishop Chimeledya.

Born on 28 August 1957 in Zoisa, Kongwa province, Tanzania, Bishop Chimededya earned a degree in Health Administration at Mzumbe University in 1992 and began his theological training at St Paul's Theological College, Limuru Kenya. He was ordained a deacon in 1996 and priest in 1997, and in 2003 he received a Master's Degree in Theology from the Virginia Theological Seminary....

The rest of the article may be found here.

 

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Anti-euthanasia activists launch European coalition in 'historic' meeting in Rome   
Source: LifeSiteNews
February 19, 2013
by John Jalsevac

ROME - A group of nearly 20 leading anti-euthanasia activists representing 11 countries gathered today in Rome to launch a pan-European coalition.

Their goal? To promote "care, not killing," said Alex Schadenberg, the Chairman of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition International, the organizer of the meeting, who described the event as "historic."

A survey of the situation in Europe suggests that the creation of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) Europe could not come a minute too soon.

Euthanasia is already deeply entrenched and expanding in several European countries, and with aging populations across the continent, more and more are showing signs of being swayed by the rhetoric of the euthanasia movement. Currently pressure campaigns to legalize the practice are ongoing in the UK and France....

The rest of the article may be found here.

 

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China's Christians see mounting persecution in country's effort to disband churches, report finds   
Source: Fox News
February 21, 2013
By Joshua Rhett Miller

Christians and human rights advocates are alarmed over an aggressive crackdown on house churches in China, where the faithful are forced to call their gatherings "patriotic" assemblies or sent to prison where they can face torture, according to a new report.

Cases of the government persecuting Christians rose 42 percent last year, amid a three-phase plan by Beijing to eradicate the home-based churches, according to China Aid, a Texas-based human rights group. Experts say the Communist Party in China has long felt threatened by any movement that galvanizes a large sector of the population, fearing it could wield political clout. But the nation has become more systematically hostile to worshippers, according to Bob Fu, China Aid founder and president.

"There have been new tactics of persecution as well, especially with the government using secret directives and memos with long-term, step-by-step strategies to eradicate house churches," Fu told FoxNews.com. "This is very serious stuff."...

The rest of the article may be found here.

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