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"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today.'" Exodus 14:13a NKJV
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Message from Bishop Anderson
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Dear Friends of the Anglican realignment, The first week in July has two important national holidays that Anglicans take part in, in Canada on July 1 for Canada Day, and in the United States on July 4 for Independence Day. Nearly all citizens of Canada and the United States patriotically celebrate their national holidays and wish to support their respective national leaders, their flag, and their armed forces. From a spiritual point of view, orthodox Anglicans can be less than pleased by governmental and court decisions ranging from support for homosexual marriage to awarding church property to those church agencies that never paid for the buildings and have adopted views and actions contrary to the Word of God. In the United States, many are upset with the decisions by the United States Supreme Court on both the Defense of Marriage Act and the Proposition Eight appeal from California. Marriage is a God-established relationship between a man and a woman, and governments choose how they will recognize and reward it. Marriage as an institution does not belong to the governments or the courts, and it is not within their pervue to change the essential nature of marriage, only the reward or penalty they give to it. If governments wish to create a man-made institution for homosexuals, give it an appropriate name, and award it the same tax considerations that marriage has, that is within their right. What they have no right to do is try to redefine the essential nature of marriage which was established by God in creation. It is not only the Supreme Court of the United States which stands in contempt of God (or more accurately, the five justices that voted for the decisions), it is also the President of the United States and much of Congress as well. If much of the leadership of the United States government is in contempt of God and in active rebellion against him, what are those of us who are orthodox Anglicans and patriotic Americans to do?... Read the rest of Bishop Anderson's article here.
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Message from Canon Ashey
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The lowest common denominator?
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Recently the 'Living Church' magazine reported the appointment of Archbishop Albert Chama of Central Africa as Chairman of the Anglican Alliance's global board of trustees (see here). The announcement included the following:
"For Archbishop Chama, the moment is ripe to harness the potential of an organization that brings together Anglicans from developed and developing nations in a common cause. In 2012, he spoke of the need for Anglicans to work side by side even though their cultural contexts influence what sexual behavior they find acceptable.
'What could happen in Canada cannot be in Africa,' he said about same-sex blessings last year. 'What can happen in Africa is not possible in Canada. It's up to the individual people now to accept that we can work together, but we are different.'"
The American Anglican Anglican Council investigated and reported on the development of the Anglican Alliance as a major funding and influence conduit for The Episcopal Church at a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, last October. During that meeting, sources reported Archbishop Chama saying, "Economic empowerment is the lowest common denominator of our unity in the Anglican Communion, despite one or two theological differences."
Archbishop Chama's comments raise an essential question: When Anglicans disagree on such essentials as the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of all, salvation through Christ alone, and the authority of the Bible over our own cultural context - indeed, over every area of our lives - is it possible to simply say that we will have "fellowship" around economic empowerment as the lowest common denominator? What, then, does economic empowerment mean? How will this shared mission be any different than what post-modern, secular and anti-Biblical NGO's offer?...
Read the rest of Canon Ashey's article here.
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July Message from Archbishop Eliud Wabakala
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Source: GAFCON/FCA
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Archbishop Wabukala
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July 4, 2013 To the Faithful of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and friendsFrom Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates' CouncilMy dear Brothers and Sisters, Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Here in Nairobi we are preparing with great anticipation for our second Global Anglican Future Conference, GAFCON 2013, and this is the first of what I intend to be monthly pastoral messages as we move forward together in the unfolding purposes of God. I am confident that this great gathering of over 1,300 delegates will touch the lives of you all, whether or not you are able to be present, and will be a decisive moment in a movement which will shape the future of the Anglican Communion for generations to come.... While we give thanks for much that has been achieved, especially in the emergence of the Anglican Church of North America and our Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, we are painfully aware that the Episcopal Church of the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada continue to promote a false gospel and yet both are still received as in good standing by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Furthermore, the Church of England itself, the historic mother church of the Communion, seems to be advancing along the same path. While defending marriage, both the Archbishops of York and Canterbury appeared at the same time to approve of same-sex Civil Partnerships during parliamentary debates on the UK's 'gay marriage' legislation, in contradiction to the historic biblical teaching on human sexuality reaffirmed by the 1998 Lambeth Conference. In these circumstances, attempts to achieve unity based merely on common humanitarianism and dialogue, without repentance, sacrifice the transforming power of the gospel. The seeds of the East African revival were planted through years of faithful bible teaching and were brought to life by the Spirit of God, with deep conviction of sin and the irrepressible joy of sins forgiven. This is the core of the transforming power of the gospel and in this we delight.... Read the rest of the letter here.
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"Mabruk ya Misr" (Congratulations, Egypt)
| Source: VirtueOnline
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President
Bishop Anis
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July 3, 2013
By President Bishop Mouneer Anis
At last, Egypt is now free from the oppressive rule of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Armed Forces took the side of the millions of Egyptians who demonstrated in the streets since the 30th of June against President Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Armed Forces responded to the invitation of the people to intervene and force the President to step down at the request of the people of Egypt. Field Marshall Abdel Fattah el-SiSi invited His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and The Grand Imam of Egypt Dr. Ahmed el-Tayyib, and other political leaders, to discuss the roadmap for the future of Egypt.
After this meeting, it was announced that the head of the constitutional court will be an interim leader of the nation. The current controversial constitution is now suspended. The new government will involve capable people from different backgrounds.
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Egyptians celebrating
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As soon as Field Marshall Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced this, millions of Egyptians on the streets went around rejoicing, singing, dancing, and making a lot of fireworks. I have never seen Egyptians rejoicing in such a way. They deserve this joy as they insisted to write their own history.
Since the Muslim Brotherhood ruled the country a year ago, we Egyptians experienced divisions, exclusions, sectarian clashes, fanaticism, a decrease in tourism, and a bad economy.
This is an answer to the prayers of so many people from around the world who were praying for our beloved country Egypt. Please continue to pray for protection from violent reaction of the Islamists which already has started. Pray also for unity and reconciliation after more than 1 year of divisions. May the Lord bless you.
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Justice is swerved
| Source: Family Research Council
July 2, 2013
By Tony Perkins
If "fair and balanced" is too much to ask for, how about "honest and factual?" The mainstream press hasn't seemed interested in either since last Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its pair of rulings on marriage.
Thanks to a new Pew Research study, we know that media bias isn't a figment of our imagination - especially when it comes to marriage. And for the past five days, the major outlets have set out to prove Pew right with embarrassing coverage and half-truths that only tell part of the story. Even former solicitor general Ted Olson, who joined CBS's "Face the Nation" on the same segment as I did, tried to paint the Proposition 8 case - which the Court dismissed - as a victory of historic proportions.
The reality is, five justices did not, as Ted Olson implied, redefine marriage in all 50 states. Even in California, where same-sex couples raced to the altar before the ink was even dry on Wednesday's opinions, the Supreme Court simply punted the issue back to the states. In the meantime, the media seems intent on creating the appearance that both rulings were far more sweeping than the justices intended....
The rest of the article may be found here.
Another worthwhile commentary on the Supreme Court decision is here.
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Church of England postpones marriage debate
| Source: Christian Concern 
July 1. 2013
The Church of England has postponed debates on marriage and proposals to allow civil partnerships to be registered in churches. The motions were due to be debated during a five day General Synod meeting in York, set to begin on Friday (5th July). They have now been postponed, allegedly to allow more time to consider the issue of women bishops.
Bishops are thought to be privately considering whether to introduce services of "thanksgiving and dedication" for same sex couples in civil partnerships.
Many Bishops have been officially opposed to same sex "marriage", arguing that civil partnerships provide "equal" rights for same sex couples. But this has led to questions over why the Church of England does not then provide services to recognise them....
The rest of the article may be found here.
Editor's note: The issue of women bishops will be debated in the York synod. A BBC article is here.
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