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Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. - Hebrews 7:27
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Anglicans in Illinois Need Your Help!
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Canon Ashey
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Dear Friends in Christ,
Yesterday I received a phone call from my friend Tad Brenner, the Chancellor of the Anglican Church in North American (ACNA) Diocese of Quincy, Illinois. He called about yet another new law suit filed by The Episcopal Church (TEC) against his diocese. The suit seeks to "undo" in a different county of Illinois the victory Quincy won against TEC. I asked Tad if he would write me to explain why this latest move of TEC is both so significant and so important to respond to:
"We have just learned that TEC and the Diocese of Chicago have filed a new law suit in Peoria County, Illinois. Just about one month ago, Quincy received the decision from the Adams County, Illinois court which ruled against all of TEC's claims and theories. This ruling came as a result of a three week trial. During trial, the theories of TEC's million dollar expert Bruce Mullin were exposed for their utter unsoundness and invalidity. In spite of this huge victory, the funds of the diocese remain frozen while the appeal is pending. . ."
I want to note here that through a motion to the appellate courts of which Tad and the other attorney for Quincy received no notice beforehand (ex parte), the funds which were to have been unfrozen and made available to Quincy were frozen again by this behind-the-scenes legal maneuver by TEC - and, as is their hallmark, without due process. We have seen this tactic of financial strangulation by TEC against local congregations attempting to leave, over and over again. Now they are seeking to do it to a diocese seeking to leave. |
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Tad goes on to observe:
"This new law suit raises the same issue TEC lost a month ago in another Illinois county. The new law suit is not filed against the Diocese of Quincy, but against her bishop, standing committee and diocesan leaders as well as her rectors and priests in charge."
Again, as the American Anglican Council has documented, and contrary to statements of TEC bishops at the 2008 Lambeth Conference that TEC has no policy of suing individuals, here is another example of the policy of TEC litigators to inflict personal injury upon departing Anglican leaders and not just their churches. You can see the names of the Bishop and other Quincy leaders personally named in this new lawsuit here.
What is the reason for this invidious litigation specifically targeting the Bishop of Quincy and individual Anglican leaders? Why are they seeking to re-litigate the same issues in another venue they think will be more favorable to them? Why waste time and money litigating issues that have already been decided at that level? Why doesn't TEC simply cut their losses in Quincy and move on? Tad Brenner explains:
"The tactic is clear - if TEC cannot win, it will spend its seemingly unlimited funds to drive the truth into submission. TEC knows that the stakes are far higher than the tiny Diocese of Quincy. TEC is about to go to trial in January against the Diocese of San Joaquin, it will be going to trial against the Diocese of Fort Worth and the Diocese of South Carolina. It cannot let a loss in Illinois affect or impede its cases against the bigger and more wealthy dioceses. . .
"Even more importantly, if Quincy's victory is turned into a loss, TEC will use that result to its full advantage elsewhere."
There you have it. Anglicans in Quincy need our help. They are quite literallly "The mouse that roared." They have won a tremendous legal victory rebutting TEC's million dollar experts who say that dioceses cannot leave TEC. They have set a precedent that will help the departing dioceses of San Joaquin, Ft. Worth and South Carolina. In the most cynical of ways, TEC is counting on its money and attorneys to simply outspend Quincy and by doing so to drive that legal precedent into the ground.
Please don't let that happen. Please pray and give to the Quincy Legal Defense Fund so that this cynical attempt by TEC will not succeed against faithful Anglican Christians.
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council
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Article 3: Of the going down of Christ into Hell
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November 8, 2013
Article 3 of the 39 Articles of Religion says:
As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be believed, that he went down into Hell.
In this week's Anglican Perspective Canon Phil Ashey explores the Biblical texts that support this article and what it means to us today.
 | | Article 3: Of the going down of Christ into Hell |
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ECUSA and Diocese of Chicago Gang Up on Quincy Parishes
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November 7, 2013
Yes, on the site of the Diocese of Chicago and those that reprint its press release, you will read a headline such as: "Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and Episcopal Church File Suit in Peoria", but not at this blog. Here we call them as we see them -- and this latest lawsuit is simply an outrageous attempt to bludgeon the already cash-starved Anglican Diocese of Quincy and its member parishes and missions into submission. Worse, it comes right after the Anglican Diocese prevailed at trial over ECUSA on many of the same issues raised in this new lawsuit.
(http://bit.ly/HJ2sq5) Take a look at the complaint as filed. The lies in the plaintiffs' press release are evident from the very caption at the start of the complaint. They claim to be suing "to clarify the legal status of the parishes and missions whose leaders left the Episcopal Church in 2008," yet have they named those parishes? No, they have not: instead, in typical blunderbuss fashion, they are going after the individual rectors of those parishes, as well as Bishop Morales and the members of the Diocese's standing committee and corporate board (whom they personally sued in the case they already lost). . .
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Video: Dr Stephen Noll Reflects on GAFCON II
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 | | GAFCON II: Interview with Stephen Noll (Behind the Scenes) |
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Billy Graham's final sermon: 'I've wept' for America
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November 7, 2013
At 95 and in frail health, Billy Graham often resists family entreaties to make excursions from his mountaintop home. But the nation's most famous evangelist attended a birthday celebration Thursday night that featured hundreds of well-wishers and what is being characterized as his final sermon.
In a video that was recorded over the past year, Graham delivered his familiar message about the saving power of Jesus Christ and expressed concern about the nation's direction. "Our country's in great need of a spiritual awakening," he declared. "There have been times that I've wept as I've gone from city to city and I've seen how far people have wandered from God.". . .
Read the entire article.
Watch "The Cross" with Billy Graham.
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