Anglicans United & Latimer Press

If elected, Lind would become the second bishop in the Episcopal Church who lives with a same-sex partner – following New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose highly-publicized consecration in 2003 is at the heart of the fierce debate among members of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The latest developments in Chicago could also be enough to push the worldwide church body past the brink of schism.

Lind’s inclusion as a candidate for bishop is sure to further intensify next month’s meeting of U.S. Episcopal Church bishops, who are due to meet and discuss whether to agree to demands from the Anglican Communion to unequivocally pledge not to consecrate any further openly gay bishops.

That meeting, set for Sept. 30, (actually Sept. 20-25) could prove to be a pivotal point in the history of the Anglican Communion. If U.S. bishops refuse to bow to demands from the communion, The Episcopal Church could potentially lose its full membership status within the 77 million-member church body.

If, on the other hand, the U.S.-based church does reject the demands and the head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, refuses to retract the membership of the American arm, then Global South church members, who have been the most stringent opponents of U.S. developments, may decide to break away from the communion.

Many Anglican bishops have yet to confirm their attendance at next year’s landmark Lambeth Conference, which is held every ten years.

Originally, those invited to Lambeth 2008 were requested to give their response to the invitation by July 31, but the Rev. Canon James Rosenthal, the communion’s director of communications, noted that the deadline to respond had been extended as some overseas bishops “have stated they have not receive their invitation yet.”

According to U.K.-based Christian Today, only a couple hundred of the 880 who were invited had replied by the deadline.

The Right Rev William Murdoch and the Right Rev Bill Atwood were consecrated at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi by Kenya's Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi.

The ordinations are valid but are expected to be counted as "irregular" by Lambeth Palace in London, placing the two outside the officially-recognised Anglican hierarchy...

Counting AMiA bishops, this makes ten "irregular" bishops now serving in the US, without any permission granted to do so by the Episcopal Church. [Revisionists find this point to be infuriating]

So, why were these consecrations done now? From the Associated Press:
...The spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, has asked African archbishops not to consecrate U.S. priests to help avoid a schism. Kenyan Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said there had been no direct communication with Williams over the Thursday's ceremony...

Dr. Williams returns from sabbatical on September 1. Thus the late August consecrations, before he could issue a "Godly admonition" to Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi. What better way to establish "the facts on the ground" than to not ask permission and then, if necessary, apologize later?

Speaking of Abp. Nzimbi, he is to be commended for giving us clarity as to what these consecrations are really all about: ...Archbishop Nzimbi said the consecration was not intended to widen the gulf in the church, but was a Christian response to a plea for help and pastoral care from Anglicans in the United States.

Gay people, he said, did not have a place as leaders in the Anglican communion.
"We need to love them, we need to preach to them, but not to make them lay readers, pastors, bishops," he said...
Can't get much clearer than that.

Ruth Gledhill observes that not all conservatives are pleased with these consecrations.

From Andrew Carey: [Journalist/Reporter Church of England Newspaper, orthodox]
...Of equal scandal to the theological drift of the Episcopal Church into a kind of uncommitted unitarianism, has been the failure of those who are theologically orthodox to stand firm together in opposing that movement. Individualism and schism has marked the response of American conservatives to their denominational tussles. And I still don’t see how separate Rwandan, Ugandan, Kenyan and Nigerian adventurism on American soil really helps create any kind of solidity around central theological convictions.

In fact, to the outsider these intiatives must smack of desperation – the shock tactics of a Militant Tendency, or an ‘Outrage’ rather than the calm authority of the party in power...

And from Graham Kings[Church of England revisionist]
...These consecrations in Nairobi and Kampala, as well as the earlier consecration of Martyn Minns in the Church of Nigeria, seem to me to be examples of 'trans-communion interventions' that are warned against in The Windsor Report and in the Primates' Communique from Dar es Salaam.

Paragraph 26 of that Communique states:

The interventions by some of our number and by bishops of some Provinces, against the explicit recommendations of the Windsor Report, however well-intentioned, have exacerbated this situation. Furthermore, those Primates who have undertaken interventions do not feel that it is right to end those interventions until it becomes clear that sufficient provision has been made for the life of those persons.

Just when the central weight of the Anglican Communion is backing The Windsor Report and the Covenant process as the way forward, and the Archbishop of Canterbury has clearly underlined these as part of his letter of invitation to the Lambeth Conference, why are these consecrations considered to be helpful and wise?
Speaking of the Covenant process, guess who the preacher was at this consecration? None other than

Archbishop Drexel Gomez, chair of the Covenant Design Group, which prompted the following comment from Mark Harris: [Episcopal priest in Delaware, http://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com/2007/08/non-windsor-compliant-bishops.html; revisionist] ...It is necessary to point out the presence of Archbishop Drexel Gomez, who was preacher at the ordination. As the chair of the Covenant Design Group he has played a major part in the work of the Communion. By his participation in this ordination he has made his stand, a stand that is incompatible with the very document that produced the recommendations concerning a covenant. He has made his choice. It is time for him to step down as Chair of the CDG...

Mark also makes a point that is important for us to note. Two bishops who are supposedly still part of the Episcopal Church, Robert Duncan and Jack Iker, were present for these consecrations: ...But here is the thing: These two Episcopal Church bishops are sworn to uphold the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church. The clear intent of the Constitution and Canons is that no bishop is to exercise ministry in another diocese than their own, except by permission. Complicity in circumventing this understanding by ordaining a US citizen to do precisely that, as a bishop in another province commissioned to ministry here, is in violation of the Constitution and Canons of this Church. At least that is how I read it...

...The presence and participation by Bishops Iker and Duncan in the ordinations of Bishops Atwood and Murdoch signals not a miracle at CANA, but a disaster in Kenya. They are now in non compliance with Windsor and with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. The problem is, who will bring the matter up? At a time when the Moderator is given to talking about the cross to come and bishops are being invited to "play the Man" who wants to point out the obvious?

The best one sentence summary of what this all means comes from Susan Russell [President of Integrity, the gay lobby]: The consecrations today are one more sad indication of just how far those committed to splitting the Episcopal Church are willing to go to achieve their goal of a church created in their own image...

This event should help make it clear to our House of Bishops that there is no point in attempting to appease some segments of the Communion. They are going to do what they want to do, regardless of what anyone else has to say. So please, bishops, when you meet later this month, ignore the schismatics and just do the right thing.

J.

As female worshipers ululated with joy, the archbishop of Kenya, Benjamin M. P. Nzimbi, declared that the two new bishops, William L. Murdoch of Massachusetts and Will G. Atwood III of Texas, would return to the United States to serve as missionaries to a nation that Nzimbi said is losing the Christian faith it once exported to Africa.

The five-hour consecration service, held in a simple stone cathedral on the outskirts of downtown Nairobi, brought an end to any remaining comity between conservatives and liberals in the global Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the US province.

Throughout the worship service, speakers repeatedly criticized the Episcopal Church, which is among the most liberal of American denominations; at one point, a letter was read suggesting the American church has been "misled by the devil." Although the critics generally say they believe the Episcopal Church has lost its way on a variety of theological matters, the issue they cite most often is homosexuality.

"It is a division of opinion between those of us who firmly believe that homosexual practice violates the order of life given by God, and those who seek, by various means, to justify what Scripture does not," said Archbishop Drexel W. Gomez of the West Indies, the main preacher at yesterday's service. In his sermon, Gomez accused the Episcopal Church of "aggressive revisionist theology" and said the idea that homosexuality is permissible for Christians is "a lie."

"[The apostle] Paul singles out homosexuality in the Gospel for special attention, because he regards it as providing a particularly graphic image of the way in which human fallenness distorts God's created order," Gomez said. "We believe that faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ prevents us from compromising the truth so clearly revealed in Holy Scripture."

Although a rift in Anglicanism had been evolving for some time, it became a full-out controversy threatening to split the denomination when the Episcopal Church decided in 2003 to approve the election of an openly gay priest, V. Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire.

Despite a call last summer by the Episcopal Church's own general convention for a moratorium on further consecration of gay bishops, this week the Diocese of Chicago named a lesbian priest among the five candidates for election to be its new bishop. The Episcopal Church has also acknowledged that many of its dioceses are allowing priests to bless same-sex relationships, and in eastern Massachusetts the bishop, M. Thomas Shaw, has been an outspoken advocate of legalizing same-sex marriage.

In brief remarks to the congregation in Nairobi yesterday, Atwood, who heads an international group of conservative Anglicans, alluded to the gay issue, saying, "All are welcome at the cross, but we come not to stay as we are; we come to be changed, to become more like Jesus. There is a competing message that seeks to replace the Gospel, but it's a superficial one, an innovation that denies sin by attempting to redefine it, and it robs people of the forgiveness that Jesus died to bring."

Murdoch, whose brother is a gay Episcopal priest in West Roxbury, offered a more general expression of gratitude to the Kenyan church as a model of enthusiasm and growth, saying, "Who could tell us better the mission is urgent?"

The service was attended by archbishops and bishops who claimed to represent a majority of the world's Anglicans, including the primates who serve as spiritual leaders of the Anglican provinces in Central Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, West Africa, the Indian Ocean region, South America, and the West Indies, as well as an archbishop representing the primate of Nigeria and bishops representing minority conservative factions in the Anglican provinces of Canada, England and the United States. Of the 78 million adherents worldwide cited by the Anglican Communion, about two million live in the United States; in Kenya, a nation about one-tenth the size, there are about three million Anglicans.

Advocates for gay rights in the Anglican Communion reacted angrily to yesterday's consecration.
"The consecrations today are one more sad indication of just how far those committed to splitting the Episcopal Church are willing to go to achieve their goal of a church created in their own image," said Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, an organization based in Rochester, N.Y., that advocates for gay rights in the Episcopal Church. In an e-mail, Russell called the new bishops "intercontinental ballistic weapons of schism."

The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts has argued that Murdoch's consecration in Kenya is not a major development because it concerns just one priest and one parish, while most in the diocese support gay rights.
"All dioceses and provinces within the Anglican Communion are free to elect and consecrate bishops according to their own polities," Maria Plati, a spokeswoman for the diocese, said by e-mail. "The nearer concern of the leadership of the Diocese of Massachusetts is for the faithful Episcopalians here who continue to live out their faith in common prayer and service to others."

The Episcopal Church declined through its spokeswoman, Neva Rae Fox, to offer any comment other than to say that its bishops might address the issue again this fall. In March, the bishops decried intervention in the United States by bishops from foreign Anglican churches, saying such actions "have violated our provincial boundaries and caused great suffering and contributed immeasurably to our difficulties in solving our problems."

But the African bishops compare their actions to previous moments in history when Anglicans in the United States and the United Kingdom sent missionaries to Africa, and said they have a duty to serve Anglicans in the United States who feel they no longer have a church home.

The consecration was attended by about 600 people, a modest-sized crowd for Nairobi; the worshipers included about 40 visiting Americans as well as the mayor of Nairobi. The diocese was clearly expecting a larger crowd; it had set up a tent outside for an overflow that did not materialize.

But it was a festive affair, with frequently exuberant singing, in English and Swahili, and worshipers dancing in place. After the worship, the new bishops planted trees in the cathedral's side yard and joined the worshipers for an outdoor lunch.

The bishops-designate were surrounded by photographers through much of the service, even when they were kneeling at the altar. The photographers made it impossible for most of the worshippers to see a dramatic moment when the new bishops were surrounded by supportive bishops from around the world, who placed their hands on the heads of Murdoch and Atwood.

But the ceremony was rich with symbolism. Murdoch and Atwood arrived wearing purple cassocks, and during the service they were escorted out three times to add layers of clothing associated with bishops: first a white full-length ruffled garment called a rochet, then, over that, a red riding coat called a chimere and a black scarf called a tippett, and then, once they had become bishops, a beige cape, called a cope, and a miter. And they were given signs of the office, including a ring, a pectoral cross, a Bible, and a staff.

Murdoch and Atwood plan to return to the United States to help oversee the approximately 30 congregations that have chosen to affiliate with the Anglican Church of Kenya. Other congregations in the United States have affiliated with other southern hemisphere dioceses; the exact number of breakaway congregations is in dispute, ranging from 45 to 250. Murdoch, who had been pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in West Newbury, Mass., will also serve as bishop-rector of a new congregation he is launching, All Saints Anglican, in a former Catholic parish his congregation is buying in Amesbury.

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.

Bill Atwood, one of the new breed of independent shadowy Anglican fixers is to be consecrated by the Archbishop of Kenya on 30 August, together with the Rev Bill Murdoch, while the Rev John Guernsey receives the laying on of hands by the Archbishop of Uganda this weekend. According to my calculations when you add these three to the six Bishops of the Anglican Mission in America, and Bishop Martyn Minns who was consecrated by the Archbishop of Nigeria earlier this year, that makes 10 new bishops to serve disaffected conservative congregations in the Episcopal Church of the USA. In the meantime there continues to be talk about incursions by Nigeria onto English soil.

I’m not convinced about either the need for more mitres, or about the timing of all these consecrations. I’m not greatly sympathetic however to the official Anglican Communion response that the consecrations create ‘increased confusion’. The confusion came with the consecration of Gene Robinson, and the subsequent inability of the Episcopal Church’s leadership to respond adequately to the clear voice of the Anglican Communion, and also to find a way to accommodate parishes and clergy who could no longer identify with their own diocesan bishops. Some kind of alternative oversight scheme should surely have been worked out which responded to the need of those congregations. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the Episcopal Church desires nothing more than conformity to its own mores and canons at the expense of theological and ecclesiological diversity.

Equally problematic however is the expectation of West Indies Archbishop, Drexel Gomez, that these consecrations could lead “towards a creation of a viable, stable and orthodox Anglican presence in the United States.”

Of equal scandal to the theological drift of the Episcopal Church into a kind of uncommitted unitarianism, has been the failure of those who are theologically orthodox to stand firm together in opposing that movement. Individualism and schism has marked the response of American conservatives to their denominational tussles. And I still don’t see how separate Rwandan, Ugandan, Kenyan and Nigerian adventurism on American soil really helps create any kind of solidity around central theological convictions.

In fact, to the outsider these intiatives must smack of desperation – the shock tactics of a Militant Tendency, or an ‘Outrage’ rather than the calm authority of the party in power.

So what has gone so badly wrong. Since Lambeth 1998 the Anglican Communion has laid claim to having an understanding of human sexuality shared by the vast majority of its bishops (526 to 70 to be precise), so the American ‘experiments’ can hardly claim to be in the mainstream of Anglicanism. Furthermore, as a result of the Windsor Report and the subsequent Dromantine Primates’ Meeting there was a clear roadmap to solving the problems of the Anglican Communion, led by the Archbishops and Presiding bishops of Anglican Provinces.
We are therefore left with the distinct impression, that far from being a united coalition the ‘Global South movement’ is itself subject to divisions. While most leaders share a common view of human sexuality, they nevertheless disagree about its importance, and mostly they disagree about tactics. For some Archbishops it is clearly a communion-splitting issue, for others the Communion is too important to risk breaking.

The intransigence of The Episcopal Church in the face of global criticism has posed a deep dilemma for many of the Global South leaders – dare they call the bluff of the powerful American Church?

Furthermore, the refusal of the Anglican secretariat, and its instruments of unity to challenge the Episcopal Church of the USA has left a vacuum in leadership which cannot successfully be filled by any one leader. There has been a long history of distrust between third world leaders and the London-based bureaucracy which is why even while they are embarking on the Windsor Process, many third world leaders have little confidence that the London/New York axis of power will ever truly be shifted.

The tragedy is that the opportunity to thrash this out next year at the Lambeth Conference looks like being lost. Rather than being a proper crisis summit the Conference is intended to be a kind of theological tea-party where controversy will be avoided as much as possible. This same desire to avoid controversy has led to a distinct dearth of Primates’ Meetings over the past few years. Rather than continue the pattern of annual meetings, it has evidently been felt that these create an expectation of crisis. However without frequent meetings the likelihood of individual, rather than communal, initiative increases.

Furthermore, the enormous good will which the Archbishop of Canterbury has secured out of these meetings is gradually forgotten between-times.

The fact is, that in their Tanzanian meeting earlier this year, the Primates set a deadline of September 30 for the Episcopal Church to meet the conditions of the Windsor report or face further unspecified sanctions. The failure of the Primates themselves to observe this deadline by conducting these consecrations, hardly helps matters. Instead they should be insisting on some kind of meeting in September to establish what action should be taken if the Episcopal Church remains intransigent. Then and only then if the official process fails to honour the Windsor Report, should there be any direct and informal responses to the Anglican crisis.
(First published in the Church of England Newspaper, 30 August 2007.)

But back to Lambeth and the new bishops. On the side of their being invited is the recognition given the two bishops by more than 30 General Synod members today, including the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali.
On the minus side is the guidance from inside Lambeth Palace: 'This is very similar to Cana.' In other words, Martyn Minns isn't coming. Therefore, neither will these two be.

But another insider tells me this: 'The question is genuinely open.' It would of course be an 'easy solution' to extent the AMiA principle to all the 'irregular' consecrations. But it appears this might not in fact happen. No decision has been made. I don't want to risk my reputation on this, but there does appear to be a chance that Atwood might be invited to Lambeth.

How come? Well, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who specialises in nuanced responses, will be aware that each scheme is unique and distinctive. This therefore opens the possibility of a differentiated response. I've not seen the scheme for William Murdoch, but it certainly appears that, with regards to Bill Atwood, he is described in much more traditionally understandable 'suffragan' terms than Martyn Minns is in his scheme. What is certain is that the question of the two new bishops and Lambeth has not been considered in a deliberate way as yet. And all points of view will be taken into account when the Archbishop of Canterbury makes his decision.

One thing that has amused me today is Andrew Carey's description of Atwood as 'one of the new breed of independent shadowy Anglican fixers.' I'm tempted to speculate what that makes Andrew, then! I'll resist, because I like him too much. But ha ha, it is funny to see how we Anglicans love one another.

Incidentally, if large numbers of bishops do not attend Lambeth, either because they boycott it or because they are not invited, this will not be unprecedented. I am told that of the 114 or so bishops invited to the 1867 Conference only 76 attended. In fact, a large Church of England contingent stayed away, led by none other than the Archbishop of York.

Anyway, the welcome is not universal. Fulcrum's Graham Kings says: 'On Saturday 1 September 2007, Rowan Williams returns from his study leave and family holiday. On 20-22 September he will be with the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church in New Orleans and that House has until 30 September 2007 to respond to the Primates' Communique from Dar es Salaam. These consecrations in Nairobi and Kampala, as well as the earlier consecration of Martyn Minns in the Church of Nigeria, seem to me to be examples of 'trans-communion interventions' that are warned against in The Windsor Report and in the Primates' Communique from Dar es Salaam. Paragraph 26 of that Communique states: 'The interventions by some of our number and by bishops of some Provinces, against the explicit recommendations of the Windsor Report, however well-intentioned, have exacerbated this situation. Furthermore, those Primates who have undertaken interventions do not feel that it is right to end those interventions until it becomes clear that sufficient provision has been made for the life of those persons.'

Kings continues: 'Just when the central weight of the Anglican Communion is backing The Windsor Report and the Covenant process as the way forward, and the Archbishop of Canterbury has clearly underlined these as part of his letter of invitation to the Lambeth Conference, why are these consecrations considered to be helpful and wise? Andrew Carey has written a perceptive article in the Church of England Newspaper this week entitled 'Chaos Reigning?' and uses the phrase 'adventurism on American soil'. I still don't see how separate Rwandan, Ugandan, Kenyan and Nigerian adventurism on American soil really helps create any kind of solidarity around central theological convictions.

'These consecrations seem to me to follow a 'Federal Conservative' model of the Anglican Communion rather than a 'Communion Conservative' model. The supreme irony of this is that they put a higher priority on 'independence' over 'interdependence' just at the crucial time that the model of 'interdependence' is being pressed on The Episcopal Church and its House of Bishops. As we approach the month of decision of September 2007, let us continue to pray for wisdom for the Archbishop of Canterbury.'

Here's some links for how the story's being covered elsewhere. Father Jake has some of the best analysis of what is being said. See the BBC's report. Anglican TV will be streaming a video of the consecration shortly. StandFirm are carrying comments on our story from yesterday. There's lots of background in these two posts from Thinking Anglicans. Bishop Gene, who started this all off, was interviewed by the Beeb the other day, I didn't get around to doing anything on it then so here it is now. Greg Venables believes Anglicans do not have the structures to deal with the row. Creation Project has blogged the consecrations. ACN has welcomed them. If we think this problem is just going to go away of its own accord, we are fooling ourselves, as this story shows. Here's an African take on the consecrations.

POSTED BY RUTH GLEDHILL ON AUGUST 30, 2007 AT 04:55 PM IN AFRICA, ANGLICAN COMMUNION, GAY DEBATE, GLOBAL SOUTH, LAMBETH CONFERENCE | PERMALINK

Bill Atwood of Texas and William Murdoch of Massachusetts left the Episcopal Church - the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion - because it allows the ordination of gay priests.

``The gospel ... must take precedence over culture,'' said Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies, one of 10 Anglican leaders or representatives who attended the ceremony in Nairobi's All Saints Cathedral. ``Homosexual practice violates the order of life given by God in Holy Scripture.''

The spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, has asked African archbishops not to consecrate U.S. priests to help avoid a schism. Kenyan Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said there had been no direct communication with Williams over the Thursday's ceremony.

Williams has no direct authority to force a compromise because each Anglican province is self-governing.
The Anglican Communion has moved toward the brink of splitting since the Episcopal Church consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, in 2003. Most of the fellowship's 77 million members are based in the developing world, where homosexuality is strongly discouraged and often illegal.

A split would be a financial hardship for the communion because the small but wealthy Episcopal Church, which has 2.4 million members, provides a significant chunk of the budget.

Both sides say the issue goes deeper than simple acceptance of gay clergy. Liberal Anglicans say the Bible's message of tolerance means there should be a place for everyone in church, but conservatives say that is bending the word of God to fit fashion.

After Thursday's ceremony, Atwood and Murdoch will return home to minister to their congregations with Nzimbi as their spiritual adviser. Because they are no longer affiliated with the Episcopal Church, the men will have to find new church buildings and funding in the United States. Several U.S. churches whose priests have switched to a foreign diocese are embroiled in lawsuits over church property.

Nzimbi said 30 U.S. congregations have asked to become part of African dioceses in the last four years. Six other U.S. priests have been consecrated as bishops in the Rwandan church and one has also been consecrated in Nigeria. Another American priest is scheduled to be consecrated in Uganda on Sunday.

After Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola set up the Convocation of Anglicans in North America in 2005, some U.S. liberals accused African archbishops of breaching protocol by trying to create rival churches on their territory. Akinola administers his convocation from Nigeria.

Davis Mac-Iyalla, who heads Nigeria-based Changing Attitudes, an organization of gay Anglicans, said arguments were being used to mask political struggles within the church.

``It is all politics and all about control,'' he said, adding that African archbishops ``are being used by Western conservatives because they want to control the church.''
Not all African Anglicans are opposed to homosexuality, Mac-Iyalla said.

``My Scripture has not condemned me,'' he insisted. ``Jesus came and died for everybody.''

Next month, Episcopal bishops will meet to decide whether they should agree to demands that they unequivocally pledge by Sept. 30 not to consecrate another openly gay bishop. If the bishops say no, the church could lose its full membership in the communion.

Greg Venables, archbishop of the Southern Cone of Americas, was speaking in the capital Nairobi ahead of a controversial ceremony on Thursday where Kenya's Anglican archbishop will consecrate two conservative U.S. clerics as bishops.

"There are no official structures to resolve things, so part of the major struggle we are going through is to work out how we actually resolve a conflict of this nature," he told reporters.
The worldwide Anglican Communion has authorities for each of its 38 provinces, but no umbrella authority above that, said Venables, who is based in Buenos Aires.

The 77 million-strong Communion has been sharply divided since the Episcopal Church, its 2.4 million member U.S. branch, consecrated Gene Robinson as Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop four years ago.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is the spiritual head of the Communion but does not have powers equal to those of Pope Benedict in the Catholic Church. The gay clergy row has sapped his influence and brought the Communion close to schism.

The two clerics to be consecrated on Thursday -- William Atwood and William Murdoch -- are among a growing number of conservative U.S. Anglicans pledging alliance to traditional African bishops who take a tough line against homosexuality.

The U.S. Church has accused Africans of invading their territory by consecrating Americans. But conservative Africans say they only want to provide refuge for orthodox believers who are at odds with liberal views.

"This is a missionary action brought to this point by four years of frustration," Murdoch told the news conference.
"When America and Great Britain send missionaries to Africa it is missionary work, but when Africans send missionaries to the United States, it is boundary crossing."

Murdoch is rector of the All Saints Episcopal Church in Massachusetts, while Atwood is general secretary of the Ekklesia Society, a global group that promotes orthodox Anglicanism.

The Communion is discussing proposals for a so-called Anglican Covenant that could strengthen the Archbishop of Canterbury's authority, but opinions on it are deeply divided.

Provincial Secretaries are key administrators for each province and the conference programme was designed to further their professional development, encourage them in their faith and ministry, increase knowledge and understanding of the challenges facing other Provinces and to strengthen bonds within the Communion.

Representatives from 29 Provinces (see below) and from the Anglican Churches in Cuba and Sri Lanka attended. A number sent regrets. In addition three Provincial Secretaries had to send last minute apologies because of visa difficulties and in one case from illness.

The Provincial Secretaries received a letter of greeting from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams. They were welcomed to Hong Kong by the Primate of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Archbishop Paul Kwong. The Archbishop was Provincial Secretary for Hong Kong immediately before taking up his present office and had been involved in the earlier preparations for the conference. All who attended were deeply grateful to the host Province for its generous hospitality and superb organisation.

Each representative had time to brief colleagues on their own provinces. Provincial Secretaries from different parts of the world gave presentations on the distinctive roles they play in supporting Primates and Provinces in their decision making, financial management and support and development of ministries and staff. There were presentations and discussions on the particular difficulties facing Churches in places afflicted by civil war, conflict, unrest and disease. A number also spoke of situations where Christians face unjust treatment for their faith.

The Provincial Secretaries reflected on their role at the interface between Church and secular authorities and considered the variety of ways in which the Provinces of the Communion are seeking to manifest the love and mercy of Jesus Christ throughout their societies. They welcomed the strong commitment across the Communion to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Time was devoted, both in plenaries and workshops, to considering specific issues affecting the mission of the Church, including evangelism, spirituality and changing patterns of ministry.

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Kenneth Kearon, who was present with two colleagues, briefed Provincial Secretaries on a wide range of general organisational and practical issues within the Communion. He also introduced a session on current issues of division in the Communion and the particular role that Provincial Secretaries can play, including in facilitating an orderly discussion within Provinces on the draft Anglican Covenant and timely preparation for the 2008 Lambeth Conference.

Through presentations, Sunday worship in churches in the Hong Kong dioceses and visits to projects run by the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council, the Provincial Secretaries learned much about the social, economic and spiritual challenges facing the Special Administrative Region ten years after reunification with China. They drew inspiration from the continuing commitment of Anglicans in Hong Kong to a range of welfare and educational programmes and the notable impact that a small Church is continuing to make to the life of the region through its commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Those who attended were nurtured in their Christian discipleship through times of worship and warm fellowship. Frank discussions both in the formal sessions and informally served to strengthen bonds of friendship among all those present. These served to reinforce the importance of continuing to seek ways of maintaining unity within the Communion at this time of strain and uncertainty. All committed themselves to pray for each other over the coming days. There was agreement that planning should be put in hand for a further meeting in the series in three years' time.

Provinces represented: Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia; Australia; Bangladesh; Brazil; Burundi; Canada; Central Africa; Central American Region; England; Episcopal Church (USA); Hong Kong; Indian Ocean; Ireland; Japan; Jerusalem and the Middle East; Kenya; Melanesia; Mexico; Myanmar; Pakistan; Philippines; Rwanda; Scotland; South India; Tanzania; Uganda; Wales; West Africa; West Indies. The Anglican Churches in Cuba and Sri Lanka were also represented. Congo, Korea and Sudan had to send last minute apologies.

Rev. Tracey Lind, who followed Chicago Bishop William Persell as dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, is one of three women named as finalists to replace Persell, who plans to resign after his successor is installed. It is the first slate of candidates in the diocese to include women.

"Since the day last winter when I was asked to make myself available to this nominating process, my discernment prayer has been that God would continue to lead me to serve God's new creation in the church," Lind said in a statement. "I believe that accepting this nomination is what God is asking of me, and I will strive to respond to that call faithfully and with grace." If Lind wins the election and approval from the larger church, then she would be the second Episcopal bishop living with a same-sex partner.

New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson was consecrated in 2003, drawing ire from conservative Episcopalians and many members of the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the American arm. Episcopalian leaders have been searching for ways to maintain an inclusive denomination while preserving unity with conservative factions of the Anglican world who believe homosexuality violates Scripture.

Two other dioceses have nominated gay candidates since Robinson's confirmation: the Diocese of Newark, N.J., and the Diocese of California, where Rev. Bonnie Perry, rector of All Saints Church in Chicago, was in the running. In neither case did a gay candidate win.

Gay rights advocates lauded the Chicago nominations as a sign of progress and greater equality in church leadership.

"The big news today is that discernment has trumped discrimination in the Diocese of Chicago," said Susan Russell, president of Integrity, an advocacy group for gay Episcopalians.

Meanwhile, conservatives rolled their eyes.

"Chicago's action is simply flying in the face of the desire of the Anglican Communion," said Springfield Bishop Peter Beckwith. "It's a slap in the face."

Rev. Kendall Harmon, a conservative theologian from South Carolina, said while the nomination does not violate any promises, it is too provocative a choice for such a sensitive period in the church.

"I think it represents a steely determination on the part of the Episcopal Church leadership to pursue its new theology no matter what," Harmon said. "It's injecting more difficult dynamics in an already deeply frayed family fracas and that's a shame."

At the church's national convention last year, delegates adopted a resolution to exercise restraint in selecting gay and lesbian bishops. Weeks before, Lind had withdrawn from the Newark nominating process.

Next month, Episcopal bishops will meet with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in New Orleans to discuss demands that they pledge to withhold consent for another openly gay bishop until the global communion reaches consensus on the issue. If the bishops don't comply by Sept. 30, then international leaders have predicted the relationship with the 77 million member church will remain "damaged at best."

Persell suspects the potential impact of Lind's nomination on international church relations will not be ignored, but says it should not be considered a reason to vote for or against her.

"My hope is that people get beyond that," Persell said. "It would be unfortunate if the focus becomes 'lesbian for bishop.' ... The focus really should be on the diocese and the candidate as a whole."

Other candidates are Rev. Jane Gould, rector of St. Stephen's Memorial Episcopal Church in Lynn, Mass.; Rev. Jeffrey Lee, rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash.; Rev. Margaret Rose, director of national Episcopal women's ministries; and Rev. Timothy Safford, rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia.

Additional candidates can be nominated through a petition process until Sept. 11, and the election will take place Nov. 10.

----------

mbrachear@tribune.com

"Very few of us take the homosexual debate as a top priority issue because there are more pressing issues facing the African church," Mwamba told Ecumenical News International in a telephone interview from his office in the Botswana capital, Gaborone.

"Most African Anglicans want to get back to basics and concentrate on poverty, disease, injustice and the need for transparency in governments," said the dean of the Central African region, made up of churches in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Mwamba said, however, he thought there would be "forward movement, even a breakthrough, on this issue" when leaders of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) meet in Mauritius from October 2-5.

"I believe that quite number of African bishops who have threatened not to attend next year's Lambeth Conference in Canterbury may change their minds," he said. "Yes, there are problems, but a week is a long time in politics and we still have almost a year to go before the next Lambeth Conference," the meeting of global Anglican leaders that takes place every 10 years.

Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa said this in an interview with Vatican Radio, commenting on previously unpublished letters from Mother Teresa, now made public in Doubleday's book "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light," edited by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator of the cause of Mother Teresa's canonization.

In one of her letters, Mother Teresa wrote: "There is so much contradiction in my soul. Such deep longing for God -- so deep that it is painful -- a suffering continual -- and yet not wanted by God -- repulsed -- empty -- no faith -- no love -- no zeal. Souls hold no attraction. Heaven means nothing -- to me it looks like an empty place."

Father Cantalamessa explained that the fact that Mother Teresa suffered deeply from her feeling of the absence of God affirms that it was a positive phenomenon. Atheists, he contended, are not afflicted by God's absence but, "for Mother Teresa, this was the most terrible test that she could have experienced."

He further clarified that "it is the presence-absence of God: God is present but one does not experience his presence."

Martyrdom

Father Cantalamessa contended that Mother Teresa's spiritual suffering makes her even greater.

He said: "The fact that Mother Teresa was able to remain for hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament, as many eye-witnesses have testified, as if enraptured … if one thinks about the condition she was in at that moment, that is martyrdom!

"Because of this, for me, the figure of Mother Teresa is even greater; it does not diminish her."

The Capuchin priest further lauded Mother Teresa's ability to keep her spiritual pain hidden within her. "Maybe, this was done in expiation for the widespread atheism in today's world," he said, adding that she lived her experience of the absence of God "in a positive way -- with faith, with God."

Not scandalous

Father Cantalamessa affirmed that Mother Teresa's dark night should not scandalize or surprise anyone. The "dark night," he said, "is something well-known in the Christian tradition; maybe new and unheard of in the way Mother Teresa experienced it."

He added: "While 'the dark night of the spirit' of St. John of the Cross is a generally preparatory period for that definitive one called 'unitive,' for Mother Teresa it seems that it was one stable state, from a certain point in her life, when she began this great work of charity, until the end.

"In my view, the fact of this prolongation of the 'night' has meaning for us today. I believe that Mother Teresa is the saint of the media age, because this 'night of the spirit' protected her from being a victim of the media, namely from exalting herself.

"In fact, she used to say that when she received great awards and praise from the media, she did not feel anything because of this interior emptiness."

In addition to the vestry and rector, the Rev. Charles Reeder, the children’s minister, the youth minister and the treasurer will resign “and follow Fr. Reeder’s move within the greater worldwide Anglican Communion Network,” an Aug. 27 press release stated. “Fr. Reeder has not yet determined his future place within the Anglican Communion.”

The departing parish leadership is currently engaged in prayer and fasting “as they look for guidance around the future of the congregation,” the release noted. Of the original parish staff and leadership, only the administrator and two organists plan to remain with The Episcopal Church.

During the past year, the parish has experienced a 42-percent decrease in income as parishioners have begun withholding pledges in protest of the direction of The Episcopal Church, said John E. Bosio, senior warden.

In 1999 Holy Comforter completed a significant building expansion project which more than doubled the existing square footage of the church campus. The parish took out a mortgage to pay for the expansion, Mr. Bosio said. Parish leadership met with the Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado, earlier this month and informed him that while it would like to purchase or lease the church property, it would not attempt to obtain it through a battle in court.

David Virtue reported on 8/29/07 that Bosio said he did not think they could make the September mortgage payment. "The Vestry told the bishop that following the House of Bishops' rejection of the Dar es Salaam communiqué a large number of parishioners had chosen to forego their intent to give with the result that the parish was in financial difficulty. We lost these peoples' income for good. They stayed but closed their check books." Bosio indicated the parish will hand over the building and the $1.6 million mortgage to the diocese. [www.virtueonline.org]

“Our vestry and rector felt that litigation would be poor stewardship,” Mr. Bosio said.

The parish was founded in 1958. It currently averages about 200 worshipers on Sunday, according to Mr. Bosio. Broomfield is located about 15 miles northwest of Denver.

When contacted by a reporter for The Living Church, Beckett Stokes, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Colorado, said the diocese had not issued a formal response to the parish announcement and she did not have specific details about how the diocese intended to prepare for the transition in leadership.

“Our concern at this time is primarily for the members of the parish,” she said. “We expect Holy Comforter to remain a vibrant part of the diocese and want to ensure that the members of that congregation are provided with appropriate leadership after Fr. Reeder’s departure.”

In fact they could cut the federal deficit by $40 billion. Here are three steps to cut the divorce rate that a new President could take:

1. Replace No Fault Divorce with Mutual Consent Divorce
All states actually encourage divorce due to 'No Fault Divorce' which allows one spouse to file for divorce. It is called 'No Fault' because no major fault must be alleged, such as adultery or abuse. No Fault should be called Unilateral Divorce. However, what was entered into by two people can be ended by one unilaterally. This is tragic if children are involved. Children of divorce are three times as likely as those from intact homes to be expelled from school or to get pregnant, five times as apt to live in poverty or to commit suicide, 12 times as apt to be jailed.

No Fault swept the nation in the 1970s. Religious leaders either were mute or ineffectual in fighting it. The result: one divorce for every two marriages every year since 1973. Jesus said, 'What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.' Since 1970, America has put asunder 39 million marriages shattering 36 million children. 'Presidential candidates ought to be asked if they support a federal law to replace state No Fault laws with Mutual Consent, if children are involved and no major faults are alleged. Government has an interest in the future of children, and they'd be best served if their mother and father worked out their differences,' McManus asserted.

2. Require Shared Parenting
If parents agree to a divorce they should have equal access to the children 'Joint Custody or Shared Parenting. Sole custody virtually removes one parent from the lives of their children. However, of the six states which passed the strongest Joint Custody laws, five also enjoyed the largest drops in the divorce rate: Montana, Kansas, Connecticut, Idaho and Alaska. Why? If a parent knows he/she will have to interact with the other parent, there is less incentive to divorce. "A federal law that required Mutual Consent and Shared Parenting could cut divorce rates in half that could save $40 billion of the $150 billion cost of broken families," McManus estimated.

3. Set Aside 2% to 5% of State Welfare Surpluses To Strengthen Marriage.
When Welfare Reform was passed in 1996, the $16 billion federal payment was frozen even if welfare rolls fell. They did drop 61%, giving states an annual welfare surplus of $9.8 billion. The law mandates states to reduce 'out-of-wedlock births,' and to 'increase two-parent families.' However, both have gotten worse since 1996 Ohio set aside 1% of its surplus, $12 million, to strengthen marriage. McManus urges that candidates for President be asked, 'Would you pass a law requiring all states to set aside 2-5% to promote marriage' Cities with 114 Community Marriage Policies signed by clergy saw a 17.5% drop in divorce in seven years and some fell 50%. Cohabitation also fell by a third in CMP cities vs. similar cities over a decade. Marriage rates are also rising."

For a transcript of Mike McManus remarks, visit the following website www.marriagesavers.org. An actual video of the speech will be posted within a couple of days.

The Agence Rwandaise d’Information reported that the Anglican Church in that East African nation would not “be pushed into adopting the satanic behaviour of the ‘whites because they are whites’,” and accept the innovations of doctrine and discipline surrounding human sexuality advocated by the American Church.

It is the Americans who have “abandoned the faith, the law and doctrine of the churc h. They also do not believe in the teachings of the Bible”, Bishop Rucyahana said on Aug 14 to a nationwide radio audience.

The liberal western churches ‘do not conform to the religious conduct of the Anglican church’ because it is they who have “ordained homosexuals as bishops not Africans.”

The West had ‘never been challenged by African believers,’ he said, arguing that the present turmoil arose “because we remained faithful to the biblical teachings and instead challenged them about their conduct.”

Bishop Rucyahana’s strong words follow a statement released last month by the country’s bishops objecting to Dr Rowan Williams’ decision to withhold invitations to the 2008 Lambeth Conference to that Church’s American missionary bishops while inviting bishops to Lambeth who had participated in the consecration of Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire.

Dr Williams’ invitation policy had been ‘divisive’ they said, and his words were ‘tantamount to a threat, and we cannot accept this’. Rwanda, Nigeria, Uganda and Sydney have publicly voiced protests over Dr Williams’ invitation policy for the gathering of the Communion’s bishops next July in Canterbury and may boycott the conference in protest. Dr Williams’ options have also been limited by the left as well, with some bishops privately stating that if the ban on Gene Robinson is not lifted, they will not attend either.

Dr Williams meets with the US House of Bishops from Sep 19-21 in New Orleans. The Bishops have been asked to respond by Sept 30 to the united demand of the Primates that the Episcopal Church makes its position clear on gay bishops and blessings.

Today as I was driving through the countryside near my home in upper New York State, I noticed the first trees beginning to change color. Some golds and yellows appeared where green used to be. It was a message loud and clear that although the temperature is high as a giraffe today, in just a few months, the temperature will be low as a snake. Although we are in for a beautiful and spectacular autumn, with fall foliage and delicious apples, the inevitable result will be dead leaves and crippling snow storms. So I have decided to enjoy the soon coming autumn and not think about the future numbing winter. Reading the earth and the sky?

Jesus said to the crowds, "...Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?" (Luke 12:56). Much will be happening in the Anglican Communion over the next few months. Will we be able to "interpret this present time?"

Here is what I am getting at: The Episcopal Church House of Bishops will meet in late September. All the world will be watching. Will the HOB agree to repent and turn back from condoning a very loose systematic theology and an even looser sexual behavior policy? The Primates of the Anglican Communion have given the Episcopal Church HOB until September 30 to turn back. Will they? Recent statements and actions say that they will not. Their statements and actions say that the majority of Episcopal Church bishops are firmly committed to a "multi-truth theology" when studying God and salvation history, and are firmly committed to celebrating gay relationships on a par with marriage and the ordination of those practicing sex outside heterosexual marriage. Unless a miracle happens, the HOB is not going to back down from these positions. What they will do is attempt to give the Anglican world and leadership some assurance that they "are doing the best they can" to both staying in the Anglican Communion and "telling their truth" through a listening process, explaining that their polity does not allow them to comply with the Dar Es Salaam Communiqué. We sometimes call this way of handling the Communiqué as "fudge." Fudging the truth and the facts. In fact, the HOB CAN comply with the Communiqué if it votes that it will. And in fact, the HOB CAN indeed make decisions regarding whom they will ordain and what parameters will be placed on the blessing of relationships. But they will not do this.

While the House of Bishops is meeting in New Orleans, Archbishop Williams and a number of other primates will attend and dialogue with the American bishops. The plan, I'm sure, is to put such pressure on the Archbishop that he will have to accept the "fudge" by stating that the HOB and the Episcopal Church have complied in "most" of the demands of the Primates and so they should be given a pass. He will be pressured to say that the Americans and all other bishops (with a few exceptions, let the reader understand) should be able to sit at the Lambeth Conference in 2008 for a time of listening and understanding one another. This approach has been tried many times and found wanting by those who wish to clearly speak the Scriptures and the historic teachings of Anglicanism. I somehow think the Archbishop knows this in his heart. So let us pray for the Archbishop, that he sees the fudge and its vacuousness, that he refuses to accept it, and that he speaks the Truth on behalf of the Primates of the Anglican Communion, that the HOB has NOT complied with Dar Es Salaam.

Whatever happens at New Orleans, and whatever the Archbishop may or may not say about the HOB meeting, the Primates of the Anglican Communion will probably meet soon after and thoughtfully analyze the HOB statement - Comply? Not comply? and since the Archbishop of Canterbury is but one of the thirty-something Primates, he must join them as they form an opinion. It will be interesting to see how this all goes.

Interpreting this present time? We are at a New Reformation, brothers and sisters. This age can be compared with the times of the sixteenth century. Those of us in CANA are attempting, with a spirit of humility, to stand firm in our biblical faith, the faith of Anglicanism. We are saying, "this corruption of theology and behavior has been tolerated long enough in our Communion. We can no longer abide it. We need to reform our Communion by returning to Anglican biblical formation, and by moving with the Holy Spirit into world evangelization based on the Word of Jesus and the Works of Jesus.

But Reformations are messy, aren't they? And we are in a mess. The Episcopal Church, with its huge endowments (dead people contributing to what, if they were alive, would probably not!) is using millions of dollars to sue for the properties of disaffected Episcopalians. They have set a "NO NEGOTIATIONS" policy and advised all bishops to follow that policy. The attempt is apparent - destroy those who oppose the current trends of the Episcopal Church, and intimidate any others who wish to oppose them. To this, we can only say, "Here we stand; we can do no other." Let the New Reformation proceed!

By the time we meet at the First CANA Convocation Council November 1-3 at Epiphany, Herndon, Virginia, much of this will have played out. Let's be in fervent prayer as we prepare. While you pray, select your delegates and make your airline reservations to join us in Virginia. It will be autumn. We'll know that because we can interpret the earth and sky. But will we be able to interpret this present age?

Your Brother in Christ,
Bishop David Bena
Suffragan for CANA

United Methodists founded the privately-owned camp ground in the 19th century as a place for spiritual revival and continue to operate it today. Association leaders point to the United Methodist Church’s official disapproval of same-sex unions that doesn't permit civil union ceremonies to be held in church buildings.

IRD Director of UMAction Mark Tooley responded, “Ocean Grove is legitimately acting to defend itself against a potentially intrusive arm of a state government that may try to override church policies in the name of ‘tolerance’

United Methodist Church leaders everywhere should stand up for Ocean Grove’s religious and civil liberties. The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church prohibits the denomination’s clergy and churches from participating in same-sex rites. All religious organizations should be free to establish their own internal rules without interference from the government.

“This matter is not just about same-sex unions. It is about the freedom of a religious organization to uphold its own beliefs and establish policies for its own property.

“Not just United Methodists, but all persons concerned about religious and civil liberty should speak out in defense of the Ocean Grove Camp Ground Association.”

The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.

www.ird-renew.org

As David Parker's lawyers prepare to appeal the ruling against his federal civil rights lawsuit against the Lexington School system, three major homosexual activist groups have officially filed their appearance in the case, and will be submitting amicus briefs as part of their effort to stop his appeal.

The three homosexual groups which have filed to take part in the defense of the school system are:

· GLSEN - Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network - Very powerful national homosexual group targeting children in schools. This is the group that organizes the "Gay-straight alliance" clubs, homosexual school assemblies, the "Day of Silence", in schools around the country, and annual GLSEN conferences pushing the most extreme homosexual topics and issues on vulnerable kids.

· PFLAG - Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays - Also in public schools around the country, and in many ways even more destructive than GLSEN. Very heavy into transgenderism and related behaviors. Recent PFLAG conference also teamed up with the "New England Leather Alliance" which promotes bondage and sado-machosism.

· GLAD - Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders - Well-funded and influential Massachusetts homosexual legal group (partially funded from public money) which specializes in suing government agencies and businesses to force them to accept homosexuality, transgenderism, public sex, and related behaviors. This was the group behind the Goodridge decision on same-sex "marriage" and pushing the new "transgender rights and hate crimes" bill now in the Senate and US Congress.

These are just the latest pro-homosexual groups to be involved in the fight against David Parker (and all parents).

Pro-homosexual groups already involved in this case and continuing to fight against the Parkers include:

* American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
* Human Rights Campaign (national homosexual organization, which gets funding from major US corporations)
* Massachusetts Teachers Association
* Respecting Differences (Lexington activist group)

The national homosexual movement considers this a major threat to their ability to go into the public schools and proselytize children without the parents having any power to stop them. This case has already received considerable national media attention. The Parkers' lawyers have indicated that they are prepared to fight this as far up the judicial ladder as is necessary.

This week the Parkers are to submit their brief to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Then, within approximately 40 days, the opposition will respond with their own brief. There will be a plaintiff's response, and the judge will then decide whether to grant the appeal.

The openly gay cleric, whose consecration as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 caused outrage
among traditionalist wings of the Anglican Communion and has placed the Church on the brink of schism, unveiled his intention during an interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 next week, in a programme entitled the Choice.

Interviewed by Michael Buerk, Bishop Robinson denied the plan to hold the ceremony next June had been chosen to be deliberately provocative.

He said: “The decision to take advantage of the new law that will come into effect in New Hampshire
on January 1 is simply our taking advantage of the kinds of rights which are now being made open to gay and lesbian people in New Hampshire.

“I am certainly not doing that to rub salt into anyone’s wounds, but no one should expect me to
penalise me and my partner when these rights are being offered.

“We were looking for a three-day weekend which would allow people to travel more easily, and that happened to be the fifth anniversary of my election as the Bishop of New Hampshire and thought that would be an appropriate date.

“I think the fact is my critics would find any date impermissible.”

He also tells about his love for the Anglican Communion, but said he would never stand down from his role as it would be going against God’s call on his life.

He said: “I love the Anglican Church and I value the Communion and I will do everything short of standing down to benefit the Communion.

“But I will not reject God’s call to me. If I were to disappear tomorrow does anyone think these questions are to go away either for the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion? I don’t think so.”

When asked about his thoughts on how his consecration as Bishop had placed the Church on the road to schism, Bishop Robinson admitted that the Episcopal Church may have got it wrong.

He said: “This was not just my doing this was an entire community’s doing, and that community tried its very best to discern the will of God, and we may be wrong, I am ready to admit to you that I cannot be sure that this is the right thing or the right time or the right way.

“I believe that Peter Akinola, the Archbishop of Nigeria, one of the primary spokespeople against my election, I believe he is following his call from God as best as he can, I just wish he could believe I am following my call from God as best I can.”

The interview is on Radio 4 [in England] on Tuesday August 28 at 9am.

Seventeen diocesan bishops and one bishop suffragan from The Episcopal Church received an extensive briefing on the primates’ communiqué from the Rev. Canon Gregory Cameron, and shared with him their hopes for the meeting in September between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the House of Bishops during a conference held Aug. 9-10 at Camp Allen near Houston.

Canon Cameron is deputy secretary general and director of ecumenical affairs for the Anglican Consultative Council. He also has served as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s secretary at recent primates’ meetings and wrote the final draft of the primates’ communiqué. The Most Rev. Rowan Williams is scheduled to attend the first two days of the bishops’ meeting Sept. 20-25 in New Orleans.

During the Texas meeting the bishops decided not to issue a public statement and agreed not to discuss meeting details. This is the fifth time that “Windsor bishops” have met at Camp Allen to consider the Windsor Report and The Episcopal Church’s response to it. At previous meetings the bishops have issued statements and The Living Church wa s assured by several participants at the Aug. 9-10 gathering that the overall goals and objectives remain consistent with what has been previously published.

Steve Waring

Bishop Spong is visiting Australia at the invitation of Australia's Anglican Primate Phillip Aspinall of Brisbane. When Archbishop Jensen denied Bishop Spong access to the pulpits of Sydney, Archbishop Aspinall extended an invitation for Spong to preach in Brisbane's St. John's Cathedral.

As the The Australian reports:

A row has erupted within the Anglican Church over a visit to Australia by an American cleric who has being accused of modernising Christ to the point of stripping him of all divinity.

Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen has taken the extraordinary step of banning John Shelby Spong, a fellow member of the Anglican communion who arrives in Sydney this morning, from churches in his diocese.

By contrast, Anglican Primate Phillip Aspinall has invited Bishop Spong, a leader of the church's liberal wing, to deliver two sermons in Brisbane's St John's Cathedral.

John Shelby Spong has written a series of books attacking the central doctrines of the Christian faith. As a matter of fact, he has basically run out of doctrines to deny. He has repudiated the Christian faith as treasured by the faithful Church for two thousand years -- the faith of biblical Christianity. This faith is the faith for which the martyrs died.

Mark Thompson, responding to Bishop Spong in the newspaper of the Sydney archdiocese, noted correctly that "one cannot imagine anyone willing to be martyred for Spong's Jesus."

Even the secular press understands the depths of Bishop Spong's denial of Christian truth. The Sydney Morning Herald noted that Spong has denied that Jesus was born of a virgin, that Joseph ever existed, that Jesus performed miracles, that He died for our sins, and that He was raised from the dead. He also denies the deity of Christ and the nature of God as a personal being, much less the only true God. In other books Spong has suggested that the Apostle Paul was a repressed homosexual. More recently, he has joined the chorus of those suggesting that the death of Christ was necessary for the salvation of sinners amounts to "divine child abuse."

So how would Archbishop Aspinall defend his decision to allow a heretic to preach two sermons in this cathedral? Here is his answer:

Dr Aspinall defended his decision to welcome the American bishop. "Bishop Spong speaking at St John's Cathedral is not particularly extraordinary," he said.

"That Bishop Spong holds views which some Anglicans might find challenging is no reason to exclude him from speaking.

"Our church has thousands of members and widely diverse views on a wide variety of subjects. I am sure Anglicans will listen respectfully to the bishop's views and make their own minds up."

Not particularly extraordinary? Given Archbishop Aspinall's own theological liberalism, that might be frighteningly accurate. What kind of pastor would invite his people to hear a denial of the Christian faith from his own pulpit and then encourage them to "make their own minds up?"

This controversy in Australia is indicative of the situation we now face in so much of Christianity worldwide. Archbishop Jensen defends the faith and protects his people and is treated as a divisive figure. Archbishop Aspinall invites a heretic into his pulpit, explains that this is "not particularly extraordinary," and is seen as a portrait of magnanimous ecclesiastical leadership. Bishop Spong gets to sell more books, and the public gets to see a spectacle.

How profoundly sad . . . and how utterly predictable.

There now exists a Global South Network which is making its presence forcefully felt, especially through its leaders’ presence in Anglican Communion primates’ meetings.

Some ‘liberal’ commentators I have read from the US occasionally use the term ‘Akinola-ites’ when referring to Global South leaders. It implies they are all simply doing what the Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Akinola, tells them to do. In itself, that term is a put-down and akin to racism, for it refuses to accept the theological acuity, Christian leadership and strategic skills of these leaders. For example, call any of those primates an ‘Akinola-ite’ and you are failing to recognise the scholarship, pastoral experience, leadership skills and biblical commitment of each one in his own right. No one, not even a brother primate, tells any of them what to do!

Those who wish to understand the commitments of these Anglican leaders would gain insight by reading The Times journalist Ruth Gledhill’s interview with Archbishop Akinola (5/7/07), and Ugandan Archbishop Orombi’s article ‘What is Anglicanism?’ in the US journal First Things (Aug/Sept 07 edition).

Orombi and Akinola both eschew Western dominance over them and their churches. “ Uganda is second only to Nigeria as the largest Anglican province in the world,” wrote Orombi, “and most of our members are fiercely loyal to their global communion. But however we come to understand the current crisis in Anglicanism, this much is apparent: the younger churches of Anglican Christianity will shape what it means to be Anglican. The long season of British hegemony is over.”

Referring to the place of Scripture in the life of the Church, Archbishop Orombi wrote, “In the Church of Uganda, Anglicanism has been built on three pillars: martyrs, revival, and the historic episcopate. Yet each of these refers back to the Word of God, the ground on which it is all built...So let us think how the Word of God works in the worldwide Anglican Communion. We in the Church of Uganda are convinced that Scripture must be reasserted as the central authority in our communion. The basis of our commitment to Anglicanism is that it provides a wider forum for holding each other accountable to Scripture, which is the seed of faith and the foundation of the Church.”

In his discussion of Church teaching on practising homosexuality, Archbishop Akinola said, “All we are saying is, do not celebrate what the Bible says is wrong. If the Bible says it is an aberration, it is an aberration.” He went on: “The missionaries brought the word of God here and showed us the way of life. We have seen the way of life and we rejoice in it. Now you are telling me the way of life is not right. I have to do something else. Keep it for yourself. I do not want it.”

And commenting on the claims that he intends to lead a breakaway church, Akinola said “We rejoice in our fellowship, we rejoice in our heritage as Anglicans. We celebrate it. But our unity will never be at the expense of truth, of the historic faith.”

Both of these Global South primates emphasise the significance for the Church of Scriptural authority. They reject what they see as the neo-imperialism of the Western liberal church. And they seem to be fighting for the survival and the very soul of Anglicanism.

By contrast, Anglican Primate Phillip Aspinall has invited Bishop Spong, a leader of the church's liberal wing, to deliver two sermons in Brisbane's St John's Cathedral.

The retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, New Jersey, Bishop Spong will also give a public lecture at St Aidan's Anglican Girls School in Brisbane.

At the direction of Dr Jensen, the current edition of the Sydney diocese's newspaper, Southern Cross, has devoted two pages to an attack on Bishop Spong and his new book, Jesus for the Non-Religious.

The book questions biblical references to the nature of the birth of Jesus Christ, his ability to perform miracles and the Resurrection.

Speaking on behalf of Dr Jensen, Bishop of South Sydney Robert Forsyth said Dr Aspinall was wrong to welcome Bishop Spong to Brisbane.

"The judgment of the primate is, in our view, ill-advised," Bishop Forsyth said.

"It is a mistake. It is the wrong thing to do."

He said many in the church were distressed by Bishop Spong's latest book, the promotion of which was a major reason for his Australian visit.

"He is attempting to reconstruct Christ to make him acceptable to the modern community but it is disastrous," Bishop Forsyth said.

"Jesus ends up as a non-divine entity in this attempt to find a human Jesus. The result is a gutting of the Christian faith."

Dr Aspinall defended his decision to welcome the American bishop.

"Bishop Spong speaking at St John's Cathedral is not particularly extraordinary," he said.

"That Bishop Spong holds views which some Anglicans might find challenging is no reason to exclude him from speaking.

"Our church has thousands of members and widely diverse views on a wide variety of subjects.

"I am sure Anglicans willlisten respectfully to the bishop's views and make their own minds up."

One of the organisers of the visit, Brisbane priest Greg Jenks said Bishop Spong's critics were overreacting.

"His new book is a good summation of how many people understand the place of Jesus," Dr Jenks said.

"It is not dramatically new information. Bishop Spong has shown courageous leadership in our church of a kind we are in need of."

During a 2001 visit to Australia, Bishop Spong was banned by the then Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Peter Hollingworth, from Brisbane diocesan churches.

But during a 2003 visit, he was a house guest in Brisbane of Dr Hollingworth's successor -- Dr Aspinall.

While Bishop Spong has been barred by his own church in Sydney, the Uniting Church has welcomed him to the city.

The Australian launch of Bishop Spong's book will be held on Thursday at Sydney's Pitt Street Uniting Church, where he will attend the Common Dreams Conference this weekend.

Bishop Spong, a prolific author and longtime supporter of female and gay priests, retired as bishop of Newark in 2000.

Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Choir will perform for the bishop at a farewell service in the Spirit of Life Unitarian Fellowship church at the completion of his Australian visit next month.

A day after the nation's largest Lutheran denomination voted to encourage its bishops to practice "restraint" in disciplining gay ministers who are in “faithful” same-sex relationships, St. John's Lutheran Church – Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church – celebrated Sunday the continuing pastorship of the Rev. Bradley Schmeling.

Earlier this year, Schmeling, who announced that he found a lifelong gay companion, was ordered to be removed immediately from the clergy roster. The order by the Committee on Appeals overruled an earlier decision by a disciplinary committee which said Schmeling should be allowed to remain on the clergy roster until after ELCA's biennial churchwide assembly, Aug. 6-12. The committee also suggested that ELCA reinstate gay clergy who were removed or resigned because they were in a same-sex "lifelong partnership."

Despite the removal, Schmeling refused to leave St. John's and said he planned to continue to follow his call in ministry there.

Furthermore, although the gay clergy debate was expected to come up in 2009, Schmeling was a major part of the push at this year's assembly to lift the ban on non-celibate homosexual clergy.

Although a vote last Friday fell short of approving a change to the current clergy policy, the assembly voted 538 to 431 the next day to pray for, urge, and encourage bishops to refrain from disciplining people and congregations who call qualified leaders in "chaste and faithful" same-gender relationships to ELCA’s professional rosters. It also urged the same restraint on leaders who are already on the official rosters and in committed same-sex relationships.

Regarding Saturday’s passed resolution, ELCA’s presiding bishop, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, highlighted the words "prays, urges, and encourages" as "words of counsel" for synods and bishops considering what actions to take when confronted with non-celibate gay clergy.

"They are not words that change the standards of the church … or the guidelines for discipline,” he said. “But they reflect the mind of this assembly as it seeks to give counsel to the leaders of this church."

Still, conservatives say the vote contradicts church policy and allows gay clergy to ignore the standards of the church.

"Any time you start ignoring God's word on matters, you better watch out because you're in dangerous territory," said the Rev. Mark Chavez, director of the conservative Word Alone Network, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Jaynan Clark Egland, president of Word Alone Network, called it a double standard for discipline.

"I don't know as a Christian, as a pastor and as a parent, what really would be worse – a church with no biblical standards to govern our ministry or standards we don't intend to enforce," said Egland. "To refrain from discipline in the home is bad parenting, but we're about to do so in the Christ's church."

The assembly decided to postpone a more concrete decision on gay clergy until 2009, when the Task Force on Studies of Sexuality is expected to propose a social statement on human sexuality based on responses from congregants across the denomination collected in a comprehensive study.

Still, Schmeling praised the latest decision by the assembly, calling it a "crack in the dam," according to The Associated Press.

Schmeling will continue to pastor St. John's although he will stay off the clergy roster. Since he plans to remain with St. John's, he said his removal from the clergy roster will have no effect unless he tries to move to another congregation.