Anglicans United & Latimer Press

The Windsor Report does not discuss the ordination of a candidate in a gay relationship to the priesthood, and it is priestly, rather than episcopal functions that Robinson had sought permission to perform. The primates' statements, similarly, have objected to Robinson's episcopacy, not his priesthood.

Several provinces in the Communion ordain gay and lesbian candidates without requiring a vow of celibacy. It is unclear whether the Church of England forbids these priests from exercising their functions within its jurisdiction as a matter of policy, or whether Williams' ban extends only to Robinson. Many gay English priests live with their partners, but are expected to remain celibate.

The email, which came to Robinson through a Lambeth official, says Williams believes that giving Robinson permission to preach and preside at the Eucharist would be construed as an acceptance of the ministry of a controversial figure within the Communion.

Williams has not denied permission to preach and preside to Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who gave his support to a failed legislative attempt to limit the rights of Nigerian gays and their supporters to speak, assemble and worship God collectively. Akinola has yet to respond to an Atlantic magazine article which suggests he may have had prior knowledge of plans for retributive violence against Muslims in his country that resulted in the massacre of more than 650 people in Yelwa, Nigeria.

Williams has not denied permission to preach and preside to Bishop Bernard Malango, the retired primate of Central Africa and one of the authors of the Windsor Report. Malango dismissed without reason the ecclesiastical court convened to try pro-Mugabe Bishop Nolbert Kunonga for incitement to murder and other charges.

Williams has not denied permission to preach and preside to Bishop Gregory Venables, primate of the Southern Cone, who has now claimed as his own, churches in three others provinces in the Anglican Communion (Brazil, Canada and the United States). Nor has he denined permission to preach and preside to Archbishops Henry Orombi of Uganda, Emanuel Kolini of Rwanda, or Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya, all of whom have ignored the Windsor Report's plea not to claim churches within other provinces of the Communion.

Sources who have read the email say Williams expresses sorrow for the way the ban on Robinson must appear to the bishop and his supporters, but says he is acting for the good of the Church and the Communion.

At Church Times Blog, Dave Walker advances the story in the legal direction:

Questions are being asked as to whether Lambeth Palace has the authority to stop Gene Robinson from preaching if he is invited to do so by the incumbent of a parish. Legal minds have been perusing the Canons of the Church of England and it appears that he would have a strong case for being able to preach if invited.

However, Gene Robinson has ruled out preaching without the permission of the Archbishop. From the Hardtalk [TV] interview (only available for a week) on the BBC [Robinson said]: "In the past he has... declined to give me permission to preach and to celebrate the Holy Communion and I would never do so without his permission."

You should know that under the canons, this does not require either your approval or your support. You have no say in this matter. A diocesan bishop is free to invite other bishops to visit and speak in his diocese.

There are no efforts at reconciliation proceeding within this Province, which is one reason why faithful people continue to leave TEC in droves. Your attitude and actions simply reinforce alienation and bring further discord.

Once again, you are the one meddling in the internal affairs of this diocese, and I ask you to stop your unwelcome intrusions.

Faithfully in Christ,
the Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth

cc: The Archbishop of Canterbury

During this sixty day period, Title IV has a provision for temporary inhibition of the bishop by the Presiding Bishop with the consent of the three senior active bishops of the Church. These bishops who must consent to the temporary inhibition do not, however, have a veto over consideration of the merits of the deposition by the House of Bishops, any more than those who must consent to temporary inhibitions in other circumstances have a veto over consideration of the charges by a trial court. This understanding of the canon is held not only by my Chancellor, but also by members of the Title IV Review Committee including an attorney who is an original member of the Committee, the chancellors of several dioceses who have been consulted, and the former Chair of both
the Standing Commission on the Constitution and Canons and the Legislative Committee on the Canons at the General Convention.

As the actual vote regarding deposition draws near, it is important to recognize what does and does not constitute a relevant response by the bishop in question. A letter of resignation from the House is irrelevant to the charges brought forward by the Review Committee and the deposition proceedings, since deposition concerns a person’s
ordination in this Church, not simply participation in the House of Bishops. Resignation from the House thus has no bearing on following through with the charges brought forward by the Review Committee. Deposition in this situation makes clear in an official way that the bishop in question is no longer permitted to exercise ordained ministry in this Church.

Regarding how the vote is to be taken, the canon is clear that a vote on deposition must occur at “regular or special meeting of the House.” Although we have other canonical consent provisions where consents may be secured by written ballot through the mail, that process does not satisfy the canons here. Every bishop entitled to vote is invited to the meeting and given ample notice that there will be a vote on depositions. Materials surrounding the deposition in question are posted in the “Bishops Only” section of the College for Bishops website. The canon is read that a quorum be present and a majority of all bishops present who are entitled to vote consent to the deposition, as was done in the case of Bishop Davies of Fort Worth in the 1990s and Bishop Larrea of Ecuador
Central in 2005. In terms of parliamentary rules of order, any questions about the propriety of a vote are to be raised before the meeting or, of course, during it.

These are weighty matters, and it is important that we take seriously our procedures, as well as their purpose and intent. It is also important that we remember the reason that such canons and procedures are in place. These matters with which we are confronted have ramifications for many outside our House. For those who would like an alternative to deposition, we already have one, in the form of renunciation of vows in this Church, so that anyone may pursue his or her conscience and desires in another part of Christ’s Body. This option makes clear and clean an individual’s departure from The Episcopal Church. Resignation from the House is quite different, since it only deals with the person’s relation to the House, not to The Episcopal Church. Thus, to resign from the
House while still claiming jurisdiction over a diocese with its property and assets is not a viable alternative.

Some have misunderstood the impact and intent of deposition. It is this Church’s formal way of saying to the world that the deposed cleric is no longer permitted to act as a sacramental representative of this Church. If vows to uphold the doctrine, discipline, and worship of this Church are not voluntarily renounced, how otherwise can a cleric take up new vows to uphold the doctrine, discipline, and worship of another Church? These are indeed difficult decisions that we at times are called to make, and I have no doubt that all of us would wish things were different. We must respond to the situations with which we are faced, compassionately but not naively, knowing that we make these decisions not for ourselves alone but for the people whom we are called to shepherd and
oversee. I remain

Your servant in Christ,

Katharine Jefferts Schori

Posted at 11:32 AM

He was elected Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, becoming the Anglican Communion's first openly gay bishop.

His appointment has caused great friction within the church, attracting particular criticism from Peter Akinola who leads 37 million Anglicans as chairman of the Anglican Church in Africa.

Appearing on BBC's HARDtalk programme, the bishop was asked why he thought Dr Williams had not held to account Mr Akinola and "others who have used such dramatic language against you personally?"

Bishop Robinson replied: "Well, you would have to ask him that - and I think he will have to answer to God about that."

He added: "I believe (Dr Rowan William's) unwillingness to confront Peter Akinola and others like him who've made statements that I think any reasonable person would find over the edge - I believe God is very disappointed in that."

Bishop Robinson also called for Dr Williams to be more consistent, claiming he had criticised the Episcopal Church but had not offered a "critique of some of the other churches".

He was asked by interviewer Stephen Sackur: "Do you think the stance he's (Dr Williams) taken which sounds, in your description, partisan against you, do you think that has exacerbated the threats that you say you have received?" The bishop replied: "There is simply no way to understand the cause and effect of such things."

He then added: "I do believe the rhetoric of those who would gladly decide themselves as anti-gay certainly creates an atmosphere in which a person who might contemplate violence would feel more justified."

The actions contemplated by some leaders in Forth Worth are profoundly uncanonical," Jefferts Schori wrote. "They also prevent needed reconciliation from proceeding within this Province."

The full text of Jefferts Schori's letter, copied to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, follows.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Gregory,

I write to urge you not to bring further discord into The Episcopal Church. Visiting a special convocation of the Diocese of Fort Worth with the expressed purpose of describing removal to the Province of the Southern Cone is an unprecedented and unwarranted invasion of, and meddling in, the internal affairs of this Province. I ask you to consider how you might receive such a visit to your own Province from a fellow primate. The actions contemplated by some leaders in Fort Worth are profoundly uncanonical. They also prevent needed reconciliation from proceeding within this Province.

I urge you to focus your pastoral ministry within your own Province. May your ministry there be fruitful. I remain

Your servant in Christ,
Katharine Jefferts Schori

During the past year, the Presiding Bishop and Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker have exchanged letters about the vote of Fort Worth's convention last November in which delegates gave the first of two required approvals of canonical changes to amend its constitution and remove accession to the Constitution and Canons of General Convention, as well as several canonical amendments that eliminate mention of the Episcopal Church.

Jefferts Schori has continued to emphasize the possibility of reconciliation between Iker, the diocese and the wider Episcopal Church, said the Presiding Bishop's canon, the Rev. Dr. Charles K. Robertson.

Meanwhile, a group called the Steering Committee North Texas Episcopalians has been formed to help Episcopalians who are opposed to efforts to align the diocese with a province of the Anglican Communion other than the Episcopal Church.

An April 27 news release from the steering committee said the group began work immediately after the November 17 Fort Worth convention.

Since that time, Iker and the diocesan Standing Committee have said that "the structure and polity of the Province of the Southern Cone would afford our diocese greater self-determination than we currently have under the General Convention of The Episcopal Church."

The Southern Cone has about 22,000 members and encompasses Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Its provincial synod, meeting in Valpariso, Chile, November 5-7, 2007, agreed to welcome into the province "on an emergency and pastoral basis" Episcopal Church dioceses "taking appropriate action to separate from The Episcopal Church."

The Forth Worth diocesan convention is set to vote on the changes for a second time when the convention meets in November.

"In the wake of the first vote, many people immediately set to work to identify and empower those who intend to remain Episcopalians," the steering committee said in its release. Those people include members of Fort Worth Via Media, North Texans Remain Episcopal in the northern part of the diocese and Remain Episcopal of Granbury in the southwestern part of the diocese as well as by a group in the mid-cities area and a group of diocesan clergy, the release said. Another group, Steadfast Episcopalians, was recently organized explicitly to reach out to conservative Episcopalians.

"There were also individuals representing almost all parishes and missions who had self-identified as wishing to remain Episcopalian," the committee said.

"These groups and individuals realized they needed to work together" and so they formed the steering committee, according to the release. "The inclusion of individuals representing all points of view is crucial as we move forward in mission together," said Robertson, canon to the Presiding Bishop.

Walter Cabe is president and Courtland Moore is vice president. Margaret Mieuli is treasurer and Bruce Coggin is the committee's clerk. Other executive committee members are George Komechak, Kathleen Wells, Victoria Prescott and Fred Barber.

"The primary objectives of this combined group are to remain in the Episcopal Church and to continue the work of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth as a constituent part of the Episcopal Church," Komechak, who is also president of Fort Worth Via Media, said in the release. "Identifying additional persons in diocesan parishes and missions who support staying in the Episcopal Church is one of the Steering Committee's first items of business."

People who will remain Episcopalians can send information to Steering Committee North Texas Episcopalians, P.O. Box 100846, Fort Worth, TX, 76185-0846. A website is under construction.

The committee has been recognized as a Texas non-profit corporation by the Secretary of State, and has adopted bylaws and a statement of mission and beliefs.

According to recent parochial reports, the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is comprised of more than 18,100 active baptized members in some 55 congregations in north central Texas.

The Oxford-trained theologian said he can no longer serve under Vancouver-area Bishop Michael Ingham, arguing that he "appears heretical." Ingham had sanctioned in 2002 same-sex blessings in the British Columbia diocese of New Westminster, sparking international uproar.

In recent years, 28 parishes have voted to split from the Anglican Church of Canada, citing the denomination's departure from Christian orthodox values and Anglican tradition. They have realigned with overseas Anglican provinces.

St. John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church in Vancouver, which Packer is a long-time member of, left the denomination in February, placing itself under the authority of the Southern Cone province.

John Stackhouse, a professor of theology and culture at Regent College in Vancouver, sees two different bodes forming in Canada with the continual departure of parishes.

"Frankly, we have not seen this sort of thing in Canadian history, and I'm not sure we've seen it in Anglican history," he said, according to The Canadian Press.

"With the significant size of these dissenting groups, and the international support for them ... we may see two different bodies in one geographical territory," he said, noting that Anglican churches traditionally have been determined through geographic, and not ideological, boundaries.

While the controversy has focused on homosexuality, Stackhouse says the issue is about more than sex.

"This is about the fundamental question of how we derive any kind of Christian truth," he said, according to The Canadian Press.

Packer, who has outlined a conservative Christian theology in his 1973 bestseller Knowing God, described the Bible as "absolute" authority on divine truth and that it clearly describes homosexuality as a grave sin, as reported by The Vancouver Sun.

The Rev. Kevin Dixon, priest at St. Mary's Anglican Church in Kerrisdale, meanwhile believes Packer is adopting a "literalistic" reading of the Bible.

"It's important for people to understand that the holy scriptures is a very nuanced document. I think we need to allow people room to come to a new understanding," said Dixon, the local newspaper reported.

"I have not always held the view that same-sex relationships are consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ, but now I do."

Packer argued that top leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada have changed their interpretation of Christianity while he and other conservative Anglicans have remained committed to traditional Anglicanism.

"I'm simply being an old-fashioned mainstream Anglican," Packer said.

As conservative Anglicans believe the core beliefs of Christianity are being called into question by the Anglican Church of Canada, the small group of parishes that have left may just the first wave, some predict.

"Every diocese in which this (approval of same-sex blessings) has happened – or something like it has happened – churches have split off," said Stackhouse. "This [issue] is very much in play now; this is not the end game at all."

Over the weekend the Anglican Network in Canada, a splinter group comprised of parishes now under the authority of the Province of the Southern Cone in South America, held a conference where they welcomed Archbishop Gregory Venables, leader of that southern province. His arrival at the conference stirred controversy as the Anglican Church of Canada told him not to intervene in the country's affairs. He refused, however, saying the conservative group of Anglicans wanted him there.

The afternoon ceremony followed a two-hour session with diocesan clergy in the morning. Approximately 75 ordained men and women shared a spirited discussion with the Presiding Bishop of prominent questions and issues facing the Church today.

Three years of constant work prepared the ground for the garden. There are 16 neighborhood tenants, each committed to donating a tithe of their produce to any community group that feeds the hungry. Two large pantry plots are growing food to be donated to the North Dallas Shared Ministries and Resource Center of Dallas.

The first harvest will occur in late summer, 2008.

Using a traditional Rogation service, the garden was blessed in the presence of an estimated 140 people. After the ceremony, the group met in the parish hall for an informal question and answer session.

Prominent among those in attendance was the Rt. Rev. Sam Halsey, retired bishop of West Texas, who stood in the back of the hall, arms crossed, taking it all in. He has been a frequent visitor to Ft. Worth since early February, offering counsel and advise, and pastoral care to the clergy who do not want to leave TEC.

Fort Worth clergy and laity comprised a little less than one-half of the gathering. Their questions dominated the session, pleading to the Presiding Bishop for “help to get us out of the wilderness we now find ourselves in.” Fort Worth is one of two dioceses that will consider leaving the Episcopal Church again this fall.

Responding to their obvious distress, the Presiding Bishop assured them that a plan similar to the one employed in San Joaquin has been prepared. When the Fort Worth delegation declared that they have been forgotten in this battle, the Presiding Bishop replied, “Have you been watching San Joaquin? They were not forgotten and now show dynamic signs of new life. You will not be forgotten, either.”

An enthusiastic Fort Worth person asked, “And will we get to have women’s ordination?”

“Yes,” replied the Presiding Bishop. “But not this week.”

This was quickly followed by a homosexual couple who asked when they would be allowed to walk down the aisle and be married in this church. The Presiding Bishop replied that it would not be this year. “The General Convention will probably discuss this issue again in 2009. I do not know if that Convention will request Rites for Same-Sex blessings. It is very near in Canada and I believe we will see this in our lifetime. What I have seen is God blessing people in many forms of life, across this country.”

Met with rousing applause, Bishop Katherine was then asked how the gays and lesbians in Dallas can open the path here.

“Keep the conversation open and flowing,” she replied. “Live Holy lives.”

The conversation turned to the coming Lambeth Conference and Bishop Gene Robinson’s status with regard to that event. The Presiding Bishop explained that the 5 or 6 Archbishops who continue to be angry with the actions of the Episcopal Church are a very small minority. Most archbishops are concerned about life and death issues in their own countries, such as extreme poverty, hunger, war, lack of potable water, and rising sea levels.

She explained that while Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire has not been invited to attend the conference, he would be there, ex officio. She believes that he will be present in a much larger way than an invited attendee. She also commented that a binding and restrictive covenant is not part of the DNA of the Communion and a covenant will be discussed this summer, but not implemented for many years.

Accepting a gift of handmade art from the people of St. Thomas, the afternoon ended with a vigorous round of applause for the Presiding Bishop.

Many students taking part in Friday's event said they were involved just to show that intolerance is wrong.

But nationally, the 12th Annual Day of Silence was sponsored by GLSEN - the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - to bring “attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.”

And that's a message the ADF - which describes itself as “a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation” - thinks needs to be countered.

“The Day of Truth is an opportunity for Christian students to respectfully present a different viewpoint than students participating in the Day of Silence,” said Joe Infranco, an ADF senior counsel. “Silence doesn't teach anything.

“An open, honest, and respectful discussion, however, allows truth to rise to the surface.”

And what is “truth?”

Students taking part in Friday's Day of Silence have said they wanted to promote tolerance for all people.

But the ADF and other groups said GLSEN's national purpose “urges students to remain silent for an entire day to express their approval of homosexual behavior.”

The Concerned Women for America said Friday's event was “all about advancing, through clever, feel-good propaganda, full acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle among children.”

When asked Friday why they were not talking, students could hand out a card that said: “I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence.”

Students joining Monday's Day of Truth also plan to wear T-shirts and have cards to hand out, saying in part: “I am speaking the Truth to break the silence. True tolerance means that people with differing - even opposing - viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other.

“It's time for an honest conversation about homosexuality.

“There's freedom to change if you want to.”

Jefferson City Schools spokesman David Luther said last week the district takes no position on either event.

But each must follow the same rules: Not to disrupt education.

“Ultimately, it comes down to this - it's a rare case when we allow an outside event to disrupt our school day,” Luther explained. “When we have outside interests coming through the doors of the schools, we have to put the priority on instructional time.

“However, should a group wish to have an event similar to this and they abide by the basic parameters that are laid forth, again (it's a) First Amendment right and it is their prerogative to do that.”

During the question-and-answer period, someone asked me about the forthcoming civil union between me and Mark, my partner of 20 years. The audience had been welcoming and sympathetic, full of laughter and understanding, and for one moment, I forgot that the C-SPAN cameras were rolling and that every word I said would be parsed by my critics. Within hours, those eight words had made it around the world, thanks to conservative bloggers and the magic of the internet.

No context; nothing about the preceding hour of carefully constructed comments; nothing about my defence of - and love for - the Scriptures; nothing about the loving God to whom I constantly pointed. Just this one sentence.

Surely no one thinks that I'll don a wedding gown and wear flowers in my hair. But I suspect that a lot of people are uncomfortable with me using the word “bride” - a word associated with women as property - to describe a man. For many centuries marriage was about the transfer of property (the bride) from one man (the father) to another man (the groom), in some places accompanied by the payment of a dowry or bride price. Is calling myself a “bride” offensive because it relegates a “privileged” man to the status of a woman? I'll be the first to admit that it would have been better if I'd never uttered those eight words - not because they aren't true, but simply because they gave the conservative forces something else to use against me. It was a stupid thing to say, and I should have known better.

What I should have said was something like this: “Gay and lesbian people grow up with the same hopes that other people do - that they'll be able to celebrate their love for one another with family and friends gathered around, pledging their support for the faithful, monogamous, lifelong-intentioned, holy vows they've just taken. I, too, have always longed for such a day.”

The worst part is that it's reminiscent of the years and years that I had to self-censor everything I said, so as not to give away the fact that I was gay. Gay and lesbian people learn at an early age to filter every single word before uttering it, straining out anything that might indicate who we really are on the inside. I know from my own experience, and from that of countless others, that this is an exercise in self-alienation. In a nanosecond we listen in our heads to what we're about to say and, before speaking, edit out anything that might indicate to the listener that we're gay. We get really, really good at it, until it becomes second nature. But it takes a toll on our souls.

This may not sound like oppression - it's not the same as being thrown into prison or burnt at the stake - but it's one of the silent, painful results of oppression. The result of any oppression is living in fear - fear of discovery, rejection and retribution. It's what most gay and lesbian people live with every day, all over the world.

A fellow bishop, responding to my “June bride” comment, recently questioned the appropriateness of my having a civil union just before the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference of the bishops of the Anglican Communion. He suggested that to spare the communion further distress, Mark and I should cancel our plans.

Why a civil union? Why take advantage of the new civil law permitting such a social arrangement, provided for by the state of New Hampshire to support the stability and societal good that comes from having committed, faithful gay families in the state?

Mark and I have been together for 20 years. In much the same way that women have done for countless generations, Mark left a great career with the Peace Corps to make a life with me and my daughters in New Hampshire. I'd made it clear right from the beginning that I'd never leave them. For all that time, we've shared our lives in every aspect. Although a fiercely private person, Mark wholeheartedly supported me in responding to God's call to the episcopate, and when my election took place, and ever since, he's stood by my side - in the uncomfortable limelight - as my partner and spouse.

We've dealt with all the ramifications of being a gay couple in our culture. All the protections that exist for heterosexual couples were not automatically available to us. At considerable cost, we legally contracted some of these: durable power of attorney for financial and medical decisions, inheritance (of course, an inheritance tax would be imposed on him as if he and I were complete strangers), a trust for him and our children. But literally hundreds of rights and protections afforded heterosexual couples at the utterance of “I do” are not available to us. The kind of protections that became instantly available to Britney Spears - who, on a lark, decided one night in Las Vegas to get married - are not available to Mark and me despite 20 years of love and fidelity.

Now that some - though not even half - of these rights and protections have been afforded by an act of the New Hampshire legislature, why would we not take advantage of them? If loving one's spouse should come at the top of the list of one's priorities and commitments, how or why would I say to Mark: “We really shouldn't do this because some people in the Anglican Communion will be upset”? Our union will not be marriage, with the more than one thousand federal and state rights that instantly accrue to a traditional married couple. But it will offer us something. Does Mark not deserve - do we not deserve - the protections now available to us?

Now I am being accused of intentionally poking a finger in Lambeth's eye by scheduling the service in June. But if we'd waited until after Lambeth to announce our intentions, I'd be just as severely criticised for having been disingenuous and secretive about the civil union to assure an invitation to Lambeth. There is no time when our civil union will be acceptable to many in the Anglican Communion. But I will not be irresponsible to the partner and love of my life just to avoid giving offence.

Why not just a civil ceremony? Why a blessing, too? When I testified before legislative committees for legal civil unions in New Hampshire I argued for separating the civil right of unions from the religious rite of blessing. Mark and I will solemnise our union in a building owned by the state, signifying the civil authority for this union, then proceed across the street to St Paul's church, where we will give thanks for our union and ask God's - and the gathered community's - blessing on us. We contemplated participating in a simple Eucharist, without any words of blessing, out of deference to the Anglican Communion. But does anyone think that the headlines would have read “Gay bishop carefully steers clear of offending communion”? And because the blessing of unions has gone on in the Diocese of New Hampshire since 1996 (seven years before my election), why should the bishop not be entitled to the same pastoral care offered to other people in the diocese?

But why not just make it a “private” service - a solution offered by some in the Anglican Communion? But “private blessing” is an oxymoron. Although our service will be by invitation only, and out of sight of the press, our understanding of marriage is that the couple make their vows public, in the presence of the gathered community, seeking the community's prayers and assistance in being faithful to those vows.

To relegate the blessing of a marriage to a private, secretive venue is to violate its very nature. When I was growing up I could never have imagined same-sex couples being “out”, never mind being married or partners in a civil union. There were no role models for a happy, productive life as a gay or lesbian person - no Billie Jean King or Greg Louganis, no Ellen DeGeneres, no Ambassador James Hormel, no Congressman Barney Frank. We had not yet been told that Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams and W.H. Auden were all gay; nor did we know that it was a renowned pacifist, Bayard Rustin, who happened to be gay, who taught Martin Luther King Jr about non-violent resistance. My life might have been very different had I known these things.

Our civil union will no doubt be reported by the press. I can't stop that. But I can rejoice that somewhere in Idaho or Ontario or Sussex there's a gay boy or a lesbian girl who will read about it and know that they, too, can aspire to a healthy, whole life with a person of the same sex - and that they don't have to give up their faith along the way. It might occur to them that they, too, can put their sexuality and their spirituality together in a way that makes for happiness and spiritual depth. Like me, they may have “always dreamt of being a June bride”. But unlike me, they will know it is possible.

In the Eye of the Storm, by Gene Robinson, £12.99, Canterbury Press. Available from Times BooksFirst for £11.69, free p&p, 0870 1608080, timesonline.co.uk/ booksfirst

“We have been expecting this litigation and the contents contain no surprises,” Schofield wrote in a statement meant to assuage the concerns of clergy and parishioners loyal to him.

The statement was released after the local Episcopal diocese filed suit against Schofield in Fresno County Superior Court, asking the court to remove Schofield from diocesan property, return land and funds to the diocese, and declare provisional bishop the Rt. Rev. Jerry A. Lamb head of the diocese with control of assets.

In December, Schofield led a majority of valley churches in an unprecedented secession from the Episcopal Church over doctrinal differences. He is now conducting church business as bishop of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, having placed himself under the authority of the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, whose bishop has welcomed him wholeheartedly.

But he and seceding parishes have continued to occupy physical properties to which the Episcopal Church still lays claim.

“They can’t start their own church with property and money that was given to the Episcopal Church,” said Stockton-based Rev. Mark H. Hall, canon to the provisional bishop.

“The Episcopal church of the United States is the American version of the Anglican church,” he said. “When Schofield was deposed (in March) under the Episcopal Church, he no longer has any standing in the Anglican Communion.

“San Joaquin is not part of the Southern Cone; San Joaquin is part of the Episcopal Church of the United States,” Hall said.

The Anglican Communion’s official Web site, anglicancommunion.org, recognizes Lamb, not Schofield, as the provisional bishop of the local diocese, and does not list the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin as part of the Province of the Southern Cone.

“Anybody in the United States can have their own church,” Hall said, “that’s freedom of religion and that’s perfectly reasonable. But if you’re going to be a part of an official church you have to follow the rules of the official church.” Schofield, however, does not appear fazed.

“Please know that our legal team has been at work for some time,” Schofield said in his statement to his followers, adding that such legal preparation “is already proving most helpful in defense of property and assets.”

“Furthermore,” he wrote, “I want to remind you that in spite of the claims by The Episcopal Church, nothing in their current Constitution and Canons prohibits a diocese from leaving one province and moving to another.”

Hall, however, said the seceding clergy and congregations may not have realized what they were getting themselves into when they chose to disregard church law and split from the Episcopal church, and called their actions “a slight form of insanity.”

Attempts to reach Schofield and other Anglican diocesan representatives for further comment Monday were unsuccessful.

The visit comes after a lawsuit was filed against Fresno’s Episcopal bishop who has broken away to join the Anglican diocese. Bishop John-David Schofield says he expected legal action after his bitter break last year from the Episcopal Church. Schofield says Episcopal leaders are still fuming over his exit from the church.

He broke away in a dispute over allowing gays and women in leadership positions. Schofield says what the church is doing is illegal and he is saddened by the latest move.

"Their behavior has been less than honorable. And you expect more from the church, don't you? I expect Christians to behave like Christians but somehow rather this is all set aside in favor of grabbing property, grabbing money, grabbing power."

Bishop Schofield says the church refused his resignation and tried to depose him, but didn't have the votes. The Episcopal Church claims in the suit, Schofield is no longer the bishop and has refused to turn over diocese property. Schofield says there are no church laws which govern splits like this one and he insists he is still the bishop.

The Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle invited Bishop Jefferts Schori for what was her first official visit to Dallas.

Wearing sunglasses and a white robe, the oceanographer-turned-priest helped preside over an elaborate afternoon service, blessing a garden whose raised-bed vegetable plots will help supply local food banks.

"Coming here to bless a garden, especially at this time in the history of humanity, when we're focused on how the church can be a more proactive voice in caring for the rest of creation, is an important message," she said before the service.

Bishop Jefferts Schori, 54, leads a church that is at odds with much of the Anglican Communion and faces revolt internally.

The Episcopal Church has seen conservative congregations – and one California diocese – depart over what they say is its liberal drift, particularly the acceptance of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson.

"We're struggling over the appropriate place of gay and lesbian Christians in the church," Bishop Jefferts Schori said, adding that previous eras had seen conflict over integration and the ordination of women priests. "This is simply the issue God has presented us with in this age."

But Bishop Jefferts Schori also said the fallout for the Episcopal Church, with 7,700 congregations in the United States and elsewhere, has been exaggerated.

"We know of about 55 or 60 [congregations] which have had a majority of members decide to leave the Episcopal Church. That's well under 1 percent," she said.

The Diocese of Dallas itself has had departures, including what had been one of the Episcopal Church's larger congregations – Christ Church in Plano.

The highly conservative Diocese of Fort Worth has taken steps to leave.

The blessing service Monday near Dallas Love Field, attended by about 400, was to some degree a rally for the Episcopal Church and Bishop Jefferts Schori.

"Everyone at St. Thomas the Apostle is standing taller and feeling prouder because she's [here] with us," said Harry Anderson, head of the vestry for a congregation that has long taken progressive stands on race, women's rights and gay rights.

Two buses came from Fort Worth, and many of the visitors wore stickers saying, "Fort Worth Episcopalians Honor Katharine."

"We want to make it clear that the Diocese of Forth Worth is not monolithic," said Katie Sherrod, adding that she considers Bishop Jefferts Schori "fabulous."

Bishop James Stanton of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas did not attend Monday. His conservative views have sometimes put him at odds with Bishop Jefferts Schori.

But Bishop Stanton did give permission for the visit – something the Episcopal Church requires when the Presiding Bishop comes into a diocese – and provided a welcoming letter.

He said last week that he had told Bishop Jefferts Schori months ago that a long-standing family commitment would keep him from attending.

"This is not a protest of any sort whatsoever. It's just a matter of differences in schedule," he said. "She has decided to visit in smaller churches, and I commend that choice."

“Judge Randy Bellows has indicated that he would like to see the entire case resolved soon after the October hearing. We welcome that news as we have consistently stated our belief that this litigation is a regrettable distraction from our core mission as a church. He also invited the parties to submit lists of issues that can be decided as a matter of law without any further discovery. On the remaining issues, Judge Bellows indicated that he would be receptive to motions for protective orders should discovery become too burdensome, which we appreciate.

“Let’s be clear - our churches’ own trustees hold title for the benefit of their congregations. The Episcopal Church and Diocese of Virginia have never actually owned any of the property, and their names do not appear on the deeds to the property. The Virginia Supreme Court has consistently stated that Virginia does not recognize denominational trusts of the sort asserted by The Episcopal Church and the Diocese.

“We are grateful that Judge Bellows already ruled that the Virginia Division Statute applies to our situation. Virginia has a long history of deferring to local control of church property, and the Division Statute says that the majority of the church is entitled to its property when a group of congregations divide from their former denomination and form or join a new one. The Episcopal Church’s own complaint acknowledges that it does not hold title to any property of these eleven churches and that the churches’ own trustees hold title to all such property for the benefit of the congregations. Moreover, it is the congregations and their members – not the denomination -- who have contributed the funds that built and maintained these churches over the years. Some of the churches—like The Falls Church and Truro—actually predate the denomination and helped establish it.”

To comply with the requirements of the Virginia Division Statute, Virginia Code § 57-9, which recognizes the right of a congregation to keep its property when a majority votes to separate from a divided denomination, the voting churches reported to their local circuit courts their votes to disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church and the Diocese and to affiliate with CANA through membership in ADV.

“In most of these churches, 90% or more of the members voted to leave the denomination due to the clear division within The Episcopal Church, which the Court recently confirmed. The Diocese of Virginia and The Episcopal Church broke their relationship with the worldwide Anglican Communion and fell out of step with much of Christendom by choosing to redefine and reinterpret Scripture,” Oakes said.

The Episcopal Church and the Diocese abruptly broke off settlement negotiations in January 2007 and filed lawsuits against the Virginia churches, their ministers and their vestries. The decision of The Episcopal Church and the Diocese to redefine and reinterpret Scripture caused the 11 Anglican churches to sever their ties.

The Anglican District of Virginia (www.anglicandistrictofvirginia.org) is an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia. Its members are in full communion with constituent members of the Anglican Communion through its affiliation with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a missionary branch of the Church of Nigeria and other Anglican Archbishops. ADV members are a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, a community of 77 million people. ADV is dedicated to fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples while actively serving in three main capacities: International Ministries, Evangelism, and Strengthening Families and Community. ADV is currently comprised of 21 member congregations.

"This case raises the question of the appropriateness of the government's intrusion into the freedom of any church body to organize and govern itself according to its own faith and doctrine," top Methodist officials said.

At stake is eight church properties that together are valued at as much as $40 million, including Fairfax's Truro Church and the Falls Church in Falls Church, whose conservative memberships seceded from the Episcopal Diocese over a long-standing theological split. The Methodists filed a joint brief in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Thursday arguing the state's "division statute" - which governs the ownership of church property during a religious schism - violates the First Amendment freedom of religion. Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell filed a brief in January arguing the opposite.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows ruled earlier this month that the "division statute" applies to the case, which was largely considered a victory for the breakaway groups, though he has not ruled on the law's constitutionality.

About a dozen congregations in Northern Virginia left the Episcopal Diocese in late 2006 and joined with a conservative Anglican archbishop in Nigeria. The groups argued the national church had strayed from doctrine, especially by ordaining a gay bishop in New Hampshire.

Jim Oakes, vice president of the Anglican District of Virginia and a de facto spokesman for the splinter groups, called the argument against the constitutionality of the division statute "preposterous."

"[The law is] nothing but a reasonably neutral way for the state to adjudicate how to settle an issue," he said.

wflook@dcexaminer.com

"It’s almost as if we are in a different world,” said the Rev. Canon Bill Gandenberger, who serves as the Canon to the Ordinary for the diocese. While no lawsuits have yet been filed, there are attempts by The Episcopal Church’s recently formed Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin to claim they are Corporation Sole, a failed attempt to seize the Anglican diocese’s bank accounts, and some shenanigans involving one of the diocese’s web addresses (the primary diocesan website address is http://www.sjoaquin.net).

“We are seeing parishioners who left because of the liberal drift of the Episcopal Church come home to many of our congregations. A number of parishes are reporting general increases in regular attendance, and new visitors are more frequent,” said Gandenberger.

San Joaquin’s experience tracks closely with what has happened with individual realigning parishes, said the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey, Network dean and bishop for the more than 40 Network congregations in the United States under the care of the Anglican Province of Uganda. “Overwhelmingly, churches that I serve have experienced great freedom and joy and excitement in moving forward in mission, leaving behind them the conflict with The Episcopal Church. They are excited to be able to once again primarily focus on the Gospel call to proclaim Jesus Christ in a culture that needs him so much,” he explained.

San Joaquin is certainly excited about focusing on the Gospel story. Three Anglican churches in Bakersfield — All Saints, St. Luke’s and St. Paul’s — banded together to host the Network’s Sharing our Faith Conference April 11–13. The conference, which featured noted Anglican Evangelists Michael and Rosemary Green and Network Director for Evangelism Jenny Noyes, focused on equipping clergy and laity to take the good news of the Gospel out into their communities.

The rectors of these churches reported that on that Saturday, about 80 trained people who attended the two-day event went to two malls and the river walk area of Bakersfield and spoke to more than 1,000 people about Jesus Christ. Some of those people came to the three churches on Sunday morning. Nineteen became believing Christians and are starting a Christian “Foundations” course this week. “People were excited to have done this with such ease and want to do evangelistic outreaches again!” said Gandenberger. In addition, plans are underway to hold a similar conference next year. Kevin Kallsen of AnglicanTV.org recorded all the material taught at the Bakersfield conference. He will soon make it available for purchase and to train church members wherever they live.

The Diocese of San Joaquin is also preparing for next week’s visit by their new Archbishop, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables. He will be meeting with leadership, leading a seminar, worshipping and getting to know the people of the Diocese personally for the first time.

While the dust is still settling from the momentous action of their Diocesan convention in December last year, Bishop John-David Schofield reports that new Rectors and Vicars have been called; new priests and deacons have been ordained; more people are seeking vocations to the priesthood and the diaconate; many more are seeking spiritual direction as well as studying to become spiritual directors; new prison ministries have been affirmed; early efforts to plant new churches are underway; and the diocese’s youth discipleship camp this summer, Camp H2O, is going to celebrate its eighth year anticipating participants from throughout California

The diocese’s current missionary endeavors are also expanding. Fr. Michael Jun just returned from Vietnam with Global Teams (see www.global-teams.org) after training pastors to shepherd the 35 house-churches recently formed. Fr. Jeff Sampson, currently in Afghanistan, assists in the formation of multiple orphanages. Fr. Martin Bunsy continues to form new Christians in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and labors to complete the farm and herd of goats in the country that is creating a self-funding (meat, milk and ice cream) base for Christian outreach to the nation (see www.jacobsfarm.org). Fr. Jim Short continues his work in Uganda assisting bishops and dioceses. “Numerous churches outside our current borders are seeking ways to come under our covering in the same way that we came under the covering of the Southern Cone. There is no shortage of activity internationally, nearby, and within the Diocese of San Joaquin,” said Gandenberger.

- Posted April 25, 2008–

So perhaps it’s only fitting that on Monday, April 28, St. Thomas will be the first congregation in the Dallas Episcopal Diocese to receive a visit from Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the national church.

Jefferts Schori, the first woman to lead any branch of the 80-million-member worldwide Anglican Communion, consented to the election of the first openly gay bishop in the U.S. Episcopal Church, Gene Robinson, in 2003.

Jefferts Schori, who’s bound by church canon to visit each of the more than 110 dioceses during her nine-year tenure, will be at St. Thomas, 6525 Inwood Road, for a public ceremony to bless the parish’s new community vegetable garden at 2:30 p.m. Jefferts Schori also will speak and answer questions.

“I think it really makes a statement about where Katharine is that she would choose St. Thomas,” said Fred Ellis, a St. Thomas member and a former president of Integrity, the national group for LGBT Episcopalians. “It has a long history from its beginning of being out there in the forefront of social issues.”

‘Open to all God’s kids’
Stephen Waller, the openly gay rector of St. Thomas, said when the all-white congregation decided to accept black members not long after it was established in 1950, a notice went out to the other parishes in the diocese explaining the situation, and police protection was needed for Sunday services.

Waller said the parish first elected a woman to serve on its vestry, or governing council, in 1970. In 1997, with female clergy still the pre-eminent issue in the church, Waller named the Rev. Christianne McKee as curate, or assistant priest.

Around 1985, Waller said, a man dying from AIDS walked into St. Thomas and asked to be cared for. The man had been rejected by the church he grew up in, but St. Thomas’ congregation, then led by rector Ted Karpf, took him in.

The decision prompted some members to leave, Waller said, but soon the parish found a new demographic. St. Thomas became known as “the AIDS church” and was the birthplace for AIDS Interfaith Network, now one of the leading HIV service providers in Dallas.

“In the intensity of that period, when people were dropping like flies, the parish was highly involved and that pulled in a lot of gays and lesbians who wanted to support that ministry,” Waller said.

Today, St. Thomas remains predominantly gay, although perhaps less so than it once was, Waller said.

But the 300-member congregation is growing, and it draws people from all over the Metroplex who want to be part of a diverse, inclusive congregation that supports the national church.

“We’ve never passed anything saying that we’re open to gays and lesbians; we’re just open to all God’s kids,” Waller said. “You just don’t feel very comfortable here if you have very rigid ideas about things.”

Dallas diocese unlikely to leave
Since Jefferts Schori’s election as 26th presiding bishop in 2006, the national church has continued to face a widening rift over Scriptural interpretation and homosexuality.

In response to the election of Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, many congregations and even some entire dioceses have chosen to leave. But in a recent interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Jefferts Schori said they represent less than 1 percent of the church.

“Our job is to bless their going and reassure them our door is always open and that we’ll keep the light on for them,” Jefferts Schori said.

A spokeswoman for the national church said Jefferts Schori wasn’t available for comment this week.

Last year, the Fort Worth diocese took the first steps to withdraw from the national church, although some say the decision had more to do with the role of women than gays. The Fort Worth diocese will vote later this year on whether to finalize the move.

Like Fort Worth’s, the Dallas diocese is considered conservative. However, the consensus seems to be that Dallas is unlikely to follow in Fort Worth’s footsteps.

Jefferts Schori’s visit to St. Thomas was approved by James Stanton, bishop of the Dallas diocese, who’s considered a leader in the global effort against gay bishops.

In the 1990s, Stanton was one of 10 bishops who filed charges against a bishop in New Jersey for ordaining a gay man. Stanton, who didn’t respond to a request for comment this week, reportedly doesn’t plan to attend Monday’s visit.

Despite the circumstances, Waller and others said they don’t believe Jefferts Schori’s decision to visit St. Thomas was intended as an overt or provocative political gesture. Rather, they say, she was merely responding to an invitation to bless the garden from lay members.

‘A natural extension’
Kris Braddock and her husband are among the many St. Thomas members who’ve rented plots in the Community Garden, an experiment in urban agriculture.

Braddock, who moved with her husband from New York to Dallas two years ago, said the couple intially feared they wouldn’t be able to find a parish they felt comfortable in. The Braddocks previously were members of St. Bartholomew’s on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

“It reminds us a lot of our congregation in New York,” Braddock said as she helped prepare the Community Garden for Jeffert Schori’s visit, which she called “a joyous occasion.”

“We hope that a lot of other Episcopalians will come and see that having an open mind isn’t a bad thing,” she said. “It’s an important visit locally and globally, I think.”

Braddock said she also volunteers for the Resource Center of Dallas, which operates a nutrition program for people with HIV/AIDS that will receive a portion of the harvest.

Harry Anderson, the openly gay senior warden of St. Thomas, said the idea for the Community Garden came about last year after what used to be the rector’s house was torn down, leaving a vacant lot next to the church.

Anderson, who oversees the garden, said the national church has adopted the United Nations’ millennial goals, which include eradicating hunger and combating HIV/AIDS. But the objective of the Community Garden is nothing new for St. Thomas.

“This is a natural extension of something this church has been doing for 25 years,” Anderson said.

For more information about the visit, go to www.thedoubter.org.
E-mail wright@dallasvoice.com

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition April 25, 2008.

But they balked when Bishop John Howe recently said he wanted them to leave by May 1, allowing those who want to remain Episcopalian to keep the church property. That led to church leaders and diocese officials having an all-day mediation session in Orlando on Tuesday. Former circuit judge John Upchurch acted as mediator.

The outcome is a proposed agreement that says those who want to break with the Episcopalian church will leave by July 1 and form a new congregation elsewhere.

According to Howe, those who break off “will leave the historic Trinity Episcopal Church property.”

Terms of the agreement are to remain undisclosed until ratified by both sides: the current church vestry and leaders of those who want to stay. A vote is scheduled 11 a.m. May 4 at the church, according to a letter Howe is mailing to members of the church.

Both sides signed an agreement to not comment until the vote, said Linda Coulson, assistant to the church’s lead minister, the Rev. Lorne Coyle. The leader of member who want to stay Episcopalian, Warren Winchester, also declined comment.

“I believe that today’s (Tuesday’s) mediation has brought us to an agreement that can lead to an amicable separation,” Howe wrote in his letter to church members.

For more than a century, seminarians have traditionally enrolled in a three-year residential program to earn a master's of divinity degree that prepares them for the priesthood. Seminary officials said the school would explore the possibility of offering the degree in other formats such as distance learning or short-term residential stints.

"We want to bring the traditional excellence and depth of residential theological education to the new challenges and realities of the 21st Century," said Rev. Gary Hall, dean and president of Seabury-Western. "People can't afford to come here. We need to figure out how to bring it to them."

Of the nation's 11 accredited Episcopal seminaries, three have taken steps to downsize. In recent months Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., sold some of its campus to Lesley University in Boston. And Bexley Hall Seminary closed its campus in Rochester, N.Y. to consolidate its program in Columbus, Ohio in partnership with Trinity Lutheran Seminary.

Seabury-Western is the only school to stop admitting students.

Experts say its fate highlights the challenges facing many shrinking mainline Protestant denominations. Some also suggest that it's a symptom of the theological polarization within the church since the 2003 approval of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson—the church's first openly gay bishop.

On Thursday, the seminary's board of trustees declared an imminent financial crisis, a required step in order to end the employment of tenured faculty. The seminary's budget is projected to run a $500,000 shortfall for the current fiscal year. Annual expenditures are projected to run $2.9 million. Seabury-Western also carries a $3.5 million debt.

mbrachear@tribune.com

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Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune

Robinson said that by scheduling the ceremony for June, he did not intend to further inflame conservatives just before the Anglican Communion gathers in August in Cambridge, England, for the Lambeth Conference, which happens once every 10 years.

"We could have, I suppose, just gone to the town clerk and had that signed," he said, "but, you know, I'm a religious person, and every major event in my life has been marked with some kind of liturgy and giving thanks to God."

Robinson will not be attending the conference's official sessions with his more than 800 fellow bishops.

RE: Book Tour
Episcopal News Service April 25, 2008

A sabbatical last fall was the impetus for the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson's book "In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God," by Seabury Books. The foreword was written by Anglican Emeritus of Cape Town Desmond Tutu.

"The title of course comes from the storm that I have found myself in for the past five years," said Robinson, the Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. "But it's more about the eye of the storm. The tiny calm place I feel God has brought me to in the middle of that storm."

Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be elected bishop in the Anglican Communion, spoke about his book at an April 23 book signing at the Catalyst Café and Books in New York City. He described it as a "kind of spiritual memoir about what makes me tick."

"It's about the fuller gospel that is part of my life," he said. "The press has sort of painted me as a one issue person, but actually what I'm passionate about is the whole Gospel. Lesbian and gay issues are just one of them."

Robinson described his feelings after learning of his exclusion from the Lambeth Conference set for Canterbury, England, July 16-August 4, as "pretty awful." He credited a conversation shortly thereafter with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as helping him find comfort.

Since that time Robinson said he now "looks forward" to Lambeth from the perspective that if Jesus were around for this conference and had to chose between being on the inside with the higher ups or on the fringes with whoever else was going to be there, "I'm not sure that he wouldn't chose to be on the fringes."

"So I'm looking forward to meeting and talking with anybody that is willing to talk and let whatever light of Christ that is in me shine and whoever has the eyes to see it and ears to hear it will do so," he stated.

The meeting takes place the same week 11 Anglican Church of Canada clergy in Greater Vancouver resigned from the denomination to serve under the authority of the South American primate, who was asked this week by Canadian Primate Fred Hiltz not to intervene in his jurisdiction.

The gathering of the Anglican Network in Canada Friday and Saturday at South Delta Baptist Church includes 15 congregations, eight from B.C., that have severed ties with the 700,000-member Anglican Church of Canada.

Venables, a 58-year-old British-raised missionary who was elected primate (senior archbishop) of the southern cone in 2002, oversees roughly 22,000 Anglicans spread across Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and elsewhere.

Like the Canadians he has come to support, Venables opposes accepting the blessing of same-sex relationships and stands up for a traditionalistic interpretation of the Bible.

He agreed to requests from Anglicans in Canada and the U.S. to serve as their spiritual leader even though the practice of crossing ecclesiastical jurisdictions is controversial in the 70-million-member global Anglican denomination.

This week's resignations of dissident clergy followed a drawn-out ecclesiastical war with Vancouver-area Bishop Michael Ingham over his decision to endorse same-sex blessings in 2002.

Some of the departing priests hail from St. John's Shaughnessy Church, one of the largest Anglican congregations in Canada with more than 700 attending each Sunday, and include prominent retired theologian James Packer, of Vancouver's evangelical Regent College.

The nine priests and two deacons said in a letter to Ingham, "It is our intention to remain members of the Anglican church." They said their former colleagues in the Anglican Church of Canada had "departed from historic, orthodox Anglican teaching and practice."

Some of the parties to the dispute have been trying to play down tensions.

"We don't want to create controversy, although controversy might be created for us," said Marilyn Jacobsen, who works for the Anglican Network in Canada.

"We're deeply saddened" by the dispute, said Peter Elliott, the dean of Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, which remains in the fold.

"But these are 15 congregations out of more than 2,000 in Canada. My impression is most Anglicans want to get on with the work of the church: sharing the good news, feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless."

Countering claims that liberal Anglican churches are dying, Elliott said his congregation in downtown Vancouver has grown by 50 per cent in the past decade.

Last week, a lesbian Anglican couple from Atlanta, Ga., had their relationship blessed at Christ Church Cathedral, said Elliott.

© Vancouver Sun

"The future of marriage in California should be determined among the 36 million residents of the State of California -- not by the personal, closed-door deliberation of seven judges," said Rev. Sam Rodriguez, Jr., an Advisory Board Member of the Alliance for Marriage Foundation. "The Latino community holds the key to protecting marriage in California – and preventing the attack on marriage here from having national fallout."

The California Supreme Court is expected to rule by early June on the state's marriage laws. Many anticipate the court's ruling could effectively strike-down the democratically approved Proposition 22, the California Defense of Marriage Act, which statutorily defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

"In 2000, the Latino community played a determining, critical role in approving Proposition 22 at the ballot box," said Rodriguez. "As the largest 'minority' community in California, the Latino community holds the key to protecting marriage in California – and preventing the attack on marriage here from having nationnal fallout."

"For several decades, America has been wandering in a wilderness of social problems caused by family disintegration," added Rodriguez. "Tragically, as bad as our current situation may be, it could soon become dramatically worse. This is because California courts and the legislature are poised to erase the legal road map for marriage and the family from state law."

Earlier in the petition effort, Californians for Marriage, an all Latino-led coalition organized by the Alliance for Marriage Foundation, delivered signatures in support of the California Marriage Amendment, and is poised to fill a pivotal role in the ballot efforts this fall.

Members of Californians for Marriage include Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Rev. Felix Posos, Northern Pacific Latin American District of the Assemblies of God, Dr. Jessie Miranda, Alianza Ministerial Evangelica Nacional, Dr. David Lazo, Church of Power, Dr. Sergio Navarrette, Assemblies of God, Pacific Latin, and Rev. Gilbert Montelongo, Tabernacle of Praise.

The Alliance for Marriage and Alliance for Marriage Foundation are non-partisan coalitions, located in Washington, DC and led by attorney Matt Daniels.

Yesterday the school board switched tactics. Because the public uproar in support of Mr. Freshwater was so great they decided it was time to pull out the smoke and mirrors. They knew that they had made a huge overreach, so to cover their own rear-ends they decided to attack the credibility of Mr. Freshwater. It is a classic attempt to divide and conquer.

This press release was filled with a list of “allegations” against Mr. Freshwater and represents an attempt to publicly flog an honorable Christian man. Christian superintendent, Steve Short, ordered an inquisition and a babysitter for Mr. Freshwater in a lame attempt to make himself look honorable. We cannot allow the fog to hide the real issue.

There are forces at work who want to ban the Bible from public consumption.

My wife and I journeyed to the movies last weekend to view Ben Stein’s movie, EXPELLED. It is a must view for Christians. From their own mouths the atheists exposed their agenda…the removal of Christianity from the education of our children. We have turned the education of our children over to those who hate God and America is paying a heavy price for it.

The God-haters are playing for keeps and they don’t care who they harm.

In the Freshwater affair the school has released “allegations” that he “burned crosses” on the arms of children. They knew the incident was a science experiment that had nothing to do with his faith, but they chose to link it anyway. Listen here to a brief 3 minute interview I did with a radio station this morning.

Hopefully those of you who read this commentary are educated enough to know that the idea of separation of church and state as currently practiced in America looks nothing like what our Founders envisioned. That is the linchpin upon which all of the atheistic arguments hang. If we believe THAT lie all our positions become vacuous. Religious expression is free speech. No longer must we allow Christians and the Christian point of view to be relegated to second-class citizenship.

That is what the atheists have attempted to do. No, that is what they have done. If a view has any connection to Christian beliefs, or more specifically the Bible, then the view is disqualified because it is “religious” in nature. Atheism is “non-religious.” Humanism masquerades as “science.” Christian views are “religious.” The mythical separation between the church and state bans the religious point of view. Hence, Christianity is forever banished to the four walls of the church.

Christians are so ignorant. We should be the best informed, best educated of all American citizens. Instead of fighting for Truth we have swallowed the arguments of the Enemy. The battle over the Bible is just another example.

Steve Short, the superintendent of Mt. Vernon City Schools, is a Christian. I have known him for years. But he has fallen into the trap set by the secularists. He believes that his duty is to make sure that Christian values are not espoused in the classroom. In his recent statement he said “As a public school system,” Short said, we “cannot teach, promote or favor any religion or religious beliefs. Our obligation is not to endorse or establish any religion under the First Amendment, but we have an obligation to protect our students’ rights.”

“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

My heart is heavy today. I know Christians pray for their Christian leaders. We work to get them into office. Yet, the Christian world is still screaming for strong leadership.

Sadly, when they get into office we find out that they think like the Enemy. Richard Dawkins himself could not have done a better job of silencing the Word of God than our own Christian, Steve Short.

But the fight is not over.

Last Friday the students stood up for Jesus in the Mt. Vernon City Schools. In response to the attack upon Mr. Freshwater the students organized a “take your Bible to school” day. An estimated 750 junior and senior high students showed up to school with their Bibles in tow. They held a rally and collected over 1000 signatures declaring that the Bible should stay.

But the administration doesn’t care what the citizens say. They are choosing to follow an extra-Constitutional statement found nowhere in our founding documents. They are believing a lie, repeating a lie, and fighting for a lie.

Isn’t it ironic? Those in charge of educating our children are miseducated themselves. Sort of gives new meaning to the term the blind are leading the blind, don’t you think? Here is the bottom line, Church. Our kids are watching. They are watching to see if we really believe what we say about Jesus. They are watching to see if we will show the courage to stand-up for what we believe. They are watching to see if, at this critical time, we really believe that the Bible holds the answers to America’s problems.

They have taken their stand…what about you Mom and Dad….Pastor?

I support those who are fighting against the Day of Silence which is nothing more than a celebration of the homosexual agenda in the same schools where the Bible is not welcome. You see, homosexuality is free speech…Christianity is “religion.” (I wonder where Steve Short stands on this issue.)

But once again our plan of attack is a plan of retreat. Many are encouraging parents to keep their children home on April 25th in protest of the Day of Silence. I think we can do better.

Let’s turn April 25th into a “Take Your Bible to School” day all across this nation. “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” It is time for Christians everywhere to follow the lead of a brave science teacher in Ohio. Take your Bible to work. Put it on your desk. We can no longer allow them to silence the voice of Truth.

The only way the God-haters win is if the Christians refuse to fight.

They banned prayer from the school and the Church complied. They banned Bible-reading from the schools and the Church said “Amen.” They banned creationism from the schools and the Church supplied the finances. They banned Christmas Carols in our schools and the Church “followed the law.”

Open your eyes. Today they are trying to ban the Bible. How will the Church respond?

Our children are watching.

Coach Dave Daubenmire, founder and President of Pass The Salt Ministries www.ptsalt.com and Minutemen United www.minutemenunited.org, is host of the high octane Pass The Salt radio show heard in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1999 Coach Daubenmire was sued by the ACLU for praying with his teams while coaching high school in Ohio. He now spends his energy fighting for Christian principles in the public domain.

E-Mail: coach@ptsalt.com

In a video message to the entire church posted on YouTube, Dr Williams says his aim in planning the conference has been to make it essentially a “spiritual encounter”. He says this the conference should not be “a time when we are being besieged by problems that need to be solved and statements that need to be finalised, but a time when people feel that they are growing in their ministry.”

Instead of a series of resolutions and large meetings, as has happened at previous conferences, bishops will spend much of their time closeted in small, private groups.

Dr Williams says: “We have given these the African name of indaba groups, groups where in traditional African culture, people get together to sort out the problems that affect them all.”

Of the 800-plus bishops invited, about a quarter have declined to attend because of the row over the consecration of the openly-gay Bishop of New Hampshire, the Right Rev Gene Robinson, in the U