VirtueOnline Digest, Vol 17, Issue 36

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VirtueOnline Weekly News Digest
http://www.VirtueOnline.org
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Today's Topics:

1. Table of Contents (David Virtue)
2. VIEWPOINTS: September 22, 2017 (David Virtue)
3. FIF-NA Issues Statement on Recent ACNA Position not to
embrace the Ordination of Women (David Virtue)
4. Ft. Worth Standing Committee Responds to ACNA Ordination of
Women Statement (David Virtue)
5. South Carolina Diocese Fights Back Against Episcopal Church
(David Virtue)
6. The Jesus Movement, Michael Curry, Racism, Guilt and White
Privilege (David Virtue)
7. Two Episcopal Dioceses to Share One Bishop (David Virtue)
8. Confederate Name Controversy Becomes Personal at Lee Memorial
Episcopal Church (David Virtue)
9. The Episcopal Church's knee-jerk reaction to Confederate
names (David Virtue)
10. Is GAFCON divisive? (David Virtue)
11. Anglican Church of Southern Africa plans to amend Canon on
Marriage (David Virtue)
12. Satanic Fashion Show Inside a Church at London Fashion Week
(David Virtue)
13. Sheffield debacle shows CofE needs to promote more
traditionalists, campaigners say (David Virtue)
14. Prancing in the Church of England (David Virtue)
15. Why the C of E needs to admit it's only a C in E (David Virtue)
16. The Church of England will die unless we read the Bible.....
(David Virtue)
17. 'Beware the Oppressive rainbow wooden horse' (David Virtue)
18. The return of clandestine marriage? (David Virtue)
19. Transactivism Is Hurting Your Children (David Virtue)
20. SURVIVING HURRICANES (David Virtue)


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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:38:19 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Table of Contents
Message-ID:
<1506044299.3238659....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

VirtueOnline Weekly News Digest - Desktop & Mobile Edition
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 22, 2017

*************************************
VIEWPOINTS
*************************************

1. Two TEC Dioceses to Share One Bishop * Robert E. Lee scrubbed from
Windows and City Squares * Ft. Worth Standing Ctte Responds to ACNA...
http://www.virtueonline.org/two-tec-dioceses-share-one-bishop-robert-e-lee-scrubbed-windows-city-squares-ft-worth-standing-ctte


*********************************************
ANGLICAN NEWS IN NORTH AMERICA
*********************************************

2.FIF-NA Issues Statement on Recent ACNA Position not to embrace the
Ordination of Women
http://www.virtueonline.org/fif-na-issues-statement-recent-acna-position-not-embrace-ordination-women

3.Ft. Worth Standing Committee Responds to ACNA Ordination of Women
Statement
http://www.virtueonline.org/ft-worth-standing-committee-responds-acna-ordination-women-statement

4.South Carolina Diocese Fights Back Against Episcopal Church
http://www.virtueonline.org/south-carolina-diocese-fights-back-against-episcopal-church


*********************************************
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
*********************************************

5.The Jesus Movement, Michael Curry, Racism, Guilt and White Privilege
http://www.virtueonline.org/jesus-movement-michael-curry-racism-guilt-and-white-privilege

6.Two Episcopal Dioceses to Share One Bishop
http://www.virtueonline.org/two-episcopal-dioceses-share-one-bishop

7.Confederate Name Controversy Becomes Personal at Lee Memorial
Episcopal Church
http://www.virtueonline.org/confederate-name-controversy-becomes-personal-lee-memorial-episcopal-church

8.The Episcopal Church's knee-jerk reaction to Confederate names
http://www.virtueonline.org/episcopal-churchs-knee-jerk-reaction-confederate-names


*************************************
GLOBAL ANGLICAN NEWS
*************************************

9.Is GAFCON divisive?
http://www.virtueonline.org/gafcon-divisive

10.Anglican Church of Southern Africa plans to amend Canon on Marriage
http://www.virtueonline.org/anglican-church-southern-africa-plans-amend-canon-marriage


*********************************************
CHURCH OF ENGLAND
*********************************************

11.Satanic Fashion Show Inside a Church at London Fashion Week
http://www.virtueonline.org/satanic-fashion-show-inside-church-london-fashion-week

12.Sheffield debacle shows CofE needs to promote more traditionalists,
campaigners say
http://www.virtueonline.org/sheffield-debacle-shows-cofe-needs-promote-more-traditionalists-campaigners-say

13.Prancing in the Church of England
http://www.virtueonline.org/prancing-church-england

14.Why the C of E needs to admit it's only a C in E
http://www.virtueonline.org/why-c-e-needs-admit-its-only-c-e

15.The Church of England will die unless we read the Bible.
http://www.virtueonline.org/church-england-will-die-unless-we-read-bible>

16.'Beware the Oppressive rainbow wooden horse
http://www.virtueonline.org/beware-oppressive-rainbow-wooden-horse


********************************
CULTURE WARS
********************************

17.The return of clandestine marriage?
http://www.virtueonline.org/return-clandestine-marriage

18.Transactivism Is Hurting Your Children
http://www.virtueonline.org/transactivism-hurting-your-children


************************************
DEVOTIONAL
************************************

19. SURVIVING HURRICANES
http://www.virtueonline.org/surviving-hurricanes


END



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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:40:06 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: VIEWPOINTS: September 22, 2017
Message-ID:
<1506044406.3238744....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Fact, doctrine and gospel. It is not enough to 'proclaim Jesus'. For
there are many different Jesuses being presented today. According to the
New Testament gospel, however, he is *historical* (he really lived,
died, rose and ascended in the arena of history), *theological* (his
life, death, resurrection and ascension all have saving significance)
and *contemporary* (he lives and reigns to bestow salvation on those who
respond to him). Thus, the apostles told the same story of Jesus at
three levels -- as historical event (witnessed by their own eyes), as
having theological significance (interpreted by the Scriptures), and as
contemporary message (confronting men and women with the necessity of
decision). We have the same responsibility today to tell the story of
Jesus as fact, doctrine and gospel. --- John R. W. Stott

Let God be God. Our greatest need in evangelism today is the humility to
let God be God. Far from impoverishing our evangelism, nothing else is
so much calculated to enrich, deepen and empower it.
Our motive must be concern for the glory of God, not the glory of the
church or our own glory. Our message must be the gospel of God, as given
by Christ and his apostles, not the traditions of men or our own
opinions. Our manpower must be the church of God, and every member of
it, not a privileged few who want to retain evangelism as their own
prerogative. Our dynamic must be the Spirit of God, not the power of
human personality, organization or eloquence. Without these priorities,
we shall be silent when we ought to be vocal --- John R. W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 22, 2017

FORTY-SIX PERCENT OF AMERICANS believe religion is part of the problem
in our society. Yet faith is the motivation for many of the critical
social services and programs that benefit the most vulnerable
populations. Congregations, faith-based businesses, and charities lift
people up in times of need in ways that few other institutions or
government programs can.

"The Socio-economic Contribution of Religion to American Society: An
Empirical Analysis," put out by the Interdisciplinary Journal of
Research on Religion, is the first-of-its-kind study analyzing the
economic impact of 344,000 religious congregations around the country,
in addition to quantifying the economic impact of religious institutions
and religion-related businesses.

Through this study, the total economic contribution of religion in
America was found to be nearly $1.2 trillion, equal to the world's 15th
largest economy.

Think about that. No other country on earth does as much good as America
does to its own people by its people. So, if America loses its Christian
base, think about the impact that will have on the poor and needy in
this country. The gaps and inequalities will not be filled by atheists,
agnostics, pansexualists of one stripe or another, politicians, Nones,
Millennials or anybody else. It is ordinary Americans who give out of
their abundance and not so abundant lives, to help those less fortunate
than themselves.

So, if America loses its Christian heritage, and it seems to be going
that way, then the real losers will be the poor and disadvantaged. Now
that is worth thinking about.

*****

U.S. If you are still wondering about the state of TEC dioceses, then I
have a story for you. This week two Episcopal dioceses said they will
now share one bishop. The bishop of the Diocese of Western New York, R.
William Franklin, announced he is retiring and the diocese is proposing
to elect the Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe, Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania, as
provisional bishop, at Western New York's diocesan convention in 2018.

VOL dug deep into diocesan statistics to reveal the appalling state of
both dioceses. Neither diocese has enough full-time priests to support
the diocese or bishop. Recent figures reveal the Diocese of WNY had a
total of 231 combined baptisms and confirmations, while burials totaled
276. ASA has dropped from 5143 to 2994, a loss of over 52% from 2005 to
2015!... and sinking. The average age of TEC and ELCA pastors is 64 and
they make up 52% of the diocese! Only 14% are under 54 years of age.
Bishop Rowe's diocese has six full time priests. You can read the full
story in today's digest.

The Diocese of Eastern Michigan announced this week that it was getting
a Bishop Provisional in the person of Bishop Catherine Waynick, former
bishop of Indianapolis. PB Michael Curry named Bishop Todd Ousley of
Eastern Michigan as bishop for the Office of Pastoral Development, a
member of the Presiding Bishop's staff, thus leaving the diocese without
a bishop.

It looks as though Ousley was leaving another sinking diocese. The ASA
in Eastern Michigan has gone from a high of 3,124 in 2005 to 1,991 in
2015, a loss of over 41 percent. In 2015, baptisms and confirmations
totaled 97; deaths and burials totaled 154.

The average age of all priests (TEC and ELCA) is 66! The number of full
time priests of one congregation is a mere 25%. Part-time priests of one
congregation number 43%, with the number of full-time women priests even
less at 15%.

A blurb about the move said this, "A diocese like a congregation engages
a bishop to engage the entire diocese in this 'exciting conversation' to
discover where God is leading us in our life and ministry as the
Episcopal Church in Eastern Michigan." One wonders just how "exciting"
it will all be in five years when most of the priests are forced to
retire and there are no replacements to be found and the columbarium's,
are filling up monthly.

If you want to know just how the Jesus Movement is doing in TEC, then
you might like to read my story on Bishop Curry and his attempts to
promote anti-racism, while charging whites with guilt and white
privilege, in this story here: http://tinyurl.com/ybopysqs

*****

Robert E. Lee, an Episcopalian, is making big news in TEC as his name
and statue is being scrubbed from windows and city squares. He was
General-in-Chief of the Confederate States Army during the War Between
the States (1861-1865). He surrendered at Appomattox, bringing an end to
four years of bloodshed. He seemed to be a reluctant slave owner and,
until Sept. 18, he had an Episcopal church named for him in Lexington,
Virginia -- R.E. Lee Memorial Church. Now the church is being renamed in
the wake of political correctness.

In fact, the entire stormy debate over the removal of confederate
statuary -- including his -- seems to fall on Lee's bronze, marble or
stone shoulders all around the country in: New Orleans ...
Charlottesville ... Antietam ... Dallas ... Richmond ... Austin ...
Durham ... Seattle ... Baltimore ... Gettysburg ... Washington, DC ...

Following the Civil War, all officers and soldiers returned home and
tried to pick up their lives. Now all Civil War veterans -- Union and
Confederate -- have died and some are buried in Episcopal churchyards
and seminary graveyards or in military cemeteries.

VOL correspondent Mary Ann Mueller has written two fine pieces on the
Lee controversy following the removal of two windows in the Washington
National Cathedral. She says it is nothing more than the Episcopal
Church's knee-jerk reaction to Confederate names.

*****

The Ft. Worth Standing Committee responded to the ACNA Ordination of
Women Statement this week. In essence, what they said was that while
they recognized the Statement, (unanimously agreed upon) by the College
of Bishops, they received it as a statement of fact, representing a
specific point in time in the life of the ACNA, but not a statement of
ideal. "We are thankful for the clarity the Statement provides in
articulating that the practice is both an "innovation" and lacks
sufficient "scriptural warrant" to make it "standard practice" in the
Province. We also acknowledge that a change in the status quo would
require a change in the Constitutions and Canons. Accordingly, we
commend to you the Forward in Faith North America Council Statement of
September 18, 2017, and, in particular, we would draw your attention to
Paragraph 6. We find the FIFNA Statement consonant with our thoughts,
hopes and concerns in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

*****

The Diocese of South Carolina is locked in a high-stakes legal fight
with the Episcopal Church that implicates the constitutional rights of
religious organizations throughout the country.

The diocese, one of the oldest in the U.S., awaits the reply of the
South Carolina Supreme Court to its petitions for a rehearing and a
judge's recusal in its case against the Episcopal Church. The state
Supreme Court ruled in August that the diocese must return 29 historic
parish churches, valued at $500 million, to the Episcopal Church after
the diocese disassociated from the church.

However, representatives of the diocese allege that the state Supreme
Court breached due process and that Justice Kaye G. Hearn, one of five
judges who ruled in this case, had a major conflict of interest. The
court's ruling, according to the diocese, threatens freedom of religion,
freedom of association, and due process of law. You can read the full
story in today's digest.

ENGLAND: Archbishop Justin Welby has joined 17 other global leaders and
experts on a new United Nations High Level Advisory Board on Mediation.
The board was established by Ant?nio Guterres, nine months into his
tenure as UN secretary-general. It is part of a "surge in diplomacy for
peace" that Guterres has called for. The new board "brings together an
unparalleled range of experience, skills, knowledge and contacts," the
UN said, and "will provide the secretary-general with advice on
mediation initiatives and back specific mediation efforts around the
world."

You will forgive me if I tell you that Nigerian Anglicans are laughing
heartily at this new appointment of the ABC.

Welby can't unite the Anglican Communion, for heavens' sake. The fabric
of the communion is torn from top to bottom and he thinks (or hopes)
that next month he can make the irresolvable differences go away when
the Primates meet in Canterbury. It is not going to happen. For openers,
at least three primates will not be attending -- Nigeria, Uganda and
South America -- and there will be others, and these primates own the
communion in raw numbers.

The delusional world where he, Fearon, Curry, Hiltz and other hopeful
reconcilers think they can hold the communion together, grows more
illusory and pathetic with each passing day. The gig is long up and
nobody really believes that it can all hold together much longer,
bearing in mind that the Church of England is now totally irrelevant to
the British people, where less than one percent darken the doors of
Anglican parishes on any given week. It's a Church in England not the
Church of England, writes Jules Gomes in a brilliant commentary piece
you can read in today's digest.

Why should the Global South and GAFCON primates take their orders from a
washed-up Church of England than can barely muster a million souls on
any given Sunday? That is barely one diocese in Nigeria!

IN other news, Welby discussed his high hopes for the Primates' Meeting
in Canterbury next month. The archbishop has invited primates and
moderators from around the Anglican Communion to meet at Canterbury on
Oct. 2-6.

"I am greatly looking forward to the Primates' Meeting," the archbishop
told ACNS. "It's an extraordinary feeling to have the leaders of all the
provinces gathering together to pray, to encourage one another, to weep
with one another, to celebrate with one another."

The final agenda will be agreed by the primates themselves at the
beginning of the meeting. But it is expected to include sessions on
sexuality and differences across provinces; mission and evangelism;
reconciliation and peace-building; climate change and the environment;
and migration and human trafficking.

Sixteen new primates have taken office since the last meeting.
Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo will represent the newly created Province of
Sudan.

This is the first time that the primates have met since their meeting
and gathering in January 2016.

The key thing that had emerged, Welby said, was the unanimous vote from
those present to "walk together", even though that might be at a slight
distance. A task group, set up after the last primates' gathering to
examine a range of issues including the restoration of relationships and
the rebuilding of trust within the Communion, will present a preliminary
report to next month's meeting. (Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is part
of the eight-member group.)

It's hard to know just how delusional Welby is. Just how "excited" can
he be when you bear in mind the primate of the largest province -
Nigeria - with 25 million souls will not be present, nor will the
primates of Uganda and South America, to name just a few!

First of all, all the clap trap talk about the environment, migration
and human trafficking is nothing Welby can do anything about except to
make a lot of white noise. The "weeping" will be about those who won't
be attending because the hot button issue of homosexual practice, and
homosexual marriages is on the front burner of African provinces and
Welby will not allow those issues to be addressed. In fact, ACNA
Archbishop Foley Beach tells me that he has not been invited this time
around, presumably not to embarrass TEC PB Michael Curry with his
presence! God forbid that Welby should invite the elephant into the
cathedral. You can be sure that whatever the "agenda" is, it won't
include the very reason that the representatives of the vast majority of
Anglicans from Africa will not be present.

Welby opined that a small number of primates have indicated that they
won't be attending, for a variety of reasons. Really! That small number
represents nearly 50% of the entire Anglican Communion, perhaps more! We
shall know more when they assemble in Canterbury.

"Walk together at a slight distance!" OMG. GAFCON primates are walking
apart, not at a slight distance. The fabric of the communion has been
torn and Welby cannot fix it because he has already rolled over on
pansexuality, even if the C of E has not officially done so.

Perhaps when the Primates are in Canterbury, they can pop up to London
and drop into St. Andrews, Holborn, and see the Satanic Fashion Show
inside the church, where they can observe Turkish designer Dilara
Findikoglu's presenting her Spring/Summer 2018 collection. It is nothing
less than a satanic Black Mass. Indeed, the event took place at the
altar of St. Andrew Church and incorporated heavy occult and satanic
symbolism. In short, the event summed up everything the fashion world is
truly about. You can read the full story in today's digest.

*****

SUDAN In a recent edition of Africa Renewal magazine, The Most Rev.
Moses Deng Bol says in a sermon that the solution to South Sudan's
conflicts lies with committed Christians. He says peace will come when
Christians live by the teachings of Jesus.

"According to Jesus, my neighbor is anyone who is near me at any time,
regardless of their tribe, race or color, gender, age, height or size,"
he said. "In Mathew 7:12, Jesus gave the answer to the question of how
do I love my neighbor as myself in what is now known as the Golden Rule:
'So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for
this is the Law and the Prophets.'"

"Many of us are Christians by name and by going to church on Sundays,
but we have not been taught to understand and obey Jesus teachings as he
stated in the Great Commission in Mathew 28:16."

The archbishop recalled a sermon he preached to village elders near the
border of Nuer and Dinka land: "I asked the elders whether any of them
would like the Nuer to come to his village and kill him, his wife and
children, take his cows, and burn his house. They all responded with a
big no.

"He said he believed that if the Nuer Bishop was preaching the same
message to the Nuer as I was doing to the Dinkas, it would take less
than two years for the conflict between the Nuer and the Dinka
communities to stop without any intervention of the police or army."

*****

VOL invites its readers to buy your next coffee beans from Land of a
Thousand Hills Coffee a Rwandan Anglican project to bring life-changing
work to communities in Rwanda. It's great coffee reasonably priced. It
helps our brothers and sisters in a positive way by giving them a
helping hand not a hand out. Please click this link and buy your coffee
here: http://www.landofathousandhills.com/

*****

For a book on missions that will inspire you, buy and read The Year of
Paul's Reversal; recovery of the call to the nations by Tad de
Bordenave, founder of Anglican Frontier Missions, a mission movement
concentrating on the least evangelized nations of the world. Resident in
the U.S. he is a priest of the Anglican Diocese of Makurdi in Nigeria
where he serves as a canon of the cathedral.

This 140-page booklet captures the great need of bringing the gospel to
the world's four billion persons, many of whom have never heard the name
of Jesus Christ. "The picture that emerges shows that out of the world's
population of seven billion people, almost precisely thirty percent, or
slightly over two billion people are Christian. Of the remaining seventy
percent, many have heard and rejected the gospel. But a staggering
number of this figure have never heard the gospel."

If you have a heart for global missions you will want to buy this book.
It can purchased here:
https://www.amazon.com/Year-Pauls-Reversal-Tad-Bordenave/dp/1517287928/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506015689&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Year+of+Paul%27s+Reversal

All blessings,

David

BREAKING NEWS...The Episcopal Church released it latest 2016 membership
figures Thursday afternoon. The counting of the people in the pews show
that TEC is continuing its downward slide in membership, ASA figures as
well as plate and pledge income. A total of 1,905,349 claim to be
Episcopalians around the world, an overall drop of 11,833 baptized
members. This includes 1,745,156 Episcopalians in the United States
showing a dip of 34,179 from the previous year. The foreign dioceses
show an increase of 22,346 in membership to help balance out the greater
loss of members in the United States yet leaving the church with a net
membership loss of 11,833.

Average Sunday Attendance figures also show a decline. Worldwide 601,246
Episcopalians come to church on Sunday showing a loss of 12,995 people
in the pews. The ASA figure for the 99 domestic dioceses is 570,453
showing a loss of 9,327 on a Sunday.

The domestic plate and pledge figures have dropped, too. In 2016
$1,312,430,692 was dropped into the collection plate a drop of
$1,288,475 over 2015.

VOL will have complete figures as they are analyzed.



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

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:40:28 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: FIF-NA Issues Statement on Recent ACNA Position not to
embrace the Ordination of Women
Message-ID:
<1506044428.3238788....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

FIF-NA Issues Statement on Recent ACNA Position not to embrace the
Ordination of Women

Sept. 19, 2017

Beloved in Christ,

As the Council of Forward in Faith, North America we have discussed with
the six FiF NA bishops who have just returned from Victoria, British
Columbia, Canada, where they met in Conclave, the implications of the
Message from the College of Bishops.

They have been very clear that the agreement of the College is that
individual statements, and, in particular, attributing to individual
bishops, their comments cannot occur. Moreover, any comments that would
appear to suggest some form of "victory" would be highly inappropriate.

The College understands that the January meeting in Melbourne, Florida
will be the next opportunity for them to meet and prayerfully proceed.
We acknowledge that the College of Bishops met, often in Silence, for
the purpose of receiving the excellent Report of the Task Force on Holy
Orders.

We give thanks that one of our FiF NA bishops served on the Task Force,
and that one of our bishops served on the four man team which produced
the Statement. We also acknowledge that the Statement was unanimously
endorsed, but that this endorsement does not imply that Traditionalist
Bishops have reached any conclusion other that the one that has been
articulated for 2000 years.

By now we are certain that everyone has read both the Constitution and
Canons of the Anglican Church in North America and also the Task Force
Report, and that with these in mind, have evaluated the Statement from
the College of Bishops. This Conclave was designed and reported to be
the very first time that serious theological conversation has occurred
regarding the nature of Holy Orders as an innovation in the Episcopal
Church in 1976. Since the formation of ACNA, we have endeavored to study
and discuss the Three-Fold Ministry as a Received reality and mystery,
and then to study and discuss the reality of who may be ordained, based
on their sex, their marital status, and their moral character among
other considerations. We must add that Forward in Faith, North America
is comprised of numerous Anglican jurisdictions, with the ACNA
representing the largest percentage of membership. We note that, with
the exception of the Episcopal Church, none of our other jurisdictions
ordain women. Forward in Faith is comprised of numerous jurisdictions,
all of whom have signed our Declaration which maintains all elements of
the Historic Faith.

The Conclave, in Canada was not only monumental in light of the fact
that a Study had not been conducted before in terms of prayerful,
theological debate among Bishops, but it also was an opportunity to
understand the biblical, hermeneutical and theological positions held by
individual members of the College of Bishops. This active process
consumed all of our bishops' time, and, unlike other bodies in the past,
did not want to create a desire for division among the College. It was
clear, in the case of the ordination of women, that women cannot be
bishops, (stated also in the Constitution and Canons) and that the
ordination of women is a several decades old innovation without support
in either Apostolic or Catholic Faith and Order or Scripture.

The first paragraph of the released document clearly references the
agreed upon Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church in North
America, adopted at the time of the formation of an Anglican Body that
would emphasize the fact that Dioceses own their own property and that
litigation would not be a course of action for ACNA. Moreover, it is
clear that in a Conciliar model of ecclesiology, Constitutions and
Canons may be changed by utilizing the appropriate measures provided in
the Constitution and Canons for that purpose. In all matters, Scripture
and Apostolic Tradition, both universal in nature, rank above local
Constitutions and Canons which can be changed. In a Magisterial form of
ecclesiology, numerous pronouncements, may from time to time be made.

In the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, we see clearly that the
Conciliar mode often is a longer process, but engages the entire Church.
Nevertheless, we acknowledge that while Scripture and Tradition are
superior to a Constitution and Canons of a Province, that the ACNA came
into being with an intent to protect Traditionalists who had become
persecuted in the Episcopal Church.

The final paragraph is quite clear in indicating that for a variety of
reasons historic lay ministries have not been encouraged to the extent
that ordained ministries have, and we must seek to effect that change.
We must form more monastic communities for men and women - convents,
monasteries, friaries, and draw upon models such as "Little Gidding,"
Third Orders and Oblates, to place before the Church ministries that
have shaped countless generations.

According to our bishops, "Every fiber of our being was poured into
these three days, and numerous hours before the Conclave were spent in
rereading the Constitution and Canons, the Task Force Report, and also
the recommended books listed in the Bibliography, including a book
written by Bp. John Rogers as a Study for the then Anglican Mission in
the Americas. Forward in Faith, in fact, mailed a copy of the "Rogers
Study" to all members of the College of Bishops. We all understand how
exhausting this process can be, but we do so in order that the Church
may be united in her resolve to Speak, Teach, and Propagate the Truth in
Love to a broken world."

Nonetheless, we recognize that numerous questions have and will arise
regarding our concerns. Although we recognize that there were no advance
promises that the matter of Women's Ordination would be resolved at this
Conclave, and that all advance information clearly stated that this
would be the first opportunity for the ACNA College of Bishops to
discuss the Report of the Task Force, we are disappointed.

We wonder if this would not have been an excellent opportunity for those
Bishops who ordain women to recognize that this action continues to
cause division. We wonder if it would not have been possible for those
bishops to announce a moratorium on the ordination of women, rather than
continuing to contribute to the potential of an Ecumenical crisis. We
wonder if those bishops would recognize that female clergy cannot
function in most of the Dioceses of the ACNA and in the vast majority of
Christian churches throughout the world. In that regard they have
intentionally or unintentionally effected a state of impaired Communion,
whereby not all Clergy are in Communion with one another. We further
recognize that many Forward in Faith Bishops are put in an awkward
position regarding their ability to participate in the consecration of
Bishops who fully intend to contribute to disunity by virtue of their
willingness to ordain women.

We wish to thank our Forward in Faith Bishops for representing us, but
also for participating as fully as possible in articulating the tenets
of the Catholic Faith. In that regard they modeled what it means to be
Conservative (conserving the Faith once delivered), Traditional
(maintaining 2,000 years of Holy Tradition), and Orthodox (bolding
proclaiming unbroken Truth - coupled with orthopraxis.) In these
regards, Forward in Faith continues to be a voice for those who maintain
that which has been believed in all places, at all times, by all people,
with Evangelical Zeal, Catholic Faith, and Apostolic Order.

In Christ,

The Council of Forward in Faith



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

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:40:54 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Ft. Worth Standing Committee Responds to ACNA Ordination of
Women Statement
Message-ID:
<1506044454.3239330....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Ft. Worth Standing Committee Responds to ACNA Ordination of Women
Statement

September 19, 2017

"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I Thessalonians
5:16-18

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings in the strong name of our Risen Lord. I write you on behalf of
the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, which met
on Monday, September 18, 2017, to review and discuss with our bishop,
the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, the recent College of Bishops Statement on the
Ordination of Women.

FIRST, we express our deepest gratitude to Bishop Iker who, in the 25th
year of his episcopate, has steadfastly, resolutely, and without
wavering, witnessed to the catholic Faith in all circumstances. We
reaffirm our support of his apostolic ministry within our diocese, to
the wider Anglican Communion, and before our Ecumenical partners in the
Gospel.

SECOND, concerning the Statement on the Ordination of Women, we
recognize the Statement was unanimously agreed to by the College of
Bishops and we receive it as a statement of fact, representing a
specific point in time in the life of the ACNA, not a statement of
ideal. We are thankful for the clarity the Statement provides in
articulating that the practice is both an "innovation" and lacks
sufficient "scriptural warrant" to make it "standard practice" in the
Province. We also acknowledge that a change in the status quo would
require a change in the Constitutions and Canons. Accordingly, we
commend to you the Forward in Faith North America Council Statement of
September 18, 2017, and, in particular, we would draw your attention to
Paragraph 6. We find the FIFNA Statement consonant with our thoughts,
hopes, and concerns in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

THIRD and finally, as this letter is crafted on the Feast of Theodore of
Tarsus, whose episcopacy was begun during a time of division and
dissension in the English Church and who, surely mindful of our Lord's
words that "a house divided against itself cannot stand," engaged his
task in his time, willingly and obediently, and finally achieving the
unity of the same through his persistent efforts; therefore, aware of
our own calling in our own time, we invite you to pray constantly with
the Standing Committee and the Bishop, for wisdom and discernment to
know and to do our part, toward the health and welfare of our own
Communion, and the reunion of the whole Church.

"May they all be one, even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that thou has
sent me." John 17:20-21. Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic
Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is
corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything
it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of
Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.

In Christ,

Fr. Christopher Culpepper
President, Standing Committee



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

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:41:42 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: South Carolina Diocese Fights Back Against Episcopal Church
Message-ID:
<1506044502.3239385....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

South Carolina Diocese Fights Back Against Episcopal Church

By JOSHUA GILL
Religion Reporter
http://dailycaller.com
Sept. 19, 2017

The Diocese of South Carolina is locked in a high-stakes legal fight
with the Episcopal Church that implicates the constitutional rights of
religious organizations throughout the country.

The diocese, one of the oldest in the U.S., awaits the reply of the
South Carolina Supreme Court to its petitions for a rehearing and a
judge's recusal in its case against the Episcopal Church. The state
Supreme Court ruled in August that the diocese must return 29 historic
parish churches, valued at $500 million, to the Episcopal Church after
the diocese disassociated from the church.

However, representatives of the diocese allege that the state Supreme
Court breached due process and that Justice Kaye G. Hearn, one of five
judges who ruled in this case, had a major conflict of interest. The
court's ruling, according to the diocese, threatens freedom of religion,
freedom of association, and due process of law.

The Split

The diocese disassociated from the Episcopal Church in 2012, but not
over theological disputes, as has been widely reported. The conservative
diocese did disagree with the church over major theological matters,
including the ordination of gay ministers, which the diocese opposed.
But that dispute and others like it did not motivate the diocese to
split from the church.

Rev. Jim Lewis, a member of the diocese, told The Daily Caller News
Foundation that the true impetus for the divide was the Episcopal
Church's attempt to take control of the diocese and remove its
leadership.

"When it became a bridge too far was in the fall, October of 2012. They
attempted to remove our bishop, which would be the first step in
essentially, as I said, taking over the diocese," Lewis told TheDCNF.
"So, that's why we left. It became apparent there was no longer room for
us in the Episcopal Church, that our differences of opinion were no
longer going to be tolerated. That's why we left."

The church and the diocese were able to manage their theological
disputes up until that point, according to Lewis.

"We've had any number of disagreements on matters of theology, and
polity, and ethics with the national Episcopal Church for going on 30
years now. So, the sort of dialogue that we have had at one level was
not a new thing. What changed the landscape and prompted our decision to
leave, to disassociate with the Episcopal Church actually, was not those
issues per se," Lewis told TheDCNF. "It was when they attempted to
remove the bishop of the diocese."

Representatives of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina said that the
removal of Mark Lawrence, the diocese's now former bishop, much like the
split, was motivated primarily by Lawrence's alleged betrayal of his
responsibilities to foster unity and keep parishes within the Episcopal
Church. The church brought disciplinary sanctions against Lawrence in
2012 for what they saw as a violation of his duties as bishop, namely
the duty to "guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the church"
within his diocese.

The church determined that Lawrence "abandoned the Episcopal Church" in
light of his alleged "open renunciation of the Discipline of the
Church," according to an official notice of the disciplinary measures
the church brought against Lawrence in October of 2012.

Twelve members and two priests of the diocese brought complaint against
Lawrence for his failure to oppose three acts that altered the
constitution of the diocese. The acts were passed in diocesan
conventions over which Lawrence presided. They altered the language of
the diocesan constitution so that the diocese only pledged itself to the
constitution of the Episcopal Church, not to its Canons, and rejected
Title IV of the constitution, which governs the discipline of bishops.
One of the acts altered the language of the purpose statement of the
Diocesan charter as well so that the incorporation of the charter
represented the Diocese of South Carolina alone and not the national
Episcopal Church.

Lawrence also ordered Wade Logan, the diocesan chancellor, to issue
quitclaim deeds to every parish in the Diocese of South Carolina in
order to dissolve the Episcopal Church's legal claim, or trust, in each
of those properties.

The Episcopal Church interpreted these actions as attempts on Lawrence's
part to establish the diocese's independence from the national
denomination and to push the parishes to split from the Church. The
Episcopal Church relieved Lawrence of the position of bishop and Bishop
Katharine Jefferts Schori accepted Lawrence' renunciation of his vows to
the Church.

The Episcopal Church is currently enjoined in a federal lawsuit against
Lawrence under the Lanham Act on the grounds that he continues to
advertise himself as the bishop of the diocese.

Freedom of Religion Violated?

The Episcopal Church attempted to use the Dennis Canon to lay claim to
36 parish properties of the diocese that split from it. The Dennis
Canon, established in 1979 by the General Convention of the Episcopal
Church, declared that church properties belonged to the diocese instead
of the parishes.

The Episcopal Church used that church law in this case to claim that it
had a trust controlling the parish properties in question, and therefore
owned them.

What appeared to be a dispute over property quickly implicated First
Amendment rights and the Establishment Clause, when the South Carolina
Supreme Court applied different standards and rules to the Episcopal
Church for establishing a trust in property than those governing secular
organizations.

The court, in applying different and more lenient standards to the
Episcopal Church, appeared to favor one denomination over another,
according to Alan Runyan, an attorney representing the diocese.

"According to this decision, the Supreme Court of South Carolina has
created a special rule which operates here to the benefit of the
Episcopal Church, a New York unincorporated association, and to the
punishment of the parish churches in the diocese of South Carolina, many
of whom predate the Episcopal Church and the United States of America,"
Runyan told TheDCNF. "Because, in the exercise of their protected rights
to their religious beliefs and to associate with those they choose to
associate with, they successfully withdrew from the Episcopal Church,
only to have applied to them a rule that would not apply to the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce."

"And I say that because in South Carolina there are very precise ways
for how you create a trust in property," Runyan said. "In this case, the
[South Carolina] Supreme Court majority expressly stated that, in fact,
the Episcopal Church did not have to follow those rules. It didn't have
to follow the same rules that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would have to
follow to create a trust interest in the property of a local chamber of
commerce that had joined it. And it is in that respect that this is an
egregious violation of the right to freedom of religion and the right to
associate with others who share your religious beliefs because, in the
exercise of those same rights, a secular organization would not have
been punished."

Lewis told TheDCNF that the implications of the court's ruling,
especially as they pertain to the Establishment Clause, posed a grave
threat to the religious community at large.

"Part of our argument is that's a gross violation of the First
Amendment, that the court here has established a different set of rules,
a different precedent for how church property ownership is determined
than what would be used for a secular nonprofit," Lewis said. "That's
essentially establishment of religion. There are all kinds of problems
with that that should be of concern certainly to anybody in the
religious community."

Representatives of the Episcopal Church claim, however, that an opposite
ruling, in which the court would nullify the Dennis Canon, would also
violate religious liberty.

The Episcopal Church said in a summary of its Monday response to the
Diocese of South Carolina's motions for recusal and for rehearing that
"the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prevents civil authorities
from interfering in a church's internal governance."

"The overwhelming weight of precedent, both in courts across the United
States and in South Carolina's courts, upholds the state Supreme Court's
ruling awarding property and assets to The Episcopal Church and its
local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina," the Church's
response summary added.

Recusal

The court's handling of the case between the diocese and the Episcopal
Church was extremely unusual, according to Runyan. The number of
opinions issued by the court indicated strong divides among the
justices.

"There are two aspects of this case that are highly unusual," Runyan
told TheDCNF. "One is that there are five separate opinions. I don't
purport to be an encyclopedia of South Carolina Supreme Court opinions,
but I know of no other South Carolina Supreme Court opinion in which the
opinion of the court is expressed in five separate and all different
opinions of the justices. That's one aspect."

The diocese, however, filed a motion for recusal based on only one of
those five opinions -- that of Justice Hearn. The diocese cited Hearn's
memberships in multiple Episcopal organizations, the involvement of her
husband in Episcopal leadership, and the benefits she rendered to the
church as the justifications for their motion for her recusal, and one
of the reasons they petitioned for a rehearing.

"The 14th amendment guarantees due process, and an element of that is
the presumption that, particularly when you're talking about a judge, no
one should make a decision about something in which they have a vested
interest," Lewis told TheDCNF. "In Judge Hearn's case, that's very
clearly the case. She was a partisan in the decision, the discussions
leading up to our departure from the Episcopal Church. She was a member
of a congregation that left us to return to the Episcopal Church. Her
husband has served in leadership capacities in that congregation and in
the local [Episcopal] diocese that was formed to replace us after our
departure. She's effectively a member in multiple organizations that
have a vested interest in the outcome of this trial."

The Episcopal Church, and Hearn's parish church in particular, stood to
benefit from Hearn's ruling, according to Lewis.

"By the South Carolina judicial code of conduct [she] should have, at
the very least, informed all parties of that potential conflict of
interest, and failing that, should have recused herself outright given
the scope of these conflict of interest," Lewis said.

The Episcopal Church claimed that the accusations against Hearn, with
regard to the motion for recusal, are baseless, according to their legal
response filed Monday with the court.

"This ludicrous and baseless argument does not merit a response," the
Church wrote in their response.

"Being a 'member' of a church in the ecclesiastical sense is not the
same as being a 'member' of an unincorporated business association such
that the person is liable for the association's debts. A rule extending
such financial responsibility to all baptized, confirmed, and received
Episcopalians would come as a surprise to many and is laughable as it is
untenable," the response added.

The Church claimed that forcing Hearn to recuse herself based on her
religious beliefs would be religious discrimination, and that in their
eyes, the motion for recusal, like their split with the Church, was "a
sham...a complaint over something that was perfectly acceptable to
Respondents until it wasn't."

"Her religious beliefs and those of her husband are not grounds for
recusal. Respondents knew she was Episcopalian from the beginning yet
they waited until they lost to raise the issue and they are now asking
for a re-do. This is an abuse of the judicial system," the response
added.

A Legal Groundhog Day?

The second factor that makes this case so unusual, according to Runyan,
is that it is essentially a legal Groundhog Day. The exact same issue
between the exact same parties in the same state has already been tried,
and previously came to a much different conclusion.

"The second aspect is, these exact issues involving the Episcopal
Church, the Diocese of South Carolina, and a parish of the Diocese of
South Carolina were put before the court and decided almost eight years
ago to the day, and they were decided exactly opposite to this
decision," Runyan told TheDCNF.

Representatives of the Episcopal Church told TheDCNF, however, that
Runyan was only partially correct. The case to which Runyan referred is
commonly called the All Saints Decision of 2009, in which a single
church congregation split from the Episcopal Church. The congregation
laid claim to their church property, so the Episcopal Church took them
to court over the issue. The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in the
congregation's favor, deciding that the Dennis Canon did not meet the
burden of proof for establishing a trust in the property in light of the
particular way in which the previous owners of the property entrusted it
to the Episcopal Church.

Therein lies the rub. The properties of each of the dissenting parishes
in the current case were entrusted to the Episcopal Church via
individual legal agreements between the former owners of each property
and the Church. That means that, depending on the way in which each of
those agreements were worded, the Dennis Canon may be enough to
establish a trust in some of those properties but not in others. In
light of that, each of the dissenting parishes have their own lawyers,
and seven of those parishes are not bound by any trust established by
the Denis Canon according to the court's current ruling.

The way in which the South Carolina Supreme Court handled the case
process also presents significant due process issues, according to
Runyan, because the case went straight to the South Carolina Supreme
Court without ever going before a trial court. Runyan told TheDCNF that
a trial court should have ruled on whether the minimal burden for a
religious organization to establish a trust in property, as defined in
the U.S. Supreme Court case Jones v. Wolf, was ever met by the Episcopal
Church.

The case was first raised on appeal, and the state Supreme Court decided
that the issue of minimal burden, satisfied in Jones v. Wolf by applying
the same trust rules to a religious organization as are applied to the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, meant instead that the church had to be
subjected to a lesser burden. Therefore, the court decided that the same
rules that apply to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should not be applied
to the church, despite having no trial court ruling on the matter, and
allowed the church to establish a trust in property simply by claiming
that it had a trust. Runyan said that decision constituted a violation
of the Establishment Clause.

The Episcopal Church disputed Runyan's interpretation of Jones v. Wolf,
and cited the fact that 14 other states have established trusts
concerning the Episcopal Church along similar interpretations of that
case.

Interpretations of Jones v. Wolf aside, however, the process by which
the current case went before the state Supreme Court may not have been
as problematic as Runyan alleged. The court has original jurisdiction
and can take any case raised on appeal before an appeals court rules on
it.

The Stakes

Representatives of the dissenting parishes said the current ruling on
the case presents dire implications immediately to the diocese, as well
as to businesses and religious organizations throughout South Carolina.

For Lewis and the 54 congregations attached to the 29 parishes in
question, the fate of the properties is paramount. Some of the churches
are older than the Episcopal Church, with some even older than the U.S.,
and have served as places of worship for 12 generations of local
families. To lose those churches to the Episcopal Church is, for Lewis,
inconceivable.

"I'll use the example of St. Philip's church," Lewis said. "St Philip's
was in existence over a hundred years before the Episcopal Church even
existed. And the Episcopal Church has done nothing to contribute to the
development of that property or the ministries there. That those assets
for doing ministry, which is why they're important to us, would be given
to an unincorporated New York association, is just incomprehensible."

"We go back to 1785 as a diocese, and some of our parishes go back a
hundred years before that -- St. Philip's being one of those. We have, I
think, 13 colonial era parishes in our diocese," Lewis added.

Runyan, however, told TheDCNF that the case has even graver consequences
than the fate of historic assets for ministry. The current ruling,
according to Runyan, would create legal ground for religious
organizations in South Carolina to get away with business relationships
and transactions that no secular organization could.

Representatives of the Episcopal Church of South Carolina, meanwhile,
said in their legal response that no evidence exists to support the idea
that establishing a trust with the Dennis Canon would disrupt the
business world, as 14 other states have "found trusts to exist based on
similar facts involving the Episcopal Church and its parishes."

The rights of hierarchical churches to govern their own matters based on
their own ecclesiastical law, without interference from the government,
is what the Episcopal Church believes to be at stake in this matter.

"We trust that the court will recognize the conflict created by this
ruling and that lots of people besides just the diocese of South
Carolina would care about that fact," Lewis told TheDCNF.

Both parties agreed on Sep. 1 to mediation, which has not yet occurred.

Representatives of The Episcopal Church declined TheDCNF's request to
provide comment.

END



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

Message: 6
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:42:06 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: The Jesus Movement, Michael Curry, Racism, Guilt and White
Privilege
Message-ID:
<1506044526.3239425....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The Jesus Movement, Michael Curry, Racism, Guilt and White Privilege

COMMENTARY

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
September 20, 2017

When Michael Curry took over as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
in 2012 at the 77th General Convention in Indianapolis, he announced
amidst much fanfare, that the Episcopal Church would be the (Episcopal
branch) of the Jesus Movement.

It came as quite a shock to his predecessor, Katharine Jefferts Schori
whose face, at a press conference, was worth the price of admission.
Jesus had not been much on her lips in her nine years, except to expel
from the church bishops and priests who actually did believe in Jesus
and the salvation he offered. Jefferts Schori had excoriated the notion
of personal salvation as a modern-day heresy, preferring to dance to the
sounds of Indaba, inclusivity, diversity and let's make nice with Islam.

Now a Black Presiding Bishop rode into town announcing that the
Episcopal Church would henceforth move in a different direction with the
Jesus Movement, causing bewilderment amongst his theologically liberal
bishops, who were now being told they had to evangelize (yep that's the
word), so people would hear the Good News with revivals he planned to
hold around the country. (The Good News was not initially defined; that
would come later.) The Presiding Bishop actually used the word revival,
a well-documented word, but alien to the thinking of most stiff upper
lip Episcopalians more concerned with a fifth of Scotch than a spiritual
fit of the Holy Spirit.

Now you should know that words like "evangelize" and "evangelism" have a
particular meaning which are anathema to most Episcopal bishops. When
they hear these words, they think of Aimee Semple McPherson or a Billy
Graham and Trinity School for Ministry, and they do their best to make
sure their ordinands never end up there for fear they might contaminate
their dioceses with such narrow views of the gospel excluding various
groups that now occupy center stage, like LGBTQII and transgender types
for whom hearts must now bleed in open wounds of contrition over what
public toilets they can use.

The bewilderment did not last long when it became clear that what
Michael Curry meant by the Jesus Movement was not quite the evangelism
of say a John Wesley, Billy Graham or that preached by thousands of
black American preachers who weekly rail against sin, calling folk to
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. (Full disclosure. I once worked in
a black Baptist church for two years and each week the preacher made an
altar call, so I know whereof I speak).

No, that was taking evangelism further than what Curry wanted to go, a
step beyond where he wanted to take the Church. Words would have to be
defined. If he had meant what evangelism really meant then he would have
been called homophobic because he would have had to say that homosexual
behavior (like adultery and fornication) is sexually impermissible and
demanded repentance. Curry had no intention of going down that road.

As it slowly transpired, Curry's understanding and agenda of the Jesus
Movement was really about racism and its attendant "sin" -- White
Privilege. Racism lay at the heart of his call to evangelize and he had
a built-in audience of 98 percent whites in The Episcopal Church. With
less than 600,000 whites, he could rail at them and charge them with
white privilege, hoping that, loaded down with guilt, they would atone
with large gifts for their hidden racism. (The topic was center stage at
the last HOB meeting, where, according to Springfield Bishop Dan
Martins, the gathering felt like one "anti-racism training" center,
which translates into "white privilege" guilt.)

VOL has repeatedly asked over time about who exactly are the racists in
TEC, but we have never gotten a reply. Would the Presiding Bishop please
rise and name actual racists. It would be very helpful if the press
could identify who these racists are. The truth is, the only very public
racist of recent memory was John Shelby Spong, former Bishop of Newark,
who was publicly humiliated following racist comments he made about
African Anglicans at the 1998 Lambeth Conference. He was forced to
apologize. Since then there has not been a public (or private)
identifiable racist in TEC. Of course, there are plenty of racists in
society like the Klan, White Supremacist, neo Nazis etc., but not anyone
that Curry could identify in TEC.

When the penny finally dropped for this writer, it became apparent that
what Curry is saying is that everybody who is white in TEC is de facto a
racist just because they are white; born to white privilege and for that
they must repent and atone with large checks to the Church as
reparations for being white.

Of course, this kind of guilt plays right into the hands of
pansexualists who believe that heterosexuals are mostly homophobic if
they don't accept that sodomy is good and right in the eyes of God, and
the linking of the two gives Curry a two-edged sword to wield against
both whites in TEC and African Anglicans who eschew homosexuality as
sinful and unacceptable.

NOTE: Black evangelicals in the US do not accept homosexuality and they
say to people like Curry, "Don't confuse your sin with my skin". This is
apparently lost on the Presiding Bishop.

Wielding this two-edged sword has given Curry enormous clout and made
him the darling of Justin Welby, toffee nosed Anglican bishops, liberal
and revisionist Episcopal bishops of one stripe or another, even
evangelicals like Bishop Greg Brewer (Central Florida) and the Bishop of
Dallas, George R. Sumner, who now compete for his attention. Nashotah
House has also become a believer in The Black One and has invited him to
give a lecture on their premises, causing much consternation among ACNA
bishops, who have hitherto tacitly supported the Anglo-Catholic
seminary.

For all this talk of racism and white privilege you would think that
this would be a real church planting moment, an opportunity for tens of
thousands of whites to pour into Episcopal churches, declare their inner
racism and white privilege, feel their guilt while listening to sermons
blaming them for all of America's ills, then repent and atone with
reparation checks.

Sadly, it is not working. When Gene Robinson was proclaimed queen of the
sodomites (Bishop of New Hampshire) and a miter was laid upon his head,
it was presumed that American homosexuals, no longer under the threat of
being told their behavior was sinful, would suddenly flood TEC churches.
It never happened. The reverse happened. Churches began to empty,
families fled and out of that schismatic act, the Anglican Church in
America was born.

Curry's attempt to guilt aging Episcopalians with cries of racism and
white privilege is going unheeded, and we suspect by most of his bishops
as well. The only reason aging Episcopalians stay in the Episcopal
Church is to be buried in the parish graveyard or columbarium, alongside
ancient relatives who are rolling in their graves and asking what the
hell went wrong with the Church they once knew, loved and worshipped in.

Curry's attempt to jump start the Episcopal Church with the Jesus
Movement is not, and will not work. As Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison (SC
ret.) noted in an interview I did with him, "Bishop Curry could not turn
the Episcopal Church away from its accommodation to the culture if he
wanted to and he's given no sign that he would want to."

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is sowing to the wind and he is
reaping the whirlwind.

This story may be reproduced on blogs and websites with full
acknowledgement as to its source. No part of the story may be amended.

END




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

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:42:26 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Two Episcopal Dioceses to Share One Bishop
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Two Episcopal Dioceses to Share One Bishop
Is a merger coming?

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 18, 2017

The bishop of the Diocese of Western New York, R. William Franklin, has
announced he is retiring. The diocese is proposing to elect the Rt. Rev.
Sean Rowe, Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania, as provisional bishop,
at Western New York's diocesan convention in 2018. Franklin said he made
the decision to retire on April 3, 2019, which is the date required by
the current Canons of the Episcopal Church.

With the consent of both Standing Committees, Bishops Franklin and Rowe
discussed with clergy a plan for the two dioceses to consider the
possibility of a shared future. (This is code for juncturing).

Most recently Rowe (who is the youngest bishop in TEC) was called upon
to oversee the Diocese of Bethlehem as provisional bishop after the
failed occupancy of Bishop Paul Marshall, who had run the diocese into
the ground. He left in 2013. In July of this year, (some four years
later), the diocese announced it was launching nominations for a new
bishop.

Now apparently, Rowe has been called upon to step into another failing
diocese to help them out. This time it is Western New York, a diocese
separated by the Diocese of Central New York.

Recent figures reveal the Diocese of WNY to be in numerical decline both
in ASA, membership, baptisms and confirmations, with the most
significant figure being the rising number of deaths. Last year the
diocese claimed a total of 231 combined baptisms and confirmations,
while burials totaled 276. Baptisms have dropped 40%; ASA has dropped
from 5143 to 2994 a loss of over 52% from 2005 to 2015!

The average age of TEC and ELCA pastors is 64 and they make up 52% of
the diocese. Only 14% are under 54 years of age.

Another startling, but significant figure, is that the number of full
time priests is a mere 31%! Fully 70% of diocesan parishes cannot afford
a full-time paid rector! These include part time priests of one
congregation (39%); priests in yoked churches or parish clusters (9%)
and non-stipendiary priests totaling 20%.

By any measurable standard, this is the kiss of death for the diocese.
Franklin is leaving a sinking ship. You cannot have an ASA decline of
that magnitude and hope to survive beyond the next five years.

The high retirement figure is even more startling simply from a
statistical point of view, as there are no new young parish priests
coming forward to fill retiring pulpits. Even if they could be found,
there are not enough congregations that could pay them a full-time
salary. The Episcopal Church priesthood might be the least desirable job
now or in the foreseeable future. If you leave any Episcopal seminary in
debt, there are only a handful of parishes that could pay a priest
enough to repay his debt and live at the same time. Add a wife and
children and the wife would have to take a job to supplement her
husband's (lack of) income.

Bishop Rowe's own diocese is barely hanging by a thread.

His diocese had an ASA in 2005 of 2022, now it is down to 1340, a drop
of 37% since 2005. The diocese can only claim 22% full time priests
(about six rectors) for 31 congregations. The number of part-time
priests of one congregation total 17%; priests in yoked churches or
parish clusters number 17% while non-stipendiary priests number 43%,
twice as many full-time priests.

These figures can be replicated in most dioceses across the country with
only a handful of notable exceptions like Dallas and Texas.

END



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

Message: 8
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:43:05 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Confederate Name Controversy Becomes Personal at Lee Memorial
Episcopal Church
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Confederate Name Controversy Becomes Personal at Lee Memorial Episcopal
Church
Vestry votes change church name to Grace Episcopal

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
September 19, 2017

LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA -- In a packed room the local Episcopal vestry voted
7 to 5 to change its name and scrub "R.E. Lee" from its sign board.
Effective immediately, the R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church ceases to
be and the church will simply be known as Grace Episcopal and its
well-known vestryman, and his contributions, will be relegated to
history.

For months, the Lexington Episcopal Church was waging a civil war of its
own. Its name sake -- Robert E. Lee -- was not only an openly professed
Christian, a committed Episcopalian and a valued and prominent vestry
member, he also once the superintendent of West Point, the president of
Washington College, step grandson-in-law of George Washington and the
General-in-Chief of the Confederate States Army.

But it is his brief four-year-stint with the Confederate Army that has
stained his name and tarnished his fame, not his 32 years as a decorated
United States Army officer, nor his three years as the West Point
superintendent, nor his five years as president of Washington College
nor his deeply committed Christian faith as lived out as an active
church-going Episcopalian, vestry member and senior warden.

The R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church vestry was thrown into the throes
of renaming the church in the wake of the recent backlash surrounding
Confederate monuments and memorials questioning whether Lee was an
historical hero or a vile villain.

But this is not the first time the church has questioned its historic
moniker. In 2015, there was a church shooting 500 miles away at Mother
Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The incident left nine
dead following a Bible study and the Virginia Episcopal church plunged
into the question and called for a name change study.

The Washington Post reported: "An anonymous survey was held. Thousands
of dollars were paid to reconciliation experts trained in pacifism. A
15-page report was written. Decades-old friendships in the small
community were strained. Parishioners left for other churches."

"I firmly believe that Lee was an admirable man of faith, with flaws
like the rest of us," one parishioner said at the time.

"Could R.E. Lee Memorial Church commemorate the postwar fence-mender who
had led their church and city out of destitution?" The Post posed the
question. "Or could it only conjure the wicked institution of slavery
for which Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee fought?"

After months of discord and discussion and discernment through a variety
of forums and house meetings and after reviewing, the results of a
survey sent to all active members of the church the vestry failed -- by
one vote (9-6) -- to get the 10-vote supermajority needed to change the
name. As a result, the vestry added the name "Episcopal" and included
the phrase "Founded as Grace Church" to its new sign.

However, the renaming question was left simmering on the back burner.

Then came August and Charlottesville, a mere 70 miles away, where crowds
clashed over the removal of a Lee statue and one person died as a result
of the near-riot activity.

The back burner renaming question was quickly put on the front burner,
with the flame turned on high. Vestry members left.

On Aug.18, an online petition was launched, seeking 10,000 names to
force the change of the Episcopal parish's name.

"Across the country, momentum is building to take down monuments to the
Confederate leaders who fought to preserve slavery. But in Lexington,
Virginia, there is still a church named after Robert E. Lee," the
petition states. "R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church leaders say they're
considering changing the name 'in the future' -- but they've been saying
that for years, and the name has remained the same."

The petition, which is seeking 10,000 names, continues: "It's time to
show church leaders that this name is not acceptable and must be
changed. Now! "

Lexington is a community of 7,200, which swells to 11,000 during the
school year when 2,200 students come to town to attend Washington and
Lee University and another 1,600 Virginia Military Academy cadets show
up. The local Episcopal congregation is home to more than 400 members,
of which fewer than 200 show up for Sunday services. Episcopal Church
records show that there were 900 members on the books a decade ago, but
the roles were purged in 2008.

"The liberating good news of Jesus is incompatible with the legacy of
slavery and racism. R.E. Lee Memorial Church should return its original
name of Grace Church effective immediately," the petition concludes. So
far, 6,200 names have been added.

On Aug. 21, the vestry members of the church fired back a response.

"We object strenuously to the misuse of Robert E. Lee's name and memory
in connection with white supremacy, anti-Semitism and similar movements
that he would abhor. Lee was widely admired in both the North and the
South as a man of virtue and honor and as among the leading reconcilers
of our fractured land," the vestry's statement says. "We do not honor
Lee as a Confederate. Nor do we subscribe to neo-Confederate ideas in
honoring him. We honor Lee as one of our own parishioners, a devout man
who led our parish through difficult years in post-Civil War Virginia.
More importantly, we find our identity in Christ, the lover of all
humankind, and we seek on-going renewal in Him."

Now even the bishop got involved in the name changing controversy.

Bishop Mark Bourlakas (VI Southwest Virginia) felt that in the current
political climate a church named "R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church" is
a distraction to the sharing of the Gospel message. The bishop travelled
to Lexington on Aug. 29 to meet with vestry members, listen to them and
personally make his views known.

The bishop also decreed that when the vestry tackled the name change
issue on Sept. 18, only a simple majority -- not the super majority --
was needed to effect the change.

R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church

In 1865, after the Lee surrendered to Grant and the Civil War ended, he
went to Lexington, Virginia to become the president of Washington
College. He would have liked to return to his antebellum home -- the
Curtis-Lee Mansion overlooking the Potomac River in Arlington. But that
was not possible. The property had been in his wife's family since 1778
and he lived there for 30 years before the War Between the States
started. During the war, Union forces seized the property and turned the
grounds into what became the Arlington National Cemetery. So following
the surrender at Appomattox, the Lees moved to Lexington, where Robert
became the President of Washington College and joined Grace Church, an
Episcopal congregation located on the edge of the school's campus.

As a Christian, Lee had but one goal as president of Washington College.

"I shall be disappointed if I shall fail in the leading object that
brought me here, unless all the young men become real Christians," Lee
-- the college president -- told area clergy. "I wish you, and others of
your sacred profession, do all you can to accomplish this result. I
dread the thought of any student going away from the college without
becoming a sincere Christian."

The college's chaplain, William Jones, said of Lee: "If I ever came in
contact with a sincere, devout Christian -- one who, seeing himself to
be a sinner, trusted alone in the merits of Christ, who humbly tried to
walk the path of duty, 'looking unto Jesus' as the author and finisher
of his faith, and whose piety constantly exhibited itself in his daily
life -- that man was General R. E. Lee."

"There was more to Robert E. Lee than the Confederate general, and that
was where his greatness started to emerge. After the war, he dedicated
himself to reunifying the nation and restoring its prosperity. Yes, he
was a Confederate general, who opposed slavery and secession, even
though he fought for what would perpetuate both," explains Fr. David
Cox. "In that sense, I think nobody is paying attention to him (Lee) and
who he was. We are dealing with a human being, and we're not treating
him as such."

Fr. Cox was rector at RE Lee Memorial Church from 1987-2000. He has done
an indepth study of Lee's faith and now the Episcopal priest has a
broader perspective on who Lee was as a man and as a Christian and as an
Episcopalian.

But the battle rages on about how do you distinguish Lee -- the
Christian ... from Lee -- the Confederate?

Lee's entire life was bookended by the Second Great Awakening
(1790-1840) and the Third Great Awakening (1855-1900). He was born in
1807 during the Second Great Awakening; then lead Confederate troops
(1861-1865), undertook the presidency of Washington College (1865-1870)
and died in 1870, all during the Third Great Awakening. He was a man of
intense faith and prayer who believed wholeheartedly in Jesus Christ as
his personal Saviour.

"It makes me sad. What I'm saddest about is that people don't know our
American history," one parishioner notes. "Lee has come to represent
only one piece of who he was. And I think our church is named for a
different piece of who he was."

"Everybody who studies history agrees that Lee was a religious person.
The religious people were busy polishing his halo," the former rector
noted. "Secular historians did not have the theological context to make
sense of his faith."

Even before Lee became involved with Lexington's Grace Church, his
churchmanship was evident. From 1842-1847, Lee was a vestry member at
St. John's Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, New York, when he was stationed
at nearby Fort Hamilton as a US Army officer, 20 years before the War
Between the States. At the time, Lee planted a maple sapling. In 1912, a
plaque was attached to the growing tree which noted that it was actually
planted by Lee himself.

After the Charlottesville riot, the Diocese of Long Island was so
ashamed of a plaque mentioning Lee's involvement in planting the tree,
that the plaque was removed.

Bishop Lawrence Provenzano (VIII Long Island) said: "I think it is the
responsible thing for us to do."

Following the Civil War, no longer a Confederate general, Lee became a
very active member of Lexington's Grace Church, which was founded in
1839 by Francis H. Smith, who was the first superintendent of Virginia
Military Institute. The VMI leader saw the need for an Episcopal church
nearby since he was Episcopalian, many of the VMI faculty and staff were
Episcopalian and the students he was drawing to Lexington were also
Episcopalians.

Lexington was also home to Washington College -- now Washington & Lee
University -- and a stronghold of Presbyterianism, so the Episcopalians
did not have any local congregations of their own to worship in. So
Smith stepped in and founded Grace Church to meet spiritual needs at
VMI, but the newly-established Episcopal congregation also provided much
needed spiritual support for the nearby college. Washington College --
initially founded in 1749 as Augusta Academy -- VMI and Grace Church are
all closely clustered together.

After the Civil War, Lee became the president of Washington College.
This was right up his alley, having once been the superintendent of West
Point, he had the academic experience necessary to lead the century-plus
old institution past the bruising Civil War years and into
Reconstruction. Lee was a visionary and his contribution to the school
helped to form it into what would become Washington & Lee University. He
is credited with providing Washington College with "innovative
educational leadership."

Borrowing from West Point, Lee established an honor system where
students "vow to act honorably in all academic and nonacademic
endeavors."

"We have but one rule here," Lee said, "and it is that every student
must be a gentleman."

Lee had a close affinity to George Washington. His wife, Mary Anna
Custis, was the great-granddaughter of the widowed Martha Custis, who
then married George Washington. Lee, as a military officer, had a great
respect for the military acumen of General George Washington, who
successfully led the American forces through the Revolutionary War. Lee
viewed Washington as his hero and role model.

While at Washington College, and in keeping with his strong religious
convictions, Lee felt the need to build a chapel at the college to meet
the growing spiritual needs of the school. So a 600 seat Victorian brick
edifice was built, which eventually became known as Lee Chapel. In fact,
it is also Lee's final resting place.

But before his death in 1870, Lee became senior warden at Grace Church.
History shows his final public appearance before his death was at a
vestry meeting where the group wrestled with tight finances -- Lee paid
the rector's salary out of his own pocket -- and the need to expand or
build a new church to accommodate the growth brought on by Lee's
presence at Washington College. Lee and his entire family worshipped at
Grace Church, even after his death, so his adoring students naturally
followed his spiritual leadership and joined the Lexington Episcopal
church.

After Lee's death, both Washington College and Grace Church felt the
need to honor Lee for his many contributions to their institutions. The
trustees at Washington College sought to commemorate what Lee did to
restore the war-torn and decimated college. Under Lee's leadership, the
school rebounded and he helped to form the college into today's modern
university. The trustees then joined Lee's name to Washington's, so the
title Washington & Lee University was created.

Meanwhile, Grace Church built a new edifice, which was completed in
1886, to accommodate explosive congregational growth. The new church was
built as a "memorial" to its "most famous parishioner -- Robert Edward
Lee." The new building was named Grace Memorial Church. However,
colloquially, the church was known as "General Lee's Church." So, in
1903, the vestry formally renamed the church "R.E. Lee Memorial Church."

The Resurrection window above the church's altar has the inscribed names
of both Robert Edward Lee and Mary Custis Lee, along with the Book of
Common Prayer phrase: "Numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting."

But there still remains ongoing name confusion between the "Lee Chapel"
at Washington & Lee University and "Lee Church" -- R.E. Lee Memorial. So
again, in 2015, the church tweaked its name, adding the moniker
Episcopal to identify the denomination -- R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal
Church.

Now, following Monday night's 7 to 5 simple majority vestry vote, the
Lexington Episcopal church will be henceforth known as Grace Episcopal,
which is a totally new name for the 178-year-old congregation.
Originally, the Episcopal parish was called Grace Church (1839), after
Lee's death, it became Grace Memorial Church (1883). After another name
change occurred and the church became R.E. Lee Memorial Church (1903),
then R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church (2015). The newest
transformation is Grace Episcopal (2017), where even "memorial'' is
scrubbed from the church name.

Senior Warden Woody Sadler, who voted to keep the name, said he is sad
to see the name change. He explained that there are two parishioners who
are more than 100-years-old and who have been members of R.E. Lee
Memorial for more than a century. He said the name change will cause
them great pain.

"They grew up in this church," he said explaining that he was wanting to
protect the feelings of the older members. "This is going to hurt some
of the older people in the church."

Although he said he realized that the name would have eventually been
changed, he had hoped that the action would have taken more time.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular
contributor to VirtueOnline



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

Message: 9
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:43:38 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: The Episcopal Church's knee-jerk reaction to Confederate
names
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The Episcopal Church's knee-jerk reaction to Confederate names
Many Confederate officers were Episcopalian

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
September 20, 2017

George Washington, a colonial Anglican, was the Commander-in-Chief of
the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). He became
the first president. He was a slave owner and he has an Episcopal chapel
named for him in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania -- Washington Memorial
Chapel.

Episcopal Bishop Leonidas Polk (I Louisiana) was one of 18 three-star
generals in the Confederate Army. In 1864, he was killed in action at
Pine Mountain, Georgia. He was a slave owner and he has an Episcopal
mission named for him in Leesville, Louisiana -- Leonidas Polk Memorial
Mission.

Robert E. Lee, an Episcopalian, was General-in-Chief of the Confederate
States Army during the War Between the States (1861-1865). He
surrendered at Appomattox, bringing an end to four years of bloodshed.
He seemed to be a reluctant slave owner and, until Sept. 18, he had an
Episcopal church named for him in Lexington, Virginia -- R.E. Lee
Memorial Church.

In fact, the entire stormy debate over the removal of confederate
statuary -- including his -- seems to fall on Lee's bronze, marble or
stone shoulders all around the country in: New Orleans ...
Charlottesville ... Antietam ... Dallas ... Richmond ... Austin ...
Durham ... Seattle ... Baltimore ... Gettysburg ... Washington, DC ...

Currently, there are more than 1,500 symbols of the Confederacy to be
found in public spaces scattered across America. These symbols include
monuments and statues and flags as well as named churches, schools,
roads, highways, parks, bridges, counties, cities, military bases,
lakes, dams, and other public works. The various mementos are in all
Southern and most border states and a few scattered around in northern,
eastern or western states including: New York, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada,
California, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Ohio. Several foreign
countries, too, have Confederate memorabilia, including: Canada, Brazil,
Ireland Switzerland, and Scotland.

Through the prism of history, Confederate Episcopalians Robert E. Lee
... Leonidas Polk ... J.E. Johnston ... J.E.B. Stuart ... Josiah Gorgas
... A. P. Hill ... James Longstreet ... John Hood ... Dorsey Pender...
William N. Pendleton ... Wade Hampton ... Francis A. Shoup... Ellison
Capers ... Jefferson Davis, and others like them, have become
politicized. They are being judged or vilified or even demonized for
what they did during a brief tumultuous four-year period time which over
shadows the entirety of their life on earth. That has become their
lasting legacy and little else.

But, as with many Southern families, the War Between the States also
became a heated and sometimes bloody and deadly battle between father
and son, brother and brother, uncle and nephew, cousins and other close
family members, as kinfolk often landed on opposite political sides and
took up arms to defend them.

The Civil War ended in 1865. Many Confederate Civil War veterans went on
the live exemplary lives of service. Robert E. Lee became the president
of Washington College (Washington & Lee University) and the senior
warden of Grace Church in Lexington, Virginia; Josiah Gorgas became the
president of the University of Alabama; Wade Hampton III became the
Governor of South Carolina and the US Railroad Commissioner under
President Grover Cleveland; William N. Pendleton returned to Grace
Church as rector; James Longstreet was president of the New Orleans &
Northeastern Railroad, he served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
under President Rutherford B. Hayes, and as the US Railroad Commissioner
under presidents William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt; and Ellison
Capers, who penned the Confederate's Prayer, became an Episcopal bishop
(VIII South Carolina) and was elected the South Carolina secretary of
state. He also became a chancellor at Sewanee. He is one of eight
Episcopal bishops buried at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral church yard in
Charleston.

John Hood became the president of Life Association of America insurance
company; Francis Shoup, an Episcopal priest, became a professor at the
University of Mississippi and then at the University of the South at
Sewanee. He was also a published author; J.E. Johnston became the
president of the Alabama & Tennessee River Railroad, he was elected to
Congress and served as US Railroad Commissioner under President Grover
Cleveland; and Jefferson Davis became the president of Carolina Life
Insurance Company, he was elected to the US Senate, but was barred from
office by the 14th Amendment and he turned down the presidency of Texas
A&M. Leondinas Polk was an Episcopal bishop who was looking forward to
returning to his New Orleans Cathedral. He helped to found the
University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and was killed in battle;
and before the War, J.E.B. Stuart designed a piece of cavalry equipment
-- the saber hook -- and received a US patent for it. He was killed in
battle. A. P. Hill and Dorsey Pender also died during the War.

Many Civil War memorials and monuments were erected at the turn of the
20th century when many of the Civil War veterans -- Union and
Confederate -- were dying out and living history was disappearing. The
grandfathers who remembered the Battle of Gettysburg or the Battle of
Antietam or Sherman's March to the Sea, were no longer around to tell
their stories to the younger generation. So Lee and Sherman or Polk and
Lincoln or Jackson and Grant were remembered in stone or bronze, just as
Christian saints are remembered in church statuary.

In Lexington, Virginia, Grace Church was renamed the R.E. Lee Memorial
Church in 1903; that same year the William Tecumseh Sherman Monument was
built in Washington, DC; the Gen. Leonidas Polk Headquarters shell
monument was erected at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia in 1895; construction
on Washington, DC's famed Lincoln Memorial began in 1914; the Stonewall
Jackson statue was erected at Lexington's Virginia Military Academy in
1912; and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial was erected in the Vicksburg
(Mississippi) National Military Park in 1918.

It's not the Lincoln, Sherman or Grant Civil War monuments which are
being defaced and town down. It is Lee's and Polk's and Jackson's which
have become the flashpoint of derision and hatred. Removal of
Confederate monuments has occurred in Alabama, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky Louisiana, Maine, Missouri,
Montana, New York, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington DC, and Montreal, Canada. Now the
Episcopal Church has joined in the fray.

Twenty-first century Americans are trying to look at their 19th century
counterparts without understanding the culture and lifestyle that
existed 150 years ago and now, in the post modern super-charged
politically correct social media-driven society, their ancestors have
been found wanting. What today's citizen sees has historical
significance and value, but the meanings are being taken out of context
particularly in view of overt actions taken by ill-informed people
purposely trying to stir up public discord. Some see the mounting
changes as a betrayal of history.

So far, there is a growing list of Episcopal churches which are reeling
from the divide over "racial justice, the legacy of slavery and God's
call to 21st century Christians." The Confederate symbols and military
generals are now seen as "re-enforcing racial oppression, human
subjugation and white supremacy."

The 2015 General Convention passed Resolution D044calling for "all
persons, along with public, governmental, and religious institutions, to
discontinue the display of the Confederate Battle Flag." Resolution
presenter the Rev. Betsy Baumgarten said: "We consider the continued
display of the Confederate Battle Flag to be at odds with a faithful
witness to the reconciling love of Jesus Christ."

In 1903, R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church was named in Lexington,
Virginia, now it is renamed Grace Episcopal. "Charlottesville seems to
have moved us to this point," commented church rector Tom Crittenden.

Recently the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island removed two plaques--
erected in 1912 and 1935 -- identifying a maple tree that Robert E. Lee
planted 20 years before the Civil War when he a vestry member at Fort
Hamilton's St. John's Episcopal Church in Brooklyn. "For us, it wasn't a
decision that needed more than a minute of thought," said Bishop
Lawrence Provenzano (VIII Long Island).

The National Cathedral in Washington DC first removed confederate flags
from its stained-glass windows. "There simply is no excuse for the
nation's most visible church to display a symbol of racism, slavery and
oppression. None." former National Cathedral Dean Gary Hall said. But
removing the small stained-glass confederate flags was not enough. Now
the cathedral has removed a twin stained-glass window depicting Lee (the
Episcopalian) kneeling in prayer while reading the Bible and shows
Jackson (a Presbyterian) with his hands raised in praise to God. "Are
these windows, installed in 1953, an appropriate part of the sacred
fabric of a spiritual home for the nation?" the Cathedral Chapter asks.
Another targeted window portrays Jackson and Lee riding side-by-side
while mounted upon horses.

In Cincinnati, Ohio Cathedral, Dean Gail Greenwell is pushing for the
removal of a stained-glass window depicting General Lee near the altar
and a plaque honoring Bishop Leonidas Polk in the vestibule. In 1838,
Polk was consecrated as the Missionary Bishop to the Southwest at Christ
Church Cathedral in Cincinnati. "We haven't honored great heroes of the
civil rights movement like Martin Luther King Jr. or Sojourner Truth or
Desmond Tutu, who is Anglican," the dean said.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, is also struggling
with its Confederate ties. It is known as the "Cathedral of the
Confederacy." It has two 1898 Tiffany windows: one depicting Lee, who
was a frequent wartime visitor and another with Jefferson Davis, who was
baptized at St. Paul's and was an active church member. History also
records that the undercroft of the church was used as a military
hospital during the Civil War. In 2015, the church's rector, Wallace
Adams-Riley, called the question about the church's strong Confederate
ties. "I simply felt called to raise the question for our congregation,"
he said. Now he has resigned from the church, but reasons for his
departure have not been revealed.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina, has former
South Carolina governor and Confederate General Wade Hampton III and the
Confederate Poet Laureate Henry Timrod buried in the churchyard, along
with five governors and eight Episcopal bishops. The Confederate flags
on the Confederate graves were removed. "I care deeply about how
historical symbols can create hurt and communicate a message of
discrimination," Cathedral Dean Timothy Jones said.

The University of the South, which was founded by
Bishop-turned-Confederate-General Leonidas Polk has also been engaged in
discerning what to do with its Confederate symbols on campus, including
a 1900 picture entitled "Sword over the Gown", depicting Bishop Polk in
episcopal regalia with his military uniform jacket draped over a chair.
One hand is on his officer's sword, the other holding a prayer book. The
picture was moved from Convocation Hall and placed in the school's
archives. Bishop Charles Quintard, M.D. (II Tennessee) is buried at
Sewanee. He was called the "Chaplain of the Confederacy", as he brought
spiritual comfort to the men of the First Tennessee Infantry Regiment.
Bishop Quintard was a trained physician who toiled as a regimental
surgeon. He is also remembered at St. James Episcopal Church in Bolivar,
Tennessee and St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia. The
Episcopal Church remembers him in prayer on Feb. 16. He is one of two
Confederates remembered by the Book of Lesser Feasts and Fasts. The
other Confederate is Fr. William P. DuBose, whose feast day is Aug. 18.
He was Sewanee's chaplain and founded the School of Theology. During the
War, he was the adjutant for the Holcome Legion in South Carolina. He
was captured during the Battle of Second Manassas (Bull Run) and was a
Union prisoner of war. He is buried at Sewanee.

Many Episcopal churches, mostly in the South, have plaques remembering
their historical Confederate ties. The Confederates are a part of the
history, fabric and lore of a local congregation.

Bishop Polk is now buried at Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans. In
1864, he was originally buried in St. Paul's Church in Augusta, Georgia.
History records that he had one of the most elaborate funerals held
during the Civil War, conducted by Presiding Bishop Stephen Elliott of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America. In
1945, Bishop Polk, and his wife Frances Ann Devereux, were reinterred in
Christ Church Cathedral.

Historical markers show that the Confederate-era Episcopal bishop is
also remembered at: St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, Alabama;
St. John's Episcopal Church, Thibodaux, Louisiana; St. Paul's Episcopal
Church, Greensboro, Alabama; Trinity Episcopal Church, Demopolis,
Alabama; Seaford Academy, Seaford, Delaware; The Episcopal Church of the
Epiphany, New Iberia, Louisiana; Christ Episcopal Church, Covington,
Louisiana; Trinity Episcopal Church, Cheneyville, Louisiana; Oak Home,
Corinth, Mississippi; Grace Episcopal Church, Canton, Mississippi;
Rebel's Rest, Sewanee, Tennessee; University of the South, Sewanee,
Tennessee; St. John's Episcopal Church, Columbia, Tennessee; St.
Stephen's Episcopal Church cemetery, Williamsport, Louisiana; St. Mary's
Episcopal Church, Franklin, Louisiana; St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
Selma, Alabama; and the Peavine Church, Rock Spring, Georgia. Fort Polk
in Louisiana is also named for the former Episcopal bishop.

Not only was Bishop Steven Elliot the one and only Presiding Bishop of
the Confederate Episcopal Church, he was also the first Bishop of
Georgia and the provisional Bishop of Florida. As such, he is
historically remembered at several Episcopal churches, including: St.
Luke's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia; St. Stephen's Episcopal
Church, Milledgeville, Georgia; Montpelier Institute for Girls, Macon,
Georgia; Christ Episcopal Church, Macon, Georgia; Grace Episcopal
Church, Clarkesville, Georgia; and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church,
Darien, Georgia; and Saint Helena's Episcopal churchyard, Beaufort,
South Carolina.

Robert E. Lee is also remembered at many different churches during his
Civil War years because either he worshipped in them or battles were
waged around them. Historical markers are located at: Grace Episcopal
Church, Berryville, Virginia; St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Petersburg,
Virginia; St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Boonsboro, Maryland; Kingston
Parish-Christ Church, Mathews, Virginia; Church Quarter, Montpelier,
Virginia; Mount Horeb Church, Chase City, Virginia; Zion Reformed
Church, Hagerstown, Maryland; Walnut Grove Church, Mechanicsville,
Virginia; Namozine Church, Mannboro, Virginia; Cumberland Church,
Farmville, Virginia; Lee Chapel (Mount Carmel Church), Burke, Virginia;
Willis Church, Glendale, Virginia; Christ Reformed Church, Middletown,
Maryland; Carmel Church, Carmel, Virginia; and St. Mary's Catholic
Church, Fairfax Station, Virginia. Lee Chapel at Washington & Lee
University, Lexington, Virginia, was built in his honor.

Following the Civil War, all officers and soldiers returned home and
tried to pick up their lives. Now all Civil War veterans -- Union and
Confederate -- have died and some are buried are in Episcopal
churchyards and seminary graveyards or in military cemeteries.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular
contributor to VirtueOnline



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

Message: 10
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:44:38 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Is GAFCON divisive?
Message-ID:
<1506044678.3239624....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Is GAFCON divisive?

By Peter Jensen
https://www.gafcon.org/
19th September 2017

The suggestion that Gafcon is a divisive movement, and in particular
aimed at breaking up the Anglican Communion, is one I hear from time to
time.

It's heartbreaking to hear it because it is untrue and it is an
indication of the power of gossip.

I never tire of telling the story of the meeting of Primates at the end
of the Jerusalem Conference 2008. I was asked by the chairman to become
the secretary to the movement.

Before answering, I asked the Primates, 'Is it the aim of Gafcon to
break away from the Anglican Communion? Are we setting up a new
Communion?'

The reply was an instant, unanimous and resounding 'No!' Just as well,
as I would not have had any further role in Gafcon had the answer been
anything else.

We are committed to the Anglican Communion, we are committed to its
spiritual vitality, to its commitment to the word of God and the
preaching of the gospel and the sheer goodness of our fellowship in the
Lord.

It is for that very reason, however, that we have taken the steps,
scripturally mandated, to call those who have separated themselves from
us by false teaching back to repentance and back into fellowship with
us.

The problem is that fellowship is catching. You can catch goodness from
fellowship -- a good model of holiness, a shared concern, the deep
prayers for each other, material help. But we can also catch spiritual
diseases from each other -- pride, idolatry, false teaching, for
example. Fellowship is powerful.

When we knowingly have fellowship with those whose teaching endangers
the gospel itself, we are in danger of catching the same disease and at
the least endorsing it and putting others at risk.

They may choose to move away from us, but our task is to call them to
repentance and to renewed fellowship in the truth of God's Word.

To label this 'divisive', bearing in mind that it is a response to a
deeply divisive prior action, is tragically misleading. Gafcon's
motivation is not to divide or to 'grab power', but to help ensure that
the Church is preaching the truth for the sake of souls.

Be assured: Gafcon is not divisive. It stands for the renewal of our
Communion according to the word of God and for the glory of Christ.



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

Message: 11
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:44:56 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Anglican Church of Southern Africa plans to amend Canon on
Marriage
Message-ID:
<1506044696.3239666....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Anglican Church of Southern Africa plans to amend Canon on Marriage

PHOTO: Rev Clint Kimble is on the right of the photo; Bishop Joel Obetia
is flanked by Archbishop Moses Deng (r) and Bishop Zechariah Manyok (l)
from South Sudan.

By Chris Sugden
Church of England Newspaper
Sept. 13, 2017

The Archbishop of Cape Town has appointed a Commission on Human
Sexuality to report to both the Synod of Bishops this month and to table
a motion at Provincial Synod 2019. The aim of the Commission among other
things is ".... to amend Canon 34 which will enable ministry to those in
Same Sex Unions and the LGBTI Community in the context in which ACSA
operates in Southern Africa".

The process is said to be a programme of ongoing 'conversations'
throughout the Province, especially at Parish level. The guidelines
state that "...the most important and critical facet of the Commission's
Work, is (to) ensure full inclusivity and diversity in this debate"

A priest of the Anglican Church of South Africa commented: "This is a
direct copy of the strategy employed within the Episcopal Church (USA),
the Anglican Church of Canada and other revisionist Provinces in the
Anglican Communion, whereby the doctrine of the church and the clear
teaching of scripture have been questioned and undermined. Right from
the beginning the premises and claims of gender ideology have been
accepted without question. The ultimate result of this process, if it
succeeds in its aims will be the importation of a false theological
anthropology and a false gospel of inclusion without repentance. "

Observers say that It is therefore no surprise that the ordination took
place on Sunday September 10th of Clint Kimble, an accountant and church
planter, as a mission priest of the Church of Uganda at a hotel amidst
some of the most spectacular scenery in the world in the Winelands of
Franschhoek near Cape Town where Trinity Anglican Church, Franschhoek, a
founding member of the Southern Mission Society (SMS) meets.

Bishop Joel Obetia, formerly Bishop of Made and West Nile in the Church
of Uganda, and formerly Chairman of the Board of Uganda Christian
University, with the full concurrence of the Primate of Uganda,
performed the ordination. Archbishop Moses Deng, archbishop of the
internal province of Northern Bahr El Ghazal in the Church of South
Sudan, preached on the parable of the talents on the authority,
responsibility, accountability, reward and judgement of mission.

Bishop Obetia explained that the concern of the Church of Uganda is to
support and encourage mission so that people may worship God. Anglican
clergy from six provinces of the Anglican Communion joined in the laying
on of hands. The local Democratic Alliance MP, Patrick Atkinson, also
attended and prayers were said for his ministry. A member of the church
was also commissioned by Bishop Joel for youth ministry. "There were
angels in the room" commented one member of the congregation, moved by
the worship in the service.

Trinity Church is served by mission priests of the Church of Uganda,
including New Testament scholar Rev Dr Rollin Grams, and Rev Gabriel
Smith, who leads the East Mountain Mission Community which is also a
part of the SMS. The service was attended by leaders of the Reformed
Ethiopian Catholic Church of South Africa who are joining the Southern
Mission Society.

Southern Mission Society explains that its "goal is to see the church
equipped to flourish and make a significant difference in building the
Kingdom of God on this continent. This we believe will affect a moral
order for Southern African societies, that will help shape the direction
of the educational and health systems, engage constructively with the
economic, political and social life on the basis of a well articulated
Christian worldview ."

Membership is offered to all Individuals (and churches) that subscribe
to the principles laid down in the GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration.



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

Message: 12
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:45:46 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Satanic Fashion Show Inside a Church at London Fashion Week
Message-ID:
<1506044746.3239745....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Satanic Fashion Show Inside a Church at London Fashion Week

https://vigilantcitizen.com/
September 19, 2017

Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu?s presented her Spring/Summer 2018
collection at London Fashion Week and it was nothing less than a satanic
Black Mass. Indeed, the event took place at the altar of St Andrew
Church in London and incorporated heavy occult and satanic symbolism. In
short, the event summed up everything the fashion world is truly about.

While Dilara Findikoglu is said to an ?up-and-coming rebel of the
fashion world?, she?s perfectly in line with the industry?s philosophy.
She?s not rebelling at all, she?s doing what exactly the type of stuff
?they? want her to do.

For this reason, celebrities such as Rihanna, FKA Twigs, and Grimes were
seen wearing Findikoglu?s creations.

Her latest fashion show featured artist Brooke Candy (her videos are
full of MK imagery) and drag artist Violet Chachki.

The backdrop is basically a mish-mash of Masonic-inspired imagery. On
each side are the Masonic twin pillars. Between the pillars is the
letter G inside an inverted pentagram. Underneath it is the all-seeing
eye inside a hexagram. There is also the Masonic square and compass in
there. To top it off, the runway was a checkerboard pattern. Here?s a
classic Masonic painting for comparison.

In this heavily occult context, the models were dressed and arranged
with a plethora of symbols. Of course, this had to be combined with the
current agenda of androgyny and blurring of the genders.

One model was wearing a bride?s dress, complete with a white veil. On
her face is drawn a sigil.
A sigil is an inscribed or painted symbol considered to have magical
power. The term has usually referred the pictorial signature of a demon
or other entity and is used in ceremonial magic. The particular sigil on
the model?s forehead is strongly reminiscent to the Sigil of Lucifer.

Drag artist Violet Chachki wore a very red outfit ? and some devil
horns. That?s happening inside a church.

Historically, a Black Mass is a ritual characterized by the inversion of
the Traditional Latin Mass celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church and
the desecration of Christian objects for Satanic purposes. The fact that
models walk around a Church wearing devil horns recalls the concept of
Black Mass.

There?s some punk rock influence. But mostly, there?s some one-eye sign
influence.

This fashion show is a perfect representation of the mindset of fashion
industry today. It is not simply about ?clothing? or ?fashion?, it is
about ritualistic events, an artistic celebration of the satanic mindset
of the occult elite.

As they walk around with magical sigils, occult symbols and other
ritualistic props all over their bodies, the models are turned into
magically charged objects, turning this ?fashion show? ? which took
place inside a Church ? into a satanic ritual with high magical potency.

Seriously, what on earth is St Andrew, Holborn playing at? How is this
consistent with its mission? Did the resident clergy approve this event?
Did the Rt. Rev'd Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham, even know about it?
How is it possible that a sacred space can be used for what can only be
described as Lucifer lauding? How does hosting a Satanic Fashion Show
glorify God? writes Archbishop Cranmer blogger.

"There has been a church on the site of St Andrew Holborn for 1000
years," say the church's website under 'Venue Hire'. And then we read:
"The large windows provide a majestic setting for any event."

Does "any event" really stretch to Satan adulation?

*****

Wells Cathedral reassures parishioners over 'Hellboy' filming

By Olivia Rudgard, religious affairs correspondent
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
20 SEPTEMBER 2017

It might seem an unlikely film to be welcomed with open arms by the
Church; a half-demon summoned from Hell by the Nazis to help win the
Second World War.

But staff at Wells Cathedral have headed off any criticism and insisted
that, despite appearances, "Hellboy" - which filmed in the medieval
building over the weekend - has a strong Christian message.

Following questions by parishioners, cathedral staff issued a statement
saying the film symbolises the "eternal battle of good over evil" which
encourages "an intelligent faith which does not hide from controversy
and one that looks for the good inside people no matter their outward
appearance."

Despite his name and blood-red appearance the titular character is
actually a force for good, a spokeswoman explained.

His true nature is one of a hero and he becomes a defender against the
forces of darkness.

The film, set during the Second World War, concerns the half-demon
summoned from Hell, who is then adopted by the allied side.

She said the production company had been allowed to film a "small
element" of the upcoming release "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen" in
the cathedral.

"We realise that the idea of this filming may cause concern with some
people who aren't familiar with the stories and character.

"Hellboy originated, in fact, as a superhero in a series of novels
created by Mike Mignola.

"His true nature is one of a hero and he becomes a defender against the
forces of darkness," she said.

The filming was surrounded by mystery with many locals speculating that
the crew were making Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them or the new
series of Doctor Who.

But it was revealed as the Hellboy film, a reboot of the franchise
originally created by Dark Horse Comics, when passers-by noticed that
the names on the trailers corresponded to characters in the film.

It will star David Harbour, who plays police chief Jim Hopper in
supernatural TV series Stranger Things, as well as Ian McShane and Milla
Jovovich.

The cathedral said it had not had any complaints about the filming but
was responding to "questions" from the public.

END



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

Message: 13
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:46:05 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Sheffield debacle shows CofE needs to promote more
traditionalists, campaigners say
Message-ID:
<1506044765.3239747....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Sheffield debacle shows CofE needs to promote more traditionalists,
campaigners say

By Harry Farley
https://www.christiantoday.com/
September 18, 2017

The Church of England is being called to address a 'deficit' in the
number of traditionalists in senior positions after a review into why
one bishop felt forced to step back from a promotion.

The Bishop of Burnley, Philip North, from the CofE's Anglo-Catholic
wing, was appointed Bishop of Sheffield in February only to withdraw
from the appointment in the wake of fierce criticism over his opposition
to women priests.

An investigation by Sir Philip Mawer into events surrounding his
resignation was published on Friday. It said the Church needed to
revisit a compromise settlement made in 2014 to try and hold together
those who support and reject women's ordination.

But a conservative grouping within the CofE, of which North is a part,
said the Church should respond by appointing more traditionalists to
senior positions to ensure a full spectrum of views is represented.

'In the last three years -- and indeed for some time before that -- no
priest who publicly espouses the traditional catholic position on holy
orders has been appointed as an archdeacon, dean, or residentiary canon
in the Church of England,' a statement from Forward in Faith's chair the
Bishop of Wakefield, Tony Robinson, said.

'A positive response to Sir Philip's challenge [in the report] will only
be credible if the House of Bishops and its individual members
successfully address this deficit.'

The compromise agreement, known as the five guiding principles, allowed
laws permitting women bishops to pass the CofE's synod but promised
'mutual flourishing' for those who opposed female ordination.

Forward in Faith welcomed Sir Philip's challenge that bishops revisit
the settlement and said: 'Much of Forward in Faith's work over the last
three years has been directed towards building up The Society as a
structure offering those who cannot receive the sacramental ministry of
women as bishops and priests both sacramental assurance and a context of
full communion.

'This has been done not from a desire for separation, but in order to
enable us to engage with confidence, from a position of security and
support, in the wider life of the Church of England.'



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

Message: 14
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:46:41 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Prancing in the Church of England
Message-ID:
<1506044801.3239830....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Prancing in the Church of England

by David of Samizdat
Sept. 18, 2017

The Rev. Richard Coles is a gay Church of England vicar who is making a
name for himself by appearing on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. The
impulse to take the church into the world is not a bad idea, although
there may be limits beyond which one should not stray. I remember some
years ago seeing an interview with a Christian stripper who, she
claimed, "stripped for Jesus". Coles is cha-chaing for Jesus; I suppose
we must be thankful for small mercies.

Unfortunately, Coles is also doing the reverse by taking the dance floor
into the church. You can see his latest "sermon" below. One can only
assume he is convinced that this makes Christ more accessible, the
congregation more with-it and the church more relevant.

Or it may leave the impression of a church that has forgotten how to do
what it is supposed to do and resorts to a rather pathetic attempt to
imitate what the world does instead.

http://www.anglicansamizdat.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The-Tel...@Telegraph-Twitter-480-1.mp4

END



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

Message: 15
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:47:04 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Why the C of E needs to admit it's only a C in E
Message-ID:
<1506044824.3239831....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Why the C of E needs to admit it's only a C in E

By Jules Gomes
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/
September 17, 2017

Surely the most quixotic oxymoron of the month is the curious
combination 'Church of England.' The problem is the preposition. Of. It
dangles in the muddled middle between 'Church' and 'England'. Two
letters that now mean very little to very few of the population, as the
British Social Attitudes survey so starkly revealed last week.

In what sense can we call the Pollyanna-ish Church led by its
Panglossian Archbishop, Justin Welby, the Church 'of' England? 'The
Church in England' would be a more reasonable designation. But even the
definite article 'the' now seems a wild exaggeration, existing
exclusively by historical accident.

'A Church in England' is how the C of E can rebrand its ailing company
and its failing product. It can no longer claim to represent the people
of England -- such a boast would be both pompous and pretentious.

Numerically, it is in dire straits. Muslims worshipping in mosques on
Fridays now outnumber Anglicans worshipping in churches on Sundays. The
writing has been on the wall for some time. In 2004, 930,000 Muslims
attended a mosque at least once a week, as against 916,000 Anglicans. By
2015, Sunday C of E attendance had nosedived to 752,000 -- less than 1.4
per cent of the population. In contrast, the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds has more than a million members, including 195,000
youth. Britons are interested more in birds than in the Bible (not that
most C of E clergy would consider preaching from such a forthright text
when the fuzzy Guardian is far more appealing).

The 2017 figures are an epitaph on the C of E's tombstone. The number of
people in Britain who describe themselves as having no religion is a
record. A mere 15 per cent of British consider themselves C of E -- and
most in this category would happily identify with Geriatrix in the
much-loved Asterix comics. A minuscule 3 per cent in the 18-24 age group
identify as Anglican.

The best efforts of Wobbly Wonga and the Anglican Fudge Factory have
failed to inflate the figures to stave off the calls for disestablishing
the C of E. 'Now over half the UK population have no religion, it's time
the church stopped being courtiers of the establishment and reclaimed
its counter-cultural voice,' snarled the C of E's Leftist rottweiler
Giles Fraser. For once I agree with Commie Fraser that 'the
disestablishment of the church is now necessary and inevitable'.

The hardest hit will be the 26 bishops who lose their seats in the House
of Lords and the champagne lunches that punctuate their esteemed
deliberations. Perhaps the shock will rudely awaken them from their
Trollopian fantasy. Then they might begin preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ rather than the gospel of Phony Blair.

Many liberals and conservatives agree that the Achilles heel of the C of
E has been its status as an established church. 'Did Jesus not say to
Pontius Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world? What hath Christ
to do with Caesar?' ask puzzled Christians from other denominations.
'Christ has everything to do with Caesar! For ours is the pomp, the
power and the glory,' chorus the Mitred Mafia of the House of Bishops in
cheerful unison. Sigh! Where would our soporific bishops be without
their honorific titles Lord Bishop of Snootsbury or Lord Bishop of Sodom
and Man (err, its Sodor!) or 'Lady Bishopette of Petticoat Lane?'

In the New Testament, Church and State make an exceedingly odd couple.
But nearly all the C of E bishops are used to odd couples, preferring
Adam and Steve to Adam and Eve. Expect them to kick up an almighty
agitation and glue their bottoms to the velvety cushions of the House of
Lords rather than opt for Crexit -- the Church of England severing its
septic umbilical cord to the State.

'Men will never be free until the last bishop is strangled with the
entrails of the last politician,' Denis Diderot might have rephrased his
dictum in 2017. You would expect a forerunner of the French Revolution,
who did not believe in God, to insist on separation of Church and State.

But it was another Frenchman who put forward some of the best arguments
for the disestablishment of religion. In his classic text Democracy in
America, which has been called 'at once the best book ever written on
democracy and the best book ever written on America,' Alexis de
Tocqueville, a Deist, has a whole section entitled Of the Principal
Causes That Make Religion Powerful in America.

The French political theorist travelled to the United States in 1831 and
'it was the religious aspect of the country that first struck my eyes',
he wrote. The clerics he met 'all attributed the peaceful dominion that
religion exercises in their country principally to the complete
separation of Church and State'.

Ironically, diminishing the political power of religion in America
increased its true spiritual power, observed de Tocqueville. It is a
short-sighted compromise. By allying itself with government, the church
'sacrifices the future with the present in mind,' he said. When the
church becomes a strange bedfellow with the state, it 'increases its
power over some and loses the hope of reigning over all.'

An established church will sooner or later lose the goodwill of the
people because 'religion cannot share the material strength of those who
govern without burdening itself with a portion of the hatreds caused by
those who govern.' No wonder the C of E lost the working classes when it
became the Tory party at prayer, and vice versa when it has now mutated
into closet Corbynism.

There is a hint to the temptation narrative in the gospel where the
devil offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will fall down and
worship him. 'When religion wants to rely on the interests of this
world, it becomes almost as fragile as all the powers of the earth.
Alone, religion can hope for immortality; tied to ephemeral powers, it
follows their fortune, and often falls with the passions of the day that
sustain those powers. So by uniting with different political powers,
religion can only contract an onerous alliance. It does not need their
help to live, and by serving them it can die,' de Tocqueville
trenchantly observed.

Far more penetrating works have been written on the separation of Church
and State, most notably by Roger Williams, the evangelical founder of
Rhode Island. American founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson
reiterated John Locke's position that the separation of Church and State
protected the individual's right of conscience. James Madison
pragmatically recognised that an established church was bound to cause
'pride and indolence in the clergy, ignorance and servility in the
laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution'.

But only a European such as de Tocqueville could foresee the
consequences of an unholy alliance between Christ and Constantine.
'Unbelievers in Europe pursue Christians as political enemies, rather
than as religious adversaries; they hate faith as the opinion of a party
much more than as a mistaken belief; and in the priest they reject the
representative of God less than the friend of power.

'In Europe, Christianity allowed itself to be intimately united with the
powers of the earth. Today these powers are falling and Christianity is
as though buried beneath their debris. It is a living thing that someone
wanted to bind to the dead: cut the ties that hold it and it will rise
again.'

The Rev'd Dr Jules Gomes is a doctoral supervisor on the faculty of the
Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life.



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

Message: 16
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:47:52 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: The Church of England will die unless we read the Bible.....
Message-ID:
<1506044872.3240377....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The Church of England will die unless we read the Bible.....

By Gavin Ashenden
https://ashenden.org
Sept. 15, 2017

As a new survey shows 60% of people in the Church of England "never"
read the Bible, Gavin Ashenden says its time for the CofE's leaders to
step up

I've just come back from Russia. The last time I was there -- 35 years
ago -- was when I became a Bible smuggler, and got caught by the KGB.

Two KGB majors ran the interrogation. They threatened to have me tried
as a bullion smuggler (I'd failed to declare that a gold ring I was
wearing was imported bullion). When I was found guilty, the sentence
would be 20 years in the labour camp in Siberia, they said. In exchange
for not prosecuting, they wanted the names of the contacts I was taking
the Bibles to.

I survived the questioning, they didn't get the names and I lived to
tell the tale.

But why did I (and others) smuggle Bibles?

Because the Bible is the bedrock of the Church. It's very hard indeed to
survive as a Christian without meeting Jesus in the Gospels, where his
words take on a life of their own and through which the Holy Spirit
changes you.

The Russians are scornful of the way some Western Christians are
capitulating to secular culture, particularly over the redefinition of
marriage. At meetings I attended last week they said "we have lived
under the dead weight of atheist secularism, and we know how empty and
dangerous it is to human flourishing." Only the Bible challenges the
claims of secularism.

When Marxism took brutal control of Russia in 1917, the activists who
imposed the dictatorship had a number of targets. At the front of the
line were Christians and the Church. Many people see the culture war
that is sweeping over the West, the struggles over sex and sexuality and
identity politics, as the next wave of Marxism, re-configuring culture
this time, rather than economics. This is not just evolution, it's part
of a revolution.

This ideology is attacking Judaeo-Christian culture and attempting to
silence those who speak up for it. Justine Greening, the Government
minister for Equalities threatens the Church and says we must "keep up"
with modern attitudes. Dame Louise Casey rants that it's "not OK" for
Catholic schools to be against gay marriage.

The cultural and political screws are slowly tightening against those
who do read the Bible

Tim Farron ducked and dived under the media scrutiny that set out to see
whether or not as an evangelical Christian he actually believed the
Bible. He buckled under the pressure and gave up his office.

Jason Rees-Mogg made it very clear he did believe the Bible's teaching
and the Church's defence of it, and was howled down in a tsunami of hate
by the media and the progressives.

The cultural and political screws are slowly tightening against those
who do read the Bible and keep faith with it in the public space.

Why are our leadership silent?

What help can the Church of England give to resist this censorship and
attract people to the cause of Christ, if nearly two thirds of its
members never read the Bible? If they don't read the Bible, you have to
presume they don't believe it either. You have to read it, to know what
it teaches before you can believe and live it.

What does it say about the Bible when its Archbishops and bishops reject
the teaching on sexuality, as they promote a 'radical inclusion' of
homosexuality instead of the invitation to repent and be re-made, as all
Christians are invited to repent and be re-made?

What example does the Church of England set when its hierarchy maintain
a steely silence of the destruction of over 8 million children in the
womb since the 1967 Act, when the Bible teaches "before I formed you in
the womb I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:5) and shows human life to be sacred
from conception?

Perhaps over 60% of Anglicans feel they can take or leave a book treated
so casually by its leaders?

We cannot survive without the Bible

It is the Bible that has taught us to defend free speech as it promotes
the role of the conscience and the power of the word. It is the Bible
that provides a defence from slavery ancient and modern, as it
celebrates the image of God in each person. It is the Bible that offers
humanity glue to build as society with a pattern of marriage in which
the children are the co-creation of the biological parents. It is the
Bible that defends children at their most vulnerable in the womb. It is
the Bible that acts as an antidote to oppressive dictatorships, Marxist
or otherwise, which is why they try to silence and outlaw it. It is the
Bible that promises people that are of infinite value an can be forgiven
and changed.

A church cannot survive if its people are not formed by the Bible, and
conformed to the radical new paradigm of humanity the Spirit in the
Bible forges.

It is not enough for the CofE to suggest it wants people to "affiliate"
with them even if "in practice they don't always choose to join in", as
Rachel Jordan, the Church's National Mission and Evangelism adviser
gently reassured. Perhaps we need to read our Bibles again? Specifically
the bit where Jesus invites his followers, (not associates) to take up
their cross for love of him? Or the bit where he teaches that words
don't cut it with God without action?

Our current approach isn't working

The entrance into Christianity is the point of need. When people
discover that living on their own terms doesn't work, they ask for help.
The same is true for the flourishing by the Church. By now the
leadership of the CofE must be discovering that doing Anglicanism in the
way they have that takes its cultural and ethical standards from social
and secular preferences, doesn't work.

Perhaps people may be encouraged to turn to the Bible if they were to
hear the leaders of the Church take a prophetic rather than an
accommodationist role with society? If the bishops and clergy were to
speak out against secularism, its ethics and culture in the mode of
"Thus saith the Lord God of Hosts", rather than "God loves you so much
he wants you to be comfy and do your own thing."

If the bishops and more of the clergy of the CofE demonstrated their
knowledge, love, and commitment to the Bible and its ethics in the way
they challenged a culture that is sinking into secularism, then some of
the people who can't be bothered, might begin to wonder if there was
something important enough about the Bible for them to take it more
seriously. Then they might go to Church to worship and be taught and
changed. Then society might be less easily lost to Karl Marx, and
regained for Jesus Christ.

Gavin Ashenden has worked as a Vicar, University Chaplain and lecturer,
BBC broadcaster, author and newspaper columnist. He writes a regular
column for the Jersey Evening Post and lives between Shropshire and
Normandy. For more information, visit his website ashenden.org



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

Message: 17
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:48:14 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: 'Beware the Oppressive rainbow wooden horse'
Message-ID:
<1506044894.3240410....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

'Beware the Oppressive rainbow wooden horse'

By Rev. Dr. Gavin Ashenden
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 13, 2017

The trick of using a wooden horse to capture the city of Troy may have
happened 3,000 years ago, but the strategy of using 'a wooden horse' to
persuade a group of people to accept something that appears friendly but
which will instead cause them harm, has been copied ever since.

Who can be against two people being in love and living safely together
for the rest of their lives? Who can be against the lovely idea of
'marriage equality'-two such beautiful words. The trouble is, other more
dangerous things lurk inside the rainbow wooden horse.

Let's look and see what they turned out to be -- what we have welcomed
into the city smuggled inside?

We have taken away the rights of children to know their biological
parents. Usually in our culture, we put vulnerable children before the
interests of grown-ups. Not anymore. The rights of the children are
removed so the adults get to 'feel' like the family they can never be.
Because the child has been procured by a surrogate parent- their real
parent -- and is now denied access to their real mum or real dad; for
ever. Who IS the real parent? The biological parent of child; or the
adult who paid for the child to be conceived by someone else?

We have taken away the rights of children raised in monotone
relationships to relate to a mother and a father, so that they grow into
balanced adults with experience of both biological genders. Children in
the United States raised by same sex couples have been complaining. Katy
Faust was raised by two lesbians and testified in court about the damage
this did to her:

"Now we are normalizing a family structure where a child will always be
deprived daily of one gender influence and the relationship with at
least one natural parent," she explains. "Our cultural narrative becomes
one that, in essence, tells children that they have no right to the
natural family structure or their biological parents, but that children
simply exist for the satisfaction of adult desires."

In my years of counselling both in and out of university life, I found
so much damage was inflicted on children who lacked emotional,
psychological or physical access to one of their biological parents. The
levels of mental distress and anxiety are rocketing in our culture, and
we plan to add to their pressures in the name of equality.

Who would ever vote against free speech and democracy? The rainbow
wooden horse is setting out to maim both.

Tim Farron and Jacob Rees- Mogg are just the latest two most prominent
politicians to be told by the media that they had no right to be in
public service because they failed to respond in the right way to gay
sex and the monochrome marriage project. Farron resigned. Jacob
Rees-Mogg is living under a hail of rancid abuse and hate speech. How is
it ok for the supporters of gay marriage to try to terrorise public
figures to abandon their views using hate speech; "Bigot" screamed the
Guardian headlines at Rees-Mogg the next day. But hypocritically they
insist anything that fails to fully support them constitutes actual hate
speech and must be suppressed.

The rainbow wooden horse will attack businesses unless they fall into
line. Ask the Ashers bakery in Northern Ireland who while willing to
serve any customer of any kind, refused to lend their artistry to the
rainbow horses' propaganda. This wasn't even a casual order. It was a
set-up job, intended to damage a young heterosexual couple's business,
and terrify anyone else who might think of sticking to their own
principles.

Freedom of conscience? No, the rainbow horse has that in its sights too.
Of course, the politicians promised opt outs and freedom of conscience
to people who objected. But then oops, changed their mind. Listen to
Dame Louise Casey threaten the Roman Catholic community unless it gets
into line; "No it's NOT OK for Catholic schools to be homophobic and
against gay marriage."

Freedom of religion? Equalities minister Justine Greening insists
churches must be MADE to "keep up with modern attitudes."

Ofsted used to just be about maintaining educational standards. Not
anymore. Now it has become the rainbow horses' enforcer. Before the
'redefinition' of marriage, Vishnitz Jewish Girls school passed with
flying colours. After, it was failed; for having an "inadequate
promotion of homosexuality and gender reassignment."

Does the rainbow horse stand for equality and inclusion? Not if you are
a volunteer for the National Trust? There it stands for bullying and
exclusion. With a membership of 4.2 and a potential 62,000 volunteers,
they sent out instructions to one of their properties that all
volunteers there would all be compulsory required to wear the same-sex
promotional rainbow badge. Anyone who said they would find that a
problem was shoved out of sight; made invisible, until they were willing
to give in and show 'inclusive tolerance'; unlike the National Trust
itself which itself practiced exclusive intolerance -- in the name of
the rainbow wooden horse.

Why is this so? A very good question. That it is so, tragically a matter
of fact.

Same sex marriage? Equality and safety for all under the law? Apparently
not. Check out the small print. Peek inside the rainbow wooden horse.




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

Message: 18
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:48:34 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: The return of clandestine marriage?
Message-ID:
<1506044914.3240410....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The return of clandestine marriage?

By Jody Howard
COVENANT
September 19, 2017

"It is the worst clandestine marriage when God is not invited to it.
Wherefore, beforehand beg his gracious assistance." --Thomas Fuller, The
Holy State

At various points in the medieval period, the Church and society
struggled with the question of what constituted marriage. The two main
schools of thought were consent, favored by many scholastic theologians,
and consummation, favored by many laity. Because the Church emphasized
consent, a problem arose with clandestine or secret marriages, which
were not witnessed by anyone (other than a priest). Such marriages were
performed in England up through the 1700s. They became known as "Fleet
Marriages" because they were so often performed by unscrupulous priests
serving time at Fleet Prison, who would perform weddings for the right
price.

While there were times when clandestine marriages were pursued for
reasons that a conscientious observer might have found ethical, they
were a source of abuse wherein people would marry secretly, consummate
the marriage, and then one party -- the man, let's be honest -- would
deny the marriage had taken place.

Both the reading the banns of marriage and the charge that "if any of
you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now;
or else for ever hold your peace" (1979 BCP, p. 424) stem from the same
concern that gives us the double-consent formula: a desire to avoid
abuse. In the case of the banns, the concern was to avoid bigamy. In the
case of double consent, it was to avoid forced marriages. In both cases,
the desire was to prevent the strong from imposing their will on those
with less power or a lower social standing.

What does this have to do with us today, in our culture of falling
marriage rates, widespread cohabitation, and changing sexual mores? I
submit it may be of interest because Episcopalians may be asked at the
next General Convention to enshrine something very much like clandestine
marriage.

In its latest report, the Task Force for the Study of Marriage proposes
using The Blessing of a Lifelong Relationship in two circumstances:

By mature couples who seek to form and formalize a special relationship
with one another that is unconditional and lifelong, but is nevertheless
something different than a marriage in that it does not include the
merging of property, finances, or other civil legal encumbrances, in
order to protect against personal and familial hardship.

By couples for whom the requirement to furnish identification to obtain
a marriage license could result in civil or criminal legal penalties,
including deportation, because of their immigration status.

The Blessing of a Lifelong Relationship would enshrine the blessing of a
union that is not marriage, but that intends what marriage intends, save
for the condition that it is not marriage. If the debate about same-sex
marriage in the Episcopal Church in the past few decades has taught us
anything, it's that the terms of the debate hinge on what marriage is,
and whether it should be expanded to include same-sex couples. If
something looks like marriage, and functions like marriage, we are best
off discerning whether it does in fact constitute marriage.

It is more than a little strange, when the bulk of the Episcopal Church
has accepted same-sex marriage, to consider authorizing a rite that,
although it claims to bless an "unconditional and lifelong" union, is
predicated on the condition that the parties avoid the obligations,
duties, and protections of marriage.

I recall a number of years ago that some bishops sought permission for
their clergy to officiate at marriages using the prayer book, but
without a civil marriage license. The stated reason then was so that
couples would not be required to give up their Social Security benefits
upon marrying.

Let's be real for a moment. It's not only the elderly who are
discriminated against by government policies on marriage. Many couples
postpone marriage so their children will not lose Medicaid coverage. I
suppose it makes sense that we would think about the elderly, given the
makeup of the Episcopal Church, but the proposed solution is not a
solution at all. It does nothing to deal with the inequities of the
system, but simply envisions the church as creating a liturgy to make us
feel good in the midst of injustice.

My pastoral response to the two situations would be quite different. In
the first, I would say something like this: "It's a hard decision
whether to marry, and whether to bear the cost of that. I'd be happy to
talk with you through the process, and recommend attorneys who could
help you arrange things so that your families are reassured." But I
would not offer marriage lite. Nor would I want to officiate at a
service without a marriage license.

In the second case, I would like to see some provisional authority
granted to priests to officiate at weddings -- again, not marriage lite
-- for couples in which one party is at risk of deportation. But I think
we really should only see this as provisional and it should chafe to the
point that we work to see that undocumented immigrants can legally
marry. Why would I say this?

I understand that it has become popular in some circles to argue that
marriage in the Church and marriage in the eyes of the state should be
divorced from one another. Often this is accompanied with a criticism of
clergy "acting as agents of the state." But I think this understanding
has things exactly backward.

The state doesn't recognize a marriage because I act as an agent of the
state. The state recognizes that marriage is an institution prior to and
independent of the state, but that must be managed by the state because
the law is the way our community has provided for us to work together.

The state recognizes that traditional marriage fits the minimum
definition of what the state considers marriage to be. It's not that
priests and rabbis or imams thereby become agents of the state. Rather,
the state recognizes these communities as constituent bodies within a
broader society, and marriage as a constitutive element of society as a
whole.

This is why I am thankful that I have never said, "By the power invested
in me by the state of Tennessee, I now pronounce you man and wife." I
instead say, with the Book of Common Prayer, "Now that N. and N. have
given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands
and the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are
husband and wife, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Those whom God has joined together let no one put asunder"
(BCP, p. 428).

All of that said, the role of the state is important and significant.
The state ensures the rights of all parties in the marriage, including
any children. Blessing marriages without civil marriage licenses, and
thereby creating legally invisible unions, means that the state doesn't
easily know how to adjudicate between couples when their unions dissolve
or when one party abandons the other. This is especially true when there
is common property. Marriage -- civil, legal marriage -- is a protection
against the abuse of the less powerful by the more powerful. In
heterosexual marriage, the less powerful are often women and children.
Unless we are going to revive ecclesiastical courts, I don't see how we
can responsibly bless unions without the legal element.

If we had common-law marriage in the United States, perhaps it could
work. If we were a sectarian tradition that claimed unfettered loyalty
from our membership, maybe it would have a shot. But neither of those is
a reality. The states are all too diverse in their marriage laws, and
less than a handful have anything like common-law marriage. If some
people enter these relationships with the express desire not to be
married, then even the laws in places like North Carolina that provide
for marriage by reputation wouldn't be a protection.

Our church has always worked in and through culture. We cannot so easily
shirk our responsibilities now. Rather than creating liturgies for these
situations, perhaps we should be drafting legislation that identifies an
injustice and authorizes the Episcopal Public Policy Network to lobby
for corrective legislation.

We should teach about these issues in our parishes, and get Christians
involved in challenging systemic injustices that harm people in our
society, that militate against the formation of stable families, and
that prevent people from receiving the support they need, whatever their
age, stage of life, or economic or immigration status.

I think that's a much better idea than reviving legally clandestine
unions.



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

Message: 19
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:48:54 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: Transactivism Is Hurting Your Children
Message-ID:
<1506044934.3240487....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Transactivism Is Hurting Your Children

By Michael Brown
CHRISTIAN POST
http://www.christianpost.com/news/transactivism-is-hurting-your-children-199051/
Sept. 13, 2017

What you're about to read will shock you, but first, let me do my best
to be a voice of sanity in the midst of an increasingly-confused world.

When it comes to children (or adults) who struggle with gender
confusion, I have a simple principle: We do our best to help them find
wholeness without imposing their struggles on everyone else.

This is both compassionate and reasonable, and it's how we handle other
situations when an individual suffers from a handicap or disorder. We do
our best to help them, but we don't turn the world upside down for them.

So, for example, if a student is confined to a wheelchair, we make sure
the school has the appropriate bathroom facilities and, if there are
several floors to the school building, we make sure there is an
accessible elevator or lift. But we don't force all the other students
to use wheelchair-specific bathrooms, nor do we stop them from using the
stairs.

In the same way, if there is a blind student in the school, we do our
best to include the child in all possible activities and we have braille
materials available. But we don't force the other students to play games
with their eyes closed or learn to read braille as well.

Unfortunately, when it comes to transgender activism, the world must be
turned upside down to accommodate a struggling child (or adult). This
makes even less sense, since in the case of someone struggling with
gender confusion, we're not talking about a physically tangible,
conclusively diagnosable condition. We're talking about a subjective
condition, a personal perception, something that could be here today and
gone (or, modified) tomorrow. How, then, can these struggles be imposed
on everyone else?

Recently, in the UK, a couple reported that their six-year-old son
returned "totally drained" from school. As his dad explained, "When he
got home from school one day, he said: 'Daddy I'm confused. There's a
boy in my class who says he's now a boy but then sometimes he's a
girl.'"

One day the boy in question would dress as a boy, the next day as a
girl, wearing a dress. This deeply confused the other boy, draining him
emotionally.

How could the school impose the confused boy's struggles on everyone
else?

The mother explained, "We talked to the head, we talked to the teacher
concerned and they basically said: 'We have no choice, we have to accept
this, otherwise I could even lose my job.'"

This left the parents with no choice but to remove their son, who was
not suffering from a disorder, from school.

Such is the social madness produced by transgender activism, and it is
embraced wholeheartedly by the local school district as well. As a
spokesperson stated, "Our schools are inclusive, safe spaces where
pupils learn to respect diversity of all kinds.

"We comply with the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and
believe that all should feel welcomed, valued and nurtured as part of a
learning community."

Really? They want all students to "feel welcomed, valued and nurtured"?
Obviously, this excludes all students who are not at home with LGBT
activism on their campus. They are outside the realm of "diversity" and
"inclusion."

You might say, "Well, that little boy shouldn't be so upset. His parents
need to teach him to be more accepting."

Really? Are you sure?

Certainly, we should teach our kids to be kind to all. And we should
absolutely oppose bullying for any reason.

But we should not teach our children to affirm mental or psychological
disorders, and there is no verifiable scientific evidence that the boy
in question is a girl. Why, then, should these parents teach their son
to affirm that which is not true or real?

Let's not forget that the vast majority of children who identify as
transgender no longer do so after puberty. And there are psychologists
who believe that we do these children a disservice by affirming their
transgender identity.

Consider this recent case which is getting widespread attention.

As reported in the Daily Wire, "With guidance from medical professionals
and his own mother, a 12-year-old Australian boy suffering from gender
confusion began to transition into a 'female.' Just two years later, the
young man told his mom he felt like his born sex again, and is now in
the painful process of transitioning back, which includes surgery."

Some would argue that the doctors who helped this young boy "transition"
to female were guilty of medical malpractice, if not outright child
abuse, however well-intentioned they might have been.

Yet in today's upside-down world, the schools (and all students) would
be expected to embrace this boy as a boy, then as a girl, then as a boy
again -- based entirely on how he felt and identified at any given
moment. And woe be to the teacher or parent or student who protests. One
dare not be branded a transphobe.

Lest you think I'm exaggerating, remember that just last month, "A first
grader at a California charter school was sent to the principal's office
this week after she accidentally 'misgendered' a classmate in what's
being called a 'pronoun mishap.'"

A first grader!

We're talking about six-year-olds again -- precious, little,
impressionable, innocent children -- who are being punished for their
failure to embrace transactivism. This must stop, and it must stop now,
which means that parents, educators, and legislators must act to protect
these little ones, regardless of professional cost or consequence. Do we
really have a choice?

And remember: Kids in nursery school and up are being indoctrinated with
the standard LGBT talking points. Why should we surprised when they grow
up so confused?

If enough people of conscience speak up and act up, change will come.
And rather than simply affirm the struggles of these equally precious,
gender confused children, let's redouble our efforts to get to the root
of their struggles, helping them find wholeness from the inside out.

And just how far will this radical LGBT activism go if we don't stand up
to it? How about drag queens reading to our 2-year-olds in libraries?
Should we applaud this too?

Or how about a scantily clad drag queen dancing in front of school
children at a gay pride event in Canada? (I was sent a picture of this
horrid, mind-boggling moment.) Perhaps we should celebrate this too?

To every parent, educator, and legislator reading this article, I urge
you to get involved and do the right thing. You owe it to your kids.



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

Message: 20
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:49:43 -0400
From: David Virtue <da...@virtueonline.org>
To: "virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org"
<virtue...@listserv.virtueonline.org>
Subject: SURVIVING HURRICANES
Message-ID:
<1506044983.3240540....@webmail.messagingengine.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

SURVIVING HURRICANES

By Ted Schroder
www.tedschroder.com
Sept. 20, 2018

On September 5, 2004 Hurricane Frances pummeled our home. We had decided
to stay. I wrote about hurricanes as a metaphor for evil and other
related themes in my book, SURVIVING HURRICANES. Last year we endured
Hurricane Matthew when we lost three big trees in our yard and had to
re-landscape. Last Saturday we drove out of town to avoid Hurricane
Irma. After 25 minutes I realized that I had not shut the garage door
and had to return. The roads were empty and the stores boarded up and
closed due to mandatory evacuation. It seemed as if Amelia Island was a
ghost town. Since I-95 and the other interstates were clogged with
evacuees driving north from South Florida we took US-1 to Augusta,
Georgia and then to Anderson, SC, Antoinette's hometown where two of her
sisters still live. When we returned on Wednesday we found that our
wonderful neighbor had cleared our driveway so that we could access our
house which was undamaged despite two more trees being down. The roads
are lined with tree limbs and debris. The Chapel parking lot needs to be
cleared for a wedding on Saturday and services on Sunday. All this
reminds me of how vulnerable we all are to the mighty power of Nature.
We have no control over the forces of Nature. We human beings are
fragile creatures who are dependent on so many things we tend to take
for granted: electric power, water, television, refrigeration, air
conditioning.

On Sunday I meditated on Psalm 77 which reminds us of the power of God
over and through Nature as seen in the crossing of Israel through the
Red Sea to escape slavery in Egypt.

Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
The clouds poured down water,
the skies resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Hurricanes humble us. They remind us that we are like sheep being led by
our Good Shepherd through the leadership of the prophets and apostles.
Some people cannot see the footprints of God in the storms of life. They
are blind to the works of Providence and their need of a Savior and
Redeemer. They are too proud to admit their weakness. Zora Neale Hurston
entitled her stunning description of the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane,
Their Eyes Were Watching God. When we watch Nature, whether in a sunrise
or sunset or in beautiful flora and fauna, or in a Hurricane, we see
God's Grandeur as Gerard Manley Hopkins beautifully expressed it.

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed, Why do men then now not reck his rod?

"Reck" means to pay heed to, take account of, care about, concern
oneself. In the past God was seen to reveal his power through Nature. In
all the commentary about climate change being man-made I sometimes
wonder whether we need to "reck his rod", take account of God's power
and our need to humble ourselves under his mighty hand!

During the summer I have been working on gathering together my
unpublished material to put in a book to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of my ordination to the ministry. I was ordained at St.
Paul's Cathedral, London on September 29, 1967, the Feast of St. Michael
and All Angels.
In an Introduction, I provide a brief memoir. It includes my early life
in New Zealand, a tribute to those who influenced and mentored me, a
summary of my ministries in London, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas,
and my philosophy of preaching and church leadership. I give thanks to
God who called me into this ministry when I was sixteen and has
sustained me and blessed me over the years.

Topics covered in the book include:
* The Bible and Genesis 1-11: Why am I?
* First John: Walking in the Light
* Second Corinthians: Comfort and Encouragement
* Acts: The Holy Spirit at Work
* Questions Jesus Asked: Why Worry or Be Afraid?
* First Corinthians 15: Resurrection
* Ascension and Pentecost
* Reasonable Faith

They are arranged as ninety days' worth of readings to nourish your
relationship with God, help you to make sense of your life, to encourage
you in your interaction with others, and give you hope for the future.
It is 404 pages.

The title is DAY BY DAY WITH TED SCHRODER, and is available now as a
paperback and e-book on Amazon.com. The subtitle is from Hebrews 5:14 -
"Solid food is for the mature who by constant use have trained
themselves to distinguish good from evil."
https://www.amazon.com/Day-Ted-Schroder/dp/0996446516

The cover photo is of Mt. Cook taken from my home town of Hokitika. This
is the view I would see from my bedroom window as I looked south at Mt.
Cook on clear days.



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End of VirtueOnline Digest, Vol 17, Issue 36
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