Women bishops in Wales

The following letter is published in today's Church Times; you can read the accompanying report here.

From the Revd Alan Rabjohns and others

Sir, — We, being 101 clerics and ordinands, both male and female, in the Church in Wales, write to express our concern about the Bill to allow women to ordained as bishop, which is about to be considered by a Select Committee of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales.

When the Bill was published in July, we learned with dismay that specific requests to the Bench of Bishops for proper provision to enable those who in conscience cannot accept the ordination of women to the episcopate to remain as honoured members of the Church in Wales had been denied.

Instead, Clause 2 offers only a vague, non-defined indication of pastoral care and support from the same Bench of Bishops. Clause 3 leaves open the possibility of disciplinary action for not accepting the novelty; and the abandonment of exemptions under the civil law would leave us open to prosecution.

If the Bill were passed in its present form and unamended to provide constitutional provision, it would make it even more difficult for us serving as ordained clergy.

While holding them in our prayers at this difficult time, we respectfully ask the Select Committee and Governing Body to consider pastorally and seriously amendments placed before them to make the Bill able to promote the unity and peace of the Church in Wales, through which we all wish to continue to serve Christ in this land.

ALAN RABJOHNS
St Saviour’s Vicarage
115 Splott Road
Cardiff CF24 2BY

and

The Revd Colin Amos
The Revd Keith Andrews
The Revd Deacon Mark Zorab
The Revd Graham Canham
The Revd David Davies
The Revd Philip Wyn Davies
The Revd Canon Keith Dennison
The Revd Roy Doxsey
The Revd Jeffrey Gainer
The Revd Michael Gollop
The Revd Michael Gill
The Revd John Hughes
The Revd Chancellor Peter Jackson
The Revd Andrew Holmes
The Revd Canon Tudor Hughes
The Revd Hilary Jalland
The Revd Canon Peter Jones
The Revd Michael Keulemans
The Revd Graham Lloyd
The Revd Christopher Lewis-Jenkins
The Revd Edward Matthias-Jones
The Revd Mark Mesley
The Revd Glyn Price
The Revd Colin Sanderson
The Revd David Reed
The Revd Robert Rowland
The Revd David Sheen
The Revd Brian Taylor
The Revd David Walters
The Revd Ifan Williams
The Revd Canon Peter Williams
The Revd Robert Parrish
The Revd Dean Atkins
The Revd Ben Andrews
The Revd Andrew Tweed
The Revd Irving Hamer
The Revd Canon Graham Francis
The Revd Hugh Linn
The Revd Mark Williams
The Revd Canon Harold Clarke
The Ven. Martin Williams
The Revd Laurie Way
The Revd Keith Lerry
The Revd Melville Jones
The Revd Richard Williams
The Revd Fred Mudge
The Revd Kenneth Jordan
The Revd Gwyn Lloyd Jones
The Revd Paul Newsum
The Revd Malcolm Lane
The Revd John Workman
The Revd Canon John Davies
The Revd Robert Davies
The Revd Deacon Betty Butler
The Revd Roger Williams
The Revd David Allen
The Revd Roy Cale
The Revd David Way
The Revd Barry Davies
The Revd Graham Horwood
The Revd T J Williams
The Revd Jack Buttimore
The Revd John Andrew
The Revd Chancellor Anthony Williams
The Revd Christopher Darvill
The Revd Leonard Parry-Jones
The Revd Tom Foster
The Revd Tom Wood
The Revd Haydn England-Simon
The Revd Graham Hollowood
The Revd Ronald Wiffen
The Revd Wayne Coughlin
The Revd Canon David Hathaway
The Revd Ian Galt
The Revd Dr John Plessis
The Revd Gary Powell
The Revd Bill Field
The Revd Ron Evans
The Revd Alan Hunter
The Revd George Trimby
The Revd Gareth Griffiths
The Revd Deacon Bryn Parry-Jones
The Revd Terry Doherty
The Revd Bernard Sharp
The Revd Steven Green
The Revd Clifford Bennett
The Revd Colin Sutton
The Venerable Islwyn John
Mrs Sarah Gillard-Faulkner
The Revd Patrick Jenkins
The Revd Andrew Jones
The Revd Bryan Hall
The Revd David Matthews
The Revd David Dredge
The Revd Charles Billington
The Revd Bernard Sixtus
Mr Andrew Thomas
The Revd William Price-Johns
The Revd Anthony Bailey
The Revd Paul Gerard

A Message for World AIDS Day from the CAPA Chairman

Posted On : November 29, 2007 9:44 AM | Posted By : Webmaster Related Categories: Africa ACNS:4347

Greetings in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

At our last 10th Council Meeting held in Mauritius October 2007, we were
greatly encouraged by the progress made by CAPA on educational and pastoral
concerns in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

We do however remain concerned about what seems to be the unabated spread of
the pandemic, and the effect that it has on family life.

As we approach World AIDS Day (WAD) 2007 with its theme: Keep the Promise
Take the Lead, we would like to encourage all governments, donors, and those
responsible to the implement policies, ensure that resources are channelled
to areas they are most needed, and are used in the most effective ways.

We are encouraged by the UNAIDS and WHO 2007 AIDS Epidemic Update, which
indicate a reduction of HIV infection in some African countries.

We support the universal access to prevention, care and treatment strategy
and advocate for its implementation especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
and Asia, where the AIDS epidemic is hard hit.

As Faith communities, together with other partners, we should continue to
speak out against any form of discrimination and stigmatization, and improve
ways of addressing issues around behavioural change and morality.

We can never educate enough on this issue, and we should therefore continue
to ensure that factual information is assimilated to prevent the spread of
HIV and AIDS in our communities.

The Most Rev'd Ian Ernest, G.O.S.K.

PRIMATE OF INDIAN OCEAN & CHAIRMAN OF CAPA.

___________________________________________________________________
ACNSlist, published by Anglican Communion News Service, London, is distributed to more than 8,000 journalists and other readers around the world.

Pope Calls Christians to Protect Planet

Says Rich Nations Shouldn't Abuse Resources of Poor Countries

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says a "moral awakening" in favor of the environment is needed, and rich countries should not abuse the resources of developing nations.


This exhortation forms part of the message sent in the Pope's name by Archbishop Fernando Filoni, "sostituto" of the Vatican Secretariat of State, to the 92nd Social Weeks of France, celebrated in and around Paris from Nov. 16 to 18.

The pontifical message affirmed, "It is necessary to rejoice at the fact that our contemporaries recognize more and more the need for a lasting development in order to leave to future generations a truly inhabitable planet, in the perspective offered by the Creator."

The text voiced fears of men and women of today, such as "exhausting the resources of the planet, the rapid thawing of the glaciers, the increase of the greenhouse effect, the increase of natural disasters, excessive emission of carbon dioxide."

"These are some of the warning signs that call for a moral awakening in favor of the earth," the Pope asserted. "Once again, poorer countries will have to suffer the most serious consequences provoked by the attitude of the industrialized world and the trust -- sometimes excessive -- in scientific and technical progress."

Benedict XVI said that God gave man his Spirit so that, with the use of reason, humans may design projects "oriented toward permitting a better distribution of the natural resources and of the goods of the earth," including a restrained use of forests and biological reserves."The richest nations are called not to abuse improperly the resources of the developing countries without returning to them the revenue derived from the resources of their land and underground," he affirmed. "It is a matter of the elemental principles of justice and equity and the universal destination of the goods of the earth. Besides, it is a work system about which it is necessary to reflect."

The Pope asked that each Christian "adopt new behaviors in order to serve as guardians of nature and the environment. Human intelligence has many possibilities for stimulating a new, lasting development."

MRS SCHORI AND THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
11/25/2007

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is learning the lesson that what goes around comes around.

Mrs. Jefferts Schori is learning she cannot escape the consequences of her actions or words over the way in which she is running the Episcopal Church.

She is doing major league harm to the institution. She thinks she is getting away with it, but ultimately she will pay the price for her bad behavior. Her iron fist in the velvet glove approach is not working. In fact, it is back-firing.

Mrs. Jefferts Schori has threatened three orthodox bishops demonstrating that behind the façade of sweet-talking "reconciling" language there lurks a fist of conformity, veneered over with a facile spirituality. She is fast becoming the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."

The most recent target of her wrath - the Rt. Rev Jack Iker - received a not so veiled threat that if he tried to pull his diocese out of the Episcopal Church, all legal and ecclesiastical hell would rein down on him. It was the same threat she aimed at Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan - it is starting to look like a form letter that only requires someone to change the addressee and hit the "send" button to every recalcitrant bishop who dares to raise his head over the Episcopal Church ramparts and declare their independence.

Undeterred, the conservative bishop of Ft. Worth accused the presiding bishop of misusing her office and engaging in "aggressive, dictatorial posturing," forgetting all the nice words about reconciliation, dialogue and mediation she utters so frequently. Frank Griswold, her predecessor had us all going to a "deeper place", but no one knew where the hell it was, or to Sufi Rumi on a plain beyond good and evil, but no one could find that either. (Charles Bennison is still looking for it, but it might be too late for him.) Schori warned Iker in a letter that he could face church discipline if he continued to back proposals that lead his diocese away from the national church.

If Schori thought she could personally bully this Anglo-Catholic bishop, she clearly badly misjudged the bishop. He wasn't playing nice either. He roared right back saying, "[your letter] appears designed to intimidate our delegates and me. It grieves me that as the Presiding Bishop you would misuse your office in an attempt to intimidate and manipulate this diocese."

Iker turned the screws a little tighter accusing Schori of "intimidation" and making attempts to deter the diocese from taking any action in opposition to the direction she is leading the Church. "It is highly inappropriate for you to attempt to interfere in the internal life of this diocese," he blasted back at her.

Them's fightin' words.

He closed with these words, "While your threats deeply sadden us, they do not frighten us. We will continue to stand firm for the unchanging truth of the Holy Scriptures and the redeeming Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whatever the costs."

Late last year, Schori attempted to intimidate another bishop, John-David Schofield of San Joaquin by accusing him of "spiritual violence" due to an attempt by him to disassociate his diocese from The Episcopal Church. This brought a riposte from one priest saying that such an accusation, delivered from the public face of the Episcopal Church, is not only "reckless but also offensive, especially to those of us resident in the Diocese of San Joaquin. Is this the 'shalom' that you so fervently preached about at the National Cathedral earlier this month?" Indeed not.

This also begs the question "Just who is doing the spiritual violence?" For orthodox Episcopalians and orthodox Anglicans watching from the sidelines it is Jefferts Schori, not Duncan, Iker or Schofield who are doing "spiritual violence" to the Episcopal Church. She has replaced the faith of the church with Millennium Development Goals. The Great Commission has become the Great Omission.

This past week saw yet another side to the Iron Lady of Episcopalianism. It appears that Mrs Jefferts Schori likes to manipulate even her band of not so merry liberal bishops, who apparently live in mortal fear of her tongue and her legal Rottweiler, David Booth Beers who practically lives at her elbow for $510.00 an hour.

It was revealed in testimony before a Virginia court, where some 11 parishes want to leave the Episcopal Church, that she ordered Virginia Bishop Peter Lee to break a verbal agreement, which would have allowed the parishes to withdraw from the Episcopal Church, and directed the Diocese of Virginia to sue the clergy and lay leaders of the 11 congregations.

The Dominatrix of 815 has wielded her whip against one of her own kind, reducing the theologically soft-headed bishop, Peter James Lee, to a quivering mass of compliance. Earlier he was ready to cut a deal with the departing parishes which was almost on the table, according to testimony from the Rev. John Yates, but then it all fell apart.

No one knew at the time what caused him to change his mind, but at the Fairfax County Circuit Court it all came out in the open when Jefferts Schori admitted that she did it to prevent "incursions by foreign bishops."

She revealed, that shortly after her installation as Presiding Bishop in November, Schori met with Bishop Lee, telling him she "could not support negotiations for sale if the congregations intended to set up as other parts of the Anglican Communion."

Is there a law in American statutes that says to whom you can and cannot sell property? Does Schori have the right to tell a parish priest or bishop to whom he may sell a building?

Jefferts Schori tried very carefully to parse her words, but that didn't fly with the court. She was directed by the court to answer the question more explicitly.

The moral of this story is that she can say whatever she wants in pulpits to gullible Episcopalians, but the courts brook no such prevarication and pluriform talk. You either say what you mean, and mean what you say, or be directed by the courts to be more explicit.

Jefferts Schori has demonstrated that she can play hardball, and that is going down like a lead balloon. One wonders if she successfully intimidated Dr. Rowan Williams in New Orleans when the House of Bishops met. On the surface, all appeared sweetness and light between the two, but there were indications at a press conference that she was in charge and she would not tolerate any opposition or interference in the affairs of the Episcopal Church, even by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

She made it clear in New Orleans that there would be no reversal of the church's forward movement on pansexual behavior and that "consultation" means never having to say you're sorry or change your mind about the direction of The Episcopal Church. Schori made it clear that the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons are sacrosanct, and that TEC will never abide by, accept or sanction a universal set of canons that the whole communion would write and live by because TEC could be disciplined by such a body. It would also set a legal precedent over property disputes in the TEC.

If Williams didn't get the message, he would have to be the dumbest archbishop to sit in Lambeth Palace. He can mull over The Episcopal Church's "baptismal covenant" till the Second Coming, but the political situation will demand more immediate attention.

Clearly Schori's ecclesiastical and legal strategy of iron-fisted conformity is not going down well. In fact it is not going over at all. She is more than a disappointment. She is a disaster.

As Charles Bennison, the inhibited Bishop of Pennsylvania learned the hard way recently, when you betray your own liberal constituency, you can find the tables turned against you. If Mrs. Jefferts Schori pushes too hard against her own kind, the same thing could happen to her.

In the world of ecclesiastical politics as in the world of Machiavellian realpolitik, the long knives of revenge are never far from the convention floor. Just ask Bishop Bennison.

END

PRESENTATION OF "SPE SALVI," THE POPE'S NEW ENCYCLICAL

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2007 (VIS) - The new Encyclical of Benedict XVI, "Spe salvi," will be presented in the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Friday, November 30. The document will be presented by Cardinal Georges Marie Martin Cottier O.P., pro-theologian emeritus of the Pontifical Household, and by Cardinal Albert Vanhoye S.J., professor emeritus of New Testament exegesis at the Pontifical Biblical Institute.

OP/ENCYCLICAL:SPE SALVI/COTTIER:VANHOYE VIS 071123 (80)

ACC/Primates Consultation following the New Orleans meeting of the TEC House of Bishops

Posted On : November 22, 2007 2:05 PM Posted By : Webmaster Related Categories: Lambeth ACNS:4340

The Archbishop of Canterbury has written to Anglican Communion Primates and members of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) with a summary of their individual responses to the outcome of September House of
Bishops meeting of the Episcopal Church (USA). He made it clear that
he was not at this stage advancing his own interpretation of these responses.

He would include his own reflections in his (annual) Advent Letter to the Primates in the coming weeks .

A summary of responses to the consultation on the House of Bishops' response to the request for certain clarifications in respect of the Windsor Process, and the subsequent report of the Joint Standing Committe of the Primates and the ACC, is available here:

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2007/11/22/ACNS4340

A PDF is also available here:

http://www.aco.org/communion/primates/resources/downloads/ABC_Primates_Responses.pdf

LIBERALS FRAME DEBATE FORCING ORTHODOX TO DEFEND THEMSELVES

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
11/22/2007

Whenever liberals excoriate the orthodox for holding to "rigid positions" on sexuality, they do it by making conservatives look fundamentalist, uninclusive, and lacking diversity, while ignoring the real issues like poverty, HIV/AIDS and a woman's right to free abortion.

Liberals and pansexualists also want to make it very clear, and underscore, that if the Anglican Communion splits it is the fault of narrow-minded conservatives who can't see beyond the end of their moral and theological noses. If they would just rediscover the big tent of Anglicanism with its Via Media approach to just about everything, all will be well and all manner of things will be well.

The man who comes in for the most bashing and vitriol is Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria. Now if Akinola were an African-American, white liberals would never dare say the things about him that they do. They get away with it because he is ensconced in Africa and does not have access to America's legal system. Bishops Spong, Griswold, Shaw, Bennison et all have all said things about Akinola and his fellow African bishops that would be deemed racist and be subject to lawsuits were they spoken on US soil to a US African-American bishop. They can say the things they do and know they can get away with because Akinola is a "fundamentalist" who lives in Africa, far from the litigious North American scene.

Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison's memorable line likening the growth of the church in Africa to that of the Nazi Party will probably make the history books. On another occasion he called African Anglicans "extreme Anglicans." The majority are black and are tied to the Church of England even more than we are, he said. An enormous lie, if ever there was one. Liberals and pansexualists are constantly pleading their case with one eye firmly fixed on the Archbishop of Canterbury, begging him to accept New Hampshire Gene Robinson to Lambeth next year regardless of what Dr. Williams might think about sodomy. American liberals would build an altar and sacrifice Akinola on it if it would guarantee an invitation for the homoerotic bishop of New Hampshire - and these people don't even believe in the atonement and the blood of Jesus to cleanse them from all their sins. But Akinola is certainly worth sacrificing for the greater cause of Anglican unity!

Something calling itself the Inclusive Church held their first conference in Derbyshire, England recently, and Dr. Jenny Te Paa Principal of the College of St. John the Evangelist in Auckland, New Zealand, a member of the 2003 Lambeth Commission, and someone assisting in the St Augustine's Seminar responsible for planning the detailed content for the forthcoming Lambeth Conference 2008 (talk about the loading dice for what the content of the Lambeth Conference will be) had this to say.

She condemned what she called the 'reach of enmity' among Anglicans. In a strong speech, Te Paa reminded her listeners "how pervasive the reach of enmity has become amongst us." She told her audience "not to notice the bad behavior of the few, but the good behavior of the many."

So who exactly are those who have enmity and who practice "bad behavior"? Mrs. Jefferts Schori and her legal pit bull David Booth Beers as they sue dioceses and parishes? I don't think so. Jon Bruno Bishop of Los Angeles who is repeatedly suing three orthodox parishes for their properties? I doubt it. What about uninclusive liberal dioceses that refuse to allow graduates of the evangelical Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry exercise their gospel ministry in their dioceses? Not a prayer. Or the 2,000 pansexualists in The Episcopal Church who are pounding the bricks for sodomy seven days a week in every parish and diocesan convention, bullying priests and bishops (look what Louie Crew had to say about SW Florida Bishop Dabney Smith recently). http://tinyurl.com/2b4n4p

Sodomists are TOTALLY RELENTLESS in their pursuit, read behavior, of inclusion. The Episcopal-recognized organization Integrity has its leader Susan Russell running to her computer at every opportunity to push LGBT issues to the forefront on every occasion. She is utterly and totally relentless to the point of viciousness in making sure that anyone, bishop or priest who stands in the way of the full inclusion of non-celibate sexual behavior in TEC is included in every statement. The only sexual behavior not to get a pass in The Episcopal Church is, of course, adultery.

Dr. Te Paa lamented the church's obsession with drawing lines that exclude, which is distracting us from the enormous suffering so many people face. We must not "fret and fight" while people are literally dying. Perhaps Mrs Te Paa should talk with Archbishop Bernard Malango of Central Africa whose province is being torn apart over sexuality issues. This province is dying not because of poverty or HIV/AIDS but the relentless pursuit of sodomite acceptance by a bishop and a wannabe English cleric who wants to be a bishop resulting in the destruction of an entire province.

Really. The only people drawing the lines in the Anglican culture wars are liberals and pansexualists. THEY and not the orthodox have drawn the lines (of exclusion) demanding full acceptance of a behavior that the church in 2,000 years has never endorsed by the vast majority of Roman Catholics, Orthodox and Evangelicals of all stripes.

At the same conference the Rev. Canon Giles Goddard, chair of Inclusive Church, said, "We are not a pressure group of the like-minded." He added, "We are ordinary Anglicans who love our church, and we are deeply concerned by the way in which the effort to exclude is overtaking the calling to live the Gospel."

That's a downright lie at least in the American Episcopal Church. No group has done more pressuring than Integrity, The few hundred LGBT folk use every diocesan convention, and for the last 25 years, every General Convention, to pressure the Episcopal Church into accepting their abominable behavior. It is a fiction to say otherwise.

Their tactics are nothing short of Stalinist. First preach, change a few lay people and priests' minds, raise unholy hell, convince a few bishops, and then coerce the rest. When the rest don't follow, pass a resolution demanding they do, then bully them, scream at them (you can take lessons from Jack Spong, Gene Robinson or Walter Righter) and then set out to destroy those who don't share the now "majority" opinion. Is it any wonder whole dioceses are fleeing the Episcopal Church. How much more should they take from "tolerant" liberals, read revisionists?

A case in point is women's ordination. What was initially a matter of conscience is now fully accepted and DEMANDED in The Episcopal Church. And if you don't conform you will be hounded out of the church. Just ask Ft. Worth Bishop Jack Iker and what he has had to put up with for the sake of his conscience on this issue. It has been nothing but misery in the way he has been beaten up by a single laywoman Katie Sherrod in his diocese who gets full liberal media attention and support from the national church whenever she opens her mouth.

One only has to scan liberal Episcopal bloggers to read the nastiness and anger at anyone who opposes the pansexual agenda of the Episcopal Church. It is a sight to behold. Their anger and vitriol would fill volumes. The informal HOB/D Listserv which features mostly liberals commenting on church issues occasionally has an occasional orthodox commentator. He is torn to shreds the moment he appears and dares to challenge the current zeitgeist.

Is it any wonder that in recent months four Episcopal bishops have fled to Rome, another has joined CANA (The Nigerian Anglican province). Bishops are now being consecrated in a half dozen African provinces with the Province of the Southern Cone now offering a safe place for fleeing orthodox dioceses. Two Canadian bishops have even leaped off the floundering Anglican Church of Canada for the spiritual safety of the Southern Cone.

The Inclusive Church crowd meeting in Derbyshire concluded with this statement: "180 people have gathered here at a time in which many people are concerned that the generous tolerance which has characterized Anglicanism is under serious threat from those who wish to divide the church."

GENEROUS TOLERANCE! Mrs. Tee Pa comes from the province of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia that is more than 70% liberal. There is only one orthodox Anglican diocesan holdout in the whole country - Nelson - and I am told that there is now contention in this diocese over the issues. The Province doesn't have to "tolerate" orthodox folk. Like the Borg, most opposition has been stifled or absorbed.

If Anglican unity is being threatened it is being threatened by its innovators not by those who stand for the 'faith once delivered for all to the saints'. It is people like Robinson, Bennison, Bruno, Crew, Shaw, Schori, the majority of Episcopal bishops and laymen like Louie Crew who want to change the church's received teaching to make it conform to their desires.

Don't blame orthodox Episcopalians, or evangelicals like Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen, or Recife Bishop Robinson Cavilcanti (who has still not received an invitation to Lambeth next year) while his liberal counterparts in Brazil have, or the CAPA bishops in Africa, or Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan. These men are KEEPING the faith not destroying it. Tolerance for sexual sin is not on their agenda, and they fear the eternal destiny of the immortal souls of those who don't repent. They will not join them.

To paraphrase: "Woe unto you, sodomites and self-righteous liberals, hypocrites! For you destroy the orthodox, and for a pretence preach inclusion and diversity: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation...Woe unto you, for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."

Woe indeed.

END

Church of England leaders send letter of support to Bishop Iker

Signers are members of the Church of England General Synod and leaders of Forward in Faith/United Kingdom

The letter was issued on Nov. 20, 2007

Dear Bishop Jack,

We write to assure you of our support and prayers in the face of the letter you have received recently from Presiding Bishop Schori.

We fully applaud the stand you have taken for scriptural and traditional Faith and Order, the departure from which of The Episcopal Church (TEC) has been deeply damaging and divisive within the Anglican Communion, and in our relationships with major ecumenical partners. The leadership of TEC’s use of litigation against faithful congregations and clergy is nothing short of a scandal, recalling St. Paul’s strictures about the letter of the law which kills, in contrast to the Spirit of God which gives life and freedom. Bishop Peter Forster of Chester was quite right when he said last week that the use of legal procedures was not an appropriate way to address this kind of situation.

We are delighted by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement in response to Bishop John Howe of Central Florida that any diocese compliant with Windsor remained in communion with the See of Canterbury and the mainstream of the Anglican Communion, and trust that you and your diocese will be encouraged thereby.

We hope and pray that you, your clergy and people will find an appropriate way to remain true to the faith and order of the universal Church within the fellowship of the Anglican Communion. We look to the Church of England to give a lead in modelling better ways of handling disagreement to TEC and the rest of the Communion.

Signed by the following members of General Synod (dioceses in brackets)

Simon Killwick (Manchester)
Eric Armitstead (Bath & Wells)
Jonathan Baker (Oxford)
Barry Barnes (Southwark)
Anneliese Barrell (Exeter)
Paul Benfield (Blackburn)
Tom Benyon (Oxford)
Paul Boyd-Lee (Salisbury)
Mike Burbeck (Salisbury)
Graeme Buttery (Durham)
Graham Campbell (Chester)
Nigel Chetwood (Gloucester)
John Cook (London)
Martin Dales (York)
Ian Dobbie (Rochester)
Paul Farthing (Lichfield)
Sarah Finch (London)
Emma Forward (Exeter)
Vivienne Goddard (Blackburn)
Ian Gooding (Derby)
John Hanks (Oxford)
Jamie Houghton (Chichester)
David Houlding (London)
Peter LeRoy (Bath & Wells)
Angus MacLeay (Rochester)
Joanna Monkton (Lichfield)
Gill Morrison (Peterborough)
Rob Munro (Chester)
Mary Nagel (Chichester)
Gerald O’Brien (Rochester)
Ian O’Hara (Coventry)
David Mills (Carlisle)
Elizabeth Paver (Sheffield)
Paul Perkin (Southwark)
Sam Philpott (Exeter)
John Pope (Chichester)
Andrew Presland (Peterborough)
Colin Randall (Carlisle)
Jonathan Redden (Sheffield)
Clive Scowen (London)
Penny Stranack (Truro)
Chik Kaw Tan (Lichfield)
Fr. Thomas Seville, CR (Religious Communities)
Mark Sowerby (Ripon & Leeds)
Mike Streeter (Chichester)
Chris Sugden (Oxford)
Carol Ticehurst (Lincoln)
David Waller (Chelmsford)
Glyn Webster (York)
Anne Williams (Durham)
Ruth Whitworth (Ripon & Leeds)

and Bishops
Bishop of Richborough
Bishop of Ebbsfleet

and leading members of Forward in Faith
Stephen Parkinson (Director)
Geoffrey Kirk (National Secretary)
Anne Williams (Vice-Chair; also on General Synod as above)
Nicholas Turner (Editor, New Directions)
Len Black (Forward in Faith, Scotland)

NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte Episcopalians Defect to Province of West Africa

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
11/19/2007

For the Rev. Canon Filmore Strunk, 55, it was a painful but strangely exhilarating moment in his life and ministry. For 19 years he had been a priest in the Episcopal Church. It had been his life's work and ambition - to bring the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ to the folks at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Waxhaw, a growing and thriving suburb on the outskirts of Charlotte, North Carolina.

On November 1 all that changed. The abandonment of the historic Christian faith, the sexuality mess and the Episcopal Church's embracing of Gnosticism finally proved too much for the evangelical pastor of his 600-member orthodox congregation. He walked away from a newly built, 22,000 sq. ft property valued in excess of $4 million taking half his congregation with him.

"It was a painful separation; we had a large number of folk who wanted to stay behind and did. The original church was 600 with some 300 including nine of the 11 vestry electing to move with me. We walked away from a valuable property barely three years old with new gothic stone worth millions. It was very painful for me personally, but I saw that the gospel could not be compromised any longer. Truth had to triumph over institutional loyalty. The sad truth is that many Episcopalians, have become Gnostics and think they are the center of revelation, not God, and feel perfectly easy about changing things as they see that move them. I could not."

Fr. Strunk sees the move as one of the great stories of how God has blessed him and his ministry. "I spent the best part of a decade moving campuses and then I walked away from it all. I could have been seriously depressed. It never happened."

When he made the announcement that he was leaving, he told his congregation he had no interest in spending thousands of dollars legally fighting for the property. "I wanted them to come freely or stay." The new church, now called All Saints Anglican Church, will be under the ecclesiastical authority of The Church of the Province of West Africa and the Most Rev. Justice Akrofi. Strunk has been licensed by the African Primate. Their visiting missionary bishop is the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey who was recently consecrated by the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi of Uganda.

Strunk, who is on the Pastor's Prayer Summit Leadership Team in Charlotte, faced a challenge: where he would go. Another pastor on the team, a Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor, the Rev. Bruce Powell immediately offered his church building for the Evangelical Anglican flock now under an overseas African Primate. "The Presbyterian session (vestry) deliberated for two minutes and then unanimously said yes. I was stunned and overwhelmed. God was clearly at work.

"We met for worship in the fellowship hall of the of the Presbyterian Church located in the town of Wesley Chapel just outside of Charlotte on November 1 at a late-afternoon service which included seven priests, nearly 30 musicians and more than 250 congregants. My joy at this brighter day was so profound, God has provided godly bishops for us, a place to worship, a committed congregation and a spirit of joy for this new church that belongs to Him."

Missionary Bishop John Guernsey, who is also Dean of the Mid-Atlantic Convocation of the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) and rector of All Saints Anglican Church of Dale City, VA, presided over the solemn and joy-filled service, during which nine people were confirmed and three received into the Anglican Church.

Other area and regional priests joined Guernsey in traveling to be with Strunk and the congregation on Sunday to witness the start of this new Anglican church. Among them was the Rev. Jim McCaslin of Jacksonville, FL, southeast Dean of the Anglican Communion Network; the Rev. Alan Hawkins, interim rector of King of Kings Anglican Church of Charlotte, NC; the Rev. Clayton Townsend, founder of Matthews Mission, an Anglican church plant in Matthews, NC; the Rev. Craig Welbaum, rector of Light of Christ Anglican Church in the university area of Charlotte, NC; and Fr. Norman Riebe, assisting priest of All Saints Anglican.

"We're not Presbyterians or Anglicans today, we're servants of the Living God," said Siler Presbyterian's pastor Bruce Powell in welcoming the new community of Anglicans to his church's fellowship hall. Strunk and Powell have served together on the servant leader team of the interdenominational Metrolina Pastors Prayer Summit for 11 years. "We were both orthodox pastors in liberal denominations, and we've developed a tremendous bond over the years," said Strunk of his colleague.

Forging a relationship that crosses traditional bishopric lines, Bishop Guernsey is being licensed by Akrofi, Primate of West Africa and Bishop of Accra -- and a longtime friend of Strunk -- to serve as a missionary bishop, helping provide bishopric oversight for All Saints Anglican in the United States.

"This is reflective of the spirit of radical cooperation that we see growing in the leadership of the Anglican realignment," Strunk said of Akrofi and Guernsey's willingness and commitment to work together in an uncharted partnership to support and advise the nascent All Saints Anglican Church.

Holding worship service in another church's home is both a provision and a challenge, says Strunk. "We no longer have a conspicuous church building of our own to attract visitors to our congregation. We will have to be more intentional in our outreach and evangelism as we continue our mission to be disciples making disciples.

"I thought we would hurt financially. It hasn't happened. Some 90 of the 300 who have come over have pledged more than half a million dollars already - that's $6,000 per family. These people are serious about the truth, the church and salvation. It is remarkable what God is doing."

Almost immediately, Fr. Strunk was inhibited by the liberal Bishop of North Carolina, Michael B. Curry for "abandonment of Communion."

"I expect to be deposed. Of course, I have abandoned neither the Anglican Communion nor the faith once delivered to the saints. This is the lie now being constantly perpetrated by liberal TEC bishops. I am not the slightest bit concerned."

Strunk said he got the call on his cell phone from Curry while he was attending an Anglican Relief and Development meeting in Charleston. He was immediately "ministered to" by Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan and the other bishops present. Primate Akrofi is on the board of ARDF and immediately offered his oversight. Fr. Strunk has visited the West African headquarters of the Anglican Province in Ghana over the years.

Strunk says that both Bishop Guernsey and Archbishop Akrofi are two of the godliest, wisest, most prayerful, humblest and strongest men he knows and is proud to be under their authority.

Fr. Strunk is not alone. The area is fast becoming a haven for orthodox Anglican parishes.

The Anglican Church plants in the greater Charlotte region are King of Kings (Southpark area), Light of Christ (university area), Matthews mission (Matthews/Mint hill area) All Saints (Wesley Chapel), Good Shepherd (Huntersville) and Southpointe (Rock Hill). These are all Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) church plants. There is also an APA parish, St. Michaels, in southeast Charlotte. In Raleigh, NC Holy Cross is under the Rev. John Gibson and Holy Trinity in Raleigh has thrived under the British evangelist, author and church planter Canon Michael Green. All Saints Anglican in Chapel Hill is also a new thriving congregation.

Weekly Sunday worship for All Saints Anglican will be held at 4 pm, Sunday School at 5:30 pm, and covered dish supper at 6:30 pm. Youth and children will meet at Siler Presbyterian Church, 6301 Weddington Monroe Rd. Wesley Chapel, NC 28104.

Looking back on his actions Fr. Strunk had this to say: "As the Episcopal Church is not going to repent, I knew I was going to have to leave this building I had worked in for so many years to build. I was in tremendous sorrow, but I was not prepared to trade a beautiful building against my eternal soul."

http://www.all-saints-anglican.org

END

Episcopal diocese takes step to cut ties

Posted on Sun, Nov. 18, 2007

By TERRY GOODRICH
Star-Telegram staff writer

FORT WORTH -- Delegates to the Fort Worth Episcopal Diocese's annual convention took the first step Saturday to cut ties to the Episcopal Church, a move driven in part by the diocese's opposition to the ordination of women and gay men and the blessing of same-sex unions.

More than 200 clergy and lay delegates voted at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, with an overwhelming majority rejecting on first reading an amendment assenting to the authority of the Episcopal Church.

The church's 2.1 million members constitute the U.S. body of the Anglican Communion, but the national church has taken more liberal stances than the worldwide communion in the past 30 years.

Delegates also adopted on first reading an amendment affirming membership with the Anglican Communion, which has 75 million members.

They rejected on first reading an amendment stating that church and mission property within the 24-county diocese are held in trust for the Episcopal Church. Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker and his followers say property owned by parishes and missions is held in trust for the diocese through a corporation.

The second and final votes on those actions will take place at the diocese convention in 2008, diocese leaders said.

Iker urged delegates to take a firm but loving stand against those who have "strayed from the faith."

"In every age, there are those who would twist biblical truth," he said. "Tradition has become a bad word in many quarters in the Episcopal Church. It's frequently ridiculed, persecuted and dismissed as out-of-date. ... This convention is being very carefully watched to see if we have the courage of our convictions."

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church said in a letter to Iker early this month that he and his followers will "abandon Communion" if they leave the Episcopal Church and that Iker might be deposed.

National leaders say that although a diocese may appeal to be dissolved or moved to another province, it cannot leave without consent. In November 2006, national leaders rejected the Fort Worth Diocese's request to be placed under the authority of an alternative, orthodox authority other than Jefferts Schori.

Last week, the Southern Cone -- an Anglican province that includes Argentina, Chile and Bolivia -- offered to take in the Fort Worth Diocese on an emergency basis if requested. Anglican Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia visited the convention, and delegates approved a resolution calling for the diocese's standing committee to consider the invitation.

Some diocese members, including a group called Fort Worth Via Media, have remained supportive of the national church's stances. They say an attempt by the diocese to take mission and parish property would be immoral and lead to costly litigation.

A measure approved by delegates Saturday would give parishes the option to remain with the Episcopal Church if they cannot resolve their differences through meetings with the bishop and standing committee.

The Rev. Sam McClain of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Stephenville, who does not favor leaving the Episcopal Church, said those crafting the measure "had honorable intent."

"But from my perception, it's like the diocese is a big ship, and we who want to remain have got to get on the boat with you and then find ways to get back," he said.

Other dioceses taking actions to withdraw from the Episcopal Church are Pittsburgh, which gave initial approval at its Nov. 2-3 convention; and San Joaquin, Calif., which will take a second, final vote in December.

Jefferts Schori, who is at an international peace conference in Seoul, South Korea, could not be reached for comment on the diocese's actions this weekend. But in an October address in San Francisco, she said that "the job of the church is to reach ever wider to include the whole."

Convention at a glance

A look at some of the Fort Worth Diocese Convention actions Saturday, with 86 clergy delegates and 125 lay delegates attending:

Rejection of a proposed constitutional amendment that the diocese accept the authority of the Episcopal Church's General Convention: 85 percent of clergy voted to reject the amendment; 80 percent of lay delegates voted to do so.

Adoption of a constitutional amendment affirming the diocese as a member of the Anglican Communion. The amendment was proposed by the diocese's standing committee: 83 percent of clergy voted for; 77 percent of lay delegates voted for.

Rejection of a proposed amendment that parish and mission property in the diocese are held in trust for the national church. The existing constitution says that the property is held in trust by a corporation of the Fort Worth Diocese, although parish and missions are responsible for expenses and receive income from the property: 88 percent of clergy voted against; 87 percent of lay delegates voted against.

Approval of a canon change that would allow individual parishes an option to remain in the national church. It takes effect in 30 days: 88 percent of clergy voted yes; 82 percent of lay delegates voted yes.

Fort Worth Episcopals Move Toward Split

By MATT CURRY – Nov 17, 2007

DALLAS (AP) — The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth took the first steps Saturday to withdraw from the national church as part of a growing rift over Scriptural interpretation and homosexuality, giving preliminary approval to constitutional amendments.

The conservative diocese is among four of the 110 Episcopal dioceses — including Pittsburgh, San Joaquin, Calif., and Quincy, Ill. — that have approved similar measures to break away and align with an overseas Anglican leader. The dioceses contend U.S. church leadership has wrongly abandoned Scriptural authority and traditional teachings on truth, salvation and the divinity of Jesus Christ.

The Fort Worth convention followed a testy exchange of letters between the national church's presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the diocese's Bishop Jack Iker.

Jefferts Schori warned Iker that he could face discipline if he continues to back proposals to separate from the U.S. church. Iker responded by accusing her of "aggressive, dictatorial posturing."

Jefferts Schori was attending a peace conference in South Korea and had no immediate comment, said Canon Robert Williams, a spokesman for the presiding bishop.

A series of amendments relating to the split passed overwhelmingly, including an amendment that deleted reference to the authority of the Episcopal Church and replaced it with the Anglican Communion. That measure passed in votes of 69-14 by clergy and 95-28 by lay delegates.

Iker said the decision showed firmed resolve about moving forward. He said that he recognized that not everyone fully supported the decision, but that the debate was characterized by respect and honesty.

"It's important to note that the decisions made today are preliminary decisions that need to be ratified by another convention," he said.

The measures will be up for final approval at next year's convention.

The convention said the diocese wishes "to remain within the family of the Anglican Communion while dissociating itself from the moral, theological, and disciplinary innovations of the Episcopal Church."

A majority of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion holds traditional views that homosexuality is condemned by Scripture, while a majority in the Episcopal Church do not.

The division between conservatives and the Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the U.S., has sharpened since the denomination consecrated New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, in 2003.

The Episcopalians are among several denominations struggling to agree on what the Bible says about gender and sexuality. Some Episcopal leaders in Texas, including Iker, object to the ordination of women, which the denomination approved in the 1970s.

The Fort Worth diocese includes about 56 congregations in north central Texas with about 20,000 members.

Diocese of San Joaquin Invited to Join Anglican Church of the Southern Cone

November 16, 2007 02:11 PM Eastern Time

FRESNO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Diocese of San Joaquin today announced that the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of South America has extended an invitation to offer the Diocese membership on an emergency and pastoral basis.

The announcement comes three weeks before the Diocese is scheduled to hear the second and final reading of Constitutional changes first adopted on December 2, 2006. Should the second reading of the Constitutional changes be approved at the Diocesan Convention on December 8, 2007, the Diocese is free to accept the invitation to align with the Province of the Southern Cone and remain a diocese with full membership within the Anglican Communion.

According to the Rt. Rev. John-David M. Schofield, Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, “We welcome the invitation extended by the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone. The invitation assures the Diocese’s place in the Anglican Communion and full communion with the See of Canterbury.”

He added, “This is a sensible way forward and is by no means irrevocable. During the 1860’s, the Dioceses of the Southern States left the Episcopal Church and then returned after the Civil War. As the Southern Cone invitation makes clear, the Diocese may return to full communion with the Episcopal Church when circumstances change and the Episcopal Church repents and adheres to the theological, moral and pastoral norms of the Anglican Communion, and when effective and acceptable alternative primatial oversight becomes available.”

The Bishop’s pastoral letter will be read in churches of the Diocese on Sunday, November 18, 2007. For a full text of the letter, visit www.sjoaquin.net or contact Joan Gladstone, jgladstone@gladstonepr.com.

The Diocese of San Joaquin was founded as a missionary diocese in 1911 and became a full autonomous diocese in 1961. The Diocese encompasses churches in the counties of San Joaquin, Alpine, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Mono, Merced, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern and Inyo.

FT. WORTH: Diocese Will Vote on Joining Southern Cone

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
11/14/2007

The Anglo-Catholic Diocese of Ft. Worth will vote at its upcoming diocesan convention this weekend on whether or not it will join the Province of the Southern Cone under its leader the Most Rev. Gregory Venables.

A resolution has been submitted saying that the diocese intends to remain within the family of the Anglican Communion while dissociating itself from the moral, theological, and disciplinary innovations of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

If it passes, it will be the first diocese in the Episcopal Church to publicly accept the offer and protection of an orthodox Anglican province as it seeks to publicly divorce itself from The Episcopal Church.

Three other orthodox Episcopal dioceses are in varying stages of disassociation, but have not publicly said with whom they would align themselves. The Diocese of Ft. Worth said it will seek membership in the Southern Cone on an emergency and pastoral basis.

The Bishop and Standing Committee will need to prepare a report on the constitutional and canonical implications and the means for accepting this invitation.

The acceptance of the invitation comes hard on the heels of a resolution passed by the Province of the Southern Cone at their recent Provincial Synod in Chile which offered ecclesiastical cover for dioceses in the U.S. wanting it.

The resolution of the Provincial Synod of the Southern Cone of America made it clear they were doing so because of the desire of a number of Episcopal Church provinces wanting to remain faithful to the historic faith and order of the Anglican Communion. The Province recognized that a number of dioceses and parishes, clergy and laity of the Episcopal Church in the USA want to follow resolution 1.10 of the Lambeth Conference of 1998 which articulated the clear teaching of the Anglican Communion with regard to human sexuality. They said this teaching has been widely ignored by many dioceses, parishes, and clergy of the Episcopal Church in their lives and teachings. The Southern Cone delegates also acknowledged The Episcopal Church's "notorious" consecration of a bishop known to be in a homosexual relationship, an act that has torn the fabric and trust within the Communion . Given the failure of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church to give a clear and unequivocal response to the Windsor Report, the rejection by the House of Bishops and the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church to the pastoral scheme proposed by the Primates in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in February 2007, no adequate response has been made by the Episcopal Church to the questions set by the Primates in Dar es Salaam, and that a significant number of bishops have publicly expressed their intention to permit the blessing of same-sex unions, the province has offered itself as a way out for orthodox Episcopal dioceses.

Venables berated what he called "the widespread use of lawsuits and threats against dioceses and parishes, as well as bishops, clergy and laity who seek to remain faithful to the historic faith and order of the Anglican Communion."

The Episcopal Church's refusal to repent and comply with the requests of the Windsor Report, its refusal to respect the conscience of the parishes and dioceses which wish to adhere to the theological moral and pastoral norms of the Anglican Communion once held by the Episcopal Church, and because its Presiding Bishop and officers continue to pursue and intimidate these dioceses and parishes by means of lawsuits, confiscations, and depositions the Southern Cone is offering adequate effective and acceptable alternative Primatial and Episcopal oversight as recommended by the Primates in Dar es Salaam.

The orthodox province was also critical of the Archbishop of Canterbury for not taking clear action and responding effectively to the legitimate and urgent concern of the alienated parishes and dioceses of the Episcopal Church, an for not offering pastoral leadership to protect them.

Last week Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, TEC's Presiding Bishop threatened Bishop Jack Iker in a letter sent to him. She called upon Iker to recede from this direction and to lead his diocese on a new course that recognizes the interdependent and hierarchical relationship between the national Church and its dioceses and parishes. "If your course does not change, I shall regrettably be compelled to see that appropriate canonical steps are promptly taken to consider whether you have abandoned the Communion of this Church -- by actions and substantive statements, however, they may be phrased -- and whether you have committed canonical offences that warrant disciplinary action."

Iker responded saying that her threats don't frighten them. "It is highly inappropriate for you to attempt to interfere in the internal life of this diocese as we prayerfully prepare to gather in Convention. The threatening tone of your open letter makes no attempt to promote reconciliation, mediation, or even dialogue about our profound theological differences.

"Instead, it appears designed to intimidate our delegates and me, in an attempt to deter us from taking any action that opposes the direction in which you are leading our Church. It is deeply troubling that you would have me prevent the clergy and laity of this diocese from openly discussing our future place in the life of the wider Anglican Communion, as we debate a variety of proposals."

Iker accused the Presiding Bishop of misusing her office in her attempt to intimidate and manipulate the diocese.

"Your aggressive, dictatorial posturing has no place in that decision. Sadly, however, your missive will now be one of the factors that our Convention will consider as we determine the future course of this diocese for the next 25 years and beyond, under God's grace and guidance."

END

St. Jerome on the Bible

"Love Sacred Scripture and Wisdom Shall Love You"

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today at the general audience in St. Peter's Square. The reflection focused on St. Jerome.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today we continue with the presentation of St. Jerome. As we said last Wednesday, he devoted his life to the study of the Bible, for which he was acknowledged as "eminent doctor in the interpretation of sacred Scripture" by one of my predecessors, Pope Benedict XV.

Jerome underlined the joy and importance of familiarizing oneself with the biblical texts: "Don't you feel, here on Earth, that you are already in the kingdom of heaven, just by living in these texts, meditating on them, and not seeking anything else?" (Ep. 53,10).

In truth, to converse with God and with his word means to be in heaven's presence, that is to say, in God's presence. To draw close to the biblical texts, above all to the New Testament, is essential for the believer, because "ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." This is his famous sentence, also quoted by the Second Vatican Council in the constitution "Dei Verbum" (No. 25).

Truly "enchanted" by the word of God, Jerome asked himself: "How could we live without the science of Scriptures, through which we learn how to know Christ himself, who is the life of the believer?" (Ep. 30,7). Hence the Bible, the instrument "with which God speaks to the faithful every day" (Ep. 133,13), becomes catalyst and source of Christian life for all situations and for everyone.

To read Scripture is to converse with God: "If you are praying," he writes to a noble young lady from Rome, "you are speaking with the Groom; if you are reading, it is He who is speaking to you" (Ep. 22,25). The study and meditation of Scripture makes man wise and at peace (cf. In Eph., prol.). Certainly, to penetrate more deeply the word of God, a constant and increasing practice is necessary. This is what Jerome recommended to the priest Nepotian: "Read the divine Scriptures with much regularity; let the Holy Book never be laid down by your hands. Learn there what you ought to teach (Ep. 52,7)."

To the Roman matron Laeta he gave the following advice for the Christian education of her daughter: "Make sure that every day she studies some passages of Scripture. ... That she ensues from reading to praying and from praying to reading. ... Instead of loving jewelry and silk garments, may she rather love the divine books" (Ep. 107,9.12). With the meditation and the science of the Scriptures one "maintains the balance of the soul" (Ad Eph., prol.). Only through a deep spirit of prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit are we able to understand the Bible: "For the interpretation of sacred Scripture we always need the help of the Holy Spirit" (In Mich. 1,1,10,15).

A passionate love for Scripture pervaded all of Jerome's life, a love that he sought to also awaken in the faithful. To a spiritual daughter he recommended: "Love sacred Scripture and wisdom shall love you; love it tenderly, and it will protect you; honor it and you shall receive its caresses. Let it mean to you as much as your necklaces and your earrings mean to you" (Ep. 130,20). And again: "Love the science of Scripture, and you shall not love the vices of the flesh" (Ep. 125,11).

A fundamental criterion Jerome used to interpret Scripture was to be in tune with the magisterium of the Church. Alone we are not able to read Scripture. We find too many closed doors and we are easily mistaken. The Bible was written by the people of God, for the people of God, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Only in communion with the people of God can we truly enter the core of the truth that God intends to convey us.

For him an authentic interpretation of the Bible always had to be in harmony with the faith of the Catholic Church. This is not an external requirement imposed on the book. The book itself is the voice of the people of God in pilgrimage, and only in the faith of these people we find the right frame of mind to understand sacred Scripture. Hence Jerome warned: "Stay firmly attached to the traditional doctrine that has been taught to you, so that you can preach according to the right doctrine and refute those who contradict it" (Ep. 52,7).

In particular, given that Jesus Christ founded his Church on Peter, he concluded that every Christian has to be in communion "with the chair of St. Peter. I know that on this stone the Church is built" (Ep. 15,2). Consequently, he declared: "I am with whoever is united to the chair of St. Peter" (Ep. 16).

Jerome obviously does not neglect the ethical side. Rather often he recalls the duty of reconciling life with the divine word, and that only by living it we manage to understand it. Such coherence is necessary for every Christian, especially for the preacher, to ensure that his actions are not a source of embarrassment when conflicting with his speech. So he urges the priest Nepotian: "Let not your actions deny your words, so that when you preach in church someone won't be able to say: 'Why don't you act this way?' Interesting is the teacher who, with his belly full, preaches about fasting -- even a thief can condemn greed -- but for the priest of Christ the mind and word have to match" (Ep. 52,7).

In another letter Jerome confirms: "Even when mastering a wonderful doctrine, he who is condemned by his own conscience will be shamed" (Ep. 127,4). Always in terms of coherence, he observes, the Gospel has to translate into attitudes of true charity, because in every human being Christ is present. For instance, when addressing Paulinus (who became bishop of Nola and then a saint), Jerome advises: "The true temple of Christ is the soul of the faithful: adorn this sanctuary, embellish it, put your offerings in it and receive Christ. To what purpose do you adorn walls with precious stones, if Christ starves in the person of the poor?" (Ep. 58,7).

Jerome continues: It is necessary "to dress Christ among the poor, to visit him among the suffering, to nourish him among the starving, to host him among the homeless" (Ep. 130,14). The love for Christ, fed with study and meditation, makes us overcome any difficulty: "We love Jesus Christ, we always search the union with him: then all that is difficult will seem easy" (Ep. 22,40).

Jerome, defined as "a model of conduct and a master of the human kind" by Prosper of Aquitaine ("Carmen de Ingratis," 57), also left us a rich teaching on Christian asceticism. He reminds us that a courageous engagement toward perfection requires a constant alertness, frequent mortifications, even if with moderation and caution, an assiduous intellectual or manual work to avoid idleness (cf. Epp. 125.11 and 130,15), and above all obedience to God: "Nothing pleases God as much as obedience. ... That is the most outstanding and the sole virtue" (Hom. De oboedientia: CCL 78,552).

The practice of pilgrimages can be included in the ascetic path. In particular, Jerome promoted pilgrimages to the Holy Land, where pilgrims were welcomed and accommodated in the buildings built near Bethlehem's monastery, thanks to the generosity of the noblewoman Paula, Jerome's spiritual daughter (cf. Ep. 108,14).

Finally, we have to mention Jerome's contribution to Christian pedagogy (cf. Epp. 107 and 128). He proposes to form "a soul that has to become the temple of the Lord " (Ep. 107,4), a "most precious gem" to the eyes of God (Ep. 107,13). With deep intuition he suggests to protect the soul from evil and from sinful events, to exclude equivocal or wasteful friendships (cf. Ep. 107.4 and 8-9; cf also Ep. 128,3-4).

Above all, he urges parents to create an environment of serenity and joy around the children, to encourage them to study and work, also through praise and emulation (cf. Epp. 107,4 and 128,1), to encourage them to overcome difficulties, to nurture in them good habits and protect them from bad ones because -- here he quotes a phrase that Publilius Syrus had heard as a schoolboy -- "you will barely succeed to correct those things that you are getting used to do" (Ep. 107,8).

Parents are the primary educators for children, their first life teachers. Addressing himself to the mother of a girl and then turning to the father, Jerome warns, with much clarity, as if to express a fundamental requirement of every human creature who comes into existence: "May she find in you her teacher, and may her inexperienced childhood look at you with wonder. May she never see, neither in you nor in her father, any actions that, if imitated, could lead her to sin. Remember that ... you can educate her more with the example than with the word" (Ep. 107,9).

Among Jerome's main intuitions as a pedagogue we must underline the importance attributed to a healthy and complete education from infancy, as well as the special responsibility acknowledged as belonging to parents, the urgency of a serious moral and religious education, and the need of study for a more complete human formation.

Moreover, a vital aspect retained by the author but disregarded in ancient times is the promotion of the woman, to whom he acknowledges the right to a complete education: human, academic, religious, professional. We actually see today that the true condition to any progress, peace, reconciliation and exclusion of violence is the education of the person in its entirety and the education in responsibility before God and before man. Sacred Scripture offers us the guidance of education and of true humanism.

We cannot conclude these rapid notes on the great Father of the Church without mentioning his effective contribution to the safeguard of the positive and valid elements of ancient Israeli, Greek and Roman cultures in the rising Christian civilization. Jerome recognized and assimilated the artistic values, the rich feelings and harmonic images of the classics, which educate heart and fantasy to noble feelings.

Above all, he put the word of God at the center of his life and actions, a word that shows to man the paths of life and discloses the secrets of holiness. Today we can't be but deeply grateful to Jerome for all this.

[Translation by ZENIT]

[After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims in six languages. In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In this week's catechesis we continue our reflections on Saint Jerome, the priest and scholar who was responsible for the Latin translation of the Bible known as the Vulgate. Convinced that "ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ", Jerome everywhere urged the daily, prayerful study of the word of God. He insisted that the correct interpretation of the Scriptures demands not only the interior assistance of the Holy Spirit but also conformity to the Church's authoritative teaching. Jerome stressed the importance for all Christians, but especially for preachers, of ensuring that their lives accord with the ethical teaching offered in the sacred texts. Devotion to the word of God also shaped Jerome's ascetic doctrine, which emphasized the virtue of obedience and encouraged the pious practice of pilgrimage, particularly to the Holy Land. Finally, by his spiritual counsel, especially to parents, he emphasized the importance of a broad and disciplined Christian education for the young, including women. Jerome's integration of the enduring values of classical civilization and the wisdom of the inspired word of God made him one of the great figures of the emerging Christian culture of late antiquity.

I am pleased to greet the English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience, especially those from England, Denmark, Japan, Canada and the United States of America. I greet especially the Sisters of Saint Anne of Tiruchirapalli, who are preparing to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of their foundation. Upon all of you I cordially invoke an abundance of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Bishop Iker responds to Mrs Schori

(Title withheld in this blog) Katharine Jefferts Schori
815 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Dear Katharine,

I have received your letter of November 8th and am rather surprised by your suggestion that I have somehow abandoned the communion of the church and may be subject to ecclesiastical discipline. Such a charge is baseless. I have abandoned nothing, and I have violated no canons. Every year at our Chrism Mass, I very happily reaffirm my ordination vows, along with all our clergy, that I will be “loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them.” (BCP, pages 526 and 538)

It is highly inappropriate for you to attempt to interfere in the internal life of this diocese as we prayerfully prepare to gather in Convention. The threatening tone of your open letter makes no attempt to promote reconciliation, mediation, or even dialogue about our profound theological differences. Instead, it appears designed to intimidate our delegates and me, in an attempt to deter us from taking any action that opposes the direction in which you are leading our Church. It is deeply troubling that you would have me prevent the clergy and laity of this diocese from openly discussing our future place in the life of the wider Anglican Communion, as we debate a variety of proposals. As you well know, the polity of this Church requires the full participation of the clergy and lay orders, not just bishops, in the decision making process. It grieves me that as the Presiding Bishop you would misuse your office in an attempt to intimidate and manipulate this diocese.

While I do not wish to meet antagonism with antagonism, I must remind you that 25 years ago this month, the newly formed Diocese of Fort Worth voluntarily voted to enter into union with the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. If circumstances warrant it, we can likewise, by voluntary vote, terminate that relationship. Your aggressive, dictatorial posturing has no place in that decision. Sadly, however, your missive will now be one of the factors that our Convention will consider as we determine the future course of this diocese for the next 25 years and beyond, under God’s grace and guidance.

In closing, let me be very clear. While your threats deeply sadden us, they do not frighten us. We will continue to stand firm for the unchanging truth of the Holy Scriptures and the redeeming Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whatever the costs. I shall continue to pray for you, as I trust you will pray for me, in the difficult days ahead.

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

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

Mrs Schori's Letter

8 November 2007

The Rt. Rev. Jack Iker
The Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth
2900 Alemeda Street
Fort Worth, TX 76108

Dear Jack,

As you are undoubtedly aware, it is my view that recent amendments to your Diocese's constitution violate the Constitutional requirement that the Diocese maintain an "unqualified accession" to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church. I have now reviewed several proposed constitutional amendments that will be considered at your forthcoming diocesan convention. It is evident to me that several of these proposed changes would further violate the Church's Constitution, while some other proposed changes would undo the problems created by the earlier amendments. It is clear from your public statements and from what I understand your position to be regarding these matters that you endorse the first set of changes. Your statements and actions in recent months demonstrate an intention to lead your diocese into a position that would purportedly permit it to depart from the Episcopal Church. All these efforts, in my view, display a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between The Episcopal Church and its dioceses.

I call upon you to recede from this direction and to lead your diocese on a new course that recognizes the interdependent and hierarchical relationship between the national Church and its dioceses and parishes. That relationship is at the heart of our mission, as expressed in our polity. Specifically, I sincerely hope that you will change your position and urge your diocese at its forthcoming convention to adopt the proposed amendments that will bring the Diocese's constitution into agreement with the Church's Constitution and Canons.

If your course does not change, I shall regrettably be compelled to see that appropriate canonical steps are promptly taken to consider whether you have abandoned the Communion of this Church -- by actions and substantive statements, however, they may be phrased -- and whether you have committed canonical offences that warrant disciplinary action.

It grieves me that any bishop of this Church would seek to lead any of its members out of it. I would remind you of my open offer of an Episcopal Visitor if you wish to receive pastoral care from another bishop. I continue to pray for reconciliation of this situation, and I remain

Your servant in Christ,
Katharine Jefferts Schori

Jackie Bruchi
Dissecting The Diocese Of Upper South Carolina Budget


You may recall that the Diocese of Upper South Carolina voted on their budget (or Statement of Mission as their bishop calls it) last week. I took another look and while the numbers add up they don't make much sense. South Carolina is my home state and if it grieves me to see them make such terrible choices, I can only imagine how those who must live with this budget feel. After contacting a few friends in the Diocese, here are some comments worth noting:


The Annual Convention delegates have increased the budget (Statement of Mission or SOM) by 2.7% to $2,846,709. Congregation quotas, which make up 98.3% of the income, are projected to increase by 2.5%. These percentages would be normal inflationary amounts if these were ordinary times, but these are times of struggle in The Episcopal Church.

The membership must be wondering if the capitulation to 815 is symbolic of the choices this bishop will make as the future unfolds. Is the enormous increase in the budgeted pledge to the national church symbolic of the current relationship of the diocese/bishop to the national church/presiding bishop? Sources in the Diocese state that the bishop has made repeated appeals for this increase and convention delegates stepped right up to the plate sweeping aside the one amendment offered. Giving to TEC goes from $272,974 to $412,396--an increase of $139,422 (51%). Yes, you read it right. No typos. The next largest dollar increase was $26,121.

Giving to TEC will now amount to 14.7% of the money contributed by congregations (unless the membership have a moment or two of clarity). 2.6% of member contributions go to the national church treasury unless the member has worked out an alternative arrangement with their congregation. Yes, that was a hint.

A member of the Diocese put it this way:
One distressing thing about this is how little the bishop paid attention to the unified message from the same delegates in their regional Convocation meetings to prioritize the SOM. According the the Diocese's own summary analysis, the delegates ranked the national church pledge pledge fifth from the bottom out of 75 specific line items. It makes the claim that we have a grass-roots process ring a bit hollow. It will be very hard to convince veteran delegates to participate in that process next year.

The second largest category dollar increase--$45,902--goes for salaries and benefits for all personnel (including the bishop). This is a 6% increase across the board.
2008 stipend and housing will now be as follows:
-Bishop $125,564
-Canon to the Ordinary $87,980
-Canon for Youth $48,649

The next highest dollar increase is a new item--The Millenium Development Goals of the United Nations for $19,927.

A large increase in the travel allowance for the Canon to the Ordinary (from $6,500 to $18,000) was not explained in Convention.

These increases in expenditures total $216,751 but the total increase of the SOM is only $75,935. How did they balance the budget you ask? Good question and the answer is pretty depressing:


The difference of $140,816 almost exactly matches the reduction in giving to mission churches ($140,000). Expect the following explanations to be given. $100,000 was realized by removing the failed All Soul's Mission in Columbia. No new major church plant was discussed at Convention. St. Philip's, Greenville, did not renew a request for $22,328. The remaining $17,672 was from reductions to existing mission churches--some very historic. These churches struggle from year to year and it is a shame that the guidance and message from our diocese has not helped reverse their losses. A promising new infusion of leadership and people at St. Augustine's, Aiken, was not enough to open the way for their request for a boost in support with a near-term goal of becoming self-supporting. They were reduced $7,073--the fourth largest reduction in the SOM.

The mission pictured in the Statement of Mission is of a diocese that has become quiescent toward the direction of the national church in divisive issues, is giving full financial support to TEC, is taking pretty good financial care of its staff, is making token efforts in mission with Hispanics in our area, but is cutting off its historic missions and not pushing forward with new church-starts in a time of noteworthy population growth in several of our population centers.

Seems pretty clear who Bishop Henderson expects to make up that 2.5% increase.

It brings to mind an image from my childhood. My mother believed that Black Draught and castor oil (yes, it's as disgusting as it sounds) cured everything. Mom would tell me there were no choices - just hold my nose and swallow. The bishop might want to consider that the times - they are a changing. People are much more vocal these days.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted November 09, 2007 at 9:00 am
The URL for this article is http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/7464/


©2007 Stand Firm, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission to copy and distribute free of charge is granted, provided this notice, the logo, and the web site address are visible on all copies. For permission for use in for-profit publications, please email contact@standfirminfaith.com.

Traditionalist pressure mounts on Anglican Communion

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

PARIS (Reuters) - Traditionalist Anglican leaders have stepped up pressure on their deeply split Communion by urging it to postpone its consultative conference and pledging more support for rebels against liberal local churches.

Nine leaders from the "Global South", known as primates, want to delay the Lambeth Conference, a 10-yearly assembly due in 2008, and hold an emergency summit of primates to resolve a crisis sparked by a gay bishop being named in the United States.

Also this week, two leading traditionalist archbishops -- Peter Akinola in Nigeria and Gregory Venables in Argentina -- vowed to continue to defend parishes and dioceses seeking to leave the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of Anglicanism.

Four Episcopal dioceses are considering switching allegiance to foreign primates in protest against their church's support for gay bishop Gene Robinson, despite threats of disciplinary action from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

"We reject the religion of accommodation and cultural conformity that offers neither transforming power nor eternal hope," said a statement signed by nine primates from Africa and Asia who also called for a delay in the Lambeth Conference.

The statement, dated October 30 but only posted on Wednesday on the traditionalist website Global South Anglican, added that primates from developing countries -- where traditionalist stands are strongest -- should hold their own summit next year.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the world's 77 million Anglicans, has been struggling to keep the loose group of 38 church provinces together despite the traditionalist rebellion against liberal Western churches.

UNDERMINING ANGLICAN STRUCTURES

The dispute has split both the Communion and some Western churches, where vocal minorities are seeking support from the Global South leaders. Letting dioceses choose which primate to follow undermines Anglicanism's regional structure.

Venables, archbishop of the Southern Cone of South America, said in an interview his province had agreed to provide oversight for U.S. dioceses that quit the Episcopal Church.

"Conservatives in America and elsewhere cannot wait in limbo any longer. They need a safe haven now," he told the Daily Telegraph in London. "The new realignment demonstrates the depths of the divisions that already exist."

Traditionalists are increasingly invoking Martin Luther, the German monk who triggered the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. "We are facing a similar situation today," Akinola said in an open letter to fellow primates issued on Wednesday.

Bishop Robert Duncan, whose Pittsburgh diocese voted last week to realign with a foreign primate, responded to the threat of Episcopal Church disciplinary action with Luther's famous quote: "Here I stand, I can do no other."

The Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a Virginia-based breakaway group linked to Nigeria, has announced that Akinola will consecrate four new bishops there in early December. CANA has two American bishops and one from Nigeria.

At the same time, liberals in the United States and Canada continue to campaign for their churches to allow blessings for same-sex unions, another policy the traditionalists reject.

A lesbian priest, Rev. Tracey Lind, is one of eight candidates in the vote this weekend for the next bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Chicago. Her election would further divide the Communion, but she is apparently not a frontrunner.

Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal reaches 7 million

Posted On : November 8, 2007 5:17 PM | England
ACNS:4335

Just over a year after its public launch, the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal has reached the £7 million mark. The Appeal, established to fund an extensive conservation and development programme, has made good progress during its first year enabling the first phases of critical conservation work to be carried out.

During this year, the work underway includes:

* a significant amount of stone conservation on the eastern side of the South East Transept. This has involved a complex cleaning operation to remove the black sulphate crust that has built up on much of the external walls and replace damaged stonework. The work has also included the replacement of cement mortar with mortar made from lime putty, sand and stone dust. Repairs have also been carried out to the leaking roofs over the chapels of Saint Gregory and Saint John.

* similar work on the upper levels of the south side of the Corona. A significant amount of cleaning has already been undertaken and the stonemasons will be spending much of the winter carving new stones.

* installation of protective glazing on a panel of the South Oculus window in the South East Transept and the fitting of special environmental monitoring equipment to measure the effects of atmospheric changes to the Cathedral's stained glass. The photogrammetry monitoring exercise will last 12 months until 2008 and allows the glass conservationists to measure the most minute distortions of the stained glass panels. Work is also underway to remove corrosion from and clean the panel of the South Oculus.

* extensive refurbishment of the choristers' boarding house including new music practice rooms. It is expected that the choristers will move back in the middle of 2008.

Following its high profile launch in October 2006, the Appeal quickly settled down to business and has been attracting donations both locally and from overseas. The Appeal is also gaining increased support from business and a number of grant-making Trusts and Foundations.

Commenting on this new milestone, Brigadier David Innes, Chief Executive of the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal said "An enormous amount of progress has been made during the year both in terms of fundraising and the important conservation work. Although it is still early days, the work that has been taking place at the Cathedral over the past year shows how right the decision was to launch this important Appeal to ensure that this magnificent national treasure can be enjoyed by generations to come."

Other highlights for the year have included:

* The return of Caen stone for use in stone replacement for the first time in over 100 years. Caen stone is no stranger to Canterbury Cathedral. Much of the original pale stonework of the Cathedral is from the Plain de Caen in northern France, some of it dating back to medieval times. However, a shortage of supply at the end of the 19th century meant that the Cathedral stone masons had to source stone from elsewhere, much of it of inferior quality to or a poor match for the Caen. The team of stonemasons are starting to use the new stone in the work on the Corona.

* The launch of Sponsor a Stone and Sponsor a Lead Tile schemes enabling supporters to play a personal part in this historic project.

* A 2,000 kilometre sponsored cycle from Canterbury to Rome in aid of the Appeal. This spectacular feat was undertaken by 27 enthusiastic, but not professional, cyclists who climbed over 70,000 feet (several times higher than Mount Everest) during their 16 day venture, endured temperatures ranging from 5-46 degrees centigrade and emerged with only 12 punctures and few injuries. The team raised over £100,000 in sponsorship much of which will go to the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal but will also be shared with other local, national and international charities.

The Christmas period will be a busy one for the Appeal with a week of Christmas Giving planned for early December, a concert on 10th December given by internationally renowned conductor Harry Christophers and the Sixteen in the Cathedral, and the draw of the Stevenson Brothers Rocking Horse Raffle on 14th December. A number of events are planned for 2008.

For more information on the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal please contact 01227 865346 or email the team on fundraisingcampaign@canterbury-cathedral.org or alternatively visit the website at www.savecanterburycathedral.com

End

Notes for editors:

* The attached newsletter provides an update on the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal.

* It costs over £12,000 each day to run Canterbury Cathedral. It receives minimal external funding and is dependent on its own resources and donations for funding.

* In 2006 over one million people came to Canterbury Cathedral

* It was founded in 597 by St Augustine, who was sent from Rome by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons. It is the oldest institution in the country

* In 1170 Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral by four knights, who acted on the words of Kind Henry II "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" Within 3 years, Thomas Becket had been made a saint and Canterbury became one of the leading pilgrimage centres of Europe

* King Henry VIII destroyed the Shrine of Thomas Becket in 1538

* Canterbury Cathedral has long been associated with literature. The Canterbury Tales were written by Chaucer following a pilgrimage to the Cathedral. Christopher Marlowe was educated here. More recently T.S. Eliot and Dorothy L Sayers wrote plays performed in the Cathedral's Chapter House

* The Cathedral houses the finest 12th Century stained glass in the UK. The Quire is the earliest Gothic building in the country and the Cathedral has leading examples of every type of Gothic architecture

* Canterbury and Durham are the only two cathedrals in the UK that are World Heritage Sites. Other World Heritage Sites include the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China

___________________________________________________________________
ACNSlist, published by Anglican Communion News Service, London, is distributed to more than 8,000 journalists and other readers around the world.

Communique of the Global South Primates, Shanghai, October 30, 2007

November 8, 2007 4:55 PM | ACNS:4334

1. The visit of the Global South Primates to the People's Republic of China has given us an opportunity to meet and reflect on the present situation facing the Anglican Communion and what we have to do to move forward while remaining grounded in the Word of God and preserving its catholicity and apostolicity.

2. We are saddened that all the decisions and recommendations made at the several meetings of the Primates since 2003 and the Windsor Report have not been duly respected. In view of the current crisis, it is imperative to call for faithfulness to the Word and the tradition we have received, and move to build up a momentum for the transformation of our common life. We see the crisis as a call to an Anglican renewal of faith as part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, and to move forward in mission and evangelism within the wider church and the world.

3. Since the colonial past, no consolidation of the essence of communion has been made on the part of the Mother Church and of the churches in the West. What is at stake is the very nature of Anglicanism - not just about sexuality but also about the nature of Christ, the truth of the Gospel and the authority of the Bible. We reject the religion of accommodation and cultural conformity that offers neither transforming power nor eternal hope.

4. There is today an urge to reject subservience and call for mutual responsibility. The Instruments of Communion should be given the needed attention so that they can really enable mutual respect and faithfulness to what holds us together - the faith once delivered to the saints. Our call is to work towards the equipping of God's people so that we can be a faithful people of God and for God.

5. We are experiencing a sense of belonging in the spirit of communion in the Global South. This strengthens the structures that facilitate cooperation, conversation and accountability.

6. It is clear to us that the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church
(TEC) has not given an unequivocal response to the requests of the Primates at Dar es Salaam. Therefore we affirm the conclusion that the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) has reached in the communiqué of their meeting in Mauritius in October 2007 that "a change in direction from our current trajectory is urgently needed" because "we want unity but not unity at any expense".

7. In view of our desire to move forward:

7.1 We call for an urgent meeting of the Primates to receive and conclude the draft Anglican Covenant and to determine how the Communion should move forward;

7.2 We urge that the proposed Lambeth Conference 2008 be postponed to a later date when bishops of all the provinces in the Communion can participate in a spirit of true collegiality and unity in the faith;

7.3 We request the Steering Committee to start preparations for the 4th Encounter of the Global South in 2008;

7.4 We receive with thanks the report of the Economic Empowerment Consultation in Accra, Ghana, in September 2007, and encourage the Task Force to continue to develop programmes to help our churches to be increasingly self-supporting;

7.5 We commend the work of the Theological Education and Formation Task Force, especially the drafting of the Anglican Catechism in Outline (ACIO), and urge our dioceses to make it available to all strata of leadership in preparation for its formal adoption in the first quarter of 2008;

7.6 We call upon bishops of the Global South and the Anglican Communion to write to their churches to explain the current situation and ask them to pray for the Communion at this crucial time which would lead to reformation and transformation.

8. We give thanks to God for the life and ministry of the following Primates who will be retiring in 2007 and we pray that they will have a blessed retirement:

* Most Rev Ignacio Capuyan Soliba (Philippines)

* Most Rev Samuel San Si Htay (Myanmar)

* Most Rev Dr Bernard Amos Malango (Central Africa)

* Most Rev Njongonkulu Ndungane (Southern Africa).

"I... urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." (Jude 3)

Signed by:

Most Rev Dr Peter J. Akinola (Nigeria)
Most Rev Dr Bernard Amos Malango (Central Africa)
Most Rev Dr John Chew Hiang Chea (South East Asia)
Most Rev Ian Ernest (Indian Ocean)
Most Rev Dr Mouneer Hanna Anis (Jerusalem and the Middle East)
Most Rev Emmanuel Musaba Kolini (Rwanda)
Most Rev Justice Ofei Akrofi (West Africa)
Most Rev Henry Luke Orombi (Uganda)
Most Rev Dr Fidèle Dirokpa (Congo)

___________________________________________________________________
ACNSlist, published by Anglican Communion News Service, London, is distributed to more than 8,000 journalists and other readers around the world.

Global South Primates Call for Postponement of Lambeth

http://tinyurl.com/38kq7p
November 7, 2007

1. The visit of the Global South Primates to the People's Republic of China has given us an opportunity to meet and reflect on the present situation facing the Anglican Communion and what we have to do to move forward while remaining grounded in the Word of God and preserving its catholicity and apostolicity.

2. We are saddened that all the decisions and recommendations made at the several meetings of the Primates since 2003 and the Windsor Report have not been duly respected. In view of the current crisis, it is imperative to call for faithfulness to the Word and the tradition we have received, and move to build up a momentum for the transformation of our common life. We see the crisis as a call to an Anglican renewal of faith as part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, and to move forward in mission and evangelism within the wider church and the world.

3. Since the colonial past, no consolidation of the essence of communion has been made on the part of the Mother Church and of the churches in the West. What is at stake is the very nature of Anglicanism - not just about sexuality but also about the nature of Christ, the truth of the Gospel and the authority of the Bible. We reject the religion of accommodation and cultural conformity that offers neither transforming power nor eternal hope.

4. There is today an urge to reject subservience and call for mutual responsibility. The Instruments of Communion should be given the needed attention so that they can really enable mutual respect and faithfulness to what holds us together - the faith once delivered to the saints. Our call is to work towards the equipping of God's people so that we can be a faithful people of God and for God.

5. We are experiencing a sense of belonging in the spirit of communion in the Global South. This strengthens the structures that facilitate cooperation, conversation and accountability.

6. It is clear to us that the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church (TEC) has not given an unequivocal response to the requests of the Primates at Dar es Salaam. Therefore we affirm the conclusion that the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) has reached in the communique of their meeting in Mauritius in October 2007 that "a change in direction from our current trajectory is urgently needed" because "we want unity but not unity at any expense".

7. In view of our desire to move forward:

7.1 We call for an urgent meeting of the Primates to receive and conclude the draft Anglican Covenant and to determine how the Communion should move forward;

7.2 We urge that the proposed Lambeth Conference 2008 be postponed to a later date when bishops of all the provinces in the Communion can participate in a spirit of true collegiality and unity in the faith;

7.3 We request the Steering Committee to start preparations for the 4th Encounter of the Global South in 2008;

7.4 We receive with thanks the report of the Economic Empowerment Consultation in Accra, Ghana, in September 2007, and encourage the Task Force to continue to develop programmes to help our churches to be increasingly self-supporting;

7.5 We commend the work of the Theological Education and Formation Task Force, especially the drafting of the Anglican Catechism in Outline (ACIO), and urge our dioceses to make it available to all strata of leadership in preparation for its formal adoption in the first quarter of 2008;

7.6 We call upon bishops of the Global South and the Anglican Communion to write to their churches to explain the current situation and ask them to pray for the Communion at this crucial time which would lead to reformation and transformation.

8. We give thanks to God for the life and ministry of the following Primates who will be retiring in 2007 and we pray that they will have a blessed retirement:

* Most Rev Ignacio Capuyan Soliba (Philippines)
* Most Rev Samuel San Si Htay (Myanmar)
* Most Rev Dr Bernard Amos Malango (Central Africa)
* Most Rev Njongonkulu Ndungane (Southern Africa).

"I... urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." (Jude 3)

Signed by:

Most Rev Dr Peter J. Akinola (Nigeria)
Most Rev Dr Bernard Amos Malango (Central Africa)
Most Rev Dr John Chew Hiang Chea (South East Asia)
Most Rev Ian Ernest (Indian Ocean)
Most Rev Dr Mouneer Hanna Anis (Jerusalem and the Middle East)
Most Rev Emmanuel Musaba Kolini (Rwanda)
Most Rev Justice Ofei Akrofi (West Africa)
Most Rev Henry Luke Orombi (Uganda)
Most Rev Dr Fidèle Dirokpa (Congo)