A NEW FEDERATION FOR ANGLICAN MINISTRY IN AMERICA EMERGES

private discussion list | 6 December 2003 | Rev. Todd H. Wetzel

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

From the Rev. Todd H. Wetzel, Executive Director, Anglicans United

PO Box 763217, Dallas, TX 75376-3217

Phone: 1-800-553-3645, Email: anglicansunited@sbcglobal.net

A NEW FEDERATION FOR ANGLICAN MINISTRY IN AMERICA EMERGES

December 2, 2003 etched a memorable picture into the story of Anglicanism on the American shore. Over twenty bishops and two archbishops, as well as 37 individuals representing various strains of Anglicanism in America, came together in Orlando to begin a common commitment to do mission collaboratively via a new federation. The document and their signatures are attached.

The Rev. Todd H. Wetzel, Executive Director of Anglicans United, the sponsoring organization remarked, “At a 1991 gathering of various priests and bishops from the Continuum, I envisioned a meeting marking a convergence of groups whose departure from the Episcopal Church dates back to the first split off of evangelicals under Bishop Cummins in 1873 (the Reformed Episcopal Church). The first exploratory meeting of leadership in the Continuum was held 3 years ago, with a Congress last December in Atlanta. A second leadership meeting was held in April 2003 in Atlanta. Now the necessary pieces and relationships exist and a! proposed Federation can arise.”

“Anglicans United (formerly Episcopalians United for Revelation, Reformation and Renewal) sponsored the event, underwrote the cost and coordinated the speakers. The inter-communion was real, as bishops and representatives from the Reformed Episcopal Church, the Anglican Province of America, Forward in Faith, the Anglican Mission in America, the International Communion of Charismatic Episcopal Churches, ECUSA, the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches and several other jurisdictions met Dec 1-3 at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando.

“In the transition from Episcopalians United to Anglicans United, a higher profile board was required. The Most Rev. Leonard Riches, Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, is the newly elected chairman of our Board, serving along with the Presiding Bishop from the Anglican Province of America, the Most Rev. Walter Grundorf. Other bishops from the REC, the A.P.A., representatives from Forward in Faith, NA, Ekklesia and 4 laity from ECUSA now comprise our Board.

“Because of the meeting just concluded, we have access to good Anglican parishes that we did not know about in the past. They fall under Anglican jurisdiction outside of the Episcopal Church. If you’re trapped in a difficult ECUSA parish situation or are ready to start a new parish, we have contacts for you that can help you do this. Call our office at 1-800-553-3645 for more information.”

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CONCERNING ARTICLES OF FEDERATION FOR ANGLICAN JURISDICTIONS AND MINISTRIES IN NORTH AMERICA

Preamble: While the High Priestly prayer of Jesus makes it clear that the will of God is that His people enjoy the unity that is modeled in the Trinity of God. The regrettable reality is a history of fracture and division. We acknowledge and confess our sin and inability to heal the wounds in the church caused by our prideful divisions. Having made this confession, we seek in prayerful humility, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to restore a heartfelt faith in love of the Triune God as revealed in Scripture, lived out through proclamation, discipleship and devoted humble service. In obedience to Jesus Christ, we seek to respond to His call to unity in the following commitments:

We share a commitment to and understanding of Anglican Identity that includes:

· The supremacy of Biblical Authority that rises out of relationship with Christ, who is the Living Word of God.

· The necessity to conform to the historic formularies of Anglicanism in faith, worship and discipleship, including Prayer Book worship and Ordinal (three-fold) historic ministry.

· Three Creeds and four undisputed Ecumenical Councils

· The momentum of authentic Anglicanism to work and move toward unity with those who share these values.

· Solidarity with faithful Anglicans of the Global South holds spiritual importance to our common witness and could prove to be more significant than direct communion with Canterbury.

We are committed to Gospel initiatives which include:

· Biblically faithful and properly ordered worship which honors God in Word and Sacrament.

· Clear evangelistic preaching that is ordered to bring people into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in a godly community of faith.

· Practical ministries that faithfully manifest care and offer opportunities for discipleship development.

We are committed to collaborative unity to cooperate for mission and ministry to be conformed to Christ and called to:

· Invest the energy and resources necessary to build commitment to one another.

· Mutual recognition of the legitimacy of ministries of the others sharing a commitment to federation.

· A commitment to celebrate each other’s various redemptive gifts.

· A commitment to honor historic disciplines of worship and differing perspectives concerning ordination. (We appreciate the contribution of the substantive study The Report of the Study Concerning the Ordination of Women of the Anglican Mission in America.)

· An openness to work through the complexities of overlapping jurisdictions, even to surrender or merge jurisdictions where appropriate.

· A willingness to surrender prerogatives, position, or even offices where strategically warranted to serve Gospel purposes.

We long for the day when our expression of unity in Christ fully honors God’s call to us to be one in Him.

Practical Steps:

1. We commend the federation document already approved by the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America as a practical way forward.

2. We commit ourselves to enhanced mutual accountability through an annual Anglican Congress in North America and other regional gatherings.

3. Having approved in principle the formation of this federation, and having committed ourselves to a series of practical steps for its implementation, we invite likeminded Anglicans in North America to join us.

Signed on December 3, 2003:

The Rev. Nicholas Marziani, Jr. ECUSA

The Rev. Dr. Rodney A. Whitacre, REC, Professor, Trinity School for Ministry

Mr. David S. Arnott, APA Lay Representative

The Very Rev. Erich A. Zwingert, SSC, APA

The Rt. Rev. John H. Rodgers, Jr., AMiA

Mr. Steven G. Brightwell, National Director, for The Church Army, USA

The Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf, Presiding Bishop, for the Anglican Province of America

The Rev. Father Chandler Holder Jones, Anglican Province of America

The Rev. Canon David R. Mosher, ECUSA

The Rev. Willie J. Hill, Jr, Reformed Episcopal Church

The Rev. Canon J. Ronald Moock, Dean, Cummins Theological Seminary; Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of the Southeast, Reformed Episcopal Church

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Steven W. Raulerson, Bishop Suffragan, the province of St. Peter, The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches

The Rt. Rev. Richard J. Boyce, Diocese of the West, Anglican Province of America

The Rev. Jane K. Brock, ECUSA

The Most Rev. Dr. Russell McClanahan, Presiding Bishop, for The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches

The Rev. Canon Dr. Mark A. Pearson, representative for Anglican Affairs of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church

Mr. William E. Ward, ECUSA

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ray R. Sutton, Bishop of the Midwest, Reformed Episcopal Church

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Chopin Cusachs, American Anglican Convocation

The Rt. Rev. Larry L. Shaver, Diocese of St. Augustine, Anglican Province of America

The Rev. Canon Rufus Kite-Powell, Anglican Province of America

The Rt. Rev. Clyde C. Brewer, Suffragan Bishop, Diocese of the Eastern U.S., Anglican Province of America

The Very Rev. David B. Collins, ECUSA

The Rev. Father William H. Ilgenfritz, ECUSA, Forward in Faith, North America

Lay Canon Carolyn C. Fouse, ECUSA, Forward in Faith, North America

The Rev. Richard Kew, ECUSA

The Rt. Rev. James C. West, Sr., Diocese of the Southeast, Reformed Episcopal Church

The Rt. Rev. Royal Grote, Reformed Episcopal Church

The Rev. Travis S. Boline, ECUSA

The Rev. Canon Michael E. Hesse, AMiA

The Rev. Charles A. Collins, Jr, S.B.R., Reformed Episcopal Church

Mr. George L. Hooper, ECUSA

The Rev. Douglas McCurry, ECUSA

The Rev. Dr. David L. Moyer, President, for Forward in Faith, North America, ECUSA

The Very Rev. Dr. James W. Reber, Dean, Florida Convocation, Reformed Episcopal Church

The Rev. Shedrick E. Barrow, Reformed Episcopal Church

The Most Rev. Leonard W. Riches, Presiding Bishop, for The Reformed Episcopal Church

The Rev. Canon Dr. Bill Atwood, General Secretary, for the Ekklesia Society, ECUSA

The Rev. Todd H. Wetzel, Executive Director, for Anglicans United and Latimer Press, ECUSA

Mr. William A. Bugg, Jr., ECUSA

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Ping.

[r9etb]

Mr. William A. Bugg, Jr., ECUSA

Mr. Bugg has all of a sudden been showing up in some of these stories, and was also a speaker at the Orlando meeting. Who is this guy, and what are his qualifications?

Mr. Bugg is a managing director for Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate concern -- which perhaps makes sense as regards the "property issue."

He's been active in this stuff since at least 1998, and judging by some of the google hits, he sounds like a pretty big wheel (he's on the list of $10k+ contributors to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra).