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The House of Bishops purported deposition of Bishop Robert Duncan will not change the agenda for the Oct. 4 Diocesan Convention or change Bishop Duncan’s status as a bishop in good standing within the Anglican Communion. The action of the House of Bishops, which was taken in a closed meeting on September 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah, contravenes numerous canons of The Episcopal Church. While Bishop Duncan continues to believe that the "deposition" is unlawful, he will not challenge the "deposition" prior to the end of the diocese’s October 4 convention unless forced to do so by the leadership...

CANTERBURY, UK, August 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Gene Robinson has castigated a fellow Anglican bishop for publicly disapproving of his crusade to inculcate "gay" values into the Anglican Communion. In an interview with SXNews, an Australian homosexual news website festooned with explicit sexual advertising, Robinson complained that the Sydney archdiocese is "bigoted" because its archbishop, Dr. Peter Jensen, boycotted the Lambeth conference, held this month in Canterbury, England. Gene Robinson is the active homosexual whose consecration as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire caused a crisis in the global Anglican Communion. He called the Sydney archbishop's defence of Christianity "ironic" given...

Eye of the storm Wednesday, 13 August 2008 By his very existence, the Reverend Gene Robinson – the openly gay Anglican bishop of New Hampshire – is an agent for change in his church, and society at large. He spoke with Peter Hackney. He is friendly, mild-mannered and avuncular. He doesn’t seem like someone who’d tear an entire church apart. Yet Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the history of the Anglican Church, has been accused of doing just that. So controversial is he that at the recent Lambeth Conference, the decennial conference of Anglican bishops from across...

It's not about gays. Episcopalians keep insisting it's not. But, as American Episcopal bishops return home from an international religious conference this week, it's clear that the "gay issue" is one that continues to split the Episcopal church. Since the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, Anglicans have been divided over their approach to gay priests, gay marriage and who holds ultimate authority in the communion of 77 million followers around the world. The once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England, which ends today, showed no ability to suture those wounds. Although the conference was not...

Openly gay US bishop Gene Robinson was forced to halt a sermon at a west London church after being heckled. As Bishop Robinson began his sermon a member of the congregation repeatedly called him a "heretic" and said "repent, repent, repent". He began his sermon by saying how sad it was that the Anglican Communion was tearing itself apart. But he was stopped when the man in the congregation shouted that the schism was the bishop's fault. The man's protest was followed by slow hand-clapping by members of the congregation, and Bishop Robinson halted his sermon while a hymn was...

For a century the Lambeth Conference has been one of the events keeping intact this largest Protestant church grouping in the world. Now, for the first time, and just when the Anglican Communion is most at risk of disintegration, almost a third of the bishops invited to attend have decided to boycott the meeting. It is a blow to the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams who wants to use the conference to heal the rift over sexuality which has driven the Communion to the brink of a permanent split. The 250 bishops who have said they will stay away from...

Hardline Church leaders have formally declared the end of the worldwide Anglican Communion, saying they can no longer be associated with liberals who tolerate homosexual clergy. The traditionalists dealt a serious blow to Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, by claiming that he can no longer hold the Church together. They warned that the Church was gripped by its most serious crisis since the Reformation. It could only be saved by the repentance of the Americans who triggered the row by ordaining a homosexual bishop, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, five years ago. The formal pronouncement of the schism...

BOSTON (Reuters) - The openly gay U.S. Episcopal bishop at the center of the Anglican church's global battle over homosexuality, has entered into a civil union with his longtime partner at a private ceremony. About 120 guests gathered at St. Paul's Church in New Hampshire for Saturday's ceremony for Bishop Gene Robinson and his partner of more than 19 years, Mark Andrew. The event was kept private out of respect for next month's worldwide Anglican conference, Robinson's spokesman, Mike Barwell, said on Sunday.

Joint Statement on Sudan: Presiding Bishops Urge Prayers for Peace, International Action for Stability by The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, The Episcopal Church June 4, 2008 Over the past several weeks, we have watched with great sorrow as the new outbreak of violence in Sudan has threatened the resumption of widespread conflict in a nation just three years removed from decades of civil war. Our sense of foreboding is heightened because the violence has come in and around Abyei, a town whose history, resources, and proximity to the border...

Police -- Stonington Pastor Provided Alcohol For Minors http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=bd09de68-90d0-408b-aa22-6d3f42ec354e http://tinyurl.com/6jdj56 Priest arrested during party after 2 girls hospitalized for intoxication Published on 6/3/2008 By Joe Wojtas Stonington - Police arrested the Rev. Mark Robinson of Calvary Episcopal Church Monday and charged him with hosting a graduation party at his Barnes Road home Sunday night that resulted in two 17-year-old girls being taken by ambulance to The Westerly Hospital for treatment for intoxication. The 50-year-old Robinson, who has led the borough church since 1993, was charged with delivery of alcohol to minors, second-degree reckless endangerment and permitting minors to possess alcohol....

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY CONFESSOR, APOSTLE OF THE ENGLISH—C. 605 Feast: May 28 When Pope Gregory began to plan for the evangelization of England, the land was still largely pagan, although in the southwest there were remnants of earlier missionary efforts. To lead this important mission, Gregory chose Augustine, prior of St. Andrew's monastery in Rome, of which Gregory had been the founder. Nothing is known of Augustine's life until the year 596, when, with a party of Benedictine monks, he set out northwards from Rome. He carried letters of commendation to various Gallic bishops. On reaching Provence, the...

For those of you that do not know me, my name is Paul Geraci. I am a member of Hope Episcopal Church, the succesor church to St Michael's and Incarnation Episcopal Churches. I began attending St Michael’s Episcopal Church in February 2005. A bit of background is in order. I am a cradle Episcopalian, baptized and confirmed at Trinity Episcopal Church in Houston, who in 1970, at the age of 15 left the Episcopal Church and spent the following 35 years seeking answers. At times during this journey my professed beliefs have varied from atheist to agnostic to nominal Roman...

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori The Episcopal Church USA 815 Second Avenue New York, NY Dear Bishop Katharine, I received word of your letter through a colleague who had seen it on the internet. Without the internet, I may never have known that you had written such a personal, yet sadly ironic, letter to me. Unfortunately, you appear to have been misinformed about key matters, which I hope to clear up in this letter. 1. I am not visiting a church in the Diocese of Georgia. I am visiting a congregation that is part of the Church of Uganda....

Source: Episcopal News Service May 12, 2008 The Most Revd Henry Luke Orombi Archbishop of Uganda and Bishop of Kampala PO Box 14123 Kampala UGANDA EAST AFRICA My dear brother, I understand from advertising here that you plan to visit a congregation in the Diocese of Georgia on 14 May of this year. The diocesan, Bishop Henry Louttit, has not given any invitation for you to do so, nor received any information from you about your planned visit. I must protest this unwarranted incursion into The Episcopal Church. I am concerned that you seem to feel it appropriate to visit,...

III. Remaking the Diocese of San Joaquin: a Canonical Proposal for Harmony Given the background that is in Part I of this Memorandum, and the analysis that is in Part II, the way forward to reconstitute the Diocese of San Joaquin according to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church is clear. Recall that the Diocese has always been an unincorporated association, and that such an entity is simply a gathering together of like-minded people for a common purpose. The group known as Remain Episcopal can therefore be fully accommodated in the ongoing Diocese, along with the other parishes,...

II. A Tale of Two Dioceses As noted in Part I, a Diocese of The Episcopal Church has a dual existence: it is canonically recognized as a Diocese by The Episcopal Church, and it is legally recognized as a separate entity by the State in which it geographically exists. Thus the Diocese of San Joaquin was recognized both as a diocese belonging to Province VIII of The Episcopal Church, and within California it was recognized as an unincorporated association by the State of California. An "unincorporated association" is just a gathering of two or more people to accomplish some lawful...

There seems to be so much confusion about what is going on in the Diocese of San Joaquin that it is probably too optimistic to expect that another post on the subject will assist anyone in understanding the situation. In considering how to approach the subject, and on how to place the current lawsuit in context, it occurred to me that one viewpoint that has not yet been seen is that of a chancellor's advice to a Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church who genuinely wants to honor and to follow TEC's Constitution and Canons. So let the following memorandum...

The meeting went very well. We arrived ready to offer half of a six hundred thousand dollar bequest in exchange for a diocesan agreement to quit any claim to parish property. Property prices in Central New York are quite low compared to those in Virginia and elsewhere so the offer was a generous one. The amount offered would, we would later (after a joint appraisal) discover, fall just under fair market value. But, we reasoned, this first meeting was just the beginning of negotiations and we were ready to offer more if necessary. It did not prove necessary. Bishop Adams...

...from the PB’s visit to St. Thomas in Dallas: Another gay audience member who said he met his partner of 10 years at St. Thomas asked when the couple will be able to walk down the aisle together and have their relationship blessed by the church. “I don’t think it’s going to happen this year,” Jefferts Schori said, adding that the national church’s General Convention undoubtedly will revisit the issue when it meets again in 2009. “I think it certainly will happen in our lifetimes.” “I certainly hope that we can expand our awareness enough to see that God is...

In a new book the Anglican clergyman explains why he wanted to formalise his 20 year relationship. “I always wanted to be a June bride.� As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew there'd be trouble. I'd just delivered an hour-long lecture on the relationship between religion and public discourse, and why religious fervour over homosexuality plays such a large and negative role in the securing of full civil rights for gay people. During the question-and-answer period, someone asked me about the forthcoming civil union between me and Mark, my partner of 20 years. The audience...

The following letter was sent to the House of Bishops at 10:30 am this morning. April 30, 2008 For the House of Bishops Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: Inasmuch as the past several weeks have involved some significant situations, I thought it would be helpful to review and comment on process. First, regarding deposition for “abandonment of the communion of The Episcopal Church,” it is important to remember that such an act is not by definition punitive, but does give formal recognition to a reality already taking place. Once the Title IV Review Committee has certified that a bishop...

"Coming here to bless a garden, especially at this time in the history of humanity, when we're focused on how the church can be a more proactive voice in caring for the rest of creation, is an important message," she said before the service. Bishop Jefferts Schori, 54, leads a church that is at odds with much of the Anglican Communion and faces revolt internally. The Episcopal Church has seen conservative congregations – and one California diocese – depart over what they say is its liberal drift, particularly the acceptance of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson. "We're struggling over the...

I can't decide if Gene Robinson should be made an honorary member of Herman's Hermits (second verse same as the first) or just be named Crybaby of the Decade. Sure does a lot of book tours for someone who wants to just be a simple country bishop. Can't you just hear the heavy sigh? Robinson is in London to promote his new book, In The Eye of the Storm. It is a spiritual memoir aimed, he says, at showing that he is more than "a one issue guy". The last of its five sections, however, sets a course for the...

From the time Anglican pilgrims arrived in Jamestown, it's as if America and the Episcopal Church have been soul mates – for better or for worse. Now come the country's culture wars over sexuality, conservative versus liberal, change versus tradition. And the 2.4-million-member denomination that has given us more U.S. presidents than any other, along with its first-ever woman leader, is not being spared. Nearly five years after a gay priest was elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, the fallout continues. One diocese has seceded from the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Dozens of congregations,...

Given that there are new articles and press releases, etc. being released frequently, and the potential significance of the story, we thought it would be helpful to provide a roundup of all the Virginia court ruling links in one place. We'll keep updating this periodically: Primary Source documents: Court Ruling and Press Releases or Letters The Court Ruling: [Stand Firm has a PDF here] The Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) Press Release: The Diocese of Virginia Press Release: The CANA Press Release: The Presiding Bishop's Statement: A letter from the Rev. John Yates, rector of the Falls Church A letter...

A judge in Fairfax County Court has ruled in favor of a group of 11 churches, all members of the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) who want to keep their properties. Last year they broke free from The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia and came under the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), the Nigerian branch of the Anglican Communion established in the United States. Judge Randy I. Bellows citing the Virginia Division Statute (Virginia Code § 57-9) said the churches could keep their property at least for the moment though the Episcopal Church is expected to...

"The Court agrees that it was major divisions such as those within the Methodist and Presbyterian churches that prompted the passage of 57-9. However, it blinks at reality to characterize the ongoing division within the Diocese, ECUSA, and the Anglican Communion as anything but a division of the first magnitude..."

FAMED American pastor, Dr Rick Warren has said he supports the decision by Ugandan bishops to boycott the forthcoming Lamebth conference in England, United Kingdom. The conference brings together Bishops of the Anglican Communion from all 38 Provinces of the Communion every 10 years. "The Church of England is wrong and I support the Church of Uganda(CoU) on the boycott,"Dr Warren said on Thursday shortly after arriving in Uganda. The Bishops are protesting the Church of England's tolerance a homosexuality. Announcing the boycott in February, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said that Uganda's action had been prompted by the invitation of...

ST. JOHN'S Newfoundland, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The deep fissures in the Anglican Communion are increasing as the sides line up in the fight over the "blessings" of homosexual partnerings. A diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada in Newfoundland has announced it will attempt to force its clergy to assent to the blessings, even as the rest of the Worldwide Anglican Communion continues to fracture over the issue.  Clergy were called to a mandatory meeting in the cathedral of St. John's and told that if they supported a breakaway movement that objects to the formal blessing of...

As the annual meeting was drawing to an end Sunday afternoon, and the light from the enormous window behind the pulpit was fading, a member of Bishop Seabury Church stood up and announced that the Holy Spirit had sent him a message. The congregation, he said, should go forward, lay hands on the Rev. Ronald Gauss and the entire vestry, and pray for them, which they did, every man, woman and child, in an emotional moment that spoke clearly about the changes on the horizon for this vibrant, evangelical church. Bishop Seabury, an Episcopal Church for 132 years, has severed...

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church's Title IV Review Committee has certified that Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan has abandoned the communion of the church. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori informed Duncan on January 15 of the certification and sent him a copy. Her letter told Duncan that she sought the canonically required permission from the House's three senior bishops with jurisdiction to inhibit him, based on the certification, from the performance of any episcopal, ministerial or canonical acts. "On 11 January 2008 they informed me that such consents would not be given at this time by all...

LONDON - Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says her church has been unfairly singled out for criticism because it is honest about consecrating gay bishops. Jefferts Schori told BBC Radio 4's "PM" program that the New York-based church, which is the Anglican body in the U.S., is far from the only Anglican province that has a bishop with a same-sex partner. In 2003, Episcopalians elected the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, causing an uproar that has pushed the Anglican family toward a split. "He is certainly not alone in being a gay bishop; he's...

[Hat Tip: In Newark] Although I think it somewhat unjust to the originals, "Puritanism" has come to mean the application of pointless and wrong rules to systems and people. Most people may find themselves "puritanical" at some point in their lives. The Father suddenly realizes that his long-held, and strictly enforced, "Very Important Rule" about some household matter actually thwarts the good that he wishes to see in his family. The Sabbath-keeper suddenly realizes that her Sunday is not at all restful. In its extreme form, the Nazi guard at the camp realizes that the prisoners working out in the...

For some time now, people have been asking me why I haven't written anything on the current—or, depending on your point of view, everlasting—crisis in the Anglican world. After all, I have been an Anglican for nearly twenty-five years, virtually all of my adult life. Surely I have some opinions on the mess the Anglican Communion is now in, on how it got this way, and how it might get out again? Well, yes, I do have such opinions. But they are worthless. All such opinions amount to little more than the assignation of blame for past events and predictions...

Former Episcopal Priest Explores Christianity and Druidry in New Novel http://www.bloggernews.net/112455 December 17th, 2007 by suzanne evans On March 22nd 2005, The Rev Walter William Melnyk was forced out of the priesthood of the US Episcopal Church after facing charges of “holding private opinions inconsistent with the teachings of the Church.” This allegation, effectively a heresy charge, ended his 23 year-strong vocation as a priest, even though his only transgression was to look into Celtic Christianity and its connection with pre-Christian Druidry. Now, Walter William Melnyk has delved further into those links in a new novel written with Druid priestess...

"The problem in our church [national] is about the lack of respect for the authority of scripture and the nature, character and work of Jesus Christ," said Curran, an Episcopal priest for 15 years. "It's about the failed leadership of The Episcopal Church and whether or not we will continue to be under the authority of a failed leadership. And for many of us, the answer is no."

Thousands of years ago two men stood before Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go...’ (Exodus 5.1) Pharaoh’s response? He increased the work load and took away the resources that the people of Israel had come to depend on. You know the story as well as I do. And, as one of our young priests reminded me recently, after the plagues, the exodus from Egypt, followed by the great deliverance at the Red Sea, when the Promised Land came into view, Moses sent the heads of each of the twelve...

Title: ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson Featured in CBS's 'In God's Name' Dec. 23 ELCA NEWS SERVICE December 4, 2007 ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson Featured in CBS's 'In God's Name' Dec. 23 07-201-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation, is featured in the two-hour primetime television special "In God's Name," airing Dec. 23 at 9:00 p.m. EST on CBS. Produced by French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, the special explores "complex questions of our time through the intimate thoughts and beliefs of...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Episcopal Church faces major tumult this week when an entire California diocese with more than 9,000 members decides whether to secede in an unprecedented protest over gay issues. The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno and consisting of nearly 50 churches in 14 counties, would be the first diocese to bolt from the U.S. branch of the 77-million-member global Anglican Communion if Saturday's final vote passes. The U.S. church and Anglicanism generally have been in upheaval since 2003 when the Episcopal Church consecrated Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the first bishop known...

US Episcopal report highlights concerns over church attendance drop http://www.christiantoday.com/article/us.episcopal.report.highlights.concerns.over.church.attendance.drop/15084.htm http://tinyurl.com/3d37yq by Lillian Kwon, Christian Today US Correspondent Posted: Saturday, December 1, 2007, 12:26 (GMT) An Episcopal Church committee has released an interim report that reveals positive trends as well as concerns in declining membership and church conflicts. In a brief assessment of facts and trends in the Episcopal Church, the 'State of the Church' report – issued by the House of Deputies Committee in November – indicated the need for a "plan for action" at all levels of the denomination in response to membership drops. In 2006, the number...

Following a joint meeting of the standing committee and diocesan council, the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe, Bishop of Central Florida, announced Nov. 15 that they were unable to agree upon a protocol for congregations desiring to secede from The Episcopal Church. The rejected proposal would have permitted a departing congregation to purchase church property from the diocese provided that they made adequate provision for those members who desired to remain Episcopalians and participated in a parish discernment process devised and supervised by the diocese. The diocese’s special task force on property would seek to revise the document, Bishop Howe...

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...

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...

But for Julia Duin of the Washington Times, [and here's the link to her latest with lots of great details], and BabyBlue, none of us Episcopalians would know a thing about any of this. Thank God for bloggers and the Internet and this reporter. I will be emailing out the stories to all of my Episcopal friends, and I hope others will too. . . . Because . . . they sure won't learn the details from ENS or a friendly diocesan newsletter. And you know, I don't have any idea who will win in this lawsuit -- and it...

Dear Friends in Christ, I have communicated to the Presiding Bishop my request to be released from my ordination vows and the obligations and responsibilities of a member of the House of Bishops. I have taken this step in order to be received into the Catholic Church. Through a long season of prayer and reflection Marcie and I have come to believe this is the leading of the Holy Spirit and God’s call to us for the next chapter of our lives. We are grateful to our brother in Christ, the Most Rev. Robert N. Lynch, the Bishop of St....

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is making public a letter of warning that is being sent to a bishop who is actively seeking to withdraw his diocese from the Episcopal Church, and has stated that letters to other bishops will follow. "In this way the Presiding Bishop is reaching out with open arms once more to those bishops contemplating realignments for their dioceses, while also warning them of the consequences should they choose to follow through with their proposed actions," said the Rev. Dr. Charles Robertson, Canon to the Presiding Bishop. The full text of the first of these letters,...

Vedic Recitations in a Christian Church on Thanksgiving http://newsblaze.com/story/20071101085222tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html http://tinyurl.com/2kmxfe Nov 1, 2007 Judyth Piazza, News Blaze Recitations from ancient Sanskrit scriptures will reverberate in a Christian church in Nevada on the occasion of coming Thanksgiving eve service. Rajan Zed, the prominent Hindu chaplain, will read from Rig-Veda (oldest existing scripture of the world dated from around 1,500 BCE), Upanishads (Hindu scriptures containing mystical teachings), and Bhagavad-Gita (famous philosophical and spiritual poem) in Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno (Nevada) during Twenty-second Annual Thanksgiving Service of Northwestern Nevada to be held on November 21 evening. Despite conflicts around the world, various...

Several readers have emailed to say that Mark Lawrence has received, from a majority of bishops and standing committees, consent to his election as Bishop of South Carolina. The consecration is said to be scheduled for January 26th, 2008 in Charleston.

Maine Episcopalians passed a resolution at their annual convention Friday that calls for England to rescind a charter issued more than 500 years ago. The resolution calls for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Queen of England to disavow the 1496 royal charter issued to John Cabot and his sons, according to information on the Web site for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine. It passed by a vote of 175 to 135. The Maine diocese is the first in the nation to pass such a resolution, according to John Dieffenbacker-Krall, a member of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Old Town...

His thesis was that the recession would someday end. And at the end of that recession, he wanted his department to own the industry of the products that they sold, lock, stock and barrel. While competitors were hunkering down to "ride out the recession" this company was pushing hard, even as low as they were, so that when the sun broke out from behind the clouds, they would look around them and see that much of the market previously owned by their competitors was now theirs . . . and that those markets were back to expansion and optimism, with...