Posted on 08/23/2005 5:15:16 PM PDT by sionnsar
After almost two years of "going it on our own," West Virginia Anglicans has officially affiliated with the American Anglican Council! We are now officially part of the largest and fastest growing orthodox Anglican advocacy group in the Episcopal Church. We are honored and proud to be working alongside the brave folks in the AAC!
Click on "Continued . . . " below to read the full press release.
TRADITIONAL WV EPISCOPALIANS AFFILIATE WITH AMERICAN ANGLICAN COUNCIL
ATLANTA, GA – Earlier this month, the American Anglican Council (AAC), an Atlanta-based national advocacy group for Episcopalians who continue to believe that the Bible should be the authoritative foundation for Christian theology, recognized West Virginia Anglicans as an official Diocesan Chapter of the AAC. The AAC board’s unanimous decision was announced on August 9. Linda Newton, the AAC’s Affiliates Administrator, said, “The AAC is pleased to be working with West Virginia Anglicans to build a faithful Anglican witness in the Mountain State. Our organization is growing at a record pace with new Chapters also being approved in Oregon and Southeastern Wisconsin last week along with West Virginia. We now have 31 chapters around the country.
Founded in October 2003, West Virginia Anglicans formed to help the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia remain unified with the worldwide Anglican Communion in the wake of national church decisions made at the August 2003 national convention. The Anglican Communion is a network of 38 interdependent self-governing churches (or provinces) that trace their historical roots to the Church of England. With over 77-million members in more than 160 countries, Anglicanism is the world’s third largest Christian denomination. The 2-million-member Episcopal Church is the United States branch of the Anglican Communion.
In August 2003, the Episcopal Church made several decisions that are in conflict with the teachings of the Anglican Communion as well as 2000 years of traditional Christian teachings. Most significantly, the 2003 convention consented to the election of an openly practicing homosexual to become the Bishop of New Hampshire. In addition, the Convention also passed a resolution declaring that the blessing and celebration of same sex unions was “within the bounds of our common life.” The church’s bishops also rejected a resolution affirming traditional Anglican doctrines including the authority of Scripture as the basis of church teachings.
According to Eddie Swain of Moorefield, WV, “The Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, at its last two annual conventions held in 2004 and 2005, has clearly moved toward acceptance of the national church’s theological innovations.” Swain serves as the AAC’s liaison in West Virginia. “In 2004, a resolution affirming the authority of Scripture was not supported, and the Diocese refused to take a firm position one way or the other about endorsing or rejecting the new teachings of the national church.”
“The 2005 Convention re-worded a resolution that would have called for the Diocese to commit itself to remaining in the Anglican Communion regardless of what the national Episcopal Church does in terms of abandoning Scripture,” explained Dr. Matt Vester of Morgantown, WV. “In addition,” Vester continued, “the resolution asked West Virginia to comply with the Anglican Communion’s Windsor Report, which calls on the U.S. Episcopal Church to repent and apologize for advancing non-Biblical teachings. As part of this compliance, the resolution asked West Virginia to re-affirm traditional Anglican teachings on human sexuality and the authority of Scripture. Instead, a hostile amendment, gutting all the substantial points from the resolution was passed by an overwhelming voice vote estimated at 150-20.”
Based on these events, West Virginia Anglicans held special meetings in May and July to re-structure their organization to better respond to the changing position of the Diocese. Part of this re-structuring included making a request for affiliation to the national American Anglican Council. Swain explained, “The AAC has provided great support for us. They have connected us with like-minded Episcopalians all over the country. The AAC Chapter in Mississippi assisted us with launching a website, and a chapter in South Carolina sent someone to train our leadership in grassroots organizing. On September 17, the national office will be sending several speakers to a conference in Charleston that will be open to our entire membership. Now that our affiliation is official, we hope more people will understand our mission and purpose.”
Individuals interested in attending the September 17 conference should contact Eddie or Laurie Swain at (304) 538-7656 or leave a message for Matt Vester at (304) 292-7364 for more information. West Virginia Anglicans is a grassroots, lay-led organization of traditionally minded Episcopalians in the Diocese of West Virginia that is committed to preserving and promoting orthodox Anglican Christianity in the Mountain State. The group’s website can be found at: http://www.mountains.standfirminfaith.com. E-mail inquiries can be sent to laurieswain@yahoo.com.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Sorry. You're in the "Religion" forum here, not the "Sports" forum.
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