Posted on 10/22/2005 9:01:34 AM PDT by sionnsar
Via Media, the liberal pansexual organization that bills itself as The Episcopal Church's "middle way", combining progressive and traditional approaches to the Bible, tradition, and human understanding, betrayed its true agenda when committee notes from one of their meetings were handed to VirtueOnline recently.
What we learned was a strategy being planned for the "Day After" the next General Convention in 2006 when presumably the momentum already begun by many orthodox parishes and priests to leave the ECUSA, will accelerate.
It was though the plans of the Nazis after they had invaded Poland was to make sure that Fascism would be the only ideology in every hamlet, town and home and any effort to oppose them would be met with personal deposition and removal of assets. It's a mop up operation as the Via Media see it. Resistance is useless.
What Via Media's plans revealed was startling in its audacity as it was in its final solution for the orthodox in The Episcopal Church. Any pretense of a "middle way" evaporated forever. Via Media is little more than a front for gay and liberal agit-prop in the Episcopal Church and their sole interest is in keeping the church a non transformative place to promote lesbitransgay behavior for future generations with the help of America's secular media.
The "notes" named names of orthodox bishops, revealed Via Media's strategy in handling these bishops including "blank" Presentment forms to be filled in with the appropriate names and much more.
But there was a hint of desperation in their meeting. Here is one note: "Appeal to ABC (Dr. Rowan Williams) to suggest that only diocesans be able to vote at the next Lambeth conference, or to ask for other actions. We need to stack the deck, otherwise we'll lose!"
Then there's this choice morsel: "How to get other dioceses and groups involved or, how to raise more trouble in even non-Network but biblically orthodox Dioceses...Are there specific actions or outcomes for us to work on for GC?"
These four proposals were at the core of their strategy:
* Have already drafted request stating that the see is vacant and requesting appointment of interim bishop. Need to coordinate with PB on these appointments.
* Have request for special convention ready to give to interim bishop so that vacant spots in diocesan government can be filled (trustees, council, standing committee, commission on ministry, etc.)
* Be ready to take legal action on property - identify who will serve as litigants, what
* property needs to be covered.
Also anticipated is going after individual orthodox bishops in the eventuality that a separate denomination is formed.
What is ironic about all this is that at no time has Bishop Robert Duncan (Pittsburgh) and the leader of the Anglican Communion Network even hinted at leaving The Episcopal Church.
He has made it abundantly clear that he is staying as the loyal orthodox opposition and "inside strategy" to the revisionist leadership of the Episcopal Church and hopes, over time, that Common Cause, with multiple Anglican jurisdictions, will be met with formal recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the wider orthodox Anglican Communion.
If that happens it would be hard then for the Archbishop of Canterbury not to recognize them as a single entity to be invited to the next Lambeth Conference.
Clearly Via Media, Integrity, PEP (Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh) and other revisionist organizations in orthodox dioceses would be sidelined and eventually dissipate.
Here is another "nugget" from the committee notes: "Remain Episcopal. A group in the Diocese of San Joaquin. At clergy convocation Bishop Schofield announced that the Episcopal Church's refusal to repent at GC will trigger the diocese announcing that the Episcopal Church has left the A.C. This was part of an announcement about "Where he stands." There is supposed to be a DVD of this talk. He expects the network to be recognized immediately after convention. After convention, all bets are off for those priests who don't follow his lead. They need to "watch out." In the past he had offered to let liberal parishes leave, but not now. Choose this day who you will serve..."
The facts are that several dioceses have already said they will remain in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury after GC2006 if ECUSA votes not to act on the findings of the Windsor Report, but no orthodox bishop has stated exactly what that means or what it looks like.
What is happening and what will increasingly happen is that orthodox ECUSA bishops will not attend meetings of the House of Bishops, they will not return calls to Frank Griswold, they will not sit on any ECUSA panels, boards, committees, theological commissions, etc., and they will have their own helping agencies like ARDF and Five Talents and throw their support behind seminaries like TESM and Nashotah House.
In short isolate and cut off ECUSA and 815 2nd avenue but do not walk away from properties. They will be more proactive in filing presentments against bishops like Andrew Smith, even though they go nowhere, and they will privately encourage orthodox parishes in revisionist dioceses to litigate against their bishops and force those dioceses to their knees with legal fees while obtaining pro bono advice for these priests.
As things now stand The Episcopal Church has already chosen to walk alone and this is being ratified and affirmed every time Archbishop Peter Akinola and other Global South archbishops and bishops open their mouths.
The Episcopal Church is toast, and that is one of the reasons why Irish Archbishop Robin Eames came to America to try and make the case that ECUSA was in compliance with the Windsor Report even though we know, and he knows, it isn't.
Send in the big guns is clearly a strategy that he, Griswold and the Via Media crowd hoped would work. It hasn't. No orthodox person has bought it, nor will they. Eames sang the swan song for Western liberalism in the Anglican Communion. With provinces and dioceses altering their constitutions to delete references to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Eames could only whine that it was a "preemptive strike" that would make "tensions greater".
But tensions have been around for 40 years and they reached their height at the Robinson consecration, and the internal break up of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion just stepped up apace from then onwards.
One thing you can say is that the Via Media clearly has a better strategy than George W. Bush in Iraq. In truth Episcopalian conservatives are still busy fighting each other while the Via Media crowd has a strategy and "day after" plan. The orthodox are fiddling while ECUSA burns.
However there is serious flight of the imagination in their deliberations. Consider this: "Dallas - The group believes there will be a power battle between Stanton and Duncan for control of new church." This is fantasy. I am not privy to the personal relationship with these two bishops, though I have heard rumors, but the notion of a power struggle over a "new church" reaches the level of hysteria.
Via Media talks about "Episcopal Voices and having a web site that is beginning to really do good work, a yahoo group, and meetings 2-3 times a year with speakers. Quiet group, doesn't know where to go from here. Lay led etc., How to prepare for split after 2006 GC."
Other Via Media ideas included building a broader awareness and support for VMUSA (Via Media USA) and the coming crisis.
* Tap into provincial presidents. * Build sister parish connections and lay leadership. * Find a group of bishops to work with, including PB candidates * Cultivate Executive Council, Officers of General Convention * Cultivate local press * Develop criteria for recognizing schism * Recruit 5-7 national leaders to be in a teleconference with us. Rick Matters to set up * phone call and hold it, Chris and Joan will be the others involved.
Via Media names sympathetic bishops: Possible participants Jenkins, Parsley, Alexander, Titus Pressler, George Werner, Jon Bruno, John Chane, Catherine Roskam, Chilton Knudson, Edward Little, Don Johnson, Mark Dyer, Sauls, Bill Carroll.
They argue for a New Public Awareness campaign:
* To engage seminary professors in discussion * To connect with others in church who are concerned
They want sympathetic lawyers. "Each allied group is asked to find someone (not necessarily a lawyer) to act as liaison on legal issues to help coordinate and share information. The committee then looked for volunteers for specific tasks. Meg Ingalls will do letter to request interim bishop after "abandonment." And have request ready to ask to hold special convention to fill vacant spots. Oct. 15 Dixie will talk to a former chancellor about whether he would help us with presentment boiler plate and for lawsuits. Every group to get a legal liaison for VMUSA."
* Deadline - Nov. 15.
There you have it, right down to the date.
With Via Media's strategy now handed to them on a plate it may still not be too late for the orthodox in ECUSA to act. The battle lines and strategy have been clearly drawn and the calls for endless "listening" are also over for the orthodox. We have listened ourselves to spiritual death. Wait and see what the Primates will do, will do little for orthodox parishes in revisionist dioceses.
The "outside strategy" is in play and the AMIA and archbishops from Uganda to Bolivia are picking up orthodox parishes and priests like apples falling off a tree. Barely a week goes by and they don't draw another parish into their fold.
While we may be some way off before the big explosion occurs, if it does, dozens of smaller explosions meanwhile are taking place and they are slowly stripping the vine of ECUSA and that might be the best news of all, and one the Via Media can do nothing about.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Conservative parishes under conservative bishops probably should try to get the bishop to release them with their property before the bloodletting starts.
Then there's this choice morsel: "How to get other dioceses and groups involved or, how to raise more trouble in even non-Network but biblically orthodox Dioceses...Are there specific actions or outcomes for us to work on for GC?"
That's damnable, they view the biblically orthodox as enemies. Well, they're writing their own new revelations so they do need to get rid of those pesky people that keep quoting Holy Scripture to them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.