Posted on 06/28/2006 5:05:46 PM PDT by sionnsar
The State of the Church
We are in a time of definition as a church. The Episcopal Church USA formally ECUSA now TEC as it wishes to be known, has made some steady changes in the last decade. It has moved farther, (I wanted to say drifted but it has been a steady beneath the surface movement) from orthodoxy and the Apostolic teachings of the church and from the authority of Scripture. This movement gained speed and definition with GC03 (general convention 2003). It was recognized by the Anglican Communion at the time to be a parting of the way the Communion was heading. As if TEC came to a fork in the road and although they could see the whole Church went to the right, TEC decided LEFT was better. For the last three years TEC has tried to convince the rest of the communion that LEFT is better or at least not that big a deal. Many of the people that are being dragged along by TEC have been screaming to its Leadership and to its MIDDLE “you took the wrong road and it leads to the damnation of souls.”
Early on, when this discovery was made, some of the ‘dragged along’ formed a group called the Network of Anglican Diocese and Parishes later shorten to Anglican Communion Network. They said “we are really a part of that group over there on that other road (right fork).” There may be some comfort in believing we are on the other road but the truth is we are still being dragged along by TEC. It is time to leave the road on which we are being dragged, sever the cords, strings, or ropes that are pulling us down this LEFT FORK and join the Anglican Communion on the RIGHT FORK.
We are in that moment of Definition in this diocese and this parish. There is a series of meetings taking place in the next few weeks that should give us some definition as to what the diocese is going to do as to being on the wrong road. With that info I believe we can make an informed decision as to what we should do to move back to the RIGHT FORK.
I want to be a follower of Christ first and Anglican second. I think the Episcopal Church has left the Anglican Communion to be a “prophetic church” and will have live with the consequences. I do not want to be a part of that any longer.
So I am asking you to be informed and stay informed in the next few weeks. Look on our web sites for links that will be helpful to this end. www.faith-church.org We will have an important discussion at the CE hour 9:00am on July 15th.
Also Bishop Stanton is having a meeting for the diocese to talk about these things on July 9th at St. Matthews Cathedral, (Henderson and Ross) in Dallas at 3:00PM, please try and go. At least one from each family should try to be there.
Finally, I am reminded of Joshua’s words in Joshua 1:8,9: 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
God is leading us so ‘let us be strong and courageous’!!!
Fr john
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. You know, I have always liked Fr. John's sermons, and I think his analogy is spot on. I have thought about how to explain it as I understand it, and this explanation is better than any I have heard thus far.
Bishop Stanton used to be the Priest in my former church. I am now Mo. Synod Lutheran with Mr. Adler. Bishop Stanton was a great guy and very gifted in many ways. In a better time, he might have been Presiding Bishop. I really admired him and liked him and was sorry to see him go to a bigger parish.
sionsar. I wanted to pass this along to Christopher Johnson at Midwest Conservative Journal, but was unable to find the original on the parish's website. Could you please let me know where it can be found?
Thanks
For those not up on the local geography, Allen is a northern suburb of Plano. Faith is perhaps 5 miles or so from the large church in Plano.
This was passed on to me directly. I have no idea whether it is online anywhere (else).
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.