"The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less." --- Vaclav Havel

Though often overlooked, more African Americans are Catholic than belong to many Protestant bodies including the Episcopal Church. --- St. Louis Public Radio

According to the Bible, man is a sinner under the just condemnation of God; according to modern liberalism, there is really no such thing as sin. At the very root of the modern liberal movement is the loss of the consciousness of sin. --- J. Gresham Machen

By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
January 16, 2015

Late Thursday, Maryland Suffragan Bishop Heather Cook, charged in a recent fatal hit-and-run accident, posted bail of $2.5 million and will be released from the Baltimore City Detention Center, according to online court records. She will head to a rehab clinic a local newspaper reported.
,
According to online court records, Aaron Mossman, a bail bondsman with the bail-bond surety company Lexington National, guaranteed Cook's full bail. Cook, 58, has been jailed since Friday after turning herself into authorities in connection to the Dec. 27 death of cyclist and father of two, Tom Palermo.

VOL reporter Mary Ann Mueller noted that with the help of her "steady companion," Mark H. Hansen, she was able to do the seemingly impossible and have a $2.5 million cash bond posted to spring her from a Baltimore jail. However, her newly-found freedom comes with a hefty price tag ... $35,000 by check and a signed promissory note for $215,000 payable at $1,000 a month for 18 years (215 months), but with few restrictions. She is to surrender her temporary Maryland driver's license and promise not to drive. She is not on any sort of "pretrial supervision."

Signing the promissory note and putting up the collateral was Dr. Mark. H. Hansen, a former Episcopal priest and one of the "Connecticut Six," who were vocal in their opposition of Vicky Gene Robinson's (IX New Hampshire) elevation to the episcopate.

Maryland Suffragan Bishop Heather Cook admitted that she had an alcohol problem despite the fact that the Episcopal Church said she didn't have one.

The jailed Episcopal Bishop of Maryland, Heather Cook, confessed in court Monday that she has an alcohol problem after being charged with the drunk driving death of Palermo.

"She does admit to an alcohol problem," Cook's defense lawyer, Jose A. Molina, revealed at Cook's bail hearing Monday, according to the Baltimore Brew.

The confession comes just weeks after church officials claimed that their investigation into Cook's background, which revealed a 2010 DUI conviction in which Cook was so drunk she couldn't complete a sobriety test, was just "one mistake." Church officials have also said Cook didn't have a problem with the bottle prior to her elevation to the second-highest ranking position in the Diocese of Maryland last spring.

They lied. She did have a problem with booze and in the name of a false compassion they elected her bishop. Other women who wanted the position were overlooked at the time. In Cook, the diocese scraped the bottom of the ecclesiastical barrel because she is a woman and her boss is black...and God help us all if we can't find at least one reasonably well educated dead white male to take the job. What they would have gotten is a liberal social drinking bloke, a moderate man of all shades of opinion who, as the Scots would say, "would do ye nay good, but do ye nay harm." Cook has done the diocese real harm, from which it might never really recover.

Cook was charged with multiple crimes last Friday, including driving under the influence, causing an accident due to texting while driving, and leaving the scene of the crash that took the life of Palermo, 41, in the Dec. 27 incident. She faces more than 20 years in prison and some $20,000 in fines if she's convicted.

Not to be outdone, the Bishop of Maryland, the Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, wrote a Pastoral Letter to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland absolving himself of being complicit in the hiring of Heather Cook by not revealing her true background to the Standing Committee.

Bishop Sutton revealed an unnamed bishop told him that Cook's fatal hit-and-run crash was "not your fault." Really.

Sutton wrote that he cried when he read the words even though he knew about Cook's 2010 drunk driving arrest. That conviction revealed she couldn't complete a sobriety test and was just "one mistake." Church officials also said Cook didn't have a problem with the bottle prior to her elevation to the second-highest ranking position in the Diocese of Maryland last spring. Now we know that was not true.

Sutton acknowledged to diocesan officials that he knew about Cook's 2010 drunk driving and drug arrest, but did not disclose it to the people who elected her. He now believes he can draw comfort from his colleague's words of solace, he wrote in his "pastoral letter".

You can read the full story in today's digest.

****

This week, The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church met in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, to discuss its ever-shrinking budget because the church is getting smaller. They agreed, among other things, to reduce the asking rate from dioceses from its current 18 percent to 15 percent by 2018. Watch out if you don't pay up. Mrs. Jefferts Schori won't be around to smack their collective bottoms, but the next presiding bishop will.

The Presiding bishop berated dioceses that don't pay full apportionment saying, "We have embarrassed the parts of the body that lack the basic financial resources necessary for a full and vigorous life as a diocese in this Church.".

"God's mission" is clearly going to suffer if she doesn't get all the money in to fulfill her fantasies that she and TEC can change the world.

If you ever entertained the notion that The Episcopal Church has a glorious future with all the money for "Gods mission" pouring in to accomplish the Presiding Bishop's lofty goals, you are in for surprise and disillusionment.

The Episcopal Church is shrinking...as it has for the last 40 years, but more so of late as congregations age, parish size shrinks, with ASA averaging 61 The average age is now in the mid-60s with no rescue from Millennials, busters, or boomers in sight.

The Episcopal Church has been on a drunken bender for decades, spending money on failed programs like the 20/20 vision to double the church; millions into the then Episcopal Diocese of Mexico only to see its leaders run off with the money; and endless political and social resolutions that have done nothing to build up the church.

Reality has finally hit the church with a wallop to its wallet and the church is taking stock. Nobody is pretending any more. TECs glory days are behind it and only the delusional believe otherwise.

You can read the full story in today's digest.

*****

The former Episcopal Bishop of Springfield, the Rt. Rev Peter H. Beckwith was formally inhibited by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori today. In a letter to the orthodox bishop who is now a bishop in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) the Presiding Bishop wrote, "I received from the Disciplinary Board for Bishops a certification pursuant to Canon IV that Beckwith had resigned and abandoned the Episcopal Church. He has been restricted from performing any Episcopal, ministerial or canonical acts."

*****

A source has told VOL that she received a letter from Bishop Michael Milliken of the Diocese of Western Kansas located in Salina, KS, disclosing to their "public" that the office of the diocesan bishop is being moved out of the cathedral church in Salina to a location in downtown Salina. No reason given, but one might speculate it is because the diocese ASA has reached the tipping point. There's a good chance it could involve an impending merger with the Diocese of Kansas and Bishop Dean E. Wolfe, the only remaining diocese in the state. Moving his chair out of the cathedral church might facilitate, in some manner, to disguise the merger due to the expense of maintaining a separate and failing diocese. The larger diocese has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.

"Two small parishes in Wichita are also on the edge of extinction they just hate to acknowledge it. ASA is estimated to be about ten in each parish," she also wrote.

*****

In the fantasy world that has become The Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Pennsylvania is inviting clergy and parishioners to a workshop called "Re-membering Community: Sharing Our Stories".

"This 4.5 hour workshop connects participants through the sharing of individual stories using a timeline that spans the history of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. The timeline helps to develop a common understanding of the Diocese and the people, events, issues, challenges, and successes, which have shaped its culture and identity. The history timeline exercise weaves the diocesan story and individual stories together. It is a foundational experience and opportunity for healing and reconciliation, fostering trust, strengthening relationships, and improving communication."

WOW. How about 14 years (1998-2012) of the reign of Charles the Bennison, the worst bishop since Arius to occupy a diocese (Jesus was a sinner who forgave himself), and who was finally forced to leave under the heavy "guiding" hand of PB Jefferts Schori. Things got so bad in the diocese that normally gutless, milquetoast clergy publicly asked him to resign. He ruined many lives. Anglo-Catholics were virtually wiped out under his regime. He fought and beat into the ground Fr. David Moyer of Good Shepherd ruining lives all over the diocese. He hated orthodoxy so much it oozed out of every pore of his body. Anglo-Catholics and evangelicals avoided him like the plague always asking for one of the other more moderate bishops to do confirmations and Episcopal visitations. If this gang spins this event, it will reveal a hubris and double mindedness in a diocese that continues to close dying parishes.

*****

A pro-abortion Episcopal parish in Kansas got an earful this week from 18,000 folk when people started posting their outrage at St. James Episcopal Church on East Douglas in College Hill. The church was playing host to a "Chili for Choice" fundraiser Jan. 22 -- the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that affirmed abortion as a constitutional right. The fundraiser for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri will benefit Wichita's clinic, which provides reproductive care such as well-woman exams and contraceptives but doesn't offer abortion services.

"Tons of awful stuff was being posted on our Facebook page," said the Rev. Dawn Frankfurt. "I almost immediately turned off the ability to make posts on our page." The church was only echoing the outgoing President of Episcopal Divinity schools Katharine Ragsdale who once screamed, "Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done."

Apparently it wasn't much of a blessing to this parish and its priest. The locals clearly didn't like the message.

*****

Ten seminary deans met in its annual meeting at the Bexley Seabury campus in Columbus, Ohio, Sunday, January 11, to Tuesday, January 13. Their academic deans, as well as the dean and president of St. Andrew's Theological Seminary in the Philippines joined them. Across a range of theological viewpoints, there was a shared commitment to theological education and formation as well as mutual recognition of the distinctive gifts of each school.

The Council of Deans recognized that there are many opportunities and challenges facing theological education in the United States. There was an appreciation of the sheer variety of programs that, collectively, Episcopal seminaries are providing in response to our changing world and church. In addition to the three-year residential MDiv, the MDiv can be taken in hybrid, distance, and part-time forms. Theological studies can be as short as a summer or a January term, to a quarter, to a semester, to a full year or more. Training is provided in Spanish language and Latino/a culture. Different tracks are offered in missional leadership; hospital, school, and military chaplaincy; and community organizing. MA and other degrees are offered in counseling, Christian formation, ministry, and all the major academic disciplines. There is a plethora of certificate and short-residency courses for lay and ordained leaders.

In recent years, three seminaries have completed or are in the process of completing capital campaigns. In all, over $40 million has been raised. The demographics of Episcopal seminary student bodies are increasingly young and diverse. Placement rates are high, with many seminaries reporting over 90 percent of graduates placed within six months. This confirms the data from the Church Pension Fund that established the high placement rate and subsequent vocational progress made possible by an Episcopal seminary education. Several seminaries are engaged in thoughtful restructuring and reorganization that will ensure long-term sustainability and relevance.

The Council of Deans concluded the meeting by affirming its commitment to continue to serve the church both domestically and globally. The Council welcomes conversations with all parties in the Episcopal Church about the future needs of the church.

One dean told VOL that the sentence about some seminaries working on "achieving sustainability and relevance acknowledged the challenges they face," speaks volumes. Clearly some if not most of these seminaries will not be around 10 years from now.

*****

Bishop Barry Clark of Montreal is about to remarry. A source in Montreal told VOL that this one is a little complicated. Bishop Barry was divorced from his first wife. His second wife died in 2012. His executive archdeacon, who worked for him was married to the priest of Christ Church, Beaurepaire (Montreal). The relationship between Bishop Barry and Archdeacon Janet caused a divorce between her and her husband. Bishop Barry is, of course, senior in the power relationship.
http://www.montreal.anglican.ca/adm/media/assets/PDFs/Newspaper/2015/MTL_ANG_Feb_2015_web.pdf?ext=.pdf

*****

The Anglican Journal (Canada) published a reasonably good article on the Charlie Hebdo Islamic terrorist murders. Predictably, it rankled with some reverends: the Rev. Bob Bettson tells us that the nub of the issue is not free speech at all: it is really all about not upsetting people -- "Muslim brothers and sisters", in particular: "I would say that this situation is complicated. Free speech carries responsibility with it. I was part of a Muslim Christian dialogue in Calgary representing the Anglican Church when the Danish cartoon came out. We as a group of Muslim and Christian leaders expressed our concern with the degrading and sophomoric cartoons, and expressed the hope they would not be reprinted in Canada. We acted in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters. The Charlie Hebdo massacre is deplorable. But let's not make this about free speech, because the kind of free speech exercised by Charlie Hebdo is sometimes like pouring gas on a fire. We condemn the massacre as religious leaders. But we also don't make the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists into heroes--which they were not in any sense."

You will note that Bettson calls Charlie Hebdo's humor "sophomoric"; David of Samizdat blog noted, "I am flattered that, when Niagara Bishop Michael Bird sued me, Bettson used the same epithet about Anglican Samizdat: an endless stream of ridicule and sophmoric [sic]humour.

But to the point: Bettson reckons that "Free speech carries responsibility with it". It does: it carries the responsibility to offend. If it never offends, it isn't free. Liberals, whether political or religious, have a totalitarian temperament that has little use for freedom of any kind: it could lead to people disagreeing with them, disrupting the harmony of their inbred little utopias.

*****

An African Anglican priest and scholar has translated the entire New Testament from Greek into Kikamba language, a local Kenyan language

Professor John Mbiti, theologian and former director of the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has become the first African scholar to translate the entire Christian New Testament.

The translation, titled The Kikamba Bible - Utianiyo Mweu Wa Mwiyai Yesu Kilisto (the New Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ), was launched in December 2014 by Kenya Literature Bureau.

Mbiti, an Anglican priest and a New Testament scholar, has authored various publications on religion and ecumenism. His works include Bible and Theology in African Christianity, New Testament Eschatology in an African Background, African Religions and Philosophy and The Prayers of African Religion.

Originally from the Kikamba -speaking community of Kenya, Mbiti studied in Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States, earning his doctorate in 1963 from the University of Cambridge, UK. He also taught religion and theology at the Makerere University in Uganda. Mbiti served as director of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland from 1974 to 1980.

The New Testament, as translated by Mbiti, will be used in primary schools in Kitui, Machakos and Makueni, and will enable many in the Kamba community to read and understand the gospel.

In the past, Bibles were mostly translated by foreigners or teams led by them into the nearly 770 African languages, mainly starting from editions in colonial European languages. Mbiti's translation makes one of the rare translations sourced from Greek, the original language of the New Testament.

*****

Mass immigration has led to the growth of Muslim "ghettos" in Britain which are run under Sharia Law, Ukip leader Nigel Farage declared this week.

In an interview with US news channel Fox News, Mr. Farage said the authorities had turned a "blind eye" to the growth of ghettos where "the police and all the normal agents of the law have withdrawn and that is where Sharia law has come in."

Mr Farage's controversial remarks came after US terror "expert" Steve Emerson sparked ridicule by claiming Birmingham was "totally Muslim" and religious police squads were roaming the streets of London.

Fox commentator Sean Hannity interviewed the Ukip leader on the causes of the Paris massacre, following his comments last week in which he blamed a "fifth column" and "gross multiculturalism for the attacks.

The irony is that Former Rochester Bishop Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali had opined about the growing "no go" zones in UK cities and was vilified for it. Now his words have come home to roost. It's not called "Londonstan" for nothing.

*****

The Church and "Je suis Charlie". On Friday January 9th, when French security forces cornered and killed the Parisian Islamists, Bishop Michael Nazir Ali spoke to a conference of over 100 national Church leaders in Central London, sponsored by Christian Concern, about the issues now focused on "Je suis Charlie". He drew an equivalence between the "Charlie" terrorists and governments which execute people for blasphemy.

Answering a question whether those repeating "Je suis Charlie" were entirely consistent in standing for free speech when their own sensitivities were criticized, Bishop Nazir Ali referred to those media who were acknowledging that they were now self-censoring so as not to give offense. "This means that the radical Islamists have won" Nazir Ali said. He noted that the media refuses to understand the background to these events how they can be related to certain interpretations of Islam. The 'etymology' that Islam means peace is wrong, he said. It means unquestioning submission.

"Many Muslim countries are doing judicially what those in Paris are doing extra-judicially. The Organization of Islamic Countries have campaigned for many years to bring in an internationally recognized crime of the defamation of religion. This is not therefore just about radical Islam. It is about the tendency among Muslims to suppress criticism rather than answer it.

"All religions reflect fallen humanity and Islam is no different. What we need to recognize is that what is happening is not limited to radical Islamists. There has been 50 years of teaching in many mosques and madrassas about this interpretation of Islam that has led to this situation. Many moderate Muslims are challenging this, for example in Egypt and Pakistan. As we are non-Muslims we cannot say what Islam is about. We can only judge by what is happening."

The director of Christian Concern, Andrea Minichiello-Williams, a member of General Synod, noted that the media never spoke of Muslim women who were afraid to leave their homes. Even the Muslim woman who commented on the Paris shootings on the TV would not let her face be shown.

Read more here: http://anglicanmainstream.org/the-church-and-je-suis-charlie/

*****

To make the point that persecution and killings is not just a European thing, Nigerian Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama cried out for recognition of the slaughter of up to 2,000 people by Boko Haram last week in northeast Nigeria. It is further evidence that black lives don't matter as much as whites, he said.

Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos and president of the Nigerian Bishops Conference, said the international community has expressed "solidarity," but hasn't done much to offer real help.

"We have always said that there should be concern expressed more concretely by the West beyond just expressing their solidarity," Kaigama said. "They should do more than that. Compare what has happened in Paris and what is happening here. There is a great difference."

According to Amnesty International, most of the people killed in Baga and the surrounding villages were women, children and the elderly, who were not able to flee in time. Reports say that the villages are overwhelmed with dead bodies lying as far as the eye can see. Amnesty International said it was the deadliest massacre Boko Haram has staged in the years of its murderous reign.

In addition to the dead, another 30,000 people are thought to have fled their homes, with about 7,500 seeking sanctuary in Chad and the rest adding to the tens of thousands of displaced people already scattered throughout that region of Nigeria.

As one Twitterer wrote, "Note to the media and Western politicians that Paris isn't burning but Nigeria is."

And the West was silent.

*****

Duke University reversed itself this week and announced Thursday afternoon it will not allow a Muslim call to prayer from its iconic cathedral on Friday. The decision to allow a Muslim call to prayer had met with widespread controversy.

"Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming campus for all of its students," said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. "However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect."

Members of the Muslim community will now gather on the quadrangle outside the chapel before moving to its regular location for prayers, a Duke University spokesman said.

William Franklin, son of Billy, had gone after Duke for proposing this inane action.

*****

Please keep VOL afloat and aloft in 2015. I am asking you, VOL's readers, to help VOL keep you informed this year with a donation to keep you informed. We are totally reader supported. There is still time to make a 2014 tax-deductible donation to VIRTUEONLINE.

Thousands of you go each day to VOL's website www.virtueonline.org It's like getting the daily news for free each time you read it. Think what you pay for your cable bill each month for news and more. So please chip in and help keep the cyber doors open.

You can send your deductible donation here:

VIRTUEONLINE
570 Twin Lakes Rd
P.O. Box 111
Shohola, PA 18458

Or you can make a contribution through VOL's PAYPAL link here: http://www.virtueonline.org/support-vol/

Many thanks for your support.

In Christ,

David