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TECSC Bishop Sues TEC for Money*Ft. Worth Files New Motions*Mouneer Anis Named APB of Middle East* Quebec Diocese in Death Throes*Pope Makes Peace with Pentecostals*ACC Sweeps up 5,000 from liberal Anglican Church in Southern Africa

"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men." --- Episcopal Bishop, Phillips Brooks

A heterogeneous church. It is of course a fact that people like to worship with their own kith and kin, and with their own kind, as experts in church growth remind us; and it may be necessary to acquiesce in different congregations according to language, which is the most formidable barrier of all. But heterogeneity is of the essence of the church, since it is the one and only community in the world in which Christ has broken down all dividing walls. The vision we have been given of the church triumphant is of a company drawn from 'every nation, tribe, people and language', who are all singing God's praises in unison (Rev. 7:19ff). So we must declare that a homogeneous church is a defective church, which must work penitently and perseveringly towards heterogeneity. --- John R.W. Stott

Holy worldliness. All down history the church has tended to go to extremes ... Sometimes, in its proper determination to be holy, it has withdrawn from the world and lost contact with it. At other times, in its equally proper determination not to lose contact, it has conformed to the world and become virtually indistinguishable from it. But Christ's vision for the church's holiness is neither withdrawal nor conformity. --- John R.W. Stott

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline .org
December 12, 2014

A shiver is running through the Episcopal Church, looking for a Biblical spine to run up. Would all those bishops who still believe the Bible is clear about sexual behavior -- that is, a man and a woman in wedlock -- please raise their little pinkies? What! No takers! Of course not. This is the Episcopal Church, a Church of endless innovation, compromise, diversity, and inclusion. Under no circumstances must that be allowed to change or inhibit whatever it is the Church decides to do or pass at General Convention, including Rites for same sex marriage to an aging and dying constituency. At the last General Convention, someone was handing out free condoms (I was given one regular and one large). At the next General Convention, will they be handing out free Viagra or Cialis! Sort of fitting I suppose when you bear in mind that the age of the average Episcopalian is now in the mid-60s.

"Jesus is among us like a flitting moth", said PB Jefferts Schori in her Christmas message this week. Which begs the question, so is He the light, or is he only drawn to the light (ours), like some sort of benevolent bug? As VOL's researcher Mary Ann Mueller noted, it is the butterfly which is the symbol of the Resurrection. We're not sure Mrs. Jefferts Schori really believes in the bodily resurrection of Jesus as it doesn't fit any scientific category. Asked once about the literal story of Easter and the Resurrection, she replied, "I think Easter is most profoundly about meaning, not mechanism."

*****

VOL learned this week that David Booth Beers, whose law firm has run up millions of dollars of TEC money suing dioceses and parishes around the country for their properties, has found himself a new job. It was announced that he has "accepted the mantle of institutional Advancement leadership and is poised to help it develop an even stronger donor base, maneuver through a new strategic plan, and renew the planned giving society" for Virginia Theological Seminary. According to a blurb from the seminary, "David's 24 years' experience as a member of the Board of Trustees equips him for the job." Perhaps he can make an initial personal donation of half a million just to get the ball rolling.

*****

The Diocese of Ft. Worth under Bishop Jack Iker and the TEC parties both filed new motions for partial summary judgment over properties this week.

A press release from Bishop Iker said that both the plaintiff TEC parties and the Diocese and defendant congregations filed Motions for Summary Judgment in the 141st District Court. The original Motions were filed in December 2010; the Texas Supreme Court reversed the court's January 2011 ruling in August 2013; and the trial court was instructed to re-hear the case and render a ruling based on neutral principles of law. A hearing is now set for Feb. 20, 2015, before the Hon. John Chupp. Two more rounds of filings will be submitted to the court in the intervening weeks.

In his introduction to their filing, diocesan attorney Scott Brister wrote, "From the outset of this litigation, the Plaintiffs' lawsuit has been based not on equity but on wishful thinking and unfounded claims. The Plaintiffs filed suit claiming that a diocese cannot disaffiliate from TEC -- even though not a single provision in TEC's charters says so. The Plaintiffs insisted they represented the Corporation and the Diocese -- but the Second Court of Appeals held that they did not. The Plaintiffs insisted that Texas courts follow the deference approach -- but the Texas Supreme court held they do not. The Plaintiffs insisted that the Dennis Canon was irrevocable -- but the Texas Supreme Court held it was not. Despite these repeated judicial rebukes, the Plaintiffs still assert every one of these claims to this day."

*****

Not to be outdone, Bishop Charles vonRosenberg of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (TECSC) has sued his own church for money to keep suing Bishop Mark Lawrence, the other Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina.

The Episcopal News Service reported that The Episcopal Church in South Carolina has reached a settlement with The Church Insurance Company of Vermont over its insurance coverage lawsuit. The settlement brings to an end a dispute in U.S. District Court between TECSC and the insurance company, which is a captive insurance company affiliated with The Episcopal Church. Under the terms of the agreement, details of the settlement are confidential. Of course not, why tell us how much loot they got to keep suing a godly orthodox bishop who only wants to proclaim the gospel of Christ to South Carolinians!

This was too good to pass up and I wrote a satirical essay on a TEC bishop suing his own church for money to continue a lawsuit against another bishop...all in the name of reconciliation, inclusion and diversity. You can read it here: http://www.virtueonline.org/tec-bishop-sues-his-own-church

*****

President Bishop Mouneer Anis has been re-named Archbishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, according to a report from The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. Following its October 23, 2014, meeting they informed the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Consultative Council that they have changed the titles of its senior bishops. The primate of the province's title will change from president bishop to archbishop. The title of the bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem was also changed from "Bishop in Jerusalem" to "Archbishop in Jerusalem". The styling of the Jerusalem bishop as Archbishop, however, confers no metropolitan authority on the office holder, the synod statement read.

*****

The changing face of religion in Canada moves ahead at a fast pace. While the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada are in free fall, it was learned this week that London, Ontario, has seven mosques indicating, as one source told VOL, there's a new religious "game" with a new player in town. Recently, the Metropolitan United Church made $17, 000 on its fall bazaar; the London Muslim Mosque on Oxford St. made $16, 000.

In other news, half of the Diocese of Quebec parishes are set to close. Secularism combined with rural flight may lead to the extinction of the Anglican Church of Canada's Diocese of Quebec with 64 per cent of its congregations closing or amalgamating with other parishes in the next five years.

In a reflection recently published on the diocese's website, Nancy Clark writes the demographic sustainability of the province's English-speaking communities is in doubt, and with it, the future of the diocese. "Like the exodus of English-speaking youth from rural villages, youth are moving away from religion, feeding their needs and emotions with the dream of material things, things only cities and stuff can give you. These are looming facts, and we can't deny them."

Statistics published in a report released earlier this year by the Task Force on Mission Ministry and Management reports the diocese has 3000 members in 52 parishes with 87 congregations. The report stated "42% of congregations have fewer than 10 regular services a year and 76% have fewer than 25 participants at services. In 31% of the congregations the age range begins at 50 and in 13% at 70." The report further noted that a "staggering 83%" have minimal or no activity outside of worship. The collapse of institutional Anglicanism in Quebec may be inevitable, Ms. Clark wrote, but it also represents an opportunity. "Let's imagine starting with a clean slate. ... This is our chance to let go, stop struggling, and focus on what is important: living in a way that Christians are meant to and sharing that with the next generations," she said.

*****

Hong Kong churches including the Anglican Church are reaping big profits from land redevelopments.

Bloomberg news reports that in Hong Kong, where the four richest billionaires are in real estate, the Union Church is getting in on the act and so apparently is the Anglican Church.

A recent wave of church developments, similar to what has happened in New York, has at least three of them rebuilding sites, sparking debate about urban planning and heritage preservation, as well as whether religious institutions are exploiting land intended for non-profit use.

"Churches in Hong Kong do not have subsidies from the government and are often lacking in funding," said Peter Pun, a former director of the planning department.

"The best way for them is to make use of their nice, prime locations by building new high-rises and leasing the units."

The Anglican Church plans to build two towers of 18 floors and 11 floors as part of a redevelopment near Lan Kwai Fong. The land currently has historic buildings, including the 166-year-old bishop's house and a church that was used as a training school by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War.

In the deal reached and approved by the government in 2011, the Anglican Church will preserve the heritage buildings at its own cost. The two new towers will be used for facilities including a church, kindergarten and a medical center, according to a June 2011 government document.

A representative of the church was unavailable for comment on the development.

The Anglican Diocese's St John's Cathedral, built in 1849, sits on the only freehold plot of land in the city in the shadow of Central's soaring office towers. Other land in Hong Kong is owned by the government and sold for long-term leases.

Previously, the church partnered with Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong (Holdings) in 1993 to build a residential complex on a site it was using as an orphanage, which was set to be relocated, in a suburban district. The church and its foundation earned about HK$1.1 billion from selling homes and parking spaces at the project, a legal document shows.

"By cooperating with churches, developers may not make as much money as they would by developing a whole office building in Central" because they needed to split the earnings, noted Pun, who is now an honorary professor of urban planning at the University of Hong Kong. "But still, there's money to be made."

*****

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams waded into the EU withdrawal debate this week opining that leaving the EU would make Britain "dangerously dependent" on bankers.

He believes leaving the EU would be a "deeply regressive" step and claims Britain would have almost nothing else "distinctive" to offer outside it. Going it alone could turn the country into an "offshore financial facility", he added.

The former Archbishop also said it is also becoming impossible to have a "reasonable conversation" about immigration in the UK at present.

He suggested that hostility towards the EU is being fuelled by an increasingly assertive sense of English identity, partly as a response to Scottish nationalism.

*****

Pop Francis: Why Everyone Loves the Pope, ran the headline. From secular journalists to charismatic Christians, millions are taken with the Jesuit from Argentina.

If you want to measure the global acclaim of the current pope, ask 100 random people about the Roman Catholic Church. While you will see a few thumbs up, most will express ambivalence bordering on dislike or distrust. Some will be hostile. Ask them about Pope Francis I, however, and the responses will be overwhelmingly positive. The Jesuit from Buenos Aires pleases many and brings smiles to their faces.

He even made Luca Baratto smile. Baratto, a pastor in the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, heard Pope Francis apologize for the Catholic Church's complicity in the Italian government's persecution of Pentecostals and evangelicals during the 1920s and '30s. Baratto was also surprised: Francis's apology was unscripted and unannounced beforehand. That is his style: both unpredictable and committed to breaking down the often-bitter rivalry between evangelicals and Catholics.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio's 2013 election was unexpected as well. The first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, he is also the first Jesuit pope, even though the Society of Jesus discourages its members from holding high office.

Pope Francis has established an eight-cardinal advisory council that operates independently of the existing bureaucracy. This important work of reform will not make headline news, but it bids fair to reshape Catholicism's institutional identity, making Rome more international and responsive to the challenges facing global Christianity.

Evangelical Protestants, who today find themselves aligned with Catholics on many cultural issues--especially issues of life, marriage, and human sexuality--welcome these reform efforts. In fact, they need a healthy Catholic Church as an ally. As we see a secular vision of morality and civic life grow aggressive and hostile, we are going to need each other. He is a vicar without guile.

*****

The APA/ACA DOW reported at a recent synod that the two Anglican provinces are committed to working together for an eventual merger even though some canonical hurdles remain.

*****

The Anglican Catholic Church reports in the latest issue of The Trinitarian that they have added 5,000 laity in South Africa. The Rt. Rev. Alan Kenyon-Hoare, bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Southern Africa, received one bishop, 17 clergy and between 4,500 and 5,000 laity into the ACC.

Bishop Kenyon-Hoare traveled to a village near the city of Butterworth in the Transkei region of Eastern Cape Province to receive the Rt. Rev. Domonic Mdunyelwa and his flock of Anglicans who separated from the theologically liberal Anglican Church in Southern Africa several years ago to form their own Diocese of the Kei.

*****

A Baptist missionary who spent more than 25 years among Muslims says there is a revival in the Muslim world. Dr. David Garrison says he believes between 2 and 7 million former Muslims have converted to Christianity in the past two decades; he has impressive research to back up his claim.

He says despite horrific actions of radical Islamists, God is at work in the Muslim world in ways we have never seen before. There is more turning of Muslims to Christ than at any time in history. There are movements of at least 1,000 within a community who have been baptized or 100 churches planted over the last two decades. "We're seeing, currently 69 of these movements that have just been formed in the last two decades...from one end of the Muslim world to the other, from West Africa to Indonesia and everywhere in between."

He said the most striking example is what's happening in Iran today. "We're seeing that the Ayatollah Khomeini is proving to be the greatest evangelists in the history of Iran because so many people are voting with their feet and they're turning away from Islam and they're walking toward all sorts of things...It's not exclusively to Christianity, but certainly tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Iranians in the last few decades have come to faith in Jesus Christ and followed him in baptism." [Reachout, the magazine of New Wineskins Missionary Network**

The fictional world of Bishop James Tengatenga continues. He told an ENS reporter during his visit to the Episcopal Church in South Carolina's 224th annual convention, where he was the preacher for the convention's opening Eucharist that he believes the Anglican Communion is in a healthier place than it was a decade ago!

"We are in the middle of painful struggles, like I said, but it has made us think about who we are, what we are about, and not only think about it but actually talk about it and engage with it. So, one hopes then that we are more intelligent about our faith and our being."

Ah, no, Bishop, not true. GAFCON I and II and the Global South Primates no longer care what the ACO thinks even if you are the chair of the Anglican Consultative Council. You can spin it any way you like, but things have gotten worse with no shows by your fellow African bishops. They won't be seen in the same room with PB Jefferts Schori. Have a talk with Nigerian Archbishop Nicholas Okoh who regularly visits the US and doesn't waste his time meeting with Jefferts Schori or even the revisionist bishop of Washington, Marianne Budde. Why should he? There is nothing in it for him. Talk about reconciliation and he will laugh in your face.

TENGATENGA: Currently, I would want to say "yes" and I don't think it can be anything else from what it is now, in the sense of ... we have a model. Now that we have that model, how do we perfect it and make it do what we intend for it to do in order to organize ourselves?

VOL: What model are you talking about? The old structural model to which you are still allied with is done, finished, over. The new "model" is relational not structural and you have no part in it.

*****

CANADA: The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) is calling for change in Anglican Church structure.

On Nov. 17, representatives of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) presented a statement to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) calling for the church to allow space for structures of governance that are more in line with indigenous ways of thinking about leadership and power, and to support the movement of indigenous Anglicans toward self-determination.

The statement suggests beginning a process of consultation to develop a plan for indigenous ministry in the whole church, not just in particular regions like Mishamikoweesh, and to develop "an effective, just, and sustainable" plan to share resources, stating that "it is now time for Indigenous People to be given the primary leadership over the planning, use, and accounting of their own resources."

The statement, titled "Where We Are Today: Twenty Years after the Covenant, an Indigenous Call to Church Leadership," expresses gratitude for the "great progress towards Indigenous self-determination in the past few years" while noting the extent to which indigenous people are "still hindered by the effects and structures of colonialism." The statement outlines some of the principles undergirding indigenous self-determination and the steps that should be taken toward implementing them.

It was presented jointly by ACIP co-chair Archdeacon Sidney Black; Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh Bishop Lydia Mamakwa; indigenous ministries coordinator; the Rev. Canon Ginny Doctor; and National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald.

In the 20 years since indigenous Anglicans extended "a hand of partnership" to the non-indigenous members of the church through the Covenant of 1994, some progress has been made, according to the statement. The creation of ACIP, the creation of the position of National Indigenous Bishop and most recently the creation of the Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh have all been steps toward building, as the Covenant says, "a truly Anglican Indigenous Church in Canada."

In other news from Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he is encouraged by the commitment expressed by the bishops at their recent meeting. "We are not going to agree on everything but we can do that in a way that doesn't fracture the body."

The House of Bishops met at the Mount Carmel Retreat Center in Niagara Falls, Ontario, from Nov. 17 to 21. The agenda included discussion of some big issues--the controversial proposed amendment to the marriage canon to allow for same-sex marriage, end-of-life issues, and the role of the house itself in the church. They also discussed a call from the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) for the church to allow room for new governance structures that would align better with aboriginal approaches to decision-making.

In an interview with the Anglican Journal after the meeting, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, acknowledged that "within this meeting and this house and this church, there's a huge amount of anxiety" about the proposed amendment to the marriage canon. But at the end of their meeting, Hiltz said that he felt encouraged by the tenor of the bishops' discussions.

One hates to tell the Archbishop the ACoC has already "fractured". The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) and a smaller Anglican entity called the Anglican Mission in Canada are now well established.

*****

Prince of Peace? How Prince Charles is becoming an increasingly vocal defender of Christianity.

Over the last couple of years, the Prince of Wales has repeatedly spoken up for the plight of Christians facing persecution in the Middle East; more recently his efforts have stepped up a gear. In the last couple of months, he has spoken about the issue in the House of Lords, filmed a video address for Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, and donated to their work. In November, he visited an Armenian church in London, and today a Chaldean community.

His concern seems genuine. As he spoke to Iraqi Christians at the Chaldean church in London, he seemed distressed that his visit was the only tangible thing he was able to do.

The language he has used in these public appearances is more emotional than we are used to hearing from the heir to the throne. Prince Charles said today that he felt "extremely inadequate" to respond to the suffering of people in Iraq. He later added, "I cannot tell you how much I feel for you". When speaking to those whose families have been targeted by Islamist militants, he told them that he was praying for them.

Ok, so that's what we say when we feel there's nothing else we can do. But if he has any conscience at all, we have to believe that he is actually doing it.

It is usually the Queen who wins a cheer from evangelicals on Christmas Day, if she happens to speak openly about Christianity, while historically there has been more skepticism about Charles' faith, perhaps understandably. (Remember the lexical gymnastics in which he proposed moving from defender of the one faith to defender of all?)

But after hearing the Chaldean choir sing in Syriac -- a form of Aramaic -- and the Lord's Prayer spoken in the same language, he said it was "enormously special ... because somehow it connects us even more closely with our Lord [who lived] 2,000 years ago".

His current defense of Christians is in many ways in keeping with his past commitment to highlighting the plight of those from other religious minorities facing persecution. He has also emphasized the importance of religious communities working together for peace.

*****

The Rev. Jack Estes has written an Anglican Manifesto as a Christian response to Oneworld Religion.

"We are living through an extraordinary time of transition. As Christians today, we find ourselves living in the midst of a rapidly changing world. The very foundational beliefs of our faith are constantly being challenged. Various religions and spiritualties vie for entrance into our hearts and churches. The values of the spirit of the age press upon us to accept all paths to God as one," he writes.

"Those of us who are part of the Anglican Church have grappled with the conflicts which have come upon us in this new era, but we are not alone. Every Christian church and denomination must now face questions concerning the certainty of their faith. Pressure is mounting to conform, to compromise, or at the very least to keep quiet. This of course is not possible for any genuine follower of Jesus Christ.

"If we can see the context through which we are living, then we can act with confidence in all that God calls us to do and to be. The book examines the underlying precepts of the spirit of the age and strikes a vital contrast with authentic Christian belief. "

Anglican Manifesto is now available for purchase. Click here: http://www.anglicanmanifesto.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

**

Obama's speechwriters might want to consult a Bible scholar, or, at the very least, a person skilled in quoting (not misquoting) Scripture to support one cause or another. In his recent immigration speech he quoted a nonexistent Bible verse.

While there are plenty of Bible verses to mention while discussing immigration, President Obama on Tuesday quoted one that isn't so great, mainly because it's not real. "The good book says don't throw stones at glass houses, or make sure we're looking at the log in our eye before we are pointing out the mote in other folks eyes," Obama said during a speech in Nashville. One problem, though: The Bible never mentions glass houses.

In addition to his biblical misquote, Obama also tied his immigration policy to the Christmas story, saying, "If we're serious about the Christmas season, now is the time to reflect on those who are strangers in our midst and remember what it was like to be a stranger." This analogy drew conservative ire as opponents of the president's immigration reform noted that Mary and Joseph were actually visiting Joseph's ancestral home.

*****

We are almost at years' end and we urgently need funds to go into the New Year. This past year we brought you 52 weeks of digests totaling some 1,200 original stories...more than three a day, every day of the year. We wrote original stories, provided commentary, scoured the Anglican world looking for those stories we believe you our readers need to read. It was no small task -- aided and abetted by VOL's small but energetic staff. We "discovered" new columnists and commentators who were willing to step up to the plate and take on the deep issues of our times. We at VOL are grateful for them.

But we need a budget as we go into the New Year. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation.

A challenge to ALL of VOLs readers, please make a tax-deductible donation. If you come to VOL's website regularly, YOU ARE committed...committed not only to the stands we take, but also to our Anglican faith and tradition. To keep our staff paid, stories written, research done and website maintained we need your help. We are a lean ministry with minimal overhead. We are stripped down for survival. We do not receive corporate money. We are falling short on our fall fundraising drive. If you are not an active donor, and you believe in what we do, please get behind VOL with a tax-deductible contribution.
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Thanks for your support,
In Christ,

David

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