Oakes said he could find no motive for the Episcopal Church's suing lay individuals except with the motive "to terrorize us."
Read more"I challenge African Americans to critically engage the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality in the same faithful way that a critical engagement of Christianity and race is offered. In the inheritance of the black church as the center of black people's lives, black pastors, as heirs and keepers of this sacred canopy, can lead others in dismantling its sin of homophobia and heterosexual supremacy.
Read moreTo find a way out, Episcopalians should consult church history, says Valliere. "How did the Christian church in other times free itself from the demoralizing grip of discord? For the most part, it did so by practicing conciliarism -- that is to say, by convening regional or worldwide councils to address the causes of discord and reaffirm the bonds of community. Regional councils were the primary means of preserving the unity of the church as early as the second century.
Read more"To add to our reservations about the 2008 Lambeth Conference, we note the huge expense of such an event. Our African churches are asked to divert funds from much needed work of evangelization and charity to a 3-week meeting which has no authority and which is blatantly ignored by "autonomous" member churches. In some cases, poorer provinces are "assisted" by donors from the West who have a deliberate agenda of buying silence from these churches."
Read more"This work is being accomplished through regular regional networking meetings, and by providing assistance in church-planting, leadership development, and legal resourcing, as we face a diminishing Episcopal Church driven by a different concept of mission. We came together for fellowship, instruction, and for mutual support," Loomis told VOL.
Read more"The Episcopal Church (TEC) will probably sue everyone - that is to be expected. Even if TEC can't win consistently on law or on facts, it appears that they will sue anyway, to bankrupt parish churches and perhaps dioceses in legal defense. If a church or diocese can't afford to stay in court, however well they may (or may not) have law or facts on their side, they lose by default," he wrote in the AAC's weekly email message to subscribers.
Read more"We are committed to our mission and we will continue in that mission learning to live as Jesus lived and do what Jesus did. Our mission is still the same...making disciples for Jesus Christ and we are disappointed the Kingdom of God is being hidden behind religious garb. It is the desire of the bishop to really get people off focus, but we need to teach people about the Kingdom of God being available for all through his Son, Jesus."
Read moreIt would be a triumph of the first order for Mrs. Schori, guaranteeing her a place in the pantheon of world heroes to be worshipped and adored, with Nobel prizes for Peace on Earth and goodwill towards gender free, sexually variable men and women for whom there are no limits to personal exploration, presuming, of course that they are, in some sense, committed.
Read moreIn a statement sent to VOL from the orthodox Evangelical diocese, the Standing Committee requests the Archbishop and bishops of Sydney to approach other orthodox bishops of the communion with the purpose of meeting in England at the time of the Lambeth Conference for Christian fellowship and plan a joint action within the Anglican Communion to contend for the faith of the Apostles once delivered to the saints.
Read more"It is now in the hands of the Primates," Ilgenfritz told VirtueOnline. "It could be by one of the African jurisdictions that consecrates me, but nothing has been decided."
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