By the Rev. Claudia C. Kalis, Vicar, St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church, High Springs, FL When my daughter was 3, her popsicle would sometimes break—and she’d cry, “Mom, fix it! Please fix it!” I quickly learned: some things cannot be fixed. The only solution? Give her a new one. The Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes has made magnanimous efforts to respond to the tear-streaked faces pleading, “Fix it! Please fix it!” But at some point—and I hope it is soon—

By Michael J. McManus “God save the United States and this honorable court.” With that prayer, the U.S. Supreme Court convened to hear Dr. Michael Newdow—an atheist, physician, and lawyer—argue that his daughter should not be asked to recite “one nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Newdow claimed the phrase “promotes a religious belief that God exists” —which he disagrees with. “Every school morning my child is asked to stand up, face that flag, put her hand over

By David W. Virtue Walter C. Righter—the former Bishop of Iowa and central figure in the 1996 “Righter Trial” (which controversially concluded the Episcopal Church had “no core doctrine” after he ordained a non-celibate gay man)—says dissenting orthodox bishops and organizations should leave ECUSA. Writing on the House of Bishops/Deputies listserv, Righter said: “If the continuing dissenters must go, I say ‘Go with God,’ and now let us get on with the work of the church.” He

This week, the ECUSA House of Bishops meeting in Navasota, Texas, announced a proposal for Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) —a response to the crisis over broken trust between revisionist bishops and orthodox congregations. Thoughtful Episcopalians say it addresses symptoms, not systemic problems. The question is whether DEPO—described as a compromise between Episcopal Pastoral Care and Alternative Episcopal Oversight —offers real relief, or is merely a bureaucr

David W. Virtue The revisionist Bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison, is facing increasing pressure from orthodox priests in his diocese who disagree with him over the faith, ECUSA’s liberal positions on sexual morality, and the way he runs the diocese. “Diversity is disappearing—instead, we have a liberal narrowness. It’s a paradox. Genuine openness is slowly vanishing and becoming deliberately narrow,” said the Rev. Don Sehulster, the evangelical rector of Good Shep

By Dave Munday, Charleston, S.C., Post and Courier A retired S.C. Episcopal bishop who was censured for invading another bishop’s territory calls the rebuke by church leaders the height of hypocrisy. Retired Bishop FitzSimons Allison of Georgetown joined four other retired U.S. bishops and a bishop from Brazil in confirming 110 Episcopalians at a March 14 interchurch service in Akron, Ohio. The parishioners said they could not allow themselves to be confirmed by Ohio Bishop C

From Cynthia Brust, Director of Communications, American Anglican Council We are not surprised by the House of Bishops censuring the five of us for providing support to those congregations in revisionist dioceses who cannot in good conscience accept the radical actions taken by General Convention and who now find themselves alienated from their diocesan leadership. The House of Bishops continues its long retreat from its sworn responsibilities concerning the Christian faith—f

By Jan Nunley, Episcopal News Service   Saying that they “repudiate and deplore the unilateral actions” of five retired U.S. bishops who conducted confirmations in Ohio without the diocesan bishop’s permission, the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops declined to proceed with disciplinary action—for now. The vote on the resolution was unanimous. Retired bishops FitzSimons Allison, Maurice Benitez, William Cox, Alex Dickson, and William Wantland confirmed 110 individuals from f

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — An organization calling itself SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) will file a lawsuit against an Episcopal priest who abused a California youngster years ago, and still serves in a parish today. David Clohessy, 46, a national director of SNAP, expressed concern: “I fear that some 400 ex-Roman Catholic priests will surface in other denominations including the Episcopal Church.” (Aug. 2, 2003) Selected global cases (U.S., Australia, Canada, U.

By Cynthia P. Brust, Director of Communication, American Anglican Council (March 24, 2004)   The House of Bishops has proven once again their dysfunction and inability to acknowledge, much less address, the crisis of the Episcopal Church. From a format of “process”, small group discussion and multiple revisions, they have produced a plan for episcopal oversight that is undeniably and woefully inadequate. “Adequate” oversight must be determined by those who are seeking it. The

By David Roseberry, Plano, TX (March 25, 2004)   The Bishops of the Episcopal Church, in a meeting this week, have revealed a new plan to supposedly provide pastoral oversight for dissenting congregations in dioceses. The plan is inadequate and should be ignored. The Episcopal Church (ECUSA) voted at last year’s convention to consecrate as bishop a man who is living in a homosexual partnership. In addition, they voted to regard the blessing of same-sex unions as within the bo

Traditionalist Episcopalians upset with the recent confirmation of an openly gay bishop are considering forming their own church in Raleigh.The group, All Saint’s Fellowship, printed notice of its intention to explore starting a new church in its weekly Sunday bulletin. It has been holding Sunday services in the chapel of St. David’s School, formerly St. Timothy’s-Hale High School, since January. “What’s going on here in Raleigh is going on throughout the United States,” said

By YONAT SHIMRON Staff Writer News Observer March 23, 2004   RALEIGH, NC—Traditionalist Episcopalians upset with the recent confirmation of an openly gay bishop are considering forming their own church in Raleigh.   The group, All Saint's Fellowship, printed notice of its intention to explore starting a new church in its weekly Sunday bulletin. It has been holding Sunday services in the chapel of St. David's School, formerly St. Timothy's-Hale High School, since January.   "W

DELEGATED EPISCOPAL PASTORAL OVERSIGHT IS HOB FUDGE   News Analysis   By David W. Virtue   The Episcopal Church House of Bishops has adopted a covenant which they believe will resolve all the problems that now exist between revisionist bishops and biblically orthodox parishes.   After three days of closed door meetings at Camp Allen, Texas where even cell phones didn't work and guards were needed at the gates, in order, one presumes, to prevent anyone wanting to run in and st

Statement from FIFNA President, Fr. David Moyer 24 March 2004 FIFNA's Response to the House of Bishops' Statement on Episcopal Care Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison. It would be wise in this second half of the Lenten season to pray unceasingly in light of the ECUSA House of Bishop's Statement of 23 March, 2004. We have a church (or as Father Sam Edwards would say, an "unchurch") that has been declared to be in rebellion, disobedient to the whole counsel of G

IRISH CATHOLIC, ANGLICAN LEADERS SPAR March 20, 2004 Dublin, Mar. 19 (CWNews.com) - A sharp disagreement on homosexuality has given rise to tensions between Catholic and Anglican leaders in Ireland. The dispute arose last week when the Church of Ireland (Anglican) Archdeacon of Dublin, Gordon Linney, argued in a public speech that the government should allow homosexual couples to "have registered stable relationships with all the benefits and rights that go with that status."

AN INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP WANTLAND, OHIO CELEBRANT Bishop William Wantland, retired bishop of Eau Claire, now lives in Oklahoma. He is a long-time FIF/NA Council Member and FIF/NA Chancellor. He was chosen to be the Celebrant at the historic Confirmation Service for the "Ohio Cluster" of parishes on March 14, 2004. forwardNOW! interviewed the Bishop shortly after the event. forwardNOW! - How were the Bishops chosen to provide the "Ohio cluster" with these "emergency measures"

By Ruth Gledhill Religion Correspondent THE TIMES 3/19/2004 VACANT: one see with large house, £30,000 stipend, 70 priests, 7,000 souls and thousands more sheep. Must be able to speak Welsh. Hoffwch chi fod yn Esgob Bangor? For the first time in its history, the oldest diocese in the country has failed to elect a bishop. After a three-day conclave, the electoral college of the Church in Wales last night failed to reach a decision over who should succeed the Right Rev Saunders

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 ENS 032304-1 [ENS] In response to the different points of view that exist in the dioceses and congregations of the Episcopal Church concerning issues of human sexuality, the House of Bishops, meeting March 19-25 in Camp Allen, Texas, have issued a document entitled "Caring for all the Churches." The full text follows: CARING FOR ALL THE CHURCHES A Response of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church to an expressed need of the Church The church is

By Frederica Mathewes-Green The term "high concept" refers to a movie with a striking plotline that can be described in one sentence (eg, Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwartznegger are long-lost "Twins"). In high-concept movies things explode. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman specializes in another kind of high-concept movie, one in which a strange premise unfolds in surreal ways. Things don't explode; they melt, like Dali's watch. His first film, "Being John Malkovich" (1999) sought