TANZANIA: DEAN REJECTS ECUSA FUNDS

Special Report

By David W. Virtue

April 18, 2004

The Very Rev. Jerry A. Kramer, Jr., Dean of Christ Church in Arusha, Tanzania (Diocese of Mt. Kilimanjaro), has declined an unsolicited offer of financial support from Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold—citing ECUSA’s stance on sexuality.

In a letter copied to Bishops Don Wimberly (Texas) and Charles Jenkins (Louisiana), Kramer wrote:

“We cannot accept your offer at this time. When we arrived in Tanzania, we were told in no uncertain terms that we would be asked to leave had we come affiliated with The Episcopal Church Center.

We categorically reject the consecration of Gene Robinson as an act that is not of God—and whose office we will never recognize.

African Christians feel utterly and brutally betrayed by the Church in America. The consecration has caused enormous harm here—emboldening persecution and violence against the Christian community.

Our ministry here simply cannot be credible, nor would it be accepted, if affiliated with ECUSA. In fact, it would put us at greater jeopardy.”

This follows the CAPA primates’ formal rejection of ECUSA funding in Nairobi.

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ENGLAND: PM PERSONALLY SANCTIONED JEFFREY JOHN APPOINTMENT

April 19, 2004

Prime Minister Tony Blair personally approved the appointment of Jeffrey John as Dean of St. Albans—part of a deliberate Downing Street effort to signal that sexuality should not bar clergy from senior roles.

Unlike bishops (chosen by church bodies), deans are appointed by the Crown—effectively giving Number 10 near-total control.

William Chapman, the PM’s ecclesiastical appointments secretary, reportedly insisted John—“one of the most brilliant theologians of his generation”—deserve a prominent platform.

Reaction was swift:

Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement: “This is Number 10 saying the way the Church treated Jeffrey John over the Reading affair was poor.”

Rev. David Holloway (Reform): “This is institutional heresy and institutional decadence… a very serious issue… primary, not secondary.”

The appointment deepens tensions just as the Lambeth Commission prepares its report—and African primates demand repentance.

END