By David W. Virtue NASHVILLE, TN--The Diocese of Tennessee annual convention stalled this week when a group of revisionist priests and lay people (but mainly priests) made dubious and possibly illegal parliamentary maneuvers to subvert the normal process for conducting convention business. The business was about redirecting the portion of pledged monies that would have gone to the national church to allow them to be redirected to other ministries in the diocese, Fr. Patrick S. Allen, parish of St. Joseph of Arimathea, told Virtuosity. "As a result the business of the convention remains unfinished, and at some point Bishop Herlong will have to call us to reconvene." The motion to adjourn was based on the questionable legality of eight 'proxy' votes of clergy who were not in attendance at the meeting at Christ Church Cathedral at Ninth Avenue North and Broadway. "The liberals are in a slight majority among the clergy, while liberals are thought to be a slight minority among the laity. If it passed, liberal parishes would have sent money directly to the naitonal church, by-passing the diocese. Since it has not passed (it was never voted on), orthodox parishes will have to find a way to give that prevents money from going to the national church," said Allen. "Specifically, what happened was that they [the liberals] obtained "proxies" of eight priests canonically resident in the Diocese of Tennessee, but not physically resident, and certainly not registered and present at the convention. These could be retired priests living in other states. They then made an argument that these proxies must be allowed, and furthermore that the number required for obtaining a majority in the clergy order must be increased to account for not just those clergy delegates present and registered (as is the custom), and not just those present and registered plus the "proxies," but to include all those who could potentially have been present and registered - in other words, to include all priests canonically resident, with or without cures, even though they be in a nursing home in Texas at the time of the convention," said Fr. Allen. "This argument was based on a very tendentious reading of the Tennessee Code (under which the Diocese of Tennessee functions as a not-for-profit corporation). There was considerable discussion about this point of order, with the diocesan chancellor ruling that the proxies must be allowed," he said. "On the second day of the convention, the issue was re-opened, and the case against the inclusion of the proxies was articulated by Fr. Ray Kasch and Ms. Jane Stranch [Esq.] (newly-appointed vice-chancellor of the Diocese). The Chancellor ruled that it was too late to change his previous ruling. A motion for adjournment came." In the Diocese of Tennessee, no "conservative" resolution can pass because the liberals would call for a vote by orders, and they are in the minority among the clergy, said Allen. Newspaper reports saying that the convention adjourned "to spare rancorous debate over contentious resolutions," were not true, said Allen. "We adjourned for this reason: the normal, customary, agreed upon procedures had been subverted by an angry and malicious minority. It was not only the conservatives who voted for adjournment. It was plain that any decision reached by the convention would be meaningless and subject to appeal because of the subverted procedures." Fr. Allen told Virtuosity that the whole episode was shameful, "and I am embarrassed for our church, though encouraged that the majority of delegates had the good sense to see what was happening and say "no." Fr. Allen said Bishop Bertram Herlong's leadership was exemplary. "He kept his cool and wit when he had every justification for blowing a gasket." The Rev. Ken Swanson, dean of Christ Church Cathedral, a one-time conservative, said the vast majority of delegates were against proxy voting, including many liberals and moderates. ''That unified us,'' said Swanson, who now describes himself as a moderate. The Rev. Freddy Richardson of the Church of the Holy Cross in Murfreesboro, who made the motion to adjourn, said there was a lot of tension in the air. ''I felt that legal decisions were being made on the fly and we needed time.'' The motion to adjourn passed 105-93, more than 2½ hours before most delegates had expected to leave. ''We've come to an interesting point in our common life,'' said Bishop Herlong after the vote to adjourn. ''It's sort of interesting that we continue to have surprises.'' The Diocese of Tennessee covers Middle Tennessee. In his closing remarks to the convention, Herlong charged the delegates to return to their churches refocused on their mission, to pray longer and to give more of themselves to their congregations, both financially and spiritually. Herlong said he would call another special meeting of the convention to take care of business that the church is required to do. However, he later added that it is possible that the special convention could be as short as five minutes and be held on the day of the 2005 annual convention. It would be necessary for him to confer with diocesan lawyers before a final decision could be made, he said. END

"If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself." St. Augustine of Hippo Dear Brothers and Sisters, Across the country biblically orthodox parishes and their rectors are waging courageous battles. From New Westminster, to North Dakota, from Montana to Tennessee, from Southern Virginia, to Albany and even in New Hampshire, the battle rages. No diocese is unaffected. Funds are being withheld at record levels: They are down $1.2 million in Nth. Carolina; $900,000 in Virginia, $950,000 in D.C. and a senior warden said that the cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC is down $3 million in pledges for 2004 and so on. This takes two forms. The first is a deliberate withholding of funds to the diocese by wealthy parishes, and secondly those parishes that are not taking in enough to pay their diocesan pledge over and above their assessment. (One is mandatory the other is optional). At St. John's Cathedral, in Albuquerque, N.M., Dean Alan G. Dennis noted the cathedral had a shortfall of $300,000 to meet basic mission needs. Pledges are down $107,000 from a year ago, according to last Sunday's (January 25) bulletin. This is being repeated across the nation. The national church is losing funds left and right from dioceses both orthodox and heterodox. And by all accounts it is going to get worse. There would seem to be no way back unless legal threats of coercion are made and ecclesiastical action is taken by revisionist bishops whose final recourse is the Canons and Constitutions. What is happening in some dioceses is that revisionist bishops are drawing down from their own Trust Funds to keep the national church afloat and making the numbers look better than they really are. So it is unlikely that Griswold and the Executive Council will feel any immediate pain. That might be a year or two away. But that there is a slow imploding going on cannot be denied. In the end all that heterodox bishops have are threats and coercion, but even they can't hold people back from leaving. If all a revisionist bishop has at the end of the day is a property and monies he is left with dust and ashes. For what shall it profit a bishop if he should gain all the parishes and all their monies but lose the people and ultimately his own soul? God will not be mocked. He may no longer rain down fire and brimstone from heaven, but He can and does withdraw his Holy Spirit, and in the end that is a whole lot worse. What is left will wither and die on the vine - the end of pansexualism is perversity writ large. IN VERSAILLES, KENTUCKY, where Bishop Stacy Sauls pulled the plug prematurely on St. John's, attendance at the main (9 am) service last Sunday was about 27 (down from c. 125+). A group was busy writing personal notes to the break-aways asking them to "come home", a source wrote Virtuosity. The St. Andrew's group is meeting at a building located in Falling Springs Park on the edge of town. They have hired their own priest and they are ready to rock n roll. Bishop Sauls may have "won" the property, but he lost the people. Some victory. You can read stories about that in today's digest. I am indebted to John Lockwood for his able reporting of the situation there. AND IN THE DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON this week the convention tabled indefinitely a motion to vote on the 39 articles, Nicene Creed, and the statement that Holy Scriptures have all things necessary for salvation. Fr. Tom Logan of Calvary, D.C introduced the resolution. It was based on Resolution B001 sponsored by Bishop Keith Ackerman (Quincy) at the last General Convention. Extreme revisionist John Vanderstar voted to table it. Fr. Dick Downing, another revisionist, spoke against it, as did former Integrity President Fr. Michael Hopkins. No surprise there. That diocese is driven totally by sexuality issues not Scripture. SO WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON in dioceses like Florida where the new Bishop John Howard says he will not allow same-sex marriages nor will he ordain gay priests but won't sign on to the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes? People are calling and writing Virtuosity saying they are confused. Be confused no more. What is happening is this. Bishops like Howard are walking a tightrope. He has a dozen parishes that are withholding funds, he has liberal parishes and priests that don't like orthodoxy, so he must throw them a bone and play the corporate game. For example a resolution to declare the diocese autonomous failed. On the other hand Howard said he intended to explore membership irrespective of the vote. And then some orthodox delegates who did not withdraw their funding said a decision NOT to join could push them from out of the diocese. So Howard plays it down the middle. He is against the national church's bizarre sexuality, but he won't sign on to the NACDP. It's called stayin' alive. The question must be asked is why he wanted the job so badly at a time he knew it would be nothing but trouble? The call of the Purple must be awfully compelling. In CENTRAL FLORIDA, Bishop John W. Howe has signed on to the NADCP but not to the AAC. And he has just lost a parish to the AMIA. Are you confused? Trust me when I tell you it is going to get a lot murkier and worse before it gets better. But it should be noted that the Howe/AMIA precedent is no help to those parishes who want to keep their property. Charles Bennison (Pennsylvania) would be happy if Fr. Moyer and his congregation moved to the basement of a Baptist church. But the departure of St. John's in Melbourne was handled well by all accounts. There was a three-hour service in which the church was packed. Prayer and praise was offered and the meeting was decent and orderly, loving of others, respectable. A vote was taken. Those voting totaled 362. Bishop Howe made a 25-minute presentation followed by a DVD of Bishop Chuck Murphy (AMIA) with CEO Tim Smith present and Fr. John Miller. A vote was taken. Only members 16 and older in good standing with St. John's were qualified to vote. Each person had to sign his ballot. 282 voted to leave ECUSA and join AMiA. 62 voted to remain at St. John's. 18 abstained from voting. Canon David Lord, the new Vicar, was introduced by Bishop Howe who later met in the parish hall with the 62 choosing to remain. The outgoing rector Fr. Miller had prepared a letter to all parishioners, to be picked up on the way out of the building. Included in the envelope were directions to the meeting place of Prince of Peace Anglican Church, the newly incorporated church. Parishioners of Prince of Peace will be able to contribute to the new church immediately. "We walked away with not so much as a paper clip," said a Virtuosity reader. "Our Father's House, a Southern Baptist Church until about a year ago, is across the river. They have opened their facilities and office equipment to us. We will worship at 8:30 next Sunday, February 8, followed by a fellowship period and Sunday School. While we are in Sunday School, their church service will be held. God is good!" she wrote. "This was a spirit-filled service that honored our risen Lord." Score one for both sides. Perhaps revisionist bishops like Charles Bennison and Tom Shaw could learn a thing or two from bishops like Howe about how to handle graciously those who disagree with them. In a real power play reminiscent of Tammany Hall politics, the annual convention of the DIOCESE OF TENNESSEE stalled because revisionist priests used underhanded and possibly illegal tactics to prevent parishes redirecting their funds away from the National Church to the diocese, whose bishop is the righteous Bert Herlong. You can read that story today. The convention adjourned without voting on several controversial resolutions. They will have to have another convention to deal with all the issues. So much for peace, love, kisses, diversity and comprehensiveness from the revisionists. And in the DIOCESE OF TEXAS we have this from Rick Kercheval. "Bishop Don Wimberly of Diocese of Texas, votes for the truth and says some of the right things at Convention yet his true colors were revealed in a letter to the clergy and diocese right before council in which 4 resolutions were to be brought to the floor confirming a stance against the cult leadership of the Episcopal Church now in place, defining marriage, and reaffirming Scripture as our only source of behavior and authority. He explains that, "We are called to be focused on our mission and vision and not to be sidetracked by the winds of doctrine." (Page 1 2nd column). He also shuts down introduction of the resolutions (found on the Diocesan information page) by Godly council, which means no one in the clergy had dare cross him without defrocking threat. In effect, he has killed any chance for this diocese to turn it around since many pledging families were hanging on by the fingernails in order to see the 'light and truth' fought for. In the DIOCESE OF WEST TENNESSEE, Bishop Don E. Johnson's pastoral letter of January 15 has affected the climate in the diocese in interesting ways. In response, some laity have organized a meeting to be held of February 12 at Independent Presbyterian Church in East Memphis. An official from AAC will be on hand to make a presentation about the real purposes of AAC. All are invited. Bishop Johnson has been personally invited. Then, on February 14 at 9:00 a.m., Presbyterian theologian Dr. Robert Gagnon will appear at All Saints' Episcopal Church to speak on The Bible and Human Sexuality. Bishop Johnson has been informed and invited to this as well. This conference gives anyone who really wants to understand what the Bible says about human sexuality in general, and homosexuality in particular. On February 20-21 at their Diocesan convention two resolutions will be presented. One will uphold the teachings of Christ as it relates to heterosexual marriage and the other asks the diocese to repudiate the confirmation and consecration of the Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of New Hampshire and the recognition of the blessing of same sex unions. And from the DIOCESE OF NORTH CAROLINA comes word that Bishop Suffragan J. Gary Gloster Bishop has resigned. He will undoubtedly be replaced a fellow liberal traveler. The notion of someone orthodox replacing him is almost as laughable as an orthodox bishop being enthroned in the Diocese of Newark. He's out the door August of this year. IN LATE BREAKING NEWS All Saints in Anchorage, Alaska, has been given permission to have adequate Episcopal oversight. Their overseeing bishop will be Terry Buckle from the Diocese of the Yukon, Canada. Kudos for this goes to Bishop Mark MacDonald for taking the high road. He has set a precedent, perhaps others will now follow. This was the same bishop who faced presentment from the Canadian House of Bishops because he offered episcopal oversight to 11 priests and their parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster, where the bully Michael Ingham reigns. RUMORS THAT THE RADICAL REVISIONIST VIA MEDIA GROUPS springing up in orthodox dioceses to manipulate the process to put in revisionist bishops were being funded by the Episcopal Church Foundation in New York are not true. VIRTUOSITY spoke with Dr. Bill Anderson president of ECF who said that his organization, which is separate from the Episcopal Church, was not funding these groups. "The Foundation has, since 1964, played a key role in expanding the ranks of learned leadership for the church. The Doctoral Fellowship Program they operate supports promising scholars who are planning teaching careers in theological education in the Episcopal Church. Fellows are chosen based on both their academic skill and ability to share their specialized knowledge with the broader church", Anderson told Virtuosity. A Conference on Reconstructing Anglican Comprehensiveness sponsored by the ECF is being held at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. Virtuosity will post significant papers from this conference including one by the Rev. Dr. Paul Zahl, the cathedral Dean. Zahl is one of the truly bright lights in ECUSA. He holds a doctorate from Tubingen and he has done brilliantly building up the congregation at the cathedral. It will probably come as no surprise that his bishop, Henry Parsley, an abject liberal, is no friend of the good Dean. The conference "Reconstructing Comprehensiveness" aims to examine and provide strengthening intelligence for the church about the transformational power of faithful disagreement. FAITHFUL ANGLICANS IN THE HEARTLAND, Inc., Mainstream Anglicans in the Episcopal Church are inviting you to join them as a testimony to God's faithfulness. They write: "Are you grieving and angry about the recent actions of General Convention to affirm the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire and to acknowledge that same sex unions are being blessed in some dioceses? Sadly it seems our church has left us... So we are inviting mainstream Anglicans and others in the Evansville - Tri-State area to join us in the formation and establishment of an Adequate Episcopal Oversight Congregation, NOW! If you want to join up drop them a line at: PO Box 23171 Evansville, IN 47724. PURPLE DISEASE After several years of combined research, doctors from around the world issued a warning today on the dangers of wearing ecclesiastical purple. While the doctors are still trying to find the origin of the disease, they issued the following symptoms. One of the immediate reactions to putting on ecclesiastical purple is a disintegration of the backbone. This in turn opens the spinal cord to outside pressures of the world. Pressures on the spinal cord cause swelling of the brain which lead to cowardice, irrational behavior, double-talk, and self-righteousness. These behavioral traits are paralleled with visions of grandeur and godness. Sufferers tend to hear voices, which they attribute to heavenly sources. Sufferers also have an uncontrollable need to be right in every situation. Here their use of double-talk is invoked. In the final stages, deterioration of the brain continues and one may only retire and enjoy the fruits of a large retirement system. Preliminary reports suggest that plants used to make the dye for ecclesiastical purple may contribute to this disease. Further research and study will surely add to the revelations of this disease. In the meantime, researchers suggest that people wearing ecclesiastical purple be avoided. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Irish philosopher, statesman. The orthodox bishops in ECUSA must move beyond pep rallies to action. On a Sunday in the near future all of them must cross Diocesan and minister to orthodox parishes in revisionist dioceses. Otherwise nothing will happen and those parishes will surrender or their members will leave ECUSA. Promises were made at Plano. Those promises must be turned into action. AND THEN THERE IS THIS LINE FROM A VIRTUOSITY READER; "Maybe the symbol on the ECUSA flag should be an ostrich. Take away the pomp, ceremony and embroidered vestments and you have a bunch of Unitarians who like drama." I AM POSTING A NUMBER OF STORIES for your interest and enlightenment. Virtuosity is adopting a policy that it will post stories surrounding events going on in the ECUSA midweek and internationally on the weekend. All stories are posted to the website daily. They can also be found in the ARCHIVES. Go to www.virtuosityonline.org. VIRTUOSITY has had more than 800,000 hits to its website. PLEASE INVITE people to check us out. There is no longer any need to stay in the dark about what is going on in The Episcopal Church. None. The choice is entirely yours and theirs. VIRTUOSITY also needs your support. Without it we cannot survive. You can make a tax-deductible donation at the PAYPAL link at the website: www.virtuosityonline.org or you can send a check to VIRTUOSITY, 1236 Waterford Road, West Chester, PA 19380. Thank you for your support. All blessings, David W. Virtue DD

By PAUL ASAY THE GAZETTE Colorado Springs launches scores of Christian missionaries into the world every year. The world is returning the favor. The International Anglican Church, which meets at 10 a.m. Sundays in Colorado College's Shove Memorial Chapel, is a mission church from Rwanda, Africa. It's also an effort by the Anglican bishop there to bring the Gospel to what he considers to be God's richest lost sheep: Americans. Colorado Springs may seem a strange locale for mission work. The Rev. Ken Ross, senior pastor for the IAC, once would have agreed. He wanted to start a Rwandan mission church in Washington, D.C., or Connecticut, and thought Colorado Springs needed "another white, middle-class church like it needs a hole in the head." But Ross felt God was calling him to the city. So he came, setting groundwork for the new church in early 2002. He wanted the church to emphasize the word "international" in its name and attract congregants who have lived or worked in other countries, bringing a multicultural perspective to worship. The IAC is part of the Anglican Mission, a group of about 60 churches around the country under direction from Anglican and Episcopal provinces overseas, primarily from Rwanda and Southeast Asia. These overseas provinces are part of the 70 million-member Anglican Communion, to which the Episcopal Church U.S.A. also belongs. Anglican Mission churches tend to be more conservative than Episcopalian parishes. No surprise, since Anglicans in developing nations tend to be more conservative than Episcopalians here. The Anglican church is huge in many of these countries — at least 16 million Anglicans live in Nigeria alone, according to Ross, compared with about 2.4 million Episcopalians in the United States. And Anglicanism is the second fastest-growing Christian denomination in the world, next to Catholicism, Ross said. The Rwandan province has relatively few Anglicans — about 180,000 out of 8.7 million people, according to the Anglican Communion Web site (www.anglicancommunion.org) — but the leadership there is zealously evangelical. The IAC's pastors are technically Rwandan missionaries, though they haven't been to the African nation. "We're the lightest-skinned Rwandans you'll ever meet," said Ross. Still, he and Worship Minister Jay Greener say their goal is the same as that of any missionary: Bring the Gospel to people who they feel need it. Compared to the Christian communities in the third world, Ross said the United States looks positively faithless. About 130 million Americans don't go to church, he said. Even Colorado Springs — a national hub of religious activity — has its share of unchurched people. But Ross and Greener say the people coming to IAC aren't as much "unchurched" as they are "underchurched." Many of the IAC's 114 members came from other congregations around town, and some had bounced around area churches for years without finding a permanent spiritual home. Others were "wounded" in their church, and didn't feel welcome there anymore. "We're learning there must be a real need in this community (to heal) that," Greener said. Another draw, according to the pastors, is the church's traditional trappings and liturgy. Most IAC members came from more contemporary churches, so the ancient rites associated with Anglicanism are, to them, new things. The standard IAC service combines traditional Anglican liturgies with contemporary music. Ross worked alone for several months trying to start up the IAC. Most churches that begin like this — the Anglican Mission calls them "parachute drops" — fail in a few months. Ross doubted he'd succeed. "If you asked me two days before we actually planted the church what I'd be doing in six months, I would've said selling shoes," Ross said. "I could at least work with soles." But by September 2002, Ross had gathered enough congregants to plant the church. Its first service was at The World Prayer Center, though services moved to Shove a few weeks later. Greener joined the ministry last January. The work hasn't gotten easier for either minister. Both work directly for the Anglican Mission too, and sometimes put in 70-hour workweeks. It's time well spent, according to Ross. "I'm having fun," he said. "This is probably one of the first congregations that I could say if I wasn't the pastor, I'd be attending." The mission work continues. Though the church is still small, IAC hopes to seed another area church this year. "We'll be working with them for at least six months, maybe longer, to get them to a point where they have what they need to plant," Ross said. "What we're doing is hoping to give them a better start."

By PAUL ASAY THE GAZETTE Anglican Mission churches such as the International Anglican Church — a missionary church that answers to Anglican bishops in Rwanda, Africa — are signs of struggle within the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is made up of 70 million Anglicans and Episcopalians worldwide who answer to the Archbishop of Canterbury, England. But many Anglican provinces have had an uneasy relationship with the Episcopal Church U.S.A. in recent years, particularly after the Episcopal Church ordained the Rev. Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest, as a bishop last year. The Anglican Mission was formed in 2000 by Anglicans overseas as a radical way to combat what they saw as growing liberalism within the Episcopal Church U.S.A. The group sponsors Anglican "missionaries" in the United States who teach a far more conservative version of Anglicanism. Pastors for the IAC here, the Rev. Ken Ross and the Rev. Jay Greener, believe the Anglican Mission is more in line with what most Anglicans worldwide believe. The national Episcopal Church has 2.4 million members — "a toe" in the 70 million-member worldwide Anglican body, according to Ross. "What you're really seeing in the Anglican Mission is a small part of what is a major realignment taking place — some even call it a whole new reformation," said Greener, who also is communications officer for the Anglican Mission. "What you're going to end up with is, potentially, two approaches to Anglican faith." But if the Episcopal Church is a toe, the Anglican Mission is, at this point, a freckle: There are only about 60 Anglican Mission churches nationwide. The largest, according to Ross, has about 1,000 congregants. Most are much smaller. It's an unwanted freckle for many in the Anglican Communion, at that. Though supported by much of the Communion's leadership, the archbishop of Canterbury has never officially recognized the group. The Episcopal Church considers the Anglican Mission to be a renegade movement, not part of the communion at all. The Rev. Donald Armstrong is rector for the 2,300-member Grace and St. Stephens Episcopal Church in downtown Colorado Springs, just blocks away from where the IAC meets in Colorado College's Shove Memorial Chapel. Armstrong believes the U.S. Episcopal Church is too liberal, and he has been an outspoken critic of the church and its leadership, particularly on the issue of gay clergy. Theologically, he and Ross would appear to agree on many things. Armstrong calls the Anglican Mission movement "destructive and egocentric," founded by people who don't have patience enough to work within the Episcopal system for change. He also says Anglican Mission churches like the IAC are predatory, capitalizing on the fractures within the Episcopal church to grow their own flocks. "What he (Ross) is trying to do is to catch Episcopalians coming out the door," Armstrong said. "The Episcopal church is not our fishing ground," Ross said. He said he initially turned away disgruntled Episcopalians, in part because he worried the negative baggage they brought with them would effect the fledgling church. He wanted the IAC to establish its own identity first. Armstrong said he and likeminded clergy made a big stride Jan. 20, when they voted to create the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, but he doesn't anticipate the network will ever work with the Anglican Mission for reform. "They'll never be part of what we're doing," he said. "They're fundamentalists of the worst sort."

By Carol Platt Liebau www.CaliforniaRepublic.org 2/2/04 Increasingly, it's becoming an anachronism to define oneself as a political conservative who is an Episcopalian. For a church that constantly proclaims the merits of "unity" and "inclusion," too many clergymen are doing an excellent job of alienating those who disagree with them on the political issues of the day. As a result, their more traditional congregants are increasingly finding that, in a real sense, they are no longer welcome in the Church they love. When I moved from the Midwest to the Golden State five years ago as a bride, I was struck by the warmth and welcome extended by Californians. Acclimating was easier than one might ever have predicted — except when it came to finding a new church home. Most memorably, several years ago, I arrived at a local Episcopal Church (in fairness, one well-known for its left-wing activism) for the Good Friday vigil. The churchyard was filled with little crosses. Knowing the political leanings of the clergy and the church, I suspected they didn't symbolize the lives of unborn babies lost to abortion. Was I right about that! In fact, each of the little crosses represented a commemoration of a duly convicted murderer who had been executed by the state — with, almost as an afterthought, a list of his victims below each name. Nearby was a table with volunteers inviting worshippers to sign up to participate in anti-death penalty activism. Aside from any offensive implicit equation between multiple murders and the crucified Christ, the intrusion of politics into a holy day was jarring. Even at the church my husband attended as a youth (reputedly the most conservative locally), politics too often interferes with worship. The Sunday after September 11, 2001, the sermon was more condemnatory toward Rush Limbaugh than toward the suicide hijackers! What a squandered opportunity for the Church to touch the sore hearts of the believers in the pews. These days, when strident leftist policy pronouncements come from any Protestant denomination, it seems that they emanate from Episcopal clergy. Just last week, the Rocky Mountain News reported on a talk delivered by a Rev. Katherine Ragsdale to Naral/Pro Choice Colorado on the 30th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Ms. Ragsdale, an Episcopal priest, called on churches to join all aspects of the abortion rights fight, including opposition to "conscience clauses" that would allow physicians morally opposed to abortion to decline to perform them. As part of her talk, Ms. Ragsdale characterized conservative, pro-life Christians as a "small and wacko fringe" and reportedly opined that pro-choice opinions are natural for a Christian. Her absolutist views — and decidedly uncharitable way of expressing them — are an embarrassment to Christians. Obviously, Episcopal clergy in the United States, like all other Americans, are entitled to hold whatever political conviction they please. But when those convictions are brought into the pulpit with the intent to impose radical changes to long-held mores in both the Church and society more generally, something is very, very wrong. Last year's Episcopal General Convention made headlines, of course, when it endorsed the election of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire — the first time in Church history that a practicing homosexual had been named a bishop. At that time, the Convention also passed a resolution decreeing that "local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions." As a result of Gene Robinson's election, churches including the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church have suspended dialogue with the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., and along with the worldwide leaders of the Anglican Communion, have expressed solidarity with the orthodox Episcopalians who opposed Gene Robinson's consecration. Nine provinces within the Anglican Communion (representing over 38 million Anglicans — a majority), have announced they are in some form of impaired or broken communion with the U.S. Episcopal Church. Liberals like the American priests who supported the ordination of Gene Robinson, who proselytize for abortion, and who lead movements opposing the death penalty have repeatedly invoked the principle of "inclusion" and "unity." But by forcing political controversies into the sanctuaries of Episcopal Churches across the country, they have done nothing but split their Church into warring factions, separated it from the majority of fellow sectarians across the world, and provided the media with a priceless opportunity to ridicule and undermine the respect that religion — of any denomination — needs in order to survive in a secular and often hostile world. The actions of too American Episcopal clergymen have sent a message to Episcopalians of all political stripes — informing them that their Church is now dominated by priests with a leftist ideology that they are determined to impose at almost any cost. In doing so, these priests have exploited, and ultimately undermined, the sacred Anglican/Episcopal tradition of tolerating constructive diversity among its parishes — and, in the process, they are producing a Church that is steadily turning its back on the souls of its more traditional members. CRO columnist Carol Platt Liebau is a political analyst and commentator based in San Marino, CA.

By The Rev Keith Acker The events of General Convention and subsequent consecration, the meeting of the Primates, and a number of others, have struck deep at the heart of many Episcopalians. As a lifelong Episcopalian, I defined my faith not by the institutional church, but by the Anglican expression of the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Body of Jesus Christ. Being a member of an individual congregation, of a diocese, of a national church has always been grounded in the Church, not a local expression of it. The 74th General Convention has placed the Episcopal Church over and above the worldwide Anglican Communion by choosing to go its own way in the blessing of relationships outside of marriage and elevating a non-celibate homosexual to the office of bishop. This was done against the admonition and agreement of the Primates, contrary to the agreed statements of Lambeth, and even the pleading of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Many of the faithful see these actions as a clear abandonment of the Anglican Communion. It has been reinforced by the impairment and excommunication of the Episcopal Church by leaders representing the majority of Anglicanism. Many are torn by the division it is creating in our local churches and dioceses, and find our loyalties being challenged. "To whom do we belong?" It is not to the institutional church, it's canons, and it's buildings. We belong to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word of God, revealed in the divinely inspired Holy Scriptures, and who brings salvation through His sacrifice upon the Cross, our adoption by grace, and new life in the Body of Christ Jesus. At the heart of our new life in Jesus Christ is our Lord and His Church. Unity is not about an institutional arrangement, as evidenced in the Episcopal-Lutheran agreements. It is about being one in Jesus Christ. It is about proclaiming the One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism. Those who took action at the 74th General Convention and those who participated in the subsequent consecration have done so apart from the Body of Jesus Christ. They have acted alone and apart from the Anglican Communion. They have defied and denied the unanimous witness of the Primates of the Church. They have set themselves apart. So now we are being asked, "Where do our loyalties lie?" The Primates are asking us. The Anglican Communion is asking us. The Church is asking us, in our local congregations, in our dioceses, and in the Episcopal Church. How shall we answer? I have expressed my disassociation from these actions against the unity of the Church. My congregation has disassociated from these actions and is no longer in fellowship with those who participated in the consecration, and now we put this question before the 30th Convention of the Diocese of San Diego: "Where do your loyalties lie?" To affirm the actions of the 74th General Convention is to stand with Three percent of Anglicanism. To disassociate from its actions is to stand with the majority of our Sisters and Brothers in Christ in the Anglican Communion. The question is asked because it is imperative for us to follow our One Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; and no one comes to the Father but by Him. The question is asked because the General Convention, Presiding Bishop, and co-consecrators chose to bless what God has not blessed and to uphold that which is not upheld by undivided Church, proved from Holy Scripture, and lived out in the life of the faithful in all times, in all places and by all. The question is asked because explaining away the difficult words of Holy Scripture by ignoring them rather than hearing the inspired Word of God speaking the truth to our present day is not living by Faith in Jesus Christ. And the question is asked because no one challenges these leaders of the Church to instruct us where the undivided Church affirms these actions, instructs us where to find in Holy Scriptures God blessing these actions, and where this has been upheld as living the life of witness to Jesus Christ. The Reverend Keith Acker is rector of Church of Christ The King, Alpine, Diocese of San Diego.

By David W. Virtue Loganville GA, (February 2, 2004) — Anglican Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia told more than 230 people that "the Episcopal Church no longer represents Anglicanism in the United States, and we no longer recognize them as such." "They have departed from Anglicanism and do not represent the Christian Faith," he said. He reminded the people, "keep the main thing the main thing and the main thing is Jesus." Holy Cross Anglican Church will hold their first services on February 8th with a Traditional Anglican Worship format and also a Contemporary Anglican format. Bishop Lyons was the guest of a celebratory worship service and reception in his honor at Holy Cross Anglican Church this evening at 7:00 p.m. at Loganville Middle School in Loganville, GA, just outside of Atlanta. More than 230 people came out on a night with rain and freezing rain to meet and greet the Bishop of Bolivia. Bishop Lyons was visiting to celebrate the formation of Holy Cross Anglican Church, one of two new Anglican parishes that have recently been formed in Atlanta by clergy and laity who have left the Diocese of Atlanta within The Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA) and whom will now come under his jurisdiction as Bishop of Bolivia, and under the authority of the Province of the Southern Cone and its Primate, The Most Rev. Gregory Venables. The move is viewed as a rescue situation for Episcopalians who feel they cannot in good conscience stay in the Diocese of Atlanta within the ECUSA. Holy Cross Anglican Church was established by several hundred mainstream Episcopalians in the Atlanta area who sought to remove themselves from the Diocese of Atlanta within the ECUSA while maintaining their Christian ties to millions of Anglicans around the world within the Anglican Communion. The Rector, Rev. Dr. Foley Beach, describes Holy Cross Anglican Church as a Bible- based evangelical church, emphasizing discipleship, caring for the needy, and reaching out to the unchurched in the community. The Rev. Dr. Beach and the Rev. Lin Watts, who both served as Episcopal priests in the Diocese of Atlanta, were received as Anglican priests by Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia. At the service on Monday evening, both reaffirmed their ordination vows and signed the Declaration of the Southern Cone. Bishop Lyons presented both priests with a set of stoles from Bolivia. In his sermon to the congregation, Bishop Lyons told the people that God was creating a new work which is to bear witness to Jesus. They church recently received a $770,000 gift to purchase 10 acres for the future church, and a committee has been appointed to present a land-use and building plan. Bishop Lyons said he was acting with the full blessing of the Primate of Southern Cone, Gregory Venables. He said that he was "extending to Holy Cross Anglican Church emergency and temporary, Episcopal pastoral covering" as they begin their new work. "I have received the Rev. Dr. Foley Beach as a priest in good standing with our diocese and province, a part of the Anglican Communion, and he will lead you as pastor." He said further, "We are not going to rest until this emergency situation is resolved and you are recognized with local official Anglican oversight in the United States." The name, Holy Cross, will always remind parishioners where to turn for their source of strength. Founding member Clyde Strickland explains, "We are all looking for a place to go for comfort and spiritual help. The first place you need to go to is to the cross, and what is the cross except holy, so we decided on the name 'Holy Cross.'" END

From a church split, two families form St. John's, St. Andrew's struggle with changes By Frank E. Lockwood HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER VERSAILLES - St. John's Episcopal Church is 157 years old, wealthy, loyal to the diocese of Lexington and nearly empty. St. Andrew's Anglican Church is 3 weeks old, practically homeless, free of all ties to the Episcopal Church U.S.A. and growing exponentially. About 180 people attended St. Andrew's yesterday, gathering at the Falling Springs Arts and Recreation Center in Versailles to sing and pray. Downtown, at historic St. John's, three services drew a total of 60 people. Most of St. Andrews' parishioners had been members of the older congregation but left after diocesan leaders fired the entire governing board at St. John's. The conservative board had clashed repeatedly with the diocese's more liberal bishop, Stacy Sauls, because of Sauls' support for the ordination of openly gay bishop V. Gene Robinson. But the leaders were removed by the diocese's executive council on Jan. 7, after they allegedly failed to follow proper procedures for hiring a new minister. Days after the firings, unhappy St. John's members voted to form a new church and contributed $40,000 to get it started. The group, which met informally in a supporter's living room for three weeks, had its first formal worship service yesterday and welcomed its new pastor, the Rev. David Brannen, to Versailles. A former St. John's senior warden, Tom Thornbury, now St. Andrew's top lay leader, asked God to "instill in us the resolve to carry on, ... give us the courage to continue, and never be satisfied with what we have accomplished." All of the former St. John's leaders joined Thornbury on the stage as he welcomed Brannen and presented him with two emblems: a scarflike clerical garment and a copy of the Scriptures. "Friends," Thornbury told the crowd, "we have undertaken a monumental task. We have stepped away from the comforts of our beloved church-home, and we are walking together toward an uncertain, frightening, yet exciting future." After being removed from office, deposed leaders from St. John's could have sued and fought to keep the church's nearly $1.9 million in assets. Instead, they walked away, leaving the property, the assets, and row after row of empty pews. "Regardless of what we've given up, we have found something that is more valuable, more inviting and more pleasing to our souls," Thornbury said in an interview. The church building they left has stunning stained glass, shiny brass lectionaries, marble, artwork and polished wood. Former President George Bush and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II have worshiped there. The new worship space for St. Andrew's, a theater, lacks the religious trappings of St. John's and its storied history. There is a stage set behind the altar and an electronic keyboard instead of a pipe organ. Yesterday, nobody seemed to mind. Worshipers came to the service from all over Central Kentucky: Winchester, Nicholasville, Georgetown, Frankfort and Lexington. The new pastor said the church will reach out to all people. "We're not here primarily to be a refuge for beleaguered Episcopalians," Brannen told the crowd. "You are welcome to come here, but we've got a mission to do and we will do it by loving God and loving people." After the service, Judy Taylor of Lexington energetically passed out music to the newly formed choir and said she was satisfied with the first official worship service for St. Andrew's. "It's always a blessing when God shows up," she said. Back at St. John's, there's hardly any choir left. Only two of its members were there Sunday. The Sunday school program was also hit hard. The church treasurer, the youth director, and the person in charge of yards and grounds have departed. The rebuilding has begun, though, according to the Rev. Phillip Haug, who is temporarily serving as minister-in-charge. A new treasurer has been picked, and a committee has been formed to work with Sauls. "It's a sign of wholeness that many have stepped forward," Haug said. People on both sides say they are grieving because their church family has split apart. Said Haug: "There's a lot of pain, but also a sense of optimism about the future." END

St. Andrew's pastor feels called to Ky. By Frank E. Lockwood HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER VERSAILLES - As an associate minister at one of the nation's largest Episcopal churches, the Rev. David Brannen had a secure job in a conservative western Pennsylvania diocese. But he gave it all up to lead a congregation with no building, no budget, no history and no guarantees. It's a decision he and his wife have struggled with. "Claire has asked me a million times, 'Are you sure you're getting this right?'" he told his new congregation yesterday. "I have told her time and time again, 'Yes, this is the Lord.'" Brannen, the new rector of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Versailles, said he has felt called by God before, in 1990. At the time, Brannen had a job as communications director for the Muscogee County School District in Georgia, but he gave it up and enrolled at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa. That is where he believed God wanted him to be, so that is where he went. He got a job as communications director at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sewickley, Pa., and, after four years, became its evangelism minister. In 1996, he became associate rector, earned a master's of divinity degree and was ordained Dec. 29 that year. This is the first time Brannen, 48, has led a congregation, but leaders at his new church said he has the temperament, theology and passion for evangelism that they were hoping for. "Upon meeting David, the sense that this was the Lord's choice for our church was overwhelming," said search committee member Judge Wilson. "It was immediate, it was clear, and it was unanimous." Another committee member, John Edwards, said he was struck by Brannen's warmth and his emphasis on the Bible. "David preached the word," he said, "and there was no compromise, no wiggle room." As pastor of a new church, Brannen said, "things feel risky. There are a lot of uncertainties." But his resolve has not weakened. "I am certain of this," he said. "I am called to the community of Versailles." END

By Willard Fishburne ASHEVILLE, NC--Five years ago I took my family out of one local church and began a search for a new church home. The experience was difficult. This is the story of that time in my life. I want to tell you why we left, what we lost, and what we found. First of all, I want you to know we were involved at this church, not just attendees. I had been on the Vestry and had been Junior Warden. I had been the church Treasurer, and at the time of our departure I was chairman of the finance committee. My wife had been a preschool and Sunday School teacher, and both of our children, ages seven and nine, were members of the children's choir. My wife and I had been married in an Episcopal diocese in Chicago. The priest there taught us to be Episcopalians. We attended the inquirer's class. We learned the tradition and history of the church. It was there that we first learned of the Episcopal faith's three-legged stool of the Bible, Tradition and Reason. We read the Book of Common Prayer's marriage vows, and we shared the hope of children. We read The Nicene Creed, which stated exactly what our new denomination believed. We agreed with its fundamental belief that Jesus Christ was the only Son of God; and that he suffered and was crucified on the cross for our sins; and that he rose again on the third day. And that by believing in him we might have eternal life. In short, our experience at the church of the Redeemer on Fullerton St. in Chicago was so good that we sought the same type of church in Asheville. We joined an Episcopal church where the priest was proud of his reputation as an avant guard liberal priest. He had come to the church in 1957 and had assumed a ministry based on personal devotion to his members, and an overt social liberalism that eschewed such common symbols as the American flag and N.C. State flags in the church By the mid-eighties we were a family of four. The little church was our home and we were comfortable as the only living conservatives in a sea of liberals. And it was OK. We had our differences, but we worked together in God's sight to serve and glorify His name. About that same time, one of the ladies of the church began a self-designated ministry to the prisoners in the Buncombe County Jail, and Craggy prison. She delivered personal care kits with toothpaste and soap, and, I suppose, counseled the prisoners. Also in the mind-eighties, I was asked to run for the Vestry, and was elected to the post, just as she asked for the priest's permission to become a deacon. In the Episcopal church, this is one step below the priesthood. She could perform every priestly function except administering the sacraments of bread and wine. To gain this position her ministry had to be approved by the church vestry. We gave the approval, provided she would agree to expand the ministry to the victims of crime, not just the perpetrators. A year later she came back to the vestry and the priest, asking that her ministry be changed and expanded again, this time to include the victims of HIV and AIDS infections. Again, we agreed. What followed next was a series of half-inch steps until the church was thoroughly dominated and intimidated by the homosexual community. A constant flight of traditional long-time members ensued. One never knew where they went, but they were some of Asheville's most prominent families. Some of the half-inch steps that drove them away included: First, a support group for persons with HIV and AIDS was established. The group met in the church library, or one of the other meeting rooms. No problem. Alcoholics Anonymous and other groups already used church facilities for their meetings. One more group seemed to make little if any difference. Second, special services were requested for the HIV/AIDS community. The vestry denied these services, in that there was no desire to establish a homosexual-oriented church within the church. Thus, we welcomed increasing numbers of homosexuals to regular church services. This transpired over a period of months and years, and many of the new people who joined the church were welcome. The were bright, they were polite and considerate of others, but, by and large, they kept to themselves, sat together and avoided Sunday School classes and such Bible study as the church had. Many, it should be noted, gravitated towards the church choir. By the end of 1990 the influx of these individuals had made an impact. Many of the straight men left the choir and a noticeable group of homosexuals attended services each Sunday morning. The deacon's prison ministry had fallen by the wayside, and various homosexual groups met at the church several times each month. The deacon spent her full time working with these groups, and had little time or interest in working with others. The mainstream congregation seemed unaware of the change. The growing numbers of smiling and polite young men without wives or girlfriends seemed not to be noticed. Yet a gradual change had taken over the church. Homilies, or sermons, delivered from the pulpit now dwelt exclusively with social issues. One layman took to the pulpit one Sunday morning to lecture on the benefits of Liberation Theology to the huddled masses of Latin America. I nearly gagged. I had spent two years in Central America in the U.S. Army's Special Forces, training indigenous personnel in village defenses, human rights and patrolling. We went with them on patrols to fight the communist insurgencies spawned by Satan's own liberation theology. Many good men, women and children died in that undeclared war and I suffer the mental and physical scars today. Fools can rant and rave all they wish from the sanctuary oft heir liberal pulpits, but when the night fell in Guatemala in the 1969, I was on the ground with a rifle and a poncho praying for dawn. So on that morning when the church rafters rang with that heresy, I felt sick. I wondered how long I would be able to stay. By 1990 my term on the vestry had expired. The church was torn apart by the undercurrent of conflict between the straight congregation, the ones raising children and their grandparents, on the one side, and the extreme social liberals and homosexuals on the other. Many of the latter group had AIDS, and one of the fears was that it would be transmitted by the common Communion cup. This fear was addressed in two ways. First, a second, small in-tincture cup was provided for those who wished to dip their wafers rather than drink from the cup. Second, there was a lecture on how HIV and AIDS were transmitted, with assurance that the Communion cup was safe. The tone of the meeting was that everything was fine, there was no chance of any accidental contact spreading the HIV virus, and we were ignorant if we thought otherwise. At the same time, two of the most liberal women in the church were dispatched to a conference on "Human Sexuality." This, as it turned out, was a code phrase for a seminar on the acceptance of homosexuality as just a normal part of human life. Live with it, in other words, it's normal and it isn't a sin. People are just born that way, and if you think otherwise you are just being "judgmental." Within a few months, things went from resigned acceptance of a forced equality between homosexuals and heterosexuals, to an overt preference for the homosexual community Here is what happened. The Southern Appalachian Lesbian and Gay Alliance, otherwise known as SALGA, wanted to put on a gay fashion show. This was a cross-dressing event. A drag queen show. The church deacon quietly made arrangements and it was held in the church parish hall. That was the first time in nearly 100 years that the church had been used for a fashion show of any type. That it was a homosexual cross-dressed fashion show made it even more outrageous to the church's straight population. Worse yet, one of the church's youth groups (EYC) was on the premises at the time, attempting to use the kitchen facilities, which were also in use by the cross-dressed homosexuals. These young people were thus exposed to one of the more outrageous examples of homosexual behavior, without guidance or preparation for what they saw. The priest received a barrage of objections from the straight membership. People continued to leave. This church experience was not what they expected, and this church's family was like no family they had ever encountered. It seemed clear that the liberal priest and the ultra-liberal deacon had gone too far. But nothing was done. The private conversations between concerned straights vanished whenever the priest or deacon came by. The Human Sexuality committee, otherwise known as the get-along, go-along gang, was everywhere. On the Outreach committee. Teaching Sunday School. In the Altar Guild, and certainly in the choir. These people, acting either on their own or as duplicitous tools of the priest, stifled protests of the homosexual influx with lectures on the need to show loving and tender acceptance of "alternative lifestyles." A few months later, they went ever further. In February, SALGA and the deacon conspired to put on a homosexual St. Valentine's Day dance. Again, the 100-year old Parish Hall was the site of the event. The entire affair was done in secret. The fact that the parish hall was reserved for a SALGA St. Valentine's Day Dance never appeared on the church calendar, and was never announced during the scheduled announcement time on Sunday morning. It was a closed event. The planning, however, was intensive. In January, the deacon presented the office manager with a beer and wine sales permit application. "Sign it," she said, "so we can sell beer and wine at the dance." The office manager, a Baptist, refused. The priest, for a change, supported the no alcoholic beverage sale position. After all, it would be the first time the church had obtained a permit to sell alcoholic beverages during a church event. To an Episcopalian, a little wine and cheese at a reception was one thing. Selling the stuff was entirely something else. Undeterred, the deacon and her friends from SALGA determined they would have beer and wine at their dance anyway. Rather than sell it directly, they prepared signs that advertised the beer and wind would be available in exchange for "love" offerings equal to the predetermined sale price. And thus it was that, without the congregation's knowledge or approval, SALGA held a dance to celebrate St. Valentine's Day in the Parish Hall of an Episcopal church. Beer and wine were readily available if you made a "love" offering. From all reports and signs, the event was a huge success. A gay old time, as they say, was had by one and all. The next morning, Sunday, I arrived early to find the church sexton and Junior Warden hard at work cleaning up. I helped them finish the job - of removing beer cans and other evidence of the previous night's homosexual extravaganza from the premises. It was clear to me that the celebrants had not been celibate throughout the evening. The place was a mess. That nearly was the last straw, for me. The Parish Hall was not used for dances for our teenagers or our adults, because the priest had said he was afraid of "damage to the floor" in the historic building. As far as anyone can remember, that had been a hard and fast rule during his 30-year tenure. No dances in the Parish Hall. Not even a mixer for our kids. But the rule was broken in favor of the homosexuals. And a fashion show was held for the homosexuals. And beer and wine were, in effect, sold for the homosexuals. Everything clearly indicated that this church now preferred homosexual members to straights. The evidence was in the actions the church took. The general membership was kept in the dark, and the church bulletin - or newsletter - often seemed to mention the good things being done by the deacon and her gay friends. A few months later, with the problems just below the boiling point, the priest and the get-along, go-along committee announced there would be a Wednesday night meeting to discuss the problem. I now refer to it as the "Wednesday Night Massacre." When I walked into the Parish Hall that evening, I found out just how far the priest and deacon were willing to go to push their agenda. First, there were more homosexuals present than straights. And most of the homosexuals in attendance were neither members nor regular attendees at our church. Second, to speak at the event you had to have signed up in advance. Only one straight was on the program, with a total of about seven folks speaking for the homosexual community. The program started with a young lady from SALGA stating the she had personally cleaned up all the mess after the dance. I said she had not, that there was a great deal of litter on the grounds. She told me that was a lie, that everything had been cleaned up. I look at the Junior Warden, who had called me to help clean up on that Sunday morning. He grimly lowered and shook his head. He and the priest had been very close for years. In times of birth, marriage, and death. Thirty years in one church, together. The Junior Warden would not press the issue. After opening remarks from the head of the get-along committee, we split into small groups. Each group had at least one homosexual in the room to guide and lead the discussion. In my group we were hosted by a defrocked Catholic priest, who had declared himself a practicing homosexual some years earlier. His seminary training and familiarity with all Biblical references to homosexuality totally dominated and intimidated our discussion. After 40 minutes of this oppressive environment, in which little constructive was accomplished other than the attempt to brainwash the straights, we returned too the Parish Hall. It had been much the same in the other breakout groups. The deck was stacked and no one had been dealt a straight hand. One person, a member of the church who also was an ordained Presbyterian minister and psychologist with an active family counseling ministry, was on the schedule to speak for the straight community. His remarks were on one sheet of paper, and would take about four minutes to read. After 30 seconds, the priest cut him off. "David, that's enough of that," he said. "We've heard all we need to hear. Sit down." And thus ended the great debate. Free speech had been stifled. The forces of darkness had taken control of the church. Half an inch at a time. I stayed a few weeks longer, writing a lengthy and impassioned letter to the Bishop and calling each member of the vestry to see what could be done. The answer was nothing. The bishop wrote me a very nice letter that said, "Even if I was of a mind to remove the priest, which I'm not, I couldn't. Only the church vestry can remove an Episcopal priest." The vestry was dominated by the priest's faithful servants. The head of the get-along, go-along committee was on the vestry. The faithful Junior Warden, of course, as well as the Senior Warden. Twelve people, at least eight of whom were the priest's dedicated servants. We lost. And we left. We moved to a more rural parish where we felt we could believe in the Bible without fear of criticism from our ministers. The liberal wing of the Episcopal Church, and the church we left in particular, is too liberal for us. I was very concerned that the sight of men holding hands in church, and sitting throughout Sunday morning services with their arms around one another, was a bad example. I was afraid that my young and impressionable children were witness to events that would destroy the very values and morality Christianity attempted to teach. The year after our departure the deacon proposed the church open a gay and lesbian support group for middle school children. Notice of this plan was printed in the church's annual report. The time period I have described covers about six years. Six years in the life of a church, and many tragedies in the lives of young homosexual men who died of AIDS, when they came the church in search of God and, found, instead, encouragement for the lifestyle that would lead to their death. (Italicized section added 6/2000). Later, in 1995, at the Diocesan Convention at Camp Kanuga, the deacon defied instruction from the bishop and the priest, and declared on the floor of the assembly that she was a lesbian. Why did the Bishop and the parish priest instruct the Deacon not to publicly reveal her homosexuality? Because she would then have to be suspended. The Bishop followed through with a six week suspension. She then resumed her position and continues to lead and preach the gospel of homosexuality in the church today. In other words, the Bishop objected to her coming out of the closet. I believe he knew that she would be more effective if she remained cloaked. But he restored her to her office just as soon as the public furor died down. About six months later, the Deacon's husband, head of Christian Education at this church, announced that he, too was homosexual. As was their adopted son. I guess that disproves heredity as a cause. And more recently the new priest, Todd Donatelli, another avante guard liberal, announced the church, now the Cathedral of All Souls, would offer the Church's blessing and an appropriate ceremony for homosexual unions. Postscript: The new All Souls rector, Todd Donatelli, last year issued the first Excommunication in the history of the Episcopal Church in the United States. This "honor" was afforded to one Lewis W. Green for the offense of disagreeing with the church's homosexual agenda. Mr. Green, to his eternal credit, absolutely refused to get along and go along with the acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle as equal to heterosexuality, and actually preferable in some cases. An appeal to our Bishop, Robert Johnson of the Diocese of Western North Carolina, fell upon deaf ears. The Bishop also supports Donatelli in his decision to bless homosexual unions. Speaking of children, at Calvary our adults have a Sunday School class led by a wonderful retired priest. His table is overflowing with good things to share with us, teaching us ever more about our Savior, and God's plan for the world. And we have another retired old-school priest who sings in the choir and is a font of good and humorous knowledge about all things spiritual. I am on the vestry and my wife taught Sunday School until this year when she decided the task required someone younger. The only mistake we see there thus far at Calvary is that they have allowed me to join the choir. Maybe the angels will sneak in and give me the ability to carry a tune. That certainly wasn't in God's plan, but until the Angels intercede I shall persevere in making my Joyful Noise. By the Grace of God, the odyssey on which I took my family in 1991 ended at Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher. It was a very long and difficult journey, but I would do it again. And if Satan ever takes over the pulpit at Calvary, as he did at All Souls, we'll be on our way out the door. And even though, at this time, we are not ready to lead our parish to the AMiA, it is a blessing that we now have an alternative. END

Peter Hayward   By Muriel Porter The AGE 20 October 2025 YouTube The Rt Revd Peter Hayward, commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney THE statement from  Gafcon  that it had “reset” the Anglican Communion was developed at a meeting in Sydney last week, it has been revealed. In an interview posted on the website of the conservative Sydney organisation the Anglican Church League, the Archbishop of  Rwanda , Dr Laurent Mbanda, who chairs the Gafcon Primates Council, said that several Gafcon Primates had met in Sydney with some of the “founding fathers” of Gafcon. This included both the former Archbishop of  Sydney  Dr Peter Jensen, who was the first general secretary of Gafcon, and the former Primate of  Nigeria  the Most Revd Peter Akinola.   In response to the Gafcon statement, the Rt Revd Peter Hayward, writing as commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Revd Kanishka Raffel, who is currently on leave, said: “We are thankful to God for the biblical faithfulness and clarity of the GAFCON primates. Their decisiveness at such a critical time gives comfort to orthodox Anglicans worldwide and supports mission with authentic, loving and truthful witness.”   The Gafcon meeting in Sydney had been scheduled to coincide with the announcement on 3 October of the nomination of the next  Archbishop of Canterbury ; and, once the statement had been prepared, an online meeting of all the Gafcon Primates had been held on 16 October to approve it, Dr Mbanda said.   The statement calls on Anglican Provinces that have not yet removed references to being in communion with the see of Canterbury and the Church of England “to do so”.   Dr Mbanda said that, given that the constitution of the  Anglican Church of Australia  (ACA) declared that it was in communion with the Church of England, the Australian General Synod had some “homework” to do about “how it can move away”.   Changes to the ACA constitution require the approval of all five metropolitan diocesan synods, making it unlikely that the ACA’s position will change.   END

SPECIAL TO VIRTUEONLINE   By Rev. Dr. Ronald H. Moore www.virtueonline.org October 25, 2025   In the modern world, much of what we call “connection” takes place nowhere at all. The great paradox of our digital age is that the more we speak of being connected, the more we live disembodied lives. Our words rise into the cloud, our faces appear as light on a screen, and our sense of community is sustained by notifications and bandwidth rather than presence and touch. Yet the Christian faith is nothing if not embodied. It is the story of the Word made flesh, the invisible God made visible, the eternal Son made tangible through bread and wine. What happens to a Church built upon Incarnation when its members begin to live, move, and have their being in the cloud?   The philosopher Anton Barba-Kay has described our condition as one of digital formation —a process not of mere distraction, but of dislocation. The digital realm, he argues, is not simply a tool we use but a world we inhabit. It dissolves the contexts that once shaped human thought and relationship, replacing them with a placeless realm of constant mediation. In that world, the shared table becomes a feed, the parish becomes a network, and fellowship becomes something simulated by the algorithms of preference. Digital life does not reject the idea of community; it simply redefines it on its own terms.   This new formation is subtle, for it is spiritual as much as it is technological. The early Church was formed by liturgy, sacrament, and the slow rhythms of a shared calendar—what one might call analog holiness . Digital formation, by contrast, shapes souls at the speed of scrolling. It teaches that time is elastic, that words have no weight, and that one’s world is whatever one chooses to see. It is, as Barba-Kay observed, the collapse of shared context—and with it, the collapse of shared reality. Truth itself becomes personalized. We no longer begin with “Thus saith the Lord,” but with “As I experience it.” The ancient question of Pilate, “What is truth?” returns, this time asked not in scorn but in confusion.   For the Church, the danger is not that people will use new technologies poorly; it is that they will be formed by them. Discipleship, after all, is always a matter of formation—of being conformed to something. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, NKJV). Digital space, however, operates precisely by conforming minds: by shaping attention, desire, and perception through unseen algorithms. It is, in its own way, a rival liturgy. The act of worship becomes a stream of content. The liturgy of presence becomes a ritual of projection. The body of Christ risks becoming a collection of avatars.   The Incarnation stands as the great contradiction to all this. The Gospel according to John does not say, “The Word was uploaded,” but “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Apostolic witness insists that “our hands have handled” the Word of Life (1 John 1:1). Christianity begins not in abstraction but in touch—in real bodies, real bread, real blood. The faith was never meant to be experienced in isolation, much less mediated by pixels. When the Church gathers, it is not merely exchanging information; it is participating in a mystery. The sacraments do not transmit data. They convey grace.   The challenge, then, is not whether we will use technology, but whether technology will use us. If the Church allows the digital environment to define its patterns of fellowship, it will eventually lose the very thing that makes it the Church. The Body of Christ cannot exist in the cloud, because bodies do not exist in the cloud. The Church is not an idea; it is a people gathered by God in place and time. The Eucharist cannot be “streamed” because it is not a spectacle. It is an act of communion—an encounter with the living Christ that requires presence. To lift the chalice is to declare that the eternal Word still dwells among us, not above us in the ether.   Yet this is precisely what must be recovered: an incarnational theology robust enough to resist the disembodied habits of digital modernity. The Church must learn again to sanctify slowness, locality, and face-to-face fellowship. Our formation must be grounded in the rhythms of prayer, silence, and shared table rather than in the ceaseless churn of online discourse. Pastors and theologians alike must remind the faithful that the faith once delivered is not an abstraction to be managed but a presence to be received. The Word is not data. The Spirit is not bandwidth. The Church is not a platform.   None of this means that digital tools are inherently evil. They can serve good ends when rightly ordered—recording sermons, teaching Scripture, or reaching the isolated. But when they begin to replace the embodied life of faith, they become, in effect, a counterfeit church. The danger is not the use of the cloud, but its elevation into the place of the chalice. In that moment, the medium becomes the message, and the message ceases to be Christ.   The future of Christian formation depends on recovering what the digital world cannot give: presence, patience, and participation in the divine life. To be the Church is to dwell with one another as God has dwelt with us. The cloud may offer convenience, but only the chalice offers communion.   Let us, then, resist the disembodied catechism of our age. Let us once more teach our people to come —to hear, to kneel, to taste and see. For the salvation of the world was not accomplished in theory or transmitted by code. It was accomplished in the flesh and blood of the Incarnate Word, who even now calls His people not to log in, but to gather .   The Rev. Dr. Ronald H. Moore is the Vicar of St. Luke's Anglican Church in Corinth, Mississippi. You can find his books at amazon.com/author/ronaldhmoore