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BBC News Gay Church of England cleric Jeffrey John has been given the backing of St Albans Cathedral where he has been appointed as the new dean. A group of evangelicals had called for Dr John to withdraw his acceptance. But their hopes were dealt a blow on Tuesday when the cathedral's chapter said it welcomed the appointment and had received messages of support. Dr John was forced to withdraw his acceptance for the post of suffragan Bishop of Reading last year. Canon Stephen Lake, sub-dean and acting dean at St Albans, said: "Jeffrey John brings to the abbey a track record of scholarship and preaching, and a commitment to mission. Show of support "The support for Jeffrey John from the cathedral chapter and congregation is clear. "The vast majority of the congregation have shown their support for the appointment and are looking forward to his installation and ministry here." Dr John, who is gay but celibate, is currently canon theologian at Southwark Cathedral. He will be installed as Dean of St Albans on 2 July. He withdrew his acceptance of the post of suffragan Bishop of Reading last summer after a storm of protest from conservatives in the Church of England. © BBC MMIV

May 3, 2004 On August 5, 2003, the Episcopal Church USA abandoned the clear teaching of Holy Scripture as well as the faith and order of Anglicanism. Since that time events have unfolded which prove that ECUSA has lost its moral compass. Recently we have seen a juxtaposition of significant incidents that illustrate ECUSA’s continued slide into a secularized religion scarcely resembling the spiritual and moral foundation upon which Christ formed His Church. On April 25, 2004 the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) sponsored the “March for Women’s Lives” on the Mall in Washington, DC. One of the primary purposes of RCRC outlined in its mission statement is support of the constitutional right to abortion, and participants carried signs with slogans demeaning the sanctity of life in a chilling fashion. Both the Episcopal Church USA and the Episcopal Women’s Caucus are members of RCRC and were listed as co-sponsoring organizations for the event. Episcopal News Service (ENS) ran a story applauding participation by individual Episcopalians, “Also marching behind the Episcopal Church banner were the Rev. Margaret Rose, director of the Episcopal Church Office of Women’s Ministries; Executive Council members Louie Crew and John Vanderstar; long-time women's rights activist and General Convention deputy Marge Christie; and Maureen Shea, director of the Government Relations Office.” Under the banner of “justice”, the Episcopal Church’s official news service justifies, in fact blesses, participation in a blatant pro-abortion activist rally. Also over last weekend, Otis Charles, the 78-year old retired bishop of Utah and former president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., “married” his homosexual partner Felipe Sanchez Paris. The so called “wedding ceremony” was held before several hundred people at St. Gregory's of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. Mr. Paris had been married and divorced four times previously. The bishop had been married 42 years and fathered five children before reaching the conclusion he was gay in 1976. He did not make a public announcement until after his retirement in 1993, and he and his wife divorced shortly after that. According to news accounts, the bishop was “guided by his belief that all human beings are called upon to live as fully as they can.” These accounts also describe details of the 2 hour and 45 minute service, depicting theatrics in no way reminiscent of the sacramental nature of marriage. The news reports failed to note that marriage is a holy institution ordained by God, a sacramental union of a man and a woman. According to Scriptural standards, anything else is mockery. For several weeks, CLAIMNG THE BLESSING has been publicizing a event entitled, “It’s All About Love: A Celebration of Music, Faith and Equality” scheduled for May 2, 2004 at All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena. The event is billed as a benefit for CLAIMING THE BLESSING, “a national collaborative of organizations that advocate for gay rights in the church and same-sex marriage”. “It’s All About Love” also boasts a bevy of stars gathered to honor special guest V. Gene Robinson, and tickets range in price from a modest $100 - $200 for open seating to higher levels of reserved seating: Bronze ($1000), Silver ($2500) and Gold ($5000). For those willing to “benefit” CLAIMING THE BLESSING with a $10,000 donation, the prize is two tickets at a private dinner with V. Gene Robinson. The first and obvious problem is interaction with a bishop for sale – no matter how noble a cause might be, selling access to a bishop is reprehensible. A more subtle but perhaps more disturbing concern, however, is the fundraiser itself. Why does CLAIMING THE BLESSING need such massive funds? On their website, we read: “Our initial commitment was obtaining approval of a liturgical blessing of the faithful, monogamous relationship between two adults of any gender at General Convention 2003. The results were history making, and CLAIMING THE BLESSING was instrumental in making that history happen: · Resolution C051 was passed, recognizing for the first time 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." · Gene Robinson was confirmed by General Convention and consecrated Bishop Coadjutor in the Diocese of New Hampshire: the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. What CLAIMING THE BLESSING offers is an alternative to those presuming to speak for Christian values - an alternative desperately needed as the Religious Right responds not only to General Convention 2003 but to the recent decisions by the civil courts in Texas and Massachusetts and to President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.” from CLAIMING THE BLESSING website Note that this is CLAIM THE BLESSING’s initial commitment. The word “initial” begs the question, “what’s next?” Did the organization not succeed in its goals at General Convention 2003? Was not their very raison d'être fulfilled? We see a hint of the answer on the website: “There is much reason to rejoice - and much hard work left to do. Perhaps the greatest indicator of how much we have achieved is how mobilized our opposition has become: they are well financed, well organized and well focused. Never has CLAIMING THE BLESSING's organized, recognized progressive collaborative voice been more important.” from CLAIMING THE BLESSING website Clearly the work of CLAIMING THE BLESSING has only begun, and it is essential that we understand that sexuality is only the presenting problem – the real issue is the authority of Scripture as the foundation of Christian theology and doctrine. For orthodox Christian Anglicans, these three events illustrate unequivocally that we face an unparalleled attack on the sacrament and sanctity of life and marriage in both civil and religious arenas. Those involved with these incidents would claim they uphold marriage, family and morality. The distinction lies in definition and interpretation. As Susan Russell, Executive Director of CLAIMING THE BLESSING, said about Scripture, there is a “crucial difference between contradicting God’s revelation and expanding our understanding of God’s revelation.” From the AAC perspective, if revisionists succeed in altering or destroying the traditional theology of sexuality, marriage and family, we stand to lose all truth, for the final target will be the salvation message itself. As Bishop Ingham of Canada has predicted, the horizon holds a not too distant battleground centered on the exclusivity of Christianity – is Jesus truly the way, the truth and the life, or will He be reduced to “one of the ways” to fulfillment and self-actualization? We hope and pray that the Lambeth Commission and the Primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion will consider the often unseen and rarely spoken goals of revisionism and their threat to morality. END

News Analysis By David W. Virtue Jesus once said to would be disciples that whoever would follow him must take up his cross daily…lose himself…forget about his own personal fulfillment, and, if necessary, lay down his life. The former Episcopal Bishop of Utah and Episcopal Divinity School president Otis Charles, at 78, believes in the exact opposite. At his recent “wedding” to a four times married man, Charles said his actions were “guided by his belief that all human beings are called upon to live as fully as they can.” For the believer, to live “fully” is to live fully into Christ, but that is not what Charles meant. He meant that to live “fully” was to personally fulfill oneself sexually, in this case with another man, despite the fact that neither the Christian Church, 2,000 years of church history nor Holy Scripture gives him that right to do so. Furthermore, one must ask oneself just how much fulfillment does Mr. Charles have in mind for he and Sanchez? Between the two of them they have had five marriages, double digit kids and in Charles case grand kids. When or where does personal fulfillment end…does it ever? Mother Teresa lived “fully”. She spent herself in the service of others, she understood what Jesus said and meant. She, like millions of Americans, daily sacrifice their lives for others, their own personal “fulfillment” often runs a distant second. Take one Episcopal lady I know whose husband left her after a number of years, denying her children, and then one day he announces he is gay and is “in love” with Guido. He leaves, she cries, then she gets off the floor and takes care of her parents, one has Alzheimer’s, the other MS. Where is the fulfillment for her? She’s 44. Her chances of finding an understanding single man who is not in recovery from something are less than zero. She has better odds of being hit by a mack truck. The greatest commandment is to love God and then your neighbor as yourself. We are not told to specifically love ourselves presumably because that comes naturally to most people who can find a mirror. The Good News of the gospel is the greatest news the world has ever known. To embrace it and proclaim it in whatever form God has called you is the noblest cause of all. It is not amassing great fortunes, looking to be CEO of Disney, embracing the culture of celebrity, joining Integrity or having sex at 78 with someone of your own sex! Those things are not worth laying down your life for, nor is the pursuit of them worth endangering the destiny of your eternal soul. He that loses His life for my sake and the gospel will find it, said Jesus. Otis Charles has it all wrong. In reversing Jesus’ command he endangers his own soul and those of others…especially his 7-year old grandson who was obliged to watch a farce of a “wedding” take place, and may well be permanently scarred as a result. The Episcopal Church may well be in its death throes, the Global South ready to pull the plug on the whole stinking mess of Griswoldian pluriformity and pansexuality. The Otis Charles “marriage” is just another example of the gadarene slide towards the abyss. God save us all. END

By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent THE TELEGRAPH 04/05/2004 An all-powerful "star chamber", headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, is expected to be created under proposals to avert the collapse of worldwide Anglicanism over homosexuality. As part of a blueprint drawn up by advisers, Dr Rowan Williams will be granted significant new powers, though not sufficient to transform him into an Anglican "pope". The archbishop would preside over a final court of appeal, allowing him to exercise the "judgment of Solomon" over warring factions in the 70-million strong Church. This would be resisted by liberals keen to preserve the autonomy of their provinces, the 38 individual churches of the Anglican communion. But it could help appease conservatives furious that liberals defied the will of the majority by endorsing Anglicanism's first openly homosexual bishop in America. The proposals are still under consideration by the Lambeth Commission, the body appointed by Dr Williams to try to avert schism following the consecration of Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in November. But senior churchmen are confident that they will form a central part of the commission's final report in October. The initiative emerged as the chairman of the commission, the Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Robin Eames, made a plea for restraint. In a letter issued yesterday, Dr Eames said: "I do not underestimate the complexities of our tasks nor the difficulties." Conservative African archbishops last month demanded urgent action against the liberal leadership of the American Episcopal Church, which backed Bishop Robinson. They want the Americans disciplined for ignoring the decisions of the 1998 Lambeth Conference and the primates to uphold the Church's ban on the ordination of active homosexuals and gay "marriages". Meanwhile, the liberal Canadian church is preparing to vote next month on a motion which would pave the way for same-sex blessings in a further breach of policy. In his letter, Dr Eames said that if any groups "initiated definitive breaks from their parent Church" before the publication of the final report, the commission would "regard such decisions as a serious development". Under the blueprint, drawn up by Prof Norman Doe, a commission member and the director of the Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University, provinces are prevented from acting unilaterally against the greater good of the communion as a whole. If disputes arise, a final appeal could be made to the Archbishop of Canterbury, possibly assisted by a "bench" of senior churchmen and theologians. Ultimately, a province defying the archbishop's judgment could be expelled. Plans to transform the Church from a communion into a confederation of loosely connected churches is also to be considered by the commission if unity is impossible. Conservatives and liberals would remain linked to the Archbishop of Canterbury, but would not recognise each other's priests or bishops. END

Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship would be inconceivable, even impossible. There can be no life without the life-giver, no understanding without the Spirit of truth, no fellowship without the unity of the Spirit, no Christlikeness of character apart from His fruit, and no effective witness without His power. As a body without breath is a corpse, so the church without the Spirit is dead. – John Stott Resistance to law enforcement is reframed as compassion. The mutilation of children is called care. The destruction of women's sports is defended as inclusion. Fraud on a massive scale is excused as necessity, while any demand for transparency is dismissed as hatred or racism. – Virgil Walker The Church stands at a crossroads. One path leads toward sanctified outrage, moral theater, and the erosion of order in the name of compassion. The other leads toward a harder, quieter faith—one grounded in Scripture, truth, lawful authority, and trust in God's governance of history. Christianity did not conquer the ancient world through riot. It will not renew the modern one that way either. – Rev. Dr. Ronald Moore Galatians 3:28 has been used to justify the innovation of women priests: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In the fourth century, St. Epiphanius remarked that the heretical Cataphyrgians (Montanists) employed Galatians 3:28 to elevate women as "bishops and priests and they say nothing makes a difference 'For in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.'" Reading Galatians 3:28 in context, it is apparent that Paul is speaking of the unity of the body of Christ. He is not promoting gender equality as it is framed today. As the Supper was intended to unite the participants to the Head, Jesus Christ, the idea of a woman presiding at the Feast would have been unthinkable. – Dr. Alice Linsley We speak often of revival, awakening, and transformation, yet we behave as though the Kingdom of God were a project dependent upon our speed, our methods, or our reach. We count clicks, measure growth curves, track engagement, and anxiously ask whether we are "making an impact." Beneath it all lies an unspoken fear: What if we run out of time? That fear is understandable—but it is misplaced. The Church was never charged with managing outcomes. She was charged with faithfulness. – Rev. Dr. Ronald Moore Dear Brothers and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org January 16, 2026 Is the West Experiencing a Christian Revival? The answer is yes and no. Gen-Z churches are packed in New York City, and a monastery renaissance is unfolding on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. Revival is happening online, in many Catholic churches, and in some Orthodox traditions. Yet the revival is uneven. Across America, mainline Protestant churches—American Baptists, Episcopalians, evangelical Lutherans—are dying. Sanctuaries once full of people worshipping side by side, without concern for political or cultural differences, now sit half empty. Political scientist, American Baptist pastor, and statistician Ryan P. Burge has a theory about why. In his new book, The Vanishing Church, Burge argues that the political polarization of American society has seeped into the pews, causing many to leave the kinds of churches long known for welcoming doubters and rejecting dogma. The consequences for the country, he warns, could be catastrophic. Meanwhile, independent evangelical churches are on the rise. They are, for the most part, small but orthodox in faith and morals. TEC's Misplaced Priorities The Episcopal Church has a problem with its priorities. It's mid-January, and TEC still has not released the full Table of Statistics for 2024—only the Analysis Report. The last complete Table of Statistics was from 2023, leaving us without 2024 data on Baptisms, Confirmations, and Sunday school numbers. The recently released 2024 parochial report data revealed that very few parishes rebounded from Covid, with fewer growing beyond their 2019 Average Sunday Attendance. Most dioceses showed a 23-45 percent decline over the past 10 years. Revisionists blame lower birth rates among Episcopalians after World War II for the decline. Conservatives, however, believe that liberal theology compounded with woke talking points, the continued push to normalize homosexuality, and the denial of Scripture's authority are the real causes. Last year's parochial report asked: "What is one program or initiative at your Church that represents your hope for the future of your congregation or the greater Episcopal Church?" Out of 4,444 responses, the top reply (2,345 parishes) was Social Justice Initiatives: addressing social inequality through programs and collaborations like hosting food pantries, clothing exchanges, and recovery groups like AA, as well as offering meals and showers to the unhoused, and Narcan training. The second-highest response (1,091) cited "youth and children's ministry" as the future. The third-highest response (758) claimed "worship and music" as the key. In fourth place, only 548 parishes (out of 4,444) marked "Christian Education and Lifelong Discipleship" as the means by which the Church will grow. Put simply: only 12 percent of responding parishes said that making disciples is how we'll grow the church, according to The Living Church. No gospel proclamation. No mention of the Great Commission. No call to move from sin to salvation—just the social gospel. The Episcopal Church might just as well be a branch of UNHCR rather than a church more concerned with proclaiming the Good News that Jesus saves than with the feelings of homosexuals and trans folk. And the church wonders why it keeps hemorrhaging members year over year. One Episcopal priest described it as a "spiritual lethargy spreading its ugly mantle over most of our parishes, with consequent systemic decline." Jesus did not say, "Go and make social workers." He said, "Go and make disciples." Yet 53 percent of parish leadership believes that stressing the social gospel (and Narcan training?) is how the Church will grow. Fiction dies hard. Discipleship is out the window—the very thing making Iran blossom as the fastest-growing church in the world while TEC is among the fastest dying. Iran is experiencing rapid growth in its Christian community, with reports that the number of Iranian converts to Christianity is surging to over 1 million—all converts from Islam. Jesus said, "Leave the fishing and follow me." Jesus calls us to be apprentices in his kingdom, not to recite the 12 steps, as useful as they might be. Twenty-one times on 12 different occasions Jesus said, "Follow me." He called us to apprentice with him. The handful of orthodox parishes in TEC won't turn the church around. That day is done. No single diocese can pull the church out of the demographic slump it finds itself in, with aging Episcopalians and only a handful of young people. The only parishes that can hire a full-time rector must have an endowment. More and more parishes are resorting to part-time and retired priests to keep them going until they die of spiritual exhaustion. Service projects won't save TEC—only the gospel can do that, and that has long since gone by the board. Putting the cart of social justice before the horse of faith will see the Episcopal Church continue to shrink, effectively out of business by 2040, with its cathedrals either sold or reduced to tourist attractions. The 12 percent of parishes that put "lifelong discipleship" as their top priority will not change the overall direction of the church, especially when the leadership is totally committed to woke works and woke theology. Ranting about racism, gay marriage, immigration concerns, and Trump bashing will not fill churches. When the Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, lit into Trump, it made for interesting soundbites but did not suddenly fill pews. JAFC Confronts ACNA: An Institution in Crisis The following is an update from the JAFC in its confrontation with the ACNA. Here are the highlights: The JAFC's disaffiliation from the ACNA was not an attempt to evade accountability, but a recognition of the ACNA's fundamental unsuitability as an ecclesiastical home for orthodox Anglicans. The decision emerged from: Broken promises on Canon 11 that demonstrated leadership's bad faith Theological incoherence on women's ordination that embarrasses orthodox Christianity globally Selective non-enforcement of sexual ethics, tolerating drift while punishing orthodox resistance Departure from affirming life in the womb Infiltration of Critical Theory that undermines biblical authority and anthropology Irregular and non-canonical processes targeting faithful bishops while ignoring widespread theological deviation You can read their full report here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/a-crisis-of-integrity-and-broken-promises Is the end of the ACNA in North America now in sight? My full report on the state of the church can be found here: The End of the Anglican Church in North America? Iran's Church Growth: A Discipleship Model The truly good and big news of the week was an exclusive interview I obtained with one of Iran's leading Christians. Reza (not his real name) answered questions about why Iran is the fastest-growing church in the world. HINT: discipleship, discipleship, discipleship—something almost forgotten in the Western church world. There are no pew warmers in Iran. Over one million Christians, former Muslims, meet in homes led by 25 "apostolic" leaders. They read the scriptures, distribute communion, and disciple one another, reaching out to family, friends, and neighbors with the gospel. As a result, 2,000 Iranians become Christians every day, meeting in nearly 4,000 homes, "gossiping the gospel" to all who will hear. With 50,000 of the 75,000 mosques officially closed and atheism proven a dead end, Christianity is making inroads into a land where Christian communities existed in late antiquity, even as Zoroastrianism and later Islam became the official state religions. Today, Iran hosts one of the oldest continuous Christian presences in West Asia, with various Christian minorities contributing to its diverse religious landscape. Christ is coming to Iranian Muslims in dreams, Reza told me. There are supernatural healings and more. You can read the full interview here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/muslims-turn-to-christ-through-dreams Church of England Blocks SSM Blessings Church of England bishops cannot legally introduce same-sex marriage blessings due to canon law. Lawyers reportedly forced this correct advice. Bishops must obey the law, resulting in a victory against unauthorized blessings. Homosexuals are outraged, of course, and conservatives are wary that 'local option' will kick in, with bishops allowing these blessings without official pushback. It was the case in the Episcopal Church. Canon law states that marriage is between a man and a woman. Bishops attempting to bypass the requirement of canon law—that any change to the liturgy would eventually require 2/3 majorities in each House (Bishops, Clergy, and Laity), which they knew they could not achieve—were warned at the time that they were acting ultra vires, among many other concerns. They were ignored. There is therefore no need for additional DEPO arrangements (although some additional flying bishops would be useful), a source told VOL. "Some bishops will connive at breaking the law, turning a blind eye to clergy carrying out such blessings. (This has been happening for a long time.)" One of former Archbishop Justin Welby's first projects was to approve the Living in Love and Faith process. Later, Welby said he was 'being thick' to believe the Bible's teaching on sexual ethics. He said faithful and stable same-sex relationships are 'a huge blessing', trading on his delusionary idea that he was an expert on reconciliation. "Finally, we have a victory. The lawyers have been forced to do their job correctly, and the bishops must obey." You can read more here: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/news-and-press-releases/house-bishops-shares-letter-church-living-love-and-faith-approaches-conclusion Scottish Episcopal Bishop Faces Bullying Allegations Anne Dyer, the first female bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church, can't seem to stay out of the news or trouble. She has been credibly accused of bullying. In December, she faced bullying accusations, and then new complaints of alleged misconduct emerged, a BBC investigation has found. The news follows previous complaints alleging that Dyer had bullied various clergy within the denomination. One case involves a priest in Aberdeen who says he has nightmares because of how he was treated by Dyer. Now additional complaints of misconduct have been filed against the bishop. The most recent complaint, one of at least six filed in the past 12 months, was made by Isaac Poobalan, rector of St Andrew's Cathedral in Aberdeen. Poobalan, whose congregation initially resisted Dyer's appointment, reportedly urged church members to support Dyer. Despite Poobalan's efforts, Dyer recently announced the closure of the Cathedral due to claimed structural issues. As part of the announcement, Dyer stated that a nearby church would become the Cathedral and that she, not Poobalan, would serve as its provost. At a subsequent meeting, Poobalan alleges that Dyer adopted a loud and angry tone toward him. Dyer later suspended him. The church subsequently overturned the suspension following adverse publicity and a formal grievance procedure, but Dyer continues to ignore calls for Poobalan's reinstatement. Why she has not been removed is the real question. Support VOL's Mission VOL faces its biggest challenges with both divisions and changes coming at a rapid pace. The Global South will continue to grow and expand, while the West sinks further into decline. We need your support to keep the news coming. With my new Substack at davidvirtue2.substack.com on the Middle East, we are expanding our coverage in 2026 to include: • The rise of Anglicanism in the Global South as it separates from the Global North • The decline of liberalism and progressive theology, and the growing threat of Islam to our faith • The increasing decline of the Anglican Church of Canada, The Episcopal Church, The Church of England, the Church in Wales, and the Scottish Episcopal Church • The rise of GAFCON and the GSFA to counter the threat of western liberalism and secularization • How oil-rich Middle Eastern nations use their wealth to shape Western minds and promote Islam while systematically undermining the Christian West • The persecution of Christians throughout the world We are bringing on board new writers with clear insights into Scripture and culture. VOL has no mega-donors and no grants—just faithful readers like you who believe we tell the truth, however difficult it may be. Tens of thousands of enthusiastic VOL readers trust us to expose the most pressing issues facing Anglicanism today. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to keep the news coming. How to Give: Online: PayPal donation link at https://www.virtueonline.org/donate By check (tax-deductible): VIRTUEONLINE P.O. BOX 111 Shohola, PA 18458 Thank you for your support, David

JAFC Press Release January 16, 2026 The author is a senior officer of the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy who participated in the Executive Committee's deliberations regarding disaffiliation from the Anglican Church in North America. This article documents the JAFC's concerns and explains why the Executive Committee concluded that continuing to seek partnership with the ACNA was untenable. The September 2025 decision by the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy (JAFC) to disassociate with the Anglican Church in North America represents far more than institutional politics or the actions of a single bishop. It marks the culmination of years of theological discomfort, broken promises, inconsistent discipline, and a fundamental loss of confidence in the ACNA's commitment to maintaining orthodox Christianity. While critics and the ACNA’s public relations firm have attempted to frame this decision as an effort by Bishop Derek Jones to evade accountability, the truth is precisely the opposite: the JAFC left because the ACNA itself has proven unwilling or unable to maintain the very standards it claims to uphold. What follows is an account of the issues that led to this decision. The JAFC's concerns were not merely theoretical or based on distant observation. Because military chaplaincy requires ecclesiastical endorsement and ongoing assessment, the JAFC routinely reviewed clergy credentials from every ACNA diocese and evaluated applicants seeking to serve as chaplains. Our chaplains worshiped in ACNA parishes across the country during assignments and deployments. This positioned the JAFC to observe patterns invisible to diocesan leadership operating in institutional silos. We encountered applicants with poorly formed sacramental theology, clergy who listed preferred pronouns in official correspondence, priests with equivocal positions on same-sex marriage, and even one applicant who identified as non-binary. These were not isolated anomalies from one problematic diocese but a cross-provincial pattern indicating systemic catechetical failure and inconsistent doctrinal formation across the ACNA. A Tenuous Relationship from the Beginning The JAFC's relationship with the ACNA was never one of full integration. The structural incompatibility was baked in from the start:; Canon 11 of the ACNA's provincial canons, which establishes a "Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy," (a name co-opted from the diocese without permission) was drafted in a manner fundamentally incompatible with how the JAFC was structured for nearly 7seven years, prior to the ACNA canon being adopted. This is why, until 2022, the JAFC provided ecclesiastical endorsement for ACNA chaplains while remaining canonically under the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). The JAFC could not fully integrate into the ACNA because Canon 11 precluded the jurisdiction from fulfilling the role outlined without substantial organizational change that would undermine the effectiveness of chaplaincy operations. The Church of Nigeria had made the JAFC a diocese three years earlier which the Canon could not accommodate. The province had created a canonical framework for chaplaincy without understanding how chaplaincy actually works, but with promises it would evolve the canon. When the JAFC finally agreed to leave its canonical relationship with Nigeria in 2022, it did so only with explicit, solemn promises from ACNA leadership that Canon 11 would be revised to reflect the JAFC's actual structure and operational requirements. These commitments were made by Archbishop Foley Beach to both the Church of Nigeria and JAFC leadership, and were reaffirmed by Archbishop-elect Steve Wood. The promise was clear and non-negotiable: the ACNA would fix the canonical incoherence that prevented the JAFC's reception and full integration. This was not about preference or convenience but about canonical necessity, making the ACNA's structure compatible with the realities of the JAFC’s ministry. Yet However, this promise was systematically undermined and neglected. Rather than working toward the canonical revision that would enable the JAFC's full integration, the ACNA leadership under Archbishop Wood's tenure allowed the issue to languish while simultaneously tolerating, and in some cases enabling, theological drift on multiple fronts. The broken promise on Canon 11 revealed a disturbing pattern: the ACNA leadership speaks the language of commitment while lacking the institutional will to follow through. The Dual Integrity Disgrace Beyond the structural issues, the JAFC faced ongoing theological discomfort with the ACNA's incoherent position on women's ordination. The question exposes the ACNA's fundamental theological unseriousness. A church body cannot simultaneously affirm that Holy Orders are ontologically restricted to males in some dioceses while permitting the ordination of women in others without rendering the entire sacramental system incoherent. Either women can be validly ordained as presbyters or they cannot. Either there is an ontological reality to Holy Orders, or ordination is merely functional. The ACNA's "dual integrity" compromise attempts to split the unsplittable. For orthodox Christians worldwide, particularly in the Global South provinces with which the ACNA claims partnership, this position is not nuanced theology but incoherent doublespeak. The Church of Nigeria, the Church of Uganda, and other GAFCON partners formerly maintain[SV1] ed male-only presbyterates not out of cultural conservatism but from theological conviction rooted in Scripture, Tradition, and the universal witness of the Church for two millennia. Now, it appears, GAFCON has become a reflection of the ACNA’s incongruency. By maintaining this "impaired communion," the ACNA signals to the watching Christian world that core doctrines of ministry and sacramental theology are negotiable based on diocesan preference. This is not the catholicity the ACNA claims to champion; it is the same trajectory of theological incoherence that destroyed The Episcopal Church. Once a church accepts that male-female distinction in leadership is merely cultural rather than creational, it has already conceded the anthropological ground necessary to resist subsequent revisionism on sexuality and gender. Homosexuality: Selective Enforcement and Theological Drift The ACNA was founded in 2009 specifically to maintain orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality in opposition to The Episcopal Church's embrace of revisionism. Yet less than fifteen years later, the province demonstrates an alarming inability to enforce its own stated convictions. The 2021 "Dear Gay Anglicans" controversy revealed deep fissures. When the ACNA College of Bishops issued a carefully crafted pastoral statement discouraging "gay Christian" identity language, the response was immediate rebellion. Bishop Todd Hunter of the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO) publicly undermined the bishops' teaching authority, declaring that "The College of Bishops does not speak with the authority of a magisterium." Over 140 clergy signed a letter explicitly using the forbidden terminology. The Church of Nigeria's Primate, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, warned that "the deadly 'virus' of homosexuality has infiltrated the ACNA" and called for discipline. The ACNA's response? The letter was removed from the internet, but no one was disciplined. Not the bishop who publicly contradicted his fellow bishops. Not the 140+ clergy who signed in defiance. Instead, the province issued a bland statement insisting it "has not moved" while taking no personnel action whatsoever. The pattern has continued. Multiple parishes in several dioceses have either moved toward affirming positions or left ACNA entirely over sexuality issues: • St. Mary of Bethany (Nashville) departed in 2021 for the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, with the rector explicitly stating the CEEC's progressive stance on sexuality was "a better fit" and noting that "the holy catholic church lacks a uniform conviction" on marriage. • The Table Indianapolis departed for The Episcopal Church in October 2023, with the rector stating the congregation had never been "in 100 percent agreement about the way the ACNA frames human sexuality and gay marriage." • Resurrection South Austin voted 80%+ to leave ACNA for The Episcopal Church, with the rector explicitly citing the church's treatment of "sexual minorities" as a primary concern. Again, no discipline, just a pastoral "discernment process." • Luminous Church (Franklin, TN) saw clergy publicly affirm LGBTQ+ Pride events in direct violation of ACNA's Fundamental Declarations. Rather than discipline, Bishop Hunter facilitated their departure to affirming jurisdictions. The priest who participated in Pride events remains on staff without discipline. This pattern is not peripheral. It strikes at the heart of why the ACNA exists. If the province cannot or will not enforce basic sexual ethics, the very issue over which it separated from TEC, then its claims to orthodox witness are hollow performance. Sanctity of Life The Pro-Life position of the ACNA at its founding had become an inconvenience for many bishops seeking to increase their clergy rolls. Bishop Jones had confronted five different bishops in the previous year who had sent clergy to the JAFC for chaplaincy endorsement who reported openly and unapologetically to be pro-abortion. In two cases, the bishops “pushed back” on Bishop Jones when he refused to allow them to become chaplains, one of whom made a “spiritual abuse” claim when denied endorsement by the JAFC and Bishop Jones. The ACNA's lack of institutional support for Anglicans for Life, the Silent No More campaign, and other Anglican-connected ministries defending life has been virtually non-existent for several years now. Conversely, the JAFC’s Adoption Fund ministry was passed to Anglicans for Life in 2022. That ministry has grown significantly over the last few years. Yet, after the third attempt to ask the ACNA to report on the ministry, the response came that the ACNA was concerned that promoting a Pro-Life program might be offensive to some. It appears the ACNA has abandoned this moral and biblical imperative, and so JAFC, which is staunchly Pro-Life, saw an “unequally yoked” situation. Critical Theory The infiltration of Critical Theory and its derivatives throughout the ACNA represents perhaps the most insidious threat to orthodoxy. Critical Theory, whether in its Critical Race Theory or Queer Theory manifestations, operates from fundamentally Marxist assumptions about power, oppression, and liberation that are irreconcilable with Christian anthropology and soteriology. Several ACNA diocesans have been at the vanguard of this infiltration. In pastoral correspondence, Bishop Hunter endorsed Critical Race Theory and stated that "all truth is God's truth," a category error that baptizes secular ideologies by claiming them as divine revelation. This is not mere political disagreement; it represents a theological methodology that undermines scriptural authority by subordinating biblical categories to secular critical consciousness. The trajectory is predictable and documented. Churches that embrace feminist theory's "hermeneutic of suspicion" toward male authority and "patriarchal" Scripture inexorably move toward accepting homosexuality and gender ideology. The progression is not accidental but logical: once you accept that biblical teaching reflects oppressive power structures rather than divine revelation, every "marginalized" identity becomes a site of liberation theology. This is precisely what we see in C4SO, DOMA, and others: the dioceses most open to Critical Race Theory are also the dioceses with the most parishes moving toward sexual revisionism. When church leaders frame biblical sexual ethics as "harmful" to LGBTQ+ persons rather than as loving truth, they have already conceded the fundamental question. The ACNA cannot simultaneously embrace Critical Theory's anthropology while maintaining Christian sexual ethics. The foundation cannot hold. Alarmingly, since Archbishop Wood's election, there appears to be an accelerating trend of institutional accommodation to woke ideology at the highest levels of provincial leadership. His appointments to senior positions have consistently favored those sympathetic to Critical Theory frameworks, signaling a shift in institutional priorities. The Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic: Selective Discipline in Action The contrast between the ACNA's tolerance of theological drift and its aggressive discipline of orthodox resistance finds vivid illustration in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic's handling of Incarnation Anglican Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. The situation demonstrates the ACNA's priorities with alarming clarity. At Incarnation Anglican, a congregation that had never employed female celebrants, Bishop Chris Warner directed that a female priest be allowed to celebrate the Eucharist in February 2025. When attendance dropped, and the vestry expressed concerns, Warner responded not with pastoral sensitivity but with episcopal coercion, demanding "gender parity" on the vestry and "doctrinal openness" to female celebrants. The vestry election that followed became, in the words of one DOMA deacon, "a battle between the women and the men." When the vestry, attempting to maintain the congregation's historic practice, filed formal misconduct charges against Bishop Warner in May 2025, outlining eight specific allegations of spiritual abuse and canonical violations, the DOMA standing committee refused to investigate, and the ACNA ignored the matter completely. Not a single charge was examined. The entire vestry subsequently resigned in protest. Bishop Warner and DOMA then appointed a "transitional vestry" and confirmed that no investigation of the misconduct allegations would occur. The message could not be clearer: resistance to progressive innovation on women's ordination warrants aggressive episcopal intervention and institutional suppression, while documented allegations of abuse of authority receive no investigation whatsoever. This stands in stark contrast to the ACNA's approach to C4SO's parish departures over sexuality. There, pastoral accommodation and facilitated exits were the norm. At Incarnation, orthodox resistance to women's ordination innovation was met with aggressive discipline and institutional stonewalling of accountability mechanisms. The pattern is unmistakable: the ACNA accommodates theological drift toward revisionism while punishing those who resist it. For the JAFC, watching an entire vestry forced out for defending traditional practice while parishes that embrace Pride events and depart for affirming jurisdictions face no discipline, the conclusion was inescapable: the ACNA's enforcement priorities are precisely backward. Canonical Irregularities and Targeted Discipline Against this backdrop of theological incoherence and selective enforcement, the ACNA's pursuit of Bishop Derek Jones reveals startling hypocrisy. When accusations were made against Bishop Jones, did the ACNA follow its own canonical processes? No, they did not. The accusations were presented through irregular channels that bypassed established safeguards. Key canonical procedures were ignored or violated. (Of note, all accusations had been previously reviewed and determined non-credible, one accusation that came from a defrocked by ACNA trial former priest.) The process bore the hallmarks of a targeted effort designed to remove a bishop who had become inconvenient, one who insisted on orthodoxy when others preferred accommodation, who challenged the status quo when others sought smooth relations, who held leadership accountable to its promises. Consider the contrast: 140+ clergy sign a letter directly contradicting the College of Bishops on sexuality, no admonishments or investigations initiated. Bishop Hunter publicly undermines episcopal teaching authority, no admonishments or investigations initiated. Priests facilitate parish departures to affirming jurisdictions, no admonishments or investigations initiated. Multiple clergy participate in or endorse Pride events, no canonical process. But Bishop Jones, who has consistently championed orthodox positions and held ACNA leadership accountable to its founding principles, was being forced to agree to a noncanonical investigation and improper admonishment based on accusations, already determined to be unfounded, from the Archbishop who threatened he would do as much just one month into his term. It is also now known that this action by the Archbishop was on the heels of Bp Jones confronting him on what is now public knowledge of Wood’s misconduct. and ethical and moral improprieties. The JAFC Executive Committee, watching this unfold, reached an inescapable conclusion: the ACNA could not be trusted to handle the matter fairly. Not because of one instance of injustice, but because of a pattern of selective enforcement that consistently favors those who accommodate cultural pressure over those who resist it. The Final Betrayal: Broken Promises on Canon 11 The irregular proceedings against Bishop Jones were just one more “straw”, but they fell on a camel already staggering under accumulated burdens. The most significant of these was the ACNA leadership's failure to fulfill its solemn promise regarding Canon 11, thereby preventing the JAFC from becoming officially part of the ACNA. When the JAFC left its canonical relationship with Nigeria in 2022 to fully join the ACNA, it did so with explicit commitments from Archbishop Beach, later affirmed by Archbishop-elect Wood, that Canon 11 would be revised to reflect the JAFC's actual structure and operational requirements. This was not a side issue but the fundamental requirement for full integration as a super diocese (Jurisdiction as defined in the ACNA’s Constitution), the commitment to a canonical revision was the entire basis for JAFC's decision to leave Nigeria. Yet under Archbishop Wood's tenure, not only was this promise unfulfilled, it was actively undermined. Rather than moving toward canonical coherence that would enable JAFC to function properly within the ACNA, the issue was buried. This was not mere bureaucratic delay but intentional obstruction, a demonstration of bad faith that violated the explicit commitments upon which the JAFC's integration was premised. This broken promise demonstrated that the ACNA's commitments to orthodox partners are negotiable, subject to political calculation rather than integrity. For the JAFC, a jurisdiction serving chaplains who daily confront challenges to Christian orthodoxy in increasingly hostile institutional environments, the lesson was clear: the ACNA's word cannot be trusted. Conclusion: An Institution in Crisis The JAFC's disaffiliation from the ACNA was not an attempt to evade accountability, but a recognition of the ACNA's fundamental unsuitability as an ecclesiastical home for orthodox Anglicans. The decision emerged from: 1. Broken promises on Canon 11 that demonstrated leadership's bad faith 2. Theological incoherence on women's ordination that embarrasses orthodox Christianity globally 3. Selective non-enforcement of sexual ethics, tolerating drift while punishing orthodox resistance 4. Departure from affirming life in the womb. 5. Infiltration of Critical Theory that undermines biblical authority and anthropology 6. Irregular and non-canonical processes targeting faithful bishops while ignoring widespread theological deviation The attempted irregular proceedings against Bishop Jones were not the cause, but the catalyst - the final confirmation that the JAFC's growing concerns were justified. So, the Executive Committee faced an even more sobering question: Would the ACNA survive as an institution given these profound theological and structural deficiencies? After careful deliberation, the answer was clearly that it could not. The combination of theological incoherence on Holy Orders, inability to enforce sexual ethics, departure from protecting human life, embrace of Critical Theory ideology, broken promises to partners, increasingly selective discipline, and then falsified claims against one of the few honest, integrity-driven bishops, all under Archbishop Wood's tenure, suggests an institution in terminal decline. Even if the ACNA were to survive its current crises, an increasingly doubtful prospect given Archbishop Wood's own inhibition in November 2025, the Executive Committee concluded it would not represent the true future of orthodox Anglicanism in North America. A province that maintains "dual integrity" on women's ordination, tolerates parishes moving toward sexual revisionism while disciplining orthodox resistance, embraces woke ideology through provincial appointments, and breaks solemn promises to orthodox partners has already chosen its trajectory. It is following the same path of accommodation and theological drift that nearly destroyed The Episcopal Church. The provisional relational status between the ACNA and the JAFC has now become permanent separation, not because the JAFC abandoned orthodoxy, but because the ACNA has proven structurally incapable of maintaining it consistently and unwilling to keep its word to those who do. The tragedy is not the JAFC's departure but the ACNA's trajectory. A province founded to uphold biblical teaching on marriage, life, and sexuality now struggles to discipline those who violate it while aggressively pursuing those who resist innovation. A province claiming global orthodox partnership maintains positions on Holy Orders that most of its partners reject as incoherent. A province birthed in opposition to cultural accommodation increasingly accommodates the very ideologies, feminism, Critical Theory, and identity politics that destroyed its parent body. The JAFC's decision to seek ecclesiastical partnership elsewhere reflects not a failure of nerve, but a commitment to principle. When promises are broken, when discipline is selective, when theology becomes negotiable, when canonical processes serve political ends, and when an institution's leadership demonstrates neither the will nor the capacity to maintain orthodoxy, separation becomes not schism but faithfulness. The Executive Committee concluded that remaining in the ACNA meant yoking the JAFC's future to an institution that lacks both institutional integrity and theological coherence. An institution that, even if it survives, will not represent authentic orthodox Anglicanism. For chaplains serving in some of the most challenging ministry contexts in the world, such an affiliation would compromise their witness and undermine their mission. The JAFC chose instead to seek partnership with those who share not only orthodox convictions but the courage to maintain them consistently, regardless of cultural pressure or political cost. END

Same-sex marriage: Good for gays, bad for children By Dennis Prager May 4, 2004 Of all the arguments against same-sex marriage, the most immediately compelling is that it hurts children. If children have a right to anything, it is to begin life with a mother and father. Death, divorce, abandonment, a single-parent's mistakes — any one of these deprives children of a mother or father. But only same-sex marriage would legally ensure children are deprived from birth of either a mother or a father. Why, then, doesn't a child's right to begin life with a mother and father have any impact on the millions of people who either advocate same-sex marriage or can't make up their minds on the issue? Among gay activists, the reason is narcissism. Though gays already have the right to raise children without an opposite-sex parent, and the right to adopt children, gay activists want society to enshrine one-sex parenting with its highest seal of approval — marriage. For gay activists, the fact that a child does best with a good mother and good father is of no significance (or worse, denied). All that matters is what is good for gays. And what about the heterosexuals who support same-sex marriage? They ignore the issue of its effects on children because they either do not want to confront the issue or because they are so intimidated by the liberation trinity — "equality," "rights" and "tolerance" — that even children's welfare becomes a non-issue. Advocates of same-sex marriage have, therefore, many good reasons not to talk about issue of children. Even the most passionate advocate does not argue that it is better for a child to have two mothers and no father or two fathers and no mother. But, the same-sex marriage advocates will respond, while children may not be better off, they will be just as well off, with two fathers and no mother or two mothers and no father. This claim, however, is dishonest. So dishonest that it leads to a certain cognitive dissonance among many of those who make it. On the one hand, they don't really believe mothers (or fathers) are useless, and they do not wish to lie. On the other hand, they know they have to say a mother and father are no better for children than two same-sex parents or they will lose the public's support for same-sex marriage. Were they to admit the obvious truth — that same-sex marriage means society will legally and deliberately deprive increasing numbers of children of either a mother or a father — few Americans would support the legal redefinition of marriage and family. So, same-sex marriage advocates now argue that children do not do better with a mother and a father. To buttress this absurdity, they repeatedly ask, "Where are the studies" that prove children do better with a father and a mother? Not only are there no such studies, they claim, but in fact, "studies show" that children raised with parents of the same sex do just as well as children raised by a father and a mother. But this claim, too, is dishonest. As Professor Don Browning of the University of Chicago recently wrote in the New York Times, "We know next to nothing" about the effects of same-sex parenting on children." "The body of sociological knowledge about same-sex parenting," he and his co-author wrote, "is scant at best. ... There are no rigorous, large-scale studies on the effect of same-sex marriage on the couples' children." "Steven Nock, a leading scholar of marriage at the University of Virginia, wrote in March 2001 after a thorough review that every study on this question 'contained at least one fatal flaw' and 'not a single one was conducted according to generally accepted standards of scientific research.'" So the statement that "studies show" that children don't do better with a mother and father is as factually mendacious as it is morally repugnant. Why then are so many fooled by it? Because "studies show" has become the refuge of those who do not wish to think. I hear this lack of thought regularly from college-educated callers to my radio show who refuse to think an issue through, or to make a moral judgment, without first having seen what "studies show." But does anyone who thinks, rather than awaits "studies" to affirm their biases, really believe a mother is useless if a child has two fathers, or a father is unnecessary if a child has two mothers? The idea that men and women do not have entirely distinctive contributions to make to the rearing of a child is so absurd that it is frightening that many well-educated — and only the well-educated — people believe it. There are many powerful arguments against same-sex marriage, and in subsequent columns I will offer them. But if you have to offer only one, know that those who push for same-sex marriage base their case on something factually indefensible — that children do not benefit from having a father and a mother; and on something morally indefensible — ignoring what is best for children. Dennis Prager, one of America's most respected and popular nationally syndicated radio talk-show hosts, is the author of several books and a frequent guest on television shows such as Larry King Live, Politically Incorrect, The Late Late Show on CBS, Rivera Live, The Early Show on CBS, Fox Family Network, The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes. © 2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

Dear Charles: We thank you for the invitation to meet with the Council of Advice. Each of us has sworn to uphold the faith of the Church, the same faith that gave birth to and provides the unity of our Church. Only secondarily and derivatively do territory and canons hold us together. Since we believe this faith should be the first priority of the Episcopal Church we would be glad to meet with the Council of Advice with this as the first and foremost topic of discussion. These are our concerns: Does the House of Bishops intend to hold responsible those bishops who have publicly denied or attempted to rewrite the faith? Is there any intention to hold accountable those 84 bishops who voted against the House of Bishops Resolution B001? For in so doing, they refused to affirm the authority of Scripture, the Creeds, the Sacraments, and the Apostolic Ministry, thereby denying the vows they made at their consecration as bishops. Does the House of Bishops seek restoration of full communion with the 21 Provinces of the Anglican Communion by responding to their request to repent? Does the House of Bishops seek to reclaim our broken ecumenical relations with Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and other Christian bodies? Issues of polity cannot be resolved until we are unified in the faith which we have sworn to guard and pass to future generations. We believe it necessary for any meeting to be an open one so that nothing will be regarded as done in secret. Not all of us are available on May 27 as you suggest, but if you agree that our first priority for discussion is the need of the House of Bishops to treat the essential issue of faith and doctrine before we move to the derivative issue of polity and territory, we will seek with you a suitable date to meet. In His Name, The Rt. Reverend C. FitzSimons Allison The Rt. Reverend Maurice M. Benitez The Rt. Reverend William J. Cox The Rt. Reverend Alex D. Dickson The Rt. Reverend William C. Wantland Cc: The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold ECUSA House of Bishops Anglican Communion Primates The American Anglican Council 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 800-914-2000 or 202-296-5360 Fax: 202-296-5361 E-mail: info@americananglican.org God Changes Lives for Good! http://www.americananglican.org

Senior Bishops Respond to Meeting Request from Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice American Anglican Council Washington, DC May 3, 2004 For Immediate Release On March 14, 2004, Bishops C. FitzSimons Allison, retired Bishop of South Carolina; Maurice Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas; William Cox, retired Assistant Bishop of Oklahoma; Alex Dickson, retired Bishop of West Tennessee, and William Wantland, retired Bishop of Eau Claire confirmed 110 individuals at a multi-congregational Service of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist in Akron, Ohio. Subsequently at the March 2004 House of Bishops Meeting, those Bishops gathered noted that they "repudiate and deplore the unilateral actions" of the five but decided not to seek disciplinary action against them. In a statement released March 24, the House of Bishops accused the five of using confirmation "as an instrument of division and defiance." "Secretive in its planning, their action was discourteous, disruptive and a willful violation of our Constitution and Canons," the statement continued. The Bishops also emphasized that further "infractions" would result in unspecified "consequences." "At the same time, we hold these five bishops, and one another, accountable for the good order of the Church, the Body of Christ," the statement said. "Therefore, in the future any bishop performing Episcopal acts without the permission of the diocesan bishop will be subject to discipline under our canons." Recently, the five senior bishops received a letter dated April 16, 2004 from the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins, Bishop of Louisiana and President of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice. In the letter Bishop Jenkins wrote, "The House of Bishops invites you to meet with the members of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice to discuss the reasons for your actions, and, to share information with you about the work we continue to do as Bishops to embrace the ministry of reconciliation for the mission of the whole church. I therefore invite you to meet with the Council of Advice in Atlanta, GA on Thursday May 27 at All Saints Church. We will begin at 9:00 AM and work until the late afternoon. The cost of travel will be your own responsibility but I will provide lunch for you on this day." Referencing the crisis situation in which the Church is immersed, Bishop Jenkins wrote, "As a pastor, it is my hope that each priest that is in disagreement with his or her Bishop will continue to share personal views with the diocesan Bishop. I am convinced the Bishops of this Church are committed to responding generously to requests made in accordance with our plan for Caring for All the Churches." Emerging incidents in several dioceses suggest this often is not the case, however. Bishops Jenkins's letter repeated warnings against further actions, saying, "The House of Bishops also stated clearly that in the future, now that we approved a plan of pastoral care, any Bishop performing Episcopal acts without permission of the bishop diocesan will be subject to discipline under the canons of this church." The five bishops today released a letter to Bishop Jenkins in response to the request. The letter in its entirety appears below:

Church may Split into a Federation May 3, 2004 By Ruth Gledhill THE LONDON TIMES PLANS for a formal split in the Anglican Church are being considered in an attempt to resolve differences over attitudes towards homosexuality. A proposal to turn the Anglican Communion into an Anglican confederation is to be considered by the Lambeth Commission, the international body of 18 members set up last year by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. A confederation, modelled along similar lines to the Geneva-based World Lutheran Federation, would loosen the ties between the national provinces in the Church, to the extent that they would be free to adopt almost any practice or doctrine they wished. The churches at the conservative and liberal ends of the spectrum would still describe themselves as "Anglican" and remain in communion with the mother Church of England through the Archbishop of Canterbury. But where a national church went too far in embracing modern secular mores, it could be reduced to an observer status or not invited at all to meetings such as the Lambeth Conference, held every ten years. Such a system would placate the conservatives who have been demanding disciplinary measures against churches such as those in the United States, which ordained an openly gay bishop, and Canada, where same-sex blessings have been authorised. It would permit provinces effectively to excommunicate each other by refusing to recognise their priests or bishops, but they would remain tied in a loose international Anglican confederation by remaining in communion with Canterbury. Already it is proposed severely to reduce the number of bishops invited to the next Lambeth Conference in 2008 in South Africa. The previous Archbishop, Dr George Carey, invited every Anglican bishop, nearly 800 in total, to the last Lambeth Conference in Canterbury in 1998. Sources indicated that, if only for reasons of cost, the number would be reduced in South Africa. Bishop Gene Robinson, the openly gay American bishop recently consecrated in New Hampshire, is unlikely to be on the guest list. According to a source close to the Lambeth Commission, canon lawyers are preparing for its second meeting next month in Kanuga, North Carolina, by studying the set-up of the worldwide Lutheran church, which embraces wide degrees of theological and ecclesiological difference, to see if this model could be adapted to suit the Anglican Communion. The source said: "The quality of the communion depends on how far the Western Church is willing to sacrifice its lesbian and gay members." The source indicated: "The primates will be circulated with the recommendations late July. "The sort of federation we can expect will probably mirror the Lutheran model, with full members, non-voters and observers, depending on what they've been up to." The Lutheran model is particularly appropriate because Anglicans and Lutherans are already in a "shared fellowship" agreement with each other through the Porvoo declaration, a British-Nordic-Baltic initiative signed by the Church of England in 1995. The Anglican Communion is made up of 38 provinces, which account for nearly 70 million Anglicans in 164 countries. In a letter sent over the weekend to all the primates and moderators of the Anglican Communion, Dr Robin Eames, the Primate of Ireland, who chairs the Lambeth Commission, pleads strongly with conservatives not to split by forming new provinces or dioceses until the commission has completed its work at the end of this year. He acknowledges the divisions that exist but urges dissenting groups not to break from their parent churches. "It would be my hope that once the report is published we can take such decisions as necessary in a manner which is unrushed, in Christian charity and by means of due process." Dr Eames writes. "It is my prayer and earnest hope that the report we are preparing will enable the Anglican Communion to move forward together in ways which will stand the test of time whatever difficulties may arise in future years for our world family." Copyright 2004 Times Newspapers Ltd.

Watching the religious Left Pray By Terry Mattingly The Rev. Julian Rush watched the headlines as 13 United Methodist pastors in the Pacific Northwest judged the fate of one of their colleagues. Few, if any, facts were in dispute. The Rev. Karen Dammann was living openly in a lesbian relationship and leveled with her superiors. And everyone knew, after a generation of bitter strife, that their Book of Discipline banned "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from ministry, because gay sex is "incompatible with Christian teachings." Rush wasn't surprised by the trial and he wasn't surprised by the verdict -- not guilty. After all, he survived a similar ecclesiastical minefield two decades ago in Colorado. "What surprised me was the way the news reports brought it all back," said Rush, 67, who rocked the whole United Methodist Church when he left the closet in 1981. "It was spooky, like a flashback. ... I remembered that whole feeling of powerlessness and total vulnerability. "I think that's probably a good thing. No matter how much progress we've made, we need to be reminded that things aren't settled yet." Rush eventually retired with his clergy credentials intact. In the mid-1980s, his peers in the Rocky Mountain region twice ruled that there was "insufficient evidence" to bring the AIDS activist and former youth pastor to trial. After all, church law focused on "self-avowed practicing" homosexuals and Rush simply declined to answer questions about his sex life. "I remember my lawyer saying, 'Make them prove it,' " said Rush, whose easy-going manner still betrays his Mississippi roots. "What were they going to do, hire a private investigator? No one wanted to do such an unseemly thing." The Dammann jury found a similar technicality. While the Discipline says "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings," the jury ruled that it never formally, legally, makes a "declaration" of this. But the jury did find this declarative statement: "Inclusiveness means openness, acceptance, and support that enables all persons to participate in the life of the Church, the community and the world. Thus, inclusiveness denies every semblance of discrimination.'' Based on decades of experience, Rush knows what will happen next. Furious conservatives will, on April 27, arrive at the two-week national United Methodist General Conference "with their nostrils flared and breathing fire," he said. At the same time, the confidence of the church's progressive establishment will "move up a notch or two" after a much-publicized victory. Both sides will go to Pittsburgh "with their guns loaded," he said. The Internet is buzzing with drafts of resolutions to fix the Discipline and to force the bishops to get their flocks under control. Leaders on both sides acknowledge that the evangelical, growing churches of the heartland and Bible Belt hold a clear majority. Some of their leaders will call for repentance and reform in the Pacific Northwest. "Fact is ... we don't need anything more in the Book of Discipline. We just need folks who are willing to abide by it or enforce it," said the Rev. James V. Heidinger II, president of the Good News renewal movement. "We could tweak and tighten, but unless folks are willing to abide by the will of General Conference, they will always find some words to parse or interpret differently." Strangely enough, Rush basically agrees with this legal opinion. Laws cannot hide the fact that the United Methodist Church contains two radically different approaches to the faith, he said. Traditionalists believe there is an "established," "infallible" and "permanent core of doctrine that people have to believe if they are going to be Christians," said Rush. But the "liberal side of the church sees itself as open and expansive and its doctrine, quite frankly, is not as well defined. It sees faith as a kind of process and it is constantly changing. ... "One side knows how to lay down the law and the other side knows how to emote." But the infighting will continue, said Rush, because everyone is afraid to push the scary button labeled "schism." That would be financially devastating. "Everyone dances around that button," he said. "They really aren't trying to be clear and specific. They have to keep the Discipline vague enough to keep everyone in the tent. You end up with a kind of spiritual schizophrenia, but it holds things together." Terry Mattingly (www.tmatt.net) teaches at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is senior fellow for journalism at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. He writes this weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service.

South Carolina Episcopal Diocese Joins Network 4/27/2004 Clergy and lay leadership in the Diocese of South Carolina voted to affiliate with the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes during the annual convention March 5-6 at the North Charleston Convention Center. In his convention address, the Rt. Rev. Edward Salmon, Jr., Bishop of South Carolina, said the crisis the Episcopal Church has experienced since last summer is the result of improperly seeking to settle a profound theological issue through a popular vote and described the purpose of the network as a means to uphold orthodoxy and provide mutual support during a trying time. "The network also provides a means for primates and others to support us more effectively in this struggle," Bishop Salmon said. "Its purpose is to provide a place of strength and witness within the American Church." Bishop Salmon helped draft and signed the network charter and both the standing committee and diocesan council had previously approved diocesan affiliation. A few representatives spoke against approval. "I believe this resolution would continue the divisiveness … because it would institutionalize a movement that not all parties agree with," said Andy Brack, a delegate from St. Stephen's Church, Charleston. Mr. Brack suggested that individual parishes, rather than the diocese as a whole, should be allowed to decide whether to affiliate. The resolution passed on a show of hands with about two dozen of the 296 clergy and lay delegates voting against it. In other business, convention approved a $2.3 million budget for the current year, a $200,000 increase over last year, but payment to the national church will decrease from $120,000 last year to a little more than $32,000 this year. END