By Terry Mattingly   EDITOR'S NOTE: The first of two columns.   No Tony Campolo sermon would be complete without his pulpit-shaking gestures of inspiration and exasperation, punctuating litanies of not-so-subtle digs at U.S. foreign policy, Hollywood, Wall Street and the Religious Right.   As he ended one recent oration, the sociologist, urban activist and evangelical gadfly fell to his knees, hands raised to heaven.   "I believe Americans must heed this call and turn away from our wicked ways," said Campolo, who made headlines counseling President Bill Clinton. "We need to turn away from sexual promiscuity, turn away from the consumeristic materialism, turn away from our failure to pay attention to what we have done collectively to poor and weak peoples around the world..."   "Then, let our prayer be that God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land."   Many of the faithful said "amen," lifted their hands or made the sign of the cross.   Then Campolo froze for a moment, as an hourglass icon hovered in the Romanesque arches of the Church of Fools, the world's first 3D, interactive, virtual church.   This kind of thing happens when traffic jams the Internet.   The computer-generated "avatar" looked like Campolo and he was delivering a Campolo sermon entitled "Why Many People in the World Hate America." But Campolo was not controlling his own computer image, since the site's webmasters were not sure he could master the technology needed to preach online -- line by line, gesture by gesture.   Actually, Campolo was at a clergy conference in St. Simons Island, Ga. But he stayed on the telephone with his Philadelphia office staff, which communicated with the Church of Fools in Liverpool, England, through an online instant-messaging program, while one of the site's creators controlled the "pixilated preacher." The question-and-answer session was especially tricky.   "I wanted Tony to be animated, because that's the way he is -- live," said Stephen Goddard. "I have known him for years and I know his gestures and style. I was sure I could get our Tony to preach like the real Tony."   The experimental site -- www.ChurchofFools.com -- opened its doors on May 11, with help from the Methodist Church of Great Britain and others. The pilot project ends this weekend (Aug. 8) and the future is uncertain. Goddard said he is confident they can keep the doors open -- but not as often. The Church of England is also poised to open a digital church of some kind.   So far, volunteers have donated the time and expertise needed to create and run Church of Fools, with most of its $30,000 budget being used to purchase the bandwidth needed for interactive services. Goddard said the goal is to raise $300,000 to cover the next three years and to expand -- hopefully including churches in America, China and elsewhere.   It is hard to picture what happens in a "virtual church" without images on a screen. At any one time, 35 worshippers can sign in and create characters that stand, sit or kneel. They can whisper or talk to nearby worshippers, slip into the church crypt for discussions or linger at icons in prayer. Another 1,500 can take part as silent ghosts. Campolo packed the pews.   Participants sang along as the organ played through their speakers, typing phrases from the hymns that seemed meaningful. During the July 28th service, one warden led the global flock in prayer, giving thanks for computers, satellites, bloggers, online friendships and their virtual church.   "Help us to use our networks to do good things," she said, "to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with you, our God, and to be good neighbors online and off."   One thing visitors cannot do is jump the virtual altar rail. Early on, an avatar called "Satan" stormed the pulpit and cursed the Anglican bishop of London. That wasn't cricket. Wardens now have the power to smite the rowdy.   "It only took a day or two to discover that there are lots of people who could not resist the chance to scream 'wanker!' in a church sanctuary," said Goddard. "Actually, all that cursing was a good sign. It told us that we didn't have the usual holy club in the pews. This wasn't going to be just another safe Christian crowd."   NEXT WEEK: Is an online church a "real" church?   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.

On Thursday, August 5, lay leaders in the Episcopal Church will launch an initiative geared to and for Anglican laity in North America. SPEAK OUT! is designed to mobilize, encourage and equip laity to communicate their deep concerns regarding the crisis in the Church in the US and Canada.   Fueled primarily through a new website -- www.anglicanlaity.net , the initiative asks laity to commit to pray, write letters to primates of the Anglican communion, register online and recruit at least two other individuals to participate in the endeavor. The website is being launched on the first anniversary of the August 5, 2003 Episcopal General Convention vote confirming the election of an actively homosexual bishop.   SPEAK OUT! is being coordinated by Diane L. Knippers, President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy and Cynthia P. Brust, Director of Communications for the American Anglican Council; they are joined by an advisory team of lay leaders from across the country.   "We lay people must find our voice and speak out," said Diane Knippers. "We have been excluded from important discussions, such as when the bishops went behind closed doors to craft their Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) plan. The laity must not abdicate their great responsibility to hold their priests and bishops accountable to church teaching. Now is the time," Knippers said.   Despite faithful and bold stances by some orthodox clergy, they have been limited by pressure from their bishops, fear of legal action and intimidation tactics. "Unlike clergy, laity can speak to these issues without fear of reprisals," explained Cynthia Brust. "We are encouraging Anglicans to break the virtual silence that has gripped us. To my knowledge, this is the first effort to organize Anglican laity in North America, and I anticipate a significant response."   The website text first and foremost focuses on "speaking out": "At a time when God's people should be speaking forthrightly, creatively, courageously and openly to one another, the discussion has been muted, hidden and fearful....It is time for laity to insist that the future of our churches not be determined by clergy behind closed doors....Ultimately, it is the laity who will decide whether or not to assent to or reject novel doctrines and practices."   In addition, the website will offer resources such as sample prayers and letters, speeches and a calendar of events as well as recommendations on how laity can take action. SPEAK OUT! is particularly interested in targeting students and young adults.   For more information, please visit the website ( www.anglicanlaity.net ) or contact Mrs. Knippers or Mrs. Brust.

By David W. Virtue | Special Report ALEXANDRIA — The first ALPHA conference to be held on Arab soil took place in March with more than 300 church leaders participating from numerous countries across the region, according to Alpha News, the official news organ of Alpha. The occasion was hosted by the Anglican Bishop of Egypt and North Africa, Dr. Mouneer Anis, who told the conference, "This Alpha course is a tool in the hand of the Holy Spirit to transform lives — many, many lives." "The Alpha course can reach nominal Christians who don't go to any church in Egypt. Try it, and it will bear fruit." The Anglican bishop warned church leaders that welcoming newcomers may lead to tough choices for existing congregations. "When you start Alpha, youth will come to your church. They will come with their problems. They will come with clapping and noise." The bishop said it was worth it. "If you have new people, we have to open our arms to them. We need to leave space for them in our worship." A Christian youth leader in Alexandria, Mikhail Farid Wahby, said he was greatly encouraged by Bishop Mouneer three years ago to implement Alpha. "I can say that every time we ran an Alpha course, it's a real blessing. Don't put obstacles in your way before you start — just start and you will learn from that point." A team from Holy Trinity, Brompton, the home of Alpha, included Nicky Gumbel and assistant pastor Archie Coates.

By Bonnie J. Fisco You scramble to agree on an Oversight Plan that will enable you to stay in the Episcopal Church. You have identified yourself as "conservative." Well, I ask you this — would Jesus or Paul or Peter or any one of the apostles describe themselves as "conservative"? The church of Jesus Christ is militant, opposing the enemies of God in constant spiritual warfare. The sin of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church far exceeds the single issue of ordaining a homosexual Bishop. This is a manifestation of its most egregious sin, which is its lack of faith. The Church is willing to revise the truth for the sake of unity. The Episcopal Church is puffed up and proud about what it is doing. It is lifted up by tolerance, prideful about its inclusivity. The Church has revised and interpreted scripture that has sustained us and fed us for thousands of years. She has arrogantly challenged His word with as much deceit and cunning as Satan when he said to Adam and Eve, "Yea, Hath God said ye shall not?" And to my beloved brethren, I say this: you make haste to negotiate a Delegated Episcopal Oversight (DEPO) but fail to see that you already have the most excellent and perfect oversight — He is among you now. The one who shed His blood on Calvary's hill is the Bishop and Shepherd of our souls. Cannot the same God that called you to belong to Him lead you onward to your eternal home? This is FAITH: action, based upon belief, sustained by confidence. It is my most heartfelt prayer that you will quickly acknowledge the oversight that you already have in Christ Jesus, trust Him with your whole being and let Him lead you out from among them. Bonnie J. Fisco has attended Christ & The Epiphany Church in East Haven, CT since 1997. — END —

By Bucky Chapman | Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer | 07/30/04 Imagine walking into an Episcopal Church and seeing kids learning how to pray to Allah. Kids and adults got the chance to learn about different faiths this week at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Rome during Vacation Bible School with a twist. This year the church taught their members, and members of other congregations, about other faiths and how they relate to Christianity. The World Peace Village looked at Islam on Thursday night. The week-long event also investigated Buddhism, Native American beliefs, Hinduism, Judaism and briefly touched on Christianity. "It's a study to promote peace and understanding and tolerance of other beliefs," said Wanda Hodges, coordinator of the event. Widad Akrayee, a Kurd whose family fled Northern Iraq in 1996, spoke about how many of the differences between religions are man-made. "We are all created by one God, and only one belief," she said. Rob Nash, dean of the school of religion at Shorter College, led an adult discussion. "It's been a meaningful experience for a congregation to open to other religions," said Nash, "simply for what they are, and not evangelizing but understanding." — END —

By Ephraim Radner As we await the Taskforce recommendations with their proposals for common life on the basis of some set of "principles," and anticipate our own diocesan convention, with its resolutions and legal articulations, the following may be of interest. I recently came across a declaration from the 1814 General Convention, Journal of the House of Bishops. It seems to have pertinence to our current discussions regarding the character of ecclesial authority within ECUSA, and the proper limits on our doctrinal and disciplinary self-understanding. The declaration states clearly that the "independence" of ECUSA as a church is focused solely within the realm of "civil concerns" and does not in any way touch upon the unity of "doctrine, worship, or discipline" between ECUSA and the Church of England. In other words, although only General Convention can impose "rules" within the civil realm of the church in America, it cannot make up any rules that violate this unity of doctrine, worship, and discipline. From the Journal of the House of Bishops, May 20th, 1814: "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is the same body heretofore known in these States by the name of the 'Church of England;' the change of name, although not in religious principle, in doctrine, or in worship, or in discipline, being induced by a characteristic of the Church of England..." The question remains: are the actions of General Convention and of bishops and dioceses of this church at one with the doctrine, worship, and discipline of the Church of England and of the Anglican Communion? If they are not, we stand in violation of our legal identity. — END —

By David W. Virtue ABUJA, NIGERIA (7/30/2004) — The Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria has written a scathing letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury blasting the appointment of the new general secretary for the Anglican Consultative Council, Irish-born Canon Kenneth Kearon. In a stiffly worded letter to Dr. Rowan Williams and all the Primates and Moderators of the Anglican Communion, The Most Revd. Peter Akinola wrote saying he was "disappointed at the action that fails to take cognizance of the feelings and yearnings of those of us in the global south." Primate Akinola noted that non-Western faces at the Secretariat are either interns or support staff. "It is vital that we have staff, at the most senior as well as junior levels, which represent the viewpoint of the Global South of the church." "We see in this latest appointment that nothing has changed and that what we thought and believe to be a world-wide Communion is actually now being portrayed to be no more than a 'western section communion,'" Akinola wrote. In an interview with the BBC, Canon Kearon refused to commit himself when pressed for his views on homosexuality. He did not publicly repudiate homosexual behavior, a failure that could rebound on both him and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr. Williams said he was "delighted with the appointment," noting that Canon Kearon would bring "a superb knowledge of the worldwide church and invaluable experience, especially in the field of church and community relationships and in mediation and conflict resolution." — END —

By David W. Virtue | News Analysis HARTFORD, CT — (7/30/2004) — Four orthodox clergy in the Diocese of Connecticut whose parishes have taken part in a 6-parish joint request for DEPO have appeared before Bishop Andrew Smith in response to a "pastoral directive." Three have been told that "canonical initiatives" will be forthcoming unless some resolution is achieved with respect to their differences with the bishop. The three who received implied threats from the bishop are the Revds. Christopher Leighton, rector of St. Paul's, Darien; Allyn Benedict, rector of Christ Church, Watertown; and Dr. Mark Hansen, rector of St. John's Church, Bristol. The Rev. Christopher Leighton met one-on-one with the bishop for 35 minutes and described their talk as "frank." The bishop sees only three possibilities: the churches leave, they stay and accept his form of DEPO, or he takes canonical initiatives against the clergy and their churches. Fr. Leighton made clear that St. Paul's has no intention of leaving the Diocese or the Episcopal Church. "We're not threatening to leave. We're threatening to stay." Fr. Allyn Benedict reported that the bishop remained firm about not meeting with the churches together, insisting each church is in relationship with the bishop canonically as a separate unit. The Rev. Mark Hansen expressed concern over the bishop's "precisely worded invocation of the phrase 'canonical initiatives.'" Hansen said he was not hopeful that anything could ultimately be worked out with the bishop. "Our real hope comes from the Lord," Hansen concluded. — END —

By Uwe Siemon-Netto | UPI Religious Affairs Editor | News Analysis PARIS, July 30 (UPI) — For all the talk about the Americans' descent into secularism and postmodern confusion, their Judeo-Christian values in key areas seem to be rock-solid, a new survey showed. Only 18 percent of all adults favor the removal of signs listing the Ten Commandments from public buildings, according to a poll taken by the Barna Research Group in Ventura, CA. The Ten Commandments are part of the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Yet even 32 percent of non-Christians and 45 percent of atheists and agnostics oppose their removal. On the issue of whether the words "In God We Trust" should be taken off U.S. currency, only 15 percent of Catholics polled said "yes," compared with 13 percent of the national average and a mere 1 percent of evangelicals. "On balance," commented pollster George Barna, "the research shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans want Christian values and symbols to prevail, although most people stop short of declaring the U.S. to be a Christian society." Almost 70 million Americans are supportive of an amendment declaring Christianity the official national religion. Given that only 28 percent of U.S. ministers affirm basic Christian tenets, Barna called that result "a huge vote of confidence in the Christian faith." Uwe Siemon-Netto, Ph.D., DLitt is UPI Religious Affairs Editor. — END —

By Cyntha Brust | AAC Communications Director Two stories have surfaced in recent weeks about the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA). On the surface, they may appear unrelated, but closer examination raises a number of questions about the future of ECUSA. On July 19, 2004, the Rt. Rev. John Lipscomb, Bishop of Southwest Florida, announced he had been invited to be part of a team visiting several provinces in East Africa. He will be joined by the Rt. Rev. Ted Daniels, assistant bishop of the Diocese of Texas and the Very Rev. Titus Presler, Dean of the Seminary of the Southwest, traveling with "the full knowledge and support of our Presiding Bishop." The focus of the trip appears to center on attempts toward reconciliation with African provinces and dioceses that have decried the decisions of General Convention 2003. To date, twenty-one Anglican provinces have declared either impaired or broken communion with ECUSA. The timing of this trip — just 2 months before the Lambeth Commission is expected to issue its report — is significant. It seems ECUSA's leadership has suddenly backed away from its position that the worldwide Anglican Communion's outrage does not matter. In a surprising development, the Chief Operating Officer of the Episcopal Church Center announced the resignation, effective immediately, of Daniel B. England as Director of Communication. The announcement was not only unexpected and abrupt, but also offered few details. Does Mr. England's resignation signal an acknowledgement that the approach chosen by ECUSA has proven ineffective, unsuccessful or even a complete failure? As these two situations are considered together, questions must be asked: What is going on behind the scenes in ECUSA? Is the leadership divided? — END —

By Cheryl H. White, Ph.D. "He that holds not the unity of the Church, does he believe that he holds the faith? He who strives against and resists the Church, is he confident that he is in the Church?" — St. Cyprian of Carthage, Third Century In the above text, St. Cyprian is writing about the episcopal office — the bishop — and his duty to represent the unity of the Body of Christ. Today, the latest discussions arising from the divisiveness within the Episcopal Church reverberate again, not surprisingly, with a lack of understanding or appreciation for history. The early Church insisted upon the episcopacy as a means of administering the growing church catholic and preserving a common orthodoxy. St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing at the end of the first century, told the faithful that no Eucharist or Baptism could be performed if the bishop was not present. St. Ignatius urged bishops to be "inseparable from Jesus Christ and the ordinance of the Apostles." St. Cyprian wrote that the bishop, his sacrifices and prayers, were effectual only as long as "he remains faithful and leads a holy life." He stressed that the bishops themselves represent the unity to be enjoyed within the whole Body of Christ, noting this unity was manifested in "united conferences and mutual recognition." If the very essence of Christian unity requires the common consent of the greater communion of the faithful, then we face troubles today of historic and epic proportions. The Episcopal Church and the greater Anglican Communion has been divided, not united, over recent developments. Whatever form future rhetoric in this debate may take, there is one logical conclusion that surely all can agree upon — what divides us cannot unite us. Dr. Cheryl White is a professor of history at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Her major fields of study are church history and the history of dogmatic theology. — END —

By Bert Herlong | From the Jul/Aug 2004 issue of the Cross and Crozier It is not news to anyone that there continues to be significant fallout and disruption in the Episcopal Church from the actions of the 74th General Convention. Laity and clergy are continuing to react in ways that demonstrate their dissatisfaction. Then, of course, there is an equal and opposite reaction by those who disagree with them, contributing to the continuing unrest. We do have a basic theological split in the church and the convention decisions have produced a polarization that leaves no middle ground. There seems to be an ever-widening gap between the two positions. No matter which side you are on, one cannot deny the crisis in our church. I have frequently been asked if there are any good things happening in the church these days in light of the General Convention actions. I see four distinct things happening in the Diocese of Tennessee and from my conversations with other bishops, I have reason to believe that they are happening all over our church. These are things that give me hope for the future. First, there is an enormous amount of energy and concern among our laity. Never in my whole life have I seen such interest, care and concern for the church. Second, more and more people are reading the Bible. New Bible study groups are being formed and existing groups are expanding. Third, many, many people are questioning what they truly do believe. This "teachable moment" is opening new and deeper understanding of the Christian faith in our churches. Fourth, most important of all is the fact more people than ever before are praying for the church, for the clergy and people and our common mission. If we have an energized, active and committed laity, seriously reading the Bible, studying their faith and deeply involved in prayer, there is good reason to look to the future in confidence. A woman here in Tennessee prayed to God, "O God, the church is hopeless, the situation is impossible." God answered, "Good, that is when I do my best work!" The Rt. Rev. Bert Herlong is the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Tennessee. — END —