Every parish should have tax exempt 501(c)3 status ECUSA should be censured by Primates and ABC   By David W. Virtue   LONG BEACH, CA--The president and CEO of the American Anglican Council lit into the leadership of the Episcopal Church accusing it of theological obfuscation, saying that the real issue in the church is not about human sexuality but the authority of Holy Scripture.   "The great trouble is getting people to accept the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God. There is a division among us of core issues that are inescapable," said Canon David C. Anderson at a two-day conference for biblically orthodox Episcopalians.   "Who should be surprised when we get to sex that we are worlds apart?" The Anglican Church globally and locally is in some difficulty domestically, and internationally we have some problems. In Canada this week the church there embarked on the same journey the ECUSA has decided to go on. You would think they would see the wreckage here and be wise, but not so."   Both the ECUSA and the Canadians have been cautioned by Lambeth not to take certain actions, but they have gone ahead and done it anyway, he said. "In Canada they employed dubious parliamentary procedures and jumped right into the abyss affirming the integrity and sanctity of same sex relationships. What are they thinking? Do they read and understand Scripture? It appears not."   "In England they are pressing ahead with the appointment of Jeffrey John to be the dean of a cathedral. The same issues that rendered him not appropriate as a bishop are also not appropriate for a deanship."   The Lambeth Commission is presently hearing arguments and we will know all in September or October. The Primates will then meet again in January or February.   "There is a real interest in keeping an Anglican family together," said Anderson. "But domestic anger is beginning to rise when bishops like J. Jon Bruno blesses an openly gay priest Malcolm Boyd in his partnership with another man."   Bishops like Bruno don't understand the scope and defense of the horror of what they are doing, said Anderson.   "What sort of message are they sending to the Primates...it is pretty loud and clear."   "Domestically we are seeing parishes springing up in other convocations, applying for association with Network and AAC. We need both."   Anderson said the AAC was growing by the tens of thousands. "Our growth since January has been steady. The AAC his become a network of peoples. I would remind the bishops of this country as they harass the orthodox faithful that what happened in Ohio will be coming to a village near them."   There are persecutions afoot, said Anderson. "There is a priest being persecuted in the Diocese of Western New York. There is Bishop Bennison in Pennsylvania who made a full scale attack on one his congregations - the Church of the Good Samaritan, forcing his presence and ministry at all services when they pleaded with him not to do so."   "Bishop Moody of Oklahoma is threatening people, forcing unity with tyranny in hand. In Western Tennessee orthodox clergy have been threatened if they join the AAC. Bishop Parsley of Alabama is persecuting the faithful. The idea you can force bishops to do your will and remain quiet has gone. Clergy, vestry and parishes have lost power, and through the canons power has flowed extra canonically into the office of the bishop."   Anderson said the Alternative Episcopal Oversight has somehow become morphed into Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO). "But DEPO is a no go. If the local bishop has final veto it is No Delegated Episcopal Oversight."   Anderson said priests and vestries need to be prepared to fight in the legal area. "How do we fight back? I believe every parish should have 501c3 corporate status. Get tax exempt status and make sure you are not beholden by the DFMS to 815, the national church."   "Do not use their tax exempt status. Get your own, it might come in handy."   Anderson urged biblically orthodox clergy to read their local diocesan canons carefully. "Have an attorney for your parish separate from the diocesan chancellor. The canons are different in almost every diocese. They can mean a lot to you in a time of crisis."   Anderson said faithful Episcopalians should gather parish directories, unobtrusively. "Stock pile them, the AAC needs to do direct mail to these persons. We need to replicate the local bishop's power. When it is too late you won't have time. Be prepared to be admonished, inhibited and tried. We are facing hard times."   Anderson said things will get harder before they get better.   When Anderson was asked by a Primate what he really wanted, Anderson replied; "I would like to see ECUSA censured by the Primates and the Archbishop of Canterbury." (At this point Anderson received a standing ovation.)   "I would like to see ECUSA censured, put on probation and called to repentance and if they do not repent certain things need to happen of a long term nature."   When asked why the orthodox faithful had not already left the ECUSA, Anderson replied, we are the orthodox. "I believe we are the authentic epicenter of the Episcopal Church."   Anderson said several scenarios will emerge in the next six to eight months. "There will be a best case scenario and a worst case scenario. I have to ask you if the worst case scenario were to happen, would you be standing on the curb and asking what do you wish you had been doing now? Do the homework. We are Gideon's army, armed not with swords of the flesh, but armed with trumpets to announce the engagement and pots that shatter signifying the breaking of captivity.   END

News Analysis By David W. Virtue BUFFALO, NY-- The Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, the Very Rev. Allen Farabee was terminated by the vestry this week, ending a six-year reign which saw the parish plummet from a high of 754 communicants in 1998, to a low of 305 in 2002. Dean Farabee submitted his resignation after he learned that a task force set up to review his performance decided not to renew his contract. After a five month examination of Farabee's performance they reported their findings to the vestry who voted unanimously to terminate him. A source told Virtuosity that when the parish leaders were solicited to provide written comments for the Dean's evaluation they ran 100% in support of termination. In a letter to the people of St. Paul's, Farabee noted, "that you wish to go in a different direction than I can lead you." "For some time I have felt encumbered by the administrative and pastoral responsibilities of the cathedral and have been unable to commit myself to those things for which I am best suited." But Farabee may well have done himself in. He had no gospel to proclaim and the cathedral was slowly withering and dying. On Easter Sunday 2002 Farabee preached a sermon in which he bemoaned the closure of the only gay bathhouse in Buffalo saying it was "an alcove of safety in a hostile and threatening world. More than 3000 members paid annual dues and visitors came from all over the world. The information network of safe places alerted men who might be coming to Buffalo: go to 653 Main Street and you will find a place of hospitality and welcome, a place you can be yourself, a resting place for body and soul." This writer along with a number of media at the time poured scorn on the idiocy of the Dean's remarks, reminding him that gay bathhouses were the primary medium through which AIDS was transmitted by men having unprotected anal sex first in San Francisco and then across the country. When he preached his Easter day sermon this writer remonstrated at the time, wondering aloud if the dean had not totally lost his mind. "Does Farabee know how many of those 3,000 men are still alive today and not lying in shallow graves their bodies wasted by AIDS all because they falsely believed they could find a "safe place" for the outworking of their sexual desires at 653 Main Street, Buffalo? Of course he doesn't," wrote Virtuosity. Farabee never completely recovered from his stupid remarks said a former parishioner. The cathedral then went into free fall. In 1998 (the year Bishop Michael Garrison was elected) there were 938 communicants; 754 in good standing. In 1999 the number of communicants dropped to 780, and then in 2002 with a change in the church's format, the number of active members dropped to 515 with Communicants in Good Standing dropping to 305. Spiritual torpor had set in. Noted one former Standing Committee member in the diocese, "Our once great Cathedral is currently in the process of exhausting it's endowment in order to try to appear vibrant. Churches are dying all across the area." Farabee was a career Episcopal priest who sought the office of bishop "several times" by his own account, the most recent that of Bishop of Washington. He failed. It was clearly time for the dean to depart. The departure of Dean Allen Waldo Farabee will not mean the cathedral will become more biblically orthodox, sources tell Virtuosity. "They are in a neck and neck competition for perversity and blasphemy with another downtown church, Trinity Episcopal Church," wrote a parishioner. All the bets are on a woman to replace Farabee, say sources. Canon Stephen J. S. Smith, a canon at the cathedral was laid off this spring owing to their financial woes. His sacking is being blamed on conservatives not rendering unto Caesar. END

Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship June 9, 2004 An open meeting convened yesterday in St. Albans diocese considered a range of issues arising from the Diocesan Bishop's support for the appointment of the new Dean of the Cathedral. Over 70 clergy and laity were present and 17 others had sent indications of support. Thirty-seven parishes were represented. Having received reports from a number of members who had recently met with the Bishop, considerable concern was expressed and in particular the following issues were discussed. That the Bishop's action has caused a breakdown of trust and divided the Diocese impinging upon the desire of the Bishop to be seen as a focus of unity. The possibility of seeking alternative Episcopal oversight. The ability of parishes to pay parish share (quota) in the light of lay giving being redirected and members leaving the Church of England. Reports were received of PCCs considering withholding or suspending parish share commitments. There was agreement that the grace and glory of the gospel of Christ is being undermined by the issues underlying this appointment. The Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship, which convened the meeting, was asked to take appropriate action to pursue the matters raised and to work with other evangelical organisations not least to reaffirm the traditional Christian teaching on marriage. For further information, please contact: Revd Canon Nick Bell, Vicar of St Mary's Parish Church, Luton Tel: 01582 721867, Email: nickbell@stmarysluton.org Canon Mr Philip Lovegrove, OBE, Chairman of the St Albans Diocesan Board of Finance Tel: 0207 448 4754, Home: 01462 481880, Email: philip.lovegrove@fiskeplc.com

By Albert Mohler June 3, 2004 The spectacular success of the homosexual movement stands as one of the most fascinating phenomena of our time. In less than two decades, homosexuality has moved from "the love that dares not speak its name," to the center of America's public life. The homosexual agenda has advanced even more quickly than its most ardent proponents had expected, and social change of this magnitude demands some explanation. A partial explanation of the homosexual movement's success can be traced to the 1989 publication of After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s. Published with little fanfare, this book became the authoritative public relations manual for the homosexual agenda, and its authors presented the book as a distillation of public relations advice for the homosexual community. A look back at its pages is an occasion for understanding just how successful their plan was. Authors Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen combined psychiatric and public relations expertise in devising their strategy. Kirk, a researcher in neuropsychiatry, and Madsen, a public relations consultant, argued that homosexuals must change their presentation to the heterosexual community if real success was to be made. Conceiving their book as a "gay manifesto for the 1990s," the authors called for homosexuals to repackage themselves as mainstream citizens demanding equal treatment, rather than as a promiscuous sexual minority seeking greater opportunity and influence. Writing just as the AIDS crisis hit its greatest momentum, the authors saw the disease as an opportunity to change the public mind. "As cynical as it may seem, AIDS gives us a chance, however brief, to establish ourselves as a victimized minority legitimately deserving of America's special protection and care," they wrote. Give them credit: they really did understand the operation of the public mind. Kirk and Madsen called for homosexuals to talk incessantly about homosexuality in public. "Open, frank talk makes gayness seem less furtive, alien, and sinful; more above board," they asserted. "Constant talk builds the impression that public opinion is at least divided on the subject, and that a sizeable bloc--the most modern, up-to-date citizens--accept or even practice homosexuality." Nevertheless, not all talk about homosexuality is helpful. "And when we say talk about homosexuality, we mean just that. In the early stages of the campaign, the public should not be shocked and repelled by premature exposure to homosexual behavior itself. Instead, the imagery of sex per se should be downplayed, and the issue of gay rights reduced, as far as possible, to an abstract social question." Portraying homosexuals as victims was essential to their strategy. Offering several principles for tactical advance in their cause, the authors called upon homosexuals to "portray gays as victims of circumstance and depression, not as aggressive challengers." This would be necessary, they argued, because "gays must be portrayed as victims in need of protection so that straights will be inclined by reflex to adopt the role of protector." Such a strategy could, they asserted, lead to something like a "conversion" of the public mind on the question of homosexuality. "The purpose of victim imagery is to make straights feel very uncomfortable; that is, to jam with shame the self-righteous pride that would ordinarily accompany and reward their antigay belligerence, and to lay groundwork for the process of conversion by helping straights identify with gays and sympathize with their underdog status." Obviously, this would mean marginalizing some members of the homosexual community. Kirk and Madsen were bold to advise a mainstreaming of the homosexual image. "In practical terms, this means that cocky mustachioed leather-men, drag queens, and bull dykes would not appear in gay commercials and other public presentations. Conventional young people, middle-age women, and older folks of all races would be featured, not to mention the parents and straight friends of gays." Furthermore, "It cannot go without saying, incidentally, that groups on the farthest margins of acceptability, such as NAMBLA [North American Man-Boy Love Association], must play no part at all in such a campaign. Suspected child molesters will never look like victims." What about the origin of sexual orientation? The success of the homosexual movement can be largely traced to the very idea of "orientation" itself. More precisely, homosexuals advanced their cause by arguing that they were born that way. Madsen and Kirk offer this as candid public relations advice. "We argue that, for all practical purposes, gays should be considered to have been born gay--even though sexual orientation, for most humans, seems to be the product of a complex interaction between innate predispositions and environmental factors during childhood and early adolescence." Alas, "To suggest in public that homosexuality might be chosen is to open the can of worms labeled 'moral choices and sin' and give the religious intransigents a stick to beat us with. Straights must be taught that it is as natural for some persons to be homosexual as it is for others to be heterosexual: wickedness and seduction have nothing to do with it." There can be no doubt that Christianity represents the greatest obstacle to the normalization of homosexual behavior. It cannot be otherwise, because of the clear biblical teachings concerning the inherent sinfulness of homosexuality in all forms, and the normativity of heterosexual marriage. In order to counter this obstacle, Kirk and Madsen advised gays to "use talk to muddy the moral waters, that is, to undercut the rationalizations that 'justify' religious bigotry and to jam some of its psychic rewards." How can this be done? "This entails publicizing support by moderate churches and raising serious theological objections to conservative biblical teachings. It also means exposing the inconsistency and hatred underlying antigay doctrines." Conservative churches, defined by the authors as "homohating" are portrayed as "antiquated backwaters, badly out of step with the times and with the latest findings of psychology." A quick review of the last 15 years demonstrates the incredible effectiveness of this public relations advice. The agenda set out by Kirk and Madsen led to nothing less than social transformation. By portraying themselves as mainstream Americans seeking nothing but liberty and self-fulfillment, homosexuals redefined the moral equation. Issues of right and wrong were isolated as outdated, repressive, and culturally embarrassing. Instead, the assertion of "rights" became the hallmark of the public relations strategy. Other principles offered by the authors included making gays look good by identifying strategic historical figures as being hidden homosexuals, and, on the other hand, making "victimizers" look bad in the public eye. Kirk and Madsen suggested isolating conservative Christians by presenting them as "hysterical backwoods preachers, drooling with hate to a degree that looks both comical and deranged." They offered a concrete example of how this strategy could be used on television and in print. "For example, for several seconds an unctuous beady-eyed Southern preacher is shown pounding the pulpit in rage against 'those perverted, abominable creatures.'" While his tirade continues over the soundtrack, the picture switches to heart-rending photos of badly beaten persons, or of gays who look decent, harmless, and likeable; and then we cut back to the poisonous face of the preacher. The contrast speaks for itself. The effect is devastating." Public relations is now a major part of the American economy, with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into advertising strategies and image enhancement programs. Observers of the public relations world must look back with slack-jawed amazement at the phenomenal success of the approach undertaken by homosexuals over the last two decades. The advice offered by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen is nothing less than a manifesto for moral revolution. A look back at this strategy indicates just how self-consciously the homosexual movement advanced its cause by following this plan. Those who oppose the normalization of homosexuality have indeed been presented as backwoods, antiquated, and dangerous people, while those advancing the cause are presented as forces for light, progress, and acceptance. Conservative Christians have indeed been presented as proponents of hatred rather than as individuals driven by biblical conviction. The unprecedented success of this public relations strategy helps to explain why America has accepted everything from homosexual characters and plotlines in prime-time entertainment to the lack of outrage in response to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. At least we know what we are up against. Biblical Christians must continue to talk about right and wrong even when the larger world dismisses morality as an outdated concept. We must maintain marriage as a non-negotiable norm--a union of a man and a woman--even when the courts redefine marriage by fiat. At the same time, we must take into account the transformation of the American mind that is now so devastatingly evident to all who have eyes to see. The real tragedy of After the Ball is that the great result of this is not a party, but the complete rejection of the very moral foundations which made this society possible. In order to address the most fundamental problems, we must understand the shape of the American mind. Looking back at After the Ball after fifteen years, it all comes into frightening focus. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

by Joseph Bayly The point at which many movements that claim to come in the name of the Lord fall down in their lack of respect for the integrity of human personality (that which constitutes a person as an individual created in the divine image). The young man "went away grieved, for he had great possessions" (Mark 10:22). And Jesus let him go. Jesus didn't twist his arm, didn't overwhelm him with a display of love, didn't "snow" him with His superior intellect. Jesus let him go. Love is only love if it lets the other person go, if it respects the image of God in the other man. What is that image? Surely it is first of all freedom to choose the way that we shall take, without the sort of pressure that leaves no alternatives. Did Jesus love the young man? Yes, the record says that He did, although it doesn't say that He told him so. But He did let him go. Did the father love the prodigal son when he went into the far country? Yes, and his love was shown by letting him go, rather than holding him under the threat of disinheritance. He even provided money for the prodigal's rebellious journey. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" (II Cor. 3:17). Compulsion violates liberty; liberty begins with the right to decide for oneself. The yoke of bondage to God is accepted, not imposed. Is there such a thing as "spiritual brainwashing"? I believe there is, and to me it is more frightening than the communist variety, involving eternal issues as it does. Some groups of Christians seem to mistake the techniques of psychological manipulation for the work of the Holy Spirit. Whether they have the best of intentions or less than the best, some conference centers break down the human will as surely as did the communists in Korean prisoner of war camps. And some meetings equate the rout of the soul with Christian conversion. We violate the sanctify and integrity of personality when we step in between the other person and God, making his decisions for him, telling him what to do, being his conscience. This is the holy place in Christian personality reserved for God's Spirit alone. It matters not that we say, "You must make your own decision," if we've already loaded the dice. We are the more guilty because the other person overlooks our deception under the aura of our spirituality. Love may be employed as a "hidden persuader." Deeds of "love," the big and little kindness', are satanic if they are used in the seduction of a soul. In the Gospel records, we never find Jesus saying or implying, "Will you believe if I do this for you?" "Will you believe now that I have done this for you?" Love is destroyed when it is used as a bargaining agent. Love is a frightening instrument of human manipulation, more powerful than brainwashing. And the most defenseless - the poor, the weak, the lonely - are most vulnerable to its use. The contemporary movements that claim to be God's full revelation for our time: How do they treat the needy, helpless ones who do not respond? Do they show love beyond their own small circle of the fully convinced? Do they lovingly and gently commit the one who turns aside from the group to the Father, or do they attempt to bludgeon him into submission and return? Love itself is a fruit of the Spirit, the "more excellent way." And a time is coming when Christians who have borne the fruit of divine love - not as a means of achieving an end, but as the expression of their new nature - will be surprised by their Lord's "Inasmuch." Demas may forsake us, Timothy abide true. Each must be committed to God, each is to be loved. And the test of our love is always our attitude toward Demas departed, not Timothy remaining. If we have been used to bring another to spiritual birth, we must cut the cord, remove the dead placenta. We dare not take the place of God's Spirit in another person's life. The danger in doing otherwise is multiplied manifold when we are working with the young. Only one love satisfies the human spirit, created in the divine image. That is the love that says, in a paraphrase of God's word to Israel, "I love you because I love you" (Deut. 7:8) JOSEPH BAYLY was known to students from the close of World War II up to the beginning of the sixties as listener, speaker, writer, and editor. A staff member of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, he visited schools from Maine to Florida, and edited HIS magazine. During the past decade, the author became known to a wider circle of American Christians through his column in ETERNITY magazine, and association with David C. Cook Publishing Company (managing editor). His listening and speaking throughout the United States - at conferences and seminars of pastors, medical doctors, lawyers, Christian educators, nurses, writers, students, married couples, women, parents - are reflected in his writings. Bayly has a rare gift of explaining Christian concepts in contemporary thought forms and language. His books include PSALMS OF MY LIFE, THE GOSPEL BLIMP, WHAT ABOUT HOROSCOPES? THE VIEW FROM A HEARSE, and I SAW GOOLEY FLY. (Taken from: Out Of My Mind, by Joseph Bayly, written sometime in the late 1950's or early 1960's. He died about 1993)

By CATHERINE MASTERS Weekend Herald 5/6/2004 The new head of the Anglican Church has a vision of a world without homosexuality. Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, 75, is a controversial replacement for Archbishop John Paterson, who has headed New Zealand's largest church for seven years. Bishop Vercoe is a staunch supporter of the Treaty of Waitangi and has been outspoken over the years on homosexuality, immigration and the place of women in the church. In his first big interview since his appointment, he told the Weekend Herald he believed that homosexuality was unnatural and not morally right. "And that's not quoting scripture either ... I'm just basing it on my human - I s'pose I should be basing it on scripture also, but I'm basing it on human accepted norms." His words come as the country prepares to debate the Civil Union Bill, which would give gay couples the same legal rights as married couples. The Anglican Church welcomes homosexuals in its congregation but is divided worldwide over same-sex marriage and ordaining gays. In New Zealand there are a number of gay priests, but it is up to individual bishops whom they ordain. Bishop Vercoe says he does not condemn homosexuals as individuals, rather he loves them as people, but he says ordination is like saying it is all right to have same-sex marriages and same-sex parents. One day society would find homosexuality unacceptable, he said. "It may not come in our time but it will come. There will be a strong reaction, well, for later generations, we [will] suddenly discover a morality, a new morality." Bishop Vercoe's appointment is particularly significant as the country debates race relations. He has supported separate structures for Maori and said recently that Maori were here before Pakeha and had nowhere else to go. The Rev. Dr Janet Crawford, from the Auckland School of Theology, credits him with shaking up the church after a speech at Waitangi in 1990 before the Queen where he said Maori had been marginalised and the treaty had not been honoured. "He is a remarkable man really. I think when he spoke at Waitangi that was a courageous thing to do and it certainly had a huge impact on the church over time. I think it was a real wake-up call and people took what he said seriously. In combination with other things, that has influenced the direction of the church." In 1992 the church rewrote its constitution and split into three tikanga (cultural) sections - Pakeha, Maori and Polynesian. Each is run according to its own traditions and cultures. Bishop Vercoe headed the Maori church and is the first Maori to be made archbishop since the change. Richard Randerson, Dean of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, said the Pakeha synod had felt it was time the leadership passed to tikanga Maori. Bishop Vercoe's views on homosexuality and women in the church arose out of a cultural context, he said. "There are areas within Maoridom today where leadership by women is not accepted as well as it is in other parts of Maoridom. "Likewise with issues of homosexuality, I think probably most Maori would find that culturally very difficult." A leadership with a more Maori dimension would be good for the church - and good for the nation. "From what I've heard, there's a lot of people within Maoridom generally, outside the church, who have seen this as a very far-sighted appointment. "They're saying that this is a real signal to the nation that we are not just one culture." Glynn Cardy, vicar-elect of the liberal St Matthew-in-the-city in Auckland, said he hoped that in time the Anglican Church in New Zealand would unequivocally welcome gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and would not withhold any sacrament from them because of their sexuality. But he also said that the appointment of Bishop Vercoe did not send a negative signal. "He is a man of many gifts and much mana. I have especially valued in the past his alignment internationally with minority indigenous groups seeking justice." Oliver Hall, editor of the gay newspaper Express, said the views on homosexuality came as no surprise. "It's weird, though, that it's the Anglican Church who elsewhere have been making leaps and bounds towards trying to include homosexuals recently, so it's kind of sad, but it's not really unexpected." END

By Stephen Noll June 3 was my fourth Martyrs' Day in Uganda, a national holiday, a Christian Memorial Day. So in one sense, while it does not seem to be "news" to give another report on this glorious celebration, repetition does not cheapen the remembrance of this moment in national memory (and even international memory - it's in the Lesser Feasts and Fasts). This particular Martyrs' Day was special in that it was sponsored by the universities and chaplaincies of Uganda. In reality, that boiled down to UCU and Ndejje University, which is Anglican, and the chaplaincies of Makerere and Kyambogo Universities, which are state owned. The Catholics have a separate shrine and celebration nearby, and the Muslims, well, they have their own national holidays at other times. The site of the Martyrs' celebration is Namugongo, the traditional royal killing ground. The Anglicans possess the actual site and have erected two little structures there: one a replica of the Executioner's hut, the other a replica of the pyre on which the martyrs were roasted. Before the service, people queue up for hours waiting to visit these shrines. This year, I am proud to say, UCU refurbished the martyrs' memorial in a noticeable way. Our ceramics lecturer and his class fired up and painted 22 new heads for the martyrs, as many of the former heads were cracked or broken. The heads were attached to the reed casing which surrounded the bodies, making them human logs. We even made some feet to go at the opposite end of some of these logs. They looked really fine and will be available for any of you when you visit Uganda (just 20 minutes from the University). The worship service is held in a natural amphitheatre down the hill from the huts. The congregation, about 5-7,000, I would guess, sit in grassy ranks on the hillside in the shade of the eucalyptus or under umbrellas. At the bottom of the hill is the spring where the Executioner washed his tools; people still go there with their jerry cans. The dignitaries sit in a new church structure facing out, and the visiting choirs flank the amphitheatre. The Prime Minister and Chief Justice were present for the service. The PM, the Hon. Apollo Nsibambi, is notorious for being ON TIME, which sets him apart from all his peers in Government. So he seemed quite pleased when we actually processed onto the stage at 10AM, as announced. He was not so pleased when the preacher went on for an hour. The preacher was Bishop Ben Kwashi from Jos, Nigeria, whom I have known for some years and is on the Trinity Board of Trustees. For Ben, an hour's sermon is just warming up. When the sermon climaxed in an altar call to which 200 people responded, it seemed self-evidently worth the wait. UCU students had been prepared to meet the new converts as counsellors. The traditional lesson was also long, an entire reading of Daniel, chapter 3, the three young men in the fiery furnace. I pointed out in my welcome comments that the Uganda Martyrs were not really "page-boys," but rather royal courtiers, the king's elite officers. When many of these courtiers embraced Christianity, Kabaka (King) Mwanga came to feel his absolute authority was being threatened. He had learned the practice of homosexuality from the Arab traders and used it as a way of lording it over his inferiors. When the Christians refused, he saw it as one more sign of their treason. So, like the young men of Nebuchadnezzar's court, he decided to put them to the test: renounce the Christian God or die. And their response was the same: "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up." (Dan 3:17-18) In a nice consummation to the day, the Holy Communion was celebrated and the bishops carried it out from the platform and up the hillside to serve the people. All in all, another glorious day of remembrance. It is a mistake to idealize the church here in Africa. But on a day like this, one does get a glimpse into the heart of the faith which took root here well over a century ago and still burns bright. Stephen Noll is vice-chancellor of Uganda Christian University

By Michael J. McManus Last night a reader e-mailed, "Do you know if President Reagan was a Christian?" Frankly, I've had doubts since I began writing this column in 1981, the first year of his Presidency. From those early years, men I respected were persuaded his faith was genuine. One with no doubts was Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. He praised Reagan as "the first President to step out boldly to protect the unborn child. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford were both pro-abortion." However, Reagan attended church only once in his eight years of presidency. Can a man who does not worship God be called Christian? When asked about his lack of church attendance during the 1984 presidential debate with former Vice President Walter Mondale, Reagan said he feared endangering his own life and those of others: "I pose a threat to several hundred people if I got to church. I know all the threats that are made against me." Two months after his Inauguration, President Reagan was shot and the bullet came within an inch of his heart. Fear was understandable. Why then, did he not invite clergy to conduct services within the White House? However, as an ex-President he did return to church. A new book by Paul Kengor, "God and Ronald Reagan," has persuaded me that his faith was not only profound, but his driving energy and the key to understanding his effectiveness in restoring hope to America and in his strategy toward the Soviet Union, symbolized by his challenge in Berlin: "Tear down this wall, Mr. Gobachev." Nelle Reagan, his mother, was deeply religious. She not only led the largest Disciples of Christ Sunday School class and prayed so fervently people were healed, but she dedicated her life to the "poor and helpless," such as weekly visits to a TB hospital and the local jail where she came with apples, cookies and the Bible. Her faith and character inspired young Ron. By contrast, his father, Jack Reagan, was an alcoholic who an 11-year-old Ron found lying in the snow, drunk. Ron dragged him inside to his bed. If his father was unreliable, Ron learned his heavenly Father was always reliable. Months later, Ron asked to be baptized. As he arose from immersion, the pastor said, "Arise and walk in newness of faith." Ron said he felt "called" at that moment when "I invited Christ into my life." It was in church that Ron began acting. At 13 he "convulsed the audience by his one act dramatic reading," said a local newspaper. At 15 he began teaching Sunday School which he did weekly until he went to college. In Hollywood the young actor joined a Disciples church. He loved Matthew's quote of Jesus: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hid." By the 1950's he was speaking of America as "A Shining City Upon a Hill." Reagan's pastor urged him to consider the threat of Godless communism. As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan discovered there were 300 Communist Party members in Hollywood. Standing up to them sparked so many physical threats, he packed a revolver. Russian communists closed thousands of churches and sent clergy and millions of believers to their deaths. One Harvard study estimates communists killed 100 million of their own residents, ten times the number dying in World War II. No wonder President Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire." As he recovered from an assassin's bullet, New York's Cardinal Cooke said, "The hand of God was upon you." Reagan replied, "I know. I have decided that whatever time I have left is for Him." Within weeks when no one thought a Soviet collapse was possible, he stunningly forecast at Notre Dame, "The West won't contain communism, it will transcend Communism....It will dismiss it as some bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages are even now being written." In 1982 he met with Pope John Paul II, who'd also escaped an assassination attempt. Both felt they had been spared for a mission to defeat communism. They agreed to aid the Solidarity movement in Poland "as a wedge that could potentially split the USSR's empire in Eastern Europe...the splinter to crack the Iron Curtain," Kengor wrote. The Pope supported Reagan's military build up and his Strategic Defense Initiative, despite strong objections by his bishops. Gorbachev later conceded that when Poland held free elections in June 1989, the Soviet bloc was doomed. The Berlin Wall fell that fall. Reagan's faith kept him humble but gave him the vision and courage which changed the world. END TXT Copyright 2004 Michael J. McManus

June 4, 2004 Dear Archbishop Eames: Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are clergy of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. We are very grateful for your faithfulness and willingness to serve the Communion during these very trying times. These days have been very difficult and demanding for all of us and we make our appeal to you based on our love for the Lord Jesus, our fellowship in the Gospel, and our devotion to the unity of the Anglican Communion. We are deeply grieved over the state of Anglicanism in North America. It is being torn apart through actions that we thoroughly oppose. We repudiate the decision of the 2003 General Convention's consent to, and the subsequent consecration of, a non-celibate homosexual to be a bishop of the church. We reject the acceptance and promotion of same-sex blessings as part of the common life of our church. These innovations have introduced unbiblical and immoral teaching into the church, have jeopardized our common witness, and have brought into question our standing in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We have called upon the leadership of the church to repent of and reverse these unbiblical and schismatic actions, but to no avail. These actions are harming the pastoral and evangelistic ministry that we lead and will prove fatal to the unity of the church. The most recent plan proposed by the Episcopal House of Bishops to provide delegated Episcopal oversight is inadequate because all of the power remains with the revisionist bishops. It does not acknowledge the depth of the crisis facing our Church, it deals insufficiently with Episcopal pastoral care of faithful congregations and clergy, and it fails entirely to address such issues as ordination, the calling of clergy, church planting, finances or property. We appeal to you and your commission for your urgent assistance in the restoration of biblical orthodoxy and unity. Without the imposition of discipline, the situation will only continue to deteriorate. We ask you to declare the need for immediate intervention to establish discipline, order, and accountability for the Episcopal Church. We are greatly heartened to know that so many of our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion are standing with us at this time. While the situation here is painful, it is encouraging to know that the things we believe are the norm in most of the communion. The prayers and support of faithful people around the world strengthen us and their fellowship is a joy and witness to us. We appeal to you to protect these relationships in your final report to the Primates of the Anglican Communion. Yours in Christ and for His Gospel, The Rev. Canon David H. Roseberry

LETTER CALLS FOR DISCIPLINE, ORDER, ACCOUNTABILITY By David H. Roseberry Plano, TX (June 7, 2004) - A firm letter signed by 700 orthodox Episcopal bishops and priests has been sent to Archbishop Robin Eames, chairman of the Eames Commission, which has been assigned to study and make recommendations concerning the crisis over homosexuality in Episcopal church. The letter, authored by the Rev. Canon David H. Roseberry, rector of Christ Church in Plano, Texas, calls for the Commission's "immediate intervention to establish discipline, order and accountability for the Episcopal Church." (See full text of letter below.) Roseberry said, "The clergy signatures on this letter represent literally thousands of years worth of ministry based on biblical truth. We are pleading with the Eames Commission to uphold that truth and restore the unity of the communion by denouncing the wrong turn that the Episcopal Church took last summer." The Eames Commission was formed in response to the outcry over the August 6, 2003 decision by ECUSA (The Episcopal Church of the United States of America) to consecrate a non-celibate, openly homosexual man as bishop. The Commission is scheduled to convene again on June 11, 2004 in Kanuga, North Carolina. Christ Church, formed as a mission in 1985, is committed to being a center for evangelism and Christian ministry in the Plano, Texas community and around the world.

ETHICS & RELIGION by Michael J. McManus This Memorial Weekend has been particularly moving. On Friday night before the National World War II Memorial was dedicated, I went there to interview veterans. I had read nothing but criticism of its "17,000 pieces of granite." Columnist George Will sneered, "Banal." Others observed, "Too impersonal, too lacking in the essential story of that great global conflict." That was decidedly not my impression, nor that of the veterans it attracted. Above a wall with 4,000 gold stars, each representing 100 Americans who died, framed on either side by falling water, I could see the Lincoln Memorial in the distance, behind the long reflecting pool. In the opposite direction is the stately Washington Monument. Between those monuments to the men who created the union and preserved it, is a new Memorial to those whose sacrifice extended America's freedom to Europe and much of Asia. How did World War II veterans react? "It haunts me," said Steve Habran, 83, his voice cracking. A veteran of the D-Day Landing 60 years ago, he whispered, "It's beautiful." Another D-Day veteran from Ohio, Harlan E. Montis, 81, spoke similarly, "It's beautiful, a great tribune to the men who served. It is long overdue." True. Within walking distance are monuments to more recent wars: the famous Vietnam Memorial and a Korean War Memorial. Both veterans and others I met were accompanied by their proud families: wives, their adult children, grandchildren. "I'm so grateful to my son for bringing me here," said one. The next day, 117,000 World War II veterans gathered on the Mall with their families. President George W. Bush spoke as his own family of children, mother and father, former President George H.W. Bush, listened. The elder Bush bailed out of a flaming torpedo bomber, strafed by antiaircraft fire in 1944, south of Japan, that was fatal to his two crew members. The younger Bush's voice broke as he told the crowd, "These were the modest sons of a peaceful country, and millions of us are very proud to call them, 'Dad.' They gave the best years of their lives to the greatest mission their country ever accepted." If you are the son or daughter of the 4 million World War II veterans who are still alive, I urge you to give them the gift of seeing this magnificent tribute to their service. Bring them here. If you have no such connection, what can you do to honor those who put their lives on the line, especially those at risk in Iraq today? My son, Adam, offered a suggestion to the listeners of his daily Christian talk show, "Take A Stand," on KSLR, an AM station in San Antonio: "Send a care package that includes $150 worth of donated items secured by Feed the Children that includes a New Testament from the American Bible Society, a New York Times coffee-table book commemorating the victims of 9/ll, a cool wrap to help lower the body temperature of the soldier in the oppressive heat, a Christian CD featuring the hits of the top artists, personal hygiene items like soap, toothpaste and toilet paper and snack items like beef jerky, cookies and crackers." "The cost to sponsor a care package, which pays for the packing and shipping, is just $15." Last Thursday, KSLR listeners sponsored 813 care packages and 793 more the next day. The average gift was $90, in which a donor paid for 6 care packages worth $900. Adam also asked listeners to e-mail him a message to the troops that would go in each of their care packages. A sample of comments: The Stepan family wrote, "I would just like to say a big THANKS for what you are doing over there for all of us in the USA! We really think about you a lot and pray for you constantly!" Mr. Judy Keck quoted Joshua 1:9: "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." As a result of the prison scandals, troop morale has never been lower. Most have served honorably, and they feel unrecognized. The New York Times book alone will be passed from soldier to soldier, telling of lives lost on 9/ll. "It will remind them why they are there," said Larry Jones, President of Feed the Children. Will you really support the troops? Call 888 582-4453 to make a contribution, and e-mail me your message to a soldier, michaeljmcmanus@cs.com, which I'll forward to Feed the Children. END TXT Copyright 2004 Michael J. McManus

By Uwe Siemon-Netto UPI Religious Affairs Editor HAMBURG, Germany, June 6 (UPI) -- It is a curious coincidence that as the Germany's former enemies observed the 60th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy Sunday, German churches gave homage to the Englishman who brought Christianity to their country and in a sense made Europe a Christian continent. Exactly 1,250 years ago, the Benedictine friar Winfrith from Essex, better known as St. Boniface, was slain by robbers near the West Frisian town of Dokkum in the Netherlands, just as he was about to confirm newly baptized tribesmen. He was 80 years old at that time. One and a quarter millennia -- this anniversary seemed important enough for the entire German Catholic Bishops' Conference last weekend to assemble at the saint's tomb in Fulda, where the English Benedictine monk was also honored with a musical. For as the newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine, phrased it, "He was for perhaps more important in Germany's history than (Prussia's king) Frederick the Great and Bismarck combined." Boniface's biography, the paper continued, seems to fit perfectly into the European realities of the beginning third millennium: Here was an Englishman sent by Rome and the Frankish "mayor" (in reality, ruler) to evangelize the Germans, and finally murdered in the Netherlands. While the Allies remembered in Normandy a blood sacrifice that led to the liberation of Europe from barbarity and the re-civilization of Germany, Germans reflected on a pan-European whose only weapons were his faith and books and pens -- and an ax with which he cut down the Saxons' greatest object of veneration in 723 A.D. And that object was the mighty "Donareiche" in Geismar, the oak tree of their god, Thor. By felling it, Boniface demonstrated to the pagans the powerlessness of their old deities. With that he effectively broke their loyalty to them -- a historical feat the Nazis tried to reverse 1,210 years later by returning to the Germanic religion. Thus in effect -- though not in intent -- the allies' triumph over Hitler was also a victory over Odin, Thor and all the other members of his Germanic pantheon. It was the second great triumph of civilization in Europe. There is another ironic coincidence between the Boniface story and contemporary history. The Frankish ruler who, together with Pope Gregory II, sent this Benedictine friar to the dense forests covering much of central and northern Germany in 721, was Charles Martel, Charlemagne's grandfather. It was Charles Martel, "the Hammer," who in the battle of Poitiers in 732 A.D. saved Europe from the first Muslim conquest; 732 was also the year when the pope -- now Gregory III -- sent Boniface the "pallium" traditionally worn by a metropolitan of the church (Boniface was by now bishop of Mainz on the Rhine). Among many Europeans concerned with the perceived threat of an impending new Muslim "conquest" -- albeit a peaceful one this time, as a result of by mass migration -- Charles Martel has become a historical cult figure, just as young Germans today venerate Boniface as a historical example to be followed in an era marked by self-absorption and a dearth of contemporary role models. Boniface did not leave England to get mindlessly sloshed on the beaches of Spain, as do hundreds of thousands every summer now, to the dismay of the locals and many of their own compatriots. He left, rather, following the ascetic ideal of "peregrinatio pro Christo," leaving everything behind, including one's homeland, simply to follow Christ. He never ceased to yearn for England as he and his companions braved on barges the dangerous rivers of today's German states of Hesse, Saxony and Thuringia, following the papal command to "visit the savage peoples of Germany and plow the untilled fields of their hearts with the Gospel." Behind makeshift barricades protecting him from wild beasts during these expeditions, he penned a host of letters and poems many of which survived. They spoke of his homesickness for England, and -- already in those days -- morally corrupt clerics he encountered. It was Boniface who led Germany, now the geographical center of the European Union, out of the wilderness and linked it to the universal church under the pope in Rome, thus westernizing it. It was he who brought the legacy of Roman civilization -- a cultural inheritance with roots both in antiquity and Christianity -- to the land that would become the very heart of the Holy Roman Empire centuries later. Its cathedrals, its musical masterpieces, its great works of art, its theology, philosophy and the scientific accomplishments are, in a sense, his bequest. Well before Charlemagne, this saint was the "pater Europae," wrote Walter Brandmueller, president of the Pontifical Committee on Historical Sciences in the Vatican. And that makes the European Union's refusal to acknowledge Christianity's culture-shaping role in its new constitution all the more unfathomable. END