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By Tyler Hummel THE LIVING CHURCH March 3, 2025   Nashotah Dean Lauren Whitnah with ACNA bishops and Nashotah faculty and alumni | Leighton Ryder -  Photo Three current and former archbishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) gathered February 25 at Nashotah House in honor of their denomination’s prayer book.   Nashotah House hosted 61 bishops, priests, deacons, professors, and seminarians from across the country for a ceremony honoring the addition of ACNA’s 2019 edition of the Book of Common Prayer to the Underwood Prayer Book Collection. It joins rare and historic prayer books dating back to the 16th century that are available for research purposes.   The seminary did not initially expect a large crowd for the event, which was to be held in the Frances Donaldson Library, but it was moved into Adams Hall in the DeKoven Commons after exceeding the library’s capacity.   After a Mass and Evensong at the Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin—with a homily by Archbishop Steve Wood—the group gathered in Adams Hall for a reception. Former Archbishops Foley Beach and Robert Duncan spoke about the importance of the new prayer book, alongside Dean Lauren Whitnah and the Rev. Ben Jefferies, who served as lead designer on the ACNA Liturgy Task Force for the 2019 edition.   “The 2019 is a major achievement,” Whitnah told The Living Church. “It was something people wanted to celebrate in 2020, but for all the reasons we’re aware of, that did not happen. A number of the folks who worked on the 2019 were Nashotah House alumni, faculty, friends, and students, so they came not only to celebrate the reception of this book into our special collections but because they appreciate the contribution of this place in particular.”   The copies donated by Anglican House Publishers included multiple editions of the 2019 prayer book, plus copies of the St. Bernard Breviary and the New Coverdale Psalter. The breviary is a version of the 2019 prayer book’s daily office pointed for chanting and the psalter contains its new translation of the Book of Psalms, which “seeks to preserve the poetry, phrasing, and rhythm” of the 16th-century translation of the classic prayer books. Archbishop Duncan donated two copies from his personal archive, including the first printed copy of the 2019 book.   Nashotah House played a major role in the formation of this edition. Roughly half of the ACNA Liturgy Task Force’s 11 committee members were Nashotah faculty or alumni, including Jefferies and the Rev. Dr. Arnold Klukas, a retired professor of liturgy.   While the seminary serves 81 dioceses and ecclesiastical jurisdictions of the Episcopal Church and the ACNA, it strives not to show overt preference for either church. Worship in St. Mary’s Chapel uses the Episcopal Church’s 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which seminary officials say they find more flexible and applicable. There are no plans to begin using the 2019 book for corporate worship.   “Dean Whitnah has to walk a fine line in keeping both the ACNA and TEC interested, which is a competitive task,” Jeffries said. “To get the occasional thing like this, to say we support and celebrate the ACNA and its mission, says a lot about its dual integrity.”   “The nature of Nashotah House presently is that the majority of the faculty are in TEC but the majority of the students are in the ACNA,” he added.   A Nashotah House spokesperson noted that 39% of its students are ACNA, 33% are members of the Episcopal Church, 10% are from Continuing Anglican churches and the remaining 15% belong to other churches.   “The bylaws of Nashotah House fixed that only the 1979 prayer book is to be used normally in the chapel. Its roots are deep in that of TEC, but including the 2019 in the Underwood collection reminds them that, while the 1979 is still there shaping prayer on campus, there is love and warmth for this other book. I hope this event is the seed of incorporating the 2019 more into campus prayer life,” Jefferies said.   “The 1979 is the common denominator,” Whitnah said. “It is authorized for use in the ACNA and gives us the most flexibility in corporate worship. Any decision has to balance what makes sense for the community in day-to-day life and what will best prepare our students in their future ministry. Many students don’t go on to use the 1979 in their prayer ministries, but feel well prepared to by our training.” Tyler Hummel is a freelance writer based in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

By Sarah Carter JUICY ECUMENISM February 18, 2025   Misrepresented for being born chiefly out of King Henry VIII’s divorce, Anglican reformed teaching was in actuality “a wave breaking on the shores of England that had been building for some time,” according to a prominent reformed clergyman in the Anglican Church in North America.   The Falls Church Anglican (TFCA) Rector Sam Ferguson spoke on doctrinal reforms and expounded upon the history and practice of the English Reformation at History and Hope: Reformed Theology in the Anglican Tradition. The February 4 Reformed Theological Seminary collaboration with TFCA focused on the reformational roots of Anglicanism and its doctrinal convictions.   Anglicanism is the third largest Christian tradition in the world after Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The worldwide Anglican Communion counts more than 85 million members in more than 40 national churches (known as provinces in Anglican parlance) with diverse expressions of worship informed by the Book of Common Prayer.   English religious figures’ close adherence to Italian church officials decreased at the end of the late medieval period. Social and political momentum brought about change through invention of the printing press, the rise of Renaissance humanism, and eventual disquiet about theological error in the church. This was especially seen in the use of paid indulgences (a practice to reduce time spent in Purgatory after death) to finance construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.   Reformation figures like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale were condemned and, in the case of Tyndale, martyred for his effort to provide English-speaking people with Bibles in their vernacular, consequently making it illegal to own an English Bible in England from the late 1300s to 1538.   Reaction to clericalism not only sparked reformational change in England, but also in Germany with Martin Luther, and in France with John Calvin, who read the Scriptures in the original form and believed the system of salvation the late Medieval church taught was unbiblical.   The system of salvation in the Medieval church taught that Christians entered the Church through baptism in grace, but that sin after baptism jeopardized salvation. Christ covered the eternal consequences of sin, but acts of penance (such as fasting, saying prayers, charitable giving, or other good works) were necessary to repair the temporal consequences of sin. If a person died without addressing sin’s temporal consequences, a period of temporary suffering (purgatory) purified the soul.   These theological errors in the system of salvation, Ferguson maintained, developed “a spirit of fearfulness and performance instead of a biblical spirit of grace and peace.”   Both clericalism (through no vernacular Bible or liturgy), and reformational tension gave rise to the dispute between King Henry VIII and Pope Clement VII in 1509.   To maintain a political alliance, Henry was persuaded to marry Catherine of Aragon, his older brother’s widow. Although Leviticus 18:16 prevented a man from sleeping with his sister-in-law, Pope Julius II used his papal authority to grant a dispensation to permit the marriage. After Catherine was unable to produce a son, Henry was convinced it was because they violated God’s law by marrying. He pushed for annulment, but the pope rebuffed.   Henry found a young scholar, Thomas Cranmer, and made him Archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer convened a court in England to issue a final ruling on the “King’s Great Matter” which annulled Henry’s marriage to Catherine. In 1534, the English parliament declared that Henry and his heirs were by “divine right the supreme head on earth of the church” which finalized the Church of England’s independence from Roman authority.   As Reformation scholar Ashley Null explained, “While Henry’s divorce was not the beginning of the English Reformation, it dramatically changed the circumstances for its advancement.”   Henry was neither a fan of Martin Luther nor of Reformation theology but in 1538 he lifted the ban on vernacular Bibles. Two-thirds of the English translation of the “Great Bible”- which was printed and put in every church – came from the work of William Tyndale, whom Henry had executed one year prior.   By Henry’s death in 1547, Cranmer expedited reforms in the Church of England, and by 1603, the reformed faith in England was established.   Even in this modern age, this Reformation Anglicanism is still the state religion. When King Charles III was crowned, he was asked by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby,   “Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant reformed religion established by law?”    Reformation Anglicanism is that Protestant reformed religion still practiced today.   This is part one covering the history of Reformation Anglicanism. Part two on Anglican doctrine and practice, Scripture in Reformation Anglicanism, may be accessed here.   *****   SCRIPTURE IN REFORMATION ANGLICANISM   Sarah Carter JUICY ECUMENISM  February 25, 2025   Following the death of King Henry VIII, Edward VI, Henry’s son by his third wife, Jane Seymour, became King. Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer had the opportunity to reshape biblical interpretation and push for theological reform. During these years preceding the reign of Roman Catholic Queen Mary, many writings developed which helped bring about Reformation doctrinal reform. Critical to these writings were the Book of Homilies, the Book of Common Prayer 1549 and 1552 editions, and the Articles of Religion.   The Falls Church Anglican (TFCA) Rector Sam Ferguson spoke on doctrinal reforms and expounded upon the history and practice of the English Reformation at History and Hope: Reformed Theology in the Anglican Tradition. The February 4 Reformed Theological Seminary collaboration with TFCA focused on the reformational roots of Anglicanism and its doctrinal convictions. Part I – History (English Bibles, Refuted Clericalism, and Reformation Anglicanism) may be accessed here.   Word of God    Chief among these reformation doctrines is a focus on the word of God which set apart Christianity in England from other medieval trends. Cranmer established that the Bible is not only God’s word but is sufficient, powerful, satisfying, and authoritative.   Scripture is Sufficient    The first homily in the Book of Homilies by Cranmer was A Fruitful Exhortation on the Reading of Holy Scripture. It declares that Holy Scripture is sufficient for knowing all we need for salvation.   Stated plainly, “There is no truth or doctrine necessary for our justification and everlasting salvation but that is or may be drawn out of that fountain and well of truth, the Bible.”   This focus on the sufficiency of scripture for all things salvific was an attack on a late medieval church belief that Church leaders, filled with the Holy Spirit, could declare new authoritative teachings. Reformational doctrines, emphasizing the word of God and its sufficiency, would reject this Roman Catholic belief. Instead, Scripture became understood as solely sufficient for salvation.   Scripture is Powerful and Satisfying   In the same homily, Cranmer describes the power of Holy Scripture through the images of light, food, and fire. Further, he describes that Scripture is wholly satisfying.   “As a drink is pleasant to them that be dry and meat to them that be hungry so is the reading, hearing, searching, and studying of Holy Scripture to them that be desirous to know God.”   Scripture is Authoritative    Among the most important doctrines developed in the Reformation was in Scriptural authority. The reformers reaffirmed Scripture’s authority over the church, contrary to trends in late medieval Christianity which claimed otherwise.   For the Church of England, this truth was articulated in the 39 Articles of Religion:   20. Of the Authority of the Church.   “The Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain anything that is contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a witness and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree anything against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce anything to be believed for necessity of Salvation.”   Although reason, Scripture, and tradition are often seen as a “three-legged stool” in the Anglican tradition, Ferguson explained that a more proper analogy for the church’s authority would be a garden bed. In this example, Scripture is the garden bed, and reason and tradition are tools to unlock its beauty. Reason and tradition are seen within Anglican Christianity as tools for biblical revelation, but not equal in authority to biblical revelation itself.   Justification by Grace Through Faith    Ferguson explained the reformational doctrine of justification by grace through faith, compared with the late medieval church’s understanding.   While the reformers believed that grace permutated the entire process of salvation, especially justification, Roman Catholics believed that since works of penance must remit the temporal consequences of sin, the process of justification is not wholly grace.   This was stated explicitly at the Council of Trent:   Canon 12   “If anyone saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ’s sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema.”   The Reformers took these words and compared them to biblical passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9  (NIV).   “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”   The 5 Solas   Ferguson concluded with a re-focusing upon the “5 Solas” of the Reformation, describing how they all play a role in the grace-filled salvation that the reformers reaffirmed.   It is by Scripture alone that rests full authority and is how God presents Christ to us, which includes everything necessary for salvation. It is grace alone that God works out salvation. By faith alone, we trust the person of Christ for salvation. It is Christ alone who sufficiently cleanses all one’s sins. It is to the glory of God alone that all things are done.    These Solas are: Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, Christ alone, and Glory to God alone.   END

Landmark translation follows anglophone bishops approving Protestant Bible translation for Catholic Churches   By JULES GOMES Mere Matchlight March 1, 2025   In a historic ecumenical initiative, Italian churches divided by the East-West schism of 1054 and the Protestant Reformation of 1517 have united to publish a literary translation of the New Testament, based entirely on the original Greek text.   The Vatican-backed collaboration, which for the first time involves the Eastern Orthodox churches, is aimed at a “non-denominational dissemination” of the Bible in the traditionally Catholic country where church attendance has catastrophically plummeted since the late 1990s.   The translation is an “unprecedented non-denominational version that unites the Christian Churches to make the Gospel known in schools, among ordinary people, and in the church,” Mario Cignoni, secretary general of the Bible Society of Italy (BSI) told an ecumenical audience during the launch of the publication at the Waldensian Church in Rome on Thursday.   Evangelization of Italy   The translation is aimed at evangelizing a post-Catholic Italy, “where the Bible permeates art, culture and daily life but still represents a little-read and little-known book,” the BSI noted in a press release.   Cardinal Matteo Zuppi (president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) and a key frontrunner to succeed Pope Francis), Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti (former president of the CEI), and Cardinal Kurt Koch (prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity) were three high-ranking Catholic prelates who endorsed the new translation at the gathering.   Eighteen denominations, including the Greek and Romanian Orthodox as well as multiple evangelical churches, were part of the historic project, with Bishop Dionysios Papavasileiou of the Holy Orthodox archdiocese of Italy, Alessandra Trotta of the Waldensian Church, and Fr. Luca Mazzinghi from the Pontifical Biblical Institute speaking at the event.   “The most significant feature of this translation is its truly ecumenical collaboration: each book or group of books of the New Testament was translated in pairs by a Catholic and an evangelical,” explained Mazzinghi, who is also president of the Italian Biblical Association.   Literary Translation   The new translation is a “formal” or “literary” translation: “this means that it privileges the source language, the Greek of the New Testament, while still trying to offer correct and fluent Italian,” Mazzinghi said.   The translation was like a “choral” work, Mazzinghi observed, “which has given dignity and space to all ecclesiastical traditions and interpretational sensibilities, in true brotherhood between the Churches.”   Words can have “different interpretations” and this can become a major impediment in “meeting each other” across denominational boundaries, Papavasileiou stressed. The new translation manages, finally, to be the “first instrument that gives us the possibility of working all together, thus becoming an indispensable tool for the whole Church.”   Such a translation was necessary because the earlier interconfessional translation of 1978 was based on the translational principle of “dynamic equivalence” which “privileges understanding in the target language (Italian), sometimes sacrificing the original text,” the biblical scholar noted.   In comments to The Stream, Rome-based Greek and Latin scholar Lorenzo Murrone explained why he would “welcome the attention given to the biblical text in Italy, especially in the wake of Vatican II.”   Murrone, a confessional Lutheran minister, continued:   Before the 1960s, biblical translations in Italian were, by and large, either relegated to the evangelical minority (like the Diodati and Luzzi versions) or not based on the original Greek–Hebrew text and mostly accessible to an academic minority. It is only in the last century or so that Italian translations began to become commonplace, and even nowadays interest for Sacred Scripture hardly percolates from the halls of academia to the average Christian. I hope that Christian churches in our country will see this as an opportunity to intensify the faithful’s knowledge of God’s Word.   The 18 churches involved in producing the ecumenical translation said that work had already begun on an ecumenical Old Testament and the translators were seeking to offer Italians an interconfessional version of the whole Bible as soon as possible.   Catholic Bishops Adopt Evangelical Bible   Meanwhile, in another historic ecumenical breakthrough, the Catholic bishops’ conferences in India as well as England and Wales have adopted the English Standard Version — an evangelical Bible translation — for use in their lectionaries for reading the Bible during the Eucharist.   Nigel Fernandes, an Indian who heads the Asian Trading Corporation, the continent’s best-known Catholic publishing house, was the brainchild behind getting Crossway, the publisher of the ESV, to make it possible for Catholics to endorse the translation by adding a supplement of the deutero-canonical books and create a Catholic edition.   The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales had begun to use the new ESV-based lectionary since Advent 2024, Fernandes told The Stream. The publisher also explained that biblical scholarship and basing the translation on the Hebrew and Greek texts had “narrowed translational differences so the extent they were almost negligible and noncontroversial.”   Historians, theologians, and biblical scholars have extensively explored how flawed Bible translations like the Latin Vulgate led to the medieval church adopting fallacious doctrine, which were challenged after the Dutch Catholic priest Desiderius Erasmus, known as the scholar who “laid the egg that Luther hatched,” produced his Greek edition of the New Testament.   Overcoming Historic Divisions   The Vulgate, which was made the official version of the Roman Catholic Church, had several egregious errors, like Genesis 3:15 which read: “she [Mary] shall crush your head” instead of “he [Jesus] shall crush your head” — an error finally corrected by the Vatican in the Nova Vulgata (1979). Pope Sixtus V’s edition of the Vulgate contained at least two thousand errors.   Catholic translations like the Douay-Reims version which uncritically adhered to the Vulgate replicated philological, translational, and copyist errors, translating presbyteros as “priest” instead of “elder,” agape as “charity” instead of “love,” metanoia as “[do] penance” instead of “repentance,” and dikaiosune as “make righteous” instead of “declare righteous.”   While the Council of Trent (1545-1563) opposed the Reformation by dogmatically declaring an anathema on anyone who did not receive the biblical texts “as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate edition,” the Vatican joined hands with the Protestant United Bible Societies in 1987 and published its “Guiding Principles for Interconfessional Cooperation in Translating the Bible.”   Rejecting the exclusive authority of the Vulgate, the Vatican announced that “interconfessional translations will continue to be based on a Hebrew text of the Old Testament and a Greek text of the New Testament which have been agreed on by scholars from various church traditions.”   “The clear goal of this interconfessional effort is to produce editions of the Holy Scriptures which provide all speakers of the language with a common text,” the statement noted. “This will in turn make possible, often for the first time, a common witness to the Word of God in the world of today.”   Originally published in The Stream.   Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.

Crying Female Bishops and the Ecclesial Harm of Feminism   The Church of England continues to cultivate the seeds of its own demise with such unerring success that sometimes you wonder if it is deliberate.   By Aaron Edwards That Good Fight Feb 22, 2025   At a recent Anglican Synod, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, broke down in tears.   Why was the Bishop of London moved to tears? Was it because of the utter lack of faith in so many modern churches? Was it because of the catastrophic decline of the Church of England in our time? Or was it due to the hundreds of thousands of aborted babies every year in the very nation to which that Church is called? None of the above. She was moved to tears because of “micro-aggressions” and “institutional barriers” against women within the Church of England.   “I would love to encourage women,” she said, “which I do all the time. But there continues to be institutional barriers. We continue to experience micro-aggression…” It was at that point that she broke down in tears, after which she was lavishly applauded by the well-groomed crowd.   It’s difficult to describe just what those culturally Marxist terms of the Zeitgeist communicate at such a time as this. This is, after all, a time in which women are “permitted” to teach and exercise authority over men in the church as preachers, vicars, and even as bishops, with many even calling for a first female archbishop.   Never in the history of its existence has the Church of England been more influenced by the rule of women, and never in the history of its existence has the Church of England been more at risk of collapse. Yet it is the apparent ongoing raft of subjective “micro-aggressions” against women deemed to be the greatest cause of ecclesial harm.   I wonder, then, whether the bishop might class it as a “macro-aggression” if I suggested that her very response—whether a symptom of her own ideological delusion or a subtler form of emotional sabotage—shows why we need not fewer institutional barriers against women in the Church, but more?   THE PROBLEM WITH FEMINIST “PROGRESS”   We might start with the very barrier Mullally so rudely stepped over in order to become a bishop in the first place, continuing the pattern of Anglican apostasy which seeks to justify their fundamental embarrassment of the Bible's representation of women to the feminists of this world, whom they have so desperately sought to impress for so long.   This ought to go without saying but because we have now become so accustomed to living with perpetual compromise, it ought to be said again: The very fact that women can dress up as bishops is itself evidence of a form of divine judgement upon the Church of England. As Isaiah says, so very politically incorrectly:   “My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.” —Isa. 3:12   “Ah,” the feminist bishops may say, “but that was in the ‘Old’ Testament, when things were all so terribly intolerant and God was far less educated and far more micro-aggressive than he is nowadays.” Perhaps the “New” Testament might provide us with this apparently much-needed “progress”? Alas, it seems Paul is even more politically incorrect than Isaiah:   “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” —1Tim. 2:12   Nor was this a one-off. For a doctrine that is now apparently seen by many as a take-it-or-leave kind of issue, it comes up an awful lot in the New Testament. You may leave it if you wish, but only if you wish to build on sand. It may seem fine for a while. The women may even seem to be doing a far better job than many of the men in many respects. But then come the storms, and then Jesus’ words (Matt. 7:24-27) come back to haunt, and all is too late.   The fact is, the acceptance of women vicars and bishops in the Church of England is not an isolated issue. It is inseparable from the torrent of subversive unfaithfulness that has poured in and out of that once-great institution in recent decades, undermining its foundations and eroding its convictions. This will remain the case unless and until it repents and returns to the Word and Spirit of the God it claims to serve.   To the average cultured unbeliever, the very notion of women bishops is seen as obviously good. In such a politically correct age, many will have been amazed that the CofE ever made it to 2013 without them. Look how well the decision was received by parliament at the time, for example: “obviously very welcome news”. Some of the comments in the parliamentary exchange in response to that decision were very telling about the naivete the impact this decision would have on the mission of the Church.   Martin Vickers, a Conservative MP, said:   “I, too, welcome the fact that the Church has at long last made progress on the matter of women bishops… Is [my hon. friend] confident that the Church can now move on from these endless internal debates and start preaching the gospel and working for the good of society?”   Further on, a Labour MP, John Cryer, further highlighted how crazy the idea of not having women bishops already was to the world:   “The congregation of the Church of England has been in headlong decline for a long time, and that is continuing. How likely is it that that trend would be reversed were the Church of England by some chance to pursue its existing policy of barring women from being bishops, which most people think is redolent of a past era?”   He seemed to assume that the Church of England’s decline was linked not to the seeds of unbelief that had already been long sown by its alignment with subversive modern ideologies like feminism, but linked rather to the previous “policy” of remaining obedient to Scripture in keeping with virtually all churches of that “past era”.   To this, the Conservative MP, Tony Baldry replied:   “I am glad to say that a large number of parishes are growing. The Archbishop of Canterbury has made it clear that his primary mission is growth. We want to see the Church of England grow. Hopefully, now that we have resolved the issue of women bishops, everyone in the Church of England and everyone who supports it can focus their intention on that growth.”   Reflecting on such comments twelve years on from that momentous decision, how did that season of Church of England growth turn out? Has the Church of England been free to “move on” past all those “internal debates” that it may “start preaching the gospel” and get on with its “work for the good of society?”   Of course not. A good deal of that time they have been embroiled in abuse scandals, trans ideology, and arguments for same-sex relationships. And indeed, even now we have the female bishop of London weeping over micro-aggressions and institutional barriers against women.   The subversives were never going to be happy with breaking down the “barrier” to women bishops. Once fed, the wolves always come back for more.   THE ECCLESIAL HARM OF WOMEN BISHOPS   The politicians may call it “obviously welcome news”, but in light of Scripture and Church history, the advent of women bishops was obviously shameful news. It dresses itself as kindness and liberation and Christian charity, but it is borne of a spirit that is entirely of the world, and truly foreign to Christianity. It would not and could not have happened were it not for the tide of unbelief in and through secular western society which eroded Christian norms in general.   This tide coincided not only with the rise of feminism in the West but with the decline of the institutional Church in the West too. This correlation is patently obvious to anyone who looks at this issue beyond the gaze of the sophisticated horde of feminists who have been entrenched for so long now across the breadth of the Church, who can only keep denying this connection between unfaithfulness and decline for obvious reasons.   Such people seem to think that the modern Church's "breaking down of barriers" against women—barriers which were instituted, remember, not by men but by God—is evidence not of unfaithfulness to God but evidence of progress and enlightenment, demonstrating the true kingdom of God advancing into new ways of thinking and being which are less “oppressive” and “harmful”.   The voices should not have been heard, let alone obeyed. They have aggressively harmed the Church more than all the Bishop-pretenders may ever know. Such voices were the voices of serpents and wolves. They have been at work for some time, devouring the flock from within.   “But how could speaking about being less oppressive to women by restricting their freedom in ministerial leadership be tantamount to ‘devouring the flock’?”, one might ask. Well, aside from the necessary undermining of Biblical authority that is an obvious by-product of ignoring the Biblical passages which teach against it, having more women in leadership positions simply does different things owing to the fact that, because God made man and woman differently (cf. Gen. 1:27; 1Cor. 11), men and women often sin differently.   Joe Rigney, having previously written extensively on the connection between empathy, feminism, and the church, recently weighed in on another emotive bishop—Bishop Budde of the US episcopal church—who was praised by some for preaching various Democrat talking points in the guise of Christian compassion at Donald Trump’s inauguration service last month. In an article titled, “The Bishop’s Untethered Empathy,” Rigney noted the danger of misplaced compassion that results from the feminist lens:   Feminism’s destructive nature is owing to two basic facts.   First, women are more empathetic than men, a fact that, in its proper place, is a great blessing. God designed women to be life-givers and nurturers, and the feminine ability to intuit and share emotions serves such care and compassion. When a baby is crying or a person is hurting, female empathy enables women to be first responders, moving toward the hurting with comfort and welcome.   But, second, what is a blessing in one place becomes a curse in another. When it comes to upholding strict standards of justice, empathy is a liability, not an asset. It’s why in certain circumstances involving gross error and high-handed sin, God’s law forbids empathy and pity. If someone—even a close family member—enticed Israel to commit idolatry and abandon the Lord, God told them that “you shall not yield to him, or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him” (Deuteronomy 13:6–10). It’s why some of us have taken to warning about “toxic empathy” and “the sin of empathy.”   It is in this way, decision after decision, micro-compassion after micro-compassion, that unpopular Biblical truths—the kind that might not always strike a mother as “nice”—tend to erode away in the hearts and minds of the faithful. Compromise comes in many forms, male or female, of course, but in our time this appears to be the weak spot, and one which was first enabled by weak men overly susceptible to the tears and frowns of women over and against the rock of God’s Word.   Those who think of women’s ordination as a liberation from oppression—God’s Word being the ultimate “oppressor”—will only ever see it like the aforementioned parliamentarians, as an “obviously very welcome” step towards further progress and advance. But how can anyone honestly look at the present-day instantiation of the Church of England and say that its direction of travel represents an “advance” of the kingdom of God in any sense? Is God really looking on all this and saying, “Well done, good and faithful servants. Keep up this good and faithful progress. Onward!”?   WHAT IS THE CofE GOOD FOR?   It is increasingly clear that any substantial good that still occurs within/from the Church of England now is only ever an aberration from the norm, from that inevitably “progressive” trajectory which moves it further and further away from the security of God’s Word and Spirit.   This has already been the case for some time. I expect the average unchurched person in Britain knows that too (regardless of whatever the MPs of a decade ago believed). That’s not to say that the institution of the CofE won’t retain a good deal of heritage and societal gravitas in the eyes of many. But if we’re honest, the modern Church of England has become an embarrassment to the Christian faith, and an appallingly impotent witness at a time when the world needed it most.   It grieves me to see it and to say it, because it ought not to be this way. The Church of England ought to be a shining light to the nation and the world, representing truth, beauty, love, grace, order, joy, and peace. But instead of glorifying God by upholding His Word against the scoffers who hate what that Word says and implies, they have chosen instead to align themselves with their enemies, trading light for darkness, selling their birth-right for a pot of stew, denying the very Word of God in order to warm their hands by the fire with strangers who do not mean well.   Much of what we appreciate about the legacy of Christendom in Britain is rooted in the heritage of what eventually became the Church of England. Thus, even those who are not Anglicans, even those who are not English, should care about what does or does not happen behind its walls. I so felt the need to care about it that I got fired from my job for doing so. What happens in the CofE is no small thing. It affects much of what happens in the churches across this nation, and even beyond this nation.   It seems as though the CofE now has so many leaks that it becomes too difficult to know where to start plugging. I still have Anglican friends who are labouring away faithfully within the behemoth, and there are also many pockets of faithfulness and beauty and tradition here and there. Just last week I enjoyed a very pleasant time in the library and chapel of Pusey House in Oxford, a centre within the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England. As I’ve discussed many times before, evensong remains something of a national treasure, and something from which many evangelical “low churches” could learn a great deal. There is indeed much of the sinking ship that may be salvageable.   The ongoingly depressing reality, however, is the tangled bureaucratic web which has been so comprehensively infiltrated on so many fronts over so many years. Thus, it seems more likely that the good that remains within the institution will need to leave that web in order to better flourish and advance the kingdom elsewhere in our time. The trojans may keep fighting on if called to do so, but they must be wary lest their mission to the institution end up conforming them to the very worldliness which made that institution so desperately sick in our time.   God knows what the future may hold. We know He is not averse to rebuilding broken walls and temples, but not before He has first allowed the fullness of judgement and exile upon those who refused to hear and heed His Word.   END

By Abe Greenwald COMMENTARY February 26, 2025   A new Pew poll of religion in America captures something unexpected: “After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off—at least temporarily.” More specifically, the number of self-identified Christians stabilized during the past five years. And over that same period, the number of Americans who identify with a religion other than Christianity has ticked up ever so slightly.   What might explain the sudden interruption of atheism’s charge? Politics, naturally.   Like renewed trust in police, the turn against trans surgery for minors, and Donald Trump’s very election, the rediscovery of traditional religion is a piece of the public’s response to the radicalism that became institutionalized in 2020—five years ago. All leftist radicalism has its roots in socialism, which, with few exceptions, has always offered itself up as a godless religion and alternative to traditional faiths. It’s to be expected that after the public rejects the fruits of radicalism, it grasps for socialism’s natural nemesis: belief in God.   The trans factor looms particularly large here. Trans activism wages war on our scientific and religious understanding of man and woman. That’s why so much of it has been aimed at religious institutions. Consider, for example, the trans-activist organization calling itself the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Remember them? Their shtick is to go around as lascivious drag-queen nuns and mock the Catholic Church. In 2023, they were invited to Dodger Stadium to receive a community-hero award at a Pride Night event. When word got out about their repulsive hijinks, however, the Dodgers rescinded the offer. But this was back when cultural radicalism was still riding high, so there was a backlash to the backlash. In the end, the Dodgers reinvited them and gave them the award while religious groups protested at the stadium entrance. For five years, media and Democrats did everything they could to raise the profile of such activists. And when Americans got a clear look at the grotesquerie on display, surely more than a few lost their faith in radicalism and re-upped their religious commitments.   In addition to the ugliness of the then-prevailing radicalism, there are its enforced strictures on speech and conduct. Perhaps this, too, played a part in the cultural shift. The woke elite dictates what is permissible, and if you don’t follow, you’re excommunicated. In this sense, the left took on the role of the brittle, scolding clergy that American popular culture once assigned to the church. If you stopped attending religious services because you found them intolerant and small-minded, you’re certainly out of luck among the radicals. The left has become far more tedious and dogmatic than most American houses of worship. And, of course, less satisfying. Meanwhile, the radical left is deftly countered by a new breed of entertaining and engaging pro-religion superstar. In the realm of the public intellectual, the smug atheism of the late Christopher Hitchens has been buried by the Judeo-Christian dazzle of Jordan Peterson.   Helpfully, the Pew poll breaks down religious trends along ideological lines. “Today, 37% of self-described liberals identify with Christianity, down from 62% in 2007, a 25-point decline. Meanwhile, 51% of liberals now say they have no religion, up from 27% in 2007, a 24-point increase. There are now more religious ‘nones’ than Christians among liberals, a reversal since 2007.” At the same time, “a large majority of conservatives continue to identify with Christianity.”   Here's what’s interesting about that. There are now more self-identified Republicans than Democrats in the United States. That’s also a new reality. So the political party whose members are more likely to be discarding religion is suddenly in the minority.   This could all be momentary. The poll shows that, despite the general leveling off, young Americans are still significantly less religious than previous generations of young Americans. If they stay that way throughout the course of their lives, the country will resume its glidepath away from God. But the Democrats haven’t given up on radicalism. And Americans haven’t stopped rejecting it. If both circumstances hold for the foreseeable future, this could be the start of a long, slow-motion spiritual awakening. God willing.   Abe Greenwald is the executive editor of COMMENTARY.

Lord Carey resigned as a priest in December following an investigation into the Church of England's handling of a separate sexual abuse case   By Bryony Gooch INDEPENDENT 25 February 2025   A former archbishop of Canterbury is among a number of clergy facing possible disciplinary action over safeguarding failures after an abuse report which prompted Justin Welby's resignation, the Church of England has announced.   Lord George Carey, who still sits in the upper chamber, was named in the Makin review, which concluded abuse carried out for decades by Christian camp leader John Smyth was known about and not acted upon by various people within the Church.   Lord Carey resigned as a priest in December following an investigation into the Church of England's handling of a separate sexual abuse case.   He is one of 10 clergy named by the Church's national safeguarding team (NST) on Tuesday as people they are seeking to bring disciplinary proceedings against over potential failures in safeguarding.   The Makin report said Lord Carey had been informed of Smyth's abuse and been sent a copy of a previous report into it "but he denies seeing it". The Church said: “This has been a rigorous and independent process to look at whether those named present any immediate risk and consider whether there is a case for disciplinary proceedings for clergy, under the Clergy Discipline Measure. This has been undertaken in line with the process announced in December with recommendations of an independent panel and reviewed by an independent barrister.”   Other clergy facing disciplinary proceedings include Bishop Paul Butler, Revd Roger Combs, Revd Sue Colman, Revd Andrew Cornes, Revd Tim Hastie-Smith, Revd Hugh Palmer, Revd Paul Perkin, Revd Nick Stott, Revd John Woolmer.   The Church has sought the permission of the President of the Tribunals to bring such cases as they are ‘out of time’, which will be done by the National Director of Safeguarding, Alexander Kubeyinje.   Mr Kubeyinje said: “We must not forget that at heart of this case are the survivors and victims who have endured the lifelong effects of the appalling abuse by John Smyth, we are truly sorry. Today we have announced next steps in the process looking at both risk and disciplinary processes. We know this will never undo the harm caused but the Church is committed to taking very seriously its response to the findings of the review as well as responding to its recommendations.”   The former Archbishop of Canterbury, who served in the role between 1991 and 2002, was made a life peer the same year he stepped down from the role. He has repeatedly faced criticism for his handling for a number of abuse allegations against members of the clergy.   He first faced criticism in 2017 when Dame Moira Gibb’s independent investigation found he covered up, by failing to pass to police, six out of seven serious sex abuse allegations against Bishop Peter Ball, a year after Lord Carey became archbishop. The criticism led him to resign from his last formal role in the church, but he was given permission to officiate by Steven Croft, the bishop of Oxford, allowing him to preach and preside at churches in the diocese.   In 2020, the Church revoked his permission to officiate after they found he could have done more to pass to police allegations of beatings by John Smyth. His permission was restored by Bishop Croft after seven months.   He officially resigned from the Church in December following BBC investigation which found he had advocated for alleged child abuser David Tudor to return to priesthood.   He said: "I wish to surrender my Permission to Officiate."   "It has been an honour to serve in the dioceses of London, Southwell, Durham, Bristol, Bath and Wells, Canterbury and finally Oxford," Lord Carey said. "I am in my ninetieth year now and have been in active ministry since 1962 when I was made Deacon and then Priested in 1963."   END

Prelate publishes correspondence of ‘repeated warnings’ to priest who mimicked ‘Nazi salute’ at pro-life rally   By Jules Gomes MERE MATCHLIGHT Feb. 24, 2025   The archbishop who dismissed Fr Calvin Robinson for mimicking a “Nazi salute” at a pro-life rally has released a statement documenting a series of warnings issued to the celebrity priest concerning his antisemitism and political activism.   The Anglican Ink website published Archbishop Mark Haverland’s correspondence with the priest after Robinson maintained on X that he had “not received a single letter, phone call, zoom meeting or anything else” from his archbishop since he joined the Anglican Catholic Church.   “In December of 2024, Robinson began posting about Judaism, starting with a post on X about the Talmud,” Haverland noted, highlighting the celebrity cleric’s escalating antisemitic attacks, in a six-page statement released last Wednesday.   The initial offending post from Robinson read: “The Talmud is uniquely hostile toward Jesus Christ. Islam may play off Christianity — it is a Christian heresy — but Talmudic Judaism is explicitly anti-Christian.” He was citing a quote from Joel Webbon, pastor of Covenant Bible Church in Georgetown, Texas.   Evil Judaism?   Robinson invited Webbon onto his show, “Bros with Fros,” even though Webbon is “a public figure whose antisemitic priors are well established,” Haverland wrote. “During the interview Robinson sat nodding while Webbon stated, ‘religiously, spiritually, Judaism, I believe, is a pernicious evil.’”   Haverland said that he had “received expressions of concern” from clergy within and outside his denomination that “Robinson was courting anti-Semites online” and “communicated his displeasure” about the priest to Bishop Patrick Fodor of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley, “telling him very clearly that such incendiary activity had to stop.”   Fodor warned Robinson that he was in trouble with his archbishop. On December 13, Robinson wrote to Haverland insisting he was “not antisemitic or a holocaust denier.”   However, the archbishop maintained that Robinson had begun “to use certain rhetoric that was clearly and intentionally anti-Semitic” despite the priest framing his discourse as “just asking questions” and “being anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic.”   Antisemitic Trolling   Haverland explained that the revocation of Robinson’s license to minister as a priest was not based exclusively on his controversial “salute” at the National Pro-Life Summit on January 25, but “based on the history [of antisemitic trolling] outlined above.”   “I gave a talk at a pro-life event that seemed to go down well,” Robinson said on X. “The joke at the end was a mockery of the hysterical ‘liberals’ who called Elon Musk a Nazi for quite clearly showing the audience his heart was with them.”   The archbishop stressed that he might have overlooked Robinson’s salute if it was an isolated incident “but after accusations of anti-Semitism from a month earlier, the salute was an utterly foolish and intemperate act by a priest.”   “At best he is gravely intemperate and has poor judgment. At worst he is toying with anti-Semitism and engages in the deeply uncharitable activity of trolling and political provocation,” Haverland warned.   Idolatry of Israel   In a February 6 statement explaining why he had revoked Robinson’s license, Haverland wrote: “Prior to the incident at the pro-life rally, Robinson was alleged to have made statements that were antisemitic, or in sympathy with antisemitic groups.”   Robinson’s dismissal triggered a media earthquake and was reported by more than 30 international media outlets, including the Washington Post, Newsweek, Daily Mail, Rolling Stone, and the Washington Times. However, no major media outlet has reported on Haverland’s statement detailing his reasons for sacking the priest.   Meanwhile, during a trip to Israel after his removal, Robinson attacked evangelicals for what he described as an “unhealthy relationship” with the Holy Land.   “Protestants who do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ have to seek him out elsewhere,” he wrote on X. “Knowing Jesus walked these lands, for them it is a kind of substitute for the Sacraments; for many, an idol.”   “This seems to be a problem amongst particular American Evangelical Protestant circles. Not all,” he added in a second tweet. “But it is not exclusive to Dispensationalists, either.”   ‘Judeo-Christian’ Controversy   The priest earlier sparked controversy by contesting the term “Judeo-Christian.” Posting a video by Candace Owens, who has a history of making antisemitic remarks about Jewish influence in world affairs and the Holocaust, Robinson asked: “Why are we calling it Judeo-Christianity.”   When asked “why you keep putting this absolute garbage, antisemitic nut case on other people’s timelines,” Robinson replied: “Every word she said made sense. Can you dispute it? Or are you just here to call her names? Weird flex but ok.”   “There is no such thing as ‘Judeo-Christian,’” Robinson posted, and later asked in a video, “Where the %^&* did Judeo-Christian values come from? I’m not saying that people should hate Jews, I’m asking the simple question: ‘Why do we put ‘Judeo’ before ‘Christian?’ Why do we put anything before Christian. I don’t believe in putting anything before Christ.”   On Tuesday, Robinson continued his attacks on the term “Judeo-Christian” while attending the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London, reposting a tweet which said: “I’m at ARC. Every time ‘Judeo-Christian values’ is mentioned I will take a shot.”   Senior Anglican cleric Canon Fr Phil Harris responded by telling Robinson that Christians who support Israel are “not being manipulated into a ‘false dichotomy’” on their Zionism.   Harris also corrected Robinson’s attacks on the Talmud:   The Talmud is a commentary, a series of ‘opinions’; just like Christians have commentaries, the commentaries often contradict each other and are sometimes plain wrong! Not all Talmudic Jews reject Christ by any means, in the same way that not all Christians reject the Hebraic roots of our faith, which, sadly, is now becoming more commonplace.   Jews ‘of the Bible’ who followed Christ were Jews, NOT Christians (cf. St. Paul, who as an Apostle remained a Pharisee and a Hebrew of the Hebrews, cf. Acts). In the same way, Gentiles (non-Jews) who followed Christ were still Gentiles.   Robinson did not reply to The Stream’s request for comment, but wrote on X: “I understand there has been yet another statement released, along with selectively leaked personal communications. To those asking: no, I will not be refuting a cleverly orchestrated character assassination.”   Church-Hopping Priest   The Nordic Catholic Church (NCC) that ordained Robinson to the priesthood released a “letter of reprimand” on the same day as Haverland’s statement, rebuking him for not having “adequately consulted” his superiors before moving to the U.S.   The letter admonished Robinson for failing “to understand or to pay due regard to your promises of obedience to those in authority over you which results in a serious threat to good order in the church, as well as failing to seek letters of endorsement that would be required to accomplish a transfer to another jurisdiction.   “You are no longer considered a priest in good standing, your license is withdrawn and your priestly ministry within the NCC is prohibited,” Bishop Dr. Roald Nikolai Flemestad wrote.   Writing for the Anglican website Virtue Online, columnist Mary Ann Mueller observed that “Robinson is a church-hopper. He has belonged to four different denominations in a space of three years.”   She further elaborated:   Not all of the churches are Anglican. He was initially a member of the Church of England until he left for the Free Church of England in early summer 2022. He then united with the Old Catholic — non-Anglican — Nordic Catholic Church in late 2023. Less than a year later he gravitated to the Anglican Catholic Church.   In January 2024, Robinson was asked to stand down from the concluding panel discussion at the Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, after he linked the ordination of women to feminism and Marxism.   The priest also attacked Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation in his speech, noting: “Between them, Luther and Marx destroyed the Christian soul of Germany, which, as we know, has gone on to become the home of heresy.”   In December 2024, the priest was also cancelled from the “Christ Is King: How To Defeat Trashworld,” a so-called Christian nationalist conference organized by Webbon. However, a chorus of Reformed Protestants called for Robinson to be deplatformed after he censured John Calvin’s teachings as heretical. Calvin is regarded as the father of Reformed theology.   Describing him as “the most cancelled man alive,” Robinson’s friends are now appealing to the public to donate $350,000 so they can “purchase a modest house” for the priest in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   Originally published in The Stream.   Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.

By Roger Salter Special to VIRTUEONLINE www.virtueonline.org February 24, 2025   Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him. John 14:23. The Nearness Of God To The Believer.   Saint Augustine commented that God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves. It is an astonishing assertion. But God is familiar with all the intricacies of our nature, the desires of our affections and the tendencies of our will. We can only take blurred snapshots of our conscious self. Changeability is the mode of our inner life. Our moods are ever moving and developing. Self-analysis is mere mental “scampering about”. Options are confusing. Toward minor ones we may exercise indifference but to those that really count we may become cautious and anxious. Genuine wisdom and stability can only come from common grace.   Special grace, the grace that saves, is utterly transforming. The life of natural man that prefers the absence of God suddenly becomes rapt in him. The relationship between the believer and the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, becomes one of mutual indwelling. The elect child of God is a being that lives in God.  There is nothing more intimate than “in-ness”. It is an enclosure. Within the Lord it is the reality of residing at the heart and center of the divine affection. We are in the grasp of the one true God - enclosed within his powerful, almighty hand. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me [eternal election] , is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one ” [John 10:28-30].   When we are in communion with God, we have joined the holiest circle of fellowship imaginable. We have been graciously admitted to the most cordial society that far surpasses the privileges of any other association. We are linked in to the compatibility of the threefold Lord to muse upon celestial secrets and mysteries that in this life emerge from the wisdom of Holy Scripture and invite our eager contemplation. Holy contemplation is the beautiful foretaste of heaven. Contemplation of God is our most enriching experience in which the loveliness of Christ is divulged to us. In contemplation he sees us ready for the encounter with the meek, merciful, majestic person of the Son of God.   Nathanael was in contemplation in his own home (under the fig tree) when the Lord Jesus came to him. It was a gracious and enlightening visit [John 1:43-51]. If only our homes in this life of unnecessary haste were centers of quiet Christian meditation. A quiet, orderly home is a priceless benefit. A happier condition is a peaceful heart. The extraordinary blessing supreme is when the Master of the universe, and all that exists, deigns to occupy his home within us.                                                                                                                                            RJS

By Michael Giere THE STREAM February 24, 2025   The western world is clearly shaking apart. The rise of the Trump phenomenon, the fallout from the faux pandemic, and the exposure of the house of lies and corruption created by governments largely disinterested in their own populations have brought the West to a historical inflection point.   The international order upon which the West has existed since the close of the Second World War has become the shovel that will bury it. The only question is, what will replace it?   Will it be a technologically, managerially run tyranny of the soul and mind? Or will the West return to the roots of its origin, which fashioned the most dynamic, free, and prosperous civilization in history? Will it return to its founding ethos, which labored to bring the Judeo-Christian concepts of human dignity, freedom, and justice into the affairs of men — or finish the process of abandoning them entirely?   Is there a “creative minority” that can lead it?   For decades now, many of us in our own silos have been sounding the alarm of the crash of faith, values, and the survival of human freedom. None, however, has done so with more clarity and acuity than the famous author, social critic, and scholar Os Guinness.   Don’t Be Too Useful   Over the years, I’ve reviewed many of his books and interviewed him – and at each turn, I’ve found inspiration and energy to stay in the battle of ideas myself. Reading Guinness is like filling your car with gas, except that here, your brain is topped off with high-octane purpose.   Dr. Guinness was born in China to medical missionaries; he lost two brothers there and witnessed the climatic terror of Mao’s revolution at the age of seven. Like some of our most astute observers of the American experiment, the Oxford-educated young man saw America, both its promise and problems, through a clear lens, undistorted by the cultural trappings of perception of those born here.   Please Support The Stream: Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.   The second Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference — Jordan Peterson-inspired affair brings together a unique aggregation of thinkers and views from around the western world from a center-right spectrum — just ended in London. There, Guinness presented a 15-minute speech to the 4,000 attendees, crystalizing the failure of “secular humanism,” which was originally based on reason, being transformed into the post-liberal and then illiberal neo-Marxism. The replacement of reason has failed, he said, and the resurgence of the Christian faith is now seen to be indispensable to rescue the West.   He then cautioned, “The Christian faith will do nothing for civilization if it is seen as useful.” It will require a “creative minority” who believe in the ultimate reality of the God of the Burning Bush and the Call of Galilee.   Watch his entire presentation here. 09 manta PRO long version animation opening1 min 16x9 - IN   Michael Giere writes award-winning commentary and essays on the intersection of politics, culture and faith. He is a critically acclaimed novelist (The White River Series) and short-story writer. A former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, he was a senior executive in both the Reagan and the Bush (41) administrations, and in 2016 served on the Trump Transition Team. Attachments area

Church of England Rudderless – Safeguarding Unresolved / Most clergy will not perform S-S Weddings   Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. – II Cor. 2:17   The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve. -- John Stott   The Church of England is at a crossroads. With no leadership, it has left many wondering if it faces the biggest upheaval since the Reformation. – Cathy Newman   I will admit that part of me wants to see…cracks in celebrity culture. I want to think that it doesn’t matter when shallow, shiny people have millions of social-media followers, while way too many people of substance do not. -- Terry Mattingly   "Gender ideology – the radical Leftist doctrine that claims girls can be boys and boys can be girls, and that such an impossible transition can be made with the use of irreversible drugs and surgery – is one of the greatest and most incomprehensible evils ever inflicted on children, in the whole history of the human race." –- Matt Walsh   Light on the Bible. The Episcopal Church is probably the most liberal, not to say progressive, denomination in the USA. It is fully committed to promoting LGBTQ+ rights and treats DEI initiatives as though they had come down from the mountain top written in stone. – Campbell Campbell-Jack   Dear Brothers and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org Feb. 21, 2025   ONLY one percent of pastors says their churches are very effective at doing a good job of evangelism, that is reaching the unchurched. This means that 99 percent of pastors admit they are not very effective and have either given up, or don’t believe in doing it. Evangelism is on life support. People are talking about discipleship and are forgetting about evangelism. Discipleship and evangelism aren’t zero sum games.   The demise of evangelism is an existential problem. People desperately need the gospel, says Carey Nieuwhof a Christian apologist and church communicator.   In 2015, 13 % said they were very good at effective in reaching the unchurched. Now it is an existential crisis. The church is at a loss as to know what to do.   Some 80% of church growth is transfer growth with some reports put it at 95%. But this is not true growth going from one church to another. Church efforts on evangelism are coming up short.   Why?   According to Nieulhof there are five plausible reasons that evangelism is on life support in today’s church. 1.The Culture wars have created an us and them. This has led to heated debate, theology bleeding into ideology bleeding into theology. The majority of people are critical of the lifestyle of the other. This up and down approach is going to kill every aspiration to evangelize.   2,The world rejects self-righteous critical Christians and rightly so. Conservative Christians see themselves as morally superior to everyone else. There is no humility, kindness and generosity, characterized by the best of witness over the centuries. Jesús had a lot of issues with self-righteous people which draws accusations of hypocrisy.   Non-Christians rank hypocrisy as the top objection to Christianity. 30 percent cite suffering as a reason to object to Christianity. 42 name hypocrisy as the top reason. Christians are more concerned with theodicy than hypocrisy as a challenge to God. We need to own it and confess it.   3.Unchurched people feel judged not loved by Christians and their lack of love for people we don’t love and we are supposed to reach. We don’t love them.   Where has the love gone?  How foreign it is to say God loves you. In John 3:16 God actually loves the world. He hates evil but He loves the world while estranged from Jesus. Christians today judge the world more than they love unbelievers. Judgement is a terrible evangelism strategy.   4.Church leaders have settled for transfer growth, some push it from 80% others say it is 95% to 97% growth. There is only 3% to 5 % through conversion growth.   5. Church leaders have given up on a battle they are losing. For decades church attendance has been declining. Mainline first and now evangelical churches are following them.   Some distinction is made between faithful and fruitful, but the malaise has hit non-denominational churches. Evangelical leaders focus on discipleship but focusing on discipleship while throwing evangelism out the window. But God still loves the world. One without the other isn’t really accomplishing our mission. Discipleship implies evangelism.  Discipleship is a smokescreen for giving up on evangelism.   So how does all this impact TEC and the ACNA?   TEC says evangelism is a life-giving relationship. It is not luring people into church. The more we are in tune with God’s presence our overflow is evangelism, embracing evangelism. A spiritual practice speak of God’s presence and invite others to share the journey. There is no talk of repentance of sin and newness of life. It is a sort of spiritual narcissism with a happy ending.   The ACNA has a different understanding of evangelism. The ACNA focuses on evangelism through planting gospel-centered, sacramental, and missional churches. The church acknowledges two intersecting pathways in the catechumenate: catechetical evangelism from the local church and liturgical catechesis from the font.   ***   How they voted . According to Demographer Ryan Burge, at the last election, 32 percent of Episcopalians voted for Donald Trump. Some 48 percent of Anglicans voted for the president. The No 1 denomination to vote for Donald Trump was the Assemblies of God by an overwhelming 78%.   ***   VirtueOnline has crunched the numbers to reveal that the Anglican Church in North America has outpaced The Episcopal Church in post-Covid returning attendance.   An interesting phenomenon has revealed itself in comparing the latest 2023 attendance percentages between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), post-Covid. The 2024 figures are not yet available for either church.   Following the COVID dip every ACNA diocese has outpaced all Episcopal Church dioceses in the percentage of parishioners returning to in-church worship. There is no ACNA diocese which dips below 40% worship attendance while only four Episcopal dioceses break the 40% ceiling – Northern Indiana (40.2%); Central Florida (40.3%); with Eau Claire and Nevada both weighing in at 44.7%. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/acna-s-post-covid-attendance-figures-outpace-the-episcopal-church   ***   The Anglican Church in North America started its journey in 2009, forming and separating itself from The Episcopal Church over its drift from historic and biblical teachings on theology and marriage.   Set within the Anglican tradition in the U.S. and Canada, ACNA also includes congregations in Mexico, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. It can therefore claim to be an international body, aligned with other global Anglican churches though not officially recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion Office. The ACNA is a constituent member of GAFCON whose identity is based on the Jerusalem Declaration.   But the central issue facing the ACNA is ecclesiastical: what kind of “Anglican” will this body be? It seems that our Constitution and Canons (with reliance on the Jerusalem Declaration) states that we will be confessional, while the heart cry of our leaders seems to be for a conciliar definition (“let’s get as many in the boat as we can for maximum chance of success”).   Following a brief dip in congregations and attendance during COVID, ACNA has fully recovered and is moving forward albeit slowly into a new century.   For more click here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/the-rise-fall-and-rise-of-the-anglican-church-in-north-america Home | Anglican Futures   ***   We can’t seem to get away from horrific stories of sexual abuse whether it is in the Church of England, the American Episcopal Church, or the ACNA.   In the Church of England, evangelicals have taken the lead. The Makin report revealed the horrendous abuse of the late John Smyth at the Iwerne camps leading to more than 100 young men being abused. Smyth continued his behavior in Africa, dying in South Africa before he could be brought to justice.   There must be something in the sexual DNA going on in the Fletcher family. Two prominent brothers, David and Jonathan have been charged with sexual abuse.   David Fletcher, a former Church of England minister and leader of evangelical camps, has been accused of sexual abuse against women and girls.   Fletcher, who died in 2022, was rector of St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford between 1986 and 1998 and remained a member of its congregation until his death.   His brother, Jonathan Fletcher, a former Anglican minister and a leading figure of the conservative evangelical movement, has been charged with criminal offences.   He faces eight counts of indecent assault and one of grievous bodily harm with intent. Aged 81, he was formerly a vicar at Emmanuel Church Wimbledon. He has been bailed to appear at Kingston Crown Court on 7 August. https://www.virtueonline.org/post/iwerne-camp-leader-the-late-revd-david-fletcher-accused-of-sexual-abuse   Back home Anglican Watch a feisty Anglican blog exposing the sins of Episcopal bishops revealed this week that Todd Ousley prospective bishop provisional for Wyoming, failed to report child rape allegations, and lies about his past conduct.   Anglican Watch accuses Ousley of sandbagging the Title IV process during his time in the Office of Pastoral Development and his countless instances of corruption. Ousley ignored child rape and mandatory reporting requirements. You can read more here: https://www.anglicanwatch.com/todd-ousley-failed-to-report-child-rape-allegations-lies-about-past-conduct/     ***   Episcopal Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and a rabbi believe places of worship should not be searched for illegal immigrants because we are all made in the image of God. But are they right? What if Mao, Adolph and Joe also made in the image of God were hiding out in a church would anyone deny ICE the right to enter and arrest them?   Closer to home, if the illegals were criminals with records should not ICE be permitted to enter a church and take them out? How sacred is a space when it is occupied by criminals with records. Are they a special class needing protection? You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/episcopal-presiding-bishop-and-rabbi-believe-places-of-worship-should-not-be-searched-for-illegal-im   ***   The Church of England is rudderless. Archbishop Justin Welby has gone, though he can stay at Lambeth Palace till he finds suitable new housing. A source told VOL that Welby has always appeared to have access to very substantial private funds. His inheritance came only recently. His pension will only be about $55,000 a year – not much by TEC standards for an Archbishop. He owns a large house in Normandy and a plush place in West London.   The church is now being run by York Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, who is so seriously compromised by failed safeguarding issues that he himself was asked to step down prior to leading the latest Synod. He survived a vote of no confidence at the start of the Church of England’s General Synod, but all this demonstrates just how weak the whole CofE structure is. There are increasing calls for the church to be disestablished.  While 50% of Britons want the Church of England to be separated from the State, others argue that the link between the Church and the monarchy should be allowed to linger on.   There is every reason to believe that whoever leads the CofE will only continue it down the path to perdition with the Global South ignoring the Mother Church. GAFCON leaders already will have nothing to do with whoever is the next Archbishop of Canterbury and the GSFA bishops are increasingly alarmed at the moves the CofE is making to affirm homosexual marriages.   ***   The Church of England held its Synod this week. Safeguarding was on the minds of the Synod. Here is a BBC report:   Sexual abuse survivors reacted with fury after the Church of England's ruling body voted to reject full independent safeguarding despite a string of damaging scandals.   Members of the General Synod chose not to adopt a new safeguarding model heavily favoured by victims, who described the move as a 'punch in the gut'.   Representatives of survivors said the outcome was 'incredibly disappointing' and showed the Church had decided to 'keep it in the family'.   It follows a series of scandals that have damaged public faith in the CofE and led to the resignation of former archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.   Survivors had urged the Church to endorse a model which would have seen all safeguarding officers employed by the Church transferred to a new independent body not under the control of bishops.   But members instead voted for a less independent model 'as the way forward in the short term' with undefined 'further work' to be done to implement the move to full independence.   The endorsed model will see some staff move to a new body outside the Church but other safeguarding officers will remain.   The more radical model would have immediately taken safeguarding out of the hands of the Church.   Here is a summary from Anglican Futures that is enlightening.   ***   Kenyan Archbishop Ole Sapit believes that President Trump’s shutting down USAID was a good thing. The Kenyan archbishop sees some hope in President Donald Trump’s move to shut down the United States Agency for International Development.   “I partially thank Trump for the disruption,” the archbishop said at an event at St. Paul’s University in Limuru on February 6.   “Let us be disrupted so that we think properly and manage our resources properly. Every other economy grew not in easy times but when you are faced by a crisis. They think deeper, and I hope we can think deeper now.” Ole Sapit declared that it is time African leaders sought home-grown solutions to the continent’s woes, and claimed that foreign aid has often been misappropriated in the East African nation.   “USAID projects have been shut down,” he said. “People have lost jobs. But deficiency in leadership is our main problem. Let that money go so that we know how to save the little we have. Because most of it is stolen before it reaches where it is supposed to go.” You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/usaid-shutdown-an-opportunity-kenyan-primate-says   *** If you are at all concerned about clergy performing same-sex marriages, here is some good news. Demographer Ryan Burge asks would you perform the wedding of a same-sex couple if your religious group allowed it, 58% said definitely not, another 9 percent said probably not conduct a same-sex wedding.   By religious tradition the numbers were even bolder. Among those identifying as conservative, 91% said they would not hold a same-sex wedding. Liberal clergy were obviously far more permissive. Among this group, 53% said they “definitely” would with another 21% saying they “probably” would. So, 74% of liberal clergy would conduct a same-sex wedding, while 91% of conservative clergy would not.   *** Dropping Out of Everything. An increasing number of Americans are just done. One of the most important pieces of social science published is Robert Putnam's  Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community . Its premise is simple: people aren’t joining stuff anymore—social clubs like the Elks, the Moose, the Boy Scouts, and bowling leagues. Bowling Alone  was published in 2000, and much of the data collected extended through the mid-1990s, which deeply shapes what Putnam perceives as the causal factors for this decline in American community. He attributes much of the blame to the rise of cable television, which seems quaint now. It has been said that if Putnam’s magnum opus were updated with data from the last 25 years, the title would have to change to "Tweeting Alone," "Netflixing Alone," or "Instagramming Alone." Everything that Putnam observed in the earlier data has only been amplified due to rapid advances in technology. Campbell, Layman, and Green in   Secular Surge  argue that atheists and agnostics are secular people; they have rejected religion but replaced it with something else. "Nothing in particulars," however, have only completed half that mission—they walked away from religion but never managed to replace it with anything else. They aren’t secular—they are non-religious, defined by what they are not. And this share of Americans is growing rapidly. In 2008, just 14% of the sample said they were "nothing in particular." By 2013, that had reached 20%. It plateaued there for the next five years or so and then began to climb again.  Now, in the most recent data, somewhere between 23-24% of all American adults just shrug their shoulders when asked about their faith. They don’t want to label themselves one way or another.   *** We have finally transitioned to a new website . It is now up and running. Over the next few weeks, we will place over 35,000 stories in the archives. Please bear with us. A transition like this has been time consuming and costly and we could use some financial assistance to keep it up. And running. We have specialists and consultants who have made the change and transition possible.   With VOL’s new website you can more easily navigate to areas of interest.   I would recommend the theology section with some fine articles by Dean Chuck Collins. www.virtueonline.org   ***   Please consider a tax-deductible donation. A PayPal donation link can be found here: http://www.virtueonline.org/support.html If you are more inclined with old fashioned checks, (as I am), you can send your donation to:   VIRTUEONLINE P.O. Box 111 Shohola, PA 18458   Warmly in Christ, David PS. I am recovering from heart surgery with a very good prognosis. For those of you who knew and prayed for me I say thank you. I am returning to normal, so the beat goes on. I have begun a substack on the Middle East. In light of so much written on Israel, prophecy and the Bible, I felt constrained, with the help of some scholars, to look at events there and how they are playing out in today’s world in the light of Scripture. You can access my substack here: https://davidvirtue2.substack.com/ There is no charge to access my substack.

COMMENTARY   By David W. Virtue, DD www.virtueonline.org February 10, 2025   The Anglican Church in North America started its journey in 2009, forming and separating itself from The Episcopal Church over its drift from historic and biblical teachings on theology and marriage.   Set within the Anglican tradition in the U.S. and Canada, ACNA also includes congregations in Mexico, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. It can therefore claim to be an international body, aligned with other global Anglican churches though not officially recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion Office. The ACNA is a constituent member of GAFCON whose identity is based on the Jerusalem Declaration.   But the central issue facing the ACNA is ecclesiastical: what kind of “Anglican” will this body be? It seems that our Constitution and Canons (with reliance on the Jerusalem Declaration) states that we will be confessional, while the heart cry of our leaders seems to be for a conciliar definition (“let’s get as many in the boat as we can for maximum chance of success”).   Following a brief dip in congregations and attendance during COVID, ACNA has fully recovered and is moving forward albeit slowly into a new century.   Its first archbishop was the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan; its second archbishop was the Rt. Rev. Foley Beach. Recently the orthodox denomination ordained its third archbishop in the person of the Rt. Rev. Steve Wood. He promises a reinvigorated church, post COVID, to reach the 130 million people across North America who do not recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. A tall order indeed when one considers that 40 million Americans have stopped attending a place of worship over the past 25 years. However, it should be noted that fifty-one percent of people who have dechurched are willing to go back to church.   By contrast, The Episcopal Church has been sharply declining in attendance. Over 55% of Episcopal parishes are now in a state of long-term decline, dropping 10% or more across the past five reporting years. The church recorded an even sharper drop in average Sunday attendance in the past decade, down 43% to 373,000 in 2022, though that one-year total was up by 19% from the pandemic-driven low of 313,000 in 2021. With the average age at 69 and few young people filling pews, along with the decline in the number of ordained clergy, the long term looks bleak.   “The overall picture is dire. [It is] not one of decline as much as demise within the next generation unless trends change significantly. There will be no one in worship by around 2050 in the entire denomination,” said the Rev. Dwight Zscheile, an Episcopal priest and professor.   ACNA RISE, DECLINE AND RISE   Pre-COVID in 2019 ACNA had 972 congregations. In 2020, during COVID in 2020 ACNA maintained its 972 congregations, but in 2021 during COVID it jumped up adding two congregations to 974. By 2022 ACNA saw a rise to 977, but by 2023, post-COVID, ACNA saw a dramatic increase adding 36 new congregations to cross the 1,000-threshold landing at 1,013.   MEMBERSHIP was a different story. Pre-COVID 2019 membership stood at 127,624. During COVID 2020 the figure dropped slightly to 126,760 and during COVID 2021 it plunged to122,450. Post-COVID 2022 saw a rise to124,999 and post-COVID 2023 the figure rose to 128,114.   Unlike The Episcopal Church which is rapidly declining, ACNA seems destined to grow and maintain an Anglican presence in North America in the foreseeable future. At some point around 2040 there is every reason to believe that the two churches will cross each other if the present rate of TEC decline and ACNA growth continues.   The one issue that both churches face is birth dearth.  A study released by the prestigious McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), “Dependency and depopulation? Confronting the consequences of a new demographic reality” revealed that falling fertility and increasing longevity is reshaping global populations. Fertility rates have fallen below the replacement rate required to maintain a stable population. Humanity is drifting into uncharted waters. We’ve endured population decline from war and disease but have never encountered a prolonged birth dearth. Merely a generation ago, the notion of population collapse was unfathomable to most. Now demographers deem it inevitable.   Unless churches get youth on board most churches will wither and die within a generation regardless of their beliefs. The study is a wake-up call for churches sleepwalking into unprecedented social upheaval. It is too late for the seven mainline denominations, they will all be gone by 2050 at the very latest. The issue will be if independent evangelical churches, including denominational ones with historic ties like ACNA and PCA can reach and convert generations X, Y and Z with the gospel and form them into a new generation of evangelists and disciplers.   What drives the ACNA? It has rejected the revisionism and progressivism of the Episcopal Church, but still the question remains, what defines ACNA? Although in the ACNA there is general agreement on the authority of Scripture, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the means to salvation, and traditional views of gender and marriage, there continues to be a lot of disunity over core Anglican identity: will the traditional Anglican formularies be acknowledged as is stated in the Jerusalem Declaration, or will something else provide our confessional grounding as a church.   Early on Archbishop Robert Duncan promoted the idea of “three streams” which became something of a motto for the new Anglican movement in North America. This idea that the streams of catholic, protestant (evangelical), and charismatic are equally important to our modern understanding of Anglican identity is not found in Anglicanism before modern times, and nowhere is it hinted at in our traditional formularies. Even though three-streams constitutes a sharp departure from historic Anglican’s insistence on Scripture as the supreme God-inspired authority, many Anglicans glommed on to it for hope of justifying their own personal preferences in worship and practice.   The Anglo-Catholic stream from bishops like Keith Ackerman and William Wantland articulated high church theology and worship promulgated by Forward in Faith, an organization that is committed to promoting a new Oxford movement. The 1830s Oxford Movement attempted to bend the church away from traditional Anglican values and formularies towards understandings taught by Archbishop William Laud and the Caroline Divines. Like the original Oxford Movement, modern-day Anglo-Catholics tend to favor the altar over the pulpit, ecclesiastical titles and ceremonial over servant leadership, and Arminianism over the moderate Lutheranism and Calvinism of Anglican’s formularies.   A third movement in the ACNA is Reformation Anglicanism, or (as defined by Bishop FitzSimons Allison) “mere Anglicanism.” This group affirms the Bible as its supreme authority, the norm for all other authorities, including tradition, reason and experience. They see the Edwardian and Elizabethan settlement as a settlement, based on the authority of Holy Scripture as it is upheld and understood by Anglican’s formularies: the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty-nine Articles, and the two books of homilies. They understand the Bible to be perspicuous: clear for everyone to understand in all essential matters as Scripture interprets Scripture, with the more obscure passages understood by plainer passages. Reformation Anglicans view the power of the preached word as always encompassing the good news of God in Christ for our full salvation.   It remains to be seen in which direction Archbishop Steve Wood will lead the ACNA. Even though this church was formed by bishops and people on both sides of the women’s ordination debate, this single issue has interrupted the adolescent development of mission and ministry, and may even derail this church from its relevance along with other mainline churches.   The following statistics and figures reveal the true state of each diocese in ACNA.   THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA Founded: 2009 PRESENT PRIMATE: Archbishop Steve Wood ACNA III — Since 2024 Principal location: Non geographical See City: Ambridge, Pennsylvania Percent of Congregations reporting: 93%  ACNA 2019-2023 STATISTICS CONGREGATIONS Pre-COVID 2019: 972 COVID 2020:  972 COVID 2021:  974 Post-COVID 2022:      977 Post-COVID 2023:  1,013 Pre-COVID/COVID increase: 2019-2021: +2 (+0.2%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023: +3 (+0.3%) Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  +36 (+4.2%)  Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021: -5,174   (-4.1%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023: +2,459 (+2.1%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:   +490 (+0.3%)    ACNA APSA: (Average Principal Service Attendance) is the true bellwether of church health. Attendance not membership defines a church. Pre-COVID 2019: 84,310 COVID 2020: 83,119 COVID 2021: 58,225 Post-COVID 2022:   75,583 Post-COVID 2023:   84,794 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021: -26,185 (-30.9%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:   +17,328 (+29.8%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  +484 (+0.5%)  PERCENTAGE OF WORSHIP ATTENDANCE    Pre-COVID 2019:  66.1%  COVID 2020:  65.6%  COVID 2021:  47.5%  Post-COVID 2022:   60.5%  Post-COVID 2023:   66.4%  Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021: -18.6%  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  +13%  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:     +0.3%    The following is a breakdown of diocesan attendance:   DIOCESE:  All Nations   BISHOP: Felix Orji All Nations I — Since 2013 Founded: 2011 (CANA West) Joined ACNA: 2023* Principal location: West Central United States See City: El Paso, Texas Percent of Congregations reporting: 97%  *No earlier All Nations diocesan stats available CONGREGATIONS 2023: 32 MEMBERSHIP 2023: 2,251 APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance) 2023: 1,791 PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE  2023: 79.5%    DIOCESE: ALL SAINTS   BISHOP: Richard Lipka II All Saints — Since 2021  Founded: 2011 Principal location: Non geographical See City: Berlin, Maryland Percent of Congregations reporting: 100%  CONGREGATIONS   Pre-COVID 2019: 31 COVID 2020: 26 COVID 2021: 27 Post-COVID 2022:  25 Post-COVID 2023:  25 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021:  -4  (-12.9%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2019-2023:  -2  (-7.4%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:   -6  (-19.4%)  MEMBERSHIP   Pre-COVID 2019: 1,290 COVID 2020:  988 COVID 2021:  929 Post-COVID 2022:   983 Post-COVID 2023:   971 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021: -361 (-27.9%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2019-2023:   +54 (+5.8%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  -319  (-24.7%)  APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance) Pre-COVID 2019: 778 COVID 2020: 581 COVID 2021: 499 Post-COVID 2022:   561 Post-COVID 2023:   544 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021:  -279 (-35.8%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  +62 (+12.4%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:   -234 (-30.1%)  PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE  Pre-COVID 2019:  60.3%  COVID 2020:  58.8%  COVID 2021:  53.7%  Post-COVID 2022:  57.1%  Post-COVID 2023:  56.0%  Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021:    -6.6%  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:    +3.4%  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:     -4.3%    DIOCESE:  ANGLICAN NETWORK IN CANADA (ANIC)   BISHOP: Dan Gifford ANiC III — Since 2022 Founded: 2007 Joined ACNA: 2009 Principal location: Canada See City: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Percent of Congregations reporting: 97%  CONGREGATIONS Pre-COVID 2019: 76 COVID 2020: 71 COVID 2021: 73 Post-COVID 2022:  72 Post-COVID 2023:  76 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021:  -5 (-6.6%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  +5 (+7.1%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  ±0 (0%)  MEMBERSHIP Pre-COVID 2019: 7,563 COVID 2020: 7,030 COVID 2021: 5,543 Post-COVID 2022:  6,492 Post-COVID 2023:  5,847 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021: -2,020 (-26.7%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  +949 (+17.1%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  -2,316 (-22.6%)  APSA: (Average Principal Service Attendance) Pre-COVID 2019: 4,640 COVID 2020:  4,001 COVID 2021:  2,415 Post-COVID 2022:   3,433 Post-COVID 2023:   4,252 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021:  -2,225   (47.9-%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  +1,018 (+42.2%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  -388 (-8.3%)  PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE Pre-COVID 2019:  61.3%  COVID 2020:  56.9%  COVID 2021:  43.5%  Post-COVID 2022:   52.8%  Post-COVID 2023:   72.7%  Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021:   -17.6%  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:    +9.3%  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:    +11.4%    JURISDICTION:  Armed Forces Chaplaincy   BISHOP: Derek Jones Armed Forces I — Since 2007 Founded: 2007 CANA Joined ACNA: 2014 Principal location: Non geographical See City: Montevallo, Alabama Percent of Congregations reporting: 100%  CONGREGATIONS Pre-COVID 2019: 8 COVID 2020:  17 COVID 2021:  15 Post-COVID 2022: 10 Post-COVID 2023:   9 Pre-COVID/COVID increase: 2019-2021:   +7  (+87.5%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  -5  (-33.3%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  +2   (+25%)  MEMBERSHIP Pre-COVID 2019:  No Report COVID 2020: 456 COVID 2021: 420 Post-COVID 2022:  222 Post-COVID 2023:  251  COVID drop: 2020-2021:   -36 (-7.9%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:   -198 (-47.1%)  Three-year COVID/post COVID difference: 2020-2022:  -234 (-51.3%)  APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance) Pre-COVID 2019: 338 COVID 2020: 231 COVID 2021: 388 Post-COVID 2022: 231 Post-COVID 2023: 257   Pre-COVID/COVID increase: 2019-2021:  +50 (+14.8%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  -157 (-40.4%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:   -107 (-31.6%)  PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE:      Pre-COVID 2019: No Report COVID 2020: 50.6%  COVID 2021: 92.3%  Post-COVID 2022:    96.1%  Post-COVID 2023:  102.4%  COVID increase: 2020-2021:   +40.7%  Post-COVID Recovery:  2021-2023:    +3.8%  Three-year COVID/post COVID difference: 2020-2022:     +51.8%    DIOCESE:  Carolinas   BISHOP: ++Steve Wood Carolinas I — Since 2012 Founded: 2012 Principal location: North & South Carolina See City: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Percent of Congregations reporting: 100%  CONGREGATIONS  Pre-COVID 2019: 29 COVID 2020: 30 COVID 2021: 32 Post-COVID 2022:  34 Post-COVID 2023:  37  Pre-COVID/COVID increase: 2019-2021: +3 (+10.3%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023: +2 (+6.2%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:   +5 (+17.2%)  MEMBERSHIP Pre-COVID 2019: 8,207 COVID 2020: 8,275 COVID 2021: 8,639 Post-COVID 2022:     9,769 Post-COVID 2023:   10,049 Pre-COVID/COVID increase: 2019-2021: +432 (+5.2%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:  +1,130 (+13.1%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:  +1,562   (+19%)  APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance) Pre-COVID 2019: 5,150 COVID 2020: 5,285 COVID 2021: 3,982 Post-COVID 2022:   4,872 Post-COVID 2023:   5,823 Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021:   -1,278 (-22.6%)  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023: +890 (+22.4%)  Five-year pre/post COVID difference: 2019-2023:   -278 (-5.4%)  PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE       Pre-COVID 2019: 62.7%  COVID 2020: 63.8%  COVID 2021: 46.1%  Post-COVID 2022:  49.8%  Post-COVID 2023:  57.9%  Pre-COVID/COVID drop: 2019-2021: -16.6%  Post-COVID Recovery: 2021-2023:    +3.7%  Five-year pre/post COVID difference:   ACNA’S HOUSE OF BISHOPS   There are 86 living bishops in ACNA's College of Bishops – 49 are active with 37 retired. Another 4 Bishops-elect are slated to join them.    Another 15 ACNA bishops are deceased.    There are 7 former bishops who left ACNA -- 5 are living and 2 are deceased.    Working ACNA bishops by all 28 dioceses    LEGEND JURISDICTIONS  ACNA – Anglican Church in North America  GAFCON – Global Anglican Future Conference  JAFC – Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces &  Chaplaincy (ACNA)  OSB: Order of St. Benedict  REC – Reformed Episcopal Church    DIOCESE: ALL NATIONS    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Felix Orji, OSB  (I All Nations)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Scott Seely  NOTES: Bishop Orij is Bishop Protector of the Order of Saint Benedict for the Diocese of Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada.    DIOCESE: ALL SAINTS    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Richard Lipka  (II All Saints)  COADJUTOR: Darryl Fitzwater    DIOCESE: ARMED FORCES  JURISDICTION: JAFC    BISHOP ORDINARY: Darek Jones  (I Armed Forces)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Michael Williams  (Bishop for Education, Training & Formation)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Mark Nordstrom  (Bishop of Pastoral Care for Clergy and Families)  SUFFRAGAN BISHOP-ELECT: Jay Cayangyang  SUFFRAGAN BISHOP-ELECT: Marshall MacClellan    DIOCESE: CANADA  JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Dan Gifford  (III Canada & Area Bishop for the East)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Mike Stewart  (Area Bishop for the West)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Stephen Leung  (Bishop for Asian and Multicultural Ministries)    DIOCESE: THE CAROLINAS    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Archbishop Steve Wood  (I The Carolinas)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: David Bryan  (Area Bishop for South Carolina)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Terrell Glenn  (Area Bishop for North Carolina)  ASSISTING BISHOP: Thad Barnum  NOTES: Archbishop Wood is the current III ACNA.    DIOCESE: CASCADIA    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Jacob Worley  (II Cascadia)    DIOCESE: CENTRAL STATES    JURISDICTION: REC  BISHOP ORDINARY: Peter Manto  BISHOP-ELECT: Jason Grote  BISHOP EMERITUS: Daniel Morse  NOTE: Jason Grote is son to former REC Presiding Bishop Royal Grote. His consecration date is June 2025.    DIOCESE: CHRIST OUR HOPE    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Alan Hawkins  (II Christ Our Hope)  COADJUTOR:  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Quigg Lawrence  ASSISTING BISHOP: Paul Donison  BISHOP EMERITUS: Steve Breedlove  NOTES: Bishop Donison is also Assistant Bishop for the Diocese of Gasobo, Rwanda.    DIOCESE: C4SO  (Church for the Sake of Others)    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Todd Hunter  (I C4SO)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Brian Wallace    DIOCESE: Fort Worth    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Ryan Reed  (IV Fort Worth)  ASSISTING BISHOP: Keith Ackerman    DIOCESE: Great Lakes    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Mark Engel  (III Great Lakes)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Allen Kannapell    DIOCESE: GULF ATLANTIC    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Alex Farmer  (II Gulf Atlantic)    DIOCESE: Living Word    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Julian Dobbs  (I Living Word)  ASSISTING BISHOP: Willian Love  ASSISTING BISHOP: David Bena    DIOCESE: MID-AMERICA    JURISDICTION: REC  BISHOP ORDINARY: Ray Sutton  (VI Mid-America)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Walter Banek  NOTES: Bishop Sutton is also REC's current Presiding Bishop. The REC diocese also encompasses west and western Canada.    DIOCESE: MID-ATLANTIC    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Christopher Warner  (II Mid-Atlantic)    DIOCESE: NEW ENGLAND    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Andrew Williams  (II New England)  DIOCESE: NORTHEAST & MID-ATLANTIC    JURISDICTION: REC  BISHOP ORDINARY: William Jenkins  (XIII Northeast & Mid-Atlantic)  NOTES: The REC diocese also encompasses central and eastern Canada.    DIOCESE: PITTSBURGH    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Alex Cameron  (IX Pittsburgh)    DIOCESE: QUINCY    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Alberto Morales, OSB  (IX Quincy)  BISHOP EMERITUS: Keith Ackerman    DIOCESE: ROCKY MOUNTAINS    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Ken Ross  (I Rocky Mountains)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Ben Fisher  ASSISTING BISHOP: Thad Barnum  (Assisting Bishop for Clergy Care)    DIOCESE: SAN JOAQUIN    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Eric Meneese  (V San Joaquin)    DIOCESE: SOUTH CAROLINA    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Chip Edgar  (XV South Carolina)    DIOCESE: SOUTH    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Archbishop Foley Beach  (I South)  ASSISTING BISHOP: Frank Lyons  (Assisting Bishop for Episcopal Pastoral Care and Leadership)  NOTES: Archbishop Beach was II ACNA (2014-2024) and III GAFCON Chairman (2018-2023).    DIOCESE: SOUTHEAST    JURISDICTION: REC  BISHOP ORDINARY: Willie Hill  (IX Southeast)    DIOCESE: SOUTHWEST    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Steven Tighe  (II Southwest)    DIOCESE: UPPER MIDWEST    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Stewart Ruch  (I Upper Midwest)  NOTES: Bishop Ruch had been on a leave of absence since July 2021 for mishandling a clerical sex abuse case. He has not resigned his bishopric. In November 2024 the ACNA Board of Inquiry signed a Presentment against Bishop Ruch to bring him to Ecclesiastical Court for the Trial of a Bishop for violating ACNA Canons IV.2.4 & IV.2.10. A July 14, 2025 trial date has been sent. Bishop Ruch is still considered the sitting Bishop of the Upper Midwest although diocesan administrative duties are being handled by the Standing Committee.    DIOCESE: WESTERN ANGLICANS    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Keith Andrews  (I Western Anglicans)  BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Mark Zimmerman  (Special Mission bishop)  BISHOP-ELECT: Phil Ashey  NOTES: Bishop-elect Ashey's consecration date is in March.    DIOCESE: WEST GULF COAST    JURISDICTION: ACNA  BISHOP ORDINARY: Clark Lowenfield  (I West Gulf Coast) NOTES: Bishop Ruch took a voluntary leave of absence in July 2021 for mishandling a clerical sex abuse case. Then in October 2022 he returned to the Diocese of the Upper Midwest and again took up the full duties as Bishop Ordinary.  He has not resigned his bishopric. However, in November 2024 the ACNA Board of Inquiry signed a Presentment against Bishop Ruch to bring him to Ecclesiastical Court for the Trial of a Bishop for violating ACNA Canons IV.2.4 & IV.2.10. A July 14, 2025 trial date has been sent.

Phillip J. Shade has also been removed as treasurer and partner of Broad Street Grind in Souderton   By Tony Di Domizio, Managing Editor NORTH PENN NOW February 12, 2025   The father of a former co-owner of a Souderton coffeehouse, who is facing possible convictions on more than 90 felonies related to child sexual abuse, has self-disclosed inappropriate behavior towards his son 30 years ago and has been removed immediately from his roles as treasurer and partner of Broad Street Grind and deposed as deacon of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word.   “On Feb. 4, 2025, I received disturbing information regarding actions of inappropriate behavior involving Phillip J. Shade towards his son over 30 years ago. Phillip made a self-disclosure and after the required canonical investigation by the diocese, I have made the decision to depose him from the ordained ministry of the church,” wrote Diocesan Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs in a statement released Tuesday. Anglican Diocese of the Living Word is a jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in North America, a Christian-Reformed Episcopalian denomination headquartered in Beaver County, Pa. with more than 128,000 members and 1,000 congregations.   Shade was a deacon and assistant to the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Souderton.   “This is a deeply painful moment for our diocese, but it is imperative that we address such serious matters with integrity and transparency,” wrote Dobbs. “We have not found any evidence of abuse occurring with relation to these matters in any of the congregations, missions or church plants within our diocese.”   Dobbs said the diocese takes any allegations of abuse or wrongdoing very seriously and it is dedicated to fostering a secure and safe environment for all.   “If you or someone you know has experienced abuse with the Church, or if you wish to report any incidents, I urge you to visit our website at adlw.org . There, you will find comprehensive information on how to confidentially contact and report your concerns to our designated reports receiver,” wrote Dobbs. “You can also reach the reports receiver directly at 267-406-0680.”   Dobbs wrote that it was a priority to ensure that the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word remains a safe place for worship.   “Let us place our trust in God, believing that He will bring forgiveness, healing and restoration even from the most painful circumstances,” wrote Dobbs.   On Tuesday, Broad Street Grind/Liberty Hall Coffee LLC Vice President Pamela Nalbach and Liberty Hall Roasters LLC Vice President Zachary Taylor released a statement on social media regarding Shade:   “We were made aware today by the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word that Phil Shade was formally deposed from ordained ministry in relation to events which occurred over 30 years ago, to which he made a self-disclosure of. As a business committed to integrity and trust, and in light of recent events, we have requested that Phil step down from his role and partnership in the business, which he has agreed to do,” stated Nalbach and Taylor.   “While we respect due process and the importance of gathering all relevant facts, we want to assure our customers and the community members that we remain committed to maintaining a safe and welcoming environment. We are actively reviewing the situation and will take any necessary actions to uphold the values and trust that our business is built upon,” stated Broad Street Grind. “Our priority remains serving our customers with the same dedication and care they have come to expect from us.”   However, the Shades still have a stake in the business: Broad Street Grind is the storefront face for Liberty Hall Coffee LLC, which is still overseen by Heather Shade as president, who is the wife of Phillip and mother of Doug Shade. The LLC is also registered to Phillip Shade’s Berkshire Drive residence.   Liberty Hall Coffee LLC has a sister company called Liberty Hall Roasters LLC.   In a now-hidden Facebook comment, Broad Street Grind wrote it was working to remove the Shades from a connection to the business entirely.   Phillip Shade  has no criminal or civil cases on record in Pennsylvania, according to the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.   In 2019, Pennsylvania amended its statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases. Under the new law, victims of childhood sexual abuse have until their 55th birthday to file a civil lawsuit for sexual assault. Furthermore, victims between 18 and 24 years old now have until their 30th birthday to file a civil lawsuit. However, this only applies to cases of sexual abuse occurring after Jan. 1, 2019. Any sexual abuse or assault that occurred prior to 2019 must abide by the previous statute of limitations. Thus, if a victim was 18 or older when the abuse occurred, then they have two years from the date of the last incident to file a lawsuit. For minors, the two-year statute was delayed until the age of 18, making the age of 20 the cutoff to file a civil claim.   Douglas Phillip Shade, 44, of Main Street, Lower Salford, will go before Common Pleas Judge Steve T. O’Neill on March 4 for a pre-trial hearing on 85 felonies and 10 misdemeanors of child sex offenses – including numerous counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, corruption of minors, indecent assault of a child under 13, and possession of child sexual abuse materials, according to court documents.   Shade is accused of recording, participating in, and selling of child sexual abuse material via the Telegram app, authorities allege in an affidavit. The offenses allegedly occurred at an apartment in Lower Salford Township in July 2024.   Shade is charged with 33 felony counts of possession of child pornography/CSAM, according to charging documents.   Shade is also charged with the following felonies, at 10 counts each:   Aggravated indecent assault of a child Corruption of minors by a defendant age 18 or above Unlawful contact with a minor for sexual offenses Endangering the welfare of children by a parent/guardian/other offender   He is charged with six felony counts of knowingly depicting on a computer or phone a minor engaged in a sex act on photograph or film. The final 10 charges are for misdemeanor Indecent assault on a person less than 13 years of age, according to court records.   On July 25, 2024, Lower Salford authorities investigated a report of sexual assault involving a girl under 13 years of age on at least 10 occasions, according to the affidavit. Authorities allege Shade recorded his encounters on his cellphone, while kissing and indecently assaulting the girl.   Once authorities obtained a search warrant for Shade’s personal and work phones, they were able to download a large amount of child sexual abuse material, including pictures and videos of juveniles under 18 in various stages of undress and performing sexual acts, according to the affidavit.   All in all, investigators found 20 videos of CSAM, three of which included Shade, recorded in May 2024, police said.   Further examination of Shade’s phone located a large amount of photos of CSAM, including 891 photos of children under 13 engaged in sexual acts; 499 photos of children between 13 and 18 engaged in illicit acts; 318 photos of nude juveniles; 12 bondage photographs; and 11 photos of bestiality, according to the criminal complaint.   Authorities said the Telegram app is often used to produce and distribute CSAM.   In 2023, Shade’s minority shares in the business were purchased, as he had not been actively involved in the operations of the business for several years, according to Broad Street Grind.   Shade was a former partner of a six-owner stake in Broad Street Grind, founded in 2016. When it opened at the historic Liberty Hall property at 117 E. Broad St. in 2017, it had six co-owners: Chad and Monica Gehman, Franconia Township residents Phillip and Heather Shade, and their son, Doug, and his wife. The Gehmans left as partners after three months in business.   It poised itself as a place for the community to gather, with special events like live music and meeting room accessibility for groups, businesses or reading groups, like the St. Peter’s Anglican Church Bible study sessions. Its meeting space offers a 25-person capacity and can be booked at 215-723-8220. Broad Street Grind also does catering.   “Broad Street Grind knows how important that first cup of coffee or tea is to their customers. They specialize in unique coffees and teas, as well as a full bistro which is open for breakfast and lunch six days a week ... with delivery, pick-up, and curbside service, as well as catering onsite and off-site,” stated an article on Valley Forge’s tourism website.   Its menu features fresh-made American Fusion, with locally-sourced produce and cage-free eggs. There are no processed, pre-packaged or frozen foods with preservatives at the coffeehouse. It offers specialty curated and roasted whole bean coffees via in person or subscription, with fans as far as Wyoming.   Other food offerings include homemade scones, muffins, cakes, brownies, and syrups. In the summer, they sell vanilla honey lavender, made from food-grade local lavender and peppermint. The menu is updated every six months to keep customers aware of seasonal tastes.   Broad Street Grind is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.   All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.   END