The objective ground for believing that God loves us is historical. It concerns the death of his Son on the cross: 'Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, and that is God's own proof of his love towards us' (Rom. 5:8). The subjective ground for believing that God loves us is experimental. It is not in history but in experience. It concerns not the death of Christ, but the gift of the Holy Spirit within us. -- From "Men Made New" John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
9/19/2007

On the eve of the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans with the Archbishop of Canterbury making a cameo appearance, comes word out of England that Dr. Williams will lead a secretive gathering of homosexual clergy, celebrate a service of Holy Communion and give a talk on 'present realities and future possibilities for lesbians and gay men in the Church.' The information came to light from a group called The Clergy Consultation which describes itself as a confidential support organization for male and female lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender clergy, religious, ordinands, seminarians and their partners. It has been involved with other homosexual groups in lobbying for the Church to accept homosexual practice.

The story was uncovered by David Phillips General, Secretary of Church Society, an evangelical ministry within the Church of England. The secretive nature and circumstances of the meeting suggest that they have something to hide. Moreover, it is well known that there are clergy in the Church of England who have refused to give assurances that they are celibate and Bishops who, contrary to their own agreed policy, apparently refuse to ask for such assurances.

By his actions, the ABC is clearly doing far more than just listening. The Clergy Consultation, in a blurb at its website, asked for the sake of the Archbishop to keep the meeting secret and not to report what is said there. The meeting is scheduled to be held on November 29th at St. Peter's Church, Eaton Square, London. The Archbishop has apparently asked to know in advance who will be present.

I have obtained an exclusive interview with the Rev. David Phillips of Church Society and you can read it here or in today's digest. http://tinyurl.com/2n9wry

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Just when you thought things couldn't get any stranger or confusing, the Archbishop of NIGERIA, the Most Rev. Peter Akinola and his House of Bishops sent a letter to Dr. Williams calling on him to postpone Lambeth. "We write to you out of profound love for our beloved Anglican Communion and recognition that this current crisis in our common life together is an unrelenting source of anguish for you and for all concerned. We have reviewed the paper 'A Most Agonizing Road to Lambeth 2008' that was made available to us by our primate, the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola. We found it to be a compelling summary of many of the key events and meetings of the past ten years. It highlights the intractability of our current crisis." You can read the full story here or in today's digest: http://tinyurl.com/28sngh The deeper question is, will delay prevent the break-up of the communion? Common Cause stands ready to act, we will see then what happens following the HOB meeting in New Orleans.

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The AMERICAN ANGLICAN COUNCIL has released its September edition of the Communique Compliance Report. This edition contains a full summary of the previous reports as well as current Episcopal Church/Leadership actions. Like the previous four reports, the document contains links to articles on the AAC Web site that support the information provided in the report. The Communique Compliance Office (CCO) was formed by the AAC immediately following the February 2007 meeting of the Anglican primates in Tanzania as a means for monitoring The Episcopal Church's compliance and defiance with respect to the requirements called for in the primates' communique. The CCO will monitor the actions and words of TEC bishops, dioceses and leaders in the period leading up to TEC's Sept. 30, 2007 deadline as set by the primates .

You can find all of the CCO Reports on the AAC website by clicking here: http://www.americananglican.org/site/c.ikLUK3MJIpG/b.2604397/k.8166/Publications__Downloads.htm

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A LEGAL DOCUMENT, written by six bishops of the Episcopal Church in the U.S who are also licensed attorneys at law, says that the proposed Covenant by the Anglican Communion is unacceptable to the Episcopal Church. The authors say, "The Anglican Communion enjoys a Constitution that has served us well. The novel idea of a Covenant is out of order unless the Anglican Constitution is employed and properly amended or replaced. The fundamental issue in the current conflict, the most important and lasting reality, is not the matter of theological innovation, but the proposals and actions that would revolutionize the Anglican Constitution." You can read the full statement here (Please note it is a large file - 5Mb.): http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/content/bishops_report.pdf

In a response to The Constitutional Crisis, 2007, the Rev. Leander S. Harding, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA says that the premise of the brief by these lawyers is that the best method of legal argument, appropriate to a system of settled statutes and case law, is to adjudicate what they identify as a constitutional crisis over a constitution that is unwritten and unenforceable. He said their arguments were Orwellian.

Harding responded say that the Anglican Communion being unable to enforce the most minimal communal discipline is exactly the crisis in front of us. To propose, as a solution, something that is unenforceable does not appear as a positive contribution to the crisis. You can read his full statement here or in today's digest: http://tinyurl.com/ytgjdg

It is significant that these bishops accuse orthodox folk as conservatives who "unapologetically seek the utter defeat of the other" and want to "undo the use of reason in the interpretation of scripture" and who are part of a growing "fundamentalism" as opposed to those who "have rediscovered the church's ancient baptismal theology" and seek to reform the church according to this theology and in a way that will finally make the church relevant to the society and culture it serves. There you have it.

Episcopal theologian, the Rev. Dr EPHRAIM RADNER, also took the bishops to task saying, "It is impossible to respond to this sad piece, except to say that is so filled with error, special (and false) pleading, misreading and misunderstanding, pretence and posturing, perversion and malice, as to defy coherent reply. Will any one, in the days ahead, pay attention to the sorry production of these misguided bishops? I pray God that they will not."

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BRITISH COLUMBIA PRIEST RESIGNS after admitting misconduct. The Rev. Antonio Osorio, a well-known priest in the diocese of British Columbia who championed the cause of same-sex blessings in the church, has resigned from his post after admitting to sexual misconduct. The diocese issued a statement Sept. 5 that Mr. Osorio, rector of St. Saviour's church, has been suspended from his duties pending an investigation into allegations he violated the church's sexual misconduct policy. His resignation was announced Sept. 14. Local newspapers in Victoria said the church's parishioners were "devastated" by the news.

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The new president of VIRGINIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, (VTS) the Very Rev. Ian Markham, has put out his first newsletter to faculty and friends. Here is the kicker line: "Living within the conversation (a Griswoldian) is a biblical obligation. In the same way that the Church determined that four contrasting Gospels are needed within our canon, so VTS offers the opportunity to live with difference (a Schori)." Never mind that the four gospels do not contradict each other but also support the truth about who Jesus is, his life, ministry, death and resurrection. By contrast, the Episcopal Church now contains two very different religions that are in no way recognizable with each other. The seminary (VTS) today is not the seminary where Archbishop Peter Akinola studied. There is little reason to believe it will suddenly change course. Perhaps if we saw a compulsory course titled: "A Theology of the Atonement: A Biblical and Historical Study," we might conclude differently, but don't hold your breath.

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A landmark study reveals that change for HOMOSEXUALS is possible. In what some are calling groundbreaking research, a new four-year study concludes it is possible for homosexuals to change their physical attractions and become heterosexual through the help of Christian ministries. The data was released Sept. 13 at a news conference in Nashville, Tenn. and is published in the new book, "Ex-Gays?" (InterVarsity Press) by psychologists Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse. Thirty-eight percent of the subjects followed in the study said they had successfully left homosexuality, while an additional 29 percent said they had had only modest successes but were committed to keep trying. In another significant finding, Jones and Yarhouse said attempts at conversions do not appear to be psychologically harmful.

Experts in the field call it the first scientific study performed on a sample of individuals undergoing Christian counseling, monitoring their successes and failures from the beginning. A follow-up study is being conducted and will be released in the future.

"These findings contradict directly the commonly expressed views of the mental health establishment that change in sexual orientation is impossible, and that if you attempt to change it's highly likely to produce harm for those who make such an attempt," said Jones, a professor of psychology at Wheaton College in Illinois, during the news conference.

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MUGABE IS A DICTATOR. The Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, has called on Britain to lead a campaign of targeted sanctions against the government of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. "Mugabe is the worst kind of racist dictator," said Sentamu, the Ugandan-born second-in-command of the Church of England, in an article in Britain's The Observer newspaper on September 16. "It is now time for the sanctions and campaigns that brought an end to apartheid in South Africa to be applied to the Mugabe regime." Sentamu is a former Uganda high court judge, who fled the regime of dictator Idi Amin. Mugabe, like Amin, said the archbishop, "has rallied a country against its former colonial master [Britain] only to destroy it through a dictatorial fervor."

In his article, Sentamu also criticized President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who has said he is engaging in "quiet diplomacy" with the Zimbabwean president. "At best, [Mbeki] has been ineffectual in his efforts to advise, cajole and persuade Robert Mugabe to reverse his unjust and brutal regime," Sentamu wrote. "At worst, Mbeki is complicit in his failing to lead the charge against a neighbor who is systematically raping the country he leads."

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Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu told CNN this week that the disparity between rich and poor causes terrorism, and that unless the problem of poverty, or the problem of wealth, is solved, poor men will continue to hate Jews, strap bombs to their bellies and yearn to indiscriminately slaughter others while shouting "Allah Akbar."

"We can't blame the terrorists nor the teachings of Islam," said the renowned South African Anglican cleric. "After all, 'terrorist' is just another term for 'victim of an unfair distribution of goods'. I'm sure if I ran out of money, and lost my bishop job, I would naturally blame the Jews, fall in with the wrong crowd, and begin training as a suicide bomber. After all, we're only human."

Bishop Tutu said he "looks forward to the day prophesied by the Old Testament economist, Isaiah, when 'Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level'" In other words, when everyone has the same amount of money, nobody gets jealous, and nobody feels like exploding anymore.

Noted terrorist and multi-millionaire Osama Bin Laden could not be reached for comment.

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The TRADITIONAL ANGLICAN COMMUNION (TAC) will hold their plenary meeting of the College of Bishops in Portsmouth, England, during October 2007, according to a press release from its leader, Archbishop John Hepworth of Australia.

"These few weeks will be a watershed moment for the Anglican Communion, and for all those - from the Anglican Use to the whole gamut of extra-mural Anglicans - who cherish the Anglican Tradition," writes Hepworth. High on their agenda will be talks about unity with Rome. The largest Continuing Anglican group will see new faces from emerging churches in Cameroon, Kenya, Zimbabwe and DR Congo. There will also be new faces from the United States, India, Zambia, South Africa, Canada, the Torres Strait, Australia and New Zealand.

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Also from AUSTRALIA comes word that the head of the Anglican Church in Australia, Primate Phillip Aspinall, is considering setting up a special tribunal to examine complaints against Anglican bishop Ross Davies, Bishop of The Murray in South Australia, because he participated in the consecration of two ultra-conservative bishops for the Traditional Anglican Communion, one of whom is based in the U.S. The tribunal will determine if he should be stripped of his holy orders. If the tribunal finds against Bishop Davies, he could become only the second bishop of any denomination in Australia to be defrocked. The submission is by a group of Murray diocesan parishioners called the Voice of the Laity who have also accused the bishop of having a "history of bullying, verbal and emotional abuse".

There are also stories in today's digest from the DIOCESE OF SYDNEY. You can read Archbishop Peter Jensen's fine address to Synod delegates here or in today's digest http://tinyurl.com/2kd8f4

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I shall be in New Orleans the next time I write to you all. The Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Councils and the Primates Committee will join the US House of Bishops meeting on this occasion. Archbishop Rowan Williams and members of the Joint Standing Committee will attend the first two days. The press is not invited. There will be a photo op with members of the House of Bishops cleaning-up and doing reconstruction work in New Orleans. Members of the Joint Standing Committee scheduled to attend the New Orleans meetings are:

Archbishop Philip Aspinall, Australia Presiding Bishop Mouneer Anis, Jerusalem and the Middle East ACC chairman Bishop John Paterson, New Zealand ACC vice-chairman George Khoshy, South India Philippa Amable, West Africa Jolly Babirukamu, Uganda Robert Fordham, Australia Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe, Ceylon Canon Elizabeth Paver, England Bishop James Tengatenga, Central Africa Nomfundo Walaza, Southern Africa.

ACC secretary general Canon Kenneth Kearon, deputy secretary Canon Gregory Cameron, and ACC communications director Canon James Rosenthal will also attend.

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Among the stories in today's digest you can read is the issue of PROLIFERATING PRELATES. Is it the path to collaboration or chaos? "Never before have so many Provinces of One Communion acted in this missionary way within one land, amongst such a small tribe (the seceders of 2004-7)," writes Peter Toon. "With the proliferation of some 18 offshore Anglican evangelical bishops now firmly ensconced on American shores picking off plum evangelical Episcopal parishes that fall from the Episcopal Church tree, the question that must be asked is this: will there be collaboration, poaching or confrontation as Nigerian, Ugandan, Kenyan and Rwandan-based American bishops vie to grow their American Anglican jurisdictions?" You can read that story here or in today's digest: http://tinyurl.com/2sb4hw

You can also read how a militant Episcopal minority has turned the Episcopal Church upside down. Did you know that a mere 1931 Episcopal homosexuals and their camp followers (out of 2.4 million) have succeeded in doing so much damage? A recent survey of the Episcopal Church's official Integrity's members on the ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation of Episcopalians done by the organization revealed that 95 percent or 334 white males were in sympathy with Integrity and TEC's openly homosexual agenda. Only 1 percent (4) were African American, 0 percent were Asian American, (2) while Native Americans made up 0 per cent (2).

In the DIOCESE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 17 parishes could leave The Episcopal Church by October 1, a blog in the diocese has revealed. The blogger also said that Bishop John W. Howe rejected a pay out offer. You can read the full story in today's digest.

In El Paso, Texas, the largest parish in DIOCESE OF THE RIO GRANDE has exited The Episcopal Church, making it abundantly clear the realignment is underway. VOL knows of at least three more cardinal parishes around the country ready to pull out of major dioceses. The 700-member St. Clements Pro-Cathedral, the largest parish in the Diocese of the Rio Grande, voted to leave The Episcopal Church and negotiated a $2 million property deal they believe will allow them to keep their property. At least Bishop Jeffrey Steenson did the honorable thing and did not go to court as most revisionist bishops are doing.

There are more stories you can read by going to www.virtueonline.org

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CORRECTION: In my last digest, I said the consecration of the new CANA bishops will take place in Nigeria. This is incorrect. The consecrations will take place in the USA before the end of 2007, at a date and place yet to be determined.

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All Blessings,

David W. Virtue DD

LAST WORD: "Jesus Christ did not come into the world to improve sinners, but to save them," - Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen