From Around the Web - March 31, 2005

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050331/NEWS/503310329/1002/NEWS01
"Clerics fight gay event in Jerusalem" from The Barre Times - Montpelier Argus.

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2286
"Denials and closings stalk revisionist dioceses" from VirtueOnline.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ctmag/
"All Churches Should Be Multiracial" and more articles from ChristianityToday.com.

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1321571.html
"Assisted Suicide Bill Coming Up in California" from Crosswalk.com.

http://www.bpnews.net/
"Terri Schiavo dies in Florida hospice, nearly two weeks after feeding tube was pulled' and more articles from Baptist Press News.

http://www.churchnewspaper.com/editorial.php
Editorial from The Church of England Newspaper

http://www.churchnewspaper.com/news.php
News from The Church of England Newspaper

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,59-1547670,00.html
"Let us pray" from TimesOnline.

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/re_inventing_the_cathedral/
"Re-inventing the cathedral" from sydneyanglicans.net.

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2290
"Church sets up nightclub missions to attract New Age followers" from VirtueOnline.

http://southernhighlands.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=382536&y=2005&m=3
"Archbishop considers changes to St Aidan's" from Southern Highland News.

From Around the Web - March 30, 2005

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/church/434.htm
"Evangelical Scottish Anglicans Rebuke the Church’s Pro-Gay Statement"

http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2005/03/29/5
"Tensions rise among Scottish Episcopals"

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/21.74.html
"Naming the Horror"

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=4372
"Return of the swastika" Part 3

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/mohler/?adate=3/30/2005#1321211
"Terri Schiavo--Enduring Questions, Part Two"

http://www.crosswalk.com/
More articles from Crosswalk.com

http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/03/29/1111862390396.html?oneclick=true
"Death sentence quashed after jurors consulted Bibles"

http://www.christianpost.com/article/education/718/section/ecusa.releases.catechism.of.creation.to.educate.and.train.believers/1.htm
"ECUSA Releases Catechism of Creation to Educate and Train Believers"

http://www.christianpost.com/
More articles from The Christian Post

http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/regionalnews/tm_objectid=15347577&method=full&siteid=50142&headline=multi-faith-school-will-be--marriage-made-in-hell-and-a-spiritual-fraud--name_page.html
"Multi-faith school will be 'marriage made in hell and a spiritual fraud' "

http://www.eveningleader.co.uk/ihome2/detail.asp?storyid=35354&catid=%201&officeid=1
"We'll take the school battle to the Pope"

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED30%20Mar%202005%2008%3A58%3A09%3A300
"Ancient roots for a new garden"

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/bible_based_hippies_rock_cathedral/
"Bible-based hippies rock cathedral"

From Around the Web - March 29, 2005

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/36182.html
"Retract gay minister stance, church urged"

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=329992005
"Backing for gay priests could split Scottish Episcopals"

http://uk.gay.com/headlines/8336
"Pressure grows in gay priests row"

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/29/PAROLE.TMP
"Bishop rips governor over parole reversal Murderer has been ordained as an Episcopal deacon"
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/20.94.html
"Therapeutically Incorrect" - lead article on ChristianityToday.com website

http://www.bpnews.net/
"Fla. officials made attempt to take custody of Schiavo" and other stories from Baptist Press News

http://www.christianpost.com/
"Schiavo Husband Calls for Autopsy to Clear Allegations " and more on The Christian Post website

http://crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/mohler/?adate=3/29/2005#1320929
"Terri Schiavo--Enduring Questions, Part One"

http://crosswalk.com/news/1320875.html
"Appeals Court Upholds Ten Commandments in Case Identical to Supreme Court Case"

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/jensen_moves_mountains/
"Jensen moves Mountains"

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20050328T230000-0500_77698_OBS_ANGLICAN_CHURCH_TO_DEBATE_CRIME.asp
"Anglican church to debate crime"

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2278
"Another evangelical parish leaves the ECUSA"

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2277
"Science Unlocks Biblical Secrets"

http://www.eitb24.com/noticia_en.php?id=48787
"Anglicans see differently Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' marriage"

Paper: Fla. officials made attempt to take custody of Schiavo

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20449

[Baptist Press News] March 28, 2005--For days now, pro-lifers have urged Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush to ignore a judge's ruling and have Terri Schiavo taken into custody. Apparently, such an attempt already took place.

Let the Church Say Amen

http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/letthechurchsayamen.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 29, 2005--Members of Washington, D.C.'s World Missions for Christ Church stand outside of their red-and-white brick storefront church at the corner of 1st and Randolph, less than a mile from the White House. Some pray aloud. Others talk about salvation to the drug addicts and homeless people passing by. One man sings and preaches, using a battery-operated megaphone.

Churches: Kids losing religious ties

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/1486830.shtml

[Morning Sentinel] March 27, 2005--Easter Sunday's message of hope, rebirth and salvation packs a mass appeal rivaled only by Christmas Day services, but the following week, church attendance traditionally plummets. Among the missing are the youngest members of the community, the school-age children who in many, if not most, cases will become adults with little or no religious ties.

Rochester Episcopal church holds final service

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050328/NEWS05/50328091

[Foster's Online] March 28, 2005--Robinson will lead a special celebratory closing service at the church at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The man who is responsible for the demise of this church will be presiding over its last service.

Regime change

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Regime-change/2005/03/27/1111862252859.html

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 28, 2005--Moral hardliner Peter Jensen has emerged the victor in a long-running internal power struggle over the future of the Sydney Anglican Church. But his greatest challenge will be converting secular Sydney, writes Chris McGillion.

Regime change

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Regime-change/2005/03/27/1111862252859.html

[Sydney Morning Herlad] March 28, 2005--Moral hardliner Peter Jensen has emerged the victor in a long-running internal power struggle over the future of the Sydney Anglican Church. But his greatest challenge will be converting secular Sydney, writes Chris McGillion.

ECUSA Bishops Expected to Continue Defying Anglican Leaders

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/282005e.asp

[AgapePress] March 28, 2005--Dr. Kendall Harmon is Canon Theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina. He says the U.S. bishops are engaging in "the worst kind of schoolyard politics" and contends that their behavior "shows a tremendous lack of understanding of the seriousness of the crisis and of what they've been asked to do."

ECUSA Bishops Expected to Continue Defying Anglican Leaders

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/282005e.asp

[AgapePress] March 28, 2005--Dr. Kendall Harmon is Canon Theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina. He says the U.S. bishops are engaging in "the worst kind of schoolyard politics" and contends that their behavior "shows a tremendous lack of understanding of the seriousness of the crisis and of what they've been asked to do."

Group Threat in Church Homosexuality Row

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4317841

[Scotsman.com] March 28, 2005--The row over a statement by a church that being a practising gay was not a bar to ordained ministry escalated today.

A group of evangelical churches within the Scottish Episcopal Church has threatened to reconsider its position in the denomination unless the matter is resolved.

Related articles:
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5037039.html
"Church split threat over gay priests" - Glascow Evening Times
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4387185.stm
"Church divides over gay priests" - BBC News

Historic church closes for good

http://news10now.com/content/all_news/tompkinscortland_county/?ArID=39448&SecID=111

[News 10 Now] March 28, 2005--After Easter Services, the Calvary Episcopal Church in Homer will close its doors for good.

Where are all those people who were supposed to be flocking to the Episcopal Church because of the theological and moral innovations that the 2003 General Convention sanctioned?

40, 39, 38 … Ascension!

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/40_39_38_ascension/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 28, 2005--More than 7000 Christians are falling to their knees today as part of the Sydney Diocese’ 40 Days With The Risen Lord phenomenon.

Charles must apologise for adultery, says bishop

http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/03/27/1111862258382.html

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 28, 2005--An Anglican bishop has declared that Prince Charles is obliged to apologise to the former husband of his fiancee, Camilla Parker Bowles, for having had an affair with her.

Morals compel us to favour life over death

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Morals-compel-us-to-favour-life-over-death/2005/03/27/1111862254675.html?oneclick=true

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 28, 2005--Should Terri Schiavo live or die? Since she is unable to make that decision herself, the courts have finally decided to let her die by removing her feeding tube. Ironically, had she been able to make that request herself, it might have been denied on the grounds that euthanasia in the United States, as in most countries, is illegal.

Christians and immigration; sexuality and the Uniting Church

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/relrpt/stories/s1329105.htm#anchor4

[The Religion Report] March 24, 2005--The Bruderhof community, a Christian community in rural NSW, is in crisis as its members are unable to have their visas renewed. In a week when the Prime Minister says that Christianity offers no guarantee of preferential treatment by the government, what hope do they have? Also: the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, talks about his support for an Iranian Christian detainee - is the church showing selective compassion? And we investigate claims that the Uniting Church in Australia faces a serious split over sexuality.

Terri Schiavo--The Bell Tolls for Humanity

http://crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/mohler/?adate=3/28/2005#1320692

[Crosswalk.com] March 28, 2005--America has been transfixed by a constant flow of media attention to the issues swirling about the case of Terri Schiavo. Meanwhile, Terri is starving to death in a Pinellas Park, Florida hospice--her imminent death demanded by her husband and enforced by the courts. This tragedy has become far more than a media phenomenon--it is an alarming barometer of America's moral conscience and view of human life.

Court Denies Terri's Appeal, Family Begs Gov. Bush

http://crosswalk.com/news/1320628.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 28, 2005--The Florida Supreme Court denied the last legal appeal available to the parents of Terri Schiavo to save their daughter, who has been without nutrition and hydration for more than a week. A spokesman for the family encouraged Terri's supporters to spend Easter with their families and pray for Terri.

Related article:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1512/section/schiavo.case.nears.end.bush.says.intervention.not.possible/1.htm
"Schiavo Case Nears End, Bush says Intervention Not Possible" - The Christian Post
http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1511/section/protests.continue.as.schiavo.receives.easter.rites.communion/1.htm
"Protests Continue as Schiavo Receives Easter Rites, Communion" - The Christian Post

Two Evicted Parishes Will Vacate Their Property

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2275

[VirtueOnline] March 27, 2005--The end came swiftly during Holy Week. The die had been cast seven years earlier, and the legal wrangling and assaults had taken their toll on the people. The parishioners and their rectors had had enough.

Michael Ingham, the revisionist bishop of New Westminster had nailed notices to the church doors setting an April 1 deadline to vacate their properties or face being dragged into court.

Anglican Mainstream Blasts Scottish Bishops Decision over Gays

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2274

[VirtueOnline] March 24, 2005--Anglican Mainstream has issued this response to the recent announcement by the Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

St. Barnabas has a new place to pray

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2272

[VirtueOnline] March 26, 2005--What began with controversy, a sense of betrayal and severed ties with the Episcopal Church has ended with a new home for St. Barnabas the Encourager and a serendipitous collaboration with an evangelical denomination and a growing Catholic parish.

Re-alignment and the Episcopal Church

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2273

[VirtueOnline] March 27, 2005--"It was a dark and stormy night." And so it is these days, for traditional and orthodox Episcopalians in North America, and in many other places, for that matter.

Invitation from the ACN to Participate in the Sudan Mercy Mission

http://anglicancommunionnetwork.org/news/dspnews.cfm?id=129

[Anglican Communion Network] March 23, 2005--The Dean of the Mid-America Convocation of the Anglican Communion Network, the Rev. Ron McCrary, invites all ACN members to participate in a special Maundy Thursday and/or Good Friday offering to facilitate the Sudan Mercy mission, to benefit refugees from Darfur.

The Battle Rages On

http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=1337&c=21

[American Anglican Council] March 21, 2005--Frank Griswold, Episcopal Presiding Bishop, says conservative activists are using deceptive tactics.

One of the Presiding Bishop's favorite talking points these days is to blame conservative leaders in the Episcopal Church for the global south primates' reaction to the actions of the 2003 General Convention and the subsequent consecration of Gene Robinson. He has accused them of manipulating the global south primates and doing the work of the devil. He certainly plays down or denies his own role.

Anglican Schism 'not inevitable', says AMIA bishop

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2271

[VirtueOnline] March 25, 2005--Based in Arkansas and licensed under the Anglican Mission in America(AMiA),Bishop T.J. Johnston oversees the 11 member-churches of the Anglican Communion in Canada (ACiC). He spoke with BCCN during a recent pastoral visit to British Columbia.

Behind the Lines at the Primates' Meeting

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2265

[VirtueOnline] March 24, 2005--The brokenness and division within our Anglican community is neither north-south nor based on cultural differences. It is not comparable to the debate over the ordination of women and it cannot be resolved by an attempt at synthesis.

At its root is the whole question of the authority of scripture and centuries of understanding of what comprises sinful/immoral behaviour.

The Wrong Thing for the Right Reasons

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2266

[VirtueOnline] March 25, 2005--A Open Letter to the Bishops of the Episcopal Church by Peter C. Moore, the Dean/President Emeritus of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and the Chairman of the Board of Anglican Relief and Development Fund

Holy Brompton to Open New Theological College for Post-Alpha Courses

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/min/215.htm

[Christianity Today (UK)] March 24, 2005--A new theological college is set to open in Holy Trinity, Brompton – one of the most influential Anglican parishes in the world. The new college will come at a cost of about £6 million, and although the theological college will not initially train people for Church of England ministry, the Bishop of London, Bishop Chartres has hinted that it may be possible in the future.

Pennies No More, Hot Cross Buns Remain an Easter Tradition

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/6683/

[Kansas City infoZine] March 26, 2005--But the "most believable" origin of hot cross buns is from an Anglican monk in London, Thomas Rocliffe, in 1361, said Brandon Velie, chef at the Green Boundary ...

Stratford School for Culinary Arts chefs claim pagan origin for hot cross buns.

More Worshipers Pulling the Shades on Sunrise Service

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs26mar26,1,402452.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

[latimes.com] March 26, 2005--While some Christian churches still faithfully hold sunrise services on Easter, the popularity of such events has waned among younger people and families with children who are reluctant to get out of bed that early.

Sudanese company takes over Episcopal church property

http://www.sudantribune.com/article.php3?id_article=8719

[Sudan Tribune] March 26, 2005--The Sudanese Arab company claiming ownership of a disputed church property in Khartoum moved into the building last week, ignoring a court injunction barring any alterations.

Is It Ever Okay To Pull a Feeding Tube?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/112/48.0.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 24, 2005--"The governing ethical criteria are that it's inappropriate to intend someone's death."An interview with Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity president John Kilner .

More articles from ChristianityToday.com can be found here.

Terri Schiavo's family and supporters wait, hope and pray on somber Good Friday

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20444

[Baptist Press News] March 25, 2005--In the first hour of Good Friday the scene outside the hospice where a disabled woman is being starved to death by a court order, the mood was somber, but hopeful, with a bus full of supporters arriving--as others left in what has been an around the clock vigil that begin March 18.

More articles on Terri Schiavo can be found at Baptist Press News.

Sri Lanka to Vote on Latest Anti-Conversion Bill

http://www.christianpost.com/article/missions/1490/section/sri.lanka.to.vote.on.latest.anti-conversion.bill/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 26, 2005--The Sri Lankan government will cast a deciding vote on anti-conversion legislation in April despite sharp criticism, news agencies and persecution watchdogs reported this week.

Oregon Legislators Debate Bills to Tighten Abortion Regulations

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1508/section/oregon.legislators.debate.bills.to.tighten.abortion.regulations/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 26, 2005--On Thursday, legislators in the state House Judiciary Committee debated four measures to regulate abortion in Oregon, drawing emotional responses from pro-life and pro-choice proponents.

Terri Schiavo's Father: 'She's Down to Her Last Hours'

http://crosswalk.com/news/1320502.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 26, 2005--In a brief news conference held outside the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., Robert Schindler told reporters that his daughter's life is slipping away.

Related article:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1509/section/schiavo.tried.to.say.“i.want.to.live”.parents.claim.in.court.filing/1.htm "Schiavo Tried to say “I Want to Live”, Parents Claim in Court Filing" - The Christian Post

Christian MD: Schiavo Case Suggests Believers Plan Ahead

http://crosswalk.com/news/1320457.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 25, 2005--The associate executive director of the Christian Medical Association says the Terri Schiavo controversy should spur individuals toward filling out an advance directive. He says such directives can help clarify a person's wishes and aid the decision-making process in the event of his or her incapacitation due to illness or injury.

Wave of hope in the death and resurrection

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12659659%255E2702,00.html

[The Australian] March 26, 2005--Sydney Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen said in his Easter message that, though we might live in a post-Christian society, the death and resurrection of Christ still held an extraordinary power over Australians.

Jesus wuz that religious bloke, in'it?

http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/03/24/1111525292679.html

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 25, 2005--More than half of British people have no idea why Easter is celebrated, a survey revealed.

Hot crossed evangelists

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/hot_crossed_evangelists/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 26, 2005--Christian university students are using hot cross buns to bring the true meaning of Easter into the hallowed walls of academia at Sydney’s University of Technology (UTS).

History Made in Canada by First ACiC Services of Confirmation

http://www.anglicanmissioninamerica.org/index.cfm?id=9D623FCE-92A7-47AA-BB7B990FAE4E441A

[Anglican Mission in America] March 20, 2005--History was made recently when 102 people were confirmed by the Rt Revd TJ Johnston during the 450 strong Anglican Communion in Canada (ACiC) celebration at Richmond Emmanuel Church, British Columbia, Canada.

New Churches in the Anglican Mission

http://www.anglicanmissioninamerica.org/index.cfm?id=0E0886D5-6658-4E81-9142457AA2B341DE

[Anglican Mission in America] March 24, 2005--The Anglican Mission in America is proving to be a home for mission-minded congregations, regardless of worship style. That is particularly evident in two new churches just affiliated with the AMiA. The Legacy Anglican Church in Montgomery, Alabama is a congregation that is liturgically free and contemporary, while All Souls Anglican Fellowship in Wheaton , Illinois is more ‘high church’ and historic in its approach. But both churches are growing quickly and have a passion for outreach, discipleship, service and evangelism.

Related article:
http://www.anglicanmissioninamerica.org/index.cfm?id=FC74816E-B15F-4E69-BFBE8961A34015FD
"The Anglican Mission Story" - Anglican Mission in America

Materialistic Preachers Drain UK Churches

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4127

[The Conservative Voice] March 24, 2005--A survey of thousands of British residents says fewer people are going to church because what they hear when they sit in the pew is no different from what the secular, materialistic world is telling them.

Canadian Anglicans acknowledge schism

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/register.cgi/citw-past-00223

[The Tablet] March 26, 2005--Conservative Anglicans accused Archbishop Hutchison of ignoring their needs and minimising the internal divisions within the ACC itself. The gulf between liberals and conservatives has grown so great that 11 breakaway churches are now affiliated with the Church in Rwanda.

God is in the detail of your DNA

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/God-is-in-the-detail-of-your-DNA/2005/03/24/1111525289594.html?oneclick=true

[The Age] March 25, 2005--The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, said he suspected some people were born with a predisposition for religiousness, just as others had natural ability in music or study.

But he warned: "Religion can be a cover for immorality", recalling a scene in The Godfather where Al Pacino, as Michael Corleone, attends a christening while his enemies are murdered on his orders.

Episcopal faction, pastor leave Tempe’s St. James

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38450

[East Valley Tribune] March 24, 2005--
A Tempe Episcopal congregation has become the first in Arizona to sustain a major split over biblical authority and the controversial ordination of a gay bishop in New Hampshire.

A faction from St. James the Apostle Episcopal Church, 975 E. Warner Road, including its longtime pastor, or rector, the Rev. Keith Andrews, announced Wednesday that "after much prayerful concern" it was leaving the Episcopal Church and aligning with the Anglican Mission in America and will meet elsewhere. The current church has 370 adult members.

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Schiavo case

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=610073

[ABC News} March 24, 2005--The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea from the parents of a brain-damaged Florida woman to order her feeding tube reconnected, dealing a sharp blow to their seven-year legal fight to prolong their daughter's life.

America's "culture of death" stretches through the federal judicial system all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

English can't throw stones - Hutchison

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/80256FA1003E05C1/httpPublicPages/3F2E6316F9D6B07A80256FCD00440BE2?opendocument

[Church Times] March 24, 2005--The Canadian primate, the Most Revd Andrew Hutchison, has suggested that the blessing of same-sex relationships is much more prevalent in England than in Canada.

Scots on collision course with Communion

http://www.churchnewspaper.com/news.php?read=on&number_key=5761&title=Scots%20on%20collision%20course%20with%20Communion

[The Church of England Newspaper] march 24, 2005--The Scottish Episcopal Church this week set itself on a collision course with the Anglican Communion, with a declaration that practising homosexuals were not barred from the ordained ministry.

More articles from The Church of England Newspaper can be found here.

Scottish Episcopal Stance to Homosexual Ordination Sparks Further Rift

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/church/431.htm

[Christianity Today (UK)] March 23, 2005--Since the Covenant statement was issued by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) a week ago, fear has been rising among Anglicans whether the worldwide fellowship will break.

Amid a mix of anxiety and anger, the Scottish Episcopal Church, independent of the Church of England, declared in a statement yesterday that being a homosexual is not a bar to a person becoming a priest.

Archbishop: Australians still have a Passion for Easter

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/archbishop_australians_still_have_a_passion_for_easter/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 24, 2005--Archbishop Peter Jensen says the relevance of the resurrection to Australians can be measured by the long list of cinemas screening faith-focussed films like ‘Luther’ and ‘The Passion’ this Easter.

Pub evangelism catches Nine’s eye

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/pub_evangelism_catches_nines_eye/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 24, 2005--More than 15,000 people have done the Introducing God course in lounge rooms, small groups, restaurant settings and one to one since its release 18 months ago.

CEC 2: Judgement Day

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/cec_2_judgement_day/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 24, 2005--It reads like a science-fiction sequel, but in reality it’s something far more powerful. The Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, will be using the second Cathedral Easter Convention to tackle head on the topic most Australians are happy to ignore.

Episcopal Diocese removes Austin assistant bishop

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2260

[VirtueOnline] March 24, 2005--Episcopal Diocese of Texas Bishop Don Wimberly has removed the Rt. Rev. Theodore Daniels as Austin-based assistant bishop but declined to make public the reason.

Scottish Episcopal Church Issues Attempted Denial

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2258

[VirtueOnline] March 23, 2005--There has today been wide reporting of a statement issued by the College of Bishops in response to the Anglican Communion's Windsor Report and the meeting of the Anglican Primates in February. Press interest has focused on one small part of the overall statement.

It's time to stop the shouting and finger pointing

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2261

[VirtueOnline] March 24, 2005--The Rev. Todd H. Wetzel, Executive Director of Anglicans United (formerly Episcopalians United) says that it is time to stop the shouting and finger pointing.

Bishop Griswold Should Resign

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2253

[VirtueOnline] March 23, 2005--Revisionists are treating this as a game, and allowing the Presiding Bishop anger "melt-downs."

The Pelagian Captivity of the Church

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2246

[VirtueOnline] March 22, 2005--In the Fleming Revell edition of The Bondage of the Will, the translators, J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston, included a somewhat provocative historical and theological introduction to the book itself. This is from the end of that introduction:

These things need to be pondered by Protestants today. With what right may we call ourselves children of the Reformation? Much modern Protestantism would be neither owned nor even recognised by the pioneer Reformers. The Bondage of the Will fairly sets before us what they believed about the salvation of lost mankind. In the light of it, we are forced to ask whether Protestant Christendom has not tragically sold its birthright between Luther's day and our own. Has not Protestantism today become more Erasmian than Lutheran? Do we not too often try to minimise and gloss over doctrinal differences for the sake of inter-party peace? Are we innocent of the doctrinal indifferentism with which Luther charged Erasmus? Do we still believe that doctrine matters?1

The imperial bishop is almost no more.

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2250

[VirtueOnline] March 22, 2005--What we are seeing is not an irrational backlash by concerned laity, nor simply a cultural change in church politics, but an evangelical awakening throughout America that is impacting the Episcopal Church as thousands leave the ECUSA in droves to join new and sometimes old churches that preach an unvarnished and non deconstructed faith.

From bishops publicly asserting their views on what they think God believes from month to month, and affirming one sexuality or another, individual Episcopalians and often whole congregations are now engaged and empowered like never before.

ECUSA may have to walk apart

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2249

[VirtueOnline] March 22, 2005--"Where is the Anglican Communion going, and will ECUSA go with it?"

Anglican Students summit to hold in Abuja

http://www.anglican-nig.org/asf.htm

[Church of Nigeria News] March 23, 2005--Some 2000 members of the Anglican Students Fellowship (ASF) are expected to attend their 2nd biennial conference in Abuja beginning on March 31.

Analysis: Anglican disarray

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1538412,00.html

[TimesOnline] March 23, 2005--"In their strong statement of support for lesbian and gay clergy, and regret for the actions taken against the liberal provinces of the West, the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church have firmly aligned themselves with Canada and the US.

Gays can be priests, say Scottish bishops

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=622877

[The Independent] March 23, 2005--The Scottish Episcopal Church has been praised by gay rights campaigners for declaring that being a practising homosexual was no bar to becoming a priest.

Related articles can be found at http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&ncl=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp%3Fstory%3D622877.

No Neutrality--Gilbert Meilaender on Bioethics

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/mohler/?adate=3/23/2005#1319782

[Crosswalk.com] March 23, 2005--In "Bioethics and the Character of Human Life," Meilaender argues that there "is no neutral ground" when it comes to issues of bioethics. "These topics are not driven simply by concern for public policy regulations; rather, they involve some of the most important aspects of our humanity and raise some of the deepest questions about what it means to be human," Meilaender insists.

Supreme Court weighs religious liberty law’s impact on prisons

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20413

[Baptist Press News] March 22, 2005--The Bush administration defended a federal law protecting the religious freedom of prisoners before the Supreme Court March 21, arguing the measure does not violate the ban on government establishment of religion.

For more articles from Baptist Press News, click here.

Members of One Another

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/16.90.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 22, 2005--Iraq's endangered church looks to Western fellowship for help.

This Land Is Whose Land?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/112/22.0.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 22, 2005--An impassioned plea on behalf of the "caribou people" in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the land they have inhabited for nearly 20,000 years.

Request to Reinsert Schiavo's Tube Denied Again; Parents Plan Appeal

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1495/section/request.to.reinsert.schiavos.tube.denied.again.parents.plan.appeal/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 23, 2004--A panel at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied the request to reinsert Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube early Wednesday, leaving her parents with few legalistic means to keep their daughter alive.

More articles from The Christian Post can be found here.

An Easter Message to the Anglican Communion from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/39/50/acns3962.cfm

[Anglican Communion News Service] March 22, 2005--The document that came from the recent meeting of Anglican Primates in Northern Ireland has been read and discussed very widely. But one paragraph has barely been mentioned by any commentator, inside the Church or outside. The Primates repeated and underlined their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals defined by the United Nations – including the hope to reduce poverty and hunger by a half before 2015. They also renewed their commitments in respect of HIV/AIDS education and prevention, noting too the need for similar work to get rapidly underway in dealing with the spiralling threats of TB and malaria.

Good news, with a grain of salt

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/good_news_with_a_grain_of_salt/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 23, 2005--Close friends of asylum seeker Amir Mesrinejad have cautiously welcomed the federal cabinet’s decision to re-examine rules associated with the immigration and detention system.

Related article:
http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/hope_and_help_for_christian_detainee/
"Hope and help for Christian detainee" - sydneyanglicans.net

African bishop spurns US AIDS cash

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/African-bishop-spurns-US-AIDS-cash/2005/03/22/1111254030638.html

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 23, 2005--An African bishop has announced he will not accept more than $US350,000 ($445,000) of funding to help AIDS victims in his area because it comes from a US diocese that supported the election of a gay bishop two years ago.

Jackson Nzerebende Tembo, the bishop of South Rwenzori, Uganda, rejected the money from the US diocese of Central Pennsylvania, saying its clergy and bishop, Michael Creighton, endorsed the election of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.

Deputy bishop of region's Episcopal diocese resigns

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=83845&ran=148041

[The Virginian-Pilot] March 22, 2005--Carol J. Gallagher formally resigned on Monday as the suffragan, or deputy, bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia , nearly three years after she was ordained.

African Anglicans flex their conservative muscle

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/African-Anglicans-flex-their-conservative-muscle/2005/03/22/1111254030593.html?oneclick=true

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 23, 2005--With key support from Sydney, a Ugandan archbishop is taking on liberals in the US church, writes Linda Morris.

Schism threat after Episcopalians accept gays as priests

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/35775.html

[The Herald] March 22, 2005--The Episcopal Church in Scotland faces a schism with the Anglican church in other parts of the world after declaring officially that being a practising homosexual is no bar to becoming a priest.

Groups weigh in on meaning of request

http://anglicanjournal.com/131/04/world02.html

[Anglican Journal] March 21, 2005--The primates’ move to have Anglican churches in the United States and Canada suspended from the Anglican Consultative Council met with a wide variety of interpretations.

Divided Montgomery Church Observes Palm Sunday

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3102710

[WSFA TV] March 20, 2005--Palm Sunday observes the day crowds waved tree branches, welcoming Jesus to Jerusalem, only days before his crucifixion. It's the beginning of a painful journey for Christians. The journey is proving even more painful this year for the two Montgomery churches that resulted in the split of Christ the Redeemer.

Anti-Conversion Bill to be Re-Introduced in Sri Lanka

http://www.christianpost.com/article/missions/1477/section/anti-conversion.bill.to.be.re-introduced.in.sri.lanka/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 22, 2005--The Sri Lanka government has decided to introduce a new law restricting religious conversion, news agencies and religious persecution watchdogs reported Monday.

Indian Official Denied U.S. Entry for Religious Violations

http://www.christianpost.com/article/asia/670/section/indian.official.denied.us.entry.for.religious.violations/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 22, 2005-- high-level official from the state of Gujarat in India has been denied entry to the United States for “severe violations of religious freedom.”

Study Shows Genetics Plays Role in Religious Inclination

http://www.christianpost.com/article/technology/527/section/study.shows.genetics.plays.role.in.religious.inclination/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 22, 2005--A study performed by a psychology graduate student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis shows that genetics plays a crucial role in an individual's religious identity. The study was performed in US identical and fraternal twins, and it suggests that the effects of a religious upbringing fade with time.

Renowned neurologist: Schiavo can eat with aid & is not in ‘persistent vegetative state’

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20400

[Baptist Press News] March 21, 2005--A doctor close to the Terri Schiavo case told the Florida Baptist Witness that the 41-year-old disabled woman could actually be fed orally if it were allowed."

The important thing for people to understand is that she can eat and swallow right now,” said William Hammesfahr, a neurologist who has examined Schiavo. He is in many of the videos circulated through the news media showing that Schiavo is at times responsive and aware.

"They are truly withholding food from a person who is awake, alert, and can eat and swallow,” Hammesfahr said. After spending at least 10 hours with Schiavo several years ago, he told Florida Judge George W. Greer that she can improve with therapy

Breaking News: Judge Rules Against Terri's Parent

http://crosswalk.com/news/1319625.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 22, 2oo5-- A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. The Associated Press broke the news shortly after 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

Related article:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1490/section/judge.refuses.to.reinsert.schiavos.tube.parents.file.appeal/1.htm
"Judge Refuses to Reinsert Schiavo's Tube; Parents File Appeal" - The Christian Post

Desperate Nation: What ABC's TV Hit Says About Our Culture

http://crosswalk.com/news/1319481.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 22, 2005--What does the success of Desperate Housewives tell us about the state of our culture, and what notes should the church be taking?

Pro-Family Leaders: Judicial Activists Attacking Marriage

http://crosswalk.com/news/1319480.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 22, 2005--Pro-family spokesmen are still reacting to last week's comments from a San Francisco judge that "no rational reason exits" for limiting marriage to the union of a man and a woman. They say Judge Richard Kramer's remarks reflect much about the state of the country's judiciary.

Longing to Be Heard

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/14.84.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 21, 2005--It's dangerous and lonely to be an Iraqi Christian—at home or in exile.

Weblog: Rounding Up Last Week's News

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/112/11.0.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 21, 2005--Evangelicals and politics, abortion debates around the world, Christians and democracy in the Middle East, blasphemy laws in Europe, California bans its same-sex marriage ban, 'honor killings' in Germany, and more articles from online sources around the world.

The politics of life and death

http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2005/03/21/1111253951005.html?oneclick=true

[The Age] March 22, 2005--In protracting the life of a brain-dead Florida woman, the Republicans are paying back their conservative patrons, writes Michael Gawenda.

More articles from sydney.net's "around the web" page can be found here.

Battle lines drawn at UTS

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/battle_lines_drawn_at_uts/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 22, 2003--Two intellectual giants are marshalling their arguments for a knock-down fight at Sydney’s University of Technology this Easter.

UTS will become a battleground for religious belief this Wednesday as the Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth and UTS Faculty of Law lecturer, Ian Ellis-Jones debate the central claim of the Christian faith – ‘Jesus’ resurrection; fact or fiction?’

Terri and the culture of life

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2243

[VirtueOnline] March 21, 2005-- curious coincidence seems to link two handicapped people during this Holy Week: In Rome, Pope John Paul II, crippled with disease, can barely bless pilgrims but is unable to speak to them; in Florida, Terri Schiavo, living in a persistent vegetative state, has become the center of a spirited international debate over the "culture of life" and the "culture of death."

"Anglican Church of Canada is being lead astray," says theologian

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2245

[VirtueOnline] March 18, 2005--In addition to swallowing any disappointment we may feel with our own official leaders, and praying for them regularly in the ongoing discharge of their office, it is imperative that all who believe the ACC is being led astray in this area of pastoral policy should stand up and be counted.

The June Conference in Toronto, announced some time ago on this website, will be a critical opportunity for mainstream Anglicans concerned for preserving the bonds of communion within our church to inaugurate key steps for faithful continuance within that worldwide Communion. We hope that the Conference will be packed and that, by their presence, Canadian Anglicans will make a powerful statement to the world.

Anglican Roman Catholic dialogue discusses Windsor Report, primates' communique

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2205

[VirtueOnline] March 14, 2005--The 58th meeting of the Anglican Roman Catholic dialogue in the United States (ARC-USA) devoted substantial time to a discussion of the Windsor Report and the communiqué from the recent primates' meeting. The ecumenical consultations were held March 3-6 on the campus of Virginia Theological Seminary.

Christianity no ticket to stay: PM

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12610560%255E1702,00.html

[The Australian] March 21, 2005--Prime Minister John Howard today denied immigration detainees were more likely to be allowed to stay in Australia if they converted to Christianity.

A Sydney newspaper today reported that 30 of Australia's longest-serving immigration detainees were having their cases reviewed and could be freed because they had converted to Christianity since arriving in the country.

But Mr Howard today denied there was a bias towards Christianity in immigration matters.

Teachers see God as 'too boring' for RE

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/20/ngod20.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/03/20/ixhome.html

[Telegraph] March 20, 2005--God is being edited out of religious education lessons in schools for fear that His presence might bore children.

A study at Exeter University found that biblical accounts of the Good Samaritan, David and Goliath and Joseph were taught as ethical stories, with no reference to God, in increasingly secular classes on religion.

Teachers said that they were reluctant to introduce theology because they did not believe in God or feared that constant references to Him would put off children or be seen as indoctrination.

Muslims cry 'blasphemy'as a woman leads prayers

http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2005/03/19/1111086059079.html?oneclick=true

[The Age] March 20, 2005--A woman broke with Islamic tradition on Friday by leading a prayer service in New York City at which men and women sat together. It sparked protests and calls of blasphemy from Muslims who believe only men should lead prayers.

Prayer vigil for asylum seeker

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/prayer_vigil_for_asylum_seeker/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 21, 2005--More than thirty Moore College students have held an impromptu prayer meeting at the gates of the Villawood Detention Centre, asking God to save the life of an Iranian asylum seeker imprisoned there.

Abortion shaping up as election issue

http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-03-21T131535Z_01_HOL140905_RTRUKOC_0_RELIGION-ABORTION.xml

[Reuters] March21, 2005--"There is a groundswell of distaste about it," said Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, echoing opposition voiced by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

St. Stephen's Episcopal closing

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050321/NEWS0103/503210337/1077/NEWS01

[The Cincinnati Enquirer] March 21, 2005--After years of struggling to overcome dwindling membership and resources, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Latonia will hold its last worship service May 15.

Where are all those unchurched people who were supposed to flock to the Episcopal Church as the result of its policy of radical inclusiveness?

House of Bishop Divided: GC2006 Could See Divorce in the Episcopal Church

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2232

[VirtueOnline] March 18, 2005--Tempers flared, bishops traded accusations, Frank Griswold was confronted over the damage he has done pushing homosexuality in the Episcopal Church and, despite a desperate propaganda drive by the church's spin doctors, the situation was described as "irreconcilable" with a divorce pending when the ECUSA meets at General Convention in 2006.

A Timely Warning. Uniting Church loses 6350 over gay issues

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2242

[VirtueOnline] March 20, 2005--More than 6350 people have left the Uniting Church and 110 congregations have split over the homosexuality issues since 1997, according to the Reforming Alliance, an evangelical reform movement within the Uniting Church in Australia.

"Covenant flawed...schism likely"

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2234

[VirtueOnline]March 19, 2005--The Anglican Communion Institute analizes and evaluates the House of Bishops' "Covenant."

South East Asia Primate Says ECUSA and Canada Suspended

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2233

[VirtueOnline] March 19, 2005--Pastoral Letter cites "severe impairment and fractured relationship in Anglican Communion"

Comfortless Covenant

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2237

[Virtue Online] March 20. 2005--Geoffrey Kirk wonders if there is any point to the Texas statement.

Congress Passes Schiavo Bill - Fate Rests in Judge's Hands

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1482/section/congress.passes.schiavo.bill.-.fate.rests.in.judges.hands/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 21, 2005--Four days have passed since Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed, and after an extraordinary battle in Congress, her fate once again returned to the hands of the court, early Monday.

More articles on Terry Schiavo can be found at Baptist Press News.

Canadian Leaders “Unlikely” to Take Backward Step in Blessing Gay Unions

http://www.christianpost.com/article/church/1983/section/canadian.leaders.“unlikely”.to.take.backward.step.in.blessing.gay.unions/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 21, 2005--Contrary to its U.S. counterpart, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) may choose to “walk apart” from the larger Anglican Communion by rejecting the international request to stop blessing homosexual unions in the church.

For more articles from The Christian Post, click here.

Letter from Senior Warden

http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=1300&c=21

[American Anglican Council] March 17, 2005--So what is this great "tsunami" that’s rolling toward us? It’s a radical agenda that has as its primary target not St. Thomas’ Parish, not the Episcopal Church – these will just be "collateral damage" in its wake – but the concept of Church itself. If this tsunami can get far enough inland, your children and grandchildren or their children and grandchildren are unlikely to care about – much less be a part of – any church during their lifetimes.

David Roseberry on the House of Bishops Meeting

http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=1331&c=21

[American Anglican Council] March 18, 2005--Friends, this is not leadership of any kind. Leadership points the way forward. Leadership upholds biblical doctrine. Leadership rallies support for a preferred future. This is American power politics. This holds the church (and some dioceses) hostage until we all agree on a sexual ideology that is not welcomed in the Anglican Communion. This defiance is couched in the language of justice and solidarity with the gay population, but it is a simple strategy to use their once honorable office to break the church’s will at the next General Convention. It is an abrogation of leadership. It would have been far better and far more honest for the bishops to declare the Episcopal Church out of communion with the Anglican Communion and then set about picking up the pieces.

Bishop of Dallas James Stanton on the House of Bishops Covenant Statement

http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=1332&c=21

[American Anglican Council] March 18, 2005--The Covenant adopted by the Americans instead calls for a moratorium on the consent process for all bishops, and the House of Bishops pledges not to authorize rites nor to participate personally in such blessing services. The first is far too sweeping in that it will, for the period leading up to the next General Convention, mean that some dioceses where bishops are required to retire (at age 72) will have no diocesan bishop. The second does not go far enough, for some bishops have already said that this provision does not apply to clergy in their own dioceses blessing such unions.

A Statement from the President of the American Anglican Council on Communications Issued by the Episcopal Church House of Bishops

March 17, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:Cynthia P. Brust770-414-1515

The Covenant Statement and the Word to the Church issued by theEpiscopal Church’s House of Bishops is insulting to the Primates of the Anglican Communion. While it aims at specific requests ofthe 2004 Windsor Report and the 2005 Primates Communiqué, it fails to fulfill clear expectations outlined therein. The House claimed to affirm the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral 1888, and yet they failed to repent of their decisions and subsequent actions contrary to Scripture as well as Anglican faith and order. Note there is no affirmation of the authority of Scripture or Lambeth1.10 upheld by the primates. Are there not two mutually exclusive views presented in this covenant?

Bishops also declared a moratorium on blessings of same-sexunions, but J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles, violated the spirit of this pledge before the sun set on the covenant’spassage. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times Tuesday evening, he said he would “not impose his ‘conscience’ on priests in the six-county Los Angeles diocese. They are free to bless same sex unions if they wish, he said.” Episcopal News in LosAngeles clearly underscored the loophole in their report as well:“…the bishops said they themselves would refrain from performing such blessings for the time being. Clergy in dioceses that already practice same sex blessings will be allowed to choose whether to continue the practice.”

How can faithful Episcopalians view such doublespeak fromEpiscopal leaders as anything but duplicitous?

With regard to the so-called moratorium on consecrations, I am outraged that the House of Bishops drew equivalence betweensingle or married individuals with those living in homosexualpartnerships. To place a moratorium on all consecrations not only takes the episcopacy hostage to the homosexual agenda but also places several dioceses in crisis. Canon law requires thatbishops must retire at age 72 – what happens in those dioceseswhere their bishop faces mandatory retirement? William Persell,Bishop of Chicago, has said that he and others are more thanwilling to pitch in and help run those dioceses. In other words, revisionist bishops will be placed in dioceses rather than individuals duly elected by diocesan convention. This is an appalling idea that represents a great threat to biblically faithful dioceses and congregations. Although orthodox bishops in attendance generally supported the covenant statement believing it had useful components in it, I disagree and believe they made a clear error.

Finally, I am struck by the conciliatory nature and carefully nuanced phraseology of the Word to the Church that belies the attack of the Presiding Bishop on an orthodox bishop as well as several faithful clergy and lay people. His actions are deplorable and inexcusable. I call upon him to issue a public apology.

In summation, the House of Bishops claims a desire to remain part of the world-wide communion but seems not to understand what that entails. The Covenant fails to offer long-term, sustainable solutions and at best simply postpones inevitable conversation about the clear and ultimate choice before us – walking together or walking apart. I am thankful for the bishops who upheld orthodoxy and worked in good faith to voice the irreconcilable differences that mark the House of Bishops. I urge all bishops to make their choice and to be honest in articulating those choices. The mandate of the primates is before us all: Choosethis day whom you shall serve.

--The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson
President of the American Anglican Council

The Devil and Presiding Bishop Griswold

Commentary by Robin G. Jordan

In the past two weeks Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has blamed the devil for opposition to the homosexual agenda in the Episcopal Church (USA). Only the devil he claims would divide the church over the issue of homosexuality and divert its attention from its mission. Are we to assume from the Presiding Bishop’s comments that he believes in the existence of a personal devil? Or is he, when he speaks of the devil, referring to the personalization of the impersonal forces of evil in this world – a common view of the devil held by liberals in the Episcopal Church. His statements have all the earmarks of an attempt to redefine as the “problem” what he considers willful opposition to a movement of the Holy Spirit on the part of conservatives in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. In his Belfast sermon before the Primates’ Meeting Griswold reiterated his belief that God is doing something new in the Episcopal Church.

Griswold’s remarks do not take into consideration that the position on homosexuality adopted by the Episcopal Church’s liberal bishops – himself included - and subsequently by the 2003 General Convention is just one of a number of issues that are dividing the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. It is a symptom of the Episcopal Church’s drift away from orthodox Christianity and its abandonment of basic Christian beliefs and values. His choice of language minimizes the seriousness of the Episcopal Church’s departure from traditional Christian morality as well as downplays the significance of the homosexual debate – a debate at the heart of which is the authority and inspiration of the Bible.

When Griswold speaks of “mission”, he means something quite different from what orthodox Christians understand to be the mission of the Church. The Church’s mission includes calling sinners to repent of their sins, to believe in the Lord Jesus, to become his disciples, and to live lives of personal holiness. It does not include ordaining unrepentant sinners as clergy, consecrating them as bishops, and pronouncing a blessing upon their sinful conduct. It is doubtful when Griswold speaks of “mission”, he is speaking of this call to repentance, faith, discipleship and godliness.

The Presiding Bishop may be correct in his appraisal that the devil lies behind the preoccupation of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion with homosexuality but not in the way that he thinks it. I am struck by the similarity between Griswold’s attitude toward those who oppose the normalization of homosexuality in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion on solid biblical grounds and the attitude the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law toward Jesus. They attributed our Lord’s miracles and exorcisms to the devil and not to the Holy Spirit. Yet as Jesus pointed out to them, it was they and not he who were of the devil. In seeking to kill him, they were doing what the devil would do, he who was a murderer from the beginning. The Bible identifies the devil as the ruler of this present world. The devil offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world if Jesus worships him, claiming that they have been given to him and are his to bestow upon who he chooses. From a biblical perspective the devil is major influence behind everything in our culture which is opposed to God’s divine will. This includes the acceptance in our culture of sexual conduct that God has declared out of bounds for his creation the human race. From this perspective Frank Griswold in advocating for the ordination of men and women involved in this kind of conduct and the blessing of relationships involving the same conduct has leagued himself with the devil against God. The devil promotes sin and Griswold is doing the same. From the perspective of the Bible Griswold is the one who is opposing God and not those who oppose the homosexual agenda on solid biblical grounds.

Demonizing those who are opposed to the homosexual agenda is not unexpected on the part of the Presiding Bishop. Frank Griswold exemplifies the bankrupt leadership of the Episcopal Church’s liberal bishops and their corporatist allies. While it is tempting to hold him responsible for what has happened in the Episcopal Church during his tenure as Presiding Bishop, the root causes lie much deeper – in its liberal seminaries, liberal clergy and liberal lay leaders. The American church is more liberal than any other province of the Anglican Communion and the liberalism that it embraces is much more radical than the liberalism of the past. Broad-Church liberals and Catholic liberals make up the two largest groups in the denomination with Catholic liberals forming the larger group of the two. Orthodox Christians – Anglo-Catholics, Evangelicals, Charismatics, or combinations of these three traditions – are minority groups. For 60 years the Episcopal Church had no Evangelical wing. Many Anglo-Catholics traditionalists left as a result of the controversies over prayer book revision and women’s ordination. Those who talk about reforming the Episcopal Church and returning the denomination to orthodox Christianity have no idea of how monumental that task is. A significant number of Episcopalians have embraced a false gospel and are resistant to the claims of the true gospel.

At this stage orthodox Episcopalians need to be reviewing their options. Orthodox congregations and clergy may want to consider seeking the oversight of an orthodox bishop either in the Anglican Mission in America or one of the global South provinces. The Anglican Mission in America, founded in August 2000, provides a way for congregations and clergy to be fully Anglican – connected to the worldwide Anglican Communion through the leadership in Rwanda and South East Asia – while, at the same time, being free of the crises of faith, leadership and mission in the Episcopal Church. The specific focus of the AMIA is on planting new Anglican congregations from coast to coast throughout the United States. The AMiA welcomes congregations and clergy that wish to join the AMIA in this undertaking. The planting of new Anglican congregations is not only crucial to establishing a strong authentic Anglican witness in the United States but also to reaching the many unchurched and spiritually disconnected people in post-Christian America. Orthodox Episcopalians in a liberal or corporatist congregation may want to band together in home fellowships meeting for worship, prayer, Bible study, ministry, and evangelistic outreach. One or more of these fellowships can eventually become the nucleus of a new Anglican congregation. Orthodox Episcopalians who find themselves alone in a liberal or corporatist congregation may want to look for a Bible-believing church in their area. The transition may not be an easy one. I myself left the Episcopal Church about two years ago. Although I have sojourned with two non-Anglican congregations since then, I have not yet found a new church home. However, I believe that sojourning in non-Anglican churches is preferable to spiritual starvation and death in the Episcopal Church. They may want to affiliate with the Anglican Mission in America as a partner in mission and support that organization’s church planting efforts with their prayers and contributions. Some may be led to start a Bible study in their homes and gather the core group for a new Anglican congregation. Orthodox Episcopalians need to be on guard against letting themselves be lulled into a false sense of security because they have so far escaped the worst of what is happening in the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church’s liberal leaders are crusaders with a cause and they will not be satisfied until their false gospel is preached from every pulpit and their innovations practiced in every parish.

Statement of the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria

http://www.anglican-nig.org/stndcommtt_stmt.htm

[Church of Nigeria News] March 19, 2005--The Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion is optimistic that the decision of the Anglican Primates by asking the ECUSA and the Church of Canada to withdraw from the Communion will bring genuine repentance to the churches.

Church of Nigeria elects new Bishop of Gusau, receives application for more dioceses

http://www.anglican-nig.org/gusau_bshpelect.htm

[Church of Nigeria News] March 19, 2005--Following the translation of Bishop Simon Bala to the missionary Diocese of Kubwa, the Episcopal synod of the Church of Nigeria has announced the election of Rev. Canon John Garba as the new Bishop of Gusau Diocese.

Episcopals agree on hiatus after turmoil

http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2005/03/18/news/religion/rel02.txt

[Albany Democrat-Herald] March 18, 2005--The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, a 30-year-old advocacy group for gay Episcopalians, said she was pleased the bishops called a halt to the naming of any new bishops, not just gay ones. "They're saying that unity is important but so is justice, so the whole church will bear the burden,'' she said.

But the Rev. David Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council, which stands for orthodoxy in the church, said he was outraged that the moratorium would apply to "a bishop-elect who is lawfully married to a person of the opposite sex.'' Anderson also said the moratorium on same-sex blessings was a "phony-baloney'' move that would not stop priests from performing informal rites.

Related article:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7948096
"CORRECTED: Conservative U.S. Anglicans Attack Bishops' Move" - Reuters

'Reverse missionary' turns gospel back toward West

http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=3123

[The Baptist Standard] March 18, 2005--For centuries, Western missionaries have tried to spread the gospel abroad. George Kovoor could be called a reverse missionary, because he is an Indian citizen evangelizing Western countries.

Church of Nigeria "not to ordinate women"

http://www.afrol.com/articles/15952

[afrol News] March 18, 2005--The Anglican 'Church of Nigeria' says it will not commence the ordination of women but the issue may be revisited in the future. This is contained in a pastoral letter issued by the Primate of the Church, conservative Archbishop Peter Akinola, who also announced a major missionary strategy that is set to double the church's members by 2007.

Full text of pastoral letter:
http://www.anglican-nig.org/Kadunastandcmmtt_pastoralleter.htm
PASTORAL LETTER TO THE CHURCH

Related article:
http://www.anglican-nig.org/stndcommtt_pastoralletter.htm
"Kaduna Meeting: Pastoral letter to the Church" - Church of Nigeria News

U.S. bishops call a moratorium on elections, same-sex unions

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031781664382&path=!living&s=1037645509005

[Winston-Salem Journal] March 19, 2005--But conservatives dismissed the action as too little too late. The Rev. Kendall Harmon, a conservative leader from South Carolina, accused the bishops of trying to dictate the terms and timetable of their own discipline.
"While it's nice to see movement, the reality is it's a form of defiance couched as compliance," Harmon said. "They're not actually doing what was called for."

Two Last Masses for a Century-Old Church That Split Over a Gay Episcopal Bishop

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/national/19religion.html

[The New York Times] March 19, 2005--When it came time for the peace offering during a recent Mass, the 20 or so parishioners at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer here did not hurry. They milled around the altar and made sure to greet everyone, aware that their chances to do so were quickly dwindling.

Homosexuality Could Split Church-Canadian Anglican

http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_national.asp?id=62643

[Reuters] March 18, 2005--The Anglican Church could split over the issue of homosexuality because conservatives and liberals are both reluctant to make concessions, the head of the Anglican Church of Canada said on Friday.

ECUSA Agrees to Refrain from Consecrating All Bishops till 2006

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/church/424.htm

[Christian Today (UK)] March 18, 2005--The Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA) has reported that it will not consecrate any further bishops – heterosexual as well as homosexual – at least until 2006. The announcement came this week after the House of Bishops of the ECUSA gathered in Texas, USA.

Related article:
http://www.christiantoday.com/news/church/426.htm
"American Conservatives Slam US Episcopal for Halting All Consecrations" - Christian Today (UK)

Thirty in court after Saudi raid on gay wedding

http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/03/18/1111086011531.html?oneclick=true

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 19, 2005--Saudi Arabian security forces have arrested 110 men at a "gay wedding" party in Jeddah, a Saudi online newspaper reported.

Catholics urged to break with the 'Code'

http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2005/03/17/1110913735686.html?oneclick=true

[The Age] March 18, 2005--The cardinal leading a Vatican offensive against The Da Vinci Code has urged Catholics to shun the bestselling novel, branding it "a sack full of lies" insulting the Christian faith.

Deportation death sentence

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/deportation_death_sentence/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 18, 2005--A Sydney Anglican faces a death sentence if the Department of Immigration pushes ahead with plans to deport him to Iran, says the Principal of Moore College.

The Rev. Dr. John Woodhouse says he is extremely concerned by the government’s intention to send a former Muslim and Moore College student back to a country where converting to Christianity is considered a capital crime.

Judge in Schiavo case withdraws membership from church

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20385

[Baptist Press News] March 18, 2005--Judge George Greer -- whose rulings set the March 18 removal of Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube -- has withdrawn his membership at Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Fla.

Related article:
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20384
"Schiavo feeding tube removed; Congress working through weekend to keep her alive" - Baptist Press News
http://crosswalk.com/news/1319053.html
"DeLay: 'Terri Schiavo Will Not Be Forsaken'" - Crosswalk.com

Marriage amendment re-introduced in U.S. House

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20387

[Baptist Press News] March 18, 2005--A constitutional amendment banning same-sex "marriage" has been re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Canadian 'gay marriage' bill may have votes for passage; New York City domestic partners bill overturned

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20388

[Baptist Press News] March 18, 2005--The head-counting is still taking place, but a bill that would legalize same-sex "marriage" in Canada may already have the votes for passage.

Oxford prof defends authority of ‘most famous sermon of all time’

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20391

[Baptist Press News] March 18, 2005--Respected New Testament scholar David Wenham took aim at the liberal theology espoused by the California-based Jesus Seminar as he lectured at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. “These scholars are simply wrong,” Wenham said. “And let me show you why.”Wenham, an evangelical Anglican priest and dean of Wycliffe Hall, a college of Oxford University, was on Southwestern’s Fort Worth, Texas, campus to deliver the March 10-11 Huber L. Drumwright lectures in theology.

Mohler wary of Protestant elevation of Mary in Time article

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20392

[Baptist Press News] March 18, 2005--Evangelicals must be careful not to elevate the role of Mary above what is presented in Scripture, said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in the March 21 issue of Time magazine.

‘Clash of Cultures’ stretches from ‘Da Vinci Code’ to Kabbalah

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20393

[Baptist Press News] March 18, 2005--With popular spiritual movements like the Madonna-endorsed Kabbalah, which has its roots in Jewish mysticism, and books like the bestselling “Da Vinci Code,” which rekindles attacks on the Bible and the historic Christian faith, the question becomes: How should evangelical Christians respond and defend the faith?

Protestors Continue Vigils for Schiavo, Calls on Lawmakers to Pass “Terri's Law"

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1479/section/protestors.continue.vigils.for.schiavo.calls.on.lawmakers.to.pass.%93terris.lawquot/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 19, 2005--Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed despite heavy protests from congressional members and pro-life supporters on Friday.

Doctors Remove Schiavo's Feeding Tube

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1477/section/doctors.remove.schiavos.feeding.tube/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 18, 2005--Doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube today despite an extraordinary, last-minute effort by congressional Republicans to save the severely disabled woman.

House Subcommittee Approves Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1478/section/house.subcommittee.approves.child.interstate.abortion.notification.act/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 19, 2005--On Thursday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee approved a measure requiring parental consent for minors who wish to obtain an abortion in another state.

Resurrection: Historical Event or Theological Interpretation?

http://www.christianpost.com/article/education/697/section/resurrection.historical.event.or.theological.interpretation/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 19, 2005--The inaugural Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) last weekend featured two speakers who debated the “resurrection of Jesus.”

More articles from The Christian Postcan be found here.

Episcopal Bishop Griswold: Biblical Believers are Like the Devil

http://magic-city-news.com/article_3424.shtml

[Magic City Morning Star] March 18, 2005--Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, head of the 2.3-million-member Episcopal Church, told fellow clergy at a recent conclave that when biblically-grounded Anglican leadership met recently at the Northern Ireland conference, the latter was "’out for blood’ and (Griswold) likened six conservative Episcopalians to the devil.

"The six, all of whom were in Northern Ireland during the meeting, were Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan; Canon Bill Atwood, general secretary of the Ekklesia Society in Texas; the Rev. Martyn Minns, rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax; the Rev. David Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council in Atlanta; the Rev. Kendall Harmon, canon theologian of the Diocese of South Carolina; and Diane Knippers, president of the Institute for Religion and Democracy in the District and a member of Truro."

Conservative U.S. Anglicans Attack Bishops' Move

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7937080

[Reuters] March 18, 2005--A decision by U.S. Episcopal Church leaders to halt the consecration of all new bishops was a bow to a "homosexual agenda" that will cause a leadership crisis, the head of a conservative group in the church said on Thursday.

Bishop hits back over gay row

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1440369,00.html

[Guardian Unlimited] March 18, 2005--The bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Reverend John Gladwin, has attacked evangelicals for trying to censor his opinions.

ECUSA Covenant accelerates destruction of orthodoxy

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2222

[VirtueOnline] March 16, 2005--The Episcopal Church House of Bishops delayed an inevitable split between itself and the wider Anglican Communion this week by declaring a one-year moratorium on approving new bishops - straight or gay - in an effort to stave off its own banishment from the Anglican Communion.

'These are apostolic leaders behaving like lawyers'

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2231

[VirtueOnline] march 17, 2005--The leading conservative body in the US Episcopal church has given warning of a "leadership crisis" over the American bishops' decision to halt all consecrations.

Bishop Duncan on the HOB:"We have finally begun to be honest..."

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2230

[VirtueOnline] March 17, 2005--I believe the real news from this meeting of the House of Bishops is that we have finally begun to be honest about what we did at General Convention 2003 and what the consequences are.

Moreover, we began openly to engage the thought that our differences within the House of Bishops, within the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA), and within the Anglican Communion may be irreconcilable.

AAC leader rips HOB: :"Covenant is insulting to Primates" Griswold must apologize

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2229

[VirtueOnline] March 17, 2005--The Covenant Statement and the Word to the Church issued by the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops is insulting to the Primates of the Anglican Communion.

History made in Canada by first ACiC Confirmation services

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2224

[VirtueOnline] March 15, 2005--History was made last week when 102 people were confirmed by the Rt Revd TJ Johnston during the 450 strong ACiC Celebration at Richmond Emmanuel Church, British Columbia, Canada.

The Risks of Regime Change

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/13.84.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 18, 2005--Recent U.S. Iraq policy has moved from toppling a genocidal autocrat to seeking to create a pluralist, prosperous Arab democracy and inducing neighboring regimes to replicate it. The mainstream media discuss what this might mean for the region at large, but what about for Christians in the Middle East? What does this policy portend for them? If one were to perform a risk analysis for churches as one does for corporations—something I do for a living—what would be the inherent risks for churches, particularly evangelical churches, in the Middle East at this time?

For more articles from ChristianityToday.com, click here.

N.T. Wright defends resurrection in first point-counterpoint forum

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20376

[Baptist Press News] March 17, 2005--)--“Enormous forces in our culture are determined to deny that Jesus was raised from the dead,” N.T. Wright, an Anglican evangelical scholar, said.

More articles from Baptist Press News can be found here.

Virginia Blasted for High Number of 'Anti-Gay' Bills

http://crosswalk.com/news/1318844.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 18, 2005--The Virginia House of Delegates approved a constitutional amendment this week that would ban homosexual marriage. Now homosexual advocates claim that Virginia is producing more anti-homosexual legislation than most other states.

Mary for Protestants? A New Look at an Old Question

http://crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/mohler/?adate=3/18/2005#1318834

[Crosswalk.com] March 18, 2005--Should Mary be venerated by Protestants? That question frames the March 21, 2005 cover story for TIME magazine. David Van Biema has written an expansive and insightful report on contemporary developments among Protestants--developments that may influence some evangelicals.

Tennessee Gay Marriage Ban Approved by House, Moves to Statewide Vote.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1467/section/tennessee.gay.marriage.ban.approved.by.house.moves.to.statewide.vote/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 18, 2005--On Thursday morning, the Tennessee House approved a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The bill will now go on the November 2006 ballot to be decided by voters.

Eight Indian Christians Sustain Serious Injuries in Latest Attack

http://www.christianpost.com/article/missions/1470/section/eight.indian.christians.sustain.serious.injuries.in.latest.attack/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 18, 2005--A Christian meeting in a village in northwestern India’s state of Rajasthan was interrupted on Sunday when a group of Hindu militants threatened and attacked those in attendance, Asian news agencies reported Wednesday.

Senate, House Committees Issue Subpoenas to Block Feeding Tube Removal

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1469/section/senate.house.committees.issue.subpoenas.to.block.feeding.tube.removal/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 18, 2005--In the latest 11th-hour bid to keep Terri Schiavo alive, House and Senate leaders in Washington began issuing congressional subpoenas to stop doctors from disconnecting her feeding tube hours before the scheduled removal, Friday.

Related articles:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1466/section/eleventh-hour.bids.continue.in.schiavo’s.right-to-life.case/1.htm
"Eleventh-Hour Bids Continue in Schiavo’s Right-to-Life Case" - The Christian Post
http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1468/section/terri.supporters.pray.for.life/1.htm "Terri Supporters Pray for Life" - The Christian Post
http://crosswalk.com/news/1318949.html
"House Leaders Offer Last-Minute Rescue Plan for Terri" - Crosswalk.com

Anglican Church 'broken' over same-sex marriage, Cdn Anglican archbishop says

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/news/shownews.jsp?content=n0316113A

[Macleans] March 16, 2005--The worldwide Anglican Church is already split over homosexuality regardless of whether the Canadian church - which has blessed same-sex marriages - abides by a request to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council, Canadian Archbishop Andrew Hutchison said Wednesday night.

Articles around the Web on the ECUSA' One Year Moratorium on the Confirmation of New Bishops

http://www.dehavilland.co.uk/webhost.asp?wci=default&wcp=NationalNewsStoryPage&ItemID=8051832&ServiceID=8&filterid=10&searchid=8US "Anglicans seek to resolve gay bishop row" - Dehavilland

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-1529673,00.html
"No gay bishops? Then no bishops at all" - TimesOnline

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/church/423.htm
"Archbishop of Canterbury Greets ECUSA’s 'Constructive' Covenant Statement" - Christianity Today (UK)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4870615,00.html
"Episcopal Leaders Won't Confirm Bishops" - Guardian (UK)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0503170336mar17,1,5263526.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
"Episcopal leaders to hold up bishop ordinations--gay or not" - Chicago Tribune

What Lies Ahead

Commentary by Robin G. Jordan

The so-called “liberal” bishops of the Episcopal Church and their corporatist allies display a great truculence to lead the church into serious heresy. At the same time they show a stubborn unwillingness to lead the church back to a historical, orthodox understanding of biblical Christianity. They played a significant role in the confirmation and consecration of a practicing homosexual as a bishop of the Episcopal Church and the sanctioning of the blessing of homosexual couples at the local level.

While the bishops may not have the constitutional or canonical authority to reverse the decisions of the General Convention, they do have the moral authority to lead the church in repenting of its non-biblical stance on homosexuality. They can admit as a body that the actions of the 2003 General Convention were contrary to the Word of God and 2000 years of Church teaching, that the 2003 General Convewntion's actions were ill-advised and taken without consultation with the larger Anglican Communion or consideration of the consequences. They can distance themselves from the actions of the 2003 General Convention including their own part in those actions and call upon the church to undo what 2003 General Convention did at the 2006 General Convention. It would take an honest admission, “We made a mistake; we were wrong.

It doubtful that will happen because the so-called “liberal” bishops do not believe that they erred. Having ordained sexually active homosexuals as deacons and priests, sanctioned the blessing of homosexual couples, and confirmed and consecrated a non-celibate homosexual as a bishop, they are not likely to relinquish what they see as important gains in their campaign to make the Episcopal Church more inclusive of “sexual diversity”. If anything one can expect them to work behind the scenes and in the open to ensure that the 2006 General Convention ratifies the actions of the 2003 General Convention and authorizes public rites for the blessing of homosexual couples.

Those who are hoping that the bishops will have a change of heart and take seriously their vows to defend the faith will be greatly disappointed. It is not going to happen. Too many of those bishops do not believe the faith that they vowed to uphold and preserve. Their commitment is to their radical ideological views and to the homosexual agenda. Even the so-called “middle of the road” bishops have been strongly influenced by these views.

Whether the Episcopal Church remains a constituent member of the Anglican Communion and whether the Anglican Communion undergoes a dramatic change in its makeup is yet to be seen. But what can be expected is that the Episcopal Church will continue on its present course. Episcopalians who have a historical, orthodox understanding of biblical Christianity will find themselves in a church that is increasingly intolerant of their beliefs and hostile toward them. They cannot expect any reprieve from their present circumstances: they will go on being an embattled minority, despised and ridiculed for their faithfulness to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures.