"And he said to them, 'You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!'"
Mark 7:9 

• A Message from the President
• Thousands Sign TEC Legal Transparency Petition
• Rwanda to Consecrate Three U.S. Based Bishops
• Bishop Iker: The Realignment Moves Forward  
• 153 Pittsburgh Leaders Sign Compact

A Message from the President
The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson
President & CEO, American Anglican Council

Beloved in Christ,

Those of you who travel a good deal know that moving through more than a few time zones means “jet lag” for several days, and that is certainly true for those of us who hurriedly traveled from various parts of the Americas to Kenya and Uganda for the wonderful consecration services held last week. As we returned home the “jet lag” hit us again, and I am getting up hours earlier than normal and “crashing” by mid evening. How some of our leaders such as Bishop Martyn Minns and Bishop Bill Atwood have done this for years is amazing. Perhaps there is a special heretofore unknown spiritual gifting in the area of body clock grace that keeps them going and going.

Being present for the consecrations was a moving and treasured time for all of us who came to join in the historic moment, and it was a reminder of last summer when I journeyed to Abuja, Nigeria to see then bishop-elect Martyn Minns consecrated a CANA bishop, along with a large number of others who were being consecrated for service in Nigeria proper. I do sense that things are different now and that future consecrations really need to take place on North American soil. It is a part of reclaiming the land for Christ and orthodoxy, and having future consecrations in the USA and Canada helps the orthodox locally to feel that they have an even greater involvement in the redemption of the Church here in the West.

In other news, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA has announced that her office will be setting up regional branch headquarters in two major American cities, Los Angeles and Atlanta. The American Anglican Council based in Atlanta notes this tightening of TEC’s administrative grip on the regions and dioceses of the TEC province with alarm. It is interesting that Bishop Jefferts Schori’s main educational thrust was in marine invertebrates as a biologist—that would be squid and octopuses—and the AAC wonders if she is borrowing from her study of these creatures of many arms on how to grab, hold and pull in tight those that are the intended meal. It does not auger well for the orthodox Episcopal dioceses and bishops who remain in TEC, nor for the hundreds of orthodox parishes scattered across the country in hostile revisionist dioceses. The faithful are being squeezed continually, and with every month some leave TEC, some fall victim to TEC and are absorbed into heterodoxy, and some continue to fight to stay independent and faithful.
 
When an orthodox priest retires or moves to another church, a hostile bishop often steps in to impose interim revisionist leadership in an otherwise orthodox congregation while the search process moves forward. The revisionist interim softens everyone up and drives some of the orthodox out. Then the bishop’s office “explains” how the search process is done in that diocese and how the search must be inclusive of gays, lesbians, and those with revisionist ideas on salvation if the bishop is to accept the parish’s final choice. Often people just get sick of the diocesan manipulation and leave, and the bishop claims another parish for the revisionist cause. If a parish is trying to stay orthodox and stay in TEC, they are warned about complying with all the financial claims the diocese makes on them, and about obedience to the diocesan revisionist canons. Like prey in the arms of an octopus, life becomes harder and harder for those still in TEC. The AAC, however, will not abandon any of them and will work with them to review their options and devise strategies for the interim. The real hope of those orthodox faithful inside TEC is that the Archbishop of Canterbury will take a bold and decisive action in favor of the orthodox Anglicans in North America. Unfortunately, as Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh has noted, Dr. Williams has done and said nothing so far to protect the orthodox in the United States. The truth of Bishop Duncan’s remark is painfully obvious. We could easily get discouraged about this if we did not remember where our help comes from. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121).

Finally we note with sorrow, reports that a bishop from an African province has made purported remarks suggesting that homosexuals don’t have a right to live. Reports are also coming in that suggest this was a complete misquote. We further take notice that this is not the opinion of any of the provinces or Primates with whom we are acquainted in the Global South. I believe—and the AAC believes—that every human being is created in the image of God; Scripture tells us this. Although all of us, created in God’s image, fail to live into the purity and obedience that is asked of us by the Lord, we are nevertheless precious and valued by our Creator. Whether we are orthodox or heretic, obedient in our behavior or in rebellion, believing in Jesus Christ or trusting in other gods, Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ died for us, took our penalty for our disobedience upon himself and paid it in full on the cross, while we were yet enemies of the cross. Every sinner is a candidate for redemption and eternal life in God’s eyes, and it is not until death seals our lips that our decision about Christ’s action on our behalf is sealed to us. Oftentimes the greater the sinner, the greater the glory to God if/when he or she repents and turns to Christ. Hate and the desire to condemn to death are characteristic of the Prince of Darkness, not of the Savior. Whether the report of purported remarks by a bishop is accurate or not, let us as faithful followers of Jesus Christ permit His heart and mind to become more and more our heart and mind and experience the transformation of Grace that is open to all who love Jesus.

Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus,

The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson
President & CEO of the AAC

Thousands Sign TEC Legal Transparency Petition

AAC Press Release

September 6, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Robert H. Lundy
Communications Assistant
American Anglican Council
rlundy@americananglican.org

Over 5,000 people signed a petition demanding The Episcopal Church (TEC) reveal how much money it has “spent since 2004 on litigation against individuals and parishes.” The online petition, sponsored by the American Anglican Council (AAC), was signed by 3,583 Episcopalians and 1,747 Non-Episcopal Anglicans. The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, President and CEO of the AAC said, "this petition represents a cry from thousands of current and former members of the Episcopal Church.”

The petition is just one way concerned Christians are speaking out against TEC and its continued lawsuits against former parishes, priests and members. Earlier this month, five retired Episcopal bishops sent a second letter to the Executive Council calling for financial transparency. The letter said, “This contentious issue is not something to be ignored in hopes that it will dissipate or be forgotten. Because you have not pulled the veil from this issue, conjecture as to where the money is coming from is almost limitless.” The conjectures as to the source of the funds arise from several facts of recent Episcopal Church history.

1. According to Bishop Stacy Sauls of Lexington, Kentucky and the Episcopal News Service, the Church Pension Group has contributed $25,000 to the litigation fund against individuals and parishes.

2. A Washington Times report quoted TEC spokesperson Robert Williams as saying the church's 2007 budget included over a million dollars for legal fees.

3. In 1996, the treasurer of the national Episcopal Church, Ellen F. Cooke, plead guilty to the embezzlement of $2.2 million and was subsequently imprisoned.

"The Episcopal Church has spent millions of dollars suing Christians," said Canon Anderson. "When people gave their hard-earned money to the Episcopal Church, they were giving it to God. Unfortunately, it appears like the Episcopal Church has other designs for that money."

Rwanda to Consecrate Three U.S. Based Bishops

Source:  House of Bishops of Rwanda (via-email)

Date:  September 4, 2007

A COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF RWANDA

The House of Bishops of the Province of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda (PEER) met in Kigali, Rwanda on the 4th day of September 2007.  Acknowledging the significant growth of the missionary outreach initiated by PEER in the USA, the House of Bishops considered nominations for additional missionary Bishops to further the work of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA).  The House of Bishops elected three bishops and appointed them to serve in PEER’s missionary jurisdiction in North America committed to extending God’s kingdom. The bishops-elect are the Rev. Terrell Glenn, the Rev. Philip Jones and the Rev. John Miller.  The date for the consecrations has been set for the 26th day of January in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 2008 following the Anglican Mission’s Winter Conference (January 23 – 26, 2008) in Dallas, Texas.

Provincial Secretary
PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF RWANDA

Bishop Iker: The Realignment Moves Forward

Source:  Diocese of Fort Worth

Date:  September 6, 2007

The following is an excerpt from a letter written by the Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker.

...One of the most encouraging signs of the realignment that is under way is the first-ever Council of Bishops of the Common Cause Partners which is to meet in Pittsburgh during the last week of September. This is a gathering of all bishops exercising active ministry within the member bodies of Common Cause.* The purpose of the meeting is to explore ways in which we can work together for a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America. I will be among some 60 bishops in attendance, as will be the newly consecrated bishops serving those congregations here in the States that are under the Provinces of Uganda and Kenya.

By the end of this month, the House of Bishops will have decided the future direction of TEC, and as a result we too will have to declare our future as a diocese. I do not expect that TEC will comply with the requests of the Primates in their Dar es Salaam Communiqué. In that case, we will see further fraction and division in the Communion during the months ahead. We will then have to choose in favor of the Anglican Communion majority at the expense of our historic relationship with the General Convention Church...

Read the rest of the letter  here.

153 Pittsburgh Leaders Sign Compact

Source:  Parishtoolbox.org

Date: September 4, 2007
by Peter Frank

A Pittsburgh Compact for a Way Forward in this Season

For several months, orthodox clergy and lay leaders in the Diocese of Pittsburgh have been meeting in various formats to take counsel together, and to place matters of our Church before God in prayer. We find ourselves in a season where fundamental differences of faith and practice have torn our Church and our Communion, perhaps beyond mending. Decisions of great consequence are now upon us.

As we finish this season of discernment, God has made us aware that ‘how we now walk’ is linked to ‘where we shall walk.’ Indeed, we believe that God is reshaping and repositioning us for a new season of ministry ahead.  Discernment of our future is still unfolding, and perhaps there is a fork in the road ahead that may divide our fellowship. How we act in the next months is important to our ability to navigate even more difficult moments further down the road.

In this light, we affirm the following principles to guide our actions:

Believing: We will follow the leading and live in the faith of Jesus Christ.

Our primary concern has been to understand what the Lord has been doing in these events so that we can follow His lead and serve His purposes.  Hearing His voice is neither simple nor easy, especially when our passions, fears and opinions are deeply stirred and can cloud our discernment. So we are spending extended time in prayer and fasting, study and council, listening above all for His voice.  We will continue to do so.

As we listen, we remain fully confident in the Holy Scriptures. We will repeatedly test all things in the light of ‘God’s Word written’. (Article XX – Articles of Religion) We happily live in ‘the faith once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3) and affirmed in the historic Creeds of the church.  We will also listen carefully and receptively to the guidance of our own Bishops (and of our other Bishops and Primates) whose leadership has remained true to the historic faith of the church...

Read the rest of the article here.