"Thus says the LORD, 'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls.' But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'"
Jeremiah 6:16 

• A Message from Bishop Anderson 
• New ultimatum to Lambeth bishops
• MacBurney inhibition lifted temporarily
• Western Louisiana: Statement of the Standing Committee re: recent depositions
• Canon Cameron: Lambeth Won't Affirm North American Innovations
• TEC House of Bishops will not meet in May
  

A Message from Bishop Anderson

Beloved in Christ,
 
First of all, we at the AAC extend our heartfelt sympathy to those whose children perished in the dormitory fire near Kampala, Uganda this week. May the Lord comfort your souls. If this fire was indeed set deliberately, we pray that the perpetrators will be identified soon. BBC coverage of the story may be found here. 
 
In the US this week, a question on many orthodox Episcopalian minds has to do with Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's inhibition of retired Bishop MacBurney (80 years of age) while he was dealing with the imminent death of his son. She was advised of the difficulty of the moment by the Bishop of Quincy, Keith Ackerman, but apparently cared not. Now MacBurney's son has died and with funeral plans in place, Schori has suddenly written him to lift the inhibition (temporarily and in a limited manner) so that he can function in the services for his son.
 
What caused her post facto swelling of concern and pastoral care? If it was really derivative of her caring, why did she not wait two or three weeks and then inhibit him? What was the hurry, given that she knew of his situation? One would suspect that others, perhaps farther up the ecclesial ladder, gave her counsel. It seems that Jefferts Schori's continuing difficulty is that she can't get it right the first time.
 
Jefferts Schori recently polled the TEC bishops to see if they might agree to hold a May meeting of the Episcopal Church House of Bishops. This is code for "can we gather and depose Bishop Duncan just like we did Cox and Schofield?" The answer was apparently unenthusiastic. Whether this was attributable to reconsideration of the improperly done executions at the last meeting or busy calendars before the Lambeth Conference isn't known.
 
The Presiding Bishop's office seems to be applying pressure on local dioceses to ramp up the aggression on orthodox churches, especially those that have left TEC. Apparently, even where conversations have been underway towards negotiating a settlement, the "new sheriff in town" wants those negotiations ended, preferring the approach of a proverbial law firm "Dewey, Suem & Howe." TEC has now launched litigation against Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton, NY, and their well-known rector, Fr. Matt Kennedy, who is one of the founders of the Stand Firm blog and a member of the AAC Board of Trustees.
 
In Connecticut, the stand-in, bishop James Curry, acting while diocesan bishop Andrew Smith is on sabbatical, launched an attack on a parish in Groton which is named for Bishop Samuel Seabury. Although the parish voted 100% to leave TEC and the diocese of CT and relocate to the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), and although the congregation of some 800 active members and their priest of 35 years, Fr. Ron Gauss, are still using the church building, Bishop Curry has appointed a priest-in-charge, and has demanded the keys to the church and the records. Sounds like "here's your hat, and don't let the door hit you on your way out." Fr. Ron and the parish refused those demands, and fully intend to continue worshipping in the church which they built and paid for.
 
We are waiting to see if Lambeth Palace sends a letter to Bishop Schofield telling him that his previous invitation to Lambeth is withdrawn. It would not be surprising, since Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion Office follow the lead of the Episcopal Church's handling of depositions, ignoring any counter arguments or claims. We observed the unfair and improper manner in which Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion Office dealt with Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti of Recife and his diocese when he moved from Brazil to the Southern Cone. We would be surprised if they handled the San Joaquin issue any differently. We would NOT be surprised if Jefferts Schori doesn't, perchance, show up in England in the immediate neighborhood of the General Synod held prior to Lambeth. This would, of course, provide an opportunity for her to bring greetings, etc., all unplanned, as it were. This is also why there needs to be a re-arrangement of the polity of the Anglican Communion, such that the piping of TEC does not call the tune in London.
 
Blessings and peace in Christ Jesus,
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson
President and CEO, American Anglican Council

New ultimatum to Lambeth bishops

Source:  Church of England Newspaper
(Via Rev. George Conger's Blog)

Date:  April 18, 2008

Bishops attending the Lambeth Conference will be asked to affirm their willingness to abide by the recommendations of the Windsor Report and work towards the creation of an Anglican Communion Covenant.

A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, told The Church of England Newspaper that letters affirming support for Windsor and the Covenant process had not yet been mailed, but would go out presently.

Bishops attending Lambeth must have a "willingness to work with those aspects of the [Lambeth] Conference's agenda that relate to implementing the recommendations of [the Windsor Report], including the development of a Covenant," Dr. Williams wrote in his Dec. 14 Advent pastoral letter.
The Windsor Report calls for a ban on gay bishops and blessings and discouraged violating the diocesan boundaries of bishops in opposing theological camps. Affirming the recommendations of the Windsor Report may cause difficulty for US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and other progressive American, Canadian, Brazilian and British bishops who have given either their formal or informal support to moves to normalize homosexuality within the life of the church. It also closes the door on full participation in the conference of the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson...

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

MacBurney inhibition lifted temporarily

Source: The Living Church 

Date: April 14, 2008

The inhibition against the Rt. Rev. Edward H. MacBurney, retired Bishop of Quincy, has been temporarily lifted following an announcement on April 14 from the canon to the Presiding Bishop.
 
"In light of the personal tragedy that Bishop and Mrs. MacBurney are facing, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori wishes to offer the bishop the opportunity to function liturgically in any services for his son if he desires to do so," said the Rev. Canon Charles Robertson in an e-mail message.
 
A disciplinary "Review Committee" recently issued a presentment, or ecclesiastical indictment, of Bishop MacBurney, and on April 2 Bishop Jefferts Schori prohibited Bishop MacBurney from sacramental ministry pending his trial. The 80-year-old bishop is accused of performing a service of confirmation in June 2007 at an Anglican church in San Diego. In 2006, the congregation of Holy Trinity voted overwhelmingly to leave The Episcopal Church. It is now affiliated with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone. Bishop James R. Mathes of San Diego filed the initial complaint against Bishop MacBurney.
 
Bishop MacBurney's adopted son, Page Grubb, died of cancer April 4...

Bishop MacBurney said the Presiding Bishop telephoned him Sunday night to inform him of her decision, and to apologize for the timing of the inhibition...

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Western Louisiana: Statement of the Standing Committee re: recent depositions  

Source:  Diocese of Western Louisiana 

Date:  April 14, 2008 

This 14th day of April, 2008.  

We, the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Western Louisiana, make this statement that we do not recognize the depositions of Bishops Schofield and Cox as having had the requisite canonical votes necessary for the deposition of a bishop. We would refer the church to the March 27, 2008 letter from the Standing Committee and Bishop of South Carolina to the Presiding Bishop, which we believe to be correct in its recitation of the applicable canons and their history.  

The Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church have been held up by some church leaders as part of the way forward for our broken church, in that these governing documents provide a procedural basis for our common life together. One of the main justifications for the actions taken at General Convention 2003 regarding the consents to the Bishop of New Hampshire was that the Diocese of New Hampshire had followed the canonical process in electing a bishop. We also note that the Diocese of South Carolina was held to an exacting standard in obtaining consents for the consecration of Bishop Mark Lawrence, while such exacting standards as to form of consents have not been applied to any other Episcopal election to our knowledge.  

However, such documents cannot provide the basis for our common life when they are ignored for expediency's sake. Selective enforcement of canonical requirements breeds mistrust in the church which can preclude reconciliation. Moreover, we find that the uncanonical actions taken in the matter of the depositions of Bishops Cox and Schofield erode confidence in the church and its canonical processes and delegitimize subsequent actions taken by the Presiding Bishop and others in attempting to reorganize the Diocese of San Joaquin.  

We call upon all in authority in the church, including ourselves, to follow the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church in decision making.  

Adopted unanimously April 14, 2008, with a motion that the same be sent to:

The Presiding Bishop
Episcopal Life Online
The Living Church
ALIVE! (Robert Harwell, Editor)
Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina

Canon Cameron: Lambeth Won't Affirm North American Innovations

Source: The Living Church 

Date: April 15, 2008

By: Maggie Hasslacher

Speaking at a conference on the proposed Anglican Covenant (Ed. note: the conference was sponsored by the General Theological Seminary and the seminaries of the Episcopal Church and Anglican Church of Canada), the Rev. Canon Gregory Cameron, deputy secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council, did not offer hope to those eager for other Anglican provinces to follow the North American churches' perceived leadership in social justice ministries.
 
Canon Cameron was the final keynote speaker at "An Anglican Covenant: Divisive or Reconciling?", a conference held April 10-12 at The General Theological Seminary's Desmond Tutu Center (New York City). He explained that the Archbishop of Canterbury has no juridical authority, and noted that while individual bishops have differing levels of sympathy for full inclusion of homosexual persons, neither intervention nor affirmation can be expected at this summer's Lambeth Conference.
 
"We must get our ecclesiology right," he stressed. "Lambeth bishops cannot command and require. They can only commend. Therefore when any of the instruments speak, they don't speak as law but as advisors. Like the [British] monarchy, they do not rule or govern, but they can be consulted."
 
Canon Cameron strongly advocated for the adoption of an Anglican Covenant as a "dynamic open-ended relational commitment, which arises from mutual identity." He suggested that this is both affirming and intervening as it serves as a way forward together. "Why a covenant at this juncture?" he asked rhetorically. "Because by its very nature, a covenant is relational."
 
Canon Cameron characterized The Episcopal Church as a "covenanting-mad" church, listing a half-dozen previous ecumenical covenants. He admitted that these served primarily for the definition of financial questions, and fell short in addressing a common mission...

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

TEC House of Bishops will not meet in May

Source: Episcopal News Service 

Date: April 16, 2008

After a poll of its membership, the House of Bishops will not convene for a suggested special meeting in May, the canon to the Presiding Bishop announced April 16.
 
"After receiving a large number of responses to our poll regarding the need for a May meeting of the House, we can confirm from the results that there will not be a meeting in May," the Rev. Canon Charles Robertson wrote in an April 16 letter to the bishops...
 
Read the rest of the article by clicking here.