• A Message from Bishop David Anderson
• Episcopal Church amends suit against Bishop Schofield
• The new inside strategy: Communion Partners
• California: gay marriage measure qualifies for November ballot
• England: Christian preachers face arrest in Birmingham
• England: Bishop of Lancaster Proposes Catholic Solution to Adoption Agency Crisis

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A Message from Bishop David Anderson

Beloved in Christ,

Orthodox Anglicans are under attack from several quarters, with the rise of Islamic militancy in England and the press of homosexual advancement, which affect many areas of everyday life, from the courts to the market place to the schools.

In the first area, we note the disturbing trend in England of Anglican clergy being threatened in their own parishes by militant young Muslims who want to chase them out. We also note that the Church of England freezes like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming automobile whenever Muslim issues are raised. If CofE bishops believe that Jesus is the Way, and the Truth and the Life, and none come unto the Father except through him...and that statement is fairly direct - from Jesus himself, then why will they not allow discussion of evangelization to Muslims at the upcoming Synod? Are they frightened? You would have to think so, but why are the bishops frightened?

Not all are. The bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, has been bold, truthful and prophetic, and many ecclesiastics in England don't want to listen to him. He said there were "No-Go areas" where Christians ventured at their peril. On the other hand, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that Sharia Law is probably inevitable in some areas. What a contrast!

Now we read of two Christian preachers handing out Christian tracts to Muslims in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham, who were harrassed by the police for allegedly being involved in "hate" activities. My friends, if Western Civilization doesn't get its act together, we will certainly deserve the hell that is visited upon us. Wouldn't you think that someone should have arrested the police officer involved? The West Midlands Police apparently refused to apologize, although an investigation of the officer's actions was promised.

At the other end of the faith spectrum is the press of global homosexual activism. In the US, California's Supreme Court has ruled that the state must provide for homosexuals to marry legally. Meanwhile, a voter-led referendum has been qualified for this autumn's ballot which would put a change into the California Constitution that would limit marriage to between a man and a woman. In California, it often happens that laws and major changes have to be implemented by popular referendum of the people, since most of the public representatives and officials are in the grip of the homosexual lobby. Power to the people!

In England the government enforcement of pro-homosexual rules on adoption threaten to close the Roman Catholic adoption agencies. An article covering this issue points to some new options, however, if the agencies stipulate that their operations will be based on the religious and moral principles of the Catholic Faith. We pray that the RC's strategists will prevail and their agencies' good work will continue.

In the Episcopal Wars in the USA, the national Episcopal Church (TEC), has launched both a legal and public relations attack on the departed diocese of San Joaquin and the diocesan, Bishop John-David Schofield. Upon discovering that the Diocese of San Joaquin and Bishop Schofield, now affiliated with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, were in the process of moving assets into a Merrill Lynch account, they promptly named Merrill Lynch in the lawsuit already underway. Merrill Lynch, as most brokerages and banks in that position would do, froze the accounts until the court determines who the "rightful" owner is. San Joaquin's mistake was several fold: waiting so long to reposition the assets; putting them in a brokerage or bank that did not already understand the risk of litigation; and putting them in an account where TEC could so easily apply pressure.

Many churches departing TEC have learned the hard way that the first thing that hostile TEC operatives do is to visit the bank of record and present new signature cards. The bank panics and freezes the account until the court tells them which signature cards are the valid ones. Meanwhile the true owners of the bank accounts are unable to access their own money. There are ways to avoid this, of course, if care is taken to prevent this type of seizure, but it involves anticipating what TEC is going to do before they do it.

All of this is accompanied by slanted news releases from the official Episcopal Church party organ, Episcopal News Service (ENS). They are fond of referring to Bishop Schofield as "former bishop John-David Schofield," to convey the idea that their irregular attempt at deposition of Schofield successfully changed his status to that of a layman in the church. TEC seems unwilling to acknowledge that Bishop Schofield was accepted as a bishop into the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, and thereby his status as a bishop was moved from TEC to the Southern Cone. Even if their deposition is finally held to have been effective, they lost jurisdiction over him before the "trial," and could at best only extinguish his right to function as a bishop in TEC. The Province of the Southern Cone holds the jurisdiction over his functioning as a bishop, yet the ENS continues to refer to him as "former bishop Schofield," and then as "Mr. Schofield." Although titles in themselves aren't that important, TEC actually puts great stock in them, and their refusal to use the title of bishop for Schofield, and instead insist on using "Mr." tells us that TEC must think that this is really important. Unfortunately, that makes them not only wrong, but petty. 

Midway between those who have left The Episcopal Church and hard-core TEC'ers, a new Anglican group has formed. Communion Partners is made up of those not wishing to or unable to leave TEC, but believing that good things could still come of working with the Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, primus inter pares. The new group says of itself, "The Communion Partner bishops will work together according to the principles outlined in the Windsor Report and seek a comprehensive Anglican Covenant at the Lambeth Conference and beyond."  Three or four years ago this would have sounded better to us, but our observation is that neither Presiding Bishop Schori nor Archbishop Williams can be relied upon for any agreement, any implementation, or any safety for those of orthodox faith. We wish the Communion Partners well, and pray that God will protect them from harm and from the duplicity and deceit that many of us have encountered coming from TEC and Lambeth Palace. The Windsor Report was actually a flawed document from the beginning, but we think we could have lived with it if it were fully and strongly enforced across the board... failing that, we would look elsewhere for a better Anglican future.

Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus,

The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council
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Episcopal Church amends suit against Bishop Schofield

Source: Central Valley Business Times

June 3, 2008 

A lawsuit initially filed by the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of San Joaquin against John-David Schofield, former bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, has been amended on the basis of new information gathered about recent transfers of real and personal property and assets to entities formed by Mr. Schofield and his attorney sometime in early April, the church says. ...

The amended complaint and summons were filed on June 2, 2008 in Fresno County by attorneys for the Episcopal Church and Diocese of San Joaquin.

The amended complaint also names Merrill Lynch, the financial institution managing the investment accounts of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. as a defendant and seeks a court order to turn over the accounts and to prohibit Mr. Schofield’s further use or access to those accounts.

As a result, Merrill Lynch has frozen the accounts indefinitely until the court issues a ruling, the church says. ...

The entire article may be found at the link above.
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The new inside strategy: Communion Partners

Source: Brad Drell's blog

May 31, 2008

COMMUNION PARTNERS

In the context of discussions about the Episcopal Visitors concept announced by the Presiding Bishop at the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans, we the undersigned have considered a need to maintain and strengthen
· our ties with the Anglican Communion
· our commitment to the observance of diocesan boundaries within The Episcopal Church
· and our exercise of our office as a focus of unity.
We believe such ties will provide the opportunity for mutual support, accountability and fellowship; and present an important sign of our connectedness in and vision for The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as we move through this time of stress and renewal.

PURPOSE:

Communion Partners is intended to
· provide for those concerned a visible link to the Anglican Communion
Many within our dioceses and in congregations in other dioceses seek to be assured of their connection to the Anglican Communion. Traditionally, this has been understood in terms of bishop-to-bishop relationships. Communion Partners fleshes out this connection in a significant and symbolic way.

· provide fellowship, support and a forum for mutual concerns between bishops. The Communion Partner bishops share many concerns about the Anglican Communion and its future and look to work together with Primates and Bishops from the wider Communion. In addition, we believe we all have need of mutual encouragement, prayer, and reassurance. The Communion Partners will be a forum for these kinds of relationships.

· provide a partnership to work toward the Anglican Covenant and according to Windsor Principles

The Communion Partner bishops will work together according to the principles outlined in the Windsor Report and seek a comprehensive Anglican Covenant at the Lambeth Conference and beyond.

SCOPE:

Communion Partners
· is a relational fellowship
· are committed to honoring diocesan boundaries
· will be governed by mutual respect
· and will proceed by invitation and cooperation

PARTICIPANTS:

· Communion Partner Bishops (William H. Love, Albany; John W. Howe, Central Florida; James M. Stanton, Dallas; Russell E. Jacobus, Fond Du Lac; Michael G. Smith, North Dakota; Edward S. Little, Northern Indiana; Geralyn Wolf, Rhode Island; Mark J. Lawrence, South Carolina; John C. Bauerschmidt, Tennessee; Don A. Wimberly, Texas; Gary E. Lillibridge, West Texas; James M. Adams, Western Kansas; D. Bruce MacPherson, Western Louisiana)
· Communion Partner Primates (initially Tanzania, West Indies, and Burundi)
· Clergy and congregations who share Communion Partner commitments
· Other interested Bishops of The Episcopal Church

TRANSPARENCY:

Communication of activities with

. the Presiding Bishop of TEC,
· the Archbishop of Canterbury,
· the Meeting of Primates, and
. the Anglican Communion Office, and therewith the Anglican Consultative Council
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California: gay marriage measure qualifies for November ballot

Source: Sacramento Bee

By Shane Goldmacher
June 2, 2008

California voters will have a chance to overturn the recent state Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage just five months from now, as the secretary of state certified a measure to define marriage as "between a man and a woman" for the November ballot.

Proponents of the measure submitted more than 1.1 million signatures to qualify for the general election ballot. A random sampling by the secretary of state's office determined they had collected more than the 694,354 valid signatures needed.

In 2000, more than 61 percent of voters approved Proposition 22, which defined marriage in state law as only "between a man and a woman." But in mid-May, the California Supreme Court ruled that measure was unconstitutional because it prevented same-sex couples from maintaining the same rights as straight couples.

The new measure would insert the sentence, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," into the state constitution, thereby overruling the court's decision. ...

The rest of the story may be found at the link above.
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England: Christian preachers face arrest in Birmingham

Source: The Telegraph

By David Harrison
June 2, 2008

A police community support officer ordered two Christian preachers to stop handing out gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham. The evangelists say they were threatened with arrest for committing a "hate crime" and were told they risked being beaten up if they returned. The incident will fuel fears that "no-go areas" for Christians are emerging in British towns and cities, as the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, claimed in The Sunday Telegraph this year.

Arthur Cunningham, 48, and Joseph Abraham, 65, both full-time evangelical ministers, have launched legal action against West Midlands Police, claiming the officer infringed their right to profess their religion. Mr Abraham said: "I couldn't believe this was happening in Britain. The Bishop of Rochester was criticised by the Church of England recently when he said there were no-go areas in Britain but he was right; there are certainly no-go areas for Christians who want to share the gospel." ...

The preachers, both ministers in Birmingham, were handing out leaflets on Alum Rock Road in February when they started talking to four Asian youths. A police community support officer (PCSO) interrupted the conversation and began questioning the ministers about their beliefs. ...

"He said we were in a Muslim area and were not allowed to spread our Christian message. He said we were committing a hate crime by telling the youths to leave Islam and said that he was going to take us to the police station." ...

West Midlands Police, who refused to apologise, said the incident had been "fully investigated" and the officer would be given training in understanding hate crime and communication.

The complete article may be found at the link above.
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England: Bishop of Lancaster Proposes Catholic Solution to Adoption Agency Crisis

Source: Lifesite News

By Hilary White
June 2, 2008

LANCASTER, UK - The Catholic bishop of Lancaster has offered his adoption agency a solution to the threat of the Sexual Orientation Regulations that are forcing it to close. Bishop Patrick O'Donohue has penned a letter suggesting that Catholic Caring Services in the Diocese of Lancaster adopt a totally Catholic ethos in order to maintain the integrity of its services, especially in the adopting of needy children.

Changing the constitution of Catholic Caring Services to ensure that children will not be adopted out to either homosexual partners or to single people and unmarried couples, will provide a safeguard against prosecution under the new law.

The Equality Act, of which the Sexual Orientation Regulations are a part, also prevents public authorities "discriminating on the grounds of religion or belief". As such, Catholic Caring Services can continue to operate, the bishop said, if the constitutions of Catholic Caring Services "make it crystal clear that it will operate in accordance with the religious and moral principles of the Catholic Faith".

Bishop O'Donoghue, has written to his flock explaining that Catholic doctrine holds natural marriage as the only situation into which children may be given for adoption. As an agency of the Catholic Church, Catholic Caring Services can continue to operate if its constitutions are altered to bring it completely in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church on marriage and family life.

The government, with its passage last year of the Sexual Orientation Regulations, has decreed that Catholic adoption agencies must give children to homosexual partners.  Several Catholic adoption agencies have chosen to cease operation in response. But Bishop O'Donohue, despite a vote of 8-2 by the Trustees that complying with the government regulation is necessary to keep the service open, says no.

He wrote that the government's Regulations would attempt to force the Church to "treat same-sex applicants in an identical manner to married couples thus giving explicit approval of homosexual and lesbian partnerships".

"As your Bishop, I simply cannot give permission to an agency of the Catholic Church to act in opposition to her teaching and her long and rich experience of the placement of children with adoptive parents."

In changing the constitutions of the service to allow the adopting of children only to couples in natural marriages, Catholic Caring Services, would "explicitly and officially approving" the true meaning of marriage. ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.