ACNA Ratifies Constitution

New Anglican Church poses dilemna

From the Washington Times ...

By Julia Duin
The Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/
June 17, 2009

The Anglican Church in North America will be formally founded next week, challenging the legitimacy of the U.S. Episcopal Church and posing a dilemma for the worldwide Anglican Communion over who represents Anglicanism in the United States and Canada.

When 232 delegates to the ACNA convention at St. Vincent's Cathedral in Bedford, Texas, approve the organization's constitution and canons on Monday, Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan will become archbishop for this "emerging" 39th province of the communion, consisting of several groupings that have left the Episcopal Church over issues related to sexuality and biblical authority.

A ceremony celebrating Bishop Duncan's installation is set for June 24 at Christ Church in the Dallas suburb of Plano, the ACNA's largest parish, with more than 2,000 members. Also among the ACNA's members are 11 Northern Virginia parishes, including the historic The Falls Church and Truro parishes, which left the Episcopal Church to found the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

At a news conference in December, Bishop Duncan said God is "displacing" the Episcopal Church in favor of the ACNA. The Texas gathering is the conservative alternative to the Episcopal Church's triennial convention next month in Anaheim, Calif.

There is no precedent in the communion for a country to have more than one recognized province, and Episcopalians who back the move have maintained that the U.S. and Canadian churches no longer preach and believe historic Anglicanism.

The formalities cap a six-year progression out of the 2-million-member Episcopal Church by Episcopalians over the U.S. church's increasing doctrinal liberalism, which has prompted many to leave to other denominations, though others have hung on in the hope a conservative alternative would arise.

ACNA spokesman Peter Frank said the gathering will be inspirational instead of legislative. "This is really about mobilizing people to do mission at the local parish level," he said.

Speakers will include such non-Episcopalians as Rick Warren, the pastor of California's Saddleback evangelical megachurch, and Metropolitan Jonah, head of the Orthodox Church in America. Also attending will be the Rev. Todd Hunter, a church planter for the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMIA), one of the 28 groups represented at ACNA.

Episcopal Church spokeswoman Neva Rae Fox said the denomination was "aware" of the gathering and officials were concerned that one of its active bishops, Peter Beckwith of the Springfield, Ill., diocese, may be participating.

A message left at Bishop Beckwith's office was not returned Tuesday.

More than 70 of the Episcopal Church's 110 dioceses are in serious financial straits, and its membership is dropping precipitously, with an average Sunday attendance of 727,822.

The ACNA, with an average attendance of 100,000, is quickly adding congregations and forming new dioceses. Its numbers go beyond the adherents of 13 of the 38 provinces that belong to the Anglican Communion.

The new group has several hurdles, not the least of which is that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of the Anglican Communion, has yet to recognize the ACNA as a legitimate Anglican alternative to the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.

However, when Bishop Duncan met last Oct. 15 with Archbishop Williams, the archbishop instructed the Pittsburgh bishop to submit an application for the new province.

Independently, seven overseas Anglican archbishops have recognized the ACNA, with most also cutting ties with the U.S. Episcopal Church. This could aggravate existing conflicts in the worldwide communion by adding the issue of who recognizes what North American church.

Of the four dioceses that have left the Episcopal Church and joined the ACNA en masse, each one is fighting the Episcopal Church for rights to millions of dollars in property the dioceses have taken with them.

In three of those dioceses - San Joaquin in Sacramento, Calif.; Quincy in Peoria, Ill., and Fort Worth, Texas - Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefforts Schori has appointed alternate bishops to replace those who have departed. In Pittsburgh, she has appointed a standing committee.

Lesbian Integrity Leader vs. Bishop Henry Parsley

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
6/4/2009

The president of The Episcopal Church's unofficial pansexual advocacy organization, Integrity, is livid over secrecy surrounding a study group working on the theology of same-gender relationships.

The Rev. Susan Russell said in a June 2 statement that keeping the names of the theologians secret was "the height of absurdity and insult." She said that secrecy makes the project "suspect, disingenuous and dishonest."

Russell said that a secret study "sends a horrific message to gay and lesbian people -- both inside and outside the church" and is "utterly contrary to our baptismal promise to respect the dignity of every human being.

She cited Resolution A167 from the 2006 meeting of General Convention, which reiterated the church's 1997 apology to "its members who are gay or lesbian, and to lesbians and gay men outside the Church, for years of rejection and maltreatment by the Church."


Undaunted, Bishop Henry Parsley, (Alabama) chair of the House of Bishops Theology Committee, fired back saying, "We believe that for a season the work can best be accomplished by allowing the panel to work in confidence. This supports the full collegiality and academic freedom of the theologians and provides the space they need for the deep dialogue and reflection that is taking place among them."

He concluded by saying that it has always been the committee's intention to publish the names of the panel when the work reaches the appropriate stage.

Parsley was forced to go public after two advocacy groups called for the theology committee to make the names public and to explain why more study of the issue was needed.

A committee of the House of Bishops Theology requested the study, which is described as "designed to reflect a full spectrum of views and to be a contribution to the Listening Process of the Anglican Communion, as well as to the discussion of this subject in our province." The report calls the study "a long-term, multi-step project" designed to be completed in 2011.

However, the names of those on the committee were not included calling forth outrage from Russell and Meyers, though Meyers did so in gentler tones.

Parsley was forced to put out a fuller statement saying that the panel of theologians "very intentionally represents a robust range of views on the subject and includes gay and lesbian persons."

He also said it is the committee's intention to publish the names of the panel when the work has reached the appropriate stage.

"This project is designed to articulate theologically a full range of views on the matter of same sex relationships in the church's life and to foster better understanding and respectful discernment among us. It will also be a contribution to the listening process of the larger Communion. It has several stages and is scheduled to be complete by early 2011. We are grateful to the distinguished theologians for their generous service to the church."

Parsley concluded saying that any member of the church who wishes to address the panel should send comments to the Theology Committee. "We will see that these are communicated to the theologians to enrich their reflection and dialogue."

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It seems to be me she is screaming for the sake of merely screaming ..... The Theology committee is loaded with left-leaning representation, who afterall - set up this to discuss the

"robust range of views on the subject and includes gay and lesbian persons."

If a Theology committee needs to have a sub committee to understand Biblical Authority on this matter, she has nothing to worry about .....

In memory of Ed Freeman. Medal of Honor winner.

You’re an 18 or 19 year old kid.
You’re critically wounded,
and dying in the jungle in the
Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965.

LZ Xray, Vietnam.

Your Infantry Unit is outnumbered 8 - 1,
and the enemy fire is so intense,
from 100 or 200 yards away,
that your own Infantry Commander
has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in.

You’re lying there,
listening to the enemy machine guns,
and you know you’re not getting out.
Your family is 1/2 way around the world,
12,000 miles away,
and you’ll never see them again.
As the world starts to fade in and out,
you know this is the day.

Then, over the machine gun noise,
you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter,
and you look up to see a Huey,
but it doesn’t seem real,
because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you.
He’s not Medi-Vac, so it’s not his job,
but he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire,
after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He’s coming anyway.

And he drops it in,
and sits there in the machine gun fire,
as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire,
to the Doctors and Nurses.

And, he kept coming back…… 13 more times…..
and took about 30 of you and your buddies out,
who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died at the age of 80, in Boise, ID…May God rest his soul.

The Book of Common Prayer - 460th Birthday

Book of Common Prayer marks 460th birthday

By Ron Cassie
Frederick News-Post
rcassie@fredericknewspost.com
June 1, 2009

The English separation from the Holy Roman Catholic Church famously came during the reign of Henry VIII.

However, the Church of England continued to use the Latin liturgies throughout his rule, as it had for a milennium.

It wasn't until 1549, two years after Henry VIII's death, when Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, is believed to have written the Book of Common Prayer, the first complete liturgy for the English Church.

The historical work contains the calendar of daily morning and evening prayers as well as epistles and "gospelles" in the old English" style.

It includes the traditional Church of England instructions for the celebration of the "lordes Supper and Holy Communion through the yere, with proper Psalmes and Lessons, for diverse feastes and dayes."

"It is the basis of worship for Anglicans of all kinds throughout the world," said the Rev. Arthur Woolley of St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Church in Frederick .

In celebratation of the 460th birthday of the Book of Common Prayer, St. Michael the Archangel will use the 1549 edition of this volume, written in the beautiful language of Renaissance England, at its service this weekend.

First introduced on Whitsunday, also called Pentecost, during the reign of King Edward VI, the Book of Common Prayer formally brought together the forms of service for daily and Sunday worship.

Whitsunday falls on May 31 this year and the public is invited to attend the St. Michael the Archangel's service.

Five hundred years before Second Vatican Council in the mid-1960s called for Catholic Mass to be said in the native language of its faithful, Woolley noted, Cranmer translated the Bible and holy Communion celebration so that the educated and uneducated alike could comprehend God's words.

The Archbishop explained why in the Common Book of Prayer's preface: "And moreover, whereas s. Paule (St. Paul) would have suche language spoken to the people in the churche, as they mighte understande and have profite by hearyng the same; the service in this Churche of England (these many yeares) hath been read in Latin to the people, whiche they understoode not; so that they have heard with theyr eares onely; and their hartes, spirite, and minde, have not been edified thereby."

The Book of Common Prayer became one of the most influential works ever written in English, preceeding the King James Bible and the works of Shakespeare by six decades.

"It has been so widely used, and for so long, that it has given the English language many of its common sayings and phrases, such as 'the apple of my eye,' 'out of the mouth of babes,' and 'little lower than the angels,'" said Judy Warner, a member of St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Church.

Much of the prayer book's marriage service, she added, is familiar. For example, "forsaking all others ... so long as you both shall live" ... "to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health ... till death us do part"... "with this ring I thee wed."

"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust" is thought by some to be in the Bible, Warner said, "but although the idea is biblical, the words come from the burial service of the Book of Common Prayer."

These phrases, and other parts of the Book of Common Prayer, have been used for centuries and have been adopted by other Christian denominations.

"The English is even older than Elizabethean English, the language, especially the spelling, had not settled down as much," as when even Shakespeare began writing, Woolley said. "We'll be using a version with updated spelling for the service, otherwise I don't think we wouldn't be able to get through it."

However, he did point out that one young couple in the congregation has decided they want to use the original Common Book of Prayers vows for their wedding ceremony this summer.

Woolly read: "With his ring I thee wed; this gold and silver I thee give, with my body I thee worship and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. In the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Ghost. Amen."

"The spelling is often archaic," Woolley said, "but the writing is remarkable."

Tip to VOL

Archbishop Orombi explains the "WHY" of ACNA

This is a must watch!

Gen Con 2009 Resolutions in Aneheim

It’s apparent that the Episcopal left intends to leave nothing to chance at GenCon. Here is a list of resolutions on or vaguely concerned with The Issue.

C004:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention affirm that there are no restrictions on a diocesan bishop’s authorization of the liturgical blessing of committed relationships between same-sex partners.

C007:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That this 76th General Convention affirms that standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction are not bound by any extra-canonical restraints-including but not limited to the restraints set forth in Resolution B033 passed by the 75th General Convention-when considering consents to the ordination of any candidate to the episcopate.

C009:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church authorize the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop appropriate rites for the celebration and blessing of the sacred unions of gay and lesbian persons, taking into account the variety of civil arrangements for such unions available in the regions served by the church; and be it further

Resolved, That such rite or rites shall be presented at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

C010:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church recognize that the usefulness of Resolution B033 as passed by the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church has run its course; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church herewith repeal Resolution B033 as passed by the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church; and, be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church acknowledges with regret the further oppression visited on the lesbian and gay members of this church by Resolution B033 and its application; and apologizes for the potentially negative impact of said resolution on the ability to respond to the vocational call by the Holy Spirit to the episcopate of any members of this church; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church expresses its appreciation to the lesbian and gay members of this church for their patience during this time of discernment for the church; and be it further

Resolved, That in the call to see the face of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in each other, this church pledges its utmost effort to keep all parties “at the table” as The Episcopal Church continues to insure the full participation of all of God’s children in the life of this church.

C015:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention affirm that standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction are not bound by any extra-canonical restraints-including but not limited to the restraints set forth in Resolution B033 passed by the 75th General Convention-when considering consents to the ordination of any candidate to the episcopate.

C017:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop and authorize same-sex union blessing rites.

C019:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That this 76th General Convention make the following modifications to the canons:

Canon 18: Of the Solemnization of Holy Matrimony, be amended to substitute the words “two persons” where the words “a man and a woman” appear;

Canon 19: Of Regulations Respecting Holy Matrimony: Concerning Preservation of Marriage, Dissolution of Marriage, and Remarriage be amended to substitute the word “spouse” where the words “husband or wife” appear; and be it further

Resolved, That this Convention does not authorize any additional public rites for the Pastoral Offices of Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage or The Blessing of a Civil Marriage but notes that, subject to the direction of the diocesan and in accordance with the canons, the rites set forth in those offices may be modified when the needs of the congregation so require.

C024:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention affirm that standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction are bound only by the rules set forth in the canons when considering consents to the ordination of any candidate to the episcopate and are admonished to consent only to those candidates who are committed to upholding the canons.

C025:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention make the following modification to the canons:

Canon III.9.5(c.1) is hereby amended to read as follows:

It shall be the duty of the Rector or Priest-in-Charge to record in the Parish Register all Baptisms, Confirmations (including the canonical equivalents in Canon I.17.1(d)), Marriages, Civil Unions and Burials.

C028:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That this 76th General Convention direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to prepare, for consideration by the 77th General Convention, additional gender-neutral language for The Book of Common Prayer pastoral offices titled “The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage,” “The Blessing of a Civil Marriage,” and “An Order of Marriage” (pages 422 through 438). These adapted liturgies could be made available for use until such time as they might be considered for incorporation into a future Book of Common Prayer.

C031:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That 76th General Convention direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to prepare rites of holy union for same-gender couples for consideration by the 77th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That such rites should reflect the legal contexts in which such holy unions might take place; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music devise an open and transparent process for the conduct of its work, inviting participation from dioceses and individuals who have already engaged in such liturgical and theological work and inviting theological reflection from all interested parties in The Episcopal Church and the provinces of the Anglican Communion.

C039:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church call upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to conform to the non-discrimination provisions of Canon III.1.2 when considering consents to Episcopal elections, which states: “No person shall be denied access to the discernment process for any ministry, lay or ordained, in this Church because of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities or age, except as otherwise provided by these Canons.”

C041:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That Canon I.18.2 is hereby amended to read as follows

Sec. 2 (b) That both parties understand that Holy Matrimony is a physical and spiritual union of a man and a woman two adults, entered into within the community of faith, by mutual consent of heart, mind, and will, and with intent that it be lifelong; and be it further

Resolved, That Canon I.18.3 is hereby amended to read as follows

Sec. 3 (e) “We, A.B. and C.D., desiring to receive the blessing of Holy Matrimony in the Church, do solemnly declare that we hold marriage to be a lifelong union of husband and wife two adults as it is set forth in the Book of Common Prayer.

(f) “We believe that the union of husband and wife two adults, in heart, body, and mind, is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God’s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord.

C045:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church proclaim the Gospel that in Christ all God’s children, including transgender, bisexual, lesbian and gay persons are full and equal participants in the life of Christ’s church; and be it further

Resolved, That this Church is committed to compliance with Canon III.I.2, which supports the full and equal participation of all persons regardless of sexual orientation in all aspects of the Church’s ministries, lay and ordained; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church direct the Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop a liturgical rite for blessing of same sex unions.

C054:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church regret the discrimination against some candidates for the episcopate expressed in Resolution B033 of the 75th General Convention (2006) and the hurt and alienation felt by some because of that discrimination; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention reject the interpretation of that resolution made by the House of Bishops at its meeting in September 2007.

C055:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 75th General Convention support and uphold persons in same-gender committed relationships of enduring love, mutuality, and fidelity; and be it further

Resolved, that the term “sexual orientation” in Title III, Canon 1, Section 2, shall protect all persons from denial of access to the discernment process for any ministry, lay or ordained, in this Church solely on the basis of being in such a relationship.

C056:

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention charge the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music with development of liturgies of blessing for same-gender commitments to be presented to the next triennial General Convention in 2012 for inclusion in “Book of Occasional Services”; and. be it further

Resolved, That in the meantime the Ecclesiastical Authority of each diocese may authorize for use in the diocese liturgies for blessing same-gender committed relationships of enduring love, mutuality, and fidelity; and be it further

Resolved, That, with respect to such blessings, no bishop or clergy of this Church or any other person acting on behalf of this Church shall be required or expected to perform an act contrary to a deeply-held position of conscience.