The Episcopal Church -- Stay In or Get Out?

Since there have been two other options posted to the Northern Plains Anglicans blog, I may as well chime in with 'door number 3' -- Get the Heck Outa Dodge.

I am a cradle Episcopalian, confirmed in 1951, active in choir (junior and senior), acolyte, lay reader, etc., etc., etc., all up through living in, and serving on the vestry for, the Episcopal College Center, Auburn, Alabama, in the late '50's.

I married a Church of God, Cleveland, girl, started attending with her, joined, and called to preach, and subsequently making all the way to 'Ordained Minister' (now called 'Ordained Bishop') with the CoG. Working as pastor, district overseer, and institutional chaplain, I was active in ministry until 1995, when I surrendered my credentials, since I wasn't serving in any active ministry any more (mainly because I had divorced in 1991).

I returned to my home parish in Chattanooga, my new wife was confirmed, and I served on the Finance Committee, convenor of the Chattanooga Area Chapter, Order of St. Luke, acolyte, lay reader, LEV, LEM, and Linda served on the Altar Guild. When I retired in 2002, we 'hit the road' to volunteer across the country, Franciscan style, tent camping our way as we could.

In South Dakota, we worked for five months as a horse wrangler and guide for a mustang rescue operation until their 'regular' summer volunteer staff, those permanent Workamper volunteers, arrived. At that time, we were both called into ministry at St. Luke's Church, Hot Springs, as a part of their new mutual ministry team; me, as sacramentalist, preacher and catechist; and Linda as a member of the pastoral care team and team coordinator. We both entered into the diocesan program of study with the congregation and I read for Episcopal Orders for two years.

Two days before my scheduled ordination, my then TEC bishop, Creighton Robertson, 'pulled the plug', saying that my application (which he had on file for over two years) raised some 'red flags'. Yeah, sure, at his first question in my first interview of how I saw myself as an Anglican, I told him that I would describe myself as an evangelical Anglo-catholic, and that ended the interview.

Since I was also applying for clergy membership in the Company of Jesus Franciscan Order, I decided that the time was right for me to leave the Church of my birth, and seven counted generations of Irish and English Anglicans on both sides of my family, and align myself with the Anglican Province of Christ the Good Shepherd, apply for ordination, and was ordained a priest on Mother's Day, after serving as a transitional deacon for 18 months.

Our house church is small, but now beginning to grow, with new honored guests coming and staying with us; we have 9 services a week through the Summer tourist season: daily at 7:00 am at a city park downtown, and a 9:00 am at a retirement center, and our principle service at 11:00 am, all of them 1928 liturgies.

We are small, our liturgy is straight 1928 BCP (with a little Anglican Missal and Lakota music thrown in), and we wouldn't go back. We have prospects for the use of a church building to house our mission, for only the cost of utilities. Yes, we miss the Episcopal Church, we love and pray for the members of the local Church daily; but, no, we don't think we could go back.

Quit Grumbling: Look and Live!

Rather than do a page for St. Columba today, I chose to share the posting for today's Morning Prayer (1928 Book of Common Prayer lectionary) comments from the good folk east river., The Northern Plains Anglicans.

"What help can we find in this lesson drawn from from Numbers 21?

They made confession. The people went to Moses and specifically admitted what they had done.

They relied on prayer. The people asked Moses to intercede for them.

They accepted God's solution. God told Moses to make a bronze figure of the fiery serpent, and hold it up on a pole. Wierd though it seemed, the people obeyed, and all who looked at it lived."

If you are in the Sioux Falls area on Sunday, stop by the Church of the Good Shepherd, still Episcopal, but where Fr. Timothy Fountain still preaches the Truth of God's Word.

Boniface, Archbishop of Mainz, Missionary to Germany, and Martyr, 754

An Englishman from Devonshire, Winifred was educated at Exeter and Nursling, Boniface was one of the "Makers of Europe". A professed monk and priest, he accepted a call as missionary to Frisia, with little success, returned to Rome, was commissioned by Pope Gregory, renamed Boniface, and sent to Germany where he spent his remaining years planting churches, reforming dioceses and monasteries; finally consecrated a bishop then archbishop and given a permanent see in Mainz.

As archbishop, Boniface worked to prepare the way for Charlemagne, and the unified Christian dominion of Europe.

He resigned his bishopric in 753, to spend his last years as a monk in Frisia, and was martyred, with a group of catechumens by pagans, and buried near at monastery he founded, Fulda, near Mainz.

Almighty God, who didst call thy faithful servant Boniface to be a witness and martyr in Germany, and by his labor and suffering didst raise up a people for thine own possession: Pour forth thy Hoy Spirit upon thy Church in eery land, that by the service and sacrifice of many thy holy Name may be glorifies and thy kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ond God, for ever and ever. Amen.
LF&F 1980, 239

Justin, Martyr at Rome, c. 167

A song comes to mind, The Wayfaring Stranger, that typifies the searching of the children of the world, as they seek the Christ. Can we pray that God, in His infinite and great Mercy, might find them, laity, clergy and bishops, as He did Justin, and lead them into the Truth of His Word. Our heart aches for those who have lost the vision of Christ's atoning sacrifice and redemption, as man continues to do all that pleases themselves. Man's 'itching ears' cannot be the measure of salvation, and men MUST be found and taught His ways.


Almighty and everlasting God, who didst find thy martyr Justin wandering from teacher to teacher, seeking the true God, and didst reveal to him the sublime wisdom of thine eternal Word: Grant that all who seek thee, or a deeper knowledge of thee, may find and be found of thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Collect for Justin, Martyr at Rome, LF&F 233

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Gospel Proper for the day

Luke 1:39-49
(39) And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
(40) And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
(41) And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
(42) And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
(43) And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
(44) For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
(45) And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
(46) And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
(47) And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
(48) For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
(49) For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

Father in heaven, by whose grace the virgin mother of thy incarnate Son was blessed in bearing Him, but still more blessed in keeping thy word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The "Know Nothings"

From the New Testament lesson for Whitsun Ember Wednesday,

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I Corinthians 2.2

How necessary is it to know a lot of 'stuff' as we work for the Kingdom? Paul sums it up nicely for us
...'know nothing, except Christ, and Him crucified'...
to pay, in full, the cost of our sins!

Too many 'Christians' today, even 'Christian' leaders, claim their status of salvation with Christ, yet refuse to acknowledge their sins, refuse to repent, refuse to make amendment of life, refuse to accept His terms for the gift of life that has been given us, through His sacrifice, once offered.

Much has been lost to us today, since the very concept of the presence or possibility of sin in individual lives has been 'taught away' by the Church; much that has torn mainline denominations, and even some of the more esoteric smaller groups. God had a plan, man messed it up first in the Garden of Eden; God set forth a new plan, man thought he had messed it up in Jerusalem; but God's plan was consumated in Christ. Since Him there has been and can be no new plan. As the old song says,

"Jesus paid it all,
all to Him I owe;
Sin had left a dreadful stain,
He washed it white as snow".

There are those who say they have had a 'new revelation', a new and different move of the Holy Spirit, new and grand ways to express love, inclusion and justice. To them I can only quote John in Revelation 22.18, "...If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book". There are no new revelations, the Canon of Scripture is closed, man has given himself over to a reprobate mind, filled with justifying his own ideas and lusts, and God is ready to 'spew them out'.

Personally, I had rather be a 'know nothing'.

"This world is not my home,
I'm just a passin' though.
If heaven were not my home
O Lord, what would I do?
The angels beckon me
From heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home
In this world any more."

Maranatha. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Tuesday in Whitsun Week

The Epistle
Acts 8:14-17
(14) Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
(15) Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
(16) (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
(17) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

Grant, we beseech thee, merciful God, that thy Church, being gathered together in unity by thy Holy Spirit, may manifest thy power among all peoples, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reighneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
-- BCP 1928

Whit Monday -- Memorial Day (US)

Wisdom 9:1-6
(1) O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word,
(2) And ordained man through thy wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creatures which thou hast made,
(3) And order the world according to equity and righteousness, and execute judgment with an upright heart:
(4) Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne; and reject me not from among thy children:
(5) For I thy servant and son of thine handmaid am a feeble person, and of a short time, and too young for the understanding of judgment and laws.
(6) For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded.
-- Morning prayer, Whit Monday, BCP 1928

Father, help us remember that we are but your creation, and that without your Son we are nothing at all under your sun. Order our steps, that we might please you, that we might not find ourselves rejected by you at your judgement, because of our lack of understanding of your laws, our rebellion against your laws, our misuse of your bounty, or our disinterest in your Word.

Grant to us thy wisdom, enable us to keep thy laws, direct us in all of your paths for us, and grant us the ability to refuse the temptations of the world as we seek your face.

May we keep in mind those, faithful, who have gone before...those heroes of faith and civil life, who have paid a dear price for the freedoms we enjoy, both in our secular lives, and in our faith journeys. Help us to remember, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Ghost, now and always. Amen.

Oh, Really? Need We Say More?

If you are concerned about the effects of the elevation of Presiding Bishop Kate Schorri on the religious of the United States, you have got to read this:

As a woman Moderator of a very Twenty-first Century church, Metropolitan Community Churches, I felt enormous compassion and solidarity with Presiding Bishop (Primate) Katharine Jefferts Schori as she recently traveled to Tanzania in her historic role as the first and only woman to serve as the leader of a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

And it gets better from that opening statement. This is a long read, but very informative, particularly when taken with +Bennison's article, posted below. However, do not open this link with a mouthful of coffee.

Then, there is this, from +Steven Charleston,

We affirm the words of our friend and colleague, the Rt. Reverend Steven Charleston, Bishop and Dean of The Episcopal Divinity School: "We will not change our devotion to doing what we believe is right. We will not delay justice for the sake of making our lives easier. We will not deny a truth that we are certain is from God. We will not play politics with human lives."

Oh, Really? Read on MacDuff, it just gets better.

A Great Easter Service

We drove up to Fairburn early this morning to provide special music for the UMC there that we serve on occasion. A beautiful Resurrection Day, a smallish crowd, but more than they have had for a while, several great small, but intense, sermons by their pastor, a great brunch and then back to Hot Springs for a Mass of the Resurrection.

God is good, God is great, God is wonderful...as the old Gospel song goes, and how true that is.

Not much to be added this week to the blog. I will be east-river for a training seminar from early Wednesday until early Sunday...without net access!

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

The Episcopal House of Bishops met in Navasota Texas last weekend, and released this response to the pdf file of the Dar es Salaam Communique, note in particular, the key recommendations beginning on page 8.

Not only was there a large elephant in the room, but the desert terrain of east Texas allowed them to stick their collective heads in the sand and completely ignore the request of the Anglican Primate's meeting in Tanzania last month.

There has been much comment on various blogs and diocesan websites about the Communique, how it stands in opposition to the polity of the Episcopal Church and her Canons and Constitution; and how the Episcopal Church is an independent, sovereign entity, and the greater Anglican Communion cannot dictate conditions counter to that polity; but the fact remains...it is the business of the greater Anglican Communion to determine conditions for membership in said Communion, and if the Episcopal Church is unable or unwilling to meet those several conditions, then she (The Episcopal Church), chooses voluntarily to sever the relationship with the rest of the Communion.

As we see it, the Episcopal Church is, or should be, an interdependent part of the Communion, and if that relationship is important to the Episcopal Church, she should be willing to agree to those terms which insure a continuation of that interdependence. Instead, her bishops, some standing committees, and some special interest groups, have repeatedly stated their total independence from the Dar es Salaam statements; therefor, in our humble estimation, thumbed their collective noses at the Anglican Communion, and said, in a paraphrase of the 60's chants, "Hell no, we won't go!"

Well, the Episcopal Church cannot have it both ways...you must either suck it up, comply with the Communique, and be a part of the greater Anglican Communion, supporting the full Gospel; or you can walk apart, serving the humanistic goals of the United Nations and the Millennium Development Goals, 'living into' the Baptismal Covenant, and seeking to serve the greater god of self, under a new inspiration of the spirits.

Methinks the choice has been clearly demonstrated, and 1 October will see a new alignment for Anglicanism in North America and around the world. I have been wrong before, and will be wrong again, no doubt; but of this I am fairly sure, whichever way the cookie crumbles, I will be with the greater Communion, although, perhaps not aligned with +Cantuar.

And, if you need a graphic representation, scroll down here:

How about that? A pundit?

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

An Opportunity Missed

Yesterday was the 'deadline day' for consents to the episcopal consecration of Fr. Mark Lawrence as bishop-elect of South Carolina. Over fifty-six diocesan bishops gave consent, and the consents of fifty-six diocesan Standing Committee consents were needed, fifty-five were given by close of business yesterday. Of course, there is a 'snail mail' delay which allows for consents to be postmarked by 12 March, and received perhaps by the end of the week, to count. With possible contested votes, etc; the outcome is very much in doubt.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Dakota missed a perfect chance to be seen as 'reconcilers' in this fray, by finally, at the last possible moment, consenting to Fr. Lawrence's' elevation to South Carolina; but did they break from the bishop's grasp? No, no, and no! We even e-mailed all members with e-mail addresses, in a last ditch effort to allow South Dakota to have a 'place in the Son', but they opted to follow +Creighton's revisionist lead, and remain silent (which equates to a 'safe' no vote).

Critics of Fr. Lawrence's election by the Diocese of South Carolina, have repeatedly made the erroneous point that he, Fr. Lawrence, would have worked to split the Church; however, in our own humble opinion, it is the inactions of the lethargic that will have succeeded in splitting the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion, and splitting the conservative, or reasserting, faction from the liberal, reappraising, faction...the holders of the faith once delivered unto the saints, from the writers of the new faith, the new way of reading and interpreting scripture.

We may never know, but we feel that our former diocese, and others, as well, missed the boat on this one; they could have helped preserve a once proud Church, instead, by doing nothing, they may have helped to kill her.

The South Carolina Standing Committee meets Thursday to consider the consents and their options. Please keep them, Bishop-elect Mark, the Diocese of South Carolina, and the Episcopal Church in your prayers.

Lord, in Your Mercy. Hear our prayer.

Some Churches Still Have the 'Grow'

“Insanity is doing something the same way over and over again and expecting different results.”

"At St. Stephen’s, the parish I serve, we decided to scrape the rust off tired, contentious, and unhealthy practices and dare to do church another way. In just 18 months, our attendance is up some 100 worshipers per Sunday, our monetary giving has increased by some 45 percent, and participation in our adult formation classes has increased by more than 100 percent. More importantly, St. Stephen’s has become a much more vibrant faith community because we have taken these five very practical roads to revival:"

And, now, the rest of the story

South Dakota Chapter/ American Anglican Council Press Release

The AAC/SDK has released the following report on conditions in the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota.

PRESS RELEASE


South Dakota
Press Release from the South Dakota Chapter
of the
American Anglican Council

March 7, 2007

Contacts:

Ingrid Dobrovolny, President - Email: aacsdk1@sio.midco.net
Scott Loftesness, Secretary - Email: aacsdk1@sio.midco.net - (phone
available upon request)

Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota Renounces Stated Values

The American Anglican Council (AAC) chapter of South Dakota (AAC/SDK) is
saddened to report that Bishop Creighton Robertson and the Standing
Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota have renounced previously
stated biblical and organizational values.

The bishop and standing committee have either voted against or failed to
vote consent for the consecration of Mark Lawrence as Bishop of South
Carolina. Bishop Robertson's "no" vote put him in a distinct minority in
the House of Bishops. The Standing Committee has imperiled the consent
process, which requires a majority of all diocesan standing committees to
give consent. The deadline for consents is early next week.

These actions are definite steps away from previously stated diocesan
values:

~~ In 2003, Bishop Robertson and the standing committee supported the
New Hampshire consecration of V. Gene Robinson, an openly practicing
homosexual, citing respect for the vote of the Diocese of New Hampshire over
any concerns about biblical standards or offense to other Christians.
Today, Bishop Robertson and the Standing Committee are refusing to apply the
same respect to the legal and overwhelming majority election of Mark
Lawrence in South Carolina, a more biblically traditional diocese.

~~ In 2006, South Dakota's diocesan convention passed a resolution
affirming the diocese as a "safe place" for people of diverse views,
specifically including biblically traditional Episcopalians. Bishop
Robertson subsequently expressed the opinion that the "safe place" only
applied to those who favor new cultural ideas over traditional biblical
teachings. He rejected requests to apply the "safe place" standard to the
South Carolina consent process.

~~ The mission statement of the Diocese of South Dakota is, "A Sacred
Circle of Love, Prayer and Service Gathered Around the Gospel." The current
actions of the bishop and standing committee show a profound lack of love,
prayer and service toward fellow Christians and reject the clear Gospel
teaching of Jesus, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them
do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).

This deterioration of values and practice is just the latest in a pattern of
decay and decline in the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota and The Episcopal
Church (TEC) nationwide. TEC's own statistics show that the Diocese of South
Dakota experienced marked losses in both membership and actual worship
attendance from 1995 to 2005.

Link:

http://12.0.101.92/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_362007125835PM.pd
f

TEC, which provides about half of South Dakota's diocesan budget, recently
announced a budget shortfall of almost $4 million. The denomination is
suffering membership losses, and entire dioceses and congregations are
estranged from TEC due to its drift away from biblical, orthodox
Christianity. In addition, the worldwide Anglican Communion, the third
largest international Christian body at 78 million members, has given TEC a
Sept. 30, 2007 deadline to halt deviations from Anglican teaching and
practice and to provide supportive leadership for orthodox Anglicans who are
under duress from TEC revisionists.

AAC/SDK seeks to support the faithful witness of biblical, traditional
Anglican Christians around the state.

-End-