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| St. Paul's Discussion Forum |
| Date | Topic | Comment/Article |
| 07/15/2009 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Episcopal Church - no clear gospel to proclaim by Jim Brown A conservative Anglican theologian says the Episcopal Church is experiencing a large membership decline because it's espousing neither a biblical gospel nor a New Testament understanding of evangelism. Episcopal Presiding Bishop Catherine Jefferts Schori acknowledged Monday that 19,000 more members die each year than are born or baptized into the denomination -- a trend she hopes to reverse through "evangelism." Jefferts Schori said Episcopalians "for a long time didn't do active evangelism," and now "need to be sent out into the world to take the good news of Jesus." Her emphasis on evangelism comes just days after she said individual salvation is a "heresy." Dr. Kendall Harmon is Canon Theologian for The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. He is deeply troubled with the presiding bishop's understanding of evangelism as well as with the current practice of evangelism in the Episcopal Church. Harmon believes evangelism involves three things: welcoming newcomers into the church, bringing the un-churched into a relationship with Christ, and reaching out to those who have drifted away from the church. "In the Episcopal Church, most parishes aren't doing any of those three well," he confesses. "If you're really lucky, you'll get an Episcopal church that is half-decent at welcoming newcomers -- and that's not evangelism. And that's one of the many reasons why we're in long-term systemic decline: we don't have a gospel to proclaim with any sense of clarity." Harmon says unfortunately most Episcopalians understand evangelism as persuading people who are already Christians to join the Episcopal Church. http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=603676 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 07/14/2009 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Schism 'inevitable' after US bishops approve gay ordination A worldwide Anglican schism now seems inevitable after Episcopal bishops in the United States today backed the consecration of gay bishops. Episcopal bishops approved a resolution passed earlier this week by the laity and clergy that allows “partnered gays” full access to ordination. The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed “regret” over a decision by Anglicans in the US that represents a blow to his hopes for Church unity. They took the step towards schism in spite of a plea by Dr Rowan Williams, who addressed the General Convention in Anaheim, California, last week. The new resolution effectively overturns the moratoria on same-sex blessings and gay consecrations agreed by the last General Convention of The Episcopal Church in 2006. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6707029.ece Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 07/13/2009 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | General Convention Day 1 - Report from the AAC By The Rev. Phil Ashey I have just returned from the opening session of the 76th General Convention, and the address by the Presiding Bishop. I am still trying to digest what I have heard. In stark contrast to the gathering of Anglicans two weeks ago in Bedford Texas, there was no opening worship. No praise. No prayer. Just a short introduction by a man in a sport jacket that had the same electric lime green tint, and a similar pattern, to that worn by the Riddler. Then the Presiding Bishop of TEC took the stand. She spoke about the crisis facing The Episcopal Church. “Crisis is always a remarkable opportunity,” she said. Speaking from her own experience as a pilot, she said it is a time to “aviate, navigate, and then communicate,” in that order. Always keep the plane flying through the crisis—even when you are not sure where you are. She described the essential crisis within the Gospels as Jesus’ decision to set his face toward Jerusalem, and likened the decisions of this 76th General Convention to that decision to set one’s face toward Jerusalem. And then in a cold, calm, defiant and defining voice she said, "The overarching connection in all of these crises has to do with the great Western heresy - that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God. It's caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence, as the ground of all being. That heresy is one reason for the theme of this Convention." http://www.americananglican.org/general-convention-day-1-report-from-the-aac Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 07/13/2009 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Episcopal Bishop calls individual salvation 'heresy,' 'idolatry' ANAHEIM, CA - Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says it's "heresy" to believe that an individual can be saved through a sinner's prayer of repentance. In her opening address to the church's General Conference in California, Jefferts Schori called that "the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God." http://www.onenewsnow.com/Business/Default.aspx?id=597368 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 02/10/2009 | General | ALEXANDRIA 2009: Orthodox Anglican Primates Offer Clarity on Primates Meeting VOL sat down with two orthodox Anglican archbishops, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone and the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi who gave their personal reflections on what took place this past week at the Primates meeting. VOL later spoke with the Most Rev. Ian Ernest of the Province of the Indian Ocean. Click the link to read more... http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9899 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 12/08/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Liberal Episcopals vote for more homosexual clergy - Associated Press RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has joined seven other dioceses in passing a resolution asking the church to let lesbians as well as homosexual men become bishops. The vote at the diocesan convention rejected the Episcopal Church's de facto moratorium on electing homosexual bishops since its 2003 consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who lives with his same-sex partner. The resolution will be considered at the Episcopal Church's national convention next July. The Los Angeles diocese also expressed support for homosexual "marriage" with the creation of the "Sacramental Blessing for a Life-long Covenant." http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=346018 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 12/08/2008 | Anglican Communion Network | Alternative Anglican Province Formed in North America Provisional Constitution and Nine Canons Approved by David W. Virtue A new Province of the Anglican Church in North America, an alternative province to The Episcopal Church USA complete with a provisional constitution and nine canons, was birthed today with 700 churches and 100,000 church-going members. A formal ratification of the constitution and canons will take place in a provincial assembly in six months in Bedford, Texas, at St. Vincent's cathedral in the diocese of Ft. Worth. It is historic and unprecedented, said Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan moderator of the Anglican Communion Network. "It is an extraordinary day for us. We have reversed 40 years of Anglican history and years of division among The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada. Today we bring together 11 jurisdictions in Canada and across the US. Today marks 5 years of labor and attempts to come together." http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9459 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 11/10/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | California Episcopal Bishops Excoriate Passage of Proposition 8 By David W. Virtue Los Angeles Bishop Says California Voters "Ignorant" About Homosexuality Two Episcopal bishops and the head of The Episcopal Church's gay and lesbian organization, Integrity, blasted voters who backed a successful ballot initiative to ban gay marriage in California and three other states. Mormons were attacked along with members of Protect Marriage Coalition forcing Los Angeles Interfaith leaders to condemn attacks on the LDS faith who believe the family is the anchor of their faith. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9324 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 11/03/2008 | Anglican Communion Network | An Emerging North American Province- by Bishop Bob Duncan From The Church of England Newspaper 31 October 2008 The twin trajectories of The Episcopal Church and of the Anglican Church of Canada away from any Communion-requested restraint on matters of moral order and legal prosecution have made permanent a widespread separation of parishes from their historic geographical dioceses in the United States and Canada. Now these alienated parishes representing the moral (and theological) mainstream of global Anglicanism are being joined (or are about to be joined) by the majorities of four former Episcopal Church dioceses: San Joaquin in California, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Quincy in Illinois and Fort Worth in Texas. The reality of a significantly disintegrated North American Anglicanism now stretches from coast to coast and from the Arctic to the Rio Grande. http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/10/30/an-emerging-north-american-province-by-bishop-bob-duncan Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 10/15/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Episcopal Presiding Bishop Says the Crisis in The Denomination is Over - by David Virtue The Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori told a Columbus Dispatch newspaper reporter that she thinks the worst of the crisis in the denomination is over. She also predicted that openly gay bishops will be elected in the future, despite an agreement among bishops not to consent to such elections for the time being. Ironically, this is the first time Mrs. Jefferts Schori has ever admitted that there is a crisis in the church, having told the church and press on numerous occasions that only a handful of people have left the church, and that the vast majority of people will stay. In Virginia Beach in 2007, she said in an interview that congregations had "gotten a lot of attention and been very noisy," but accounted for less than 1 percent of the country's total number of parishes, which she put at 7,500. "The Episcopal Church is alive and well," she later told a group of Episcopal Communicators. If that is the case, why is she now talking about a "crisis?" Is she finally admitting that the recent defections indicate a much bigger problem than she ever anticipated? http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9189 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 10/12/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | TONAWANDA, NY: Largest Parish in NY Votes to Leave The Episcopal Church - by David Virtue TONAWANDA, NY: Largest Parish in NY Votes to Leave The Episcopal Church 1,000 members relocate to purchased synagogue with three times the space Clergy will transfer to Diocese of Argentina http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9160 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 10/05/2008 | General | Two Wisconsin Dioceses May Explore Merger - By Steve Waring The convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac is scheduled to consider a resolution that seeks consent from General Convention to explore a junctioning arrangement with the Diocese of Eau Claire when it meets Oct. 18-19 in Fond du Lac, Wis. Junctioning, as defined in Article V of the constitution of The Episcopal Church, means the joining of two or more dioceses to form a new diocese. In order to come before General Convention, the Diocese of Eau Claire must approve a similar resolution at its convention Nov. 7-8. Fond du Lac is 134 years old. Eau Claire is 80. http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/10/1/two-wisconsin-dioceses-may-explore-merger Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 10/02/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Bishop Jack Iker: 10 Reasons Why Now Is the Time to Realign (Diocese of Fort Worth) Our 26th annual convention is approaching, and a momentous decision is before us as a diocese. At last year's convention, your clergy and elected delegates voted by majorities of around 80 percent each to remove language in our Constitution that affiliates us with the General Convention of The Episcopal Church (TEC). This year, clergy and delegates will be asked to ratify that decision to separate. "Why now?" someone might ask. "Why is this the time for our diocese to separate from the General Convention of The Episcopal Church and realign with another Province of the Anglican Communion?" Here are a few of the thoughts that come to mind: http://anglicansunited.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/9/30/Bishop-Jack-Iker-10-Reasons-Why-Now-Is-the-Time-to-Realign Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 09/19/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | SCHORI EXCOMMUNICATES THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH: The Meaning of Bob Duncan's Deposition I don't expect this Thursday's deposition of Bishop Robert Duncan will be anything to laugh about. I don't expect that there will be an eleventh hour reprieve or any cavalry riding to the rescue. No heroics, real or imagined, and certainly nothing funny. Still, I sense a similar irony to be at play. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9001 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 07/07/2008 | General | Remain Faithful Orthodox Episcopalians Standing For The Historic Faith Remain Faithful Mission Statement: Remain Faithful is a group of orthodox Episcopalians who believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God which contains all things necessary for salvation as well as wisdom for Godly living. We are comprised of and led by lay Episcopalians. We are committed to speak the truth in love, communicating clearly the position of faithful orthodox Episcopalians upholding the authority of Holy Scripture. We stand firm with the vast majority in the worldwide Anglican Communion in our commitment to serve our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to support orthodox Christian ideals and beliefs, and to spread the Good News of Jesus' gift of salvation to all. https://remainfaithful.org/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 07/07/2008 | General | Common Cause Partnership Unity in surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ http://www.united-anglicans.org/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 07/07/2008 | General | Anglicans United "Purpose: To grow a faithful churchfor the promulgation of the Gospel while forming Christian disciples in the evangelical, catholic and reformed Anglican way." http://anglicansunited.com/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 07/07/2008 | General | Titus One Nine The Weblog of the Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall Harmon http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 06/24/2008 | General | Reflections on GAFCON First Paragraph: "What is going to come out of GAFCON?" I was asked again and again in the months leading up to Jerusalem. I didn't presume to know, but since arriving here, it has become quite clear why I—and indeed no one else either—yet knows the answer to that question. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midconanglicans/message/567 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 05/13/2008 | Anglican Communion Network | Archbishop of Canterbury's Pentecost Letter to the Bishops of the Anglican Communion The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has sent an open letter to the bishops of the Anglican Communion, in advance of the Lambeth Conference. The full text of the letter can be found at the link below: http://aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2008/5/13/ACNS4403 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 05/07/2008 | General | Father Jake Stops the World The musings of an eccentric and sometimes heretical Episcopal priest. http://frjakestopstheworld.blogspot.com/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 05/07/2008 | General | Confessions of a Carioca - Blog Daniel Hayden Martins Blog http://cariocaconfessions.blogspot.com/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 04/22/2008 | General | Via Media USA Via Media USA, an alliance of associations of laity and clergy, is committed to promoting and protecting the faith, unity, and vitality of The Episcopal Church as the American expression of Anglican tradition. "Via Media, the middle way, is not a compromise for the sake of peace, but a comprehension for the sake of truth. " Click the link below to view this web site http://viamediausa.org/ Add Comment | Read Comments (1) |
| 04/16/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Rhetoric, Empathy, and the Holiness of the Church By Matt Kennedy Summary: No level of empathy or mutual recognition of "good intent" can overcome or override the fact that if this new teaching is heresy then the eternal destiny of souls is at risk. Simply writing that is considered bad form in some orthodox circles; impolite at best, demagogic at worst. If we are to get anywhere near resolving our issues and reconciling the church, some will say, then such rhetoric must be put away and a gentler tone adopted. The implicit assumption behind such objections, however, is that what divides us is less important than the fact that we are divided and that by employing a gentler tone, the serious but non-essential issues facing the church may be resolved or at least set within a larger context of mutual commitment to an ecclesial body... Read the entire article by clicking the link below. http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/11700/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 03/15/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | American Anglican Council - Website Individuals, parishes and ministries who affirm biblical authority and Christian orthodoxy within the Anglican Communion. A good resource for news and information. http://www.americananglican.org/site/c.ikLUK3MJIpG/b.551235/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 02/22/2008 | General | Kathryn Jeffrey blog Anglicat A conservative Episcopal priest comments on religious life from the liberal land of Minnesota. She posts items a few times per week regarding the issues within the Diceses of Minnesota. Visit this site by clicking the link below. http://anglikin.blogspot.com/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 02/22/2008 | Anglican Communion Network | Effort would unify conservative congregations disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church USA By: Colette M. Jenkins (Akron Beacon Journal religion writer ) FAIRLAWN: Bishop Roger Ames is no longer a cleric in the Ohio Diocese of the Episcopal Church USA. But he is a leader in the global Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church USA. Then there's the church that Ames pastors — St. Luke's in Fairlawn. Its incorporation papers list its name as St. Luke's Anglican Church and Ames as pastor. Diocesan records, however, show that it is St. Luke's Episcopal Church and that the pastorate is vacant. The status of both Ames and the church is an indication of the level of confusion in the denomination and of what might very well be the beginning of a new Anglican province in North America. Read the entire article by following the link below. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midconanglicans/message/527 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 02/10/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | Stand Firm - Traditional Anglicanism In America This website contains articles, discussion board, and video pertaining to the issues within TEC. This seems to be an active site with users posting comments on a daily basis. http://www.standfirminfaith.com/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 02/05/2008 | General | Fulcrum Website A UK website providing articles, news items, and forums pertaining to the issues within the Anglican church. This site does a good job of providing information from all sides of the issues. Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, Fulcrum National Launch says: "I see the launch of Fulcrum as a call to evangelical Anglicans of whatever background to work together, to play a full part in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, to make the running, instead of always reacting, to be in the front row of innovative Gospel-work." http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 01/20/2008 | Anglican Communion Network | Who We Are and Where We Stand by Doctor James I Packer Address given at the Anglican Network in Canada Conference, November 2007 http://www.gafcon.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10&Itemid=9 Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 01/18/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | All Saints, Fort Worth 'Information and News' website This article pertains to All Saints in Fort Worth. A church struggling with the diocese move to leave (although it will be another year before Fort Worth can actually leave). They have links to all the important documents that have come out over the last few years. Might be helpful to some. http://www.allsaintsfortworth.org/eciseries.htm Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 01/18/2008 | The Episcopal Church (TEC) | In San Joaquin, Episcopal Church 'alive and well' - By Pat McCaughan, January 04, 2008 This is an Episcopal Life article about San Joachim and the episcopal "remnant" left by the diocese leaving--interesting depending on what perspective you read it from, but also a good example of the pain, frustration, and anger caused by the decision--which applies no matter what side you are on. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_93356_ENG_HTM.htm Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 01/17/2008 | General | Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2007 Advent Letter by:Greg Griffith First 2 paragraphs: Greetings in the name of the One 'who is and was and is to come, the Almighty', as we prepare in this Advent season to celebrate once more his first coming and pray for the grace to greet him when he comes in glory. You will by now, I hope, have received my earlier letter summarising the responses from Primates to the Joint Standing Committee's analysis of the New Orleans statement from the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church. In that letter, I promised to write with some further reflections and proposals, and this is the purpose of the present communication. Although I am writing in the first instance to my fellow-primates, I hope you will share this letter widely with your bishops and people. http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/8373/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 01/17/2008 | General | Counting the Cost of Common Cause: Five Inevitabilities and/or Possibilities by:Matt Kennedy First Paragraph: Below are five inevitabilities and/or possibilities for which to be prepared when leaving the Episcopal Church for another Anglican jurisdiction within the Common Cause Partnership. Some of what is written below may not come to pass. But it could. Before setting out on any journey it is necessary to count the cost. Here is my contribution to that effort. http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/8309/ Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |
| 01/17/2008 | General | Welcome to the St. Paul's New Forum Site! This page was set up in order to allow users to share ideas and comments concerning St. Paul's and other news items within the Episcopal church. If you would like to add a article or topic, please send it to Ted Firth at tfirth6@hotmail.com. http://www.stpaulshudson.faithweb.com Add Comment | Read Comments (0) |