Fr Menees recommends movie, "Fireproof"

I haven't seen this movie yet, but I have heard about it and plan to go.

From SanDiegoAnglicans.com:

A "two-thumbs-up" recommendation for Fireproof (out this weekend) from Fr. Eric Menees, Rector of Anglican Church of the Resurrection, San Marcos, who attended the pre-release review. If you don't already know, Fr. Menees is especially qualified to recommend to recommend a film with a first responder theme; he serves as chaplain to several emergency services groups in North County.

From an email to his parish. . .

Read it all.

Did I mention that I've left the Episcopal Church. . .

And this is one reason why:

“Today’s decision was difficult and emotional but a necessary action to care for the order of the Church, the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, and the collegiality of the House of Bishops.”

Bishop James Mathes of San Diego commenting on today's uncanonical and despicable action by the Episcopal House of Bishops, meeting this week.

Bishop MacBurney issues an apology

From the Living Church [boldface mine]:

The Rt. Rev. Edward H. MacBurney, retired Bishop of Quincy, and Wicks Stephens, his lawyer, have reached an agreement under which Bishop MacBurney voluntarily submitted to discipline.

Last January, the Title IV [disciplinary] Review Committee issued a presentment against Bishop MacBurney for allegedly leading a service of confirmation at a congregation which had left the Diocese of San Diego in order to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone in South America. Bishop MacBurney was subsequently inhibited, or prohibited, from functioning in any way as a priest or bishop, pending an ecclesiastical trial which had been scheduled to be held in November.

In her “Sentence Upon Voluntary Submission to Discipline” dated Sept. 9, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori removed the inhibition against Bishop MacBurney and admonished him “not to repeat the actions which caused the presentment to be brought against him.” She also directed him to apologize “in writing to the Bishop of San Diego for not respecting his authority as the bishop of that diocese.”

Bishop James Mathes of San Diego, who originally had brought the complaint against Bishop MacBurney, said he was satisfied with the outcome. The process “held a bishop of the church accountable to his colleagues and this was a good thing,” Bishop Mathes told Episcopal News Service. He said Bishop MacBurney’s willingness to apologize for his actions “provided us a way to provide forgiveness.”

In an interview with a reporter for The Living Church, Mr. Stephens said that the sentence conformed to the terms which were agreed to before the voluntary submission was made adding that Bishop MacBurney is fully restored as a retired member of the House of Bishops, meaning he can again perform priestly and episcopal functions with the permission of the local diocesan bishop.

“I’m sure there are a number of diocesan bishops who would want to have an Anglo-Catholic bishop come and minister,” Mr. Stephens said. “This was a practical means of bringing him back.”. . .

Read it all.

Presiding Bishop removes MacBurney's inhibition after retired bishop apologizes

From EpiscopalLife Online [boldface mine]:

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has removed the inhibition she placed in April on retired Episcopal Diocese of Quincy Bishop Edward MacBurney.

In a September 9 order, Jefferts Schori said that MacBurney had voluntarily submitted to discipline (Canon IV.2(9) and (10)) over a presentment which the Title IV Review Committee issued on Jan. 24, 2008.

Diocese of San Diego Bishop Jim Mathes, who originally asked for MacBurney to be disciplined because he conducted unauthorized confirmations in San Diego, told ENS September 10 that the order and discipline of the church had been "maintained and in some way enhanced by this process."

"Bishop MacBurney's decision is the result of my efforts and those of others to find a non-judicial outcome to an unfortunate event," Mathes said September 10 in his weekly email to diocesan clergy. "Today, the order of our church and the collegiality of the House of Bishops have been enhanced."

The process "held a bishop of the church accountable to his colleagues and this was a good thing," Mathes told ENS.

"I grateful to Bishop MacBurney for his role in this," Mathes said, explaining that MacBurney's willingness to apologize for his actions "provided us a way to provide forgiveness."

Jefferts Schori's September 9 order admonishes MacBurney to not make any other such visits and to apologize in writing to Mathes "for not respecting his authority as Bishop of that Diocese.". . .

Read it all.

SanDiegoAnglicans: Sowing good seed

Posted by Fr. Eric Menees of the Anglican Church of the Resurrection, San Marcos (one of the San Diego churches that walked away from their property and is now under the Southern Cone):

This past Sunday, the Youth Groups of Resurrection, Sts. Timothy & Titus and Holy Trinity gathered together at Holy Trinity, Ocean Beach, for a mixer, beach party, pizza fest and some evangelistic action.

About 30 youth gathered from the three churches and marched down to the beach. After setting up camp at Life Guard Station Three and hitting the waves a group of the kids went up and down the beach handing out Christian Bracelets and asking people if they had any prayer requests that they could pray for. They were terrific evangelists!

After they trekked back to HT - O[cean] B[each] they shared in some great hymn singing, went through a ton of Pizza and then gathered for a short video & discussion on prayer. . .

Read it all. I think the Anglican churches in San Diego have made a great effort to work together on creating opportunities for youth ministry. Under the organization of Fr. Russ Martin of Sts. Timothy & Titus and Cindy K. (actually, mostly Cindy!), the middle and high schoolers in the area (including Orange County) have had several overnight retreats and get-togethers, with the fall retreats just around the corner.

The long good-bye

I know Stand Firm has from time to time posted letters from those who are leaving ECUSA, so I figured I would too. From a letter written this past May - just to remind you that no one should just melt away after deciding to leave a church:

. . . [A]s you know, *** and I have been struggling with our church commitment for the past several years. We made the decision about a month ago that as much as we had hoped to wait out the situation at St. ***, we would not be able to do so. The recent statement by Bishop Mathes on the California Supreme Court decision only confirmed what we had already decided. . .

As much as we love St. ***, we are unable to stay as members for several reasons:

• St. *** as a parish has not taken a public stand for traditional/orthodox Anglicanism. While your connection with Forward in Faith demonstrates your commitment, there does not seem to be a steadfast parish commitment. If there is a change of rector, the parish has left itself open to calling a less than traditional minister. This lack of public commitment, especially in light of the litigation against other churches from the bishop, implies a lack of resolve in standing with those who are trying to preach the good news and creates a sense of isolation.


• We have not been able to contribute financially to the parish. Not only do we not want money going to the national church but, with the current on-going litigation in San Diego, we cannot contribute anything that might end up going to the diocese. Even if the diocese is not using parish assessments for its legal bills, our financial contribution allows the diocese to continue in this unchristian action. We are called to be good stewards and we don’t think we would be good stewards if we supported the diocese. Yet, we feel we cannot continue to attend a church we cannot contribute to.


• Because we are parents of a soon-to-be-teenager, we do not have the luxury of staying in a church which, on the diocesan and national level, is preaching heresy. We will only have *** at home for a few more years, and while we know that any religious instruction at St. *** would be more than fine, we would still be connected to a national church which has morphed into something very different. We want *** to be surrounded by those who believe in the foundations of the faith and to be able to participate in area activities with Christian young people. If it were just the two of us, our decision may have been different, but I’m feeling a sense of urgency about ***.

We first came to St. *** 14 years ago, the very first weekend we moved to southern California, and we have felt the Holy Spirit there numerous times. . . While we will no longer be members, we hope to be occasional guests. I know the past several years have been difficult for all of the clergy at St. *** and we really appreciate the effort and care that you, Fr. ***, Fr. ***, and Deacon *** have provided. . .

Weekly AAC message from Bishop David Anderson

Via email, the weekly American Anglican Council message from Bishop David Anderson for August 8 [boldface mine]:

Dearly Beloved in Christ,

Lambeth is now over. Many of us are studying not only the documents of Lambeth, but the detailed analyses that are being produced by various sources, and then sitting back and saying, "OK, what is really going on, and how does this play out in the next year?"

Reports came in from Lambeth that a number of TEC revisionist bishops were spreading misinformation in their Indaba groups about the state of litigation in the United States. Their claim was that the orthodox churches and dioceses "were suing them," and the blame was really to be put on the orthodox. This is untrue, but it has been proven that if a lie is told often enough, people begin to believe there is something to it. Let us look at a few examples of lawsuits in the US.

In California, the bishop of Los Angeles is suing the orthodox churches, as is also the case in the diocese of San Diego. The Los Angeles orthodox churches won in the lower court and were reversed in a Court of Appeals, and the case is now before the California Supreme Court. The point to take away is that Bishop J. Jon Bruno initiated the lawsuit, demanding even the children's Sunday School crayons (no, I am not joking, you can read it in the public record), and for anyone, especially a California bishop, to assert that they were sued first is a deliberate untruth.

In Virginia, Bishop Peter Lee had worked out an arbitration procedure that would have allowed the churches and the diocese to negotiate an agreed-upon settlement and avoid litigation. The churches proceeded with their parish votes and the registration of the vote tallies with the local Court Houses, as per the 1867 Virginia law that applied to church splits. When the TEC Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori heard about it, she advised Bishop Lee that "there is a new sheriff in town." Lee was told that if he didn't sue the churches, TEC would sue him. Bishop Lee uncharacteristically buckled under the pressure, and without advance notice, launched the lawsuits. For him to say that the Virginia churches sued him would be a gross violation of the truth also.

Somewhere in the United States, a parish may have asked for a declaratory judgment to settle issues of property title, or may have, once they were sued, filed a counter suit in defense, but it has been the model of the orthodox churches not to use the courts to attack bishops, dioceses, or TEC. The very aggressive stance that TEC has taken was first formulated by leadership within the Presbyterian Church in the US, and it appears that TEC Chancellor David Booth Beers is following the Presbyterian game plan to a "P."

As I mentioned above, there are lengthy reviews of the Lambeth documents available, but as an extremely brief summary you must notice that those who prepared the Indaba Reflections Document prepared it as a "reflection," not as a "mind of the Conference." It was not intended for the document to be the primary outcome of the conference, but simply a narrative to track what people and groups were expressing. Finally, the Reflections were not to our knowledge voted on or formally adopted by the Conference, nor was the document intended to be a resolution that called for specific action.

However, the Archbishop of Canterbury took the document and re-characterized it according to his agenda for the future, with the implied endorsement of the entire Lambeth Conference - although it was only a small group's compilation of "reflections." If they didn't know what they were producing, Dr. Williams certainly knew what he wanted, and it did serve his purposes.

Dr. Williams would like us to believe that almost everyone wants the three moratoria on same-sex blessings, gays in the episcopate, and border crossings to be effected. No vote on this was actually taken, but on his word we are to believe this. Dr. Williams would also like us to believe that there is "a strong consensus on the need to examine how the Instruments of Communion will best work." Already voices in TEC are shrilly announcing that they have no intention of having any moratoria on anything, and some have suggested that the General Convention of TEC in the summer of 2009 will overturn any agreement to refrain from consecrations of gay bishops.

Another of Dr. Williams' points is that some sort of covenant is desirable, although the extent of its power will have to be determined. The breakdown will, of course, occur when we get to the specifics of the covenant's contents. Will it be adequate as a covenant to prevent prevarication, and will there be actual consequences for those that either break the covenant or don't sign it?

Dr. Williams believes that most favor a Pastoral Forum as something that would help the situation and he is looking for detail on how it will be formed. What is not discussed is his lack of resolve for actually incurring painful consequences. His abysmal performance with the Panel of Reference and the lack of funding available will be crucial factors. If he needs to ask TEC for money for this, you know in advance the outcome has been bought.

Dr. Williams is already $4 million US dollars in the hole for shortfall on the just-ended Lambeth Conference. He has reportedly asked Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori for permission to raise money from TEC in the United States to help cover the debt. Next year he proposes having the JSC and the ACC and the Primates all meeting in one year. Will there be a budget shortfall next year, too? If so, who would cover it?

Dr. Williams is a master at building things designed not to work, such as the Panel of Reference, and now, the Lambeth Conference. All of this is to keep us together while we listen to his encouragement, promises and announcement of another meeting in six or nine or twelve months. In much of the Anglican world, however, everyone is a bit wiser now, and we realize the cause for his procrastination is that he secretly agrees with the gay agenda and hopes that if he can avoid an actual split, in time we will all come along. It is, after all, happening in England, and why can't everyone be like the Church of England, which lets the secular government tell it what is moral and proper? The latest bizarre story is the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt. Rev. Michael Langrish, giving his blessing for a "gay wedding" between Canon Rodney Bomford and his gardener Paddy O'Neil. The marriage couple held a "stag and hen party" at a local pub and apparently the "bride" dressed up in a pink top hat and had a sash.

Letters that Dr. Williams wrote as recently as 2002, when he was appointed as Archbishop, reveal his real beliefs, and they help us to understand why he cannot and will not act to bring the Anglican Communion into good order and faith. His comments, which several British newspapers have now seen and reported on, refute the Anglican Communion's traditional teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful. He goes on to express his hope the the Anglican Communion will at some point change its position to be open to gay partnerships.

He is quoted as saying, "The Bible does not address the matter of appropriate behavior for those who are, for whatever reason, homosexual by instinct or nature." His reported academic brilliance may be as the "emperor's clothes;" this type of remark does such violence to the plain reading of scripture that it should disqualify any such speaker from any level of Holy Orders.

The concept that homosexuality is natural is fully unproven, but, like other types of propaganda, if repeated enough times, some will begin to believe it. For a moment, for the sake of argument, suppose that homosexuality is natural. It then joins many kinds of behavior that are "natural" but forbidden in the Kingdom of God. We are called to put aside the natural in order to put on the supernatural. Violence is very natural for human beings, yet we are called as Christians to turn aside from violence. An eye for an eye is natural, but forgiveness as God forgives us is the model we are called to. When scripture says that men are not to lie with men as with a woman, what part of that is not clear to Dr. Williams? It is an encompassing statement, permitting of no nuancing; it has no footnotes about only applying to heterosexual males who are doing something that they really don't want to do anyway. It uses inclusive language - men are not to do this. Other passages refer to women, lest they feel slighted by omission. Scripture is uncomfortably clear on most of the difficult things such as sex and money, so why is it that the "Primus inter Pares" of the Anglican Communion, who is reputed to be a brilliant scholar, cannot read, mark, learn and inwardly digest these scriptures? Hmm.

If you want to know where all of this is going, read what Rowan had written when he didn't know it would be in the London Times and the Telegraph. Then connect the dots. It does make me wonder if in fact a Queen's option still exists. This revelation about Dr. Williams tells us much about how his use of these post-Lambeth bodies will advance not only his stated agenda, but his now-more-visible underlying agenda.

Let us pray for the Anglican Church, that God's will (not anyone else's) be done. And let us pray for better times and for faithful leaders that the orthodox laity and clergy can truly trust, look up to, and follow.

Blessings and Peace in Jesus Christ,

The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council

The +Mathes/++Venables cage match

Okay, so I'm a little behind and am still catching up, but here is the letter from Bishop James Mathes to the Diocese of San Diego in which he avers that ++Gregory Venables apologized for incursions into San Diego:

July 31, 2008
Ignatius of Loyola

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I know many of you have felt frustrated by the slow progress of the discussions at Lambeth, so I want to share with you immediately an important step toward healing that occurred Wednesday morning.

Over breakfast, Gregory Venables, Presiding Bishop of the Church of the Southern Cone, apologized for not contacting me before making incursions into the Diocese of San Diego. Over the past two years, Bishop Venables together with Bishop Frank Lyons of the same province, have made numerous episcopal visits to our diocese without my knowledge or consent. I was heartened by his apology and relieved to hear him say he had not received either of the two letters I had sent protesting these actions and outlining the harm they caused to the church here in San Diego. Previously, I had taken his silence to mean his actions were intentional.

In light of these new developments, I have proposed that we continue discussing how to mend the tear these incursions have caused in our diocese. I am in preliminary conversations with Richard Blackburn of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center as a possible mediator for these discussions. I'm delighted to say that Bishop Venables has agreed to consider such a plan and we will be meeting for breakfast tomorrow to discuss it further.

This kind of mutual walking towards each other and entering into respectful dialogue is exactly what the Archbishop of Canterbury has called us to over the past two weeks. Please pray that this, and other breakthroughs of generous love, will be the true fruit of this conference.

Faithfully,

James R. Mathes
Bishop of San Diego

To which Archbishop Venables responded:

I met with Bp Mathes as I have met with many people during the conference and during the conversation mentioned that I was sorry I hadn’t taken the trouble to tell him what we were doing and why.

And then we have ++Venables in his own words, thanks to Kevin Kallsen at AnglicanTV:

So I think we can rest assured that San Diego Anglican churches under ++Venables are under godly leadership that is leading them forward.

Lambeth: Is Inquisition on the cards?

From George Conger:

Canterbury: A “bombshell” report is expected to be delivered to bishops attending the 14th Lambeth Conference on July 28 that is expected to call for the Episcopal Church to abandon its push for gay bishops and blessings.

The request is expected to come in the third presentation of the Windsor Continuation Group (WCG) to the bishops at Lambeth and follows a call for the creation of an Anglican Holy Office to police the boundaries of the faith.

Backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican “Faith and Order Commission” will be a fifth instrument of unity for the Anglican Communion.

Plans for were disclosed on July 23 during the second of three briefings on the work of the Windsor Continuation Group (WCG) chaired by the former Presiding Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, Bishop Clive Handford.

In its briefing paper to the bishops, the WCG commended the creation of an “Anglican Communion Faith and Order Commission that could give guidance on the ecclesiological issues raised by our current ‘crisis’.”

The Anglican Inquisition proposal came in the last sentence of the briefing paper delivered by Bishop Handford to the bishops. “One person said it would be a good thing and welcomed it,” Bishop Handford explained, but noted there was little substantive discussion of the proposal by the bishops.

Created by Dr. Rowan Williams to advise him on “matters arising from the Windsor Report,” the WCG has prepared three briefings for the bishops that asks “Where we are now”, “Where we should be?”, and “How do we get from here to there.”

The first two briefings addressed the “severity of the situation” within the Communion, focusing on the “inconsistency between the stated intent and the reality” of the steps taken by the Episcopal Church to conform to the primates’ request.”

“The implications of requests and responses are either not fully thought through or they are disregarded. The consequences of actions have not always been adequately addressed,” they said. . .

The state of the Episcopal Church was one of “turmoil” the briefing said, with parishes and dioceses seceding to join other provinces, and “litigation and interventions” becoming “locked into a vicious spiral.”

In discussion following the first presentation, 21 bishops spoke, of whom 17 were white Western bishops. Bishop Keith Ackerman of Quincy (Illinois) spoke of the difficulties faced by traditionalists in the United States, while Bishop Peter Beckwith of Springfield (Illinois) enumerated the innovations of doctrine and discipline that have occurred in the Episcopal Church in recent years.

However, the majority of speakers at the closed-door session came from the Episcopal Church’s liberal wing, and argued the American church was being unfairly caricatured. Bishop James Mathes of San Diego complained of cross-border interventions into his diocese by overseas primates, while other bishops suggested the wider Communion did not understand the unique circumstances of the United States.

On July 25, the Bishop of Washington, the Rt Rev John B Chane dismissed comments made by the Primate of the West Indies, Archbishop Drexel Gomez that the American church was unravelling. Archbishop Gomez’s observations were “dishonest”, Bishop Chane told his American counterparts. . .

Read it all.

Lambeth daily account for July 20, 2008, by Bishop James Mathes, San Diego, and Bishop Gordon Scruton, Western Massachusetts

From epiScope:

Today the morning dawned with the welcoming Eucharist, attended by Anglican bishops assembled for the Lambeth Conference, their spouses, Ecumenical participants, and others.

It was an amazing experience to be worshipping as a bishop in Canterbury Cathedral where some of the first seeds of Christianity were planted in England. The worship experience was deeper because we were in a familiar place, as we have prayed there in retreat for two days.

Sharing the Eucharist this morning was what it means to be in communion – we worshipped, we broke bread and we had communion. We were the Anglican Communion worshipping with Christ with our Ecumenical partners in community.

The Archbishop of Canterbury presided at the Eucharist. The sermon was presented by the Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera, the Bishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka).

His imagery of brokenness of the world and brokenness of the church was an apt place for us to begin to think about mission. He harkened back to the retreat and our need for self-examination, to be built upon. He took us into what is means to be a church where everyone is welcomed, but we also need to be a prophetic church, which is often a redundant church. . .

I'm not sure what that last statment means: "we also need to be a prophetic church, which is often a redundant church" - guess I'll have to see if the archbishop's sermon is online anywhere to made sense of this.

Read it all.

Response from Bishop Mathes' office on St. Margaret's comment

After posting this comment from Stand Firm's post on St. Margaret's Palm Springs financial struggles:

I live in Palm Desert and now attend services at a Roman Catholic parish in La Quinta (haven't officially jumped ship yet). Several parishioners at St. Margaret's told me that following the recent California Supreme Court's gay marriage decision, Bishop Mathes quietly has given consent for the blessing of same sex relationships. However, he stopped short of allowing clergy to actually perform the nuptials. Clergy are allowed to bless the civil same sex marriage once it has already occurred. Two weeks ago, Rev. Clark Trafton (retired but assisting clergy) announced immediately after delivering the sermon that he and his partner were recently married. Most of the congregation gave them a standing ovation.

I asked Bishop Mathes if he could comment or clarify this rumor, and received this response by email from Howard Smith, his Canon to the Ordinary:

Dear Anne,

The Bishop has received your email asking him to comment on a rumor. As blogs do not commit to journalistic standards, such as not reporting on rumor, it is not his custom to comment on blogs. With that said, the Bishop is confident that the clergy of our diocese are following his counsel and direction regarding the issue about which you inquired.

Faithfully,

Howard Smith
Canon to the Ordinary for Finance and Administration

I have to agree, I understand the reasoning and appreciate Bishop Mathes's response. I do, however, disagree with the "journalistic standards" criterion, not that blogs have them - they often don't - but that journalists have them - because they often don't. But that's my quibble, not the bishop's!

Local reflections on GAFCON

Reflections from Fr. Larry Bausch, rector of Holy Trinity San Diego (Southern Cone) and member of Forward in Faith, on his GAFCON experience, posted on SanDiegoAnglicans.com [boldface mine]:

It has been quite interesting to read some of the many email opinions both here and at other sites concerning GAFCON. As one who was blessed to attend the Conference, I can say that I have not been surprised to see that many who were not there have had time to reflect on what happened in advance of some of us who were. This is in part the consequence of the full schedule which allowed virtually no time for reflection. Between speakers, workshops, networking and conversations while eating meals or sitting on busses, there wasn't much time left. Taking the earliest bus back to my hotel each evening, I arrived about 9:15 pm at the earliest or 11:00 pm at the latest, with mornings starting usually with the Eucharist at 6:30, breakfast, and time to board the bus at 7:30 am.

Now, having had a couple of days to do a bit of reflection, I'd like to offer the following comments: First, I was stunned with the comprehensiveness and strength of the Statement. It covered more territory than I had thought possible, considering the gravity of our concerns, the diversity of the local circumstances of the pilgrims, and the very strong personalities in leadership. Second, I was particularly pleased with the clear acknowledgement of the utter failure of the Archbishop of Canterbury to fulfill the expressed will of the 1998 Lambeth Conference and subsequent Primates' Meetings in using his authority to withhold invitations from those bishops who have violated this will from Lambeth 2008. In this same vein, the Statement is quite clear that GAFCON had become necessary precisely because of this failure. Third, I rejoice in the endorsement of the creation of a new orthodox Province for North America, using the work of the Common Cause Partnership to help bring this about.

I do agree with many who have written that the Statement is imperfect, and that it leaves many strategic concerns unaddressed. . .

Read it all.

Diocese of San Diego on the QT *Update*

Update: So Matthew at Billy Ockham picked up on this rumor (below) and had a good point [boldface mine]:

. . . I do not know if that is true. If it is, I would not be surprised and if it isn't I would be. Which is the point of this post. Too much of our church's policy and discipline has been handled in quiet. Too much of our theology has been two-faced. When Bishop J Jon Bruno boldly proclaims that same sex marriage does not happen in his diocese and at the same time pictures are posted from such a coupling, then things have clearly gone too far.

The goal of most bishops in the Episcopal Church is apparently to maintain plausible deniability as to what is going on while at the same time allowing priests to regularly violate the canons (try googling 'open communion' and 'episcopal church'). . .

So I decided to see what I could find online about diocesan policy. I know what Bishop Mathes has said:

. . . While supporting the rights of gays and lesbians, I am mindful that our church has not yet made the decision to bless same-sex unions. We are in the midst of a challenging but vital conversation about holy relationships in this diocese and indeed across the communion. . .

But does he really mean it and how have various churches interpreted that directive? St. Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs, has this statement from Fr. Andrew Green (who helped draft the final language of the resolution I sponsored in February) [boldface mine]:

. . . The Supreme Court Ruling does not change the policies of the Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal Church does not have an official service for the purpose, although there are some unofficial liturgies and I am familiar with most of them.

The Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego does not understand himself to have the authority to officially permit what the national church does not permit. Other bishops may agree or disagree.

At the same time that we are not permitted to perform a "public" or "official" Gay marriage, We are permitted wide latitude in personally and pastorally supporting Gay and Lesbian couples in the parish. Most members of the parish know that our clergy take that responsibility seriously and are diligent in supporting the people of the parish, both Straight and Gay.

One example would be the Anniversary Prayers which we offer, when asked, on Sunday mornings for Gay and Lesbian couples. Another would be the time invested in helping couples to prepare for making a commitment, even if we are not able to perform the ceremony.

In summary; we are not able to offer marriage to Gay and Lesbian couples at St. Paul's, but we are able to assist, prepare, and support these faithful members in significant ways short of the "official" ceremony.

Every situation is personal and pastorally unique. Please contact me to discuss your questions, concerns, hopes, and dreams.

And David Turney at SanDiegoAnglicans.com has another good point:

. . . I say we ask Bishop Mathes himself. He should be able to confirm or deny this. It's a fair question, given the documentation and public nature of the event.

So I have asked Bishop Mathes by email and I will post whatever he responds (or if I get no response). Now, admittedly I am no longer a member of the Episcopal Church so Bishop Mathes is no longer my bishop. He, of course, owes me no explanation, but I do hope that he will answer since, as David points out, this is now in the public arena and, if true, seems to contradict his official policy.

Original: From a comment by rsj92211 on Stand Firm's post on St. Margaret's Palm Springs financial struggles:

I live in Palm Desert and now attend services at a Roman Catholic parish in La Quinta (haven't officially jumped ship yet). Several parishioners at St. Margaret's told me that following the recent California Supreme Court's gay marriage decision, Bishop Mathes quietly has given consent for the blessing of same sex relationships. However, he stopped short of allowing clergy to actually perform the nuptials. Clergy are allowed to bless the civil same sex marriage once it has already occurred. Two weeks ago, Rev. Clark Trafton (retired but assisting clergy) announced immediately after delivering the sermon that he and his partner were recently married. Most of the congregation gave them a standing ovation.

Anyone have any more info on this?

My reaction to the Jerusalem Declaration and GAFCON

Others (Stand Firm, TitusOneNine, Fr. Dan Martins, Christopher Johnson, Ruth Gledhill, etc.) can parse over the details of the Jerusalem Declaration and the ins and outs of GAFCON – they offer tremendously valuable insight, questions, and understanding of what happened, what was agree to, and how that might play out. And Kevin’s coverage for AnglicanTV made all of us front-row participants at the event, for which we should offer [tangible] thanks [cough* donate now for his Lambeth trip *cough].

My admittedly superficial sense of the event, gathered from a great distance, is one of joy and fellowship.

Knowing some of the clergy from San Diego that went and having met some of the archbishops and bishops that were there, I can only say that any result, while maybe not perfect, would definitely have been made in intense and searching prayer with the wish to follow God’s direction and Christ’s commands under the discernment of the Holy Spirit.


There also seems to be a great sense of relief, and rightly so. GAFCON participants correctly realized that it would do no good, and was pointless, to discuss on and on, again and again, anything about the American church. Been there, done that (and been undercut by the Archbishop of Canterbury).

It is time to move on.

ECUSA is no longer an issue because ECUSA is no longer important. The Episcopal Church has removed itself from the greater part of the Anglican Communion in everything but name. The GAFCON bishops know ECUSA cannot be trusted, will try unendingly to bend others to her way, and will try to buy those that she can. So the only way to move forward is not to move ECUSA out of the way, but to just go over her and continue on. The Jerusalem Declaration gives a framework for doing just that. All of the energy that has been expended over the past five years or so to try to call the Episcopal Church to repentance can now be directed outward, to the Great Commission, and there are many ready to do that.

I am very happy for those churches in San Diego that have already moved under Anglican Primates and out from under the Presiding Bishop. I think that GAFCON and the Declaration will contribute greatly to their cohesion, unity, and fellowship. They are now in the forefront of the ongoing (and quickly gathering steam) Anglican renewal movement. They took the risks over the past several years and stepped out in faith: most left their buildings and all trappings of “normal” church, the ones that stayed are now under litigation from Bishop Mathes with the backing of 815, and all are relearning what it is to be a Christ-centered community. There is an energy, an excitement, and sense of freedom there that I pray continues on since there is also a lot of hard work to be done.

For the Episcopal churches still in the Diocese of San Diego that are at all traditional (and there are only a few left), I’m afraid it’s just a matter of time. Given Bishop Mathes’ most recent ordinations and the diocese’s ideas about “holy relationships,” he is moving further and further away from the Gospel. Once traditional rectors leave or retire, I cannot see +Mathes letting any orthodox, traditional, or Anglo-Catholic priest into the diocese. There would be no reason to – most of those upset with the direction of the Episcopal Church have already left in San Diego, not quite all, but most.

And I think +Mathes is not interested in keeping the orthodox, he is not interested much in the pew sitters in those churches, and he is definitely not interested being a “bridge builder” (his claim to fame at his election several years ago). He is interested in property. And given that the diocese is financially helping, in some form or another, over 50 percent of the churches in the diocese, money matters. Even with the real estate decline in southern California, there is some prime real estate that churches are sitting on that could keep the diocese going for quite a while (if only those darn reasserters would just leave already).

But for all of that, I feel strangely removed from it all, a little set apart – from whatever machinations Bishop Mathes may think up, from the activity at GAFCON, from the revisionists’ reactions (and I think they are protesting much too much – GAFCON has them shaken and a little scared).

Perhaps it is because we have left the Episcopal Church and have not yet landed anywhere. I also think it is because I feel some guilt that I should have, could have, done more at my church to help people realize what was going on. But Bishop Mathes was very clever – in his 2006 “pastoral” letter he implied very strongly that anything done to organize against the diocese’s actions or 815 (say, join the Network or make too many waves) would bring wrath down, not on me as a parishioner, but on my rector. Being a political newbie at this several years ago, that affected me. How could I rally and organize to do something that might get my rector fired? If I had known then what I know now, I would have approached it differently but then I was still trying to get my mind around lying bishops and heretical Executive Council actions.

And now, my family has left. Should we have stayed? No, not only were our reasons for leaving valid, but both my husband and I felt God was calling us out. But sometimes I feel like I abandoned something and in a few years if I happen to wander in, it will be unrecognizable to me.

I also think it is because I am still working through what it means to be a member of the “one holy catholic and apostolic Church” because, which church is that? How does one tell? Does it really matter which particular flavor of Christianity? Or does the Nicene Creed mean all of the followers of Christ together, only then becoming the Church as the Body of Christ?

So GAFCON has come in the middle of my ongoing, muddled discernment and gets short shrift in the process, I’m afraid.

Reappraising San Diego reaction to GAFCON

Posted on Susan Russell's blog (I don't see a link to anything, so I'm not sure where this originated), a comment from the Rev. Michael Russell, All Souls' Episcopal Church, Point Loma (San Diego) [boldface mine]:

The number of Primates openly supporting this movement has gone down since 2006 not up. Within Gafcon itself there is a move to redirect leadership from ++Akinola to ++Jensen.

The number of American Dioceses active in the movement has dwindled and even the Windsor Compliant Bishops are now prepared to cut the jurisdiction jumpers out of the equation to raise their own influence.

There is no occasion since the fully public inception of this movement of them actually getting anything they wanted. Neither TEC nor the C of Canada have been sanctioned or side streamed, and the reasserters have not been proclaimed as the true Anglican presence by anyone with any actual authority to do that.

The promises made to parishioners that they would soon be the acknowledged by the Archbishop of Canterbury as the true presence has not and will not happen.

The Jerusalem Declaration has pinned its future to an arcane formulation of "authorities" that most Anglican provinces worldwide are not going to endorse: specifically the 39 Articles and the 1662 BCP as standards of the faith.

Nor will most of the Anglican provinces endorse their peculiar formulations and doctrine of Scripture as found in the Document.

So after a dozen years of planning and six years of bullying and threats, this movement has a smaller affiliation circle and less influence than five years ago.

And their position on the Archbishop of Canterbury will further reduce that.

Despite their assertions that they will not leave, they have simply defected in place and will now just function as an out of control irritant.

Fr. Russell at GAFCON: Final thoughts

From Fr. Russell Martin of St. Timothy & St. Titus in San Diego (Southern Cone) via email [boldface mine]:

Dear Friends in Christ,

All is well with me. The Conference ended on a wonderfully high note as the amended Jerusalem Statement was approved. This was followed up by a closing Eucharist during which our own Archbishop Venables preached. It was wonderful. This is an extremely important and historic statement. It was marvelous as the Primates present all signed their names to the Statement and thus they began their work of working together to form a global orthodox Anglicanism devoted to faithfulness to Christ and the proclamation of His Gospel. I literally wept as the we all stood their brothers and sisters from every corner of the world united as one in Christ Jesus. It reminded me of the magnificent vision of St. John of the Great Multitude in Heaven. I still have much to process related to this incredible day in the life of the Church but I tell you the Holy Spirit was clearly present and we delighted in Him. It has been one of the most significant periods in my life to be amongst the privileged few to take an active part in this important council of the church. I feel so blessed and thankful to our Father in Heaven.

Following the close of the Conference I set out on the follow up tour with Bishop John Gurnesy et al. Our first stop yesterday was Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls where found. It was a wonderful site and very near the Dead Sea. We stayed about three blocks from the Dead Sea. I took in the Sunrise this morning as it came over the mountains from Jordan and illuminated the Sea with startling pinks and reds--like a beautiful rose unfurling. It was simply stunning. I sat with my feet soaking in the water as I did my morning prayers. It was very special. This morning following breakfast we headed for Massada -- the hill top fort build by Herod the Great and the site of a tragic siege that ended with the Jewish Rebels defiantly committing suicide rather than being captured by the Romans. We then went to the Ein Gedi, the place where King David fled and hid while Saul was seeking to take his life and David then cut off the fringe of Saul's cloak as he was relieving himself in cave in which David and his men where hiding (Cf. 1 Samuel 23 & 24). It was beautiful, and it gave meaning to 'streams of living water bursting forth in the wilderness. We then lunched in modern Jericho at a place named Temptation, no less! We then made our way to our next hotel, a Kibbutz on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where we will stay and tour from over the next two days.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you and I pray that the fire and blessing of the Holy Spirit may embolden you in your witness to Christ and the Kingdom of God!

Russell+

Fr. Russell at GAFCON: Blessed but exhausted

From SanDiegoAnglicans.com, on-going posts from Fr. Russell Martin, St. Timothy & St. Titus, as he goes to GAFCON:

. . . Lunch at the main hotel, followed by the opening Eucharistic Service at 2 p.m. which I was graciously asked to be a chalice bearer--it was simply phenomenal Eucharist service. What a terrific honor, praise God! Then a workshop by the renowned Dr. Oz Guinness on Secularism and its challenges to authentic faith. My posts have been spotty, but I have been swamped. I will try to get another Blog/Journal out to you soon. I have been on full thrust from about 16+ hours now between coordinating the pilgrims at my hotel for transport, assisting in the opening Eucharist and being assigned as Archbishop Venables’ Chaplain. It is wonderful and I have been so very blessed beyond belief but I am bushwhacked. . .

Read it all.

Fr. Russell at GAFCON: Security check, please!

From SanDiegoAnglicans.com, on-going posts from Fr. Russell Martin, St. Timothy & St. Titus, as he goes to GAFCON [boldface mine]:

Days 2-3 of My Pilgrimage to Israel and GAFCON June 17-18, 2008:

. . . As I was nearing the gate, I heard a public address announcement reminding all El Al passengers that they would have to have additional screening by the Airline’s Security prior to being allowed to board the plane. After presenting my passport and being asked a whole series of security questions in a relentless staccato. Then the question of my “orphaned” checked bag came up (why was it with me etc.). To which I recounted my tale of lines and a unexpected night’s stay in New York and that the airline had never returned it to me. I was then informed that I would be required to have my carry-on items searched. So Benjamin returned my passport but held on to my boarding pass he then instructed me to wait until I was called. He continued by telling me to take my carry-on bags and be seated until I was called back up for my search.

About 15-20 minutes late, a nice young man named Damien, also an Airline security agent ask me to follow him and bring my bags for their search. We went into a secured elevator and then down through several locked doors and all the while getting farther and farther from everyone else. I will confess I was a bit nervous and would have totally freaked out except that I had seen Damien checking in other passengers. After being led out of the terminal and out near the tarmac, we skirted a portion of the building to arrive at baggage security area and reentered the terminal several levels and blocks from where we started. I was then ushered into a tiny room where once again I was asked to open my bags and then told to go get seated another anteroom while their team went through my bags. So I sat reading my book and waiting. Several times I was asked to come explain some item or another and then told to return to my seat in the other room. About 45 minutes later I was told everything was fine and that I should repack my bags and prepare to return to the terminal. All my stuff was haphazardly strewn over a large counter so I began to repack for the third time that day. I really did not mind them searching everything but I was a bit put off when they then told me to hurry and kept asking me to move things so they could use a part of the counter. I will confess that my thoughts were a bit less than charitable and inwardly I was thinking, “If you had not made such a mess of it, I would not be taking so long!” I simply smiled and nodded. It was as I was repacking there unsupervised that I noted, somewhat ironically, that they had left a box cutter strewn about on the counter well within reach and nearly mixed in with my things. . .

Read it all - and read Day 1 here.

San Diego: Oh, so that's what this was about. . .

Just wondering.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune [boldface mine]:

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego took another step toward the full acceptance of gays with the ordination of its first openly gay deacon.

San Diego Episcopal Bishop James Mathes downplayed the sexual orientation of a newly ordained deacon.

During a month in which thousands of same-sex couples were able to marry in California, Thomas Wilson was ordained to the transitional diaconate by San Diego Bishop James Mathes at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral. Wilson, who moved to San Diego eight years ago with his partner of 20 years, is expected to serve as a deacon for six months to a year before becoming a priest, Mathes said.

Yet the bishop downplayed the significance of Wilson's sexual orientation.

Mathes said he was not aware that a press release had been sent by the diocese with the headline: “Openly Gay, Partnered Deacon Ordained! First One in This Diocese Ever!”

“The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego calls and ordains gifted people,” Mathes said. “That's all this is.”

Wilson, 59, also downplayed the significance of his ordination. . .

So much for the "task force to study holiness in relationships" (resolution 08-09 passed at the February diocesan convention) - those relationships have, by this action, been declared "holy." No more "talking" necessary.

Read it all.

GAFCON: The lines, the wallet and my wardrobe

From SanDiegoAnglicans.com, on-going posts from Fr. Russell Martin, St. Timothy & St. Titus, as he goes to GAFCON [boldface mine]:

Day 1 of My Pilgrimage to Israel and GAFCON June 16, 2008:

The day began like most travel days, early and in that mad rush of a fog to get the last few things packed. It was also dark, being only 3:30 a.m. when I awoke. After showering and shaving I gathered my bags which I had finished packing the night before, though against all odds, I had actually nearly completed packing the previous Friday. So having finished packed those last few items I began my review:

1. Wallet, with cash
2. Passport
3. Tickets
4. Copies of Itinerary and other conference materials
5. Snacks
6. Cell phone etc.

Fr. Larry Eddingfield arrived, shortly there after, to pick me up at 4:45 a.m. and of course, he was right on time. We loaded the truck with my bags did another review of tickets, wallet, etc.

We arrived at the airport a few minutes after 5 a.m. Following a wonderful blessing, a prayer, and yes another “light” anointing with holy Oil, Fr. Larry released me with a hug and a tear. I proceeded to my first of many LINES that day as I checked my bag and received my boarding pass. During this process my cell phone dropped and hit the floor with an unhealthy thwack! As Dr. McCoy from the original Star Trek, “He’s dead Jim!” and so it was. I tried everything I could think of and it would light up for a second and then power down and just be dead, dead, DEAD!

My next line was of course the obligatory Security Check point, which surprisingly enough, moved rather efficiently and no real problems from my fellow line mates or me.

It was then I had my first real challenge of the day I went to the B. of A. ATM and as I went to pull out my Debit Card I was horrified to find it was not there and worse yet neither were my credit cards which I had planned to take. Yikes, “Holy Hamburgers Batman”, we have a real problem. I immediately began to pray and ask the Lord’s help and after a few minutes His glorious peace began to fall on me. Panic resurged as I realized that I had no phone numbers except Molly’s Cell memorized as I always rely on my Address Book in my phone that has now given up the ghost. I made change and tried desperately to find a pay phone, almost as extinct as a T-Rex. After a few minutes of searching and an inquiry to one Port Authority Police Officers I found a phone. I proceeded to call my wife who was by now fully ensconced in purveying Latte’s and Scones to the ‘Brew-o-philes” that faithfully migrate to Starbucks each morning. Suffice it to say, she did not answer her phone. . .

Read it all for a great "up-close and personal" view!