Upcoming meetings of interest [Updated yet again]

Update II: Another update to list which events AnglicanTV and Stand Firm are covering online, depending as always on funding, so DONATE here and here.

Thanks to Sarah Hey for additional info.

I have had all of these dates and meetings rattling around in my head for the past several weeks and decided that it was time to organize! So, to the best of my knowledge (and please let me know if I've missed anything), here is a list of upcoming Anglican meetings of various sorts from now until Lambeth 2008.

I've listed who is sponsoring the meeting, when, where, why (the purpose of the meeting), and who has been invited (but I can't vouch for who actually may show up).

Anyway, here is my best guess effort (listed chronologically):

July 30-31, 2007
Anglican Communion Network
St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford, Texas
Annual Council Meeting
Invited are all Network bishops. The Bible teacher for the meeting will be Gregory Venables, Archbishop of the Southern Cone.
AnglicanTV will definitely be there.

August 9-10, 2007
Windsor Bishops
Camp Allen, Texas
Continuing discussions
All ECUSA bishops who subscribe to following the process outlined in The Windsor Report

August 30, 2007
Consecration of Bill Atwood and Bill Murdoch
Nairobi, Kenya
AnglicanTV plans to be there, but still needs funding.

September 2, 2007
Consecration of John Guernsey (and an African Ugandan priest)
Mbarara, Uganda (southwest of Kampala)
AnglicanTV plans to be there, but still needs funding.

September 20-25, 2007
ECUSA House of Bishops
New Orleans, Louisiana
Scheduled fall gathering
ECUSA bishops, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC (but it is unclear who from the standing committee will attend)
Both AnglicanTV and Stand Firm will definitely be there.

September 25-28, 2007
Common Cause Council of Bishops
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
First meeting of this group
Invited are all bishops of the Common Cause Partnership, including:

• American Anglican Council


• Anglican Coalition in Canada


• Anglican Communion Network


• Anglican Essentials Canada


• Anglican Mission in America


• Anglican Network in Canada


• Anglican Province of America


• Convocation of Anglicans in North America


• Forward in Faith North America


• Reformed Episcopal Church

AnglicanTV will definitely be there.

October 26-28, 2007
ECUSA Executive Council
The Hyatt Regency Dearborn, Michigan
To consider the Executive Council drafting group's proposed response to the Anglican Covenant (this meeting is meant to meet the January 1 Anglican Covenant comment deadline)
Anglican TV plans to be there, but still needs funding.

July 16-August 4, 2008
Lambeth 2008
University of Kent in Canterbury, England
Regularly scheduled every 10 years
Invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury and includes bishops and archbishops within the Anglican Communion, as well as those in certain kinds of formal relationship with the Anglican Communion

Also, per the Global South Anglican statement of July 18, there may be additional Primates' meetings depending on unfolding events.

Upcoming meetings for the HOB Theology Committee

Hey, I don't know if this needs to be updated or not, but I thought it was pretty telling of ECUSA these days (I added the red outline to highlight the "relevant" section) . . .


And just in case you can't read it, it says:

House of Bishops Committee on Theology

Upcoming Meetings:
There are no upcoming meetings available for this group.

Past Meetings:
There are no past meetings available for this group.

"A Threat Revealed?"

Check out Matt Kennedy's article at Stand Firm on "A Threat Revealed?" He goes over possible manipulation of upcoming events with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates' Steering Committee, and the September 30 deadline for ECUSA.

When I consider how my light is spent

Sonnet XIX.
On His Blindness.


When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide,
'Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?'
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, 'God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.'

John Milton
English poet
(1608-1674)

Re-election of Mark Lawrence ... and beyond

As the Very Reverend William N. McKeachie, Dean of the Diocese of South Carolina, writes in an article about the upcoming re-election of Fr. Mark Lawrence as bishop of that diocese:

Anglican Christianity is surely in the process of re-aligning itself around relationships of apostolic faithfulness, integrity, and collegiality among and between bishops and dioceses committed not to humanly institutionalized structures (which in the long course of church history wax and wane) but to the divinely constituted One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ. . .

The election is slated for August 4.

Hat tip to Stand Firm

Read it all.

EpiscopalLife Online nails another one

Gotta love the headline: "Global South Primates vow to continue violating Episcopal Church boundaries" a news story by Mary Frances Schjonberg and Jan Nunley about the Global South Anglican meeting and the statement issued by that Steering Committee - see here and here for more info.

Another road to Emmaus

And from EpiscopalLife Online, another meeting of African and American bishops:

Trinity Wall Street is convening a group of bishops from Anglican Communion provinces in Africa and their companions in the Episcopal Church "for a consultation to strengthen relationships, develop mission partnerships, and to discover new opportunities to bear witness to the Gospel," according to a Trinity news release. . .

Hosted by Iglesia Episcopal Reformada de España, "Walking to Emmaus: Discovering New Mission Perspectives in Changing Times" will be held in El Escorial, Spain July 21 through July 26.

The conference is closed to the media and other visitors.

Perhaps trying to counteract other news from the Global South? Hummmmm. . .     Read it all.

A Statement from the Global South Steering Committee

From the Global South Anglican, a very important statement that you must read. A few items from the statement:

3. We in the Global South remain committed to the underlying principles and recommendations of the Windsor Report and the various Communiqués that we have issued, especially the statement that was produced during the most recent Primates’ meeting in Dar es Salaam. It was the result of enormous effort and heart-felt prayer and we remain convinced that it offers the best way forward for our beloved Communion. . .

5. We have also been pained to hear of the continuing and growing resort to civil litigation by The Episcopal Church against congregations and individuals which wish to remain Anglican but are unable to do so within TEC. This is in defiance of the urgent plea agreed to by all of the Primates in the Dar es Salaam Communiqué. This approach to use power and coercion to resolve our current dispute is both enormously costly and doomed to failure and again, we urge the immediate suspension of all such activities and a return to biblical practices of prayer, reconciliation and mediation. . .

9. We are concerned for the future of our Communion as a truly global fellowship and our witness before the world as a respected ecclesial family within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. In regards to the proposed Lambeth Conference in 2008, we are concerned that the publicly stated expectations for participation have changed its character and function. It is now difficult to see it either as an instrument of unity or communion.

h/t to Stand Firm
Read it all.

Global South Leaders Urge Emergency Primates’ Meeting

From The Living Church today:

The leaders of the Global South coalition of Anglican Primates have called for an emergency primates meeting to determine the fate of The Episcopal Church and have urged the House of Bishops to put aside their “intransigence” and not force the break up of the Anglican Communion. . . The steering committee criticized Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for accepting the invitation to attend part of the Fall House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans, saying it would undermine the integrity of the primates’ communiqué. . .

Read it all.

Greater Europe Mission

And speaking of God not being dead in Europe, Americans Thadd and Laura Davis are advancing the cause of Christ in Germany:

Partnering with Greater Europe Mission, we help churches reach out into their community by providing computer and English training. Even though we will live in Germany, our ministry is Europe-wide. . .

Check it out.

"In Europe, God Is (Not) Dead"

From the Wall Street Journal, In Europe, God Is (Not) Dead, an interesting article by Andrew Higgins tying church attendance to state sponsorship of churches,

After decades of secularization, religion in Europe has slowed its slide toward what had seemed inevitable oblivion. There are even nascent signs of a modest comeback. Most church pews are still empty. But belief in heaven, hell and concepts such as the soul has risen in parts of Europe, especially among the young, according to surveys. Religion, once a dead issue, now figures prominently in public discourse.

God’s tentative return to Europe has scholars and theologians debating a hot question: Why?. . .

Some scholars and Christian activists, however, are pushing a more controversial explanation: the laws of economics. As centuries-old churches long favored by the state lose their monopoly grip, Europe’s highly regulated market for religion is opening up to leaner, more-aggressive religious “firms.” The result, they say, is a supply-side stimulus to faith.

Hat tip to Kathy Shaidle.

Read it all.

More grace needed

In Grace's paper chase: 'Donation' document from 1929 pledges Grace Church to Denver diocese from the Colorado Springs Independent Newsweekly, reporter Michael de Yoanna names the two sides in the Colorado Springs debacle "secessionists" (those who left ECUSA and are now affiliated with CANA) and "loyalists" (those still members of the Diocese of Colorado) - and yes, it does make it sound like civil war (only sometimes not so civil).

The one-page form could be a Holy Grail for a diocese eager to return to the building now being used by hundreds of entrenched Episcopal secessionists and their embattled patriarch, the Rev. Don Armstrong.

Martin Nussbaum, an attorney for the diocese, says the form, which surfaced as part of the legal battle for the building, bodes well for hundreds of exiled Episcopal loyalists hoping to return to the gray building described when it opened in 1926 as perhaps the most beautiful church west of the Mississippi River. . .

Read it all.

The Common Cause of a Common Light

From the Anglican Communion Institute and the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, some concerns on how decisions are being made by the Anglican Communion Network and others:

The Anglican Church is longing for an open council, unmanipulated by guile and passion; yet what we are getting instead are the sparks of competing political strategies that have the effect of inculcating ecclesial passivity drunk on anxiety.

It must be said that the current lack of clarity or forthrightness on the part of the Archbishop of Canterbury around many of these matters does little to further such openness, and as a result strategies and reactions, fueled by incomplete information and bare speculation, now seem to take the place of synodical prayer, discussion, debate, and discernment.

Good points that need to be thought through - although it's hard when events seem to be overtaking time for reflection.

Read it all.

CaNN WebElves

You know who I miss? I miss the CaNN Elves. I know they have had some serious and sorrowful events in their lives this year and everyone needs time off, and my prayers are with them. But, even though I've never met them, they seem like old friends and I miss them.

Theirs was the second website I discovered (the first being the Midwest Conservative Journal with Christopher Johnson) when I started frantically trying to find any info on what in the world was going on in the Episcopal Church after General Convention 2003.

Being a born and raised Episcopalian in the Diocese of South Carolina years ago, I had no real idea of what had happened in and to the Church. Any strange pronouncements from ecclesiastical authorities always seemed to be something a few yankee bishops were doing "up north."

Talk about scales falling from one's eyes! And playing a large part in my education were the WebElves, for which I will be eternally grateful. So I hope all is well and we'll see you back soon!

What if this present were the world's last night?

Holy Sonnet XIII


What if this present were the world's last night?
Mark in my heart, O soul, where thou dost dwell,
The picture of Christ crucified, and tell
Whether His countenance can thee affright.
Tears in His eyes quench the amazing light;
Blood fills his frowns, which from His pierced head fell;
And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell,
Which pray'd forgiveness for His foes' fierce spite?
No, no ; but as in my idolatry
I said to all my profane mistresses,
Beauty of pity, foulness only is
A sign of rigour ; so I say to thee,
To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assign'd;
This beauteous form assures a piteous mind.

John Donne
British divine, metaphysical poet
(c. 1572-1631)

Donate to AnglicanTV

Here is the fall schedule for AnglicanTV and a request for donations to help cover the costs of travel for Kevin. In the interests of full disclosure, I should say I produce interviews for AnglicanTV on a volunteer basis (in other words, a labor of love). Kevin did order me some really neat business cards though! Go, Kevin and Bill!

Los Angeles and St. Luke's [Updated]

From The Living Church:

The governing body of St. Luke's of the Mountains Anglican Church, La Crescenta, Calif., voted unanimously July 9 to appeal a Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s ruling that the parish’s property belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

Read it all.

UPDATE: Interesting comment from robroy over at Stand Firm on impressions of St. Luke's from his visit this past Sunday:

I asked my college bound daughter what was the difference between this church and ours in Colorado. “The people aren’t 80 years old.” That is what struck me, too. A church with people my age and younger in the majority!

He is commenting on what Kevin and Bill said in their Anglican Report Episode 31 and has more insight into the legal situation since the church's attorney gave a talk after the service.

Read it all.

"Your appropriate place within our communion"

Does Bishop Lee think that The Episcopal Church will no longer recognize the orders of clergy from around the Anglican Communion and the only province that is "valid" is The Episcopal Church? If the Episcopal Church is now setting up their own brand new "Communion" - and that is what this letter implies - well, that's breaking news.

Very interesting post from BabyBlueOnline on a letter written by Bishop Peter Lee of the Diocese of Virginia. And an additional comment from her in the Comments section of the post:

What the 815 lawyers are trying to do is illustrate that the Episcopal Church is its own communion and not part of a larger communion. . .

[all boldface mine]

Read it all.

Diocese of South Carolina to try again

The Special Convention to elect a bishop for the Diocese of South Carolina is being help August 4. The only name submitted at this point is Fr. Mark Lawrence, whose election earlier this year was invalidated by ECUSA.

From Virtue Online, thoughts on the South Carolina re-election:

It is unlikely therefore that Standing Committees of liberal dioceses will give their consent to Lawrence, in which case the Diocese of South Carolina is right back to square one. The 120-day discernment period beginning in August goes well beyond the time frame for the Diocese of San Joaquin to declare its hand.

The Diocese of South Carolina has at least two options.

The first is to drop Lawrence and look for another candidate. That is not likely, sources tell VOL, but it is possible.

Secondly, a number of orthodox bishops, retired and active, could go ahead and consecrate him anyway. This is an interesting but potentially dangerous move. [boldface mine]

Read it all.

Saga Arequipeña

Another evangelism post, this from David Alenskis, a seminarian intern at Anglican Church of the Resurrection in San Marcos. He is in Perú working on a pastoral internship and is blogging the experence at SanDiegoAnglicans. It's interesting to hear "from the field" about evangelizing and I hope he continues to post during his stay. From one of his posts:

And there is much more to tell, I suppose. I could tell of eating cow udder, of new friends and kindred spirits, of unbelievable expectations for birthday party guests, of allegory, moralism, and pelagianism in sermons, or of complete and entire obsession with soccer,. . .

Read it all.

I Didn't Go To Church Today

I didn't go to church today,
I trust the Lord to understand.
The surf was swirling blue and white,
The children swirling on the sand.
He knows, He knows how brief my stay,
How brief this spell of summer weather,
He knows when I am said and done
We'll have plenty of time together.

Ogden Nash
American poet
(1902-1971)

The True Evangelist

I keep coming across writings about evangelism - hummmmm. . .

This is a great story by Fr. David Baumann of Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles:

Immediately I received a profound spiritual smack on the back of my head. It wasn’t the person in the seat behind me, but the smack was almost as tangible as if it had been. A voice nearly shouted in my head, “Leave her alone! You’ve done your part. You played your role in her conversion. You are to pray for her every day for one year. You will not try to find or contact her, and you will not learn in this life what happens to her.”

It was refreshing.

You'll have to read his entire post to understand my title here. And keep John One Five on your blog list.

Tacit atheism

From Pluralism, inclusivism and the gospel at Evangelicals Now:

The ‘tacit atheism’ of our age believes that there is no revelation from heaven, no word from Almighty God and all religions are therefore just matters of opinion, equally valid.

Many faiths and sects abound today. In Athens Paul found all kinds of ‘gods’ worshipped in the city. In that sense since early times the world has been ‘pluralist’ with many rather just one faith.

But now, under the pressures of philosophical relativism and political correctness, we see a change from this ‘descriptive pluralism’ to ‘prescriptive pluralism’. Every faith must accept every other faith as valid. No single religion has the right to call itself the truth and claim to be the only way of salvation. This is an affront to other people’s beliefs. The public questioning of certain faiths should be criminalised and Christian evangelism classified as a hate crime.

And later on in the article:

Good Christians struggle over the question, ‘What about those who have never heard?’ It is a poignant question, and perhaps we cannot have a final answer to it, but there are three things to bear in mind. First, God is just and he will deal justly with those who have never heard. Second, the fact that there are people who have never heard should cause us to redouble our efforts to make sure they do hear. But, thirdly, we must not think that any one of us ever ‘deserved’ to hear the gospel. Our sins are such that none of us deserve anything from God. So it is not a matter of God’s injustice if people do not hear. Beware of trying to put God on trial or accuse him in this way. [all boldface mine]

Read it all.

Anglican evangelism - isn't that an oxymoron?

Interesting thoughts on Mission in North American Today by the Rev. Dr. Canon Michael Green, theologian, author, and evangelist. Here he gives an overview about evangelism in the U.S., including ECUSA and Anglican efforts. He now heads up the Anglican Communion Network Good News initiative, which promotes evangelism and church planting.
Some excerpts:

The Pentecostals are on the move. They are growing almost everywhere, although the far west is the most stony soil for them as for other denominations. Their passion for lost people, their willingness to sacrifice, their enthusiastic worship, their reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, and their encouragement of initiative in congregational members all combine to produce a healthy, outward looking church which is making big inroads in American Society. . . It is estimated that two out of every five converts in the world these days are either Pentecostal or charismatic.

I come now to evangelism within the Episcopal Church. And I have to confess that this part of my presentation is going to be very short. Because it is almost impossible to speak of Evangelism and the Episcopal Church in the same breath in the USA. . . During the Decade of Evangelism the TEC took no part but instead lost scores of thousands of members.

The church is moving in the direction of an undifferentiated Deism. Belief in the deity of Jesus, an objective atonement and the reality of the resurrection are constantly discounted among influential Episcopalians, while the people in the pew prefer not to enquire too closely. And the PB herself has made it plain that all religions lead to God.

Most of the bodies which have dissociated themselves from TEC have joined the Common Cause, and it may well be that we shall see the new American bishops being sent to look after congregations which have fled to overseas jurisdictions such as Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda coming together if the TEC walks away from the requirements of the Windsor Report in September.

[all boldface and italics mine]

Read it all.
You can check out ACN upcoming events at AnglicanEvangelism.org.

(hat tip to Kendall Harmon via Northern Plains Anglicans)

Puppy progress

Okay, so our new puppy now knows (kinda, sorta) "Sit" "Down" "Leave it" and "Look"

But the monks have a lot more patience than I do (I guess that's why they're monks and I'm not - other than the fact that I'm female, of course!) because in The Art of Raising a Puppy everything seems to flow naturally and fluidly from one learned task to another. If I could get our puppy to appreciate the leash, I'd be happy!

Uganda Christian University Partners

If reading Archbishop Orombi's article, "What is Anglicanism?", in First Things inspires you to find out more about working with Anglican groups overseas, check out Uganda Partners

a non-profit charitable organization committed to raise public awareness about Uganda Christian University in the United States by seeking material and spiritual support for students through sponsorships; and by procuring funds for buildings and other needed projects

They seek

to further the University’s mission of preparing students 'through teaching, scholarship, service, spiritual formation, student development and social involvement....for thoughtful, productive lives of Christian faith and service in their respective professions and places

Take a look at How to Get Involved and consider helping with their physical plant or sponsoring a student scholarship.

And for more on Anglican Missions worldwide, check out the Anglican Communion Network's Anglican Global Mission Partners info.

++Orombi on "What is Anglicanism?"

Finally ++Orombi's article on "What is Anglicanism?" is online at First Things. I have two posts below (here and here) that reference commentary on the article from those who received the print copy first. Here Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi of Uganda writes:

But however we come to understand the current crisis in Anglicanism, this much is apparent: The younger churches of Anglican Christianity will shape what it means to be Anglican. The long season of British hegemony is over.

And:

The Bible cannot appear to us a cadaver, merely to be dissected, analyzed, and critiqued, as has been the practice of much modern higher biblical criticism. Certainly we engage in biblical scholarship and criticism, but what is important to us is the power of the Word of God precisely as the Word of God—written to bring transformation in our lives, our families, our communities, and our culture.

And:

It is important that this decision [to not attend Lambeth 2008] not be misunderstood as withdrawing from the instruments of communion. On the contrary, our decision reflects the critical importance of the Lambeth Conference: Its value as an instrument of communion is greatly diminished when the persistent violators of its resolutions are invited. If our resolutions as a council of bishops do not have moral authority among ourselves, how can we expect our statements on world affairs to carry weight in the world’s forums? An instrument of communion must also be an instrument of discipline in order to effectively facilitate meaningful communion among its autonomous provinces. [boldface mine]

Read it all.
And if you like, take a look at my interview with the Archbishop from May when he was visiting southern California at AnglicanTV.

"What is Anglicanism?" redux

Another commentary to check out on Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi's article in First Things on "What is Anglicanism?" (now online). This one's by Adam Omelianchuk posting at The Boar's Head Tavern. Interesting site to check out - how can you go wrong at a blog that has C.S. Lewis as their Patron Saint? Anyway, they bill themselves as

a diverse group of Christians [who have] started a wide-ranging weblog conversation. Today, that conversation continues and you're invited to pull up a chair.

And Omelianchuk says in part:

For those not familiar with The Anglican Communion it has always been an odd duck in the history of the church. It is no mere denomination (though if one wants to label things like that—think The Episcopal Church of the United States), and it is perhaps the most “unified” expression Protestantism in the world today. Yet it remains a kind of “black sheep” in the family of Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox if one is to think of it in terms of the universal church.

so read it all!

"Making structure tolerant"

Check out Brad Drell’s post at Drell’s Descants on The Closing Of The Episcopal Mind - Part One—an excerpt:

Without the fundamental backdrop of faith, submission to God, and the authority of Holy Scripture, the theological liberation contained in Anglicanism ends up being quite useless. A theological system that was once meant to stifle radicalism for the sake of the common good is now dominated by radicalism, because the sense of the common good is lost.

How do you like the new look?

Okay, so I get easily bored. I'm trying a new template and will probably try several others over the next few weeks. Just some summertime fun!

"From Pro-Choice to Pro-Life"

If you haven’t read anything by Frederica Mathewes-Green, please do! I especially recommend her essay first published in Christianity Today titled From Pro-Choice to Pro-Life. It goes to the heart of the abortion debate and offers effective tools for those talking to others about honoring life. An excerpt from that essay:

When I was writing Real Choices: Listening to Women, Looking for Alternatives to Abortion (Conciliar Press, 1997), I spent a year studying the problems of pregnancy, seeking to discover the reasons most women choose abortion. I expected to find practical problems heading the list: financial needs, child-care woes, pressure to drop out of school. Yet after reviewing several studies and conducting my own, no clear pattern emerged.

But when I spoke with groups of postabortion women, a nearly unanimous consensus appeared. Women had abortions, in nearly every case, because of relationships. Most often it was to please the father of the child, who was pressuring for abortion. (In a couple of cases, the woman spoke of lying on the abortion table praying her husband would burst in and say, "Stop, I changed my mind!") The second most common reason was pressure from a parent, most often the girl’s mother.

In the vast majority of cases, I found a woman is most likely to choose abortion in order to please or protect people that she cares about. Often she discovers too late that there is another person to whom she has an obligation: her own unborn child. The grief that follows abortion springs from the conviction that, in a crisis, this relationship was fatally betrayed. [boldface mine]

Read it all.
(Photo credit: Mary Taber-Lind)

"The Art of Raising a Puppy"

Our new puppy goes to sleep best to Benedictine chants, so I suppose it’s only natural that we are using The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete to train him. This monastery in upstate New York was originally founded through the Roman Catholic Church but is now part of the Orthodox Church in America. The monks there have raised and trained German shepherds for over 35 years and now have a show on Animal Planet called Divine Canine.

From Animal Planet’s description of the show:

Each week, we'll follow Brother Christopher and the other monks, and explore their unique relationships with the dogs that they breed and raise along with the outside dogs they train at their picturesque 500-acre monastic community in the rolling valleys of Cambridge, N.Y. We'll see how their holistic training approach can turn even the most resilient of misbehaving dogs into loving and obedient companions, to the delight of their previously frustrated human families.

I haven’t seen it yet, but it sounds fun! Divine Canine airs Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

For God’s sake

From the Times Online, check out Ruth Gledhill's article on Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria. From the article:

I met this enigmatic Archbishop, who in his 63 years has never given an interview to a British national newspaper, in his office in the Abuja diocese. In the small room up a narrow stairway, the most ornate structure was a set of beautifully crafted wooden shelves that this former carpenter designed himself. “God has used my upbringing in carpentry to bear in my work as a bishop,” he says. He wouldn’t be the first to say so. He wore a clerical shirt with no collar, a cross around his neck. His feet were bare. The contrast between this and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s splendid palaces in Lambeth and Canterbury could not have been greater.

And so one wonders, why is ++Akinola doing an interview now? Hummmm. . .

(And also, there are You Tube videos of parts of the interview - h/t Kendall Harmon and the elves.)

"What is Anglicanism?"

Catholidoxies cites an article in First Things by Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi of Uganda on "What is Anglicanism?" Unfortunately, the article is not yet up, but in an excerpt from it, ++Orombi says:

We would not be facing the crisis in the Anglican communion if we had upheld the basic Reformation convictions about Holy Scripture: its primacy, clarity, sufficiency, and unity. Part of the genius of the Reformation was its insistence that the Word of God and the liturgy be in the language of the people -- that the Bible could be read and understood by the simplest ploughboy.

And Catholidoxies goes on to ruminate:

One wonders, however, if the cause of the Anglican troubles aren't a failure to uphold Reformation distinctives but those Reformation distinctives themselves. I do not doubt that a simple ploughboy can be *nourished* by Scripture. But is it really clear in and of itself?

. . . Scripture might be infallible and inerrant, but certainly none of us as an interpreter is. Interpreters can err; who shall then judge between competing interpretations?

. . . But without a competent teaching authority (either Orthodox consensus or the Catholic Magisterium), it is useless, having a nose of wax to be shaped by each as he or she sees fit, even in good faith.

This is something I've been wrestling with myself, and I need to do a lot more reading of history and theology in order to understand it. Does the Protestant edge of Christianity have within its core understanding its own inevitable fissures that crack the entire edifice apart under pressure?

How cute is this?

Yes, we now have a new puppy, a little (but rapidly growing) boxer. We, of course, think he's the cutest dog ever. So far, he usually sits on command, and sometimes seems to know his name. If he smells that you are holding a treat, he will do anything you say! So we are putting up higher fences and making sure all gates are secured to make the backyard dog-proof (and started puppy classes).

His favorite go-to-sleep music is Chant: The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos - within a few minutes, he is sound asleep and snoring.

Follow-up to "No more 'under the radar'" below

See A Communication from the Bishop of Rhode Island Concerning Ann Holmes Redding at TitusOneNine. Ann Holmes Redding, while working in the Diocese of Olympia under Bishop Warner, is actually canonically resident under Bishop Wolf of Rhode Island. Bishop Wolf's response seems correct and pastoral given the situation. Prayers to Ann Holmes Redding as she considers her faith walk.

Another Los Angeles property ruling

Not much info out yet, but breaking from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles:

LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled today that The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles are entitled to the property of St. Luke's of the Mountains Parish in La Crescenta, California.

H/t to Kendall Harmon (as usual).

Everything you've ever wanted to know about what's happening in San Diego

Here is a long round-up of news articles and blog entries on what’s been happening in the Diocese of San Diego and departing local parishes, organized chronologically for the most part. I’ve listed straight news stories first—from both the secular press and other sources, and then I've listed blog entries. The list is divided into sections:

1. Christ the King Alpine splits
   
2. St. Anne’s Oceanside and St. John’s Fallbrook move under Anglican bishops and Bishop Mathes attempts damage control
   
3. Talk of church property and lawsuits begins
   
4. Holy Trinity departs the diocese
   
5. First lawsuit filed September, 2006, and more rectors leave
   
6. Initial legal ruling and more rectors leave
   
7. Diocesan legal appeal rejected
   
8. And the diocese tries again. . . June, 2007

If an article/blog headline did not have name the specific church it was talking about, I’ve added that church name in the article headline for easier use. I’m sure I’ve missed some—please send me info on any through the Comments. I'll be updating regularly. Thanks.

Christ the King Alpine splits

A Letter from the Bishop of San Diego concerning Christ the King, Alpine
American Anglican Council – 12/14/05

Resignation of priest 1st sign of rift in S.D. [Christ the King]
San Diego Union Tribune – 12/16/05

Alpine Episcopal rift confirmed by separate worship services [Christ the King]
San Diego Union Tribune – 12/19/05

Item: Church leaves peacefully in the Diocese of San Diego [Christ the King]
The Living Church – 1/15/06

Realignment Starts In San Diego, CA [Christ the King]
Forward in Faith – 12/16/05

Resignation of priest 1st sign of rift in San Diego [Christ the King]
American Anglican Council – 12/16/05

SAN DIEGO, CA: Traditionalist Parish Leaves ECUSA for APA. Priest inhibited [Christ the King]
Virtue Online – 12/17/05

St. Anne’s Oceanside and St. John’s Fallbrook move under Anglican bishops and Bishop Mathes attempts damage control

St. Anne’s Church votes to quit Episcopal Diocese: 2nd congregation in 2 months to leave
San Diego Union Tribune – 2/2/06

Oceanside church breaks with San Diego diocese [St. Anne’s]
North County Times – 2/3/06

St. Anne’s Leaves Diocese of San Diego
Stand Firm – 1/30/06

St. Anne’s Church Aligns with Worldwide Anglican Communion
TitusOneNine – 1/30/06

San Diego Bishop responds to Oceanside parishioners angry over gays
Oasis California - 2/11/06

Two local Episcopal churches break from denomination [St. Anne’s and St. John’s]
Good News Etc. – 1/30/06

St. Anne’s Church votes to quit Episcopal Diocese of San Diego
TitusOneNine – 2/2/06

Diocesan Digest: San Diego, Rio Grande bishops affirm collaboration
Episcopal News Service – 2/16/06

Pastoral Directive to all Rectors in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego [Bishop Mathes’s infamous “Easter Directive”]
American Anglican Council – 4/19/06

Bishops Give Notice on Property
The Living Church – 4/21/06

Network Deans Respond to Bishop Mathes' Letter
Anglican Communion Network – 4/06

SAN DIEGO: Bishop Incites Fear and Loathing in Clergy, Mathes issues Pastoral Directive demanding loyalty or else...
Virtue Online – 4/22/06

You've Got a Lovely Little Parish
Midwest Conservative Journal – 4/22/06

You've got a *lovely* little parish...
Free Republic – 4/22/06

A house divided: James Mathes, Episcopal bishop of San Diego, and others struggle against fractures in the church over homosexuality
San Diego Union Tribune – 6/15/06

SAN DIEGO: Bishop James Mathes and others struggle against fractures in the church over homosexuality
Virtue Online – 6/15/06

Episcopal flock leaves diocese over doctrine [St. John’s]
San Diego Union Tribune – 7/19/06

St. John’s in Fallbrook breaks with Episcopal Church
North County Times – 7/21/06

(Third) Episcopal flock leaves (San Diego) diocese over doctrine [St. John’s]
Stand Firm – 7/19/06

SAN DIEGO: Bishop Mathes Spins Actions of Fleeing Fallbrook Parish [St. John’s]
Virtue Online – 7/25/06

The Bishop of San Diego Announces His Plans for the Aftermath of General Convention
Stand Firm – 7/26/06

All Saints Episcopal left without pastor
North County Times – 7/31/06

Talk of church property and lawsuits begins

Church ownership disputed: Episcopal Diocese says congregations have no right to property
North County Times – 8/4/06

Church ownership disputed: San Diego Episcopal Diocese says congregations have no right to property
TitusOneNine - 8/5/06

The Bishop of San Diego Writes his Diocese [the Chicken Little letter]
TitusOneNine – 9/10/06

Holy Trinity departs the diocese

Sixth San Diego Church Votes to Leave Diocese [Holy Trinity]
The Living Church - 09/13/2006

San Diego Parish is Sixth to Leave Diocese [Holy Trinity]
TitusOneNine – 9/13/06

Father Larry Bausch [Holy Trinity] writes a Letter to Explain Himself to his Colleagues and Friends
TitusOneNine – 9/15/06

Interview with Fr. Larry Bausch [Holy Trinity]
AnglicanTV – 10/9/06

Keeping Count
San Diego Union Tribune – 9/16/06

The San Diego Six
CTSix.org – 9/16/06

First lawsuit filed September, 2006, and more rectors leave

Lawsuit is filed over Fallbrook church [St. John’s]
San Diego Union Tribune – 9/30/06

Episcopal Diocese files suits against break-away Fallbrook church [St. John’s]
North County Times – 10/5/06

San Diego Diocese Sues for Church Property [St. John’s]
The Living Church – 9/29/06

SAN DIEGO: Wardens, diocese file suit in property conflict [St. John’s]
Episcopal News Service - 10/2/06

St. John’s Anglican Church Responds to Lawsuit by Episcopal Diocese of San Diego to Grab Its Property
Anglican Mainstream - 9/29/06

St. John’s Anglican Church Responds to Lawsuit by Episcopal Diocese of San Diego
TitusOneNine - 9/29/06

More on the Suit by the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego Against a parish [St. John’s]
TitusOneNine - 9/30/06

Diocesan Digest: SAN DIEGO: San Marcos priest leaves Episcopal church
Episcopal News Service – 9/7/06

San Marcos priest leaves Episcopal church
TitusOneNine – 9/6/06

Interview with Fr. Eric Menees [Anglican Church of the Resurrection, formerly with Grace Episcopal]
AnglicanTV – 10/4/06

Interview with Judith Lown [senior warden, Anglican Church of the Resurrection]
AnglicanTV – 1/15/07

Former All Saints priest begins new Anglican church in Vista
North County Times – 11/3/06

Interview with Fr. Joe Rees [St. Anne’s]
AnglicanTV – 9/25/06

Interview with Fr. Neal Moquin [St. Michael’s Episcopal]
AnglicanTV – 11/3/06

Episcopal priest breaks from Holy Cross in Carlsbad [Good Shepherd]
North County Times – 11/8/06

Episcopal priest breaks from Holy Cross in Carlsbad
North County Times – 11/8/06

Episcopal priest breaks from Holy Cross in Carlsbad, California
TitusOneNine – 11/8/06

SAN DIEGO, CA: Episcopal priest breaks from Holy Cross in Carlsbad
Virtue Online – 11/9/06

Initial legal ruling and more rectors leave

Judge tentatively rules against diocese in Fallbrook church dispute [St. John’s]
North County Times – 11/10/06

Judge rules in favor of Fallbrook Anglicans in church dispute [St. John’s]
North County Times – 11/14/06

Fallbrook CA church tentatively backed [St. John’s, also mentions Good Shepherd]
Anglicans United & Latimer Press – 11/10/06

Interview with Fr. Don Kroeger of St. John’s Anglican
AnglicanTV – 12/06

Ordination in San Diego [Christ the King]
episcoblog – 11/19/06

2 priests, members leave over doctrine [St. Timothy’s]
San Diego Union Tribune – 12/7/06

Episcopal Bishop bids goodbye to congregants [St. Timothy’s]
North County Times – 12/10/06

2 priests, members leave over doctrine [St. Timothy’s]
TitusOneNine – 12/7/06

San Diego Episcopal bishop bids goodbye to congregants [St. Timothy’s]
TitusOneNine – 12/10/06

Anglican bishop confronts Episcopal division [Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia visits parishes in San Diego]
North County Times – 2/1/07

Interview with Bishop Frank Lyons (Bishop of Bolivia)
AnglicanTV – 1/27/07

Diocesan legal appeal rejected

Judge says Episcopal Diocese can't amend lawsuit [St. John’s]
North County Times – 2/2/07

San Diego Court Rejects Bid By Episcopal Church to Revive Its Lawsuit Against St. John’s Anglican Church
TitusOneNine – 2/1/07

San Diego request denied in Fallbrook case [St. John’s]
epiScope – 2/2/07

After the storm - All Saints Episcopal replaces priest who left church last year
North County Times – 6/10/07

And the diocese tries again. . . June, 2007

Episcopal Diocese sues three breakaway parishes [St. John’s, St. Anne’s, Holy Trinity]
North County Times – 6/22/07 – in San Diego/County section

Episcopal Diocese sues three break-away parishes [St. John’s, St. Anne’s, Holy Trinity]
North County Times story – 6/22/07 – in Faith section

SAN DIEGO: Diocese files suit against three parishes over property [St. John’s, St. Anne’s, Holy Trinity]
Episcopal Life Online – 6/20/07

Seven Former Episcopal Churches in California Sued
The Living Church – 6/21/07

[St. John’s] Statement in Response to Second Lawsuit Filed
American Anglican Council – 6/20/07

[St. Anne’s] Statement in Response to Lawsuit Filed on June 18, 2007
American Anglican Council – 6/21/07

Second Lawsuit Filed Against St. John's Anglican Church by Diocese of San Diego
TitusOneNine – 6/19/07

SAN DIEGO: Diocese Files Second Lawsuit Filed Against St. John's Anglican Church
Virtue Online – 6/20/07

Unhappy: Episcopal Diocese sues three breakaway parishes [St. John’s, St. Anne’s, Holy Trinity]
epiScope – 6/22/07

San Diego Episcopal Diocese sues three Anglican parishes [St. John’s, St. Anne’s, Holy Trinity]
TitusOneNine – 6/22/07

St. Anne’s Anglican Church's Response to Being Sued by the Diocese of San Diego
TitusOneNine – 6/22/07

DioSanDiego Sues Seven Former Episcopal Parishes
Stand Firm – 6/22/07

Seven Former Episcopal Churches in California Sued
Free Republic – 6/22/07

Beyond the Conflict: Following a fractured congregation, its first female pastor is leading Alpine's Christ the King Church forward
San Diego Union Tribune – 6/23/07

SAN DIEGO: Episcopal Diocese sues three break-away parishes [St. John’s, St. Anne’s, Holy Trinity]
Virtue Online – 6/29/07

Episcopal Diocese sues three break-away parishes [St. John’s, St. Anne’s, Holy Trinity]
Anglicans United & Latimer Press – 6/29/07

SAN DIEGO: St. Anne's Church Will Fight for its Property
Virtue Online – 6/30/07

Don’t forget to check ECUSA Departures even though it seems it was last updated September of 2006—it lists which provinces and dioceses departed churches are now under. (If you know who started this blog, please ask them to update it—it really is helpful!)

And just because I think these men are very cool (but have nothing directly to do with the situation in San Diego), I’m including interviews I did with Bishop Keith Ackerman of the Diocese of Quincy and Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi of Uganda. Enjoy!

Coming soon. . .

I'm currently working on a compilation of news stories and blog entries on the situation in San Diego, starting from early 2006 when churches first began leaving the diocese. This will, of course, be an ever-evolving list, but I thought it would be interesting and helpful to have as many references as I can find put together--kind of like an expanding archive.

If you know of blog entries, please leave the links in the Comments section so I can include them. Thanks!

St. Anne's Anglican responds

An excerpt from David Virtue's post at Virtue Online:

SAN DIEGO: St. Anne's Church Will Fight for its Property

"The lawsuit was not a surprise, and in light of what The Episcopal Church is doing we are disappointed, but we expected it. It is an incredible waste of dollars that could be used for the Kingdom of God. We are continuing on with our mission however."

Baron said that while his parish was not wealthy, "we have allocated funds for our defense."

Baron said he has the same attorney's as St. James, Newport Beach and will follow their lead if they lose and will appeal up through the various courts. "We feel confident that the Kingdom of God will always prevail over the kingdom of man and we trust His love, power and wisdom and whatever direction He calls us to we will honor, because it is designed for our good."

"We have no intention of vacating the property, but if we are forced out, it is not the end of the world, we will find another place and we will continue to grow."

Read it all.

An unfortunate turn of events

As the legal proceedings of ECUSA continue, the lawsuits in the Diocese of Los Angeles continue up the judicial ladder. The most recent ruling comes in favor of the Diocese, overturning earlier lower court decisions (h/t Kendall Harmon).

We'll keep you posted!

Beyond the Conflict

Check out Sandi Dolbee's story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune on the churches in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego that have left, been reconfigured, etc. because of what is happening on the national and local level.

For me, the most interesting part doesn't come until the end, and shows that the churches in the area are definitely not "beyond the conflict"!

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the global Anglican body, and the Americans have irked some of the other branches over such decisions as ordaining an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire. Dozens of U.S. churches have split up, with some conservatives leaving the Episcopal denomination and seeking realignment with like-minded Anglican leadership.

The San Diego diocese has been particularly hit hard. Nine of its approximately 50 congregations were affected. In three cases, the breakaway congregations and priests stayed in the buildings, realigning with Anglican provinces in Uganda, Argentina and Bolivia.

On Monday, the diocese filed a lawsuit in San Diego County Superior Court to get custody of those three churches – St. Anne's in Oceanside, Holy Trinity in Ocean Beach and St. John's in Fallbrook. In the suit, the diocese argues that the congregations violated canon rules, which say all church property is held “in trust” for the local diocese.

An earlier lawsuit filed by the diocese last year against St. John's in Fallbrook was unsuccessful, but a spokesman said this new action argues a different legal point.

All boldface is mine.

No more "under the radar"

Just to add one more voice so that this story will not end up "under the radar," how can one be both a Moslem and a Christian priest? Easy, be Episcopalian! This story is on page 9 of Episcopal Voice, a newsletter for the Episcopal Church in Western Washington--and I'll link to it twice for good measure!
Of course, Stand Firm and TitusOneNine have complete coverage, but this is not a regional story--it's been picked up everywhere.

And the fun begins. . .

Well, so much for the talking and listening that Bishop Mathes called for in his February diocesan address. The Diocese of San Diego has filed lawsuits agains three Anglican churches who left ECUSA and stayed in their buildings:
St. Anne's Anglican (Oceanside)
St. John's Anglican (Fallbrook)
Holy Trinity (San Diego)
Check out more info on TitusOneNine, Stand Firm, and SanDiegoAnglicans (h/ts to all, since there is nothing yet on the diocesan web site).
Also, interviews that I did with three of the clergy from those three churches are posted on AnglicanTV:
Fr. Joe Rees (St. Anne's)
Fr. Don Kroeger (St. John's)
Fr. Larry Bausch (Holy Trinity)

There are no words. . .

Check out a recent interview that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori did with Bill Moyers (and check out the write-up and comments at Stand Firm). There is nothing more for me to say.

All Saints Episcopal gets new rector

It looks like All Saints Episcopal Church in Vista has finally replaced Fr. Joe Rees who left last year due to the drift in ECUSA and is now at St. Anne's Anglican in Oceanside (you can check out the interview I did with Fr. Joe for AnglicanTV).

Here's praying for the best for the Rev. Michael Carr's new ministry and the church family at All Saints.

Why I will not be at church for Bishop Mathes’s annual visit

Bishop Mathes will be visiting my church on June 17 for all three Sunday morning services (7:45, 9:00, and 10:30) as celebrant and preacher.

I will not be there.

I realized after I made that decision that I needed to be able to articulate why, not just for my own sake, but, since my views are well known (ha!) by some fellow parishioners, for others as well. Basically, I have three primary reasons for staying away:

1. While I don’t want to be rude (and being a Southerner, “rudeness” is the worst of all possible sins) or disrespectful by not attending, I don’t want to tacitly appear to endorse or agree with the bishop’s theological and disciplinary stances on various issues.



2. Given his theological leanings, I’m not sure what Bishop Mathes will say in his sermon and I don’t want to be put in the position of walking out, especially with my family there.



3. Bishop Mathes falls squarely into the “reappraiser” camp, to borrow a label from Canon Kendall Harmon, and I most definitely do not (“reasserter” that I am), so, try as I might, I won’t be receptive to what he might have to say in a sermon. The divide is just too great.

To expand on these reasons:

1. From The San Diego Union-Tribune article of June 15, 2006:
   

   “The bishop [Mathes] himself leans toward inclusion, telling parishioners that he believes sexuality is not a choice, but is a ‘God-given state.’
   
   ‘Because of this, I believe that God is calling the church to see in His time a more-complete way of including gay and lesbian persons in the church, including blessing of committed relationships and ordinations,’ he says.”

   By my attending church, knowing that Bishop Mathes believes this and he is my current bishop, I would be endorsing and legitimizing his views. My presence says to others that I am interested in what he has to say from the pulpit regarding the Gospel and God’s Word. Based on his tolerance within the diocese for open communion (even though it is against ECUSA Canons [peace be upon them]), his personal support for non-celibate sexual relationships outside of marriage, repudiation of the order of God’s creation, and inability to name sin as sin, I am struggling with whether to stay in the Episcopal Church or not. I certainly don’t want to be perceived as agreeing with his theological stances.
   
   In addition, the Diocese of San Diego has sued St. John’s Fallbrook over their decision to move under the Province of Uganda and keep their property. Bishop Mathes has also left hanging over the parish of St. Anne’s Anglican, now under the Diocese of Bolivia, the possibility of litigation (he has said, “I do not wish you to take inaction as a signal of anything but patience”). In his address to the diocesan convention in February of this year, he said:
   

   “Even as we avail ourselves of these regrettable civil remedies, we must continually ask ourselves is there a better way. Because we believe the promiser, we must ask how Jesus would expect us to act. So, even as I endeavor to maintain the order, even through civil litigation, I must ask this question.”

   To be invoking Jesus as he sues a member of Christ’s Body in court shows a logical disconnect that I find staggering. We are called not to take our church differences to civil courts (1 Corinthians 6:1-11), yet this is what Bishop Mathes has done (using my pledge money). His only solution now, also shared in his convention address:
   

   “My simple proposal is that we actually sit down and talk, and here’s the challenge, listen, about a way to be one church with two perspectives. Let us come to that meeting with ideas about how to be the church together.”

   Now that his lawsuit has been denied, he wants to talk. Not quite the pastoral approach I would expect from a Christian bishop.



2. I have heard Bishop Mathes speak, as I was a delegate to the diocesan convention in 2006. I have also read most of his letters to clergy and congregations as well as some of his sermons posted on the Diocese of San Diego website. He is an adequate and innocuous speaker (“episcobabble” at its finest), and I have not heard him say anything in a sermon that might be egregious enough to warrant leaving during that sermon—but given his theological stance on some issues, I can’t know for sure what he might say. I just don’t want to have to worry about it at church.



3. Well, Integrity has written the website copy for the diocesan Gay & Lesbian Ministry link under Programs & Ministries. What more can I say? Official reappraiser imprimatur and all that.

So, for better or worse, that is why I will not be at church for Bishop Mathes's annual visit.

Christmas reminder

From Kendall Harmon, and TitusOneNine, comes the reason for the season:

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty winds made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter,
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus Christ.

–Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Anglican/Episcopal web links

Some Anglican/Episcopal web sites to check out:

American Anglican Council
AnglicanTV
CaNN
Midwest Conservative Journal
Stand Firm
TitusOneNine
Virtue Online

And the beat goes on. . .

Here in the diocese of San Diego, we now have Bishop Mathes's wife, Teresa, opining on the state of the Episcopal church:

Because what I have to say is that the AAC and the ACN do not represent true conservatives. Like many Episcopalians, I had scarcely heard of these organizations; then, just over a year ago, my husband was consecrated Bishop of San Diego. Over time, I learned that AAC stood for American Anglican Council, a group of parishes that objected, among other things, to the consecration of Gene Robinson. The Anglican Communion Network (ACN) appeared to be an association of bishops with similar views. These names were used interchangeably with “the conservatives,” so when the groups began to distinguish themselves by their actions, I was astonished to see those actions labeled “conservative.”

All I can say is, that if she just heard about the AAC (which has been around since 1996) and the ACN in the past year, she hasn't been keeping up very well with what's been going on in ECUSA.

She then continues later on:

The conservatives I know are honest, civil people who would scorn secret memos and “innovations” meant to skirt the canons. Let’s face it, that kind of behavior also represents a profound challenge to the traditional understanding of moral fitness for ministry.

What can I say? For the orthodox, traditional Anglicans in San Diego, doing anything out in the open would incur the wrath of the bishop's office not just on them, but their rector as well. "Moral fitness for ministry" should include a pastoral nature that seeks to keep together Christ's Body the Church, not an antagonistic, legalistic, bureaucratic nature that seems to revere canons that apply to property but disregard those pertaining to doctrine and worship.
To see comments on Mrs. Mathes's piece, check out Stand Firm. To see an excellent refutation of her talk, see Jackie Bruchi's response:

Your statements indicate you relied solely on the website information to make your assumptions. Is that how we should judge St. Paul’s Cathedral? When I visited the site I found a lot of information but could not find one link on pre-marriage, marriage or even family counseling. Does that mean that St. Paul’s does not work toward building Christian families? No, I am sure that is not what it means. It means I did an inadequate job of researching the "who and what" of the congregation called St. Paul’s. Could it be that your research on the AAC and ACN would have been greatly bolstered by placing a telephone call to them or better yet visiting a church that is actually affiliated with them?

And later in Jackie's piece:

"The Internet now bristles with memos"
...is correct. Have you read the Via Media plan for the day after convention? If not, you can read it at Drell's Descants. If we are going to throw stones, could we be sure and hit all the houses on the block?
"The conservatives I know would be ashamed of such behavior. I know I am."
We can agree on that statement but it would be for different reasons and different behaviors than you mention. You see, the conservatives I know are indeed honest, civil people who do not choose to meet behind closed doors. They are a faithful people who feel called to defend the faith once delivered. They are a faithful people who do not seek to deny you your right to practice your faith however you choose. They simply are not willing to allow those who would deny them those very same rights to steal their church.
I would ask you, did you happen to notice what four bishops are attempting to do to a fellow bishop when the duly elected people of his diocese voted openly and did not meet behind closed doors?

It does seem as though Mrs. Mathes could have put more research and thought into her talk. There is no need to name-call, and it ill befits a bishop's wife to take such as hard public stance on issues that are tearing this diocese apart, particularly since her husband has lent his name to the shameful charges against Bishop Schofield.

A tragedy in the making

Well, it’s almost a month since the delegates to the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) General Convention 2006 (GC06) finished their work, and the fallout continues. (Excuse me, they now request that we call them TEC—The Episcopal Church—since I suppose they are trying to sound all global and everything—although why we are following their lead, I have no idea, so I shall continue to call them ECUSA.)

Several dioceses have requested alternative primatial oversight (APO) from the Archbishop of Canterbury in response to actions taken at GC06 since they see themselves unable to remain under the leadership of the new presiding bishop. I have never understood why so many call someone so brilliant when her theology appears from her sermons and interviews to be non-existent and superficial, but then again, she was elected presiding bishop and I wasn’t. My bishop (James Mathes) and diocese here in San Diego have jumped on board, but my parish has not (thank the Lord, and I really mean that).

We (my family and I) are trying to figure out our next move. We love our parish and our priest, who is a classical Anglican and absolutely believes in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, but the writing is on the wall as far as the diocese goes and we don’t want to be any part of it. It truly feels unchristian, actually more than that—it feels dark and dire. Three parishes have removed themselves from the Diocese of San Diego—one (Christ the King) has joined a continuing church and the other two (St. Anne's Oceanside and St. John's Fallbrook) are under other Anglican bishops (more info here and here at Titus One Nine). I’m sure the fights over property and priest inhibition are coming.

We are becoming increasingly paranoid about even talking about events because of Bishop Mathes's April letter and our concern that our words (not actions, but listen carefully, our words!) will be used against our clergy. His letter puts the onus on parishioners and vestry members to watch their language or our clergy will bear the punishment. And who would want to be responsible for getting their clergy in trouble? And maybe causing them to lose their current livelihood, especially when they have families or are close to retirement? And then you start looking suspiciously at other church members, wondering who might be a mole from the bishop's office, just waiting for a slip to report back. Is this a national church that any Christian would want to be a part of?

It is a very weird time here. . .

And Father's Day is long gone

Just a reminder to myself not to post a day-specific item when I'm about to go on vacation. Oh well. . .