"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Micah 6:8 KJV

• A Message from Bishop-elect David C. Anderson
• Exodus in Central Florida Diocese
• UK Parishes Prepared for "Irregular Actions"
• Ottawa Votes for Same-Sex Unions
• California Convention to Vote on Same-Sex Rites
• Christ Church Congregation Votes for Split

A Message from Bishop-elect David C. Anderson

Beloved in Christ,

Telling the truth is so much easier; you can remember what you said, and you can repeat it without fear that you haven't quite got it right. When a person or an organization sets out to deceive it is not remarkable that along with deception goes confusion and controversy. In their recent meeting in New Orleans, TEC Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori and the House of Bishops approved a carefully nuanced document designed to SEEM TO SAY something that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Joint Standing Committee could point to as if it were true. Rowan Williams had to know that deception was afoot - if indeed the House of Bishops was not in fact coached on what to say - and so even though it was clear that their statement DID NOT meet the requirements of Dar es Salaam, the JSC moved to declare it acceptable. Dr. Williams, apparently unwilling to call a special meeting of the Primates, chose to tackle them one by one, mano a mano, to find enough of the Primates who were either uncertain or willing to accede to the JSC report, thusly enabling him to declare that the Primates are of a divided mind and allowing him to dismiss any Primatial concern. Can Dr. Williams run roughshod over the Primates in this manner? At the moment, probably yes, but at a price.
 
Dr. Jefferts Schori meanwhile is collecting some heat from the gay and lesbian activists who feel sold out. Actually they were, sort of. They are supposed to know that the HOB statement, along with a wink and a nod, really means "be patient and we will deliver." But the gays and the lesbians are dealing with the same slippery TEC leaders that the Communion has to deal with, and some of them are not totally confident that they and their radical agenda aren't going to be sold out.
 
The intransigence of the revisionist TEC leaders is born out by the Diocese of California (the see city is San Francisco) as they consider passing a resolution calling for trial use of three same-sex blessing rites endorsed by the diocesan Commission on Marriage and Blessing. The dishonest revisionist bishops who passed the carefully nuanced HOB statement from New Orleans will most likely not even honor their agreement among themselves. If passed by convention, Bishop Andrus would be expected to approve it on a trial basis, which of course is not OFFICIAL, because it is TRIAL usage. At the same time a similar move was made by the Canadian Anglican diocese of Ottawa.
 
What is being soft pedaled of recent are the theological statements that TEC Bishops know could be used publicly to show heresy. Quiet for the moment are stories about allowing Holy Communion and church membership without first requiring Holy Baptism. This is common in many liberal parishes around the country, but it is being kept quiet so as to not upset the Communion more. Also statements about "many ways to God" and Jesus is "a way" or "a savior" instead of Jesus is THE Way and THE Savior are for the moment muted. Not gone away, not repented of, not diverged from, but for the moment strategically muted. What the world needs to understand, and what the print and electronic media won't touch, is that it is heresy on the part of TEC about Jesus and the Bible that got us to the homosexual agenda being embraced. You can't fix part of the problem without fixing the entire problem, for sin knows its own default setting.
 
Christ Church of Savannah, Georgia, the mother church of all churches in the state of Georgia, the church where the Rev'd John Wesley was once rector, has voted to return to its original roots. It once was orthodox Anglican, then after the American Revolution it was Episcopal, and now it has left TEC to once again be orthodox Anglican, affiliating with the Anglican Church of Uganda. It is a painful separation, and the TEC Bishop of Georgia has issued his perfunctory statement that they can't leave, and all property is his and he will sue - but leave they have and the words "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I'm free at last," have been heard from more than one set of Savannah lips. Christ Church predates both the United States of America and the Episcopal Church.
 
Startling news is coming from the UK with the announcement by the UK Reform organization that unless major changes are made soon, people and parishes are prepared for "irregular action." This bears watching as events in the UK continue to unfold.

Late breaking news in the USA concerns the actions of several orthodox congregations in the Diocese of Central Florida who are leaving TEC and their current bishop John Howe.

Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus,
Bishop-elect David C. Anderson
President & CEO of the AAC

Exodus in Central Florida Diocese
Source: Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida (via email)
Date: October 18, 2007

NOTE: According to The Rev. Don Curran, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Ocala Fl., the following statement was released from the Diocese of Central Florida via diocesan e-mail list serve.

On Thursday, October 18, 2007, the Rectors and Senior Wardens of seven parishes of the Diocese of Central Florida and two church planters met with Bishop John W. Howe and representatives of the Diocese to discuss the possible scenarios by which all or part of the congregations may disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church.

Each parish will now enter a process of conversation and negotiation with the Diocese based on its particular circumstances.  Bishop Howe reiterated his commitment to provide pastoral care both to those who leave and to those who wish to remain.

All parties agreed to enter into these negotiations in good faith using Biblical principles in an effort to avoid litigation and scandal to the Church of Christ.

Read the rest of the email by clicking here.

UK Parishes Prepared for "Irregular Actions"
Source: Church of England Newspaper via Anglican Mainstream website
Date:  October 18, 2007

The new chairman of an Anglican traditionalist network seeking to uphold orthodox teaching in the Church of England warned that it may be forced to carry out irregular ordinations in the future. The Rev. Rod Thomas, chairman of the Reform network after replacing the Rev. David Banting, was due to say in his speech at the group's national conference in London this week that as the 'liberal threat' in the Church of England increases, 'people and parishes will have to be prepared for irregular action in response'. He was due to add: "Increasingly, parishes will want to distance themselves from those bishops whose teaching is unbiblical and divisive. This may amount no more to an unwillingness to join such bishops around the Communion table. But as we've seen in Chelmsford, even these actions can be costly when a bishop refuses to ordain bona fide candidates."

Speaking to The Church of England Newspaper prior to the Conference, Mr Thomas explained that they would consider turning to foreign bishops to carry out ordinations as a last resort. He said: "As the Church gets more fractured maybe bishops or retired bishops will be able to help out so we can find an 'English solution', but if not we may have to look overseas.... This would be a last resort but you can see this happening more frequently as the liberal threat increases and we need to plan ahead to maintain our role of reforming the Church."

He confirmed that they would not be seeking to leave the Church of England but rather reform it from within. Mr Thomas was also to mention in his speech that the Anglican Communion had effectively split, but said it was not too late for the Archbishop of Canterbury to save the body, if he rescinded the invitations to American bishops to Lambeth, but failure to do this would "seal the division of the Communion" and "rapidly spread fractures through the Church of England".

More than 200 delegates were due to attend the two-day conference in central London which was a record number. Mr Thomas also highlighted the need for Reform to set up funding initiatives to support their work in the future.

Ottawa Votes for Same-Sex Unions
Source: Anglican Journal
Date:  October 18, 2007

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he believes that "due process was followed" by the diocese of Ottawa when a majority of its synod members approved on Oct. 13 a motion asking its bishop to allow local parishes to bless civil marriages between same-sex couples.

"I believe due process was followed with respect to the handling of this resolution. The outcome of the resolution is a reflection of the mind of the church local in this matter," Archbishop Hiltz told the Anglican Journal.

He also described diocesan bishop John Chapman's statement that he would conduct wide-ranging consultations with the Canadian house of bishops, the diocese, and other Anglicans both at the national and international level before arriving at a decision as "entirely appropriate..."

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

California Convention to Vote on Same-Sex Rites
Source:  The Living Church
Date:  October 15, 2007

Clergy and lay delegates to convention in the Diocese of California will consider a resolution calling on Bishop Marc Handley Andrus to approve for trial use three same-sex blessing rites endorsed by the diocesan Commission on Marriage and Blessing. Convention meets Oct. 19-20 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco...

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Christ Church Congregation Votes for Split
Source:  Christ Church, Savannah Press Release
Date:  October 14, 2007

Savannah, GA.  By a decisive margin of 87% the congregation of historic Christ Church voted overwhelmingly to affirm the vestry's September 30, 2007 decision to place itself under the pastoral care of The Rt.  Reverend John Guernsey, Rector of All Saint's Church in Woodbridge, VA and a bishop of the worldwide Anglican Communion's province of Uganda, Africa. The action followed a prolonged process of disciplined prayer and discernment. 

Read the rest of the press release by clicking here.