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A Message from Bishop Anderson
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Presiding Bishop
inhibits San Joaquin bishop
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Bid to Depose Pittsburgh Bishop
backfires
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Bishop Iker Receives Letter
Threatening Disciplinary Action
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Archbishop to Announce Lambeth Plans
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"Faith Alive" Ministry Expands
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A Message from Bishop Anderson
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Each week there seems to be
a full list of things happening in our beloved Anglican Communion,
and this week is no exception. Among the items we have included for
your information is the article on TEC Presiding Bishop Jefferts
Schori's attempt to ecclesially inhibit Bishop Schofield for
departing with his diocese of San Joaquin to the Province of the
Southern Cone.
Consider
a situation where a person is mistreated in a company, and he
announces that he has resigned and accepted a position with another
company. The first company president jumps up and says, "You can't
resign, I fire you!" But in TEC's case they don't want to "fire" or
"sack" Bishop Schofield from TEC, they want to handcuff him to TEC
so they can depose him and return him to being a lay person. TEC's
problem is they can inhibit Schofield's shadow and that is about it
- they have lost jurisdiction. Still they continue with their mantra
that lay people can leave, but parishes and dioceses can not leave,
and clergy can only do what TEC says they can do... but John-David
Schofield has left and has been welcomed into the Southern Cone by
the Primate, Gregory Venables. What part of "no jurisdiction" does
Jefferts Schori not understand?
In her
inner councils she was laying the fire not only for John-David, but
also for Robert William Duncan, bishop of Pittsburgh. Her intention
seemed to be to make a Ridley and a Latimer of them.
Bishop
Duncan is still in TEC and still under the jurisdiction of the
canons and courts of TEC. Katherine Jefferts Schori and her inner
advisors tried to inhibit him quickly so they could legally try and
depose him at the spring House of Bishops' meeting, well before his
scheduled next Diocese of Pittsburgh Convention (where the second
reading of departure-enabling canon law changes could be done). The
Presiding Bishop would then declare the bishop's seat vacant and
appoint a caretaker bishop in place of Duncan, before the diocese
could vote to leave. However, all of TEC's three most senior bishops
did not approve the inhibition. Duncan now has a season to "recant
and repent", according to Jefferts Schori, and the House of Bishops
will judge him at their fall meeting - which is also prior to the
planned Diocese of Pittsburgh Convention. Jefferts Schori has a
not-so-wonderful plan for Bishop Duncan's life. Pray for him: times
are tense.
Now we
move from the grimly serious to the spiritually absurd. The new
Nevada bishop, following in Jefferts Schori's shoes, asked a coterie
of the usual and the bizarre to bless him at the beginning of his
new ministry. The Roman Catholic bishop and the Baptist minister
came forward and blessed, but then a Jewish Rabbi, a Muslim Imam, a
Hindu Chaplain, a Bahai leader, and a Native American Faith Leader
each came forward and read or pronounced blessings over him. What is
missing, you might ask, since this is TEC, the all-inclusive church?
Well, the answer to that question is found in an article from
England, where a north Somerset vicar practices Wiccan
and is training to be a Druid, all the while holding a license from
his bishop as an Anglican priest. The Anglican Wiccan Druid priest
was missing at the blessing of the Nevada bishop, and the Nevada
bishop must be careful not to overlook such in the future. Is this
really our beloved Anglican Church? Is there no faith or sense or
wisdom or discipline left?
The
answer is, there is a great reservoir of faith and sense and wisdom
and discipline, and it will be seen at the GAFCON Jerusalem
Pilgrimage in June. This is the Global Anglican future, and a launch
pad for re-evangelizing the north and the west with the lifegiving
and transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Rt.
Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President & CEO
American Anglican Council
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Presiding Bishop inhibits San
Joaquin bishop
Source:
Episcopal Church
Date: January 12, 2008
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on January 11 inhibited
Diocese of San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield.
In the text of the inhibition, Jefferts Schori wrote: "I hereby
inhibit the said Bishop Schofield and order that from and after 5:00
p.m. PST, Friday, January 11, 2008, he cease from exercising the
gifts of ordination in the ordained ministry of this Church; and
pursuant to Canon IV.15, I order him from and after that time to
cease all 'episcopal, ministerial, and canonical acts, except as
relate to the administration of the temporal affairs of the Diocese
of San Joaquin,' until this Inhibition is terminated pursuant to
Canon IV.9(2) or superseded by decision of the House of Bishops."
Jefferts Schori acted after the Title IV Review Committee certified
that Schofield had abandoned the communion of the Episcopal
Church...
...Jefferts Schori needed, in accordance with Title IV, Canon 9,
Sec. 1, the consent of the three senior bishops of the church with
jurisdiction (as opposed to being retired or not in diocesan seats)
to issue the inhibition. She noted in the inhibition that Leo Frade
of Southeast Florida, Peter Lee of Virginia, and Don Wimberly of
Texas gave their consents January 11...
Read the rest of the article by
clicking here.
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Bid to depose
Pittsburgh Bishop backfires
Source:
Religious Intelligence
Date: January 16, 2008
By George Conger
US Presiding Bishop Katharine
Jefferts
Schori's bid to depose Bishop Robert Duncan
before the opening of the 2008 Lambeth Conference has misfired,
leaving the Pittsburgh Bishop in office pending a trial at the
autumn meeting of the House of Bishops.
On Jan 15,
Bishop Schori wrote to the conservative leader saying that
although a secret review panel on Dec 17 had found that he had
'abandoned the communion'of the Episcopal Church, after four weeks
of deliberations the Church's three senior bishops were not able to
agree upon suspending him from office.
If Bishop Duncan had been suspended,
he would have been brought before the March meeting of the House of
Bishops for trial, and likely be deposed from office by the liberal
majority. Having failed to inhibit him, the charges will now be
heard by the Bishops in September. However she urged him to recant
within two months, 'providing evidence that you once more consider
yourself fully subject to the doctrine and discipline of the
Episcopal Church.'...
Read the rest of the article by
clicking here.
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Bishop Iker Receives Letter
Threatening Disciplinary Action
Source:
The Living Church
Date: January 16, 2008
Bishop Jack Leo Iker of Fort Worth
informed The Living Church on Jan. 15 that he has received a second
letter from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori threatening
him with new disciplinary action.
"Unlike her November letter, it did
not imply a charge of 'abandonment of the communion of this church',
but it said that I would be liable for charges of violation of my
ordination vows if I continue 'any encouragement of such a belief'
(i.e. that parishes and dioceses can leave The Episcopal Church),"
Bishop Iker said...
Read the rest of the article by
clicking here.
_______________________________________
Archbishop to Announce Lambeth
Plans
Source:
The Living Church
Date: January 15, 2008
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan
Williams has scheduled a press conference Jan. 21 to announce the
official launch of this summer's Lambeth Conference. He will be
joined by the Most Rev. Gerald (Ian) Ernest, Archbishop of the
Indian Ocean, and the Most Rev. Ellison Pogo, Archbishop of
Melanesia. Archbishops Ernest and Pogo are members of the Lambeth
Design Team that has been planning the program...
Read the rest of the article by
clicking here.
