Same-sex Marriage ‘compromise’ moves ahead in Episcopal Church

Two current stories from the Episcopal News Service illustrate the outworking of General Convention’s ‘compromise’ vote, Resolution B012, which gave same-sex couples “unfettered access” to trial-use marriage rites in all of its domestic dioceses.

‘Today feels like a miracle’ for same-sex couples in two Dallas parishes.

“The talk over the weekend in two Episcopal Diocese of Dallas parishes was of history being made, dreams coming true and miracles happening as 24 same-sex couples received what they had longed for: their home church’s recognition and blessing. …

[Dallas Bishop George] Sumner decided that he could not be in a pastoral relationship with parishes that wished to perform same-sex marriages. He negotiated with Missouri Bishop Wayne Smith to provide Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight, or DEPO, to those parishes, relinquishing oversight but not diocesan authority. …”

Tennessee bishop recruits neighboring colleague to implement same-sex marriage rites.

“Bishop John Bauerschmidt announced Jan. 18 that neighboring Bishop Brian Cole of East Tennessee will ‘provide pastoral support’ to Tennessee couples, clergy and congregations who want to solemnize same-sex marriages. …”

Photo: Retired Bishop Gene Robinson presides at a service in Dallas. ENS photo.

Aberdeen congregation votes to leave Scottish Episcopal Church

“A congregation in the north-east Scottish coastal city of Aberdeen is preparing to leave the Scottish Episcopal Church. Members of Westhill Community Church voted last night (Thursday) by 83 per cent to 13 per cent to leave the Anglican Communion’s province in Scotland following what they say is the ‘continued liberal trajectory’ of the Church.

Speaking to the Anglican Communion News Service, the Rector of Westhill, Canon Ian Ferguson, said: ‘We have been on a journey for many years – when I say “we” I mean a group of evangelical Episcopal rectors – in talking to bishops about the trajectory the Scottish Episcopal Church has set itself on going. This culminated in a number of decisions that the SEC took which some of us found that we could not accept. …”

– Report from the Anglican Communion News Service.

And from the Westhill newsletter for 20 Jnauary 2019:

“The result of the vote on Thursday 17th January asking whether you agree with the leaders and vestry that Westhill Community Church should leave the Scottish Episcopal Church was 87% Yes and 13% No, with 2 spoiled papers.

There will be no immediate changes. We as a Church need to take time to catch our breath and pray about the way forward.

Thanks to everyone who assisted with the process including everyone who came out on such a cold night to vote and everyone who stayed to pray together.

With every blessing, on behalf of the Leaders and Vestry.”

And so… Dr. Peter Jensen’s parting blog post as GAFCON General Secretary

“On January 1st Archbishop Ben Kwashi became General Secretary of Gafcon in succession to me.

I cannot say how pleased I am to welcome him into this role. I admire him very much as a wise man of God, and think that his passion for prayer and the sharing of God’s word will be an immense encouragement to the Gafcon movement as we seek to, ‘proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations.’ God has also endowed our brother with spiritual perceptiveness and courage – gifts he will certainly need.

When I think of the message of Jerusalem 2018, ‘Proclaim Christ Faithfully to the Nations’, I am always so glad that the word ‘faithfully’ appears. All our churches have many failings and even scandals. We are very far from perfect. But the aim of proclaiming Christ faithfully gives us a purpose, a goal, and a character.

Why? …”

– Read all of Peter’s letter at the GAFCON website – and do pray for Peter, and for Archbishop Kwashi.

Here is Dr. Jensen’s message suitable for printing. Formatted to print on both sides of A4 paper and then cut in half. (Emphasis has been added.)

180kb PDF file.

Anglican Unscripted episode 477

This morning David Ould spoke with Kevin Kallsen of Anglican TV about the controversy involving Dr. John Shepherd and the Anglican Centre in Rome.

They discuss the significance of Dr. Shepherd’s statement – released yesterday – affirming that he believes in the Resurrection. (See also davidould.net’s response to the statement.)

‘WA Anglicans rally behind former church head over resurrection furore’

“The Anglican Archbishop of Perth, Kay Goldsworthy, described Dr Shepherd as an outstanding member of the WA church community and said she was surprised people had been making ‘statements of concern’ about a sermon from 11 years ago.

‘If that happened to every preacher in the Church we would all be in trouble, frankly,’ she said. ‘There is a statement that people have picked out, whoever the people are, and have sort of wanted to make some example of. …”

– Story from The West Australian.

Could it be that Dr. Shepherd’s words were ill-considered lines picked out from among many things he taught as the Dean of the Anglican Cathedral in Perth?

See this official Perth Cathedral Easter message, recorded by Dean Shepherd for Easter 2008. Courtesy David Ould.

Related:

Good News that is also True News – Bishop Paul Barnett.

Gospel Truth (book) – Bishop Paul Barnett.

Is the New Testament History? (book) – Bishop Paul Barnett.

A Short Book About Jesus the Man from Heaven (book) – Bishop Paul Barnett.

Archbishop of Canterbury urged to act over Vatican envoy who questioned resurrection

“A row has erupted within the Church of England as senior Anglicans are calling on the Archbishop of Canterbury to force his ambassador to the Vatican to resign because he does not believe Jesus rose from the dead.

It has emerged that Dr John Shepherd, an Australian cleric appointed last week as the new representative to Rome, had delivered a sermon in which he said Christians should be ‘set free’ from the traditional view of the resurrection. …

Reverend Dr Lee Gatiss, director of the church’s biggest evangelical group, said the situation was ‘utterly bizarre and absolutely inappropriate’ and Dr Shepherd should resign. …“

– Read the story from The Telegraph.

(Photo: Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby.)

Uniting Church President: challenge to same-sex marriage vote unsuccessful

In a Pastoral Letter to members of the Uniting Church of Australia, the Assembly President, Dr. Deidre Palmer explains that the numbers needed to challenge the Assembly’s same-sex marriage decision last year were insufficient:

“Seven Presbyteries chose to exercise their right to notify me as President, that, in their opinion, the matter was ‘vital to the life of the Church and there was inadequate consultation prior to the decision.’ There were five Presbyteries in Queensland, one Presbytery in the Northern Synod and one Presbytery in the Synod of NSW and the ACT. On Saturday the 5th of January 2019, the Presbytery of South Australia met, and decided that the majority of members did not support the proposal that the Fifteenth Assembly marriage decision was a ‘matter vital to the life of the Church and there was inadequate consultation prior to the decision.’

This means that the threshold for the suspension of the Assembly decision has not been reached.

As a result, the Assembly decision on marriage stands …”

– Read the full letter here.

Doubtless, members of the Uniting Church of Australia who hold to a high view of Scripture, would value your prayers for wisdom.

Business ‘as usual’ for the Anglican Communion

These two stories illustrate the march of theological liberalism through the Anglican Communion:

One shows it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe the clear words of Scripture – and the other shows it does matter if you do believe the clear words of Scripture:

Anglican Ambassador to Rome denies the Resurrection of Christ – Archbishop Cranmer.

“The Anglican Centre in Rome is the Embassy of the Worldwide Anglican Communion to the Roman Catholic Church. Its Director is effectively the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Ambassador to the Vatican; Justin Welby’s personal representative to the Holy See, tasked with pursuing peace and justice in the world and the promotion of Christian unity. …

The Interim Director is the Very Rev’d Dr John Shepherd, formerly Dean of St George’s Cathedral, Perth, Australia (and Chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford, 1980-1988). The Governing Body of the Anglican Centre in Rome no doubt carried out all the necessary due diligence to ensure Dr Shepherd’s impeccable record of sexual behaviour and moral probity. What a pity they didn’t delve into his theological orthodoxy.

He denies the physical resurrection of Jesus.

The Rev’d David Ould dug out the relevant sermon…”

US bishop faces “partial restriction on ministry” over same-sex marriage stance – Anglican Communion News Service.

The Bishop of Albany, William Love, has had a partial restriction placed on his ministry over his refusal to permit same sex marriages in his diocese. …

In November, Bishop William sent an eight-page letter to the Churches in his diocese, in the north of the US State of New York, saying that the resolution was “in direct conflict and contradiction to God’s intent for the sacrament of marriage as revealed through Holy Scripture.”

Today, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, announced that had placed a partial restriction on Bishop William’s ministry pending a preliminary investigation. …

he is “forbidden from participating in any manner in the Church’s disciplinary process in the Diocese of Albany in any matter regarding any member of the clergy that involves the issue of same-sex marriage” and he cannot “participate in any other matter that has or may have the effect of penalising in any way any member of the clergy or laity or worshipping congregation of his Diocese for their participation in the arrangements for or participation in a same-sex marriage in his Diocese or elsewhere.”

And some people wonder why GAFCON is needed.

See also:

Photo of Dr John Shepherd (left) via the Anglican Centre in Rome.

Conversations with John Anderson — Featuring Os Guinness

Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has been publishing some fascinating Conversations on his website.

Recently, he spoke with Christian author and social critic Os Guinness. Watch the video of his 38-minute conversation here. (Direct link to the video here.)

And see the other conversations already published.

Why I Walked: Sometimes loving a denomination requires you to fight

“In June 2002, the synod of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster authorized its bishop to produce a service for blessing same-sex unions, to be used in any parish of the diocese that requests it.

A number of synod members walked out to protest the decision. They declared themselves out of communion with the bishop and the synod, and they appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Anglican primates and bishops for help.

J. I. Packer, an executive editor of Christianity Today, was one of those who walked out. Many people have asked him why.”

In 2003, Christianity Today publishing this article by J I Packer.

In 2017, with permission, it was republished by GAFCON. Well worth reading.

Thanksgiving

“On September 28th 1863 Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States of America, asking for an Annual Day of Thanksgiving. …

I had a deep sense of sadness when I read this, reflecting on our own nation that appears so confused and divisive. We live in a nation with a myriad number of commemoration days set aside and sometimes even a whole a week to remember certain things, but do we stop as a nation to offer thanksgiving? Someone has said ‘The worst moment for the atheist is when he/she is really thankful and has no-one to thank.’…”

–  At the Diocese of Armidale website, Bishop Rick Lewers reflects on what Australia needs as we enter a new year.

GAFCON Chairman’s Pastoral Letter for Epiphany 2019

From Archbishop Nicholas Okoh’s Letter for Epiphany 2019:

“The choice before us as a global communion is between this revealed wisdom of God and the wisdom claimed by secular ideologies.

For a while the reality of this fork in the road can be obscured by an insistence on dialogue in its various guises such as ‘indaba’, ‘good disagreement’ and ‘walking together’, but in the absence of godly discipline, false teaching will continue to spread.

In the Church of England, just before Christmas, this process reached the point where its bishops took the unprecedented step of giving official guidance for what they described as ‘services to help transgender people mark their transition’ and it will be incorporated into ‘Common Worship’ (a range of services authorised by General Synod). …

So, much as we thank God for the rich history represented by the See of Canterbury, we cannot avoid the sad truth that insistence on full communion with Canterbury as an essential mark of belonging to the Anglican Communion now risks jeopardising the apostolic faith itself.”

– Read it all at the GAFCON website.

Eleven years ago – plans for GAFCON crystallise


On 1st January 2019, after ten years at the helm, Dr Peter Jensen will step down as General Secretary of GAFCON and hand over his responsibilities to Archbishop Ben Kwashi, the new General Secretary.

We give thanks for Peter’s global leadership these last ten years.

Eleven years ago, Peter – then Archbishop of Sydney – wrote to explain why GAFCON was needed, and he foreshadowed the first Conference, to be held in Jerusalem:

“A Global Anglican Future Conference is planned for June 2008. The aim of the Conference is to discuss the future of mission and relationships within the churches of Anglican Communion.

Those who wish to retain biblical standards especially in the area of sexual ethics have spent much time and effort in negotiations on these issues in the last five years. They want to move on together with the gospel of Christ’s Lordship, a gospel which challenges us and changes lives. Israel is planned as a venue because it symbolises the biblical roots of our faith as Anglicans. I want those in the fellowship of our Diocese to know what this is about and why I am involved…”

– Read Peter’s full message, published in December 2007.

Continuing erosion of biblical authority in many parts of the Anglican Communion highlights GAFCON’s vital role.

Photo of Archbishops Ben Kwashi and Peter Jensen courtesy GAFCON.

Toronto Bishop Kevin Robertson marries his same-sex partner

Bishop of Toronto, Kevin Robertson (left), has married his same-sex partner in a service at St. James Cathedral.

Link via Anglican Samizdat.

Letter to the Archbishop of York on Liturgy celebrating ‘Gender Transition’

“Your Grace, This letter to you is respectfully to express concerns about the liturgy commended by the House of Bishops in celebration of gender transition in local churches. As a member of Church Society, I would support the concern expressed by its director, Dr Lee Gatiss, about the use of the existing rite of affirmation of baptismal faith for this purpose.

He wrote: ‘The repurposing of liturgy like this is troubling. As a church whose doctrine is derived from Scripture and expressed in our liturgy, transitioning the meaning and purpose of liturgy looks like changing our fundamental doctrine by stealth’.

The theological reasons for the concerns about this liturgy have been well expressed in the various resources which Church Society has published and so there is no need to rehearse those arguments here.

But the specific issue I would like please to raise with you, if I may, relates to the potential misuse of the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy against frontline ministers who cannot in good conscience celebrate gender transitions.

Clause 2.4 of the Guidelines states quite rightly that ‘clergy should always be conscious of the power dynamics involved in their pastoral care, noting both the position of trust which they hold and the power which they exercise’. Clause 12.3 also states that ‘pastoral care should never seek to remove the autonomy given to the individual. In pastoral situations the other party should be allowed the freedom to make decisions that may be mistaken’.

That individuals must never be coerced or manipulated in pastoral conversations should not be in dispute. But gently inviting individuals in the light of the Holy Scriptures to think about the consequences of decisions they may be contemplating and lovingly warning them of the spiritual dangers of disobeying the Bible’s teaching should not, according to the Ordinal, be viewed as wrong. The Ordinal clearly enjoins clergy ‘to be messengers, watchmen, stewards of the Lord; to teach and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family’.

The use of already canonically authorised liturgy for the purpose of celebrating gender transitions presents a new set of circumstances under which frontline clergy minister. So, the current uncertainty over whether the sensitive expression by clergy of spiritual and moral concerns about gender transition might be treated as an abuse of pastoral power poses a threat. Doubt about this would seem to leave clergy, who believe as a matter of deep theological conviction that gender transition is not in accordance with God’s good and loving will for people made in his image and who cannot in conscience affirm such transitions, vulnerable to having complaints of misconduct upheld against them under the Clergy Discipline Measure (2003).

As a parish incumbent, I ought to take my spiritual and moral accountability to my chief ministers under the infallible Word of God in the Bible very seriously. I should accept their ‘godly admonition’, which the Ordinal exhorts ordained presbyters to.

So, I think it is my duty to be clear with you as the senior pastor of the Province in which I minister that I would be morally bound to contest any CDM action brought against me for expressing concerns about gender transitions and not using the new liturgy. I would also be duty-bound to support any other licensed minister threatened with CDM action for following his or her biblically-informed conscience on this.

I believe I should show this letter to the Oughtibridge PCC so that they know where I stand on this issue as their servant in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This letter to you is also being forwarded to the Bishops serving Sheffield Diocese. It would be good to meet with them in the New Year, if they wanted, together with other colleagues who share these concerns.

With all Christian good wishes,

Julian Mann – Vicar, the Parish Church of the Ascension, Oughtibridge, in the Diocese of Sheffield.”

– The Rev. Julian Mann has sent this letter to the Archbishop of York. (Photo: Archbishop of York John Semantu.)

See also:

Church of England’s plan for transgender baptisms outrages bishops – The Telegraph.

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