3/10/2006
Source: The Living Church
The Primate of the Southern Cone, Archbishop Gregory Venables, urged members of the Diocese of Springfield to be faithful to their vocation as Christians and not to give up hope for the renewal of the Episcopal Church. Archbishop Venables’ 10-day pastoral visit also included a Feb. 25 conference sponsored by the Diocesan Prayer Fellowship.
Approximately 25 clergy and lay leaders of the Springfield chapter of the American Anglican Council joined Archbishop Venables at the Kings House Retreat Center in Belleville on Feb. 22 for a briefing on the state of the Communion at the close of a diocesan clergy retreat.
“He made it very clear,” the Rev. Donald Perschall, Jr., said, “that the view of the primates is if the Episcopal Church continues to walk apart from the Communion, that will be its choice.” However, the rest of the Communion “will not walk with us.”
Fr. Perschall, rector of Trinity Church, Mount Vernon, Ill., told TLC the heart of Archbishop Venables’ message was that Episcopalians in the United States should hold fast to the faith and for traditionalists “to hold together and continue in a united front.”
While the divisions within the Episcopal Church were being played out within the political sphere of General Convention, the root cause is, essentially, a theological dispute that did not have a ready resolution. “You cannot dismantle scripture and then on Sunday proclaim it is the ‘Word of the Lord’,” Archbishop Venables said. He urged the diocese not to surrender to the spirit of the age.
“We can only guess what will happen at General Convention,” Fr. Perschall said, but whatever the outcome, “cutting and running” was something the faithful should not do. Archbishop Venables acknowledged that some members of the church might be forced to leave due to “intolerable” circumstances, but counseled patience and perseverance.
The coalition of Anglican Communion primates from the Global South were well aware of the situation in the Episcopal Church and would not “abandon” their supporters, Archbishop Venables said. However, General Convention, he said, would be a time of choosing, echoing Nigerian Primate Archbishop Peter Akinola’s words at the November “Hope and a Future” conference in Pittsburgh.
12 March 2006 at 9:41 am
“The coalition of Anglican Communion primates from the Global South were well aware of the situation in the Episcopal Church and would not “abandon” their supporters, Archbishop Venables said. However, General Convention, he said, would be a time of choosing, echoing Nigerian Primate Archbishop Peter Akinola’s words at the November “Hope and a Future” conference in Pittsburgh.”
It isn’t the truth, spiritually or doctrine that is motivating Venables and Akniola - it is money that is the true motivation here. The role the harlot is being paid to play is ‘orthodoxy’ but the she still needs to be paid. Those very rich American parishes need to be worked like the streets of Logos.
12 March 2006 at 5:08 pm
There is a photograph of Hitler in full rhetorical flight. Below a caption: “This man is going to set Europe ablaze through his incendiary dreams of world domination.”
You may not think anything unusual about this photo and caption until you realise that it is what Hitler says of Churchill.
It reminds me again that some have nothing within their own framework of moral and social system to begin to even imagine that the actions of some of these Global South Primates may well be motivated by a true love for His Church and Gospel.
Mccabe - think about this.
12 March 2006 at 11:05 pm
Johnny,
My brother in Christ, I do think about it. I am just as aware of the fact that there are good people of faith on both sides of these issues as you are. I pray for those paid professional christians that call for a crusade against ECUSA to understand that it is love for each other that Christ urged us to do. I pray to God to forgive me for forgetting to love those that would harm me.
From the Book of Common Prayer ECUSA:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving‑kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offenses. Wash me through and through from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions only too well, and my sin is ever before me.
15 March 2006 at 4:00 am
Mr. McCabe, I’m afraid your analogy of the harlot doesn’t work for me in this situation.
I’ll put my cards on the table and tell you up front that I have never received nor asked for a single cent in pay or remuneration from the Church of Jesus Christ. Just so you know that nobody is getting paid here to play anything but their convictions.
No, your analogy won’t work because the corrupt, thoroughly Gnostic, and anti-Christian ECUSA has so much money that even when we begin to “walk apart” from them, they no doubt will have plenty of old trust money to sustain the Universalist sandbox for some time to come.
So, pot, meet kettle.
By the way, it’s an old ruse and obvious red herring to use the money issue to divert from what the real source of division is: that of theological commitments. That old saw wouldn’t work back in 1977 or 1993, and it won’t work now.
15 March 2006 at 9:36 am
My Dear Brother in Christ, Daniel,
I applaud your serving Christ as a non-paid professional Christian. It is a role that we in the laity know very well. The laity always perform their Christian service without being paid. We depend on the paid professional services of other Christians to lead us all to the see the Kingdom of God. We depend on the paid profesional services of other Christians to call us to bring the love of Christ Jesus to heal this hurt and broken world.
However, I am not so sure that your free Christian service helps much with the problem of hate mongering in the Anglican Communion. “Gnostic, and anti-christian ECUSA” is certainly as powerful a statement as: “...the harlot…still needs to be paid. Those very rich American parishes need to be worked like the streets of Logos.” I find myself so often being inspired to respond to inflammatory comments with equally incendiary comments of my own. That is why I offered a prayer for forgiveness in my last message.
And now I add:
“If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the perfect offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 2:1‑2
16 March 2006 at 4:42 am
Mr. McCabe,
I assure you that no “hate mongering” was intended. I am quite aware that any criticism of the recent innovations in Catholic faith and order in ECUSA, as well as her departure from the historic Biblical faith and witness she held dear for so long, in addition to the “walking apart” in matters of practise with the vast majority of the worldwide Anglican Communion is often met with jeers of “hate monger.”
This is incorrect. It is not hate to desire to win to the Gospel those who have denied the risen Christ, such as Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison or Bp. Michael Ingham of Canada, it is love (Ezekiel 3:19; Proverbs 10:2), nor is it hate to call an apple an apple: when Bishop Spong sullies himself with the Gnostic heresy by preaching his man-centered theology of human pride, it is no sin for Christians to call a heresy by the specific name it has come to be known by.
That is a wonderful Scripture reference that you have quoted. Let us pray that resurrection-denying Episcopal bishops will avail themselves of the promise contained in that verse and repent of their error.
16 March 2006 at 8:46 am
Daniel, My Dear Brother in Christ,
Is your idea of love based on agreement with you and those like you? Is your love conditional or is it unconditional like the love of Christ Jesus reaching out to all sinners? What about your Batismal Covenant: from the Book of Common Prayer - ECUSA
“Celebrant: Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People:I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant: Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People: I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant: Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
People: I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant: Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
People: I will, with God’s help.”
Are you living up to your vows? I know that I certainly have a great deal of difficulty practicing what I have vowed to do. I must ask God constantly to help me put away my anger and help me become a peacemaker. I must remind myself to pray for those that would harm me. Do you?
18 March 2006 at 11:17 pm
Deacon Daniel
You, I have no doubt, caught on to Mr. McCabes style. He is an agitator not to be taken seriously. I have a great time playing with him but as always he praises God and quotes scripture out of one side of his mouth while spouting blasphamy out of the other. He can’t be taken seriously.
Mick
19 March 2006 at 10:35 pm
Yes. I thought it was abundantly clear that mccabe is out of his league, what with his constant evasions and double-talk.
21 March 2006 at 12:07 am
Puddleglum, Daniel
Just the tactics of Bishop Frank Wade, Theologin of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, and co-chairman of the upcomming conference. Who, as much as said, amidst much double talk, mis-direction, and clouding of the issues, said that in the light of modern secular views the Bible is not relivant. This was done at a discussion of the ramifications of the Windsor Report done at my church. Wade is one of Griswold’s revisionests.
This is a first hand experience. I was there.
Mick