from:  Baby Blue

This is an article by Andrew Carey - read full article - here -

It’s been a week full of bad hair days for Anglican liberals. Their worst nightmare came to pass. Not one but two of Anglicanism’s world-renowned theologians made statements that had liberals fulminating, frothing and spitting in rage.

Firstly, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s surprisingly strong reaction to The Episcopal Church’s General Convention dealt a final blow to the bizarre pretence by the American leadership that their controversial resolutions were merely descriptive. Dr Williams realized that ‘pastoral generosity’ amounted to a green light for same-sex blessings, and that the reference to ‘no’ extra-canonical restraints on Episcopal elections was a turning away from an already very weak moratorium on the consecration of practising homosexuals.

Furthermore, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s clear recognition that the Episcopal Church was walking even further apart from the Anglican Communion was followed by strong language of a twin-track communion — with the Episcopal Church on the outside track.

Sad days for all of us North American Anglicans - regardless of affiliation. Prayers for all faithful Anglicans who continue to try to walk Faithfully during this difficult time.

Amen and Amen:

Christ Church Anglican is rejoicing in the confirmation of 6 comfirmants this coming Sunday on August 2nd, 10 am, at the Blaine Center in Butte Montana. CCA is delighted to have the opportunity to have a visit from Bishop Bill Murdoch who will officiate during the service. Afterwards there will be a reception of a traditional English tea to celebrate.

hattip - Montanan

by NT Wright

1. In the two days since the Archbishop released his ‘Reflections’ on TEC’s General Convention, they have already generated widely differing responses. We always knew, say some conservatives, that the ABC was a hopeless liberal, and this has confirmed it. Not so, declare many horrified radicals: he has obviously sold out to the conservatives. Some have warmly welcomed the statement and hailed it as paving the way forward. Cautious voices in between are trying to discern strengths and weaknesses. In my view, there is much to welcome, and much whose implications need further unpacking. The two main sections of this paper deal with these two aspects.

2. I have tried to bear in mind that the Archbishop is himself not only an Instrument of Unity but the one which has to hold on to everything at this moment. Lambeth 2008 didn’t say much (apart from what the ABC himself said); the status of ACC and Primates are under question in various quarters; it is up to him. He therefore has an obligation to maintain as broad a conversation as possible, and that is continually to be seen in his statement. As often (for instance in his poems, and in his recent book on Dostoevsky) the Archbishop’s writing challenges its readers to pause, to ponder, to think things through. One commentator has suggested that he employs a characteristically British habit of inviting the reader to draw the really important conclusions and giving them the space to do so. This piece is an attempt to take up that challenge and invitation.

Read the entire article at the ACI site - here -

hattip:  Montanan

As many of you know, I am a person of homosexual orientation who was converted to the Christian faith after many years of very active involvement in a gay lifestyle. I was once quite the militant, and you could never have persuaded me to endorse something so hopelessly bourgeois as “gay marriage.” My compatriots and I would actually laugh and scoff at the “gay church” crowd and considered them to be no more than useful idiots in the onward march towards ultimate sexual liberation.

But in His great mercy and compassion, the One who came into the world to seek out and to save that which had been lost came even to me. Through the witness and ministry of some remarkably faithful Christians in the Episcopal Church, I was led to a life changing encounter with our Savior Jesus Christ, and to a confession of faith and a commitment to his Lordship over my life. This was accompanied by a very profound conviction of my own sin and my need for repentance, one certainly not based on my sexual preferences alone. It has left me with an abiding conviction in the truths of Holy Scripture, that our sexual appetites must be rightly ordered in accordance with God’s will, and that they find their proper expression only between a man and a woman united in holy matrimony. It is that ongoing witness and ministry I must now keep in mind, no matter what.

As a Christian, I can no longer think in derisive terms of those who continue to disagree with me, even from within my own Church. The pain and longing that they experience - and, believe me, it is real enough - is one that I have also known, and how can I do otherwise than love them? I also know, in the depth of my being, that there are some among them who will yet experience the calling of our Lord and who will surrender their souls and bodies to His purposes. They are as dear to God as all of His other children and the bells of heaven ring just as loudly when they find their way home.

Read the Entirety of this article- here -

hattip:  Standfirm

The general convention of TEC has begun and the Presiding Bishop of TEC opened this session with the following remarks:

And then in a cold, calm, defiant and defining voice she said, “The overarching connection in all of these crises has to do with the great Western heresy - that we can be saved as individuals, that any of use alone can be in right relationship with God. It’s caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence, as the ground of all being. That heresy is one reason for the theme of this Convention.”

What a shame that such Christians as St. Augustine, CS Lewis John Wesley and St. Paul (Romans 10:9 - “If you confess with your mouth and believe with your heart you shall be saved”) were not as enlightened to what it means to be a Christian as the current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Read the report from the ACC here: click

Remember to check our pages to find out information on where to Register and Finding other Anglicans.

The gospel of John is my favorite of the four gospels. I love John because when you read it, you get this overwhelming sense of God as Living Love and God as Christ Incarnate. It also has one of my favorite passages in the Bible – where Mary cries over the empty tomb of Jesus and He meets her where she is – her sadness and mourning turn into joy when He speaks her name. However, the Gospel of John also has the narrative of the woman caught in adultery brought to Jesus – and He sits drawing and says, “He is who is without sin cast the first stone”. When they all leave, Jesus says to the woman, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you, Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin”. I love that story. I love that story because it reminds us all that we have no right to judge. I love that story as well because it reminds us that we are to go – not condemned but to leave our life of sin.

I was reminded of that story again when pursuing the net and the Anglican world – and, in particular, my Montana Anglican world - and ran across the old familiar lie from those who have opposed the formation of the Anglican Church of North America. The lie goes something like this, “Well, them there rebels don’t want no sinnin’ in their church so they just are trying to get rid of all of them there sinners” (artistic license, mine). Now, this is a ridiculous idea from several vantage points. First, even a small child in Sunday School can tell you that ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” So, logically, if you were to get rid of all the sinners in the church you would have to completely exterminate the entire human population on the planet. That would ensure holiness – but I seriously doubt that was God’s design in sending His Son to the Earth. Therefore, to propose that ANY sane Christian on the planet would want that is just, well, ridiculous. Secondly, the idea that we could actually exclude sin by excluding people would be great – but unfortunately, since sin is in our very DNA unless we can be transformed by the Risen Christ, I’m afraid all the exclusion in the world would not prevent sin from inhabiting our own hearts and lives. Our greatest barrier to holiness, unfortunately, is ourselves – and doesn’t reside in anyone else. Read on …

Hattip - Christ the King in Spokane

Christ Church Anglican in Butte was privileged to hear two of the bishop canidates for the new Diocese this past May as part of a tour they made to see all the churches in the new area.  One of the the most striking things about both of these bishop canidates, both Fr. Thompson and Fr. Jose’ was their commitment to the gospel of Christ.  Each of these men had given up so much - property, pension, and their former positions in the Episcopal church to do what they believed God was calling them to do.  Not only did these choices give them integrity and credibility, it gave them a passion for calling others to lead a commited and transformational Walk with the Person of Christ.

Most of us came away from that meeting wishing both of them could be our bishop.  Fr. Jose’s passion for mission and Fr. Bill’s passion for building up God’s work as an avenue towards transforming community were inspiring to say the least.  However, it is a blessing to know that while one will lead the Diocese, Fr. Bill will continue to serve as a priest and continue to work with his fellow ministers to lead our diocese well.

Thanks be to God!

Read the official press release -Here!

From ACNA website:

Archbishop Duncan (elect)’s address:

Many of us have sacrificed a great deal to follow Jesus to this place. Many of us have lost properties and sacred treasures and incomes and pensions and standing and friends Yet, remembering the challenge of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, few of us have suffered [Heb.12.4] to the point of shedding blood (though some here, especially among our global émigrés, actually have.) Alban, a new convert, shows us the way. Jesus isn’t finished with his asking and we aren’t finished with our giving. Are we? Alban was the consummate Christian convert, willing to follow his Savior even into a death for others. Are we ready, if more still is asked? Are we ready? Are we willing?

Read the entire message here: Click!
Constitution is passed - Click here!