Re: [asa] The Episcopal Church's new Presiding Bishop

At 08:50 AM 6/19/2006, Rich Blinne wrote:

>"...Schori will most likely be presiding over the schism of the
>Episcopal Church itself or the schism of the Episcopal Church from
>the rest of the Anglican Communion. Both Schori and Anderson voted
>for the elevation of [gay bishop] V. Gene Robinson [of New
>Hampshire] in 2003. ..." ~ Rich

@ Item of possible interest:

  A Statement from Bishop Jack Iker Diocese of Fort Worth on the
Election of the New Presiding Bishop June 18, 2006

"In a rather surprising election today, the House of Bishops chose
Katharine Jefferts Schori to become the next Presiding Bishop of the
Episcopal Church. When first nominated, she was widely regarded as a
"dark horse candidate" and as "the token woman" on the slate. I for
one never expected that she could be elected.

Her election signals a continuation of the policies of the outgoing
Presiding Bishop, namely support for the ordination of practicing
homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions, practices which have
divided the Episcopal Church, impaired our relationship with a
majority of other Provinces, and brought the Anglican Communion to
the breaking point. The fact that her ordination as a bishop is not
recognized or accepted by a large portion of the Communion introduces
an additional element of division and impairment. When she becomes
the first female primate of the Anglican Communion, it remains to be
seen as to how she will be regarded by the other 37 primates, the
vast majority of whom come from Provinces where women cannot be
elected as bishops.

In one sense, we should not be surprised, at all, for this is The
Episcopal Church, which takes pride in being first with every new
innovation: women priests and bishops, the blessing of same-sex
unions, the election of the first gay bishop in 2003, and now the
selection of the first female primate in 2006. One wonders what might
be next." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1651615/posts?page=2#2

@ Isn't that special?
:) http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/4947/robinsonchurchlady7xu.jpg

Gay Eucharist attracts 1000+
<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1651060//^http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4264>Virtue
On Line ^ |
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4264
17 June A.D. 2006 | Hans Zeiger

COLUMBUS, OHIO (6/16/06)-Over 1,000 homosexual and pro-homosexual
clergy, bishops, and laymen of the Episcopal Church celebrated
Eucharist Friday evening at Trinity Episcopal Church, just blocks
from the site of the 75th Episcopal General Convention.

"This is a small taste of what heaven must be like," said the Rt.
Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, as he began his
sermon to the prolonged cheers of the adoring congregation. Then
Robinson was brought to tears as he thanked his homosexual partner
Mark, three years after the Episcopal Convention at which Robinson's
election as bishop was affirmed.

Sponsored by the homosexual pressure group Integrity, the gay-themed
Eucharist stretched on for about two hours and 20 pages in the
Eucharist program. The service began with a prelude on the church's
massive pipe organ and concluded with a resounding rendition of
"Amazing Grace" by the congregation. Around 600 communicants took
places in the pews, while hundreds more sat in folding chairs, packed
into the balconies, and flowed into the basement, the foyer, and out
the doors.

Bishop Robinson said that he was primarily addressing the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of the Episcopal Church
who were gathered there, adding, "I do invite those of you who are,
shall we say, 'homosexually challenged,' to listen it."

Robinson described his talk as part "pep rally," exhorting his
audience to increase their efforts toward homosexual inclusion in the
Episcopal Church. Robinson clearly countered the international
Anglican Communion's Windsor Report, which calls the Episcopal Church
to repent of its hasty homosexual advances three years ago,
declaring, "No matter how much is being asked of us by this
convention, God asks of us even more."

"The Spirit of God is that part of God which refuses to be
contained...God won't just stay put, and God won't let you and me
stay put, content to believe the things we've always believed," said
Robinson. "Remember how we used to think of ourselves, that we
believed the church when we were told we were abominations."

"And then," said Robinson-his audience rapt in the Gothic church, a
shiny-baldheaded priest with earring seated beside a skinny goateed
man, an elderly hippie couple here, a rather austere looking man in
clerical collar there, a row of women with colorful clothing and
activist buttons, all heeding the call-"the Spirit of God went
through us like wind...and we were saved, quite literally born again."

Robinson read a passage from a book that he said was the "secret that
makes Gene Robinson tick," John Fortunato's Embracing the Exile
(Harper, 1982). Fortunato described in the passage his coming-out
experience, and his satisfaction with being gay. "What the hell are
you asking me to do?" Fortunato asked God in his book.

Robinson called on homosexuals to have "compassion for our
enemies...We do have enemies," and to "understand their fear that
causes them to reject us."

The strongest rejection of homosexuality in the Anglican Communion
has come from provinces outside of the Episcopal Church. Only a
minority of Anglican provinces have supported the Episcopal Church's
drift toward homosexuality. Present at the service was the most
powerful Anglican official on the continent of South America, The
Most Rev. Orlando Santos de Oliviera, primate of the Episcopal Church
of Brazil.

At least two candidates for presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church
also attended: the Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, Bishop of Lexington, and the
Rt. Rev. Edwin "Ted" Gulick, Bishop of Kentucky. The presiding bishop
election will be held at the convention on Sunday. Other diocesan
bishops who joined in the Eucharist included the Rt. Rev. Michael
Curry, Bishop of North Carolina; the Rt. Rev. Ken Price of Southern
Ohio; and Robinson of New Hampshire.

Bishop Robinson was presented with the Louie Crew Award by Rev.
Russell on behalf of Integrity for his notable accomplishment as the
first gay bishop.

Virtue Online spoke with Dr. Crew after the Homosexual Eucharist on
Friday evening. Louie Crew founded Integrity in 1974 as a caucus for
"full inclusion of LGBT persons in the Episcopal Church and our equal
access to its rites." Asked how the movement he founded had become so
successful, Crew replied, "I only listen to the Holy Spirit. It's
much bigger than I am, and I knew that right at the beginning."

Crew suggested that inclusion is not the issue in the Episcopal
Church today, and that the new frontier of the gay ministry is to
expand its own movement within the church. "It's never been a
movement to get into the church. It's already done that. It's a
movement to bring others to it."

In essence, homosexuals are now using their place in the Episcopal
Church as a witness in order to convert others to homosexuality.
Including bisexuals means they are next.

The program for the Friday evening service included a Scripture
passage from Acts 11:1-18: "What God has made clean, you must not
call profane," and a Gospel reading from Luke 12:1-12: "Beware of the
yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy."

The Rev. Michael Hopkins, a former president of Integrity, led the
congregation in the "Prayers of the People:"

"We give thanks for all the blessings of this life, [silence]
especially for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons you
have called to witness openly to the fullness of their creation in
your image. We give thanks for those who have found grace to live
together in loving and faithful partnership, awaiting in hope the day
when their unions will be recognized on earth as they are before you.
May we each become ever more thankful for the gifts you have given us."

The service became a fundraiser for Integrity when current president
Rev. Susan Russell announced a freewill offering before the sharing
of the Sacrament. "Empty all of your wallets and purses, and we'll
have ushers standing outside telling you where the nearest ATMs are,"
Russell joked.

And there was plenty of cash for the homosexual church lobby by the
time the plates had passed through. Declining though the Episcopal
Church may be in attendance and outreach, its homosexual lobby is
expanding rapidly.

It is a new day in the Episcopal Church, according to Crew. The
homosexual movement, he said, is "going to work this out by wiring
the circuits." Citing an example from the Gospel, Crew paraphrased
the words of Christ as they relate to the homosexual cause: "I'm
talking about being given a new spirit."

And indeed a very different spirit was on show at Trinity Episcopal
Church on Friday than the one recognizable to the founders of that
church nearly 190 years ago.

Trinity Episcopal Church was founded in 1817 by the Rev. Philander
Chase, a frontier missionary and Ohio's first Episcopal bishop. Chase
founded two religious colleges, served as presiding bishop over the
Episcopal Church of the United States, and was the first Protestant
to preach in the city of New Orleans.

Old Philander Chase was born during the American Revolution. His was
the classical Anglican faith of the Founding Fathers.

In a Good Friday Sermon about Isaiah 53 that Philander Chase preached
as a young man, he criticized those who disregarded the truth of the
Bible in his day. "If the mere assertions, (of people, who talk much
but read little, and think still less,) are to be the grounds of our
exploding truths, and of giving up our belief in matters of the
highest importance, which have been examined and credited by the
wisest of men, Where shall we end?"

Bishop Chase, if he were to return to his old Trinity Church for
Eucharist this evening, would find there the answer to his question.
For there the Episcopal Church may have had its end. ~

  ~ Janice .... who - for some reason :) -- was reminded of this
quote: "A God without wrath brings humans without sin into a kingdom
without judgment through a Christ without a cross." ~ H. Richard Niebuhr

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Received on Mon Jun 19 11:59:37 2006