June 13, 2005
GAY MARRIAGE and CANTERBURY
The Archbishop of Canterbury has okayed the marriage of gay priests. Where is the church going to? Many bloggers have been opining on this.
The hypocrisy of Canterbury is only being revealed, when it opposed the same issue with ECUSA in its Windsor Report. And now the Archbishop has approved same sex unions for the clergy in the Church of England. According to the Windsor Report it was only a matter of time.
"BECAUSE AT THIS TIME WE ARE NOWHERE NEAR CONSENSUS" ...
When this was written, the approval of same-sex unions was only a consensus away. The Lambeth Commission has acted already on this premise once: Right or wrong, if there is a consensus it is okay for them to approve -- as long as there is consensus. There is a similar paradigm in the case of the ordination of women. It seems that morality is based on majority opinion, not on Scripture or Apostolic Tradition.
At the time of the Windsor Report, Canterbury's position on ECUSA was very stiff. But now the Archbishop has gone ahead approved the "marriage" of gay clergy. All the while, ordination of gay clergy was a clandestine affair. Now it has come out into the open.
Those who are leaving ECUSA and seeking Anglican Communion are only jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Where can they turn? Perhaps the continuing churches? YES.
I belong to the United Episcopal Church of North America. We cannot boast of big dollars and buildings. The properties are owned by the people and we are purely attending to their spiritual and pastoral needs. Some of our stories are heart wrenching, when we chose to continue in the Faith, instead of embracing ECUSA's tampering with theology and liturgy in the form of the 1979 BCP. Martin Luther said, "Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill, God's truth abideth still." Thirty years ago we saw the finality of ECUSA's liberalism.
We hope Anglicans will hold on to their faith even though some of their leaders are leading them astray.
Posted by frleo at 3:55 PM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2005
The 8th Triennial Synod
These are but a few glimpses into the synod and not a detailed report. Its on its way.
The Eighth Triennial Synod of the United Episcopal Church was a great experience for all of us representing 25 churches gathered at Huntsville, Alabama under the guidance of the Most Reverend Stephen C. Reber, Sr., the Presiding Bishop of the UECNA. Just as we counted the loss of our great clergy in Canon David Reagan, Fr. Thomas Rice and remembered their great contribution, we saw His blessings in five new men raised to the order of Diaconate: Rev. Mr. John Ayers for Richmond, VA, Rev. Mr. Wesley Nolden for St. Louis, IL, Rev. Mr. Donald Wilson for Florida, Rev. Mr. Philip Schaefner for Wisconsin and Rev. Mr. Jeff Smith for Huntsville AL.
It was a witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit and His work in our church. Five dedicated men ordained to the diaconate, two confirmations and the birth of the Oblates of St. Benedict, a third order for men and women who would like to dedicate themselves to support the church. They will be faithful to morning and evening prayer. Under the leadership of Abbot Mason Paramore and with my help as directed by our Presiding Bishop, the Oblates of St. Benedict came into being.
The Synod unanimously elected Mr. Ray Turczynski as President of the National Council and Matt Drachenberg as its new National Council member.
We also experienced positive synergy -- the coming together of positive energy from individual member churches, towards the strengthening of the national church. Every church gave a presentation on their ministries.
Also present as a guest of honor was Bishop The Rt. Rev. D. Presley Hutchens of the Anglican Catholic Church, who brought greetings of the ACC. The ACC and the UECNA continue to have intercommunion with each other.
It was another experience of the Pentecost for all of us, renewed and encouraged in the Spirit as we returned to our mission field. Thanks to the efforts of the Venerable George E. McClellan, Archdeacon for the East and All Saints and Christ's Church Huntsville, AL, this Synod was great indeed!
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father which is in Heaven. Amen
Posted by frleo at 5:31 PM
April 13, 2005
There Is Hope Within The United States!
The "faith once given to the saints" has been subjected to much compromise to fit the convenience of some individuals. Faithful people are therefore constantly challenged by the proponents of such compromise. Those who abide by Scripture and Tradition are not necessarily conservatives; They are merely faithful. Those who abdicate from Scripture and Tradition are apostates. The faithful are being punished for their stand by the apostates.
Recently, in Connecticut, Bishop Andrew Smith of ECUSA threatened to punish six of his priests who followed the dictates of their conscience and opposed their Bishop's support of Gene Robinson. The vestry of one of these faithful churches in Connecticut put forth a powerful letter to Bishop Smith, denying him permission to meet with their pastor in private. This voicing of moral convinction in unison was an expression of the power of the people. Pat Robertson, in his show last night on CBN, commented that these priests and their congregation just need to leave this apostate church and move on to join the Anglican Communion.
Such faithful ministers of God and their faithful people need not look to Africa for apostolic oversight. There is hope within United States. There is The United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA), which rejected ECUSA's slippery slope from the very start, 30 years ago. UECNA continues to be faithful to the faith and morals codified in the Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer is what we use in worship, adhering to theology, liturgy and all the great time honored values they encompass. UECNA is biblically sound, sacramentally orthodox and apostolically valid. We will continue serving the Lord until His Second Coming.
If your ECUSA church is struggling against tremendous odds to remain true to the traditional values of your beloved Anglican faith, please visit St. Gabriel's website and the website of our national church, The United Episcopal Church of North America. There is hope within the United States!
May His blessings be with you as you stand up for the truth. The truth will set you free!
Posted by frleo at 10:53 PM