This is just profoundly sad. I can understand standing on principle, and sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. In this case, however, the bishop is placing a lot of people in grave danger only because he considers the donation from a U.S. diocese that supported Gene Robinson is bad money.
Bishop Roskam, Suffragan from the Diocese of New York, completely reframed this whole debate when she spoke at General’s panel discussion on the Windsor Report by saying that all her meetings with African women have proven to here that if women were represented in the councils of the church in proportion to their numbers, this whole affair would not exist. The Anglican women she met with in places like Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, etc., all question her as to why the men leaders were so obsessed about this one man in America! These women told Bishop Roskam of the disease, AIDS, poverty, violence, etc, that make up their everyday lives. Why all this time and energy over one man? Very good question!
So, where we have a bishop who would rather his people die and go without needed provision than take tainted money from a diocese that agreed with Gene Robinson’s consecration. I just think this bishops priorities are flat-out screwed-up! The bishop is sure God will provide for his and his people’s needs, because after all his God is the owner of silver and gold.
This reminds me of the story of the man that was forced to the roof of his house during a flood. The people of the town were warned to leave because of the coming floodwaters. This man stayed – he had complete faith that God would provide for him. So, the floodwaters started rising and the man had to move up to his second floor. A rescue person came up to his window in a boat to save him, but the man refused to get into the boat because, “God will provide.” Perplexed, the rescue worker moved on to save other people. Finally, the man was forced to the roof of his house as the swift floodwaters continued to rise. A helicopter came to the man and the pilot yelled that this would be the last chance for the man to be saved, but he refused. God will provide – he had absolute faith in his God. Well, the floodwaters finally overwhelmed the house and the man drowned. When he got to the gates of heaven and stood before God, he asked, “God, why did you let me down. I had complete faith in you that you would provide for me and keep me safe from the floodwaters! Why did you let me down?” God then said, “I provided a warning for you to leave. I provided a boat to rescue you from your house. I provided a helicopter to take you off your roof. What more did you want?”
Here are excerps from the article:

Bishop spurns Aids cash
Stephen Bates | London
30 March 2005
An African bishop has announced that he will not accept more than $350 000 of funding to help Aids victims in his area because it comes from an American diocese that supported the election of a gay bishop two years ago.
Jackson Nzerebende Tembo, the bishop of South Rwenzori in Uganda, has rejected the money from the United States diocese of Central Pennsylvania, saying its clergy and bishop, Michael Creighton, endorsed the election of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
In a statement released to an American conservative Episcopalian website but not to the US diocese, Nzerebende announced: “South Rwenzori diocese upholds the Holy Scriptures as true word of God … Of course this will affect some of our programmes. This includes our Aids programme and [the money] they have been sending for … orphans’ education.
“We pray and believe that our God who created and controls silver and gold in the world will provide for the needs of His people. Hallelujah! Amen.’’
The Pennsylvania diocese had been asked to provide $352 941 for the Aids programme and a small amount to assist orphans with education fees. It sends doctors and nurses and helps to support a Christian foundation caring for more than 100 Aids patients.
The church in Uganda, where homosexuality remains a crime punishable by life imprisonment, has taken one of the hardest lines against the gay issue, which threatens to split Anglicanism.
The US Episcopal Church has insisted that it does not attach strings to its donations.
Correspondents on the US website were divided over whether the bishop’s action was in accordance with Christian principles.

The following is a portion of the Provincial Eastertide Statement by The Most Revd Gregory Venables, Primate of the Province of the Southern Cone commenting on the recent Anglican PrimatesÂ’ meeting in Ireland.

“You may also know that I continue to chair the Primates Commission for Theological Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC). That has proven to be a very important group. The current crisis that assaults the Communion would not have risen if we had adequate theological education.”

I find it quite funny, if not sad, to hear Venables make this kind of statement. I do not wish to denigrate the education of the clergy of his province, but the implication of this statement is that Canadian, American, and other Northern Hemisphere provinces are sorely lacking in theological education. In many provinces, priests do not have to undergo any formal theological education.
If only we had adequate theological education Gene Robinson would not be bishop, homosexuals would not be welcome in Anglican churches, and a strict and narrow fundamentalist interpretation of Scripture would be enforced as Anglican dogma. In other words, we would not be Anglican as Anglicanism has historically been understood and practiced, but just another fundamentalist denomination.
What he is talking about, of course, is not education but indoctrination.
Click below for his entire statement –

Continue reading →

Here are a couple posts in blogs of fellow Episcopalians worth reading (I think):
Father Jake Stops the World: A Closer Look at the Attempted Coup
and a response:
Drell’s Descants: A Response to Fr. Jake – A Closer Look at The Attempted Coup
We sit back and watch. Those who are determined to “win” will do whatever is necessary to do just that, even if it means the Church is destroyed or looks nothing like a traditional Anglican church – whether the “who” is either conservative or progressive. It is beyond the Gospel, and those of us who care about this Anglican Way and this Church must call these individuals and their organizations back to the Gospel.

Bishop Catherine Waynick of Indianapolis sent a pastoral letter to all within her diocese discussing the Covenant Relationship document produced by the House of Bishops. In part of the letter, she relates portions of what Frank Griswold, the Presiding Bishop, said of his experience at the Primates Meeting last month.
Here is a quote:

“He said that several colleagues came to him and asked quiet and sincere questions about the nature of same sex relationships which revealed to him the profound misunderstandings in other parts of the world. Surprisingly, the most vocal outrage was expressed when they were told that in such partnerships either or both of the men actually cooked meals. This revelation was greeted with genuine horror; men should not cook!”(emphasis mine)
If this is accurate, and the several bishops expressed horror at the thought of men actually cooking, how in the world can we understand the vast differences between our cultures and the effect of those differences on our understanding of what is and is not godly and of God?

The House of Bishops has issued a “Covenant Statement” after their recent meeting.
I think it is a good statement and good movement forward for the U.S. Church. The suspension of all approval of elections and subsequent consecrations of new bishops until the next General Convention in 2006 in Columbus, Ohio is a strong statement that the Church will honor the Windsor Report by not consecrating new bishops who are openly gay and with partner and also respecting gay and lesbian people by agreeing to not consecrate any new bishops.
I am glad to see, also, that the bishops reaffirmed their dedication to and support of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. This is the statement that details the elements Anglicans and the Episcopal Church in the U.S. believe to be necessary for ecumenical relations, including intra-Anglican relations.
It seems that the bishops are taking seriously the need to present to the wider Anglican Communion a strong theological statement, along with biblical justifications, for why the U.S. Church in Convention during 2003 supported the election and subsequent consecration of Bishop Robinson and acknowledged that various diocese and parishes within the U.S. Church are moving forward on blessing same-sex unions. This will be good for all of us!
I have been saying for a while now that the “accommodationist” position is not well stated beyond appeals to emotion and victimization (among many other valid things). Accommodationists need to meet “prohibitionists” on their plain of understanding as much as prohibitionists need to acknowledge and address the justifications and understanding of the accommodationists. We need to talk with each other and strive to understand the position of our “opponents.” Anyway, I look forward to the theological statement coming from the House of Bishops.

Sometimes, the impression is given that all of the African Anglican churches are opposed to the North American Church, hate homosexuals, desire to force their particular theological opinions on the rest of the Communion. This is not true, however. The Most Rev. Njongonkulu Winston Hugh Ndungane, Archbishop of Capetown, and the Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, presents a very different picture of Africa. Here is an excerpt from his statement commenting on the Primates Meeting and their Communiqué.

I am glad that the communiqué from our Primates’ Meeting condemned the victimisation and ostracising of those with homosexual orientation. Too often that has been their experience within the church, and I am very concerned at the sub-text of hatred that exists within Anglicanism, for example in some of the responses to the Windsor Report.
I admit that I am dismayed whenever I hear language that seeks to make distinctions among human beings or discriminates on the basis of things over which we have no control – such as race, colour, gender, or sexual orientation. These are, so to speak, accidents of birth. They are gifts of our created nature, and all of us are worthy of the dignity that comes with being created in the image of God.
Because of just such an ‘accident’, I personally experienced prejudice, exclusion and injustice for over two thirds of my life. The principle of non-discrimination runs strongly in my veins – and indeed, I was imprisoned on Robben Island because of my fundamental belief in the intrinsic worth of every human individual, every child of God.
No, discrimination on grounds like these is wrong. Reconciliation and healing of relationships is the only way forward. That is the experience of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, which lived through the fullness of the apartheid atrocities, and yet found a way forward into freedom, reconciliation and new life together.
Let me be clear about what we have agreed to do. We have not expelled the churches of America and Canada. Nor have they been placed in some sort of limbo, as some press reports suggested. There are no legal provisions for any such actions.
The door to the Americans and Canadians is not shut. We have recognised that this is a deep and complex issue for them, which they must pursue and consider through their own proper constitutional processes. Because of the depth of democratic consultation within these Provinces, we recognise that this may take even a year or two.
And this is right. Because one of the hallmarks of Anglicanism is that we are a synodical church. This means that our deliberations are not just for Bishops. Rather, we consult fully, engaging with clergy and people at every level, right down to the parishes. Bishops, clergy and laity together take council and make decisions. We must give the Americans and Canadians the space to do this, and support them with our prayers.

Read the whole statement.

Here is a great resource from the Episcopal News Service on all things Anglican concerning the just ended Primates Meeting.
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_58738_ENG_HTM.htm

The full letter from the Presiding Bishop:

Friday, February 25, 2005
A word from the Presiding Bishop
[ENS] The primates of the Anglican Communion and Moderators of the United Churches have met together in Northern Ireland to address common concerns and to share something of our lives and ministries in our own widely different contexts. We have carefully studied the Windsor Report and how we might best be a communion in the midst of the deep differences which have been brought into sharp relief around the subject of homosexuality. I leave Ireland grateful that we as primates have done our very best to find a way forward and to avoid creating an unproductive situation of winners and losers.
These days have not been easy for any of us and the communiqué we issued gives some sense of our meeting and how we have struggled together. The communiqué is the fruit of a great deal of prayer and reflects our mutual desire to move forward together.
As the communiqué was written with a view to making room for a wide variety of perspectives it is inevitable that no one will be pleased with all aspects of it. Some will not be pleased with the request from the primates (paragraph 14) that the Episcopal Church, along with the Anglican Church of Canada, “voluntarily withdraw” our members from the Anglican Consultative Council “for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference.” This request, together with the opportunity for a hearing with the Anglican Consultative Council (paragraph 16), gives space for speaking and listening. During this time the Episcopal
Church will be responding to the questions addressed to us in the Windsor Report, as the primates have requested. We will have the opportunity to speak out of the truth of our experience. I welcome this opportunity knowing that the Episcopal Church has sought to
act with integrity in response to the Spirit, and that we have worked, and continue to work, to honor the different perspectives very much present within our church. Also during this time, the Anglican Consultative Council will be listening with care to what we have to say.
The primates discussed the importance of pastoral care for all members of our Anglican Communion and have spoken clearly to the matter (paragraph 15). I very much welcome the recommendation to the Archbishop of Canterbury that he appoint a “panel of reference to
supervise the adequacy of pastoral provisions” for “groups in serious theological dispute with their diocesan bishop, or dioceses in dispute with their Provinces…” The bishops of the Episcopal Church are committed to the provision of such pastoral care to those of various perspectives and have established a means of being certain it is provided which is described in Caring for all the Churches: Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight. I am also pleased by the commitment made by the primates “neither to encourage nor to initiate cross-boundary violations.”
The communiqué notes that our meeting was “characterised by generosity of spirit, and a readiness to respect one another’s integrity, with Christian charity and abundant goodwill.” I have faith and confidence in the many ways in which the mystery of communion is lived among us. I am grateful that bonds of understanding and affection bind us together and call us to an ever deeper and more costly living out of the reconciliation brought about by Jesus through the Cross. Again this week it was revealed that so much more unites us than divides us.
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA

The Anglican Primates conference is now over, and a communiqué has been sent. Here is the initial response from the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, USA:
Thursday, February 24, 2005
A word from the Presiding Bishop
“The primates of the Anglican Communion and Moderators of the United Churches have just completed their work on the attached communiqué which gives some sense of our meeting this week in Northern Ireland. These days have not been easy for any of us and the communiqué reflects a great deal of prayer and the strong desire to find a way forward as a Communion in the midst of deep differences which have been brought into sharp relief around the subject of homosexuality.
“Clearly, all parts of the communiqué will not please everyone. It is important to keep in mind that it was written with a view to making room for a wide variety of
perspectives. I continue to have faith and confidence in the many ways in which the mystery of communion is lived among us, and am grateful that bonds of understanding and affection to bind us together and call us to an ever deeper and more costly living out of the reconciliation brought about by Jesus through the Cross. Again this week it was revealed that so much more unites us than divides us.”
“The Presiding Bishop will make a further comment tomorrow.”

The Windsor Report was issued. Now, the Primates from all the Anglican provises are in consultation from Feb. 20-25 in Ireland to see what will become of our Anglican Communion. The Global South Primates (not all, however) who are opposed to the American Church are taking their stand, but we do not know what the outcome will be like.
A simple way forward, that would not be at all satisfactory to the Conservatives (bad term), is for the Archbishop of Canterbury to simply invite all Bishops to meet. Those who refused to attend refuse to be a part of the councils of this Church, those who do attend, are. The Communion is then self-selecting, which in reality is what it has always been, with regard to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Here is a news blurb from David Virtues website, VirtueOnline. The source needs to be considered and the article taken with a grain of salt, but none of it surprises me.
ORTHODOX PRIMATES REFUSE JOINT EUCHARIST WITH GRISWOLD
Day One of the Primates Meeting in Dromantine, Northern Ireland
By David W. Virtue
NEWRY, Northern Ireland (2/21/2005)–A winter chill that brought flurries of snow to Ireland yesterday also blew through the assembled archbishops of the Anglican Communion meeting at the Dromantine Center, a Roman Catholic monastic retreat where 35 Primates, leaders of 78 million Anglicans are gathered, to weigh their future together as a communion.
The chill turned icy when orthodox primates of the Global South refused to celebrate the Eucharist in the presence of ultra-liberal American Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. As a result Irish Primate Robin Eames announced that his chaplain would offer Eucharist and be the celebrant to anyone who wanted it. None of the Global South bishops showed up.
“We would not celebrate the Eucharist at the same altar with Griswold,” a Primate told VirtueOnline.
The atmosphere is anything but positive, said a source. Camps are forming and it is going to be very difficult for Dr. Rowan Williams the Anglican Church’s titular head to find points of contact between the two groups.
Already the agenda for the occasion has been called into question.
The liberals, lead by US Presiding Bishop wanted to launch in on the “issues” – HIV/AIDS, Third World poverty and more – an agenda put together by the liberal Anglican Communion Office, but Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola interjected saying “how can we talk about the issues, we need to have reconciliation between brothers before anything else.”
The Africans won a victory on the agenda issues being controlled by Western liberals, VirtueOnline was told. It is being handled one day at a time. The agenda is evolving day by day only with the approval of the global South. The planned service at the cathedral on Tuesday for a photo op with journalists will be decided in the next 24 hours. The message is clear, do the orthodox primates want to be photographed with ECUSA Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold?
When an Anglican primate was asked if the photo op would take place, he said, “The agenda will be set in the morning by all of the Primates and not just by non-primates, specifically the Anglican Communion office who planned the meeting.”
The Global South primates will not participate in anything they do not agree with, VirtueOnline was told. The time for “listening” is over. They are very conscious of the way they were manipulated by the former head of the ACO Canon John Peterson and they have vowed not to let that happen again.
The Global South Primates have never been as strong and unified as this, said a source. “They are altogether.”
The meeting is no longer being controlled by the Anglican Consultative Council. It is the primates meeting and they are in control, said another source.
Three Primates are absent. Archbishop Peter Kwong (Hong Kong) has serious heart problems. The daughter of the Archbishop of Burundi Samuel Ndeysienga died recently and Northern India Zechariah James Terom also could not attend for unspecified reasons.