Presiding bishop hides membership/attendance statistics

Here is an interesting excerpt from an interview posted by the Bible Belt Blogger:

By Frank Lockwood

October 8, 2009

[. . .] This morning, she responded: “if so, not yet. nothing has been shared yet.”

That didn’t match what I’d been led to believe by a very reliable source. So I asked Anderson and the Presiding Bishop about the numbers during the press conference. Here’s what they said:

BIBLE BELT BLOGGER: The ASA and membership figures for 2008 have been compiled. I’m wondering if those were shared with the Executive Council this week and what the ASA and membership figures show for 2008 for the domestic dioceses.

PRESIDENT ANDERSON: Yes. (Clears throat). Excuse me, yes, they’ve been, um, circulated to the Executive Council via electronic means but we’re not going to be talking about those per se. Our agenda’s pretty full and we’ll probably be taking those up in the future at our next meeting.

BIBLE BELT BLOGGER: Can you share, though, what the results are?

PRESIDENT ANDERSON: We don’t know. I mean we have it written out but we’ll be posting it I’m sure as soon as we’re, they’re, approved and available. But yes, you’ll be able to get them.

LOCKWOOD: But presiding bishop, can you tell us what they show?

PRESIDING BISHOP JEFFERTS SCHORI: I, I’m sorry. I’m not able to comment on that at the moment. I don’t have it in my head. . .

Please read the entire article here.

Appellate Court Issues Order to Show Cause in San Joaquin

Sorry folks, I'm falling behind. Here is a legal update from The Anglican Curmudgeon:

"Word was received this afternoon [9-22-09] that the Fifth District Court of Appeal has formally accepted Bishop Schofield's petition to review the ruling and order entered by the trial court granting Bishop Lamb's and ECUSA's motion for summary adjudication. This means that the trial court's decision and ruling are suspended pending a determination by the Court of Appeal, and the entry of a new order either vacating the trial court's ruling, or directing the entry of a new summary adjudication."

Read the rest here at the Anglican Curmudgeon.

DISCOVERING DAVID UNDER ALL THAT MARBLE

By The Rev. Jim Wilson, PrayNorthState

Michelangelo was once asked how he managed to produce the wondrous sculpture that was King David. He answered something like, “I just chipped away everything that was not David and left intact what was.” Recovering our Anglican roots is a lot like what the artist did with the slab of marble.

Who are the spiritual fathers of our Anglican clan? Columba would get my first vote. Well known for his quick temper, he fought in one too many duels and was told by his overlord that he could choose to face execution or the pagan Scots across the North Sea from his native Ireland. God transformed him enroute and his ministry was marked by patience, joy, and a tremendous gift for evangelism alongside the many signs and wonders that accompanied him. (He was known for having raised at least one woman from the dead and – when a warlord refused him admittance to the stronghold while the gates were locked – Columba simply prayed and watched the gates swing open and the warlord come to Jesus.) What are the pieces that are neither Columba nor Anglican that we can safely chip away?

Neither his quick temper nor the sense of entitlement that backs it are of the Lord; we know of neither gifts nor fruit of the Spirit that match. But the implicit repentance in his transformation is; the signs and wonders are; the simple prayer for gates and hearts opened is Book of Acts stuff. If we would be like him we need to lose our anger and entitlement and seek fruits of repentance, lots of miracles, and a simple prayer life.

Saint Patrick is another spiritual father. Kidnapped by Irish pirates at age sixteen, he was raised by wealthy British parents in a nominal Christian home. Cold, hungry, alone, and (slave) collared, Patrick began to hear a voice he identified as God’s own. When the voice told him to rise and walk because his ship was waiting, he traveled two hundred miles with no navigation but the voice. No one inquired about his slave status and – when the captain demanded passage money – Patrick disappeared for a few days and returned with the fee; he did not know how he obtained it. He returned home to discontent; meanwhile the Voice urged him to return to Ireland where – his Lord said – he had been prepared to lead the pagan Irish into the Kingdom of God.

The comfort and complacency in which Patrick was raised are not of the Lord but the slave collar is. A simple return to status quo is downright repugnant to the author of our salvation, but navigating by the Voice, utter dependence on the Spirit, and returning to the place of captivity that captives might be set free – that is what the Lord offers as His endowment. If we would be like him we need to reject the comfort of status quo and embrace our dog collars, the Holy Spirit, and the call to set captives free in person.

This chipping away of everything that is not Anglican – with our spiritual fathers as the model – could turn out to be a lot of fun. Patrick and Columba were both bishops. What might their stories – and that of Jackson Kemper – tell us about episcopacy in the new chapter of Acts that God would have us write?

VISION AND RECOVERING OUR ROOTS

By The Rev. Jim Wilson

I attended a wonderful meeting in Fresno on July 31. It preceded the special convention of a day later; the sole purpose of the meeting was to seek vision for the new thing that God is doing in the Diocese of San Joaquin. The principal criterion for framing new vision seemed to be that we understand ourselves to be recovering identity rather than defending tradition. We have been expelled from Jerusalem – in the sense of Acts 8 and the persecution of the infant Church – and we are journeying to Antioch and the world beyond, but with our DNA both resurgent and intact.

What does it mean to be recovering identity rather than defending tradition? G. K. Chesterton once said that tradition is the living faith of the dead, while traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition, as one of the three legs of Hookers’ three legged stool, is a central component of our identity in Christ. But it does not need to be defended; when we focus our efforts on defending tradition we soon descend into idolatry of some aspect of the tradition. We devolve it into traditionalism. Recovering identity, on the other hand, is a feature of the ongoing process of asking the Lord to bring us into the fullness of our personality in Him – our authentic Anglican personality.

The city of Glasgow, Scotland, has a motto inscribed all over the region it crowns. That motto is, “May Glasgow be blessed.” But a look at the history of Glasgow reveals the whole motto is, “May Glasgow be blessed by the preaching of God’s Word and the praising of God’s Name.” The whole motto is both more explicit and more expansive. My own Scottish Highland clan – the Grahams – has a motto as well; it is everywhere inscribed on our heraldry and on our web site. “Nes oublier” is French for “Never forget.” It implies that we never forget a kindness or a cut – and there is some truth to that as Grahams have marched the halls of history. But the full motto is, “Never forget the clan ideals of courage, chivalry, and Christian service.” Again, the whole is at once more explicit and of much greater depth. A principle function of seeking new and prophetic vision for the Diocese of San Joaquin must be to recover the fullness of our denominational roots – the roots we see expressed in our spiritual fathers and mothers from saints like Patrick, Columba, and Bishop Jackson Kemper to Perpetua of Rome and Margaret of Scotland. What identity emerges from these personalities?

I can tell you this: the Body of Christ is in the greatest season of all time for walking out a Gospel of power and not of mere words (1 Cor. 4:20) and for drawing the prodigals home (Matt. 28:16-20). This season is best summarized in the words of Luke 1:17, in which the faithful are exhorted to walk in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and so prepare a people for righteousness. To do this we must be dedicated not to doing the Anglican thing better than the Episcopals do it, but to a radical re-discovery of what it means to be an Anglican Christian. The meeting on July 31 – as frustrating as it was to some who want to just “get on with it,” was an important step down that road to recovery. I can’t wait for the next step to begin.

PRAYING HOME THE PRODIGALS

September 25th and 26th with Fr Jim Wilson at St. James' Cathedral, Fresno, CA

Friday 7:00-9:00PM

Saturday 9:00AM-5:00PM

The Body of Christ is in an amazing season today. There have been more miracles -- and more decisions for Jesus -- in the past half century than in the rest of history combined. Yet God has spoken that we now enter a season of even more dramatic expressions of His loving presence in our midst. But God's Word proclaims that this Holy Spirit activity has a very specific purpose -- to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and thus prepare a people for righteousness. Praying Home the Prodigals is an event in which we learn how to engage our children, our neighbors, and our friends, of all ages and cultures, as ambassadors of that reconciliation for which Christ died, rose, and for which He promises to return. That engagement will feature signs and wonders, but their purpose is at all times to gain our attention for His great compassion; His overwhelming zeal to bring us into His abundant life and leave no one behind.

Jim Wilson is the author of "Living As Ambassadors of Relationships" and "The Holy Spirit and the End Times: A Season of Unusual Miracles", both published by Destiny Image. He is a popular radio and television talk show host, and the president of Pray-North-State, an interdenominational ministry of cooperation, encouragement.

This event is offered without charge but please RSVP with the Cathedral office: (559) 222-3721.

Special Convention Report

On Saturday August 1, the Diocese of San Joaquin met in special convention in Fresno to consider officially accepting the Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church in North America [ACNA]. The convention convened with prayer by Bishop Schofield. The assembly heard a report on the status of legal issues from Mr. Russell VanRozeboom, Chancellor of the Diocese, followed by a financial report from the Treasurer, Mr. John Hammel.

The convention adopted and affirmed the Constitution and Canons of ACNA and then modified the diocesan canons to recognize that The Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin is a constituent member of the Province of the Anglican Church in North America.” The Convention acknowledged, by a separate canon, that our Bishop is “a member of the House of Bishops of the Province of the Southern Cone in Communion with the See of Canterbury, notwithstanding his full membership in the College of Bishops of the Province of the Anglican Church in North America.” Along with the Bishop, the clergy of the Diocese remain members of both Provinces.

Importantly, the Convention passed a resolution recognizing Archbishop Robert Duncan as both Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America and, therefore, as the archbishop of this diocese. The Archbishop remains the Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

The regular meeting of Convention for the Diocese of San Joaquin is scheduled for October 23rd and 24th, to be held in Fresno.

Jail and the Gospel of John

Jail and the Gospel of John
Dcn Dale Matson
We recently received a call that the adult son of our close friends had attempted suicide in his jail cell. Fortunately he was discovered by his cell mate who contacted jail officials and after time in the hospital, it appears that there was no permanent injury. I will call him David but that is not his real name. He has been in jail for months now because of an incident that is partially related to his diagnosis of Bipolar Affective Disorder known formerly as Manic Depression. His mother told me that there had been problems with him getting the proper medication while incarcerated.
When I heard that he had attempted suicide I wondered to myself what I could offer David that would make a difference to someone who had given up to the point of attempted suicide. I have known him for years and found him to be bright and engaging during better times but quite put off by religion and not sensing any spiritual needs. Would a Bible be suitable at this point? The thought came to me that if I had only one thing to give him it would be the Gospel of John. For me this Gospel has a special place since God called me back to faith and the church as I read it. Jesus Christ is God and God is Jesus Christ. What a connection this Gospel made for me. As with so many things good intentions I have considered, this also slipped into the closet of my mind.
The following day I was completing my Saturday “long run” with the plodding pace that requires me to jog alone. As I was finishing my run, another runner who I had never seen before crossed the Eaton Trail and offered me what looked like a large tract or pamphlet. He only had the one and told me that he had felt that God has directed him to give it to me. It was a pocket edition of the Gospel of John. I was somewhat surprised and told him that I had the Gospel of John in my head and heart and was a Deacon in the church. It was such a surprise that I had not made the connection yet. As he began to jog away, I said, “Wait, I do know someone that I want to get it to” and told him about David.
After finishing my run I couldn’t wait to clean up and call David’s mother and tell her about this. She came over and I told her the story and gave her the Gospel to pass on to David. She was moved by this and I believe it gave her a ray of hope for her son also. This experience has been difficult for the family. Since this time I have had an opportunity to reflect on this and realize in God’s grace and sovereignty, how much he is the God of the prodigal son. God wants desperately to have people meet His beloved Son. He knows that if they do meet Him, their lives can be redeemed and transformed into His image. I almost missed the connection that God had so miraculously put in front of me.