Nevada Anglicans

As the Anglican Church of North America is being birthed, three new churches have been planted in Nevada. Little Church in the Valley, Reno, Sierra Anglican, Reno and Jesus the Good Shepherd, Henderson..

Little Church in the Valley is a parish consisting of orthodox Anglican, Lutheran, and United Methodist members. Their priest, Fr. Karry D. Crites, graduated from CDSP in 1990, and was ordained priest that same year. He was pastor of St. Francis Episcopal / Grace United Methodist Church, Lovelock, Nevada from 1990-6, ELM Community Church - Reno, Nevada from 1997-2008, and transferred to the Anglican Church of Uganda in December 2008. Fr. Karry is also a hospice chaplain. Little Church in the Valley is a friendly congregation that seeks to be transformed by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The parish has an active Bible Study program as well as other special activities including an annual camping trip with Sunday Worship at a local lake. They meet at Little Church in the Valley, 9301 Lemmon Drive, Reno , Nevada 89506. Their website is www.littlechurchinthevalley.org . Fr. Karry can be reached at frkarry490@aol.com.

Sierra Anglican Church, also in Reno, is pastured by Fr. Ron Longero. Before Fr. Longero recently arrived, they had been served by Fr. Brian Foos of St. Andrews Academy and Christ the Redeemer Church in nearby Lake Almanor, California. They were also blessed by Fr. Jim Obermeyer from Phoenix, Arizona who is part of the Anglican Missions in the Americans-AMiA.

In May of 2008, Fr. Ron Longero relocated from Kansas to his home town of Carson City, Nevada. He was invited to lead his first service at Sierra Anglican on February 15th. Rev. Longero is a graduate of the Nashotah House Seminary. He is in the process of being received into the AMiA network of oversight and supervision.

They are meeting at Mountain View Montessori School, 565 Zolezzi Lane, Reno, NV, 89511. Their websited is www.sierra-anglican..org. Fr. Longero can be reached at ron_longero@sierra-anglican.org.

Jesus the Good Shepherd Anglican Church is currently meeting in private homes through Lent and will launch on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009! They will be meeting at the Hampton Inn and Suites at 421 W. Astaire Rd, Henderson, NV 89014.

Fr. Howard and his wife, Deacon Erin Giles are clergy of the Diocese of San Joaquin and met at CDSP in 2000. They were subsequently married, graduated, ordained and have been serving churches in the Central Valley of California since 2005. Along with a strong core group, they are praying for a church that will be catholic, evangelical and charismatic. The Lord has given them the 34^th chapter of Ezekiel, specifically verse 16 as a founding text. Fr. Howard says that “We are committed to seeking those who are lost, bringing again those who were driven away, binding up those who are broken, and strengthening those who are sick.�

Their website can be found at www.goodshepherdhenderson.info. Fr. Howard can be reached at howard@goodshepherdhenderson.info.

Nevada Anglicans are committed to the Common Cause, to GAFCON and are looking forward to being united in the Anglican Church of North America. Please join them for worship and fellowship as they serve the Lord our God!

Common Cause Partnership Welcomes Jerusalem Declaration

The Common Cause Partnership leaders issued a statement today welcoming the Jerusalem Declaration and the statement on the Global Anglican Future and pledging to move forward with the work of Anglican unity in North America.

We, as the Bishops and elected leaders of the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) are deeply grateful for the Jerusalem Declaration. It describes a hopeful, global Anglican future, rooted in scripture and the authentic Anglican way of faith and practice. We joyfully welcome the words of the GAFCON statement that it is now time ‘for the federation currently known as the Common Cause Partnership to be recognized by the Primates Council.’

The intention of the CCP Executive Committee is to petition the Primates Council for recognition of the CCP as the North American Province of GAFCON on the basis of the Common Cause Partnership Articles, Theological Statement, and Covenant Declaration, and to ask that the CCP Moderator be seated in the Primates Council.

We accept the call to build the Common Cause Partnership into a truly unified body of Anglicans. We are committed to that call. Over the past months, we have worked together, increasing the number of partners and authorizing committees and task groups for Mission, Education, Governance, Prayer Book & Liturgy, the Episcopate, and Ecumenical Relations. The Executive Committee is meeting regularly to carry forward the particulars of this call. The CCP Council will meet December 1-3, 2008.

The Common Cause Partnership links together nine Anglican jurisdictions and organizations in North America. Together, the American Anglican Council, the Anglican Coalition in Canada, the Anglican Communion Network, the Anglican Mission in the Americas, the Anglican Network in Canada, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas, Forward in Faith North America and the Reformed Episcopal Church represent more the 1,300 Anglican parishes in the United States and Canada. The Common Cause Partnership Executive Committee is: The Rt. Rev’d Robert Duncan, Moderator; The Venerable Charlie Masters, General Secretary; Mrs. Patience Oruh, Treasurer; The Rt. Rev’d Keith Ackerman, Forward in Faith North America; The Rt. Rev’d David Anderson, American Anglican Council; The Rt. Rev’d Donald Harvey, Anglican Network in Canada; The Rt. Rev’d Paul Hewett, Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas; The Rt. Rev’d Martyn Minns, Convocation of Anglicans in North America; The Rt. Rev’d Chuck Murphy, Anglican Mission in the Americas; The Rt. Rev’d Leonard Riches, Reformed Episcopal Church; The Rt. Rev’d Bill Atwood, Anglican Church of Kenya and The Rt. Rev’d John Guernsey, Church of the Province of Uganda.

The Original Sin of Anglicanism

As we enter into a period of radical change, equal to the Reformation of the 16th century, Anglicans are being asked to consider, to study and to adopt various statements or declarations defining Anglicanism. Documents such as the Common Cause Theological Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration have been proposed and adopted by the reforming orthodox in order to secure the foundations of our faith and common life.

The danger inherent in any Anglican statement or federation is the great original sin of Anglicanism: disobedience to authority. The Jerusalem Declaration addresses this problem in article 13: "We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord." Inherent in the rejection of the authority of the heterodox is the acceptance of the authority of the orthodox.

With these foundational statements and articles being written and promoted, our strongest temptation will be to promote and publish these declarations with no intention of actually following them.

This temptation is the strongest for me in the puzzling omission of the last three Ecumenical Councils and in the wholesale acceptance of the 39 Articles. The rejection of the Ancient, undivided church and the acceptance of a Reformation era statement of a local council is highly problematic for a church that yearns to be universal and apostolic.

From the Jerusalem Declaration:
4. We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.

From the Common Cause Theological Statement:
7. We receive the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1562, taken in their literal and grammatical sense, as expressing the Anglican response to certain doctrinal issues controverted at that time, and as expressing the fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.

From article thirty-four of the 39 Articles: "Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely, doth openly break the Traditions and Ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, (that others may fear to do the like,) as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the Magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of the weak brethren."

At this point in the life of Anglicanism, the only way forward that I can imagine that will lead to unity and that will prevent disintegration is radical submission to authority. For my part, this would mean the end of reserving the Holy Sacrament. I would have to travel to our new preaching station every Sunday rather than consecrating enough bread and wine for several Sundays.

Also, since I believe that the unwritten reason that the Reformers could not accept Nicaea II and the end of Iconoclasm was that they were Iconoclasts, this would mean that we would have to remove or drape our icons and cease the Benediction and the elevation of the Blessed Sacrament. Without the clear statements on veneration and the place of Holy Objects that led to the Triumph of Orthodoxy in Nicaea II, our services would be impoverished but in true submission to the authorities that have adopted the CC Theological Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration.

I believe that the clergy and laity in churches and dioceses should submit to this authority while petitioning the Primates to include all Seven Ecumenical Councils and to reconsider the wholesale adoption of the 39 Articles, specifically in light of the articles dealing with Predestination and the Holy Sacraments (17, 35 and 38). The voluntary submission of those who yearn for a more catholic and apostolic expression of Anglicanism will only be able to effectively unite and defend an Anglicanism that is rooted in the submission to authority. While I believe that this is also true for women's ordination, that we should suspend all ordinations until the mind of the Communion is united, that is for another article and author.

Report from GAFCON - Monday, June 23

The following is an abridged report from the Rev Canon Bill Gandenberger in Jerusalem:

The opening session began after dinner. Archbishop Kolini of Rwanda had the honor of introducing Archbishop Peter Akinola as the keynote speaker. ++Peter did a masterful job of outlining how GAFCON came into being – that it is a reaction to the downward slope of theology and morality within the Communion, primarily from the US and Canada. That we are not attempting to split the communion but instead to be a healing force for the continued life and vitality of the Anglican Communion. That statement, and some by other leaders, gives me hope for the Communion, but also frustrates efforts to create a true reformation of the establishment. We’ll have to wait to see what actually is produced here. It has been said by a number that this gathering must not be just another venue for another statement – almost all of the former being ignored by Lambeth, TEC, etc.

Yet the anticipation here is palpable and the enthusiasm contagious. Many of the pilgrims are housed at other hotels, some more than 20 minutes away, and still there are more people arriving each day. Even this evening Archbishop Greg and Sylvia Venables just arrived due to scheduling and other issues.

This Monday morning we started with a 6:30 breakfast and then went to board buses at the other tower. Our Bishop boarded the bus and was actually placed in the front seat beside the bus driver, a position I’d seen him in on our first tour of Israel. The other available seat was in the center of the rear seat, and I had the pleasure of sitting next to Bishop Peter Smith of AMiA and his wife, and an Nigerian Bishop and his wife. Bishop Chuck Murphy of AMiA, his wife and two daughters, were a few seats ahead. We struggling through heavy Monday morning traffic making our way to the top of the Mount of Olives. Our Israeli tour guide told us that along with approximately 1,000 of us, another group of 500 pilgrims from Russia were to be arriving at there that morning. As the second bus in line it was easier for +John-David to exit the bus and enter the cue heading down a slope towards our meeting place overlooking the whole ancient City of Jerusalem. The Bishops had been urged to bring rochets and shemere and Bill and I found a rock ledge which +John-David could rest against as he was vested. Luckily, we had been encouraged to purchase straw hats the night before, because the sun was extremely hot as we waited to organize for a number of pictures and he eagerly wore his hat (although it did sit tiny upon his head – one size does not fit all!).

We were organized with our backs to the city, while being entertained by the Nigerian Youth Praise Band and Fr. Greg Brewer of Good Shepherd, Paoli, Pennsylvania on the keyboard. That group has ministered to all our plenary sessions. A service from our GAFCON worship booklet was geared to praying for Jerusalem, the dioceses and congregations we had left behind, and those who had not yet been reconciled to God through Christ around the world. It was actually quite moving despite the crowd. Interestingly participants from CANA and AMiA helped lead the worship and were welcomed as equals by all the other jurisdictions present, something that Lambeth has not done. Perhaps that is one of the key victories of this whole event. Just as the Diocese of San Joaquin has been somewhat hidden within the Anglican Communion Office website and directories, our other Common Cause Partners are very present and recognized by the orthodox leaders around the globe. Numerous Diocesans made a point of coming over to our Bishop to acknowledge, congratulate, and enquire how we were progressing in our new found freedom from TEC. Our Bishop and Diocese are well known in the Communion, despite the efforts of the established Church.

Both a still photographer, and then a helicopter arrived to take shots of us. There were certainly numerous TV and news photographers there as well. We were disappointed that the copter seemed to stay so far away, but I believe Israeli air space restrictions may be the problem there. Some of us hoped to feel the wind from the rotors to cool us off, but that didn’t happen. Regardless, after the whole group was “shot”, they were asked to leave the bishops behind and retire until the Purple Pictures were taken. A separate picture for Archbishops only was supposed to be taken, but there was sufficient confusion and congeliality abounding that I don’t know if that was ever accomplished. Herding cats may be easier than directing such a gathering of bishops. I believe proofs will be available for sale tomorrow and I hope to purchase a few of them for display later.

That crowd was then to remove their vestments, and then join the other pilgrims to begin a walk down the Palm Sunday path to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. We had already decided that we would take a cab back to the hotel instead. Bishop Schofield has been there at least six times and would not have been able to walk that distance anyway. It is a most gorgeous and glorious place to spend some time in contemplation, but surrounded by 1,000 of our pilgrims in addition to other tourists made it seem better to go back another time. Traffic to the hotel was extremely backed up, and for good reason as the French Prime Minister was in motorcade to or from the Knesset and many roads were blocked. Once we had the opportunity to see his vehicles pass by, surrounded by about 20 motorcycles and other security vehicles we had a quicker time getting to our hotel.

Lunch today was followed by the opening Eucharist. A grand procession of bishops took three full songs to accomplish, and then Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi of Uganda was led to the pulpit. His luggage was somewhere else in the world, but he did have a suit to preach in. His accent is much easier to understand than Akinola and despite the after lunch drowsiness he was able to keep the vast majority enthralled with a sermon from John 5. The man at the Pool of Bethesda was asked if he wanted to get well. We were asked whether WE, the Church, wanted to get well. Since his sermon should be on AnglicanTV.org I won’t go into the details of his message, but it was effective. The praise music was perfectly suited to the eucharist. Most meaningful for me was the use of the Kenyan Rite for this service. The congregational participation was so much more visible, and welcomed in this setting. I’d love to see this Rite used more commonly within our own congregations.

Frankly, after that service I felt jet lag kicking in and went up to close my eyes for just a bit prior to a presentation by Dr. Os Guinness, a presentation entitled “The Gospel and Secularism.”. I woke up a half hour after he finished, and hurried down to join the crowd. Our Bishop and others present thought it was outstanding and I do hope to be able to see it later on video.

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray that our efforts as a Diocese, and those of our Common Cause Partners, will produce both a structure for effective work for the Lord and formal recognition within the world-wide Anglican Communion. And pray for the effective use of this time for all the participants, as well as our delegation, here at GAFCON in Jerusalem. May we make a difference that translates to our home congregations as well as our Diocese and the surrounding territories.

More to come.

Yours faithfully,
Bill+

Anglican Military Chaplains Form Bond

Paoli, Pa.--The peaceful grounds of Daylesford Abbey retreat center outside Philadelphia were the setting for an inaugural spiritual formation conference May 12-16 for traditional Anglican chaplains to the Armed Services.

Read it all.

COMMON CAUSE APPOINTS VICAR FOR WESTERN ANGLICANS

Bishop Robert Duncan, Moderator of The Common Cause Partnership (CCP), appointed a "Collegiate Vicar" for The Association of Western Anglican Congregations. The decision was announced to the Western Anglicans House of Delegates meeting in Newport Beach today. As the Collegiate Vicar, The Rev. Bill Thompson, Rector of All Saints Anglican Church in Long Beach, California, will serve as an ambassadorial link between Western Anglicans -- a cluster of 21 orthodox Anglican congregations in Southern California and Arizona -- and the Common Cause Partnership (CCP).

Read it all.

Uganda archbishop responds to Presiding Bishop's objection to his 'incursion' into Georgia

"Archbishop of Uganda Henry Orombi has responded to a May 12 letter to him from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, saying that he is visiting a congregation in Savannah, Georgia, because it is now "part of the Church of Uganda."

Read it all.

Church of England Newspaper front page: Lambeth invitations reviewed

--This article appears on the front page of the March 14, 2008 edition of the Church of England Newspaper

What it truly means to ‘remain Episcopal’

From Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth.

Here.

Sharing Our Faith Conference April 11–13, 2008

April 11–13, 2008
St. Paul’s
2216 Seventeenth Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301

Sponsored by the Anglican Communion Network’s Good News Initiative and three Bakersfield churches: All Saints Anglican Church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

We welcome all of our Common Cause Partner parishes and other ecumenical congregations who are committed to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with a hurting world.

Friday Training Day: Clergy, spouses and lay leaders–$20, Seminarians–$10

Saturday Training Conference: $40, Students–$20

Everyone is welcome to attend the Friday night worship service at 7:30 p.m. at All Saints Anglican Church, 3200 Gosford Road, Bakersfield.

Questions? Call Fr. Richard Menees at 949.675.0210,
or e-mail rmenees@stpaulsbakersfield.com

Common Cause Partners Has a New Map!

Check out the new parish map and other links at the Common Cause Website,

www.united-anglicans.org