Why I’m an Anglican IV

Bishop Eric Menees

Because It’s Sacramental!

You will remember from your catechism class, that the traditional definition of a sacrament is: “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” I pray that, more than just remembering from catechism class, you are receiving God’s Grace regularly in and through the sacraments. God’s Grace is what sustains us, fills us, comforts us, equips us, and impels us forward.

Essentially, the sacraments of the Church are one of God’s ways of speaking into our lives pastorally. The two primary sacraments commanded by Jesus - Baptism & Holy Eucharist - speak powerfully to Christ’s sacrificial death upon the cross in the ultimate act of redemption. In the sacrament of Baptism, we have that outward and visible sign of water and oil in receiving God’s Grace and redemption. I came to Christ as a young man, and was baptized at age 14 (though two years later I learned that the nun at St. Francis hospital in Lynnwood, CA baptized me and every child born there from 1950 - 1970... but that’s another story).

I was able, then, to make a public renunciation of Satan, and a public acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. That grace was signified with the symbolic washing away of my sins and anointing with oil, sealing me “as Christ’s own forever.” My baptism was a turning point in both my life, and in the life of my family. Soon after that service, on January 2nd 1976, my parents began attending church with me, and my brother began attending church with his girl friend and soon-to-be wife. God’s Grace spoke powerfully into our lives.

Holy Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper, is a sacrament that speaks pastorally into our lives on a weekly or even daily basis, and, frankly, I can’t imagine life without the great joy of receiving the sacrament or the privilege of celebrating Holy Eucharist. What a tremendous honor it is, for any priest, to look into the eyes of a forgiven sinner and say, “The body of Christ. The Bread of heaven.” At that moment, we have a foretaste of the heavenly banquet and the assurance of Christ’s amazing love for us who do not deserve it, but can only receive it!

Of course, in addition to the two primary sacraments, we have Christ speaking into our lives in the other five sacraments of the Church.

Confirmation - is that moment where men and women, at an age of understanding, both renounce Satan, and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior (or confirm that acceptance). This is especially powerful for those baptized as children, who had no say in the matter. At Confirmation, men and women are set aside and empowered for ministry and leadership in the church. I have always said, and firmly believe, that the Lay Order is the most important of the church.

Marriage - is that sacrament which affirms the biblical plan of setting aside one man and one woman in the life-long partnership of husband and wife.  The comfort and care given to the couple is not meant only for them, but for their families, if God grants them the blessing of children. Marriage also gives us an expression of Jesus’ relationship with us, His Church. In the marriage service, as the rings are exchanged, the couple say to one another, “I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am and all that I have I honor you.” This is the ideal that the sacrament of marriage sets for the couple and with Christ Jesus.

Confession/Reconciliation - is that sacrament where Jesus speaks to us audibly through the priest as he pronounces absolution. Knowing that, when we come to the Lord with an humble and contrite heart, we are, indeed, forgiven of our sins. I make my confession regularly, and I am, as a forgiven sinner, always moved to hear those words, “I absolve you of your sins: In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord has put away all of your sins. Go in peace and pray for me a sinner”

Ordination - This is a sacrament reserved for those who are set aside for the ministries of Deacon, Priest, or Bishop. God speaks so powerfully and pastorally into the lives of individuals and the church, through the sacrament of ordination, by providing structure for the church and her ministry, and by setting aside individuals to be used for the Glory of God and the benefit of man.

Holy Unction - This sacrament of prayer, laying on of hands, and anointing with Holy Oil, is the epitome of Jesus speaking pastorally into our lives. When we are ill and sometimes at the point of death, to receive the loving prayers, the words of scripture, and the laying on of hands by a priest or bishop, speaks so powerfully of Christ love for the sick and dying - a condition, because of the Fall, that all of us have and will find ourselves in.

One of reasons that I am an Anglican is because of our emphasis on God’s Word and God’s sacraments, which speak so powerfully and pastorally into all aspects and times of our lives!

Water In The Wilderness

Fr. Dale Matson

"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14, KJV)

If you are traveling in the wilderness, perhaps the most important commodity is water. Without water you will only last about 3 days. Of course there are negatives to water. Water is relatively heavy. One liter of water is 2.2 pounds. That is more weight than my sleeping bag, more than my sleeping pad and nearly as much as my tent or pack. Sometimes water is too abundant and presents an obstacle, in the case of a swollen creek or river. In that case you will have to find a means to cross such as a log.

You may have to ford the creek risking being swept downstream in the current.

Sometimes God intervenes and miraculously provides a path through the water as a temporary avenue for His people. For the enemy who pursues, there is certain death when the water returns. Crossing the Red Sea and the River Jordan was both a milestone and a type of baptism for God’s people.

Fortunately most established and maintained trails in the wilderness follow a stream and/or cross streams and creeks along the way. This is a blessing for the wilderness pilgrim who only has to carry enough water until the next source, be it a stream or a lake. There is a caveat in this since many streams are seasonal. Just ask those who visit Yosemite in the Fall only to discover that Yosemite Creek and Bridalveil Creek no longer provide waterfalls and we must wait until the winter snows again replenish the source lakes in the high Sierras.

As a wilderness pilgrim, I am careful to note on the topographical map where the creeks cross the trail. I refill my containers at each opportunity. Being thirsty means that one cannot take in nutrition either since water is needed for digestion. The mountain air is dry and dehydration is an ever present possibility.

Water is an amazing substance. In the form of ice, it carved deep canyons. The Kings Canyon is over 8,000’ deep. Creeks continue to erode mountains today. Water seeps into cracks and the expansion as ice further fractures mighty boulders. As I hike, I can hear the sound of creeks and waterfalls as I approach. The sounds are telltale and welcome signs that my parched throat will again be refreshed. Yes, there are flies and mosquitoes that share the water but soon I have climbed away from the dip in the trail created by the stream, being careful to hop carefully from rock to rock.

Water is the lifeblood of the wilderness. The fauna and flora could not exist without it. Sometimes you can see the evidence of water before you can hear or smell it. There is vegetation on either side of a creek as it flows through granite, slag, scree and boulders. How important is water? When water leaves the wilderness, it flows down toward towns and cities. There would be no life on earth without water. God created water before He created light.

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily; I say unto thee, except a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5, KJV)

Lose Your Job? God Has Other Plans II

Fr. Dale Matson

In 2011 I wrote about the problem of unemployment for older Christians in the workforce using myself as an example. http://sanjoaquinsoundings.blogspot.com/2011/02/lose-your-job-god-has-other-plans.html.

Recently the issue of unemployment for older adults was addressed in a New York Times article by Alina Tugend (July 26, 2013). http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/your-money/unemployed-and-older-and-facing-a-jobless-future.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Although Alina herself, is in the vulnerable age demographics of many unemployed, her pedigree of degrees from Yale and U.C. Berkley and current job with the N.Y. Times will probably insulate her from the fate of so many others her age who cannot find employment.

If I were looking for helpful suggestions on finding employment from her article, I would not be encouraged or comforted. “For those over 50 and unemployed, the statistics are grim.” She quoted Nadya Fouad of U.W. Milwaukee. “Helping people figure out how to cope with a future that may not include work, while at the same time encouraging them in their job searches, is a difficult balance.” Where is the hope in a statement like that? Don’t you think that would be double minded advice at some level?

Calling yourself “semiretired” may be a way of coping according to the article but ultimately it is nothing more than denial. "And even more, 'they should know the problem is not with them but with a system that has treated them like a commodity that can be discarded,' said David L. Blustein." Calling yourself a victim will not help either.

One gets the sense that Alina is treating unemployment of older folks as someone on the outside looking in. Unemployment is not some unmentionable disease contracted by the lower classes and those with limited skills. Her understanding is more like my young family doctor who tells me that my arthritic pain is a normal part of aging. So just accept it?

Those in the article, who counsel job seekers, tend to see a job as a means of identity formation and sustenance. “Is it the high social status? The identity? The relationship with co-workers? It is important to examine these areas, perhaps with the help of a professional counselor, Professor Fouad said, to discover how to find such meaning or relationships in other areas of life.”

How about this advice from the Triathlete Scott Tinley instead? “Your job determines how you live. What you do away from your job determines who you are.”

When I interviewed returning adults for the Masters/Credential School Psychology and School Counseling programs at Fresno Pacific University, I hoped for a sense of service to others and particularly, Christ in others. These were older adults who had not found their niche, were burned out in other professions, were not challenged any longer or wanted a job with meaning. We actually had two bartenders retrain as School Psychologists. Their crisis was a life crossroad.

I was disappointed when the first questions to me were, “How much money can I make?” or How soon can I get out of the program?” I encouraged those folks to find other paths for retraining.

As someone who has been there, treating the job search as a spiritual task is my best advice. As Christians we are called in our final Eucharistic prayer “And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.” (BCP 366) What is God calling you to do? Don’t look at it with limitations “...For man this is impossible but with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Above all, don’t be discouraged. In my preparation for my transition from an unemployed skilled worker to a reemployed professional, my continuing consolation from God was, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  (Philippians 4:13). Biblical abundance does not mean being rich. It means having enough. I retrained for the Priesthood beginning at age 60. I had lots of jobs and three great careers. I had been led to each one by God.

As a suggested devotional during your search, read Voices of the Saints by Bert Ghezzi. I will not say, “Good luck.” I will say, “God speed!”

Why I'm An Anglican III

Bishop Eric Menees

- Because We Are Liturgical
I'd like to continue my explanation with why it is that I am an Anglican. One of the great strengths of the Anglican Reformers was their wisdom in seeking to "reform" Catholicism, not abandon her. One area where the more Protestant churches went afoul, was with their abandonment of liturgy and all things liturgical because they appeared "Romish."

The liturgies of the church are in fact deeply scriptural both in quoting scripture but also expressing it in a most pastoral manner.

So what is liturgy? Well, it is most often described as the "work of the people." I would expand that definition to say that it is the "Work of the people in ministering to the people of God and worshiping the Lord God almighty." Liturgy is what Christians do when they gather together for worship. I always find it odd when I meet Protestants who argue that they are not liturgical. However, if you go to a service you will find a set way of organizing worship - generally speaking they gather together, sing some songs, take an offering, offer prayers, hear some scripture, listen to a sermon, sing some more and have announcements. No matter how you slice it that is liturgy.

What I love about Anglicanism is that we embrace that liturgy and seek to make it as beautiful and transformational as possible. To do that we rely upon music that is ancient and modern. These are songs of praise that speak to a deep and profound theological reality of God's redeeming love in Jesus Christ. When I sing those hymns I am proclaiming the Truth of Jesus Christ and worshiping God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Whether that hymn is Ode to Joy or In Christ Alone. "Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee God of Glory, Lord of Love; hearts unfold like flowers before thee praising thee their God above." Is it possible to read those words and not hearing Beethoven's music in their minds ear? When those verses and that music was first written in the 18th Century it was the pop music of the time but speaks to a timeless truth and reality. So too with hymns 21st century hymns like In Christ Alone - "In Christ alone, my hope is found, he is my life, my strength, my song."

In the Liturgy we very intentionally take up an offering of our treasure to be used for the Glory of God, the spread of the gospel and the ministry of the church. This offering is biblical and right allowing the entire church to return to the Lord a portion, (which should be a minimum of 10%), to him in gratitude for the other 90% that we use to support our families, ourselves and our communities. Note that when we gather up the offerings we bring them to he altar and hand them to the priest or deacon who raises them up before the Lord and the congregation with one voice either sings or says words from scripture known, as the Doxology - "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. (James 1:17) Praise Him all creatures here below.(Psalm 145:21) Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. (Rev. 5:11-14) Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen" (2 Peter 1:11)

In the Liturgy we read the Word of God, and as I mentioned last week, if we gather for worship every Sunday over three years we will have read over 80% of the bible. However, in Anglican liturgy we not only hear the Word of God we interact with it - praying together the psalms and responding both physically (standing for the gospel and sometimes the psalms) and verbally responding to the Lector by proclaiming our affirmation to the proclamation of the Word saying "Thanks be to God," a phrase given in scripture by St. Paul, among others, in his letters to the Corinthians.

In the Liturgy the Word of God is faithfully preached. This should be a challenging exposition of the scriptures read that day that include a practical application to the lives of the people gathered. Through the movement of the Holy Spirit who opens our hearts and minds this will sometimes be a very challenging and uncomfortable message, and at times a very comforting message of assurance. However, it should always be bible-based and include practical implications for life. I thank God for the preaching of my clergy in the diocese and regularly listen to them online.
In the Liturgy we offer, individually and collectively, prayers to God. Prayers of praise and thanksgiving, prayers of petition asking God for his assistance for ourselves and others, prayers for those in authority and prayers for the church. I love the fact that our liturgy forces us to look beyond ourselves and our perceived needs, wants and desires.

In the Liturgy, we proclaim our faith in the words of the Nicene or Apostles Creed. This profession of faith is so important as an affirmation of our faith and defining, for ourselves and others, who we are as Christians. Additionally, the public affirmation of our faith connects us with Christians from the first century to the present day and connects us with Christians around the world and across most denominational lines.

In the Liturgy we share in the sacraments of the church that speak into our mind, heart and soul.
Lastly, in Liturgy we participate in a beautiful work that through music, symbols, clothing and rituals, connect us to one another across time and across the divide of human and divine. I love the liturgy of the church because in that eighty minute time frame, give or take, I can intentionally set myself in the presence of God and have a glimpse into His Kingdom!


God bless you all!

Why I Am An Anglican II

Bishop Eric Menees

When Archbishop Cramner and the other Anglican Reformers first broke from the Roman Catholic Church, they wanted to keep the richness of the faith and the tradition of the Apostolic and Patristic periods of the church. In doing so, the Anglican reformers placed a strong emphasis on both the Word of God and the Sacraments of the Church - the 39 Articles of Religion state that, "The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." (Article 19)

I love the Anglican Church because we recognize that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Inspired Word of God! The 39 Articles are clear in stating:

"Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church." (Article 6)

For Anglicanism, it begins and ends with God's self-revelation through His Word. The Book of Common Prayer itself is made up of something like 80% scripture...now that is just a guess on my part, (but I'm sure someone with lots of time on their hands has already done a study) however, it is an educated guess. Look at the words of institution (the words Jesus used at the Last Supper) during Holy Eucharist, which are taken from the Gospels and Corinthians. Or take the Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer services where, for example, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) and the Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32) are taken directly from scripture.

This was done in a radical move to make the scriptures accessible to all people: rich and poor, literate and illiterate. By attending the services, the people were immersed in the Word of God. Equally, when the lectionary was put together, the intention was to allow the scriptures to be taught and learned on a Sunday by Sunday - day by day basis.

This emphasis on the Word of God has been brought into modern day Anglicanism, and has been affirmed in current documents like the Jerusalem Declaration and the Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). "The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in the plain and canonical sense, respectful of the Church's historic and consensual reading" (Jerusalem Declaration)

This emphasis on The Word of God is also one of our points of separation from the Episcopal Church, which has, for a generation now, taught that the Bible contains the "words" of God but is not necessarily the inspired Word of God that is authoritative for our lives. In the Anglican Church we read, believe and follow the words of St. Paul when writing to Timothy, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Our lives - public and private- are to be modeled upon the the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.


As the ACNA puts together our Prayer Book and develops the lectionary, I've encouraged Bishop Thompson and his committee to reverse what the Episcopal Church did in removing large sections of scripture that they disagreed with from the daily and Sunday readings. We have a wonderful opportunity to get it right, and to make sure that we begin and end with the Word of God!

Why I Am An Anglican

July 18, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Today, I begin a series on the reasons why I am an Anglican.

After eighteen years of ordained ministry, and more than ten years of working to change the Episcopal Church from inside out - serving on every commission and committee I could get on to - I made the choice to leave the Episcopal Church, lock stock, and barrel. As I made my exit, I was asked many times why I wanted to be an Anglican. This question was asked most poignantly, perhaps, by my brothers - one a faithful Roman Catholic, and the other a faithful Lutheran (Missouri Synod) - who asked if I would like to join one of them.

I have to admit that my initial response to their questioning was no, of course not "I'm Anglican." They kindly asked me why, and I had to take some time to think about that - it was not sufficient simply to say, "Because that's what I have always been." I would like to share in my Bishop's Notes why it is that I am an Anglican, and perhaps some of these reasons will resonate with you; though assuredly you will have other reasons why you are an Anglican.

In order to define why it is that I am an Anglican, it is important to say that I am a repentant and redeemed sinner, made a child of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, first and foremost, I am a Christian who has his expression of Christianity in Anglicanism. That means that I am a Catholic and Reformed. This is not to say that I am undecided about whether I am Catholic or Protestant. Rather, the Anglican Church was born with the understanding and intentionality to maintain the very best of Creedal Catholic faith, depending on the revelation of the Holy Spirit through the Church Fathers and the Councils of the Church, while at the same time receiving the evangelical call of the reformers to unabashedly proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

When I speak of the Anglican Church, I am referring to the Anglican Communion world wide that uses the Book of Common Prayer - based on the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (including the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion), which was a light revision of the 1552 Book of Common Prayer, which was largely authored by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
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Notably, the Anglican Church is estimated by Sociologists of Religion to be about 75 million strong. Of those 75 million, on any given Sunday you will find approximately 5 million in church on the Lord's Day in the "West" - Europe, North America, Australia & South Africa. You will find 40-50 million in church on the Lord's Day in what is referred to as the Global South - Africa, Asia, and South America. That statistic is remarkable, and speaks to a church that is rapidly growing and healthy in the Global South versus an anemic church in the West. You may be saying to yourself, 75 minus 55 leaves 20 million - what of those others? That number represents people who self identify as Anglican but only attend their wedding, occasionally Christmas and Easter with their grandmother, and their funeral - and some may argue that they don't attend their own funeral.

I mention this because some of the very reasons that I am an Anglican are the same reasons why the Anglican Church in North America and the churches of the Global South are growing and vibrant. Some of those reasons are that Anglicanism is: Biblical, Historical, Liturgical, Ecclesiastical, Episcopal, Ecumenical, Pastoral and Rational, to list just a few and to provide the source of my following Bishop's Notes.
May The Lord bless you!

Bishop Menees

Bishop William White and the Episcopal Church

Reflections for July 17 by the Rev. Canon Van McCalister

Bishop William White, the first bishop of Pennsylvania, was consecrated in 1787. Two years later he organized and presided over the first general convention in 1789 and became “the chief architect of the Constitution of the American Episcopal Church” [Lesser Feasts and Fasts – July 17].    Bishop White was not only the motivating force behind the establishment of a national Church in the newly formed United States, he was also chaplain to the Congress. Though he studied and was ordained in England, he was passionate about establishing the Church in America corresponding to the ideals and structures of the new Federation.  Powel Mills Dawley wrote the following in “Chapters in Church History”:

“. . . dioceses agreed to sacrifice some of their jealously-guarded independence in order to create a national organization.  Actually, the Episcopal Church was a federal union of independent diocesan units, and each diocese a federation of independent parishes, rather than a single, closely-knit ecclesiastical institution.” [page 222]

Why did Dawley make this distinction? He did so noting the fact that the American clergy were very much concerned about not establishing a hierarchical Church like the one in Britain.  Such was the concern for maintaining this independence that some of the clergy were opposed even to having bishops.  Though the need for bishops – constrained under this new structure - was finally accepted by the majority.  This is why they decided on a presiding bishop, as one who simply presided over the meetings and conventions, rather than an archbishop.

The framers of the Episcopal Church were interested in fellowship and unity but not at the cost of orthodoxy. Robert Prichard writing about the first conventions and prayer book revisions of the 1780s in “A History of the Episcopal Church” offered this example:

“Charles Miller, the rector of King’s Chapel, Boston, wanted, for example, to remove all references to the Trinity. When the conventions did not agree to do so, the congregation . . . distanced itself from other Anglicans, and became the first explicitly unitarian church in America (1786).” [page 86]

Correspondingly, the Rt. Rev. William Stephens, marked the centennial of the consecrations of Bishops White and Provoost with this sobering warning:

Let not our minds rest alone on the study of the framework, eminently worthy as that framework is of careful study, but let us remember that, behind all these human plans and organizations, there has been present the Divine Architect of all, the Holy Ghost, and the unseen but ever spiritual presence of Him who "walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks."

We may have the most perfect church organization which earth can furnish; we may have a well attested apostolic lineage for our ministry; we may have as grand a liturgy as the human mind can construct; we may have as gorgeous a ceremonial of worship as the loftiest aesthetic art can devise; we may have as magnificent cathedrals and churches as human architects can build;--but if our diocesan organization does not rest on Christ as its corner-stone; if that apostolic succession is merely the articulation of dry bones, and is devoid of the life-blood and nerve-force of apostolic fellowship and doctrine; if that lofty worship degenerate into mere lip-service and ceases to be the true worship of God in spirit and in truth; if that gorgeous ceremonial tends to fasten the mind on the accessories of divine service, and obscures, rather than unfolds Christ, and if our noble church edifices only echo through their aisles a teaching not warranted by Scripture, not supported by the Book of Common Prayer, not meeting the soul's true and eternal needs--teaching for doctrine the commandments and traditions of men, at once "strange and erroneous,"--then is our church indeed without Christ--a fair temple without the schekinah; like the Church of Ephesus, having "left its first love"; like Sardis, "having a name that thou livest but art dead," and like Laodicea, "lukewarm, neither hot nor cold."

Only as the Holy Ghost, the living Spirit of truth, teaches in our churches; only as the living Christ is heralded there in his perfect fulness as the sinner's only Saviour; and only, as the one living and true God, is worshipped there "in the beauty of holiness" and "in spirit and in truth," can we fulfil the true conditions of our existence as an organized Christian Church,--then only can Christ speak to us as he did to the angel of the Church of Philadelphia, one of the seven Churches of Asia, and emblemized by a golden candlestick, saying "I know thy works. Behold I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it, for thou hast a little strength and has kept my word and hast not denied my name." God grant to the Church in this Philadelphia of the western world, a large increase of strength, a more faithful keeping of His Word, a deeper reverence for the "name which is above every name," and "in which name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." God grant that "the open door" set before us may be entered in, that we may more sedulously improve the opportunities for possession and expansion, until "the open door" shall become the triumphal arch of the Church's progress, through which, the sacramental Host, under the leadership of the Great Captain of our Salvation, shall march on its way to the gate of pearl and to the door that was "opened in Heaven."

[Excerpt from “A Commemorative Discourse” By Wm Bacon Stevens, Bishop of Pennsylvania (1887).  via http://anglicanhistory.org]

After only one hundred years, Bishop Stevens reflections are ominously prophetic as he identified both the threat to the Church, and the great responsibility to guard the her apostolic treasure.  After more than 200 years, what has become of Bishop White's legacy?  The current leadership of The Episcopal Church more resembles King Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries, than it does Bishop William White.

“The schismatic is the one who causes the separation, not the one who separates.” -  J. C. Ryle, Charges and Addresses (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1978) p. 69.