Updated Tuesday
The consecration of two American bishops by the Anglican Church of Kenya is scheduled for next Thursday. The latest Kenyan press reports on this:
The Nation Anglicans plan to send clergy to America.
East African Standard Nzimbi to Consecrate Two American Priests
And from America:
Reuters Africans woo conservative U.S. Anglicans in gay row
As previously reported, the official press statement of the ACK Provincial Synod in June said:
TWO BISHOPS FOR NORTH AMERICA
The ACK Province now provides Episcopal oversight to several dozen congregations in the USA through a number of Kenyan Bishops. By a unanimous vote of the Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Kenya endorsed the selection of The Revd Canon Bill Atwood as Suffragan Bishop of All Saints Cathedral Diocese (Nairobi) to serve the international interests of the ACK including taking responsibility for care for the congregations and clergy in the USA under Kenyan jurisdiction. The Synod also unanimously approved the consecration of The Revd Bill Murdoch as Suffragan Bishop of All Saints’ Cathedral Diocese to work with Revd Bill Atwood in providing that oversight and Episcopal care. Consecrations are scheduled for August 30th in Nairobi. They will collaborate with others in the Common Cause network, chaired by The Rt. Revd Robert Duncan (Pittsburgh) to provide Orthodox Episcopal care and oversight, strategically uniting a broad conservative coalition that shares historic Anglican faith and practice. (end)
Here is the earlier (15 June) report from the Church Times Archbishop of Kenya to consecrate US bishop. And from the Church of England Newspaper there was Mixed Reaction to Atwood Appointment.
And here is Bill Atwood’s CV as a Word document (from the Kenyan website). Or, the Anglican Communion Network has this version.
More about William Murdoch:
Diocese, Congregation Announce Amicable Separation in Massachusetts from the Living Church. And the Anglican Communion Network has this short biography.
Update
Another Reuters article Africa gives refuge to rebel U.S. Anglicans
…Benjamin Nzimbi told Reuters on Monday he would consecrate dissident U.S. clerics Bill Atwood and Bill Murdoch as bishops on Thursday at a ceremony in Nairobi. Uganda’s Henry Orombi is due to consecrate John Guernsey next week.
“Since the talk about gay marriage started, many congregations in America have been looking for oversight from overseas,” Nzimbi said.
In Africa, gay relationships are denounced as immoral and are outlawed in many countries.
The 77 million-strong Anglican Church has been split since 2003 when its 2.4 million member U.S. branch consecrated Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop.
The move enraged conservative Anglicans, who accuse the Episcopal church of flouting Biblical commandments. Nzimbi said Kenya had been approached by more then 30 congregations from across the United States asking for leadership since then.
“REPENTANCE IS KEY”
Liberals, who support a looser interpretation of scripture, say the African clergy are violating church rules by creating conservative outposts in the United States and deepening a crisis that threatens to split the Anglican communion — a worldwide federation of 38 churches.
“We are not invading other people’s territory as such but preaching the gospel, the way it was brought to us, the way it is written,” Nzimbi said.
And he said the only way to bridge the schism was for the liberal churches to repent: “The way we can have one understanding is through repentance, that is the key word.”
Pie, Pie, a slice of the American Pie, cut specially for excluding LGBT and heterosexual woman from all levels of The Anglican Communion sky?
Better hurry gents, it’s getting sliced pretty thin and there isn’t enough to go around (and around)!
“Consecrations are scheduled for August 30th in Nairobi. They will collaborate with others in the Common Cause network, chaired by The Rt. Revd Robert Duncan (Pittsburgh) to provide Orthodox Episcopal care and oversight, strategically uniting a broad conservative coalition that shares historic Anglican faith and practice. (end)” How can Mr. Duncan participate in this and still be a Bishop in the Episcopal Church? Perhaps, if they are only working in his diocese it would be OK since they would be in his jurisdiction with his blessing. But it would seem that their minitry would not be needed in Pittsburgh. In… Read more »
I can’t wait to see TEC bishops and churches in England (England particularly) ! Also we could do with some of the sensitivity and know-how of the CP of South Africa, in our fratured and troubled islands.
FWIW, the CV of the Revd Mr Atwood appears to have been typed, or at least relayed by email at a computer on which the MS Word installation information identifies the company as “Toys R Us”. Let me hasten to add that I have no problem with the idea that people at work can legitimately use the company computer during their break time for modest personal work. On the other hand, it is sensible to avoid leaving tracks that are not relevant to ones project. In MS Word, go to the ‘File’ menu, select ‘Properties’, go through the various tabs… Read more »
What Toys R Us ar wealthy US backers of the breakaway? I think we should be told. Surely shome mishtake.
These lines have a Kenyan dialect to them…
_keen to recruit the dissident priests as bishops under their own authority and to provide a new spiritual home for their clusters of wealthy US congregations_
Is that dialect for ‘keen to have clusters of wealthy US congregations’? Like my wife says in her favourite phrase, “Dream dream.”
Interesting to wonder what would happen, at least theoretically, if TEC did back down. How do you get the genii back in the lamp? We now have a plethora (using the term loosely) of extra-territorial bishops operating on U.S. soil. What would one do with such folks (or what would such folks do) if the whole GR problem went away?
Steven
As worded this says that Robert Duncan chairs the Common Cause network, not that he will participate in the consecration, Deacon Perrin.
More and more schismatic bishops, as the usual suspects among the Africans invade, in defiance of Cantuar and Lambeth 1988 & 1998, another province of the Anglican Communion. Their rationale: they are called as “knights in shining armor” to ride to the rescue of orthodox Episcopalians who fear the takeover of their Church by feminists (e.g., Schori) and by gays (notably V.G. Robinson). Indeed, there are feminist and gay conspiracies all over the Episcopal Church, with Bloodhound David Beers as enforcer, assisted by the U.S. legal system. The ultimate goal, as during the crusades in the Middle Ages, is not… Read more »
Steven, that’s an interesting question.
Actually, some of us think that TEC has already given an adequate response to the Windsor Report.
Twice, in fact.
And what was the response each time?
Each time, the so-called Global South upped the ante.
Looks like they are not going to wait until September 30th 2007 before insulting the US college of Bishops!!!
I hope people in TEC see this as a sad rather than tragic move from African provinces…it is becoming a laughable Alice in Wonderland nonsense. The Africans were not GIVEN the rope to hang themselves…they MADE it. What a joke these people are. Episcopi Vagantes en masse.
Ignore them.
Oh the con-evo USA scenario probably goes something like: Duncan becomes Presiding Bishop, lots of prog-lib priests either publicly repent of asking theological or any other questions / or prog-lib priests are deposed or threatened with deposition, along with prog-lib bishops. Prog-lib believers who will not repent and align correctly in keeping with the new con-evo juggernaut TEC, will be asked to leave – or de facto so often trash talked that we all know exactly who is being asked to leave. Ahmanson and other funders become increasingly visible in the new con-evo TEC, and a large push is made… Read more »
Hit the nail on the head, Steven. Each of these extra territorial bishops gets the purple shirt they didn’t have before, and, their sponsoring national churches get cold, hard cash; a nice power play. If +New Hampshire resigned and TEC completely caved in on Sep 30, I can’t imagine any of new bishops giving up crozier, cope, mitre, ring ’cause the ‘crisis is over’.
These consecrations ower plays, pure and simple. I’m awaiting the next moves: England? Canada? Scotland?
BTW, any book on how many generations these new Anglican churches survive?
montyman
Steven
It would ALMOST be worth it to see what would happen. Suppose our HOB says “OK. We repent! We acted too fast. We will consecrate no more gay bishops and authorize no ssb rites until there is a consenseus in the communion. Now Bishop Minns must leave Virginia and go ‘home’ to Nigeria to work. Ditto for Guernsey Attwood etc–all back to Africa. Truro must submit to Bp Lee. Bristol to Bp Smith.”
I don’t believe they’d budge an inch. Do you?
No, they would not bunch an inch.
_Diocese, Congregation Announce Amicable Separation in Massachusetts_
But this is the best way of letting the walkers walk, soon to be followed by the overseeing provinces it seems.
“As worded this says that Robert Duncan chairs the Common Cause network, not that he will participate in the consecration, Deacon Perrin.” His lack of participation in the consecrations has nothing to do with my comment. I intended that my comment to refer to -Duncan’s support for these new poachers. In my mind it’s akin to the stoning of Stephen in Acts. Saul did not actually throw any stones, but he did hold their coats. Perhaps, to extend the analogy further, -Bob will have a “road to Damascus experience” himself and become one of TEC’s strongest supporters. Stranger things have… Read more »
drdanfee: I think that if a united church couldn’t change the pro-gay laws, then a conservative evangelical rump hasn’t a chance!
But you know, they really might think thats a viable future…poor deluded things.
dmitri You made an excellent point. It no longer matters what TEC does. They will not close these plantings; they now have hired hands and parishioners. In two centuries time, they will still be blaming the TEC for the need to form these churches. Just as how many millennia later they are still abusing women and justifying it on Eve’s decision to learn what was required to become of one of the two guardians for Gaia’s inhabitants as their collective consciousness began to coalesce. Religious communities and faiths and civilizations come and go. God goes on. All humans are bound… Read more »
Dmitri writes: “Suppose our HOB says “OK. We repent! We acted too fast. We will consecrate no more gay bishops and authorize no ssb rites until there is a consenseus in the communion. Now Bishop Minns must leave Virginia and go ‘home’ to Nigeria to work. Ditto for Guernsey Attwood etc–all back to Africa. Truro must submit to Bp Lee. Bristol to Bp Smith.”
To be honest, I think that is what they will say on September 30th. Because in fact they have already said it.
So then what?
“How can Mr. Duncan participate in this and still be a Bishop in the Episcopal Church?” Because, when a “conservative” bishop breaks the rules, he can only be doing it for the best of reasons. This is a pastoral emergency. The faithful remnant needs a place of solace in their grievous persecution because they won’t burn a pinch of incense on the Imperial altar, ahem, sorry, because they won’t be nice to gay people. Mixed up my persecutions there (blush). If a “liberal” should reak the rules, by, you know, marrying two women, well, he is just selling out the… Read more »
Ford – “thou shal not cross boundaries” ain’t no gospel imperative, sir! We are concerned with those who teach it is ok to contradict scripture on certain (not all!)issues which they choose….but please show me where the bible says do not cross boundaries? Also, please show me where it says “stay in communion with false teachers”….please read St Paul in Galatians or 1 Cor 5-6 or see Elijah’s attitude (just 2 examples of many) and you will see why I say that we are not to be united with false teachers…..you may understand why I say they are “not my… Read more »
NP, your repetition continues to ignore the fact that all these pronouncements you continue to quote include that there whould be no boundary crossing, and yet these provinces continue to consecrate. You then dismiss that restriction by reference to the Bible, whilst making declarations over and over again about false teaching, which as such has not been demonstrated or accepted as of now. In other words, at least prior to this deadline, there should be no boundary crossings. You keep supposing you know what the Archbishop of Canterbury will do, but the situation is presently as he has intended it,… Read more »
Pluralist…I repeat because people like have not woken up (deliberately I am sure) to the reality of what the ABC has done…..you telling me you predicted what he would do in Tanzania?? (He did more against TEC’s rebellion than I expected!) Yes….boundary crossings were mentioned….so why do you think the ABC is making so little of these? There is no equivalence….and in the end, he knows that the church has an agreed position which the current leadership of TEC has abandoned so some of those who want to stick to the AC position have requested oversight from others – i.e.… Read more »
“St Paul” Who? “Galatians or 1 Cor 5-6” I assume the first is the title of something, since you refer to this St. Paul guy as writing “in” Galatians, but who is the other author? All those numbers would seem to make for an odd name. Is his surname 5-6 or merely 6? “you may understand why I say they are “not my neighbour” “ No, I will never understand how you can make that claim. It is contrary to the Gospel. But then, I really don’t know the Gospel, have never read it, certainly don’t believe it, and just… Read more »
Ford…congratulations on your attempts at point-scoring, you’re so clever, well done….but I encourage you to read what St Paul wrote to the Galatians and the Corinthians …. please study the whole bible more and you will become even wiser. False teachers are my neighbour? The Samaritan rescued someone hurt by the road…..there is no indication that we are to take that passage and apply it to mean we must accept false teachers as our “neighbours”. Very dodgy application, Ford! Some on TA clearly do not know the bible well and misapply regularly to justify their own views /desires ….but you… Read more »
I seem to remember how the Windsor Report was presented by the Archbishop, for the whole event to be railroaded in a process of others going backwards and forwards between two headquarters. Secondly, I read carefully what he has said about boundary crossings, which is also why the boundary crossers themselves have not been invited to the party. I am not distracted from any main issue, and quite capable of seeing what it is, which is a group within the Global South attempting to impose a rule book on the rest of the Anglican Communion that goes against its ethos,… Read more »
NP,
You sound like Fred Phelps! I’d suggest you actually READ Scripture rather than just mining it for support for your beliefs. You might start by reading all the passages that refer to the Pharisees and asking yourself “How am I like them”. I know, you don’t need to do that, you’re perfect. Still, it might be a good exercise to help you learn how we live who are still striving for the perfection God has graced you with.
NP of Surbiton fame wrote: “… Some on TA clearly do not know the bible well and misapply regularly to justify their own views /desires… “
Oh, Oh – that must be me! I have been found out!!
;=)
NP said: “The Samaritan rescued someone hurt by the road…..there is no indication that we are to take that passage and apply it to mean we must accept false teachers as our “neighbours”.” Now, the whole point of the story was that the “orthodox” believers – the priest and the levite – had walked on by, crossing to the other side of the road, while the “unorthodox” Samaritan had come to the man’s aid. Then Jesus asks, “who is this man’s neighbour/” So, actually, the whole point is that the false teacher, rather than the “orthodox” religious authorities, is the… Read more »
NP
“The Samaritan rescued someone hurt by the road…..there is no indication that we are to take that passage and apply it to mean we must accept false teachers as our “neighbours”.”
You’re right, I don’t know my bible as verse where the Samaritan bent down to the injured man and made sure he believed in the right things and ascertained that he wasn’t a false teacher, before he helped him.
Thank you for putting me right.
Sorry, slip of the “delete” button.
“I don’t know my bible as well as you do, and what escaped me is the verse where the Samaritan….”
I thought John Sentamu’s last statement was very instructive.
Seemed to me that he had no intention of allowing sexuality to be viewed as a first-order issue. That is the position of the Road to lamberth – but not the CofE
I remember the days when I was on Church Missionary Society General Council, in the mid to late 1980s and we were funding our General Secretary to go to Nigeria to help set up a Nigerian Missionary Society. (CMS had a crucial role in the founding of the Church in Nigerian, Kenya and Uganda) In those days we believed in ‘partnership in world mission’, and overseas missionaries coming from Nigeria to the UK to build the Church here – I suppose not just the UK, but ‘everywhere’ (‘from everywhere to everywhere’ was the slogan). I suppose that pertnership has fallen… Read more »
Erika and Malcolm….be sensible…the good samaritan teaches us to help anybody who needs help….it cannot be twisted to mean tolerate heresy unless one is very determined to do so!
Ford – Certainly, I will look at the pharisee passages and repent where I need to….will you do the same with what you call the “clobber passages”?? Please do study them again
NP “Erika and Malcolm….be sensible…the good samaritan teaches us to help anybody who needs help….it cannot be twisted to mean tolerate heresy unless one is very determined to do so!” Maybe you need to read the whole story. The lawyer asked what he must do to inherit eternal life and was told that ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” The parable was then told to explain who one’s neighbour is. This is not about being… Read more »
NP,
The “clobber”, or “terror” or whatever, passages only address “the presenting issue” after being forged in 12th century Paris.
Try to learn!
dodgyvicar asked “…did we teach the Nigerian Church our colonial ways?” According to some, they are merely repeating what was taught to them by the missionaries that came to them. Please forgive my chuckles as they marry that idea to being the souls who had the gospel first and were there to help Jesus carry the cross. They were either there first, and thus needed no instruction from us. Or they have come through our teachings, and are thus open to clarification… I sometimes ask whether it was Africa who taught Europe about slavery. The Europeans might have done it… Read more »
Bill Atwood made the following statement on Wednesday, as reported in the Herald Tribune – http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/30/africa/AF-GEN-Kenya-US-Angry-Anglicans.php : “American males who are homosexually active have a life span that is three decades shorter than the norm,” Atwood said Wednesday. “How can a church say, ‘You are precious, we care about you, we love you, we want the best for you and now we want to bless behaviors that cause you to die three decades early’?” This ‘statistic’ is being trotted out again. It is based on one small study on the impact of HIV on gay men by Hogg and co.… Read more »
Erika…you actually believe what you are arguing?
-How do you explain Galatians 5:12?
-How would you explain how Paul writes about false teachers in 1 Tim Ch 1?
We are told to accept false teachers as our neighbours, are we???
It seems that 9 Primates of the Anglican Communion attended the Kenyan consecrations. That’s out of 38. Doesn’t exactly show overwhelming support for this action.
“the good samaritan teaches us to help anybody who needs help” Yes, that’s one lesson. Another is that it is folly to think holiness comes from following some Law. Remeber that the Priest and the Levite would have been considered holy by Jesus’s audience. We can rephrase the story quite easily. Put a gay man in the ditch, bashed nearly to death. The priest can be a CANA priest, who passes by on the other side, afraid of HIV, as does the Levite. besides, if he was beaten half to death, he probably made advances at a good heterosexual man… Read more »
The front page of the New York Times website includes a report this morning, Thursday, with a photo, from Reuters.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/news-kenya-anglicans.html?hp
Wow!
9 AC Primates plus 1 retired Primate present……
This is amazing!
If we were seeing a small, right-wing sect intent on splitting the AC, I don’t think any of these Primates would have been present – but what we are seeing is the consectration of people who will be part of the Anglican Communion in the USA in the future
“USA Today” publishes a wider-angle photograph of the consecration: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-08-30-kenya-bishops_N.htm
Gregg Griffith has a post on StandFirm that identifies a number of the participants, among them Bishop Duncan of Pittsburgh. http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/5449/
A further link from SF to Living Church (you can find this one easily enough for yourselves) indicates that Iker of Fort Worth was also among the consecrating bishops.
Time for TEC to impose some discipline and, if necessary, to start cleaning house?
“If we were seeing a small, right-wing sect intent on splitting the AC”
No, we are seeing a group of cynical politicos intent on splitting the AC, quite a different thing. I can recognize one “Nose of Wax” in the crowd. What’s amazing about a cabal of likeminded cynical politicos getting together to underscore their political point? You don’t seriously think they represent any more of a majority in the Church than the TEC “pagans” you love to hate, do you? Oh, wait, yes you do.
NP, I was merely correcting your wilfull misrepresentation of scripture.
Well, NP. it suggests that those 9 Primates may well be the core of a new Communion, to which the American secessionists will be attached.
But that doesn’t suggest majority support within the Communion for the sort of draconian action suggested in the ‘Road to Lambeth’ which would not be acceptable to the CofE itself.
Wrote Lapinbizzare: “Time for TEC to impose some discipline and, if necessary, to start cleaning house?” Won’t happen, though. Contrary to the image manufactured by disaffected Episcopalians, PB Schori is not in the business of persecuting the Duncanites and Ikerites, although the latter have no other agenda than to destroy the Church whose Constitution and Canons they vowed to uphold at their own ordinations. Give the Duncanites and Ikerites enough rope and they will hang themselves. Who takes them seriously anyway apart from the toxic, self-appointed Anglican bedroom police who can’t wait for Judgment Day but want to purge the… Read more »
Ford – thanks for the candles. I appreciate the thought (even if I prefer you pray to our heavenly Father and his Son who intercedes for us)
MM says “Well, NP. it suggests that those 9 Primates may well be the core of a new Communion…” Belt up, MM! TWR and Tanzania came from ALL the Primates! Your silly logic wants those that agree with TWR and Tanzania to leave…… (note Tanzania addressed boundary crossings too) Anyway – you really make me laugh with your logic! A tiny minority in the AC rebels against agreed positions and refuses in FOUR years to come back to a position which allows unity in the AC…..and you say the majority should leave! You would have been in the SDP –… Read more »