For the Rev. Cannon Felix Orji, pastor of St. Francis on the Hill on El Paso’s Westside, the news that he had been elected bishop for the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, or CANA, came as a big surprise.

He didn’t even know he was a candidate.

The last time he learned he was a candidate for bishop, he removed his name from consideration.

“I’ve not been a contender for the position,” Orji told El Paso Inc. “My interest in ministry is to serve the church and to preach the gospel, not to become a big shot. I’ve not really been interested in being a bishop.

“However, this time they did not want to talk to me because they didn’t want me to wriggle out of it again. But I’m delighted.”

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With gratitude to the Search Committee for their faithful completion of the task appointed them, and with anticipation of the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Standing Committee of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, ACNA, is pleased to make formal announcement of the candidates for Episcopal Election. The following candidates were selected after a process of serious prayer, discussion, and discernment from the nominations which were received as of January 2011. They are listed simply in alphabetical order:

The Rev. Dr. Ronald Jackson, Diocese of Luweero (Province of Uganda)
The Rev. Dr. Eric Menees, Diocese of Western Anglicans (ACNA)
The Very Rev. Carlos Raines, Diocese of San Joaquin (ACNA)
The Very Rev. Canon Ryan Reed, Diocese of Fort Worth (ACNA)

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St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Cheyenne welcomed its new rector, Pastor Mike Glor, this week after a national search for the position.

Glor recently moved to Wyoming from Pennsylvania after finishing his seminary courses last year.

Prior to accepting the job at St. Peter’s, Glor worked as a program manager for a government contractor in Washington, D.C.

He said he felt a calling to ministry after working there for several years.

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In less than two years, founders of Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church have not only managed to fill the pews, they have raised enough money to buy the former St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church property outright.

Christ the Redeemer, which broke away from Christ Church in Hamilton over what they saw as “moral drift” in the Episcopal Church as a whole, had been leasing the former Catholic church since 2009.

On Feb. 16, the Anglican church paid $1.6 million for the property, after raising $800,000 for a down payment in just six months. The deed was placed on the altar.

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When Bishop Martyn Minns (who was born in England) flies into Heathrow Airport near London, he flashes his UK passport and the guard greets him with “Welcome home, Mr. Minns!” On his return flight into Newark Airport outside of New York City, he pulls out his US passport and the security officer says, “Welcome home, Mr. Minns!”

CANA congregations and clergy have the privilege of holding dual citizenship in both CANA and the ACNA. While the provinces in the Anglican Communion and GAFCON live in the current period of evolving ecclesiastical structures, these guidelines will help us understand and manage some practical issues related to holding two virtual passports.

Q1. What does “dual citizenship” mean?
The largest province of the Anglican Communion and GAFCON, the Church of Nigeria, sponsors the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) as an indigenous, ecclesiastical structure of districts, congregations, and clergy in North America. As such, CANA also is a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) which is an indigenous province-structure. Thus, congregations and clergy in CANA have a dual citizenship and two virtual passports that allow them to be bona fide members of the Church of Nigeria (and thus the Anglican Communion) and the ACNA.

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The Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, the Primate of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), says the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), is no longer under the jurisdiction of Nigeria….

“We are not interested in territorial ambition; our main reason for going to America was to provide for those who were no longer finding it possible to worship in the Episcopal church.

“A new structure has been put up in the U.S. which is ACNA.

“CANA now belongs to ACNA even though they still relate to us;but essentially it now belongs to Anglican province of North America,” he said.

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The Rev. Jerry Kramer, the Episcopal priest who threw his church into the recovery of Broadmoor after Hurricane Katrina, has left the church for a more conservative Anglican community.

Kramer, the former rector of the Free Church of the Annunciation, said by e-mail he now is affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America.

That community is composed of former Episcopalians who split with the U.S. church in 2008 over deep theological differences.

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Dear Friends,

Attached is a letter describing an agreement made by Somerset Anglican Fellowship with the TEC Diocese. Some of you have already read about this in the newspaper or received an email; many of you have communicated with me your concerns that there might be many “secret deals” being made which will leave many congregations “on their own.” Here is some information about the agreement, and our current situation, that we thought it would be helpful for you to know.

1) Somerset Anglican Fellowship negotiated this settlement without the input or approval of the Diocese. In fact, we have reason to believe that the lawyer representing SAF advised them not to inform the Anglican diocese. We are very concerned that a congregation thought itself to be so in jeopardy as to necessitate secret legal action.
2) St. Stephen’s, Sewickley and Church of the Savior, Ambridge have consulted legal counsel with regard to individual settlements with the TEC Diocese. Both parishes informed the Anglican Diocese at the time and both parishes have decided not to participate in any settlement without the involvement of the Diocese.

3) To the best of our knowledge, there are no other parishes which are unilaterally attempting to make a settlement with the TEC diocese.

4) The Anglican Diocese remains committed to finding the best solution for each of its parishes in light of the recent legal decisions. We also continue to hope for and look for some kind of settlement that would benefit all of our congregations.

5) Please do not hesitate to email or call Canon Mary, Geoff Chapman (Chair of the Standing Committee) or Jonathan Millard (Standing Committee member) or me if you have further questions or concerns.

In light of these very serious developments, I feel compelled to issue a godly directive to all of the clergy of the diocese not to engage in, conduct, or conclude negotiations without first discussing such actions with me, or with Canon Mary, and with our chancellor.

Faithfully,

The Most Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh agreed to drop legal action against a Moon church that split from the national organization over issues such as abortion and gay clergy.

Part of the agreement allowing St. Philip’s church to keep its building and property stipulates it must cut ties with the newly formed Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh for at least five years.

The St. Philip’s congregation voted Tuesday night on the settlement.

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“It is heartbreaking that even if they agree to pay a substantial settlement fee to keep their buildings, members of St. Philip’s are also being forced to separate from their Anglican family as a condition of the property settlement. Freedom of religion is at the heart of this matter and no congregation should have to stipulate that it will separate from its current body as part of a monetary property settlement,” said the Most Rev. Robert Duncan, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America and Bishop of Pittsburgh.

“Sadly, the separation mandate seems to be specifically designed to hurt both the local diocese and the North American province. If the settlement is approved by St. Philip’s, we urge the Court to strike any provisions of the settlement that abridge First Amendment rights.

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Members of St. Philip’s Church in Moon will vote tonight on a proposed settlement with the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh that would allow them to keep their property but would also require them to cut ties with the rival Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh for at least five years.

The Rev. Eric Taylor, rector of St. Philip’s, said the proposal was the best option for his parish. Since the 2008 split in the original Episcopal diocese, the property of dozens of parishes that voted to leave the denomination and follow Archbishop Robert Duncan into the new Anglican Church in North America has been tied up in legal disputes. The settlement would leave St. Philip’s independent.

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In fact, this story [raises questions about]…the oft-heard assertion that bishops are bound by… [Presiding Bishop Jefferts] Schori, Mr. Beers, 815 and “fiduciary duty” to eschew any negotiated settlements. As you will see,…[Presiding Bishop Jefferts] Schori and Mr. Beers were fully informed along the way as this negotiation proceeded.

Is this a precedent for negotiated settlements and a forbearance of arms? Is it an isolated case, or does it herald a new day? Raymond Dague himself draws the best conclusion:

“[This case] goes to prove that when the parties both desire to find an amicable way to sell a formerly Episcopal Church to an Anglican Church which has disaffiliated from TEC, that a way can be found. There is no legal bar to such a sale, nor is such a sale, even at a fraction of the assessed value of the property, in violation of the fiduciary duty of the diocese or TEC. Where there is the will to be gracious and settle without lawsuits, there is a way that it can be done, because it was done here. Perhaps the Helmetta experience might be repeated. It need not be an isolated incident if both parties in other cases have the good will to try it.”

Read it all and make sure to take the time to read the whole Raymond Dague memorandum also.

The area’s Anglican community is taking steps to find a new bishop for the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin. The current bishop, John-David Schofield, announced in 2009 that he plans to retire in October this year

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St. George’s Anglican Church, a former Episcopal Church congregation which disaffiliated from its former denomination, has negotiated with the Diocese of New Jersey to retain its church buildings and tangible property with complete independence from The Episcopal Church (TEC). The congregation is now affiliated with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) under Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) under Archbishop Robert Duncan.

“We are extremely grateful that the congregation of St. George’s Anglican Church is able to retain its property. This is an incredible blessing and witness to others that Christians can resolve these matters amicably. We are also thankful that the church has been able to maintain a cordial relationship with the Diocese of New Jersey. I trust and pray that St. George’s Anglican Church will continue to serve the Lord through mission and ministry for many years to come,” said CANA Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns.

The final sale of St. George’s church property took place on Tuesday, November 23, 2010.

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A growing group of dissident Anglicans who broke away from the Anglican Church of Canada over opposition to same-sex blessings amassed nearly $6 million in donations in the last fiscal year.

And 22 per cent of those donations were made specifically to the Anglican Network in Canada’s (ANiC) legal defence fund, to bankroll the dissidents’ continuing battle with the Diocese of New Westminster over who owns the church buildings.

According to financial statements filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by the ANiC, the registered charity received $5.9 million in donations in the 2008-09 fiscal year, the most recent data available.

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Please go here and read all 3 comments/transcripts.

The GAFCON statement notes a third sad fact about the Anglican Communion today:

The third fact is the manifest failure of the Communion Instruments to exercise discipline in the face of overt heterodoxy. The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada, in proclaiming this false gospel, have consistently defied the 1998 Lambeth statement of biblical moral principle (Resolution 1.10). Despite numerous meetings and reports to and from the ”˜Instruments of Unity,’ no effective action has been taken, and the bishops of these unrepentant churches are welcomed to Lambeth 2008. To make matters worse, there has been a failure to honour promises of discipline, the authority of the Primates’ Meeting has been undermined and the Lambeth Conference has been structured so as to avoid any hard decisions. We can only come to the devastating conclusion that ”˜we are a global Communion with a colonial structure’.

This third fact is also in line with the observation of Metropolitan Hilarion that the source of false teaching and lax discipline in the Communion has its origins in the “North and the West,” that is to say, in Canterbury’s own jurisdiction. I have noted elsewhere that the “Instruments of Unity” as currently constituted are under the sway of the “Lambeth bureaucracy,” and hence the ecumenical failure of Anglicanism can only be laid at the door of Canterbury himself. This tough fact is exactly what Hilarion has brought to the banquet table at Lambeth Palace.

So GAFCON and the Orthodox share the sober critique of contemporary Anglicanism. It would be facile to say that today’s Anglican confessors are of one mind with the Orthodox. Surely there are issues of substance and ongoing discussion between the two.

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The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh expects its convention in Sewickley this weekend to be a remarkably unremarkable.

In 2008, at what was then an Episcopal diocesan convention, delegates voted to split from the Episcopal Church. Last year the Anglican diocese was regrouping and fighting property litigation that is still on appeal.

“God willing, this will be a tame convention,” said Archbishop Robert Duncan, the bishop and leader of the Anglican Church in North America, to which the diocese now belongs. The convention began Friday night at St. Stephen Church, Sewickley, and continues today.

The new denomination — which is seeking recognition from the global Anglican Communion — has unusual geographical dynamics. The Diocese of Pittsburgh has taken in congregations from far outside the original 11 counties. Christ Church in Plano, Texas, which draws more than 2,000 worshipers weekly, has asked to join the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, as have parishes from Illinois and Wisconsin.

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The latest twist involves the man who was pastor of St. John’s in the run-up to the schism.

[The] Rev. Daniel H. Martins, St. John’s pastor for 13 years, has become a bishop-elect in the Diocese of Springfield, Ill. – but in the original denomination.

The denomination St. John’s decided to leave while Martins led it.

Some Episcopalians feel betrayed.

“I’m very surprised that he’s turned around and has decided to go back to the Episcopal Church,” said Al Lingo, “because he was a very, very avid opponent, and he led St. John’s parishioners away from the Episcopal Church. And I’m sure it’s a great, great surprise to the people of St. John’s.”

The original Diocese of San Joaquin has taken the unusual step of informing Springfield that Martins is a schismatic in sheep’s clothing and should not be bishop….

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For the Rev. Jed Roseberry, leading a church is more than a calling; it’s a family tradition.

Roseberry “planted” Restoration Anglican Church last year in Addison, a town where he said he felt called to develop friendships and minister. It’s the same call that his father, the Rev. David Roseberry, answered 25 years ago when he, too, planted a church, Christ Church Plano.

Restoration Anglican Church recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.

“For me, it’s a perfect scenario. It’s something that was dear to my heart,” David Roseberry said. “I’m absolutely delighted with the father-son duo. Since I was a church planter 25 years ago, it gives me a lot of joy to see him follow in that.”

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Over the next year, people in the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh ”” including locals from Monroeville ”” will read 100 Bible
passages.

Last month, more than 4,000 people from 48 churches in the Pittsburgh region began to read 100 “essential” readings in the Bible ”” 50 from the Old Testament and 50 from the New Testament
.

The E100 challenge is a Bible reading
plan that provides an overview of the biblical narrative and advances participants’ Bible knowledge through regular reading.

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A lot can happen in one year.

For the people of St. Luke’s, 365 days has meant a lot of grieving. It has given the church new focus. And, most importantly, it has allowed for a lot of healing to take place. One year ago on Sunday, St. Luke’s held its first service in a small chapel at Glendale Seventh-day Adventist Church, just across Valejo Drive from Glendale Adventist Medical Center, after losing its facilities in a lengthy lawsuit brought by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. That Sunday’s service was not unlike any other service I’ve been to at St. Luke’s: While there was music, prayer, fellowship and the usual assortment of families with their kids in tow, everyone knew that an important milestone was taking place.

Today, they are still in that chapel. But one could say that St. Luke’s ”” or by its newly incorporated name, Crescenta Valley Anglican Church ”” is spiritually wiser because of what members have gone through. This past weekend I had an opportunity to sit down with the Rev. Rob Holman, rector of St. Luke’s Anglican Church….

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Who is the legitimate bishop in the San Joaquin Diocese, and who owns the diocese’s property, including its headquarters in Fresno and parishes from Stockton to Bakersfield?

Those questions are at the heart of the next round in the legal battle between local Episcopalians and Anglicans. The two groups face off today in the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno.

The justices will hear oral arguments in the lawsuit, filed by Bishop Jerry Lamb against Bishop John-David Schofield.

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To a standing ovation, and in front of an audience of more than 800, Foley Beach was consecrated on Saturday as the first bishop of the newly formed Anglican Diocese of the South. Beach is the rector of Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville.

“It’s a great day for this region and a great day for the Anglican Church in North America,” said Archbishop Robert Duncan, of the Anglican Church in North America, as he brought greetings from the Global Anglican Future Conference Archbishops, a group that represents more than 40 million Anglicans. “Whenever we make a bishop, it is just a great ceremony in which we see what we inherit.”

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In a letter dated October 6, 2010 the Rev. Canon David Roseberry, rector of Christ Church in Plano, TX, announced their intention to join the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh in order to affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America. Christ Church has actively supported the formation of the ACNA and continues to offer leadership and support for Anglican1000, a key initiative designed to encourage church planting in the ACNA. Since leaving the Episcopal Church in 2006, Christ Church has been canonically affiliated with the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA). When AMiA changed its status within the ACNA from fully integrated, diocesan member to ministry partner, which has less representation in the councils of the Church, Christ Church began to explore how it might stay within the North American provincial structure. The transfer has already received the green light from the Rt. Rev. Chuck Murphy, who currently provides episcopal oversight for Christ Church.

“We are looking forward to partnering more fully with Christ Church Plano in the coming months and years. We are especially delighted that the vestry and clergy of Christ Church consider the Diocese of Pittsburgh to be a fitting home for their mission and ministry in the season ahead,” commented the Most Rev. Robert Duncan, archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America and bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. He added, “Christ Church is a parish of immense talent and vision, and the administrative home of Anglican 1000. Dave Roseberry is one of North America’s great leaders and it will be a joy to welcome him and all the clergy of Christ Church into the leadership cadre of our diocese.”

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My thanks to Randall Foster for these terrific pictures–read it all.

The Vatican announced Thursday that Bishop Kevin Vann, leader of the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese, has been named to a committee that will lay the groundwork for the incorporation of U.S. Anglican groups into the Roman Catholic Church.

But the announcement received a muted response from the group of churches led by Bishop Jack Iker, which split from the national Episcopal Church last year over issues including same-sex unions and gay bishops. That group calls itself the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, as does the group of Episcopal churches that remained with the national Episcopal Church.

“As you know, the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth has cordial relations with Bishop Vann and members of his diocese, but today’s announcement doesn’t have an impact on those ongoing talks about the sharing of resources and fellowship,” said Suzanne Gill, spokeswoman for the Iker-led churches. “And it certainly does not portend any formal linkage of the two dioceses.”

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Epiphany Celebration Anglican Church celebrated its new house of worship on Sunday by offering praise for the stately red brick building on Bay Street that once belonged to their Baptist friends.

“This is a joyous off-the-charts happy day,” the Rev. Dr. W.H. Volland said to the 255 people sitting in the pews. “The only reason we are in this place is because of the faithful, Godly obedient ministry of the folks of Bay Street Baptist Church. We offer a great deal of thanksgiving to them.”

Epiphany Celebration Anglican Church was formed on Jan. 6, 2007, the day of Epiphany on the liturgical calendar.

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The size of the congregation more than met expectations. Some in attendance were visitors whose homes are not in Abbotsford. The service ended at 8:45am. At this initial service of renewed diocesan worship at St. Matthew’s a post service coffee time in the parish hall had not been planned, but members of the ANiC congregation which use the St. Matthew’s church building had thoughtfully set-up tables for a post service coffee time and had made the kitchen available. 17 of those in attendance at the service did go for breakfast/coffee at a nearby restaurant. Organizing and on-site “Coffee Time” will happen in the near future.

The ANiC leaders representing their community were cordial and cooperative and did an outstanding job of setting up the Parish Hall for worship. The ACoC congregation were not required to replace chairs or re-organize the space. Arrangements for future Sundays may differ. The ANiC leadership agreed to the use of the piano to add a musical component to the worship and that may come to pass in future weeks.

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