At its best, the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion have so much to offer to the wider Church and to the world. Unfortunately, at the moment we are far from being at our “best.” Like many of you, I am deeply grieved by the growing division within The Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. I had hoped and still do that the proposed Anglican Covenant could help bring healing into the Communion. As many of you know, the most recent version, the Ridley Cambridge Draft, has been put on hold, due to concerns raised
by some members of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) over Section 4, which deals with the possible disciplinary actions. I remain hopeful that it will be worked out and that we will have an opportunity to vote on the Covenant. In preparation for that, we as a diocese will be studying the Ridley Cambridge Draft and any changes that may be made to it over the coming year. In addressing the ACC, as reported in The Living Church, Archbishop Rowan Williams urged Anglicans not to “put off discussion of the covenant,” stating that, “The texts are
out there. Please pray through them, and talk them through, starting now.” (TLC May 31, 2009)
There has been some question as to whether dioceses will be allowed to officially vote on the covenant if and when it finally comes out. While some within The Episcopal Church believe that only provinces should be allowed to vote, I believe strongly that each diocese should be allowed to vote. That belief is based on my understanding of the true polity or organization and governance of The Episcopal Church, as outlined in its Constitution and Canons and as described in a recently published document entitled “Bishops’ Statement On The Polity Of The Episcopal Church,” signed by myself along with 14 other bishops in the Episcopal Church and three highly distinguished Episcopal theologians.
In the Diocese of Albany we are strongly behind our bishop. He received several loud and heartfelt standing ovations, especially when re-affirming the Faith. The opposition is small and ineffectual.
There is no doubt that our diocese stands for orthodoxy without compromise. Keep us in your prayers that we will faithfully follow where God leads us.
“……..some members of the Anglican Consultative Council,” Bishop? Why didn’t you just spell it out for your people? It was your own Presiding Bishop who deliberately threw the wrench into the works!
And, while I do appreciate +Love’s stand, I still have to ask.
What “Covenant”, and how in the world, without a finished draft, does anyone know whether or not anyone wants to sign it.
Grand mother in SC
Bishop Bill Love has clearly demonstrated, to those of us who are followers of “…the Faith once given…” in the Diocese of Albany, that he is not a creature of temporal nor secular politics/philosophy.
As our bishop, it is clear to those of us who us who follow “…the Faith once given…,” that he seeks and follows the guidance of The Holy Spirit. His speech, at our just completed diocesan convention, bears witness to his fidelity to The Holy Spirit’s guidance.
So, don’t expect Bishop Bill Love to abandon the Church Catholic in his actions, don’t expect him to initiate him to initiate actions that will damage the Body of Christ within our diocese, don’t expect him to not reach out as a priestly teacher and spiritual guide to those who challenge “…the Faith once given…” within our diocese, and don’t expect him to abandon his adherence to “…the Faith once given…” that he expressed so well at at the 2003 National Convention.
Bishop Love, then Father Love, courageously spoke out at that convention against the vote of approval of the election of Mr. Robinson to become the Bishop of New Hampshire.
I am not a timid person and I have given unpleasant news, as a briefer and as a reporting subordinate, to some singularly unkind and sometimes nasty people.
My appraisal of Bishop Bill Love at the 2003 National Convention and subsequently is that he is a personally courageous, extremely responsible and truly Holy Spirit guided man, priest and bishop.
I wish that it were the same for most of the bishops actively serving in ECUSA.
Speaking as one who was there in 2003, Father Bill Love of Lake Luzerne, was not in Minneapolis in 2003. He was, however, in Denver in 2000. In 2000 he spoke at the Denver GenCon very forcefully in defense of the Faith once Received and against the resolutions that were put forth in order to change the rules on ordaining “out” homosexuals.
Not to be picky, # 4. I understand and agree with your point. The entire substance of what you say about Bp Bill is true. You just got the date wrong.
Reply to #5.
Thank you.
Please change the third paragraph in my comment #4 as follows:
change
“… that he expressed so well at at the 2003 National Convention.”
to read
” that he expressed so well at at the 2000 National Convention in Denver.”
and delete my fourth paragraph which stated
“Bishop Love, then Father Love, courageously spoke out at that convention against the vote of approval of the election of Mr. Robinson to become the Bishop of New Hampshire.”
Sorry about the error, but the history of this prolonged tragedy all seems to run together and I am keeping a mostly mental file of its chaotic events and its convolutions within convolutions and its paradoxes within paradoxes.
I met the delegation from Albany at GenCon 2000. I don’t recall +Bill Love being there but he is rather modest in demeanor (except when presenting the Gospel) so I might have missed him. I do recall the hostile greeting he received at GenCon 2006 and the gracious way he handled that. A friend of ours who is not an episcopalian went to the recent Albany Convention and came away very moved by the way that Bishop Love addressed all believers.
Although I’ve already announced the news on both SF and T19 that I’m leaving both TEC and the Diocese of Albany to join the ACNA later this month, I want to reiterate and make it clear on this thread that my departure has nothing whatsoever to do with any gripes about Bishop Love, who is indeed an exemplary defender of orthodoxy and a worthy successor of the apostles. Nor does my decision to realign reflect any dissatisfaction with the Diocese of Albany, which I continue to think is one of the finest dioceses in the country.
However, my decision to depart has everything to do with my vehement disapproval with the catastrophic direction that the leaders who have hijacked TEC and taken it off into blatant heresy and schism have sadly chosen to go. Simply put, I’ve become allergic to the heresy and immorality that are so rampant in TEC, and I must remove myself from its toxic environment. Nor can I continue to serve with a clear conscience in a denomination that’s been so gravely compromised by leaders who in their spiritual confusion and blindness refuse to repent of their teaching of an intolerable false gospel.
But if that’s the negative side, there’s also a postive attraction that’s drawn me to make the switch. I’m also thrilled by the chance to participate in the New Reformation that’s now emerging and picking up momentum. The future of the ACNA and the wider global FCA movement is far from certain, but it’s going to be an exciting admenture.
But I’ll always look back on my past affiliation with the Diocese of Albany with deep affection and profound gratitude. There are very few dioceses in North America, if any, that manage to combine being so solidly orthodox and conservtive theologically with also being so innovative methodologically and so creative in terms of encouraging fresh ways of presenting the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ to an ever changing world.
And two of former Bishop Dan Herzog’s most striking accomplishments illustrate that remarkable combination very vividly. My beloved mentor in ministry, +Herzog, courageously evnsioned and executed the idea of completely revising the annual diocesan convention and turning it into a virtual church renewal and training conference each summer, something that appears to be unprecedented and unmatched anywhere else in TEC. And +Love’s predecessor by God’s grace likewise achieved his bold dream of purchasing and building the Christ the King Spiritual Life Center, with its associated Healing Center led by Fr. Nigel Mumford and the associated convent of godly nuns.
I hope that someday +Bill Love and other honorable diocesan leaders will come to recognize the sad truth that the days when you can be BOTH Anglican and Episcopal are over, or that will very soon be manifestly the case, and that they will then bravely lead the vast bulk of the diocese out of TEC in order to remain faithfully Anglican, and more importantly, faithfully biblical and Christian. But I can’t wait any longer for that day to come. I want out now to join the ACNA when it formally comes into existence next week in Texas.
David Handy+
Ordained in Albany in 1985 and proud to have spend my entire ministry within TEC as a priest canonically resident in that remarkable diocese.
Bravo, Father Handy! Welcome to AMiA!
Thanks, Jeffersonian, but I’m joining the ACNA, not the AMiA. You’re probably remembering that I currently worship most of the time at an AMiA church in Newport News, VA, where I work at an evangelical retreat center. But my home church in Richmond, where I’ll be returning in September, is affiliated with Uganda.
I see that I failed to make it clear above just where I was going, although I announced in on earlier threads. I’ve chosen to align myself with the ACNA through Uganda. Thus, I’ve asked Bishop Love to give me a Letter Dimissory to the new Diocese of the Holy Spirit, led by +John Guernsey. There are several reasons for that choice, including my support for WO, but the most important is probably just that I’ve been privilieged to known John Guernsey for many years and that I therefore know him better than any of the other bishops in the ACNA, and have unreserved trust and respect for him. But it also helps that Eternity Anglican in Richmond is under his oversight.
Anyway, as the various groups that make up the new ACNA continue to meld together over time, it will hopefully soon be almost irrelevant which jurisdiction within it you’ve been associated with in the past, CANA, AMiA, the REC, Kenya, Southern Cone, Uganda, or whatever.
But I appreciate the warm welcome, Jeffersonian.
David Handy+