O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Dear Integrity members and friends:
By now you have read the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Advent letter. In contrast to the well-known hymn quoted above, Rowan Williams’ letter gives LGBT Anglicans scant hope of liberty from the bonds of ecclesiastical discrimination. He erroneously states that Lambeth Conference 1998 Resolution 1.10””which rejects “homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture”””is the clear consensus of the entire Anglican Communion. He decries General Convention 2003’s approval of the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson and its affirmation of local rites for blessing same-gender relationships. He expresses frustration at our House of Bishop’s failure to implement clear moratoria on additional LGBT bishops or blessing rites. He denigrates the Episcopal Church’s polity””which includes all orders of ministry in decision making. He defends his decision not to invite Bishop Robinson to the 2008 Lambeth Conference. He expresses his intention to appoint yet another task force to talk about LGBT Anglicans rather to us””again ignoring the now 30-year old commitment to listen to our witness. With prophetic leaders like Rowan Williams at the helm of the Anglican Communion, one could despair that LGBT Anglicans will continue to mourn in exile until Jesus comes again!
But, lo, we are promised that Emmanual will come to us. Despite the present oppressive reality, we are invited to rejoice in our future liberation. There are glimmers of hope. For example, a broad coalition of individuals and organizations around the world is emerging to ensure that the voices of fairness and inclusion are heard at the Lambeth Conference next summer. Groundwork is also being done to move beyond B033 and advance marriage equality at General Convention 2009.
You can help Integrity prepare for our witness at the Lambeth Conference and beyond by making a year-end donation for this important work. Secure, online gifts can be made by going to www.integrityusa.org and clicking the blue DONATE NOW button in the left margin. All contributions to Integrity are tax deductible.
Integrity remains committed to the full inclusion of all of the baptized into the Body of Christ. With your prayers, witness, and support we will continue to work within the Episcopal Church to accomplish that Gospel Agenda.
Blessings,
The Rev. Susan Russell, President
[blockquote]And ransom captive Israel[/blockquote]
Let my people go? I think we could build on that, myself.
Is just Susan crying again. It looks more like those long litanies that I needed to know by heart before my first communion.
Oh…duh. I should have clicked on “read more.” It’s another fundraising letter, one of those “Do you want Dick Cheney kicking down your door and sending you blindfolded off to a secret CIA waterboarding camp because you’ve registered as a Democrat?? No! If you don’t send us money, that’s exactly what will happen!!”
to accomplish that Gospel Agenda.
Susan: Exactly what Gospel Agenda is that? If you are so naive to think that Sodom and Gamorah was destroyed because of lack of hospitality, then why did Bethlehm survive? You are promoting a lifestyle of death and perversion, but I’ll keep praying for you anyway.
The hope of liberty needed is found through Exodus and other ministries for the homosexually inclined. I’m sure Susan isn’t looking for that kind of help, but that’s where the hope lies.
The chief value of this [ ] letter is to show how the ABC’s Advent Letter is perceived by those who are hard-core supporters of the reappraiser position. Even when you discount the fundraising tactic of “scare ’em enough to dig deep,” the fact remains that Susan Russell sees nothing good in this letter. There also seems to be a palpable sense of betrayal by someone in whom Integrity had put so much hope.
She has reason to be discouraged. Canterbury has finally signaled which side of the fence he will come down on, even if he continues to try to delay the inevitable as long as possible. This is cause for rejoicing. Just in time for the Third Sunday of Advent, when we are indeed called to rejoice.
David Handy+
Rejoicing that the New Reformation is picking up speed
[i] Slightly edited by elf. [/i]
Has anyone ask Susan why Integrity is not for the full inclusion of all, whether baptized or not? Why leave out the unbaptized? That seems terribly… intolerant, exclusive. I wonder if Integrity has tried listening to the unbaptized?
Ladies and gentlemen, when you read pious nonsense like Integrity’s statement, don’t you start to laugh? When you got to the fundraising part, wasn’t that downright comic? Larry
TEC must be allowed to go its own way. I think Rowan realizes that this is the only answer. Cut TEC loose!
If you can’t go the way of TEC, align with right-believing Anglicans, by far the majority worldwide and an expanding presence in North America.
[blockquote]I think Rowan realizes that this is the only answer. Cut TEC loose! [/blockquote]
The first part of his letter leads me to think that, too. He knows the source of the rot. That he possesses the power to effectively do that tomorrow, yet will not, leads me to any number of conclusions, none of them flattering.
The tune is well known, as is the W-H-I-N-E-poor ol’-LGBT! The victim game card stopped being a wild card when the AC collapsed over GC2003 and Frank “the Pluriform” Grizwold’s playing it. If you can’t strategize correctly, gay agendites, at least take the consequences like adults rather than whiney prepubescents or hormonally driven adolescents placed on restrictions for disobeying the millenia old rules of the House.
Question to those who know more about Lambeth. Are there “information booths” at the conference, i.e. organizations within the Anglican Communion who wish to grind their own axe, or sell their trinkets? Are specific organizations within the Communion asked to give presentations? If this is the case, silly me, I thought it was a time of study, reflection, and prayer for the leaders of the Communion. Perhaps it is more a carnival than a tea party….
I was thinking of cornering the concession market on [i]++Akinola, He da man![/i] tee shirts. I figure that black ink on crimson would be the killer color scheme.