Episcopal dioceses in the U.S. are giving approximately $10,000 each, almost one million, about the same amount they gave to the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana (and Mississippi) when Katrina struck their shores. It is a pittance to restore the diocese, but then you have to consider the fact that most Episcopal dioceses have been steadily losing parishioners, whole congregations, even dioceses and that every diocese has seen a downturn in income coming into diocesan coffers in recent years. So it is no surprise that they can't give a whole lot more even if the annual budget of say the Diocese of New York is over $12 million.

Of course there's a lot of prayer going up for Haiti, both from liberals and conservatives. Conservatives pray but then they write out a check. Liberal Bishop James L. Jelinek of the Diocese of Minnesota actually asked his people to join him not only for prayer but for lamenting, as well, which probably helped the Haitians enormously.

It's probably why organizations like World Vision Int., the Salvation Army, World Relief, and a plethora of evangelically driven relief agencies give 20 to 30 times more than the organizations like the National Council of Churches and liberal denominational agencies like Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) of The Episcopal Church. Conservatives give away their own money; liberals want to give away your tax dollar while throwing a few cents of their own money into church coffers.

Recently an orthodox American theologian teaching in Canada, The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner came up with an idea. He called it "an unrealistic proposal for the sake of the gospel." It is this. In the face of the tragedy in Haiti, all Anglicans involved in litigation amongst one another in North America - both in the Episcopal Church and those outside of TEC; in the Anglican Church of Canada, and those outside - herewith cease all court battles over property. After having done this, they need to do two further things:

a. Devote the forecast amount they were planning to spend on such litigation to the rebuilding of the Episcopal Church and its people in Haiti; and

b. sit down with one another, prayerfully and for however long it takes, and with whatever mediating and facilitating presence they accept, and agree to a mutually agreed process for dealing with contested property.

Now you would think that a thoroughly irenic and sensible idea like that would catch fire. After all TEC lives and breathes the air of social justice and pours more money into its political branch office in Washington DC than anywhere else, so diverting that money to actually DOING something might have some real value. It also won't surprise you then that no one has taken up the idea at 815 2nd Avenue NY, NY. The truth is they never will.

Now if you were wondering what sort of litigation figures we are talking about, try about $30 million dollars. I kid you not. And that's a conservative figure, sources tell VOL.

The Episcopal Church has already spent over $4 million on "Title IV". Litigation matters in the dioceses are over $4 million with more budgeted for the next triennium. The other side is spending comparable sums. Some $20 million has already been spent with another $10 million in the pipeline. This is enough to rebuild a cathedral, any number of churches, feed tens of thousands of Haiti's poorest and provide free education for literally thousands of children who will never get it because the lawyers will, writes Radner.

"Isn't this rather crazy? Isn't this in fact unfaithful? Isn't this, indeed, perverse and even blasphemous? And it is certainly so in the face of the needs we have just been witnessing in Port-au-Prince, needs which, it must be said, have been around us all the time these past years, but here have come into a blinding and heart-rending focus," says Radner.

"In this case, however, we are also facing something rather concrete with respect to Anglicans: a large and active and vibrant Anglican church in Haiti now overturned in so many ways: church buildings in rubble, schools destroyed, nutritional projects undercut, training programs gone, a seminary in ruins, hospitals and clinics collapsed, irreplaceable religious artwork gone forever, the means of supporting priest, teacher, doctor, nurse, evangelist, worker dissolved.

"American Episcopalians have been extraordinarily generous in Haiti, through individual parish outreaches and other programs. But this is now beyond anything anyone could have dreamed. TEC, through various national funds (none of them, as far as I can tell, detailed in public budgets), has also, over the years, helped to support the work in Haiti, but again, in ways that pale in comparison with the sudden void now placed in the midst of the church's life there. And in ways that pale in comparison with money spent in interchurch litigation."

From what I can see, writes Radner, only 25 percent of the amount budgeted for suing each other is currently budgeted for Haiti. Who cries for justice?

But let us go further into the question of opportunity here. The Episcopal Church's life in Haiti is dependent on TEC. Haiti obliges by voting for TEC's pansexual agenda. After all, who is going to bite the hand that feeds it? But it is also a mess. I visited Haiti many years ago and saw the poverty. Over the years nothing much has changed. It has been a mess with some 32 corrupt presidents and a Voodoo driven religion that bleeds into Roman Catholicism muddying the theological waters. Haitians see nothing odd at all with practicing Voodoo and Catholicism side by side and are often very devout. While Roman Catholicism is the official religion of Haiti, voodoo is the country's national religion.

The Episcopal seminary has been valiantly run on despicable shoestrings for years through the devoted efforts of a few; monetary contributions are generally channeled through one-on-one parish projects, with little coordination and not a little competition and therefore sorry inequity, and despite some efforts at common work, money is jealously guarded for local needs; long-range planning under these circumstances is difficult and often ineffective; evangelization and Christian formation is weak. Because of her TEC membership, conservative Anglicans have tended, over the past few years, to ignore the Haitian church in favor of Africa; many educated leaders have left the country altogether, writes Radner.

The reason Africa is more attractive to orthodox Episcopalians than Haiti is precisely because of TEC's involvement in Haiti. Africans are orthodox with vigorous campaigns of evangelism with growing and thriving churches, orthodox bishops and archbishops who have no interest in endorsing the Episcopal Church's pansexual programs and campaigns. Many African Primates are in "broken" communion with TEC.

The opportunity, then, of a significant redirecting of resources on the basis of some common commitments across polarized and hostile lines within Anglican North America, and in the face now of undeniable and staggering human and evangelical need, is impossible.

Litigation for properties will continue. Four dioceses are in legal play. The Diocese of South Carolina is looking like it is about to get hit with lawsuits from the national church. TEC leaders say they have a fiduciary responsibility to sue for disputed property, and that this is "mission". What sort of "mission" is that exactly? The truth is TEC started the litigation and clearly wants to finish it. They continue to argue for mediation, but are not willing to admit that there are two very different "gospels" being preached within North American Anglicanism. It is not just a case of mistrust and hostility, it is about the very nature of truth itself. Reason and charity are out the window.

TEC continues to argue that it has a fiduciary duty to defend and keep the properties for future generations. Which begs the question: What future generations? The average age of an Episcopalian is now in the mid-sixties. The average size congregation numbers about 70 and is sinking. If this doesn't worry the Church Pension Fund, I don't know what will.

Pansexualists are not filling churches. Furthermore, not only are they not filling churches, they are incapable of starting them. They wait till orthodox pilgrims plant them, then they leech off them with their own agenda ultimately destroying them. They take down parish funds, diocesan funds, national church funding, trust funds and more. When they have done that, they declare victory.

As a result Haiti will continue to struggle. There are solid evangelically-driven organizations on the ground. My own church, The Church of the Good Samaritan has its own missionary there delivering clean water through new pumps. Haitians are not alone. Christ is there. Perhaps with the strong international evangelical presence, something new will arise from the ashes of a destroyed nation, perhaps even a stronger evangelical presence within the Diocese of Haiti will emerge from all this. Now that would be Good News.

The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is beginning the long journey to recovery. It could certainly use the millions of dollars used in the US to sue one another to help build back this shattered diocese. Sadly that won't happen.

In terms of gospel truth and God's word we must ask what would Jesus do? I think we all know the answer.

END