"We haven't left the church. We're still part of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, and that's the problem," said Lisa Ball, a vestry member of the Church of the Redeemer in Rochester. "We don't want to follow Gene Robinson."
Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in church history, has been at the center of international controversy since New Hampshire Episcopalians first nominated him last summer.
Read moreContrary to media reports, and the website postings of the diocese of
New Westminster, the Anglican congregations accepting the Primates'
offer have not joined the AMiA, but rather have formed the ACiC, the
Anglican Communion in Canada, under the oversight of the five Primates of the Provinces of the Congo, Rwanda, Central Africa, Kenya, and South East Asia.
The "Report of The Primate's Task Force On Adequate/Alternative
Episcopal Oversight for Dissenting Minorities" proposed that a parish
that opposes the blessing of same unions can ask for and be assigned
an alternate bishop if it votes to do so by a margin of 80 per cent.
The task force envisions that the arrangement would be a temporary
measure, lasting no more than six years.
The Most Rev. Dr. George Carey, Professor Edith Humphrey, the Rev. Dr.
John Karanja, the Rev. Dr. Robert Prichard, the Rev. Dr. Jeremie Begbie,
the Rev. Dr. Christopher Seitz, the Very Rev. Dr. George Sumner, the
Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, and the Rev. Dr. Ashley Null will offer their
perspective, encouragement, and theological basis for thinking
Anglicanism does indeed have a future in North America.
During this Lenten Season and in preparation to celebrate the
resurrection on Easter, we reflected seriously regarding the future of
our relationship as bishops and ministers of God. We are united by the
common purpose of providing guidance for our people in the midst of
difficult times in which we live: and incomprehension,
disintegration in the family structure and the lack of interest in
The Sydney diocese questionnaire also asks about any involvement in the
occult, whether priests have been cruel to animals, their attitudes to
alcohol and any convictions for driving offences.
The use of internet chat rooms and ography comes under scrutiny in
the eight-page document approved by the diocese's professional standards
committee, a copy of which has been obtained by The Australian.
"We haven't left the church. We're still part of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, and that's the problem," said Lisa Ball, a vestry member of the Church of the Redeemer in Rochester. "We don't want to follow Gene Robinson."
Read moreAn additional 22 parishes - out of 63 in the diocese - have yet to submit a pledge or have pledged less than the diocese requested.
The total revenue deficit - including shortfalls stemming from other reasons - is more than $200,000 in a budget of about $1.1 million, said Bishop J. Michael Garrison.
The bishop cited a combination of economic difficulty within many parishes and a "significant amount of protest" over the approval of a gay bishop.
Read moreAkinola also said in a telephone interview that unless conditions change, he will not attend meetings alongside the leader of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, or attend the 2008 meeting of the world's Anglican bishops if the U.S. hierarchy participates.
Read moreThis is a serious indictment, and knowing several of the bishops involved I have asked myself why they did not attend and what would have been gained if they had. It seems to me that all of us who sincerely want to maintain "the greatest possible communion among us" must try to understand sympathetically their decision before criticizing it. And we must ask what more the HOB could have learned from them about their needs that has not already been made quite clear.
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