A Bible-believing Christian movement within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a plan to create a new denomination for ELCA congregations and individual ELCA Christians who respect the Authority of Scripture.
-- From "Lutheran group considers leaving ELCA over gay vote" by Annysa Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11/19/09
"We don't feel we have a choice," said Paull Spring, a retired Pennsylvania bishop now chairman of Minnesota-based Lutheran CORE. "The vote on sexuality opened the eyes of many to how far the ELCA has moved from biblical teaching."
Local pastors who have aligned themselves with Lutheran CORE said it's too early to decide whether their congregations would sever their ties with the ELCA, the largest Lutheran church body in Wisconsin and the nation.
Lutheran CORE called the Indianapolis meeting after the ELCA voted at its national assembly to allow congregations to call gay and lesbian pastors in, or expecting to enter into, committed relationships.
CORE members voted to begin discussing with congregations whether to move toward schism or work from within the church. It will vote on the breakaway proposal at its convocation Aug. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio. Lutheran CORE would remain a free-standing synod serving congregations inside and outside the ELCA under a separate recommendation also being drafted, the organization said.
Wisconsin CORE members will meet Nov. 28 in Lebanon.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Showing posts with label schism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schism. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Monday, November 17, 2008
Texas Diocese Exits Apostate Episcopal Denomination
The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is the latest to break with the national church over a dispute that involves Scriptural authority.
-- From "Diocese in Texas Leaves Episcopal Church" by Gretel C. Kovach, New York Times 11/16/08
The Fort Worth diocese amended its constitution to shift allegiance from the Episcopal Church [ECUSA] to the Anglican Communion, its parent body. The measure passed by a vote of 72 to 19 among the clergy and 102 to 25 among the laity, at the diocese’s 26th annual convention at St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford, Tex.
The diocese was welcomed Saturday into the Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, but the realignment is expected to be temporary while the diocese works to establish a conservative province of the Anglican Communion in the United States, diocese leaders said.
Bishop Jack L. Iker laid blame for the split on what he described as “a church that is increasingly unfaithful and disobedient to the word of God, a church that has caused division and dissension both at home and abroad, a church that has torn the fabric of the communion at its deepest level, a church that acts more and more like a rebellious protestant sect and less and less like an integral part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church. It is time to say enough is enough.”
Dioceses in Pittsburgh; Quincy, Ill.; and Fresno, Calif., have also voted to leave the national church.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Diocese in Texas Leaves Episcopal Church" by Gretel C. Kovach, New York Times 11/16/08
The Fort Worth diocese amended its constitution to shift allegiance from the Episcopal Church [ECUSA] to the Anglican Communion, its parent body. The measure passed by a vote of 72 to 19 among the clergy and 102 to 25 among the laity, at the diocese’s 26th annual convention at St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford, Tex.
The diocese was welcomed Saturday into the Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, but the realignment is expected to be temporary while the diocese works to establish a conservative province of the Anglican Communion in the United States, diocese leaders said.
Bishop Jack L. Iker laid blame for the split on what he described as “a church that is increasingly unfaithful and disobedient to the word of God, a church that has caused division and dissension both at home and abroad, a church that has torn the fabric of the communion at its deepest level, a church that acts more and more like a rebellious protestant sect and less and less like an integral part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church. It is time to say enough is enough.”
Dioceses in Pittsburgh; Quincy, Ill.; and Fresno, Calif., have also voted to leave the national church.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Christians Leave Wayward Episcopal Denomination in Droves
As homosexual priests and bishops are consecrated, and Scriptural Authority is replaced with "new revelations," bold Christians are walking out the doors in favor of REAL Christian leadership.
-- From "3rd Episcopal diocese splits from national church" Associated Press 11/8/08
A third conservative diocese is splitting from the liberal Episcopal Church in a long-running dispute over the Bible, gay relationships and other issues.
The Diocese of Quincy voted to leave the national denomination during an annual meeting that ends Saturday.
It joins dioceses in Fresno, Calif., and Pittsburgh. A fourth diocese, in Fort Worth, Texas, will decide next weekend whether to follow suit.
The secessions are a response to decades of debate over what Episcopalians should believe. Tensions erupted in 2003 when the denomination consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
The [new revelation, pro-homosexual] head of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, says she laments the departure.
-- From "3rd Episcopal diocese splits from national church" Associated Press 11/8/08
A third conservative diocese is splitting from the liberal Episcopal Church in a long-running dispute over the Bible, gay relationships and other issues.
The Diocese of Quincy voted to leave the national denomination during an annual meeting that ends Saturday.
It joins dioceses in Fresno, Calif., and Pittsburgh. A fourth diocese, in Fort Worth, Texas, will decide next weekend whether to follow suit.
The secessions are a response to decades of debate over what Episcopalians should believe. Tensions erupted in 2003 when the denomination consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
The [new revelation, pro-homosexual] head of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, says she laments the departure.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Episcopalian Diocese Flee Liberal ECUSA, Join Anglican Believers
After several decades of abandonment of Scriptural Authority in liberal mainline denominations, entire regional divisions of the Episcopal Church are voting to abandon the mother ship as it sails into the Abyss.
-- From "Diocese to Break From Episcopal Church" by the Associated Press, posted at The Washington Times 10/5/08
MONROEVILLE, Pa., Oct. 4 -- Clergy and lay members of the theologically conservative Pittsburgh diocese voted overwhelmingly Saturday to break from the liberal Episcopal Church.
The Pittsburgh diocese, on a 240 to 102 vote, voted to leave the U.S. church amid disagreement over biblical teachings on salvation and other issues, including homosexuality.
Instead, it will align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America.
Bishop Robert Duncan, who led the Pittsburgh diocese for 11 years, was removed from office by the Episcopal House of Bishops last month. The South American church already recognizes Duncan as a bishop and has welcomed another U.S. church, the Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., into its fold.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Mainline church members are notorious for weak stands against apostasy in their hierarchy. In most denominations, if a local church challenges the leadership, the denomination may seize the local church property. In contrast, when a majority of local churches secede en masse, the denomination's lawsuit to retain all properties from those leaving is likely to lose.
It's disappointing to when Christians emphasize the seen, over the unseen.
-- From "Diocese to Break From Episcopal Church" by the Associated Press, posted at The Washington Times 10/5/08
MONROEVILLE, Pa., Oct. 4 -- Clergy and lay members of the theologically conservative Pittsburgh diocese voted overwhelmingly Saturday to break from the liberal Episcopal Church.
The Pittsburgh diocese, on a 240 to 102 vote, voted to leave the U.S. church amid disagreement over biblical teachings on salvation and other issues, including homosexuality.
Instead, it will align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America.
Bishop Robert Duncan, who led the Pittsburgh diocese for 11 years, was removed from office by the Episcopal House of Bishops last month. The South American church already recognizes Duncan as a bishop and has welcomed another U.S. church, the Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., into its fold.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Mainline church members are notorious for weak stands against apostasy in their hierarchy. In most denominations, if a local church challenges the leadership, the denomination may seize the local church property. In contrast, when a majority of local churches secede en masse, the denomination's lawsuit to retain all properties from those leaving is likely to lose.
It's disappointing to when Christians emphasize the seen, over the unseen.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Congregations Abandon Episcopal Church, Unify with Defrocked Bishop
Leaders of the Episcopal Church USA voted to defrock Bishop Robert Duncan (Diocese of Pittsburgh) for leading 'dissidents' adhering to Scriptural authority.
-- From "Local churches align with deposed bishop" by Frances Borsodi Zajac, Herald-Standard (PA) 9/30/08
Two Fayette County churches are uniting themselves with their recently deposed Bishop Robert Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.
"He's standing firm and the diocese is going to stand with him," said the Rev. John T. Cruikshank, rector at St. Peter's Church in Uniontown.
Cruikshank and the Rev. Keith Pozzuto, rector of Christ Church in Brownsville, said both churches will send delegates to Saturday's diocesan convention in Monroeville to vote to realign the diocese with the South American-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, which made Duncan a bishop-at-large after U.S. bishops voted Sept. 18 in Salt Lake City to remove him.
Duncan has been a leader among those who believe the Episcopal Church no longer upholds classic Christian doctrines. They opposed the Episcopal Church's 2003 decision to elect and consecrate the Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, an openly gay man, as a bishop and offer services for same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Local churches align with deposed bishop" by Frances Borsodi Zajac, Herald-Standard (PA) 9/30/08
Two Fayette County churches are uniting themselves with their recently deposed Bishop Robert Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.
"He's standing firm and the diocese is going to stand with him," said the Rev. John T. Cruikshank, rector at St. Peter's Church in Uniontown.
Cruikshank and the Rev. Keith Pozzuto, rector of Christ Church in Brownsville, said both churches will send delegates to Saturday's diocesan convention in Monroeville to vote to realign the diocese with the South American-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, which made Duncan a bishop-at-large after U.S. bishops voted Sept. 18 in Salt Lake City to remove him.
Duncan has been a leader among those who believe the Episcopal Church no longer upholds classic Christian doctrines. They opposed the Episcopal Church's 2003 decision to elect and consecrate the Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, an openly gay man, as a bishop and offer services for same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
CA: Senior Episcopal Church Bishops Want Same-sex Marriage
The bishops say that acknowledging the rights of homosexuals to marry follows the Gospel: "We believe that this continued access [to same-sex marriage] promotes Jesus' ethic of love, giving and hope."
-- From "California's top Episcopal bishops oppose gay marriage ban" by Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times Staff Writerm 9/11/08
California's six most senior Episcopal bishops Wednesday unanimously declared their opposition to a constitutional amendment on the statewide November ballot that would ban same-sex marriage.
. . . in a joint statement, issued Wednesday at the diocesan headquarters in Echo Park, the six bishops said that "society is strengthened when two people who love each other choose to enter into marriage, engaged in a lifetime of disciplined relationship building that serves as a witness to the importance of love and commitment."
The statement was signed by [Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles,] and Bishops Marc Handley Andrus, Barry L. Beisner, Mary Gray-Reeves, Jerry A. Lamb and James R. Mathes. (Three assistant bishops -- Chester L. Talton, Sergio Carranza and Steven Charleston -- also signed.)
Gay marriage has strained the Episcopalians' international body, the Anglican Communion, with hundreds of bishops from Africa and elsewhere threatening to break away over attempts to change church doctrine and practice.
The issue has created theological fissures in other Protestant denominations, including Presbyterians and United Methodists, with some Methodist ministers in California pledging to perform wedding ceremonies in defiance of their national church.
To read more quotes from these 'bishops,' CLICK HERE.
-- From "California's top Episcopal bishops oppose gay marriage ban" by Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times Staff Writerm 9/11/08
California's six most senior Episcopal bishops Wednesday unanimously declared their opposition to a constitutional amendment on the statewide November ballot that would ban same-sex marriage.
. . . in a joint statement, issued Wednesday at the diocesan headquarters in Echo Park, the six bishops said that "society is strengthened when two people who love each other choose to enter into marriage, engaged in a lifetime of disciplined relationship building that serves as a witness to the importance of love and commitment."
The statement was signed by [Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles,] and Bishops Marc Handley Andrus, Barry L. Beisner, Mary Gray-Reeves, Jerry A. Lamb and James R. Mathes. (Three assistant bishops -- Chester L. Talton, Sergio Carranza and Steven Charleston -- also signed.)
Gay marriage has strained the Episcopalians' international body, the Anglican Communion, with hundreds of bishops from Africa and elsewhere threatening to break away over attempts to change church doctrine and practice.
The issue has created theological fissures in other Protestant denominations, including Presbyterians and United Methodists, with some Methodist ministers in California pledging to perform wedding ceremonies in defiance of their national church.
To read more quotes from these 'bishops,' CLICK HERE.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Non-liberal Bishops Boycott Anglican Conference
“Even the Pope is elected by his peers. But what Anglicans have is a man appointed by a secular government. Over the past five years, we have come to see this as a remnant of British colonialism, and it is not serving us well.”
-- From "Rowan Williams betrayed churches over gay bishop, says African leader" by Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, The Times (London) 8/1/08
A leading conservative cleric has launched a devastating attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of “betrayal” and calling his office a “remnant of imperial colonialism”.
Writing in The Times, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, says [Archbishop of Canterbury] Rowan Williams has betrayed churches that remain true to the Bible by inviting colleagues who consecrated the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.
Archbishop Orombi, a leader of the conservative Global South bishops and one of 230 to boycott the conference, indicates that to ensure long-term unity, future Anglican leaders will need to be more representative of the wider Church.
His comments came as Dr Williams survived the most difficult day of the Lambeth Conference with the communion intact. In closed discussions about homosexuality, bishops agreed to differ peacefully for the sake of unity. Early indications are that his strategy of running a conference without votes or resolutions and based around the African-style indaba process of conflict resolution groups has paid off, at least for the time being.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Rowan Williams betrayed churches over gay bishop, says African leader" by Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, The Times (London) 8/1/08
A leading conservative cleric has launched a devastating attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of “betrayal” and calling his office a “remnant of imperial colonialism”.
Writing in The Times, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, says [Archbishop of Canterbury] Rowan Williams has betrayed churches that remain true to the Bible by inviting colleagues who consecrated the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.
Archbishop Orombi, a leader of the conservative Global South bishops and one of 230 to boycott the conference, indicates that to ensure long-term unity, future Anglican leaders will need to be more representative of the wider Church.
His comments came as Dr Williams survived the most difficult day of the Lambeth Conference with the communion intact. In closed discussions about homosexuality, bishops agreed to differ peacefully for the sake of unity. Early indications are that his strategy of running a conference without votes or resolutions and based around the African-style indaba process of conflict resolution groups has paid off, at least for the time being.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Conservative Anglicans Worldwide Jointly Challenge Recognition of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Conservatives conclude that Anglicans in Britain and North America are now following a "false gospel" that allows a malleable, liberal interpretation of Scripture.
-- From "Anglican Church conservatives move to form power bloc" by Laurie Goodstein and Dina Kraft, International Herald Tribune 6/29/08
Anglican conservatives, frustrated by the ongoing stalemate over homosexuality in the Anglican Communion, declared Sunday that they would defy the church's historic lines of authority and establish a new power bloc within the church that will be led by a council of predominantly African archbishops.
The announcement came at the close of an unprecedented meeting in Jerusalem by conservatives, who contend that they represent a majority of the 77 million members of the Anglican Communion.
A statement the delegates issued in Jerusalem said that it was time to establish a branch in the United States and Canada that would absorb the churches that have been outraged by the American church's consecration of an openly gay bishop in 1993 and the Canadian church's blessing of same-sex unions.
The conservatives said that while they acknowledge Canterbury's historic position, they did not accept the idea "that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the archbishop of Canterbury."
Some liberal American bloggers sought to play down the conservatives' actions, dismissing them as an attempt to hijack the Communion when, in their view, there are much more important issues for the church to confront, like poverty, AIDS and global warming.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Anglican Church conservatives move to form power bloc" by Laurie Goodstein and Dina Kraft, International Herald Tribune 6/29/08
Anglican conservatives, frustrated by the ongoing stalemate over homosexuality in the Anglican Communion, declared Sunday that they would defy the church's historic lines of authority and establish a new power bloc within the church that will be led by a council of predominantly African archbishops.
The announcement came at the close of an unprecedented meeting in Jerusalem by conservatives, who contend that they represent a majority of the 77 million members of the Anglican Communion.
A statement the delegates issued in Jerusalem said that it was time to establish a branch in the United States and Canada that would absorb the churches that have been outraged by the American church's consecration of an openly gay bishop in 1993 and the Canadian church's blessing of same-sex unions.
The conservatives said that while they acknowledge Canterbury's historic position, they did not accept the idea "that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the archbishop of Canterbury."
Some liberal American bloggers sought to play down the conservatives' actions, dismissing them as an attempt to hijack the Communion when, in their view, there are much more important issues for the church to confront, like poverty, AIDS and global warming.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
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