Episcopal Incompetence: Bishop Oversees Massive Losses in Western New York

Sarah, you amaze me; your netowrk is enormous; your ability to assemble factual information into a clear story is unequaled.  Any chance you or your minions (I assume Greg and Matt work for you, correct?) could develop a weekly series of such reviews?

Sarah,
You are truly extraordinary. After all the recent heartbreaking events in your own diocese, you are still able to put such a positive spin on the travesty that has occurred in Western New York. I continue to admire your faith and courage as I have since we met, only once, years ago in that conservative city called Houston.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

What else is new?

Thank you for the diligence and thoroughness of this. I am glad of this update because Western New York is the part of the U.S. closest to me, and because the forced sermons on Donatism are my favourite nasty-revisionist-bishop story of all time.

Ahh, yes, but these losses are all in the name of “the cause.”  After all, Garrison is an EPISCOPAL BISHOP and can dress up like any RCC bishop.  Any thought that he isn’t one of the “big boys” is anathema to him and that someone might not think him good enough to be their bishop is something to take personal offense at and a slap-down is indeed warranted.

One may view this as incompetence, and indeed it is, but it’s also tyranny for “the cause.”  Garrison may not be “out there” like Bruno or Bennison, but it’s part and parcel of the same pattern of behavior driven by huge egos and over-arching ideology.

Evidently, (what remains of) Holy Apostles still has a website of sorts.  You will be pleased to discover they are taking the show on the road.  Coming soon to a church near you!

The majority of our small congregation will be “spreading the love” after the beginning of the new year. Our vision is to visit a new place of worship each week, and then get together afterwards to discuss how each of us felt about the experience. After our meeting we will post some of the comments and feelings we came away with on our website.

Comments on the website appear to be lacking, however.

carl

Carl, I read some of their website - wow. No wonder their congregation is in single digits. Nothing like the clergy clamoring the success of the “Dyke Parade”...

...live free or die…

Wow! We should hire Bishop Garrison to recruit for the ACNA and other orthodox Anglican entities. Another thousand ex-TEC orthodox Anglicans. Cool.

BTW, this posting had me running to Google for definitions. I learned what Donatism is, and much early history of the Christian church, but I also learned (clumsy typist syndrome)that when looking up definitions, one really needs to be sure that the “t” is present in the middle of the word.

here is the offending entry from the “priest”:

Hey yall!  Lenore and I had a great time passing out suckers with our flyers attached at Pride weekend.  Lenore was at the Dyke March yesterday and we were both at the Parade today.  The suckers were popular, the flyer was read, and we went through 600 pieces like they were nothing at all.  Young and old, straight and gay – everybody loves a sucker!

It was great to see so many people whose t-shirts and outfits proclaimed they were exploring their own sexuality in healthy ways mingling around with families, kids, the religious, non-profits, for-profits – as if to say, ‘God made me like this – whether or not you want to accept it is moot.’

I was part of a twitter conversation between some people who had divergent views on whether or not the Pride festivities should be family friendly, and one person said yes, the other no.  I understand where the ‘No’ vote was coming from – he was on the Marcella’s float, which always has many beautiful people wearing not so much clothing, but my view is this: God made us beautiful, and beautifully.  If more children got a chance to witness more people secure in their sexuality, in their bodies… well, in the words of one my parishioners, ‘maybe we’d have fewer gay teens trying to commit suicide.’  Indeed.  Maybe we’d have few straight teens committing suicide as well, to say nothing about our culture’s serious issues with eating disorders.

Anyway, on an up note: it was great fun, passing out a little cheer and having a little impact on the lives of complete strangers.

No. 9: “I learned what Donatism is”

You’re off to a good start. To understand it even better, I would recommend a novel called The Power and the Glory by a fellow named Graham Greene.

You beat me to the punch, Matt.

“Everybody loves a sucker!”

Yes, that sums up the situation perfectly.

I bet good ol’ Bishop Garrison hasn’t taken a voluntary salary cut because of diocesan financial woes…..

Garrison was consecrated in 1999.  In 1998, the last year before he became bishop, ASA in WNY was 6503.  In 2008, reported ASA was 4452, a decline in his tenure so far of 32%.  But the departed St. Bartholemew’s, called Holy Apostles in the diocesan statistics, reported an ASA in 2008 of around 500:

http://12.0.101.92/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_12292009115558AM.pdf

If WNY were to reverse ten years of decline and lose only these 500 people in 2009 (hardly likely) the decline for 2009 alone would be 11%, bringing the total decline for Garrison’s episcopacy to a staggering 39%.

Our vision is to visit a new place of worship each week, and then get together afterwards to discuss how each of us felt about the experience.

Might I suggest the following as appropriate places of worship for the remaining Episcopalians from Holy Apostles:

Tonawanda Bowling Center
Tonawanda Wine & Liquors
Fortistar North Tonawanda Cogeneration Facility
Camp Bow Wow-Tonawanda

Do let us know how you “felt about the experience!”

Sarah Gordy in her own words.  Not quite what I expected, but then again ... it perfectly captures the modern progressive priest.  They are leaders of the revolution.  They are the Vanguard of the Proletariat, and they seek nothing but some Proletarii who will follow them.  Aye, there’s the rub.

carl

Damning. Perhaps literally for this befuddled man.

The massive collapse of the Episcopal (Bishop’s) Church is laid at the feet of its House of Bishops, all of them, not just this sorry and delusional specimen. The laity is not at fault, having been mislead by their Episcopal overseers.

It’s the Bishops and their endemic incompetence. The result is that there are now too many of the incomptents in the House for the situation to ever be remedied. We are too far behind, and falling irremedially farther behind with each new Bishop.  The orthodox will loose their parishes and dioceses, all of them, in the next decade. With them goes the only and now forelorn hope of a reforming witness from within. 

Evil has prevailed, which is one of the things that happens when property trumps principle. This fine piece shows us the now inevitable course ahead of those of us left in thrall to TEC. The situation is just too broken to fix.

Time to go.

Wow!  such a great bishop. Only in TEC.  He is really doing a great job as shepherd and building up the Church Catholic.  Such strength of conscience, forthrightness, drive, a man of action.  A breath of fresh air.  And how all this is strengthening the true believers.  A real answer to prayer.  Maybe this is just that apostolic succession stuff kicking in.  May his tribe increase.  seriously…...Is there a bishop of the year award from SFIF?

  If more children got a chance to witness more people secure in their sexuality, in their bodies… well, in the words of one my parishioners, ‘maybe we’d have fewer gay teens trying to commit suicide.’  Indeed.  Maybe we’d have few straight teens committing suicide as well, to say nothing about our culture’s serious issues with eating disorders.

There was an Onion article a while back: ‘Gay Pride Parade Sets Back Acceptance of Gays by 50 years’. I’m glad that they themselves are getting the word out as to what they are. They are testifying against themselves, and they are too blind to see it.

Based on the 2002 through 2008 record of losses of about 24 percent in Members and ASA and about 20 percent in real (inflation adjusted) Plate & Pledge, I would rank Western New York at 90 out of 95 dioceses considered. And the future looks just as bleak with 199 Infant Baptisms and 309 Burials in 2008. And 86 percent (54 of 63) of parishes had Plate & Pledge of less than $150 thousand in 2008. Of the 9 parishes that help support those 54 only 3 of them had more than $300 thousand in Plate & Pledge in 2008. The diocese is loosing the aging and money struggle.  Statmann

Maybe Uganda is just trying to prevent this? Can there be a middle ground? The definitive answer from the activists seems to be “no” as evidenced here. The response to activists who are outraged by their draconian laws ought to be, “but why can’t you behave like human beings when you are given rights? What did you expect? What can any lawless person expect?”

I too had to go look up ‘donatism’ -

the Donatists were rigorists, holding that the church must be a church of saints, not sinners, and that sacraments, such as baptism, administered by traditores (Christians who surrendered the Scriptures to the authorities who outlawed possession of them) were invalid. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatist]

for crying out loud - and this heresy had what to do with DEPO?

-Kathryn in Georgia

Very good work, Sarah.  I believe it is important to document and publish these events.  Garrison IS “Just one”, and there are many other examples of this kind of leadership.

Nice post Sarah,

Submit that as another chapter in the “Rise and Fall of the Episcopal Empire.”

Ironic to say the least that the Good Bishop would order sermons on Donatism for the crime of requesting DEPO, and then dispatch to the remnant a replacement who would preach this.  A few selected gems.

Why am I bothering with Christianity? Mostly, because I still find Jesus to be, for me, the most compelling example of God’s dream on earth.  As John Dominic Crossin put it so perfectly, ‘if God were wearing sandals, God would look like Jesus.’  That was how Crossin explained the Incarnation (ie – God as Homo sapiens sapiens.)  And it kinds of works for me. 

So here I stay, and here I stand, sleeves rolled up, elbow deep in a scripture I just barely understand sometimes, trying to make it intelligible for the people who suspend their disbelieve for about twelve minutes on a Sunday to hear me speak, people who may pray their hearts out when it comes to the Lord’s prayer, but who may have to cross their fingers to get through the Nicene Creed with integrity.  Which is okay, really, and in my own opinion, a good sign.

And even though the tears of sadness become tears of joy, there’s a loss of innocence in there, somewhere right about Golgotha, a loss of innocence that invites us to look at Easter with eyes wide open.  It invites us to rethink the Resurrection, no longer some far away mystical magical miracle, God waving his magic wand and suddenly Jesus isn’t dead anymore.  Instead of this far away mystical magical miracle, we have a revolution that won’t die when you kill the revolutionary.  We have an idea that is immortal.

This is looking at the resurrection as if it actually exists in the world, as if that mystical magical miracle moment at the end of each Gospel – journalistically true or not – has some bearing on our lives because it is a truth of the Universe that the first century Christians experienced and described after their own fashion.

Or maybe it isn’t ironic.  Maybe the Good Bishop had a plan when he ordered those sermons preached on donatism. 

carl

for crying out loud - and this heresy had what to do with DEPO?

Apparently refraining from homosexual sodomy and the promotion of same within TGC these days qualifies one for sainthood these days.

The supposed Donatism would be the belief of some that Gene Robinson’s being in a state of sin would prevent him from lawfully exercising the functions of a bishop.

#22, not sure if you are being ironical or not, but in case you were really asking, I think the bishop’s request was a backhanded way to accuse the priest of being a Donatist. The line of thought appears to be: by asking for DEPO, you are likening me to a traditore, and therefore you are a Donatist. Even if I really were an unworthy bishop, according to Article XXVI, you should not ask for DEPO, because the unworthiness of the minister doesn’t make the sacrament invalid. I hasten to add that I do not at all agree with that line of thought.

According to the article, the question was whether the traditores should be re-accepted to their office after repenting. Does this mean Garrison and Robinson have repented? 

I just checked out the new vicarette - merciful heavens!  If that is what TEC’s seminaries are proud to release on the laity…eeewwwwww!

#17 teddy mak wrote:

The laity is not at fault, having been mislead by their Episcopal overseers.

Disagree.  Those who do not know the faith are responsible for learning the faith, or else it’s like “I was just following orders”.

The majority of our small congregation will be “spreading the love” after the beginning of the new year. Our vision is to visit a new place of worship each week, and then get together afterwards to discuss how each of us felt about the experience.

So, how are these raiding parties doing at scooping up the stray or isolated gender-bending would-be Christian? If you have a lack of healthy blood among yourselves, by all means, suck the blood out of the targets of opportunity in the rest of the diocese.

There still needs to be an article like this for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande.

I would like to read the Donatist series of sermons the rector actually delivered!

The basic idea of Donatism is that only the sinless could be ministers of God’s grace.  With that in mind, I offer the following outline for the sermon required by Bishop Garrison

I.  Define Donatism
II.  There are members of TEC who believe that God blesses same sex unions (SSU)
II.A The evidence of is that they see evidence of God’s grace in the lives of men and women involved in SSUs
II.B They cite no scriptural or traditional warrant for the belief that God blesses SSUs.
III.  They must believe that SSUs are blessed because they see grace - not for any other reason.
IV.  They must, therefor, believe that God’s grace cannot be active in the lives of sinful people.
V.  Thus TEC people who support blessing same sex unions are Donatists.
VI.  We ask that they repent of this heresy.
VII.  God’s grace can be active in the lives of sinful people - it must be or we are all in deep, dark, serious trouble.
VII.A - So, we should expect to see God’s grace in the lives of those involved in sinful behavior.  That grace cannot be a sign that God blesses the behavior.
VIII.  While God’s grace is available to sinners, we still need to repent of our sin and seek renewed fellowship with God and with His Church.
IX - seek God’s grace - both to see your own sin and to have the strength and power to amend your life.

YBIC,
Phil Snyder

That should read “series of sermons on the Donatist controversy.”

The simultaneously prissy and stupid request for “sermons on donatism” reminds me of Rehoboam’s regal incompetence in I Kings 12.
Rehoboam ignored the advice of experience elders and took the stupid counsel of his pals.  One wonders which Bishops have been Garrison’s HOB mentors.  Did Garrison frame the response on his own or did one or more church-shrinking/ego inflating purple shirts give him the lame idea?
The kicker is that God allowed the incompetence to run rampant, setting in motion the centuries that led to the Babylonian Exile, the period rich with prophecies of the New Covenant and the Suffering Servant who would accomplish it in his own sufferings.  Kendall Harmon has described Anglicanism as in exile: may God bless all the incompetence and havoc to accomplish some greater manifestation of Christ.

The following sad tale is the first couple of paragraphs as told by the camp director for the dio. of WNY.  Apparently they could not find 20 or so junior high kids in the entire dio. interested enough in Ep. church camp. 

I find that hard to believe, but it just goes to show you how dead it must be in that dio. for Episcopalians.
________________________________________________________

Camp Cancellations: Be Part of the Solution PDF   | Print |  E-mail
Pete Avery, Jr. High Camp Director
We can speculate all year on the reasons why only five junior high aged youth signed up for camp this year.

We can say we tried diligently for over two months prior to canceling Jr. High to boost the number of campers to twenty, the minimum number needed for camp. There were special mailings and phone calls. Most of our campers from last year move on to Sr. High this year, so recruiting was necessary for this year’s Jr. High success. We were certain last minute applications would come as they had the last couple of years, but the deadline passed without results.

As far as the vicar Sarey for All Apostles, from what I read of her writing, she needs to get a job at a local, hip coffee bar.  Her time would be more usefully spent doing that. 

She would certainly impact and interact with more people than the 10 or so a week that the mission attracts.

#31 But what about the laity who believe their clergy are properly educated and trained in the faith Christian and catholic? A couple of years ago, other parishioners were troubled after hearing a Christmas sermon about the myth of the Incarnation. Even though they were disturbed by the message, they assumed the priest must be correct, because after all she was educated at EDS and ordained.

I can’t help but think that the diocese sent ‘ole Sare/Sarah on a suicide mission by giving her a year to get this joke off the ground.  The great news about all this is that the TEC leadership recognizes that there’s no room in the lifeboat for everyone, and they threw this gal to the sharks.

Nice piece of work, Phil Snyder. Throughout history, there have been incompetent and/or evil people in Holy Orders. Holy Tradition believes that God calls people to Holy Orders and equips them for their ministry. It is clear that the devil does the very same thing. And, it’s sure hard to tell the difference. Though, in this case, there seems to be some clarity.

I’m reminded of Zechariah 13. Strike the shepherd…

Awesome article Sarah. The historical narrative style shows typical liberal decline “in action”.

Any news on the real St Bartholomews, i.e. the 1,000 parishioners and their clergy who left the episcopal church? Also St Peter’s Forestville? I hope they are being greatly blessed and strengthened in their ministry.

The scriptures focus on the congregation, rather than any higher organisation, and with good reason. If the congregations are healthy, then the diocese flourishes.

Where can I subscribe to the Stand Firm “Episcopal Diocese of the Month Review”?
Talk about fish in a barrel!
Intercessor

Dear, dear Sarah,

As articulately well written as is your article, I am VERY, VERY, VERY, disappointed that you did not provide us, your readers, with the office email address of the good Bishop. He asked, sincerely one must assume, for volunteers to staff a

task force to develop a plan for the use of the building.

And you have among your readership at least one person (yours truly) duly trained by the United States Navy in the safe and efficient use of time fuse, detonation cord, blasting caps and C-4 (also referred to as plastic explosive), for the purpose of denying valuable man-made devices and equipment from falling into the wrong hands upon their abandonment by friendlies.

I might well have been a vital resource to that task force (not to mention having a very enjoyable time in the process, and at a very competitive cost to the diocese, as well), but, alas, I have no ready means of offering my services to the good Bishop. Pity that, eh?

Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer

How about some claymores, Keith?

Cennydd, the claymore mine is an anti-personnel munition, a device entirely redundant with the current TEC leadership.

H. Potter, in this specific situation, the only appropriate agent would be nitrogen tri-iodide.

No need to blow up the building, there are plenty of Christian Churches out there that can put it back to its intended purpose.

[48] Ralph,

What a stunnning suggestion. Nitrogen tri-iodide. You must have failed to note my comment about doing the job safely. As a member of the Ship’s Destruction Team for USS Scamp (SSN588) upon her departure from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in December of 1975, I was fully certified as qualified to do the job safely. I am forced by your suggestion to assume that you have not been similarly trained and qualified. The only truly dangerous (i.e., shock sensitive) component named in my earlier comment is the blasting cap. The other three items merely burn when exposed to a flame, and do nothing if they are simply struck sharply with a hammer.

Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer

[46] Cennydd,

The only claymore that might come in handy for the task envisioned would be the one properly spelled claidhmor, and were I engaged to perform the task, and deemed it useful to have one, would bring the one currently in my bedroom.

Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer

Perhaps a shillelagh would do as well.

So here is where the Holy Apostles have skittered off to.  All ten of them.  Evidently, the year of evangelism didn’t produce much growth.  This might be an entertaining site to monitor for awhile.  Still, it’s kind of sad to see the pictures on the weblog, and realize a church has been turned into a sepulcher. 

carl

This is a nice article and a good lesson.  But I am not sure Bp Garrison has really distinguished himself from the run-of-the-mill Episcopalian bishop.

Regarding responsibility for His Excellency, who votes in Episcopal episcopal elections?  This is not a rhetorical question, I don’t know who does vote.

There is a video of this priest’s latest sermon at the site carl liked. Watch it. The woman is literally Slouching Towards Gomorrah.

#50, H. Potter.

As long as a very, very small amount of iodine is used, and as long as it’s kept in a bottle of ammonia, everything’s OK. When it’s needed, you pour off the ammonia and let it dry. Then, the weight of a snowflake will set it off.

The beauty of it is that it goes off with a puff of PURPLE smoke and a loud pop.

Certainly, there are better ways of dealing with an unwanted church building so that it won’t fall into enemy hands.

Let’s just say (without elaboration) that the stuff found its use in stupid college practical jokes.

You’re right. I’m not qualified to handle the big stuff.

Oh…there’s always thermite…

#55
Ed the Roman,
Each parish elect lay delegates, number depending on size of membership. These delegates and the clergy of the diocese gather and vote until one candidate has the majority of both the lay delegates and of the clergy.

Hey folks—thank you for the kind words.  I am just going through comments—had to spend time at the salt mines yesterday and then get my trail run in last night and wasn’t able to read much.

There are two cautions I have please, if there is more commenting from you.  I’d prefer not to make this about either the priest or the little congregation that remained.  I have a lot of sympathy for both.  Is the priest’s theology wrong?  Sure.  We believe two different antithetical gospels—and that’s just how it is in TEC. But setting aside her theology for the moment, it’s not *her* fault that the diocese allowed her to become a priest, and then sent her on a suicide mission.  I have a soft spot for folks beginning their careers in whatever, even if they shouldn’t be in the particular career they are in.  There’s a lot of pain in those beginnings and I don’t want to beat up on a 30-year-old who doesn’t have a clue as to what she’s stumbled into or where she needs to be [even if she believes she does have a clue].

Further, I feel very sorry for the remaining congregation.  As nearly as I can tell, the diocese is going to dispose of the building, and these folks have got to go out and try to investigate other churches to see where they’re going to light.  Are they liberals?  Maybe.  Or are they elderly people, many of them, who wanted to stay in the familiar?  Maybe.  But regardless, they lost their community, they made a choice, for better or worse, and then they got saddled with a clerical appointment by a bishop who has demonstrated through many incompetent and boorish actions that he probably is way beyond even the Peter Principle.  So again, I’d rather not beat up on the dozen or so who remained behind.  I feel for them.

In fact, just to make clear—this article isn’t so much about incompetence.  All of us do many incompetent things.  All of us fail.  All of us look up and say “what a fool I’ve been—how could I be so blind”—or at least, we hope we do, when appropriate.  This blog has seen plenty of confessions and apologies from bloggers.

And that’s what gets me.  The clueless denial and oblivion and arrogance in the face of the clear and manifest results of gross incompetence.  I’m not even writing about gross heresy and corruption.  I’m writing about character.  There are plenty of atheists and pagans out there who have the character to step up, admit when they’ve radically screwed up, apologize, and put their backs into trying to fix things. 

But sitting in the crushed little cab of your locomotive and smiling and waving at the assembled horrified crowds and offering to toot the train horn . . . no.  No no no no no.

Finally—to those of you who desire that SF produce one of these every week . . . who brightly suggest various dioceses about which we should produce such articles . . .

; < (

; < (

; < (

; < (

It may be that you do not think any of us have jobs.

And no social lives.

No exercise.

No hobbies.

No outside activities of any sort.

No creatures.  No children.  No clawing friends.

Only to sit in front of a computer in a grim dusky room, plowing through convention addresses and googling and establishing links and proofreading our fellow bloggers’ efforts—which two of the SFers did late at night.

My own estimation about the number of bishops who equal Bishop Garrison in displays of ineptitude and buffoonery has risen to around 40% [note again that I’m not counting the dioceses merely led by revisionist bishops].  That would mean we’d have to plow through the failures and ham-handedness and malevolence and childish spite of around 45 or so diocesans and their dioceses’ records.  That would be like a sentence to Siberia—clearly the SF readers don’t value the sanity of the SF bloggers!

As a little gift, however, here are four articles that address donatism in some fashion from SF.  My own theory about the use of the word “donatism” by various revisionist bishops is that they like the notion of some kind of old heresy being applied to conservatives, and they heard the word being slung around, even though they don’t really have the education or depth to understand much about the word they are using.  “It just sounds nice” is most likely what they are thinking as they toss it up in the air and let it drop back to earth, like a small child with a shiny red ball.

Here’s an early Matt Kennedy article about eucharistic sharing:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/sf/page/208/

Here’s Bishop Wantland’s essay on the failed and ludicrous Lawyer Bishop’s report in which he refers in an off-hand way to the “donatist” meme—he’s actually a bishop who, you know, knows to what donatism refers:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/sf/page/5953/

Here’s our post that features Peter Ould’s excellent tearing to shreds of the “donatism” meme:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/sf/page/17335/

And don’t miss Irenaeus’s definition of donatism from The Revisionist’s Dictionary—what a service he provided:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/sf/page/4891/

I once read a comment that one of the worst things we could do to the Soviet Union was take one of our aircraft carriers with a full complement of aircraft and give it to them with no instructions.  They would spend so much time and resources (that could be spent on something else) trying to keep everything running and figuring out how to use it, that they would never get a chance to make use of it. 

It seems the same thing with the TEC and churches.  (With few execptions) They want them so badly, but cannot make use of them, and waste time and resources, that could be spent on other things, trying to figure out how to make use of it.

but I have no way of knowing that about this particular priest] who, according to one commenter’s gander at her Facebook page, is a fan of Marcus Borg’s and whose Facebook friend is Louie Crew.

Heavens to Betsy, Sarah!  I’ll tinkle my leper’s bell any time that you require, but must you tinkle it for my Facebook friends as well?  All 1,731 of them?  Even the several strong conservatives among them?  Whew!  Sugar, get a life!  Lutibelle/Louie

Oh dear—Louie sounds a little bitter and snippy post-Christmas. 

But he’s misread and been misled by the inflated ego too, I see—it was a commenter’s look at the priest’s Facebook page, not Louie’s whose page I’m indifferent to.  Marcus Borg and Louie Crew’s theologies make the perfect progressive Piskie dyad, too—the theologies perfectly adaptable and parallel. 

But hey—it’s good to see that out of 1,731 Facebook friends, Louie has been able to accumulate “several” strong conservatives.  A goodly percentage . . . what’s that—.4%?

Heh.

; > )

I have a lot of “friends” on my Facebook page and many of them I have never met…but who are looking for a “friend acceptance” because we share a “mutual friend” and that “mutual friend” might be someone whom I have met maybe once at a function, so not really a “friend”, or someone who has read something and wants to be a “friend” but is not really a “friend”...so having 1,731 “friends” on Facebook does not necessarily mean they are really truly your “Friends”. Louie Crew needs to get a clue and stop the liberal twisting ....oh but maybe he was born that way?

Sarah wrote:  “I don’t want to beat up on a 30-year-old who doesn’t have a clue as to what she’s stumbled into…”

This young (a mere baby compared to me) woman may be a cradle liberal, daughter of generation or two or three staunch dedicated liberals.  She may be highly-trained, seasoned, experienced liberal with 30 years of hard preparation behind her - years and years in TEC Sunday School, youth group, EFM, summer seminars at Sewannee, Integrity workshops, even a few adventures abroad to Cuba and other socialist countries…a Episcopal elementary through high school, liberal college (like Smith!!!), culminating with a liberal seminary…a life spent being groomed and polished to liberal perfection. 

Like the mohammedan jihadists, liberals start them off very young teaching their own brand of spirituality, pluriform truths, revised definitions of words like gay, gender, orientation, justice, hate, how to use words like: fundamentalists, Bible-banger, homophobes, etc. to the best effect.

This young priestess could be a virtuouso accomplished liberal knowing EXACTLY what she wants to accomplish in her poor little parish and EXACTLY how to do it.

Not a moment’s pity from me… well, except when I think of Psalm 73:17, I do feel really bad for her.

#61. Dear LC, lepers do not choose to have leprosy. Furthermore, persons with leprosy seek a cure. Please don’t tinkle on lepers.

#59. Dear Sarah, as for the mission vicar, she has also made certain theological and other choices. “Xxxxxx and I had a great time passing out suckers with our flyers attached at Pride weekend. Xxxxxx was at the Dyke March yesterday and we were both at the Parade today.”
See the June 7th posting at:
http://holyapostles.wordpress.com/

Blessings, Rafe

”...so having 1,731 “friends” on Facebook does not necessarily mean they are really truly your “Friends”.

You are absolutely right, Tom.  That’s precisely my point about how silly it is to impute my leprosy to those who have wound up in my ‘friends’ list on facebook.  It’s bad detective work to do so.

[66] LouieCrew

Sarah Gordy listing you as a ‘friend’ on Facebook is simply an indicator.  It would lead one to believe that she more likely than not holds to certain opinions on certain matters.  If that were all the information available, it would be indicative but not dispositive.  Yet if one spends even five minutes reading her sermons, he will find those suspicions completely confirmed.  It isn’t important anymore whether she lists you as a friend.  That information has been overcome by events.

carl

[59] Posted by Sarah

clearly the SF readers don’t value the sanity of the SF bloggers!

Well, of course we don’t!  Jobs! Creatures! Children! Lives!  All this pointless whining.  SFIF is about us - the Loyal SFIF Commenters.  What’s a little blood, sweat, and toil on the part of the SF bloggers when compared to the happiness and gratification of those at the Center of the Universe? 

Hey, you know what?  There might be something to this liberalism stuff, after all.

carl

You might find this interesting - from the Holy Apostles webpage under Recent Posts (on the home page, http://theholyapostles.com/ )

Welcome Visitors
December 30, 2009 by George · Leave a Comment

First, I’d like to welcome all of the recent visitors from the Stand Firm website. I am somewhat troubled that many of you have journeyed here hoping to find humor and fodder for comment. I suppose some of you will be satisfied with your findings and steal away with just enough information to fuel your chatter. Some of you may find us… “refreshing”.

On a more serious note..

As a congregation, we also are not happy with the process that led to our current circumstance. As I’m sure ALL of you know, we cannot move backwards. We have to accept the challenge that is ahead of us. We intend to move forward, embracing our love of God and each other (each other includes all of you). Yes, we will be visiting worship services throughout our area. What’s a poor boy to do? We don’t have a building. “Have Church, Will Travel”. Our numbers are small, we won’t take up much room.

Peace

P.S. You don’t need to chain the BCP to the pews. It’s available online.

Little Myrmidon, the rump congregation at Holy Apostles just continues to entertain, in a sad sort of way.  From their site:

...we won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. We’re here to hear God’s message to the world…

Their hearing must not be too good.  Sometimes God’s answer is “no”.  As in “thou shalt not”.  For example:

Episcopalian: Is it OK if we slaughter a few babies before breakfast today?
God: No.
Episcopalian: Not gonna take that for an answer!  Wheeee!

Louie My name is not Tom! I am a woman, a straight woman, married to a great guy we were both born that way and we Thank God everyday that we have Him to look to for our guidance, forgiveness and to remember it IS NOT ABOUT WHAT WE WANT BUT WHAT GOD WANTS and live in to His design for us without changing His plan and design, whether it be by a surgeon’s knife or otherwise.

Well said, TL!

One thing the Presidential election of 2008 should have taught us is that just because a liberal is fairly young, out of his/her depth, probably clueless (although they think they have a clue), and just starting out in their career, and are on a suicide mission, we should not take them lightly and should not under estimate their capability to inflict great harm on systems roughly in equilibrium.  A 30 year old with a head full of squishy liberal notions and some alter-universe version of the Gospel is like that Claymore that might go off, it’ll kill a lot of souls unless dealt with.  And if it’s linked to Louie Crew then it’s guilty until proven innocent.

RE: “to those who have wound up in my ‘friends’ list on facebook . . . “

Sigh.  Continued demonstrations of clueless narcissism, as it was not about Louie’s facebook page—but the priest’s facebook page.  But no matter.  The point is that Louie “heard his name” and like flies to honey had to bustle right on over.

To the commenters—please get back on topic.  As much as someone might need it to be, this post is not about Louie Crew.

Brilliant reasoning and laying out of the Truth Sarah!  Is this not another demonstration of the Episcopal Church imploding?

Sarah,
    I live in Western New York and have my entire life. Your article exposed
something I have been trying to say for many years:Either liberal or
conservative the diocese is just poorly managed. There is however an act that
has not been brought to light that I strongly believe needs to exposed. Lumped
in the deposing of the Saint Bart’s clergy was the priest of a small mission
church Saint Peters. Father John Dominic Mears is 97 years old. He has worn the
priest collar longer then the Bishop has been alive, yet the powers that be
believe it a neccesity to depose him. I find it shameful and an illustraition of
how lost the leadership truely is. This man has served the community longer then
they have lived. Yet these transplanted leaders that count their days till
retirement(and move away) make a decision to depose a man who has given his life
to serve this community.
    I hope this e-mail finds it way to you and I pray you may bring this this
to light.

There is one thing to Garrison’s credit. He granted letters dimissory to the clergy of St. Bartholomew’s and that he didn’t have to do (and almost certainly wasn’t encouraged to do by 815). 

From here

Ward spoke with Bishop Garrison telling him the congregation and its leadership will officially leave TEC on Sunday, December 14. Ward told VOL that the bishop was gracious and thanked us for giving him the lead time.

Can anyone familiar with W NY clue us in on the details of Virtue’s assertion (from the article cited by Mr. Bonner in #77) that +Garrison was asked to resign by the standing committee of the diocese?

Not incompetence.  The demise of the Episcopal Church is due largely to its devotion to an agenda.  Some really believe it.  Some believe it because their leaders believe it and they want to be leaders, too.  And some believe it because they want something to believe in.  It is failing and will fail.  And the failure looks like incompetence.

As the Associate Rector of St. Bartholomew’s - I need to clear some things up by stating that Bishop Garrison never wrote dimissory letters - instead at our face to face meeting in the undercroft of what is now Holy Apostles - prior to leaving TEC on December 14 last year - he asked us to sign letters that were the equivalent of resigning our orders from the Episcopal church. Letters of transfer were never offered.
Fr. Ward, myself, our assisting priest Fr. Molison, our two deacons and Fr. John Mears (of St. Peter’s, Forestville) all refused to sign and we have all tried to always take the high road throughout all of this - even continuing to pray for those very few that remained at 1064 Brighton as well as the bishop and standing committee. All we received were certified letters of warning that we would be inhibited and then deposed - which they informed, in another letter, was executed. (Even though we were already under the authority of another Bishop - and the Province of the Southern Cone) Our clergy, Vestry and laity have been up front and honest with the diocese throughout - even offering to show them the intricacies of the buildings - and offering to negotiate and pay for certain things that we wanted to take with us.
I must add that God is rewarding the faithfulness of all of the people of St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church and while the numbers of the TEC diocese of WNY are shrinking - we are growing.
We can’t look back - instead we keep looking forward as we just celebrated our one year anniversary of crossing the Jordan. We look forward to a fruitful 2010 preaching the One True Gospel of Jesus Christ - THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE!
In Christ,
Fr. John Commins

John Commins+,

Great to hear! Keep up the good work.

Thanks for letting us know - it encourages all Anglicans everywhere (indeed, all Christians everywhere) to know that our God is faithful and just - he does not abandon his people, but when they truly submit to Him, He leads them through the fire and all the assaults of their enemies (who are also His enemies) and puts them on a rock and feeds them with good things.

Its also a real kick in the teeth to an apostate Bishop and his cronies. They thought they were getting the really important thing, being the church building, and the inconvenient orthodox Anglicans would just wither and die. But instead the reverse is happening. The faithful don’t need buildings - they are very nice to have, but not essential. Rather, the Holy Spirit is truly working among you.

Some good news in all this, from #10:

...it was great fun, passing out a little cheer and having a little impact on the lives of complete strangers.

I am SO glad that they were only having a little impact on the lives of complete strangers.  A lot of impact would be very frightening…

The sad part is that at one time Garrison was a good priest.  Not fully orthodox but not that far off the target.  He came from Nevada (we all know who else came from there).  He married my husband and I twenty years ago.  I have served at the altar many times with him.  He did come by way of the RCC.  I am afraid after so many years with all the other liberals he has lost site of his savior.

Hello there:
I am a former Epis. priest from the Diocese of WNY now a Anglican Mission priest in Mississippi. St. Bart’s was our home church for two years before we left Buffalo. The faithfulness and the patience of the St. Bart’s folks was a blessing to all of us. They had, and continue to have, such integrity. The body of Christ has been honored by the strength of their faith walk.
We were at St. Bart’s one night when Bishop Garrison came to explain his views on homosexuality and the church (occasioned by Mr. Robinson’s election in New Hampshire). He told the congregation such an amazing array of craziness, yet the the most notable was what he told a mother of a teenaged boy. The mother told the bishop that his acceptance and approval of gay couples had caused her son to ask why should he and his girl friend continue to struggle with keeping their virginity. Bishop Garrison said there should be no struggle, for if these two teenagers were in love they should be able to express their love in full sexual expression. Get ready folks…..He then actually said that “God is love” and His love would be efound by these two in their sexual relationship. My red headed Irish Catholic wife (getting “her Irish up”) rose to her feet in protest first, but was quickly dismissed.
This came the same year the Dean of the Cathedral in Buffalo on Easter morning preached a sermon where he mourned the closing of the local gay bath house in downtown Buffalo. He likened this establishment to a “safehouse” in the underground railroad. He further said the bath house was a place where men, single or married, could test out their sexual orientation in a safe and accepting environment. Bishop Garrison, when Implored by so many of the laity that heard this foolishness, chose not to reply to any of them. He has stated that he will not answer letters of complaint!
While I weep for so many of our friends who hear words like these from their leadership, I also truly believe that their church finally went too far….It is lost and now is the time to rebuild the temple to the Glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

There is so much that is so bizarrely wrong in dogdas’s post (#84) that if it wasn’t for all the rest of the posts here, not to mention all the rest of what we know to be going on in TEC, that I’d think it was a parody.  Sadly, I know better, and am forced to believe that both Bennison and his Dean actually said those things.  If there’s any parody here, it’s of the Faith, by those most sworn to uphold it. 

I’m almost dumbfounded by the speed at which our Church has deteriorated—50 years ago, Bishop James Pike was seen as an embarrassment in the House of Bishops. Today, he’d be seen as a moderate…

The Diocese of Western New York was once an orthodox and vibrant diocese in the Episcopal Church. Bishop Brent, Bishop Scaife, Bishop Robinson were great men of faith who guided our way. Having served under Bishops Scaife and Robinson I recall one common thread in their ministry in Western New York. They knew where they stood on matters facing the church and they caused us all to tow a very tight line. If we were not holding to an orthodox theology, they would be the first to step in and give guidance and correction where needed. How we then drifted into the malaise of Bishop Bowman and Garrison I do not know. I can only believe that there was Spiritual warfare afoot, and we never stood strong and firm for the battle.
What was left was a shell….the form of church, but lacking heart, lacking faith, lacking Soul.
Father Ward at St. Bart’s was courageous and his move should best be seen as prophetic. While we would hope others in Western New York would hear the voice coming down from the mountain, it appears they no longer understand the role of the prophetic in the church. So, the wolves draw closer to the sheep fold but the lambs are lost in slumber…they can not hear the call of the shepherd.
It is tragic for sure.
(Dogdad, a priest in the Anglican Mission, formerly served in the Diocese of Western New York)

Conego,

I’m almost dumbfounded by the speed at which our Church has deteriorated—50 years ago, Bishop James Pike was seen as an embarrassment in the House of Bishops. Today, he’d be seen as a moderate…

I would still say, do not give up. I know that’s easy for me to write, but church history is replete with accounts of situations that seemed hopeless for the orthodox, yet were turned around in sudden and unforeseen fashion (e.g. Jehu’s purging of Baal worship from Israel, practically overnight in 2 Kings 9 and 10)

For those still in TEC, your witness will be having an effect, even if you can’t see it, and even though the liberals in TEC are strutting triumphantly as though they own everything.

MichaelA (87), I haven’t given up… I remain an Anglican in full Comunion with Canterbury, and if my canonical relationship with TEC is technically ‘iffy’, it’s because I am retired/disabled, but volunteering a few hours a week as a priest with the Igreja Lusitana (Comunhão Anglicana) in northern Portugal, where the priest shortage is truly desperate. Even if I’m only good for one Mass a week on my feet, if I wasn’t here, a parish wouldn’t have the Eucharist, so once a week I celebrate and preach in Portuguese, rotating between four parishes. [Even the bishop was bivocational until he retired from his secular banking job!]
Since Portugal’s Canons don’t include any way for a priest from another diocese to be licensed (the whole nation is one diocese), to celebrate here I had to become a full member and priest of the Portuguese Church, despite not asking for or receiving a Letter Dimissory from my US Diocese.  Does that count as “abandonment of communion”? Well, only if anyone at 815 cared about me one way or the other…

[comment deleted—violation of commenting protocol on this site; please do not urge people to leave TEC or ACNA and go anywhere—Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy, Baptists, Presbyterian, ACNA, Methodist, wherever; commenter issued a first warning]

Dogdad,

I understand entirely your loathing of the liberal leadership of TEC. And I agree that the raising up of ACNA is very good news.

On the other hand, there are many faithful left in TEC, however strange that may appear to those who have left. Some are there because they have no choice, particularly in more remote parts of your country. Others are there because they feel called to remain.

If that last sentence seems strange, remember Elijah’s story in 1 Kings 19. His opponents (Jezebel and the priests of Ba’al) were very similar to KJS and the liberal bishops in TEC today, in their methods, beliefs, and utter ruthlessness.

Yet when Elijah complains to the Lord, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:14), the Lord’s reply is rather strange: He tells Elijah to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as the new king of Israel - yet Jehu is an apparent syncretist who stood by Ahab’s side when righteous Naboth was condemned on false charges! And the Lord also tells Elijah “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed to Ba’al and all whose mouths have not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:18).

So when Elijah said he was the only faithful one left, he had missed a few! Its easy for those faithful on the outside in ACNA to miss quite a few faithful who have remained in TEC for whatever reason.

Furthermore, we are told in 1 Kings 18:3 that the Steward of the Royal Household himself (Obadiah) was a devout believer. He apparently felt he could do more by keeping quiet and working within the evil government.

So there is no point calling the faithful out of TEC - those who are called by God will come out anyway, and some will be called to stay. Instead, I suggest that the most effective course for those who are called to ACNA is: Concentrate on building up ACNA, and your own congregation. Evangelise the unchurched, disciple believers, plant new churches. Make ACNA strong, so that those in other groups are moved by godly jealousy to evangelise and disciple even more than you - there are more than enough unchurched and de-churched for everyone!