Texanglican

"The Preachers chiefly shall take heed that they teach nothing in their preaching, which they would have the people religiously to observe and believe, but that which is agreeable to the Doctrine of the Old Testament and the New, and that which the Catholick Fathers and Ancient Bishops have gathered out of that Doctrine." A proposed canon of Elizabeth I, 1571

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Location: Bedford, Texas, United States

I am a presbyter in the diocese of Fort Worth, Texas (Anglican Church in North America). I serve as Chaplain at St. Vincent's School and as a canon of St. Vincent's Cathedral Church in Bedford, Texas. In addition to my parish duties and teaching Religion classes in the school I am also the Middle School Social Studies teacher.

Friday, February 25, 2005

Canon Harmon appears to have it right

This post from Canon Kendall Harmon appears to be on the mark about the primates meeting just concluded. While many of us hoped for swifter action, we finally have a definite time frame for what must happen and when now.

My own metaphor for what the meeting laid out is this: there is in effect a "trial separation with counseling" from today forward. The "drop dead" date for ECUSA repentence is Lambeth 2008. After that, the "divorce" will be finalized. We shall see.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

The Official Communique

Well, the official document is out and may be found here . Below is a portion of the official communique dealing with the actions vis-a-vis the Communion dividing actions of ECUSA. Read them and make what you will of them:

"13. We are persuaded however that in order for the recommendations of the Windsor Report to be properly addressed, time needs to be given to the Episcopal Church (USA) and to the Anglican Church of Canada for consideration of these recommendations according to their constitutional processes.
14. Within the ambit of the issues discussed in the Windsor Report and in order to recognise the integrity of all parties, we request that the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada voluntarily withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference. During that same period we request that both churches respond through their relevant constitutional bodies to the questions specifically addressed to them in the Windsor Report as they consider their place within the Anglican Communion. (cf. paragraph 8)
15. In order to protect the integrity and legitimate needs of groups in serious theological dispute with their diocesan bishop, or dioceses in dispute with their Provinces, we recommend that the Archbishop of Canterbury appoint, as a matter of urgency, a panel of reference to supervise the adequacy of pastoral provisions made by any churches for such members in line with the recommendation in the Primates’ Statement of October 2003 (xii). Equally, during this period we commit ourselves neither to encourage nor to initiate cross-boundary interventions.
16. Notwithstanding the request of paragraph 14 of this communiqué, we encourage the Anglican Consultative Council to organise a hearing at its meeting in Nottingham, England, in June 2005 at which representatives of the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada, invited for that specific purpose, may have an opportunity to set out the thinking behind the recent actions of their Provinces, in accordance with paragraph 141 of the Windsor Report.
17. In reaffirming the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10 as the present position of the Anglican Communion, we pledge ourselves afresh to that resolution in its entirety, and request the Anglican Consultative Council in June 2005 to take positive steps to initiate the listening and study process which has been the subject of resolutions not only at the Lambeth Conference in 1998, but in earlier Conferences as well.
18. In the meantime, we ask our fellow primates to use their best influence to persuade their brothers and sisters to exercise a moratorium on public Rites of Blessing for Same-sex unions and on the consecration of any bishop living in a sexual relationship outside Christian marriage.
19. These strategies are intended to restore the full trust of our bonds of affection across the Communion."

The entire text may be found at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/39/00/acns3948.cfm

David Virtue's Report

I don't know if he is accurate, but David Virtue is reporting from Northern Ireland that ECUSA will be disciplined by the world-wide Anglican Communion. There will be a formal press conference about 1:30PM Central Time on Friday. Here is Virtue's report, hot off the WWW presses:

ACTION AGAINST EPISCOPAL CHURCH USA AND ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA - CONSERVATIVES WIN
EXCLUSIVE REPORT By David W. Virtue
NEWRY, Northern Ireland (2/24/205)--The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada could face suspension from the Anglican Communion, 35 Primates have decided in closed door meetings at the Dromantine center a secluded Roman Catholic retreat house. Disciplinary action has been taken, and the two provinces' membership is under review following their actions over gay ordinations and same sex blessings. After three days of open, honest and very frank discussion by the Primates, VirtueOnline was told that the Primates had "reached a conclusion." Both provinces could face suspension at the end of three months if they fail to implement the recommendations of the Windsor Report. If they do not repent of their actions for consecrating an openly homosexual priest to the episcopacy, agree to a moratorium on consecrating future gay clergy and performing same sex rites, a "divorce" will be finalized by the end of May. Furthermore, ECUSA Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has been banned from attending any future Primatial meetings unless the Episcopal Church agrees to accept the Windsor Report recommendations. Sources inside the Dromantine Center told VirtueOnline that the Anglican Consultative Council has been told that they cannot invite Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold to any future gatherings if the status quo remains.VirtueOnline can also confirm that Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan leader of the Anglican Communion Network is in the area and he and the American Anglican Council will be hosting a dinner for the majority of the Primates at the end of their historic, epoch-making conference. A number of the Primates have been fasting at the Dromantine Center, and last night, following the decision by the Primates, one primate was heard to say, "I shall now take my first meal." While Presiding Bishop Griswold was allowed to preach at the Belfast cathedral last Sunday, Presiding Bishop Greg Venables of the Southern Cone was refused permission by the Archbishop of Armagh, Robin Eames to preach in a large evangelical parish.Earlier in the week the orthodox primates of the Anglican Communion had refused to share in a common Eucharist with those whom they believe have abandoned apostolic faith and practice. A formal communiqué with more recommendations will be presented to the media Friday, 5.30pm here in Newry.For more stories about this history making conference go to www.virtueonline.org.

Chronological snobbery

Canon Kendall Harmon has an interesting post here that highlights one of the chief reasons ECUSA is in the mess it is now. The ECUSA bishop of Bethlehem, PA, after he rejected the Windsor Report's suggested moratorium on consecrating practicing gays to the episcopate on the grounds that it would be "a moratorium on justice," recently said on the House of Bishops' Listserv:

"...We must be clear that we cannot understand the Bible the way our ancestors did, and that there is as much for the world to learn from western biblical study as there is from any other western technology. This is not to claim the corner on all biblical truth, but it is to say that we have learned what we have learned, and that we have much to share."

These comments are a prime example of what C.S. Lewis called "chronological snobbery." According to Lewis, this is "the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to your own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited” (Surprised by Joy).

The sudden changes in American sexual morality in the last few decades are simply a manifestation of an urge (stronger in our country than in some others) to race forward into a brave new world of our own making. The morality of past ages--even if thoroughly Biblical--need hold us back no more than Ptolemaic cosmology or Aristotlean medical theory held back the scientific advances of the modern age. Hollywood gave us a major motion picture this year, Kinsey, in which the scientist hero is devoted to nothing less than a revolution. The limits of religiously-based sexual morality only hold back human potential, Kinsey believed. The new world will dawn if only we can throw off these old-fashioned restrictions. But why do we have this never-ending urge to throw off the past and make the world anew?

G.K. Chesterton felt this discrediting of the past was motivated by a fear of the past. We lunge forward into the future because the past makes our present feel small and weak in comparison. "The future is a refuge from the fierce competition of our forefathers. The older generation, not the younger, is knocking at the door. It is agreeable to escape, as Henley said, into the Street of By-and-Bye, where stands the Hostelry of Never. It is pleasant to play with children, especially unborn children. The future is a blank wall on which every man can write his own name as large as he likes; the past I find already covered with illegible scribbles, such as Plato, Isaiah, Shakespeare, Michael Angelo, Napoleon. I can make the future as narrow as myself; the past is obliged to be as broad and turbulent as humanity. And the upshot of this modern attitude is really this; that men invent new ideals because they dare not attempt old ideals. They look forward with enthusiasm, because they are afraid to look back." (What's Wrong with the World, p. 30)

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Primates of the Anglican Communion


Above is a picture from the Primates meeting in Northern Ireland. Note that Presiding Bishop Griswold of ECUSA is in the very back, apparently in a row all by himself! One must wonder if this is symbolic of something! Posted by Hello

Monday, February 21, 2005

Saint Mary's Chapel at St. Vincent's Cathedral Church


This picture was taken today before noon Mass at St. Mary's Chapel in St. Vincent's Cathedral Church in Bedford, Texas. The altar of the chapel has recently been relocated to allow the priest and people to offer the Eucharist together, facing the same direction. Posted by Hello

The Primates' Meeting has begun


The world's Anglican primates began their most important meeting in years (perhaps ever) this morning at the Dromantine Conference and Retreat Centre near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The meeting will continue throughout the week. Our prayers for wisdom and discernment for the leaders of the Anglican Communion are certainly in order. Posted by Hello

Sunday, February 20, 2005

The Times of London on the Primates' Meeting

From Monday's Times of London:

"Anglican world leaders face walk-out at summit on gaysBy Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

THE 38 bishops and archbishops who head the worldwide Anglican Church began a week-long meeting in Northern Ireland last night to try to resolve the argument over gay clergymen.
The meeting — closed to press and public — at the Dromantine Conference Centre near Newry is expected to be tense and at times explosive, with the walkout of one or more primates a possibility if not a probability.
More than half the primates are conservative evangelical or traditional. At a secret preliminary meeting at a hotel near Heathrow on Saturday, the conservatives voted to demand the suspension and then expulsion of the US Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada if they do not signify a change of heart over their stance. The New Westminster Diocese in Canada has authorised blessings for same-sex couples and the US Episcopal Church has consecrated Gene Robinson, an openly gay divorced father of two with a lover, as Bishop of New Hampshire.
The meeting is being chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who is “primus inter pares” or first among equals. It will debate the Windsor report of the Lambeth Commission, set up by Dr Williams in an attempt to hold the Church together.
It is Dr Williams’s toughest challenge to date. With both sides refusing to budge, few observers can see how the communion will be held together in the long term. One scenario is that the Anglican Communion will evolve into a loose federation of Anglican churches. Another is a complete split between the liberal churches of the West, which will remain in communion with Canterbury, and the evangelical and Anglo-Catholic provinces of the “global South”, chiefly Africa and Asia, which will find another archbishop to lead them, such as Dr Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, or Dr Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney.
Dr Williams’s sympathies are on the liberal side. He is a long-standing friend of Bishop Frank Griswold, the Primate of the US Church, but has taken the conservative side for the sake of unity.
Last week he described to the General Synod of the Church of England the “burden” of trying to reconcile the warring parties when they no longer spoke a common language. The synod gave overwhelming backing to Dr Williams and called for the primates “to secure unity” in the light of the recommendations of the Windsor report, which calls on the US Church “to express its regrets” and to give a theological explanation for what it did.
Bishop Griswold — he does not have a diocese or the status of archbishop — has expressed regret for the consequences of his actions but has made it clear that he does not repentthe actions themselves.
One source, from the churches of the global South, said: “We will be demanding the suspension and exclusion of those who are either ordaining practising gays or blessing same-sex marriages. If the US Church did repent, it would give us good ground for dialogue to find out how we are going to move ahead together.
“The Windsor report, weak as it is, is going to have to be the basis on which we try to move ahead.”

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Improved Discipline in the Church of England?

From yesterday's Times of London:


Church aims to put clergy in the dock with modern heresy trials
By Ruth GledhillBishops are thought to be sympathetic to new measures

CLERGY who deny the Virgin Birth or the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ will be tried as heretics under a new measure voted on yesterday at the General Synod of the Church of England. The measure could also be used to try clergy who preach liberal doctrines on homosexuality from the pulpit.
More than 150 lay synod members met separately at the synod at Church House, in Westminster, Central London, yesterday to discuss ways of bringing unbelieving clergy to book. The synod’s house of laity voted by 121-35 for heretic clergy to go on trial. An earlier attempt to put clergy on trial for breaches of doctrine was defeated narrowly at the synod last July.
Although the laity have no power as a house to push the measure through on their own, they are understood to have the support of the bishops.
Margaret Brown, an Anglican Catholic traditionalist from the Chichester diocese, put a motion before the laity making it possible to try clergy on doctrine grounds alone. Clergy suspected of error would be reported by parishioners to their bishops, who would investigate them and, if action was deemed necessary, would bring them to trial before a tribunal of bishops, theologians and laity, chaired by a legally qualified person.
Ultimately, a heretic clergyman or woman could be removed from office — in effect defrocked. But a bishop could also dismiss a complaint as malicious or frivolous. The bishops are understood to be sympathetic to the call from the laity, and heresy trials are expected to come back before the synod in 2006.
The timing is significant because this year the present five-year synod, which operates along parliamentary lines, draws to a close and a new synod will be elected. ... The new synod was likely to be more evangelical and conservative than the present one, reflecting the Church’s swing to the right over sexual and other issues. The new synod — even in the house of clergy — is thought more likely to accept heresy trials for doctrinal error than the present synod was last July. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was among those who supported the measure when it was defeated in the house of clergy by four votes.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

One Fortunate Side-Effect

Although the present division within ECUSA is quite lamentable, it has had one positive outcome: increased unity among orthodox Anglicans within and outside of the world-wide Anglican Communion. A link to a report on the ACN's website about an important orthodox Anglican meeting held last week in Atlanta may be found here . The joint statement of the church leaders present is well worth reading.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

A Worthwhile Essay

This essay by Edward T. Oakes is very much worthing reading. A sample:
"The future cardinal [Joseph Ratzinger] began his book with an even more somber narrative, one of the fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. Once upon a time, a poor widow sends her young son Hans into the village to fetch a simple meal, and along the way into town he discovers a lump of gold. Thrilled, he heads back home to show his mother his amazing good luck. But no sooner has he started back than he meets a knight who persuades him to exchange the gold for the knight’s steed. “The better for plowing!” the knight assures the boy. Further down the way, a farmer explains that the widow can’t eat a horse, so why not exchange the horse for the farmer’s cow? After making this seemingly reasonable bargain, the boy continues home but then meets up with a neighbor carrying a goose under his arm. Of course the widow wants a meal today, says the neighbor, so why not exchange cow for goose? Done. Finally, nearly home, he meets up with a boy who tells him that if he exchanges the goose for a whetstone he can keep his knife sharpened for slaughtering any number of geese in the future. Done again. But when he gets home he notices the clumsy stone in his pocket and, puzzled at its presence, throws it away before crossing the threshold of his home, none the sadder and certainly none the wiser.
Anyone who has followed the path taken by Protestant theology in the past two centuries, and by Catholic theology in the past four decades, already knows the point of this story: All the costume changes in the world won’t matter if the messenger has squandered his treasure by altering his message to suit the convenience of the audience. For Ratzinger, creeds matter only if what they proclaim is true, and if Christians deep down don’t really think so, then all the translation strategies in the world will mean nothing:
The worried Christian of today is often bothered by questions like these: has our theology in the last few years not taken in many ways a similar path? Has it not gradually watered down the demands of faith, which had been found all too demanding, always only so little that nothing important seemed to be lost, yet always so much that it was soon possible to venture on to the next step? And will poor Hans, the Christian who trustfully let himself be led from exchange to exchange, from interpretation to interpretation, not really soon hold in his hand, instead of the gold with which he began, only a whetstone, which he can be confidently recommended to throw away?."

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Orthodox Primates Respond to the Windsor Report

David Virtue has posted an important response to the Windsor Report from five African and Asian Anglican Primates on his website here . It is well worth reading.

American Nun Shot to Death in Brazil

By TALES AZZONI, Associated Press Writer

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- An American nun was shot to death in northern Brazil on Saturday, less then a week after she accused loggers and ranchers of threatening to kill rural workers, authorities said. Dorothy Stang, 74, was shot in the face three times near the town of Anapu, about 2,100 kilometers north of Sao Paulo in the Amazon region, federal police officer Fernando Raiol said.

Read the entire story here .

Saint Vincent's Cathedral School, Middle School Garage Sale for Charity


The students in our Middle School held a garage sale this morning (Feb. 12th) to raise money for charity via their ASTRA Club. Procedes will benefit the St. Vincent's Cathedral School scholarship fund, neuromuscular research, and the work of the Anglican diocese of Northern Malawi in central Africa, our sister diocese. Sales were brisk and several hundred dollars were raised. Well done, Mrs. Knaus and Mrs. Eng! Posted by Hello

Thursday, February 10, 2005

The Windsor Report Viewed from Western New South Wales

Some readers of this blog will be familiar with the Very Rev. Dr. Edwin Byford, archdeacon of the Darling in the diocese of Riverina, New South Wales, Australia, and rector of Saint Peter's Anglican Church in Broken Hill, NSW. Fr. Byford has recently shared his reflections on the Windsor Report with me and has given me permission to post them to this blog for your consideration. Fr. Byford prepared this text as a result of a request for three things helpful in the Windsor proposal and three things that were promlematic.

Fr. Byford writes:

"Helpful

1. Our autonomy is not in isolation. We exercise our autonomy in communion with all other churches in communion with the See of Canterbury. This imposes upon our national church the necessity of consultation with other national churches when there is a proposal for innovation within our own church. (This would also be necessary if an individual diocese wanted to make some innovation such as, for example, that of New Westminster about blessing of same sex unions or of Sydney to authorise those not in the Order of Priests to celebrate the Eucharist.)

2. The covenant sets out a relationship of communion and not unity. There is an explicit recognition that there will be significant matters of difference between and within national churches.

3. There is the recognition that we need an international process for the resolution and conciliation of disputes over matters of fundamental difference between and within national churches. (But see below for I think that there are problems with the proposed mechanism.)

Problematic

1. With the process of resolving Contentious Communion Issues there is the risk of the tyranny of the majority. We have been able to live, often very happily, with passionate disagreement over fundamental aspects of our church life such as, for example, women being in the Order of Priests or of Bishops. A definitive statement through the Archbishop of Canterbury may create more problems than it resolves. Since the seventeenth century, at least, there has been real room for dissent within the Anglican Communion.

2. I would not like to see any rubrics of interpretation of the Holy Scriptures or our theological tradition laid down as definitive. All of us have no problems making the affirmation that Holy Scripture contains all things necessary for salvation etc. But our fundamental disagreements revolve around how we interpret and apply those very scriptures that all of us affirm as authoritative.

3. There will be genuine disagreements about what is local and what is a matter for the whole Communion. For the foreseeable future these will probably centre around matters of gender and sexual morality. These matters will not go away just because we have entered a covenant.

I think that an Anglican Covenant is a very good idea. I think that we do need to make our belonging to each other explicit and this is an excellent way of doing it. Setting out the necessity for consultation between national churches may well see matters of fundamental disagreement diminish as each church and diocese becomes more aware of the way other Anglicans understand themselves and what being Anglican means."

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Ash Wednesday


"Remember thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return." Gen 3:19.

"A voice says, 'Cry!' And I said, 'What shall I cry?' All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." Isaiah 40:6-8.

The image is Georges de la Tour's "Magdalene at the Mirror." Posted by Hello

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Shroud of Turin

There was an interesting piece from the Associated Press recently (read it here), in which a chemist who inspected the Shroud of Turin claims the cloth dates to at least the time of Jesus, that the image has ancient blood on it, and that the cloth was produced by the method typically used in the first century. Interesting, in that this chemist's claims contradict the conclusions others have reached that the Shroud is a medieval forgery. Just thought I would pass this information along.

Questionable liturgical move

There is a link here to a video of a Gospel procession that I think probably should have been considered more carefuly before it was done. (I believe this is a Roman Catholic parish, but it could just as easily been in another denomination.) Liturgical dance with the Gospel book just doesn't work for me. There is a noteworthy use of trumpet, though, so be sure to play the audio as well. (Thanks to Lee Nelson.)

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Saint Vincent's Cathedral School, Bedford, Texas


This is a brochure about the school where I teach. We have just opened the Middle School this year, with sixth and seventh grades. An eighth grade will be added next year. Eventually SVCS will include a High School, graduating its first class in 2010. I am teaching Old Testament and Comparative Religion to the sixth and seventh graders this spring. Please click on the image above to enlarge it, then maximize the image. It should be legible. Posted by Hello

Pope John Paul II is Hospitalized


The picture above was taken yesterday, Jan. 30, at the Vatican. The Pope's health has taken a sudden turn for the worse.

From the Associated Press:

Pope Hospitalized With Breathing Problems, By VICTOR L. SIMPSON

ROME (AP) -- Pope John Paul II was hospitalized urgently on Tuesday after he suffered inflammation of the throat and had difficulty breathing, the Vatican said. In a post-midnight statement, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said it was decided to urgently hospitalize the 84-year-old pope at 10:50 p.m. after he suffered complications from the flu. "The flu which the Holy Father was suffering for three days this evening became complicated by an acute laryngeal tracheitis and larynx spasm crisis," the statement said Tuesday. "For this reason urgent admission to Gemelli Polyclinic, which occurred at 10:50 p.m. today was decided." Tracheitis, an inflammation of the trachea, requires hospitalization and usually a breathing tube to keep the airway clear. The spasms are likely a complication from the respiratory illness he's had. It's possible his Parkinson's disease has made his condition more serious and his breathing more labored. A Vatican official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the pontiff, who has had the flu since Sunday, had apparently suffered a "breathing crisis."
Posted by Hello

Opportunity to Do Something to Help

NOTE: The Anglican Relief and Development Fund was launched in September, 2004, as a channel for orthodox Anglican donors in the United States to contribute to Anglican churches in the Global South.

TSUNAMI AID may be donated through ARDF here .

From David Virtue's "Virtue Online":
ORTHODOX EPISCOPALIANS RAISE $250,000 FOR TSUNAMI RELIEF: First grants made by ARDF sent out in January

In its first three weeks, the Anglican Relief and Development Fund's (ARDF) appeal to help survivors of the December 26 Southeast Asian tsunami has processed more than $185,000 in cash donations and received reports that suggest giving totals will soon cross the quarter million dollar mark. The fund has already begun distributing grants to those working in the damaged areas. "We're working to identify and fund effective grass-roots Anglican relief efforts that are already active in the areas affected by the tsunami," said Kerk Burbank, ARDF's executive director. " Everyone involved in ARDF has been tremendously encouraged by the outpouring of support for those struggling to survive in Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka," he added.

With the first grants going to India and Indonesia on January 17, ARDF awarded its first disaster relief grant of up to$25,000 to the Church of South India (CSI) through The Bridge Foundation, an Opportunity International affiliate working with CSI in the heavily damaged Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh coastal regions. One portion of that grant will go to replace Christian fishermen's boats destroyed by the tsunami. Another portion of the grant will go to retired CSI Bishop Dharmaraj, Canon Vinay Samuel, and his wife Colleen Samuel, who have collected 5,000 orphans from the tsunami-affected areas and arranged for them to be cared for. "This is the first of many grants," said Burbank.

Currently, two Anglican groups are developing specific requests to ARDF from Indonesia. One is from an Episcopalian living in the Aceh area working with a teamof Indonesian Christians and the other is from a Singaporean mission church also working directly in the Aceh area. "Some reports suggest that there is enough emergency food and clothing in the pipeline or on site to sustain life for the survivors in most areas," said the Very Rev. Peter Moore, recently retired Dean President of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and the Chairman of the Board for ARDF. "However, disease prevention, grief counseling, and the lengthy and serious business of re-building lives, homes, and businesses are becoming the major tasks now. In many places, lack of shelter is a serious concern which will become worse in months to come as the rainy Monsoon season approaches in April," he added.

Fnancial support for the ARDF's efforts continues to pour in. So far, ARDF's largest donation to aid in tsunami relief came from a single offering at a single parish. The church, St. Helena's Episcopal Churchin Beaufort, South Carolina, collected more than $40,000 in a single offering and has given a total of $50,000 to tsunami relief. "We started opening the envelopes and there it was," said the Rev. Frank Limehouse, rector of the parish. According to Limehouse, the tremendous generosity of congregation members began in St. Helena's Episcopal Christian Women (ECW) chapter, which purchased a $10,000 water purification unit in the name of ARDF.

Others in the Anglican tradition are also rallying around ARDF's relief effort. Presiding Bishop Leonard Riches, of the Reformed Episcopal Church, is encouraging congregations of that portion of the Anglican family to support ARDF. The Reformed Episcopal Church, which has more than 140 congregations in the United States, was one of six groups in the Anglican tradition that made common cause with the Anglican Communion Network last summer.

To simplify donations to ARDF's tsunami relief efforts, donors now have the option of giving online. "The service, called PayPal, can safely and securely route donations to the ARDF using any major credit card," said Burbank. Those that use this new feature should note "ARDF Asian Crisis"in the digital memo line to ensure that the donation is processed correctly. The ARDF is still happy to take contributions by check. Checks should be made payable to the "Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses andParishes" or simply "NACDP" and sent to Anglican Relief & DevelopmentFund, 905 Oliver Building, 535 Smithfield St. Pittsburgh, PA 15222, witha memo line notation: "ARDF - Asian Crisis". The Network is a 501c3 tax-exempt organization.

Donations may be made here .


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