Archbishop Duncan updates us via Anglican TV on the first eight months of the ACNA

The new deacon who would be our curate

The man who, God willing, later this summer will become our new curate at St. Vincent's Cathedral, Andrew Petta, was ordained a deacon in Christ's holy, Catholic Church on Saturday at St. Andrew's Church in downtown Fort Worth. It was a lovely service at which Bishop Iker was our preacher. In the photo below I'm standing between Dean Ryan Reed and the Rev. Canon Richard Cantrell of St. Vincent's. Deacon Kerwin Wade of the cathedral stands on the other side of Dean Reed.

Warmest congratulations to Deacon Petta, who will take up his duties in early July after he graduates from Nashotah House. May God bless his ministry richly!

Photos by Suzanne Gill of our diocesan offices.

A Pointless Exercise: The Rump Diocese of Fort Worth "Deposes" 57 Priests and Deacons

Not that it matters one little bit to me, but today I received my official letter of deposition from Bishop C. Wallis Ohl, the "provisional bishop" of the TEC-loyalist "Diocese of Fort Worth." You can read the letter by clicking the images above.

I fully expect to receive a letter from Gordon Brown any day revoking my British citizenship, despite the outcome of that little spat between 1775 and 1783. Some people just don't get the message that the ship has long ago already sailed. :-)

C of E Recognizes ACNA's Desire to "Remain within the Anglican Family"

Today the General Synod of the Church of England passed the following resolution by an overwhelming margin of 309 to 69 (emphasis added by RWF):

This Synod, aware of the distress caused by recent divisions within the Anglican churches of the United States of America and Canada, recognise and affirm the desire of those who have formed the Anglican Church in North America to remain within the Anglican family; acknowledge that this aspiration, in respect both of relations with the Church of England and membership of the Anglican Communion, raises issues which the relevant authorities of each need to explore further; and invite the Archbishops to report further to the Synod in 2011.

RWF resumes: I would point out the word "remain" in the highlighted language is a tacit recognition that we are at present "members of the Anglican family." I am saddened that in the end this resolution amounts to little more than the standard Anglican "kicking the can down the road for another year" sort of thing we have seen so much of before, but perhaps this is a start.

More may be read at Stand Firm by clicking the title to this post.

ACNA Bishops Attend ++Williams' Speech at St. Vladimir's Seminary

On January 30th Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was granted an honory doctorate at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. A full story about the events of last weekend may be found on the seminary's website (which may be read by clicking the title of this post).

Noteworthy in particular is the seminary web site's highlighting the presence of several bishops from the Anglican Church in North America, including Archbishop Duncan and Bishop Iker. Here is an excerpt:

Particularly noteworthy among the audience was the attendance by bishops in the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), a “Province-in-formation” within the global Anglican Communion. Newly formed in June 2008, it represents a traditional, conservative, and “biblically-faithful way of following Jesus,” in opposition to many current practices that members say are “accommodated and incorporated” by the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and the Anglican Church of Canada, according to the group's Websitehttp://anglicanchurch.net.

The Rt. Rev. Ray R. Sutton, the Ecumenical Bishop from the ACNA stated, “With grateful hearts to Metropolitan Jonah, we welcome and rejoice over his vision and commitment to restoring Anglican-Orthodox dialogue. We who are faithful Anglicans thank St. Vladimir’s for its deep commitment to the faith once delivered and its love for others outside Orthodoxy who share likeminded love for the love and truth of Jesus.”

Likewise, The Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth in the ACNA, said, “The real significance of today’s events goes far beyond the awarding of an honorary degree to Dr. Rowan Williams. By conferring this degree upon the Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Vladimir’s has expressed respect and affection for Anglicanism, as well as a hope for a deeper relationship between Anglican and Orthodox Christians. Metropolitan Jonah has spoken of this new vision in a very inspirational way.”

The Brethren

The photo above was taken at the end of our diocesan silent clergy retreat at the Montserat Jesuit Retreat Center last week. The photo portrays most of the priests in the diocese of Fort Worth (ACNA). I'm the chap standing behind Bishop William Wantland. Standing on Bishop Iker's right is Fr. Houlding of the SSC, who was our retreat conductor. He gave a series of reflections the Lord's Prayer before or after each of our worship services (we worshiped in the chapel five times each day). I found these talks to be quite good, and much fruitful thought was provoked by them.

I must admit that, in addition to quiet prayer time, I used the extended period of silence to continue my recent reading binge on Anglo-Saxon England and the Viking Age. But somehow reading Beowulf seemed to fit the time well!