A Message from Bishop David C. Anderson

As this season of Advent draws to a close and the fourth candle of the wreath soon will be lighted, permit me to anticipate Christmas and wish you a most blessed celebration of our Lord's birthday, and what his nativity has meant to us and to the world.

I attended a joyful and expectant meeting in Orlando, FL earlier this week where the Common Cause Partners convened in a Federation gathering. They organized and began to take steps forward on a multi-year road map toward our future as Orthodox Anglicans in North America. But as I said, this meeting was about the first steps on the road map. It is occasion for joy, but not for grand pronouncements yet - much work, a few difficult issues, and time to accomplish it all is still to come. The press statement and Communique issued comprise the definitive and complete statement of the group's work this week.

A reality among the orthodox in North America is that there are several traditions, or if you will, three streams brought together: the Catholic stream, which emphasizes the role of the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist, and the traditional orders of ordained ministry in mediating the grace of God; the Evangelical stream, which emphasizes the supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures in faith and life, and the necessity of personal conversion and biblical discipleship; and the Charismatic stream, which emphasizes the present work of the Holy Spirit in miraculous power in the life of the believer and the Church: three streams and one river of Christian faith. Many of us find ourselves, surprisingly, in not just one stream, but two or all three steams at once. As a body, we want to uphold the validity and necessity of all three streams in a complete church.

Another reality is that there are two "integrities:" one theological position that does not ordain women to holy orders and another position that does, though not necessarily to all three orders.  Within the Common Cause we are trying to create a space where these issues can be lived with and worked with, and as part of a global Anglican Communion, to come to a common mind, whatever and whenever that might be. In the meantime, both integrities will be respected.

In other areas, issues continue to surface from the newly realigned Diocese of San Joaquin, California, where a mission church, St. Nicholas, and its vicar, the Rev'd Fred Risard, are threatening Bishop Schofield over his actions and his planned visit to their congregation. In this case however, the diocese of San Joaquin owns the property, and the bishop himself is the rector of the parish. The clergyman only serves as the "vicar"; that is, he is there vicariously for the bishop. Additionally there is not a vestry, but rather a Bishop's Committee, whose members serve at the pleasure of the bishop. One might think that if pushed much further, the bishop might wish to reappoint a new Bishop's Committee and Vicar who would be less likely to use the congregation's assets to threaten their bishop.

On another subject, Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori is pushing for Bishop V. Gene Robinson to be invited to Lambeth Conference 2008, and so has asked three bishops to lobby for his inclusion. That is not at all unexpected, but what is surprising is that all of those asked to do said lobbying have apparently agreed.

We close this week in praying for a new and better year ahead for the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in which so many of us were baptized, confirmed, and ordained. May God bless you abundantly.

Faithfully in Christ Jesus,