[St. Paul's Church-news] General Convention

[Lynn K. Bigelow]

Welcome to a St. Paul's update.

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Old Union Service

Old Union Church in Audubon will be where we
gather for Morning Prayer worship, at 9:30AM,
on next Sunday - July 9.  The 7:30AM service
will be at St. Paul's in Oaks.


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Phillies Outing

This Thursday, July 6.
Don't miss the bus, leaving from our
parking lot at 5:00PM.


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Commentary on General Convention

Read news and commentary at the Anglican Communion Network website.
http://www.acn-us.org/


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Letter From The Rector
[July 2006 Epistle, Regarding General Convention]


vvvvvvvvvvvvvv  BEGIN LETTER vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  (II Corinthians 13:14)

It has become crystal clear that the Episcopal House of Bishops and
House of Deputies of General Convention have chosen to further divide
themselves from the worldwide Anglican Communion.  In spite of
straightforward statements calling for repentance, the leadership of the
Episcopal Church in the United States has turned its back on our
Anglican heritage and its biblical foundations.
	
While there have been many developments over time which have brought us
to this point, General Convention was an opportunity for the Episcopal
Church to at least slow down, if not actually change course.  Instead,
the choice for the new Presiding Bishop and the response to the Windsor
Report have demonstrated what I can only describe as an American
arrogance that flies in the face of the rest of the Anglican Communion.
  For the House of Bishops to elect a new Presiding Bishop who is of
relatively limited experience and actively promotes the very issues
which have caused problems with our Anglican brothers and sisters is a
blatant statement of defiance.  The disregard of the action set forth in
the Windsor Report also underscores Episcopal arrogance, if not insolence.

The question many faithful Episcopalians are asking is “What does this
mean for us?”  Generally, there are three categories of responses to
that question.  Some say we should not let what they perceive as church
politics be too worrisome and simply continue on as before.  Others say
it is quite evident that it is time to so affirm our ties to Anglicans
around the world that we become separated from the current
organizational structures of the Episcopal Church.  Still others suggest
that we maintain our official organizational connections while doing
everything we can as a faithful remnant to maintain our theological and
programmatic distinctiveness.

What does this mean for us here at St. Paul’s?  At a practical level, it
will mean that at the very least our mission of reaching out to draw in
new people will become more difficult.  Even non-believers shake their
heads at what they recognize as the ludicrous inconsistencies with these
issues.  It will be a greater challenge than ever for us to convincingly
proclaim the Gospel as Episcopalians, especially when people have
written us off as a lost, wandering and waning denomination.  At the
level of principle, we also have many struggles to face.  Each
individual, as well as our parish as a whole, will have to wrestle with
the matter of the Lord’s specific calling regarding our relationship
with the Episcopal Church.

This is a difficult time for all of us.  I pray that we will be patient
and gracious and loving with one another as we work through the
challenges before us.  May God’s grace and peace be with you all.

Warmly in Christ,
Dan

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  END LETTER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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Peace,
Lynn


St. Paul's Episcopal Church
126 Black Rock Road
PO Box 404
Oaks, PA 19456
http://www.StPaulsOaks.org

Rector: Dan at StPaulsOaks.org
Director of Music Ministries: Mike at StPaulsOaks.org
Parish Administrator: Maria at StPaulsOaks.org
Web site: webmaster at StPaulsOaks.org
Email updates: Lynn at StPaulsOaks.org

St. Paul's Purpose:
TO BE A CHURCH FAMILY LEADING PEOPLE TO A
GROWING FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.

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I appreciate your feedback.