The Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF), the Episcopal Church Building Fund (ECBF), and the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania are teaming up to develop what they say will be “a thoughtful and spiritually grounded process to assist congregations with the discernment of the ministry of buildings.”

Oh for the love of…help me out here.  We need a “thoughtful and spiritually grounded process” to “discern” the “ministry of…BUILDINGS?!!“  You do know that buildings are inanimate objects, right?  And that therefore…aw, screw it.

A pilot project involving the three entities is meant to provide training, resources, and tools to help congregations address questions such as:

how they define themselves as a community of faith, and what role buildings and grounds play in that definition;

(1) They keep the rain out and (2) they keep us from having to buy new prayer books every couple of months since we can’t keep the rain out(see #1).

whether they have the financial capacity to maintain their property;

Or whether anyone has the financial capacity to turn “their property” into a coffee house or a themed restaurant.

whether there are alternative uses of the property that could benefit both the parish and the wider community; new uses for buildings that will provide an income stream; cost sharing methods that allow small congregations to continue to use the building; and

See above.

what God is calling them to do in the midst of these questions.

For those of you who don’t speak Episcopalian, that last one can be transated, “Whatever the market is doing.”

In order to ease the transition for any Anglican clergy willing to avail themselves of these provisions, officials of the Archdiocese or Diocese will, for any meetings with officials of the new Ordinariate, provide sufficient Port and sherry(Amontillado, Xérès if absolutely necessary).  Nothing domestic.

Ordinariate parish softball teams are to include at least one Roman Catholic ringer but are excused from this provision if their Roman Catholic ringer or ringers suck.

For the first year of this provision and for any joint cookout between an Ordinariate parish and a Diocesan parish, it shall be the responsility of the Diocese to bring the beer while the Ordinariate is to supply the bratwurst. 

Thereafter, beer for other joint events must be supplied by both Ordinariate and the Diocese or Archdiocese.  “Hot dogs” should be supplied by both but must be natural-casing wieners and not frankfurters or any of the rest of that artificial crap you get in supermarkets these days.

The 1979 edition of the Book of Common Prayer may still be used but only to light the fires to cook the bratwurst.

Every Ordinariate parish breakfast must include bacon.  Canadian Ordinariate parishes are permitted to offer round bacon.

The Holy Father thinks that Bob and Doug McKenzie were about the funniest thing going back in the day, certainly the best SCTV had to offer, so the first member of an Ordinariate parish who sends him a DVD of Strange Brew will receive a free “I Just Entered Into Full Communion With The Roman Catholic Church And All I Got Was A Few Lousy Hours Off Purgatory” T-shirt.

The private homes that New London, Conn., took away from Suzette Kelo and her neighbors have been torn down. Their former site is a wasteland of fields of weeds, a monument to the power of eminent domain.

Our bad.

But now Pfizer, the drug company whose neighboring research facility had been the original cause of the homes’ seizure, has just announced that it is closing up shop in New London.

Don’t we feel like the perfect ass.

To lure those jobs to New London a decade ago, the local government promised to demolish the older residential neighborhood adjacent to the land Pfizer was buying for next-to-nothing. Suzette Kelo fought the taking to the Supreme Court, and lost. Five justices found this redevelopment met the constitutional hurdle of “public use.”

We could not be more embarrassed.  Really.

A bird dropping a piece of bread onto outdoor machinery has been blamed for a technical fault at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) this week which saw significant overheating in sections of the mighty particle-punisher’s subterranean 27-km supercooled magnetic doughnut.

According to scientists at the project, had the LHC been operational - it is scheduled to recommence beaming later this month - the snag would have caused it to fail safe and shut down automatically. This would put the mighty machine out of action for a few days while it was restarted, but there would be no repeat of the catastrophic damage suffered last September. On that occasion, an electrical connection in the circuit itself failed violently, causing a massive liquid-helium leak and knock-on damage along hundreds of metres of magnets.

However Dr Mike Lamont, who works at the CERN control centre and describes himself as “LHC Machine Coordinator and General Dogsbody” later confirmed that there had indeed been a problem. Lamont, briefing reporters at the control room yesterday, told the Reg that machinery on the surface - the LHC accelerator circuit itself is buried deep beneath the Franco-Swiss border outside Geneva - had suffered a fault caused by “a bit of baguette on the busbars”, thought perhaps to have been dropped by a bird.

I’m starting to think that there may just be merit to the idea that something(or Somebody) would rather we didn’t create a Higgs boson.

But in this country, the Anglo-Catholics have now got all they could possibly want from the pope except the recognition that they were right all along. On the other hand, the mood in the rest of the Church of England is hardening against them. There is a general resentment of the humiliating way in which this was sprung on the Archbishop of Canterbury (who will go to Rome later this month, and deliver a speech on the 23rd; it is not thought that the pope will be present, looking embarrassed, when he does so). The demands of the Anglo-Catholics that they be paid off and given their churches as well when they go are greeted with something between incredulity and anger. No one knows whether their congregations will follow them. It might just be that this tremendous edifice will be greeted with a rather embarrassed silence, like the competence of erection manifesting itself in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Let’s review.  The current Anglican controversy erupted in 2003.  Shortly after the election of homosexual Gene Robinson, who is a homosexual, as Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, Rowan Williams convened an emergency primates meeting to deal with the situation.

At that meeting, Williams allowed the spurious issue of boundary-crossing to be introduced into the statement which declared that if Robbie’s consecration went ahead, the Anglican Communion would be torn at the deepest level. 

Frank Griswold, TEO’s Presiding Bishop at the time, signed that statement, went home and participated in Robbie’s consecration anyway.  Dr. Williams’ response?  To set in motion what a year or so later became the Windsor Report which TEO effectively ignored.

Two primates meetings followed in the intervening years, the communiqués of which were so much toilet paper as far as Canadian and American liberals were concerned.  Those years also saw two GenCons which saw TEO at first evade and then plow under Anglican Communion requests.

Which brings us to the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the closest thing to a Magisterium an Archbishop of Canterbury has.  But not only did Dr. Williams invite the Americans and Canadians to the Conference, he deliberately structured the meeting in such a way that the fundamental question ripping the Communion apart would never be addressed.

I’ve never worked as a shepherd.  Since I don’t mind being alone for long periods, I used to think it would be fascinating to spend hour after hour just thinking or praying under what Mr. Spurgeon once called “the heavenly Father’s vast audience chamber.”

I guess that if you’re a shepherd, you’re good at your job and you come across sheep that aren’t being led by anyone, your first instinct would be to gather in as many as you could in order to protect them.  And that’s precisely what Benedict XVI has done here.

Because wolves don’t wait until every I is dotted, every T crossed and every Anglican cavil is satisfied.  If Rowan Williams was humiliated by the Pope’s action, he has only himself to blame.

We have received the Archbishop of Canterbury’s letter informing us of the Pope’s offer of an ‘Apostolic Constitution’ for those Anglicans who wish to be received into the Roman Catholic Church. We believe that this offer is a gracious one and reflects the same commitment to the historic apostolic faith, moral teaching and global mission that we proclaimed in the Jerusalem Declaration on the Global Anglican Future and for this we are profoundly grateful.

We are, however, grieved that the current crisis within our beloved Anglican Communion has made necessary such an unprecedented offer. It represents a grave indictment of the Instruments of Communion whose very purpose is to strengthen and protect our unity in obedience to our Lord’s clear command. Their failure to fully address the abandonment of biblical faith and practice by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada has now brought shame to the name of Christ and seriously impedes the cause of the Gospel.

The Primates Council of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON/FCA) is convinced, however, that Anglicanism has a bright future as long as we remain grounded in the Holy Scriptures and obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ’s call to reach the lost and make disciples of all nations teaching them to observe the whole Gospel. We also believe that there is room within our Anglican family for all those who hold true to the ‘faith once delivered to the saints’. We would like to encourage those Anglicans who are considering this invitation from the Roman Catholic Church to recognize that Anglican churches are growing throughout the world in strength and offering a vibrant testimony to the transforming work of Christ.

We are convinced that this is not the time to abandon the Anglican Communion. Our Anglican identity of reformed catholicity, that gives supreme authority to the Holy Scriptures and acknowledgement that our sole representative and advocate before God is the Lord Jesus Christ, stands as a beacon of hope for millions of people. We remain proud inheritors of the Anglican Reformation. This is a time for all Christians to persevere confident of our Lord’s promise that nothing, not even the gates of hell, will prevail against His Church.

Worldwide, Anglicanism does have a bright future.  But only if it gets clear of the cold, dead hand of Lambeth Palace and completely reinvents itself.

But as long as it insists on retaining the Canterbury connection, as long as it retains nominal allegiance to an Archbishop of Canterbury who has persistently refused to do anything about the Americans and Canadians, more and more western Anglicans will walk away, never to return.

Will they go to Rome?  I suspect a lot of them will although probably not in the numbers the leftist doomsday scenarios anticipate.  Many will flee to Orthodoxy while the Protestants among them (there, I said it) will swim Lake Geneva or spend a year or two worshipping here and there while reassessing what they think about stuff.

Although Orthodoxy wasn’t a factor when he lived, Newman had it right.  The via media doesn’t exist and never has.  You’re either one or the other.

Dr. Akinola doesn’t seem to realize that the landscape has radically changed.  Benedict XVI’s bold initiative requires a bold response.  And “stay in the Anglican Communion while we think of something” most emphatically isn’t bold.

It isn’t bold at all.

UPDATE: Over on my Twitter page, I’ve been beating this topic to death having a little fun at Sullivan’s expense.  Here’s what I’ve got so far.

Sully is one determined paranoid freak, Sully is.

Sully? 9/11 truthers think you need to dial it down.

Sully? Javert just called and he thinks you’re making an ass of yourself.

Are you looking for investment property in there or something?

Sully, I’d get all my medical ducks in a row if I were you. Just in case she, you know, wins.

If she wins in 2012, you’re on the first plane back to Blighty, huh, Sully?

Sully? Pit bulls think you should let it go.

Feel free to add your own in the comments. This isn’t really a contest but make me laugh and I could be persuaded to send along a coffee mug or something.

In recent times the Holy Spirit has moved groups of Anglicans to petition repeatedly and insistently to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately. The Apostolic See has responded favorably to such petitions. Indeed, the successor of Peter, mandated by the Lord Jesus to guarantee the unity of the episcopate and to preside over and safeguard the universal communion of all the Churches could not fail to make available the means necessary to bring this holy desire to realization.

The Church, a people gathered into the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, as “a sacrament – a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all people.”  Every division among the baptized in Jesus Christ wounds that which the Church is and that for which the Church exists; in fact, “such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching the Gospel to every creature.”  Precisely for this reason, before shedding his blood for the salvation of the world, the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of his disciples.

It is the Holy Spirit, the principle of unity, which establishes the Church as a communion.  He is the principle of the unity of the faithful in the teaching of the Apostles, in the breaking of the bread and in prayer.  The Church, however, analogous to the mystery of the Incarnate Word, is not only an invisible spiritual communion, but is also visible; in fact, “the society structured with hierarchical organs and the Mystical Body of Christ, the visible society and the spiritual community, the earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches, are not to be thought of as two realities. On the contrary, they form one complex reality formed from a two-fold element, human and divine.”  The communion of the baptized in the teaching of the Apostles and in the breaking of the eucharistic bread is visibly manifested in the bonds of the profession of the faith in its entirety, of the celebration of all of the sacraments instituted by Christ, and of the governance of the College of Bishops united with its head, the Roman Pontiff.

This single Church of Christ, which we profess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic “subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside her visible confines. Since these are gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity.”

A quick glance reveals terms that to this non-Catholic are generous, surprisingly so.  I’ll highlight just a few.

Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church are erected by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith within the confines of the territorial boundaries of a particular Conference of Bishops in consultation with that same Conference.

Each Ordinariate possesses public juridic personality by the law itself (ipso iure); it is juridically comparable to a diocese.

Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement In June are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1

Priests incardinated into an Ordinariate, who constitute the presbyterate of the Ordinariate, are also to cultivate bonds of unity with the presbyterate of the Diocese in which they exercise their ministry. They should promote common pastoral and charitable initiatives and activities, which can be the object of agreements between the Ordinary and the local Diocesan Bishop.

Candidates for Holy Orders in an Ordinariate should be prepared alongside other seminarians, especially in the areas of doctrinal and pastoral formation. In order to address the particular needs of seminarians of the Ordinariate and formation in Anglican patrimony, the Ordinary may also establish seminary programs or houses of formation which would relate to existing Catholic faculties of theology.

What role can any current Anglican bishops who make the swim expect to play?  Rather a substantial one according to an accompanying document:

§1. A married former Anglican Bishop is eligible to be appointed Ordinary. In such a case he is to be ordained a priest in the Catholic Church and then exercises pastoral and sacramental ministry within the Ordinariate with full jurisdictional authority.

§2. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate may be called upon to assist the Ordinary in the administration of the Ordinariate.

§3. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate may be invited to participate in the meetings of the Bishops’ Conference of the respective territory, with the equivalent status of a retired bishop.

§4. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate and who has not been ordained as a bishop in the Catholic Church, may request permission from the Holy See to use the insignia of the episcopal office.

We know that the Pope has been interested in the Anglican situation for quite some time.  But as someone who has spent far too much time writing about institutional Anglican torpor, this is an astonishing document mainly, I guess, because it actually, well, does something. 

There’s a problem?  Here’s a solution.  Want to become Catholic?  We’ll make it as easy as we possibly can.  Will Anglicans avail themselves of it?  Initially, maybe not since they might be intimidated by a Christian leader who actually proposes solutions to problems that don’t involve more talking.

But I really do think there’s a reason why so many people have been so upset by the whole idea.  They’re terrified that it just might work. 

Why are you still a Roman Catholic? Why have you not started attending an Episcopal church? Familiar liturgy, similar theology, radically different morality. The US Episcopal church has committed itself to being a community where all people are members, where all people can be married and blessed and become priests and bishops. We in the US are paying a high price for our commitment to equality–a schism in the worldwide Anglican communion–but we are standing firm. We’ve got Anglican African bishops and Pope Benedict himself trying to poach Episcopal parishes. We’re tiny, we’re beleaguered, and we are standing up to the entire world and the entire Christian community to do the right thing.

I know that an Englishman named Sullivan is genetically indisposed to ever imagine attending a branch of the Church of England, but, man, we could use your help. This is where you belong.

I know that you are an intelligent and thoughtful person and you hope that one day your church will come around.  I thought that way for decades and as a child, I knew I would live to see the day when my church would see the light on many issues.  I finally stopped waiting 5 years ago and decided that I needed to stop supporting (with my time, talents and treasure) a church that was not supporting all people equally.
 
I joined the Episcopal church and I could not be happier with my decision. The church is not perfect either, but at least they are moving on the tough questions and struggling with them every day. As a white and straight male, I can not imagine what it must feel like to have people consider you as less than equal.   Keep up the good work and I hope this does not come across in a bad way.  I just ache for your situation.  I still love the Catholic church, but I had to love it enough to walk away.

To me it showed how the Church of England had sunk into a liberal pit that was no earthly use and offered no hope, no love and no grace. It was going through the motions of faith and was largely irrelevant to the people it once thought it served.

The Church I once loved has, on the whole, become the spiritual arm of New Labour. What the rank and file believes is truly not the same as the leadership. Bishops charged by God to fight against erroneous teachings appear to embrace them gleefully.

The rot starts at the top.

Many spend more time preaching about climate change or dressing up as druidic bards than preaching a gospel of salvation that would cure the ills of this society overnight if properly embraced.

Others seem to openly seek to disgrace the arguments of the Bible and spread unnecessary doubts.

They champion worldly causes and try to have these beliefs adopted by the Church.

At their peril, they discard the foundations of the faith and try to replace them with beliefs more acceptable to our derelict society.

Stupidly, the Archbishop of Canterbury has tried to paper over the cracks and keep the Church together. He should have had the courage to allow the Church to become disestablished and split. The evangelicals, traditionalists and Anglo Catholics could go one way and the Liberals the other.

So Taylor will purchase swimming trunks soon.

What attracts me about the Roman Catholic Church is their sense of identity and purpose. My children have all gone at some point in their lives to a Catholic school.

There, I have seen a rounded education that teaches good citizenship and responsibility as well as faith. Interestingly, these schools are favoured by other faith groups and one local school boasts that 17 languages are spoken by children there. Now that is truly multi-cultural and yet amazingly beneficial to everyone.

I am also keenly drawn to the reverence in Catholic worship and their desire to pray. They have not lost their sense of awe and majesty and faith is something that is encouraged to be part of everyday life.

The leadership of the Catholic Church doesn’t seem to be afraid to stand up for important moral issues. A secular Press often ridicules these beliefs, but the Catholics have the courage not to back down.

I, for one, see a need for the Church to again be prophetic to the nation and not be afraid to stand up for what it believes. Heartbreakingly, I am no longer sure the Church of England can do this.

The C of E, of course, doesn’t get it.  A church spokesman proved Taylor’s point for him.

Ben Wilson, a spokesman for the Church of England, said Taylor was entitled to his opinion. But he added: “One would have thought that as an ordained Church of England minister he would appreciate that it is the political breadth of the church that enables it to engage with people across the nation. Church attendance levels have been broadly stable for the last decade.”

There’s not much to add to something like this.  One can(and many of us frequently have) debate exactly when this started but the fact remains that western Anglicanism hasn’t impacted western society to any particular degree for a very long time.

Taylor’s exactly right.  The Anglican church, not only in England but in Canada, the U. S. and places allied with them, has become a liberal debating society with a pseudo-spiritual varnish.  I’ve said before that I heard lots of Episcopal sermons condemning racism or ”homophobia” but remember none at all condemning adultery.

It’s this simple.  Don’t “engage” the culture; make it better.  Preach the Gospel.  All of it, even the stuff that angers people.  It wouldn’t be a miracle if über-atheists Richard Dawkins or Philip Pullman suddenly declared themselves deists and started attending Anglican churches.

It would be if both decided that the Church of England was a waste of time.