Charles Wesley's Secret Code Deciphored

Anglican Mainstream reported, yesterday, that the coded journal of Charles Wesley, for the first time in 250 years, had been deciphered. The decoding work was accomplished by the Rev'd. Prof. Kenneth Newport, pro vice-chancellor of Liverpool Hope University.

The journals reveal Charles' grave concern about a possible split between the Methodists and the Church of England. (Charles, of course, vowed to stay with the Church of England if such a split were to ever occur.) The journals also speak (disapprovingly) of his brother, John's, plans to marry. As well as Charles' concerns about the spread of Islam.

The conservative Anglican review, of course, draws some parallels between the Methodist/Church of England split and the current concerns about an Anglican split.

The original article published by Telegraph.co.uk can be viewed here.

General Assembly Resolution #9: Membership/Baptism

A REMINDER & PLEA TO NAZARENES: PLEASE, GET COPIES OF THESE NINE RESOLUTIONS TO YOUR DISTRICT'S GENERAL ASSEMBLY DELEGATION.

Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words to be deleted from the current Manual. Underlined text ___ are words to be added to the current Manual.

Article II. Local Churches

29. The membership of a local church shall consist of all who have been organized as a church by those authorized so to do and who have been publicly received by those having proper authority, after having experienced Christian baptism, and having declared their experience of salvation, their belief in our doctrines, and their willingness to submit to our government. (100-107)

B. Membership

107. Full Membership. All persons who have been organized into a local church by those authorized so to do, and all who have been publicly received by the pastor, the district superintendent, or the general superintendent, after having experienced Christian baptism, and having declared their experience of salvation, and their belief in the doctrines of the Church of the Nazarene, and their willingness to submit to its government, shall compose the full membership of the local church; however, only church members who have reached their 15th birthday shall be entitled to vote in annual or special church meetings. (29, 35.4, 111, 113.1, 413.3, 417, 427.9, 433.8-33.9)

801. THE RECEPTION OF CHURCH MEMBERS

The prospective members having come forward to stand before the altar of the church, the pastor shall address them as follows:

DEARLY BELOVED: The privileges and blessings that we have in association together in the Church of Jesus are very sacred and precious. . .

. . . Do you heartily believe these truths? If so, answer, "I do."

Having experience Christian baptism do [Do] you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and do you realize that He saves you now? . . .

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. It is generally accepted that, as General Superintendent Emeritus, the Rev'd. Dr. William Greathouse, has said, "In the New Testament church there simply were no unbaptized Christians . . ." (Staples 11) Staples, Rob L. Outward Sign and Inward Grace: The Place of Sacraments in Wesleyan Spirituality. Kansas City: Beacon Hill P 1991.

2. The Church, generally, for over 2000 years has understood baptism as the sign of initiation into the new covenant.

3. Jesus and the apostles command baptism (e.g., Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; 10:48).

4. The Scriptures consistently declare the importance of baptism (e.g., Jesus declares that "no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit," John 3:5; We are "baptized into Christ Jesus," Rom. 6:3; ". . . we were all baptized into one body," the Church, 1 Cor. 12:13; and Peter even declares that "baptism . . . now saves you," 1 Pet. 3:21).

5. Article of Faith XII. Baptism, paragraph 16, states the following: ". . . Christian baptism, commanded by our Lord, is a sacrament signifying acceptance of the benefits of the atonement of Jesus Christ, to be administered to believers . . .," and "Baptism being a symbol of the new covenant . . ." (italics mine) Thus, those who refuse baptism are acting inconsistently with the membership requirements in paragraph 29, which states that they must declare ". . . their beliefs in our doctrines . . ."

6. The FIRST of our General Rules (par. 27) call us to do ". . . that which is enjoined in the Word of God, which is our rule of both faith and practice . . ."

7. Most denominations, including the two denominations most like the Church of the Nazarene (viz., The Wesleyan Church and the Free Methodist Church of North America) require baptism prior to membership. In fact, allowing members who are not baptized places us at odds with orthodox Christianity.

8. It is surely more important for people to be fully "Christian" than "Nazarenes."

9. Not only has it been the case that we have had church board members serving who have never been baptized, but it has even been the case that elders have been ordained in the Church of the Nazarene, having been charged to "administer the sacraments," who had not yet been baptized.

10. Our acceptance of any of the three modes of baptism as being valid should make baptism as readily available as membership, itself, even in areas where water is not abundant (i.e., one need only to sprinkle, in such cases).

11. The action of the 2005 General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene placed our denomination outside of orthodox Christianity by officially voting to not require Christian baptism for membership, making the Church of the Nazarene, as a denomination, something less than a Christian church by orthodox Christian standards.

12. The action of the 2005 General Assembly (cf., 11, above) invalidated the "Historical Statement" on page 16 of the Manual that says, "While the Church of the Nazarene has responded to its special calling to proclaim the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification, it has taken care to retain and nurture identification with the historic church in its preaching of the Word, its administration of the sacraments, its concern to raise up and maintain a ministry that is truly apostolic in faith and practice, and its inculcating of disciplines for Christlike living and service to others" (italics mine).

More on the Wesley Movie

I did a little bit of surfing looking for more information on the upcoming Wesley movie. I found the website at www.founderypictures.com . There is even a short trailer available for viewing.

I suppose only time will tell how good the movie is, but here's hoping!

General Assembly Resolution: Deacons/Elders

Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words to be deleted from the current Manual. Underlined text ___ are words to be added to the current Manual.

428.1. [The deacon does not witness to a specific call to preach.] The church recognizes, on the basis of Scripture and experience, that God calls some individuals to a lifetime ministry [who do not witness to such a specific call] of Word and Service, and believes that individuals so called to [such ministries] the ministry of a deacon should be recognized and confirmed by the church and should meet requirements, and be granted responsibilities, established by the church. This is a permanent order of ministry.

428.2. The deacon must meet the requirements of the order for education, exhibit the appropriate gifts and graces, and be recognized and confirmed by the church. The deacon shall be vested with the authority to administer the sacrament[s] of baptism [and the Lord's Supper], to officiate at marriages where the laws of the state do not prohibit, to assist the elder in the distribution of the Lord's Supper, and [on occasion] to conduct worship and to preach. It is understood that the Lord and the church may use this person's gifts and graces in various associate ministries. As a symbol of the servant ministry of the Body of Christ, the deacon may also use his or her gifts in roles outside the institutional church. (34.5, 35.2)

428.4. If in the pursuance of his or her ministry, the ordained deacon feels called to the [preaching] ministry of elder, he or she may be ordained [elder] as such upon completion of the requirements for that credential and the return of the deacon credential.

429. An elder is a minister whose call of God to preach, gifts, and usefulness have been demonstrated and enhanced by proper training and experience, and who has been separated for the ministry of Word and Table and to the service of Christ through His church by the vote of a district assembly and by the solemn act of ordination, and thus has been fully invested to perform all functions of the Christian ministry.

429.1. [We recognize but one order of preaching ministry - that of elder.] The order of elder[this] is a permanent order in the church. The elder is to rule well in the church, to preach the Word, to administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and to solemnize matrimony, all in the name of, and in subjection to, Jesus Christ, the great Head of the Church. (34.5, 35.2, 413.11, 433.12)

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. Throughout the history of the Church, from ancient times up to and including our own lineage of John Wesley's Anglicanism and American Methodism, the distinction between the order of deacon and the order of elder has been: a.) the deacon is called to a ministry focused on service, and b.) the elder is vested with the authority to administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. This has been expressed as the ministry of "Word and Service," on the one hand, and the ministry of "Word and Table," on the other hand.

2. This is the distinction that is held nearly universally in the larger Wesleyan/Methodist tradition (cf. the Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, and United Methodist churches).

3. This is the main distinction that seems to be held ecumenically, and it is the main distinction that seems to be held in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, as well.

4. Our current distinction between the two orders (viz., preaching), seems to have been assumed due to the statement in par. 429.1 that "We recognize but one order of preaching ministry - that of elder." - However, making preaching the distinction between the two orders when we developed the order of deacon was an erroneous assumption. The statement found in par. 429.1 was not intended to distinguish the order of elder from any other order. Rather, that statement was meant to reinforce that we had only ONE order; that of elder. We did not have TWO preaching orders (viz., elder and deacon), as did the Methodist Episcopal Church of the time. We only had ONE preaching order (viz., elder).

5. To identify the distinction between the elder and deacon as one of a call to preach, not only disregards the historic position of the larger Church, but is very difficult to maintain when the deacon, according to par. 428.2, may also preach, and when we are a part of a tradition that involves lay preachers (cf., par. 402.1).

6. The proposed changes will bring us much closer to alignment with the usage of the terms in Scripture, the distinctions throughout the history of the Christian Church, the ecumenical consensus, and our own Wesleyan heritage.

General Assembly Resolution: Baptism of Infants

Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words that are to be deleted from the current Manual. Underlined text are words that are to be added to the current Manual.

800.2. The Baptism of Infants or Young Children

When the sponsors shall have presented themselves with the child (or children) the minister shall say:

DEARLY BELOVED: [While we do not hold that baptism imparts the regenerating grace of God, we do believe that Christ gave this holy sacrament as a sign and seal of the new covenant. Christian baptism signifies for this young child God's gracious acceptance on the basis of His prevenient grace in Christ, and points forward to his (her) personal appropriation of the benefits of the Atonement when he (she) reaches the age of moral accountability and exercises conscious saving faith in Jesus Christ.]

The sacrament of baptism was given by Christ as a sign and seal of the new covenant of grace. Christian baptism signifies for this young child God's gracious acceptance, and points forward to his (her) personal confession of faith when he (she) reaches the age of moral accountability and exercises conscious saving faith in Jesus Christ.

In presenting this child for baptism . . .

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. The current Ritual for The Baptism of Infants or Young Children, paragraph 800.2 begins with a statement of what we do not believe, rather than a statement of what we do believe. The above resolution allows us to begin the ritual with a positive statement of our beliefs. Certainly, the baptism of infants and young children should be a positive, celebratory time, rather than presenting a sense of uncertainty or defensiveness, which the wording of the current ritual may produce.

2. The above resolution is more consistent with Wesleyan sacramental theology and the teachings of John Wesley.

3. The above resolution is more closely in line with Article of Faith XII. Baptism, paragraph 16, in that it neither reduces our beliefs, nor imposes doctrinal positions not stated within the Article of Faith. Thus, the above resolution provides a ritual that is readily usable for all who espouse belief in Article of Faith XII, whereas, the current ritual does not provide such an opportunity for all who wholeheartedly espouse belief in Article of Faith XII.

General Assembly Resolution: Merger Exploration

NAZARENE/WESLEYAN (FREE METHODIST) MERGER EXPLORATION

WHEREAS:

1. The Church of the Nazarene and The Wesleyan Church (along with the Free Methodist Church) share common historical roots.

2. The Church of the Nazarene and The Wesleyan Church (along with the Free Methodist Church) share a common theological heritage.

3. The Church of the Nazarene and The Wesleyan Church (along with the Free Methodist Church) are firmly committed to the spread of the message of holiness as understood in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition.

4. The Church of the Nazarene and The Wesleyan Church (along with the Free Methodist Church) share similar governmental structures rooted in a common heritage.

5. The Church of the Nazarene and The Wesleyan Church (along with the Free Methodist Church) have a long history of partnering together in ministry.

6. Jesus Christ our Lord, Himself, prayed in John 17 for the unity of His Church.

7. There seem to be little justification in maintaining the separate organizational existence of such similar denominations when compared to the expressed will of our Lord found in John 17.

8. The message of holiness of heart and life is diminished by the smallness of size of our individual denominations.

9. The message of perfect love which our holiness churches proclaim is called into question when so many (relatively small) holiness denominations cannot find a way to unite as one.

10. The message of holiness would gain a greater voice within the larger Wesleyan/Methodist tradition by a united Wesleyan-holiness denomination.

11. The message of holiness would gain a greater voice in the larger Church by a united Wesleyan-holiness denomination.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:

That the Board of General Superintendents be given authority and responsibility to commission a committee for the expressed purpose of approaching The Wesleyan Church in order to pursue closer relations between the two denominations with a goal of exploring the possibility of merger of the two denominations into one, united Wesleyan-holiness denomination.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That upon the agreement of The Wesleyan Church, the Free Methodist Church should also be approached and invited to participate in such an exploration.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That the committee presents the results of its exploration and its recommendations to the next meeting of the General Assembly.

General Assembly Resolution: General Superintendents

Note: Underlined text ___ are words that are to be added to the current Manual.

G. The General Superintendents

306. The general superintendents*, elected by the General Assembly, shall serve until 30 days following the final adjournment of the next General Assembly and until their successors are elected and qualified. (305.2)

*The term general superintendent is the Wesleyan synonym for bishop, and the term preferred by the Church of the Nazarene. However, when the former term may cause confusion (e.g., in ecumenical settings), the latter term may be used for clarity.

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. Much confusion has occurred, especially in relationship to other denominations and those new to the Church of the Nazarene, concerning the title general superintendent.

2. Within the Church of the Nazarene, the title has been misunderstood so as to have people incorrectly refer to our general superintendents as "generals," as though it were a military type of title instead of a term referring to their general oversight. General superintendents ought to no more be called "generals" than district superintendents ought to be called "districts."

3. The superintendency constitutes the "episcopal" side of our "representative" government which combines "episcopal" and "congregational" elements (cf., the "Forward" of the Manual, page 8). the traditional rendering throughout the Christian Church for the episcopal office (i.e., office of general oversight/superintendency) has been the term bishop.

4. Within the majority of the larger Wesleyan tradition, the function of general superintendency has been the role of the bishop, and the terms general superintendent and bishop have functioned synonymously within the larger Wesleyan tradition.

5. With such a footnote, the term general superintendent would REMAIN the primary term used by the Church of the Nazarene and would REMAIN the term used throughout the Manual.

6. The footnote only provides the opportunity for helpful clarity in settings where our usual terminology has proven and remains unclear.

7. Within the larger Wesleyan tradition, general superintendents/bishops have never been understood as a "third order." Universally, within the larger Wesleyan tradition general superintendents/bishops are understood to be "elders" (cf., the Manuals/Disciplines of The AME, AMEZ, CME, Free Methodist, United Methodist and The Wesleyan churches). Therefore, such a clarifying footnote in no way implies that our general superintendents would be ordained to a ministerial order superior to that of elder.

General Assembly Resolution: Lord's Supper Frequency

Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words that are to be deleted from the current Manual. Underlined text ___ are words that are to be added to the current Manual. - The paragraph below is included in the list of pastors' duties.

413.11. To administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper at least once a quarter. Acknowledging John Wesley's advice that elders should "administer the Supper of the Lord on every Lord's day," and recognizing that a weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper was the New Testament and historic norm, we encourage pastors to see quarterly administration as a bare minimum. We further encourage them to move towards a more frequent celebration of this means of grace. A licensed minister who has not complied fully . . .

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
1. The quarterly system stems from the circuit rider days of frontier Methodism. It was an acquiescence to the fact that there were not enough ordained elders to serve each parish. Elders made a circuit, roughly on a quarterly basis. However, the whole reason for Wesley's ordination of elders for America was in order to have the sacraments.

2. John Wesley's strong advice was "Constant Communion," and his clear instruction was that elders were to administer the Lord's Supper each Lord's Day.

3. Wesley understood the Lord's Supper to be a vital foundation for the life of holiness and a vital means of maintaining such a life.

4. As liturgical scholars have noted, and as the Rev'd. Dr. William Greathouse, general superintendent emeritus has stated, ". . . every Lord's Day the early Christians celebrated Christ's atoning sacrifice by eating His Body and drinking His blood in the simple faith that He was present with them at the table." (In the Forward of Rob Staples, Outward Sign and Inward Grace.)

5. The pattern found in the New Testament is that of the celebration of the Eucharist each Lord's Day.

6. The current ecumenical consensus is that weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper should be seen as the Christian norm, even when the reality is that the sacrament is celebrated less frequently.

7. The proposed amendment would NOT require the observance of the Lord's Supper to take place more frequently than the current quarterly minimum. No further requirements would be imposed upon our clergy or congregations.

8. What the proposed amendment would do is make a statement consistent with our Wesleyan heritage, as well as the New Testament and historic Church.

General Assembly Resolution: Unfermented/De-alcoholized Wine

Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words that are to be deleted from the current Manual. Underlined text ___ are words that are to be added to the current Manual.

34.5. . . . (Only unfermented or de-alcoholized wine should be used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.) . . .

802. THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

. . .NOTE: Only unfermented or de-alcoholized wine should be used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. Jesus used wine, and the Bible instructs us to use wine.

2. There really is no such thing as "unfermented wine." No one (including manufacturers), except those within churches that only use grape juice for the Lord's Supper, speak of "unfermented wine." It is simply grace juice.

3. "De-alcoholiezed wine" was not available at the time that the Manual developed the language of "unfermented wine." However, one may now purchase "de-alcoholized wine." This is wine that has gone through the fermentation process, BUT it has also gone through a process of being de-alcoholized, leaving no more alcohol in it than what one might find in orange juice.

4. Therefore, de-alcoholized wine maintains the church's strong stance against the use of alcohol, but allows those who strongly believe we ought to follow our Lord's instructions more closely to do so. Thus, it resolves for them an issue of conscience.

5. While the use of de-alcoholized wine does maintain the church's strong stance against the use of alcohol, the current rendering of par. 34.5 and par. 802 does not make room for its use in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, because, technically, it is not unfermented wine. (It has fermented, but the alcohol has been removed.)

6. The proposed change retains the language of "unfermented wine and the use of grape juice by those who would prefer its use would not be threatened in any way.

7. The proposed change does not require anyone to make any changes in their current practice, but it does allow for an additional option in the administration of the Lord's Supper which is still consistent with our church's stance on alcohol and which some see as being more faithful to our Lord's instructions.

General Assembly Resolution: Baptism/Apostles' Creed

Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words that are to be deleted from the current Manual. Underlined text ___ are words that are to be added to the current Manual.

800.1. The Baptism of Believers

. . .

The earliest and simplest statement of Christian belief, into which you now come to be baptized, is the Apostles' Creed, which reads as follows:

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

"And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

"I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic* Church [of Jesus Christ], the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."

. . .

(In a footnote) *universal

FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. One denomination ought not have the authority to change the wording of an ancient and ecumenical creed which belongs, not to any one denomination, but to the whole Church.

2. Christian baptism ought to be consistent with Ephesians 4:5-6 which describes "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Our current rendering of the creed confuses in the minds of our people the one faith into which all Christians are baptized.

3. Rather than lose the language of the Church, and thus reinforce ignorance along with a sense of division and prejudice within our own people against our Christian sisters and brothers in other branches of Christ's Church, we should teach our people the meaning of such important words. The footnote allows the perfect opportunity to do so.

4. Our people need to know that the opposite of catholic is not protestant, but rather heretic. Protestant Christians are not Roman Catholic Christians. However, protestant Christians must hold to the catholic (i.e., universal Christian) faith, else we will find ourselves to be heretics rather than Christians.

General Assembly Resolution: General Assembly Theology Committee

WHEREAS:
1. The General Assembly is often required to make decisions directly related to the change of our Articles of Faith, and . . .

2. The General Assembly has, at times, voted to refer such resolutions, rather than adopt or reject such resolutions, and . . .

3. Such referrals necessitate an entire quadrennium to transpire before any substantial decision is made, and . . .

4. It would seem helpful to have a panel of Nazarene theologians (broadly speaking; including theologians, church historians, Bible scholars, etc.) at the General Assembly, who could review such resolutions and give a recommendation to the General Assembly.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:

The Board of General Superintendents be given authority and responsibility to impanel, at each General Assembly, a committee of Nazarene theologians (including theologians, church historians, Bible scholars, etc.) chosen by them from our Nazarene education institutions (or, if teaching at other Christian institutions, holding Nazarene church membership/orders), and that such a committee would be given the responsibility to review all General Assembly resolutions related to our Articles of Faith and to present their recommendations to the body of the General Assembly.

New Wesley Movie!

Burgess Jenkins stars as John Wesley in "Wesley," a feature film on the spiritual journey of the founder of the Methodist movement.

UMNS photos courtesy of Foundery Pictures

The United Methodist News Service is reporting the development of a new movie about John Wesley. It was not clear to me whether the movie will be released in theaters or TV or dvd or what, but I'm hoping it will be at least comparable to the Luther movie that came out a while back.

For more information see the UMNS article here.

If anyone out there knows anything more about the movie, please report it in my comments section! If I find out anything more, I will be sure to post it.

General Assembly Resolutions

In June of 2009 the Church of the Nazarene will be meeting for their General Assembly. Last month, our district (Southwest Indiana) made preparations for the G.A. by electing our delegation. One of the things that our delegation will do is review proposed resolutions presented to them by those on our district. They will either approve them, alter them, or reject them. If they approve them, they will become recommended resolutions from our district and be sent on to be reviewed in committee at the G.A. Depending upon who those committees vote, the resolutions may then be brought to the floor of the G.A. to be voted on by that body.

Two quadrennial assemblies ago, I presented resolutions to our district committee, but none of them passed the G.A. - I learned that it is very helpful for those resolutions to come from more than one source. Therefore, in preparation for the 2005 G.A., I not only presented my resolutions to our district delegation, I also emailed them to as many Nazarenes I could think of across the country (I don't really have a close connection with those outside the U.S., or I would have sent the resolutions to them, as well!). - As a result, two of my resolutions were actually adopted by the G.A., and resulted in two changes to our Manual (Book of Discipline)!

One person can make a difference!

This year, I am presenting nine resolutions to our delegation. I will, once again, work on my email list, as well. In addition, I am going to post those nine resolutions on my blog in the upcoming days. My hope is that those Nazarenes who read my resolutions and agree with them would print them out and get them to their districts' delegation. - In fact, I'm pleading with all Nazarenes who read my blog to do so! (Shameless, I know!)

Some of my resolutions, you may not agree with. Some, you may think to be trivial. However, if you do agree with a resolution or two (or nine), please get them to your delegation . . . And if you really agree with them, please consider sending them to Nazarenes you know on other districts.

Thank you for your help, and I will begin posting the proposed resolutions shortly!

AME Zion Makes History

As pointed out in the comments on my previous post, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church did, indeed, make history by electing their first female bishop! The Rev'd. Mildred B. Hines was elected to the episcopacy during their recent General conference.

With the AME, the AMEZ, the Church of the Nazarene, the UMC, and The Wesleyan churches all having taken the step of electing women to the episcopal role, one wonders if the CME and the Free Methodists churches will do the same during their next General Conferences.

In addition to electing Rev'd. Hines as bishop, I am happy to report that one of the other two elected to the episcopacy was the Rev'd. Darryl Starnes. Bishop Starnes previously led the evangelism wing for his denomination. I know Bishop Starnes through the Order of the FLAME, World Methodist Evangelism/World Methodist Council, and I congratulate him on his election!

May God's grace, anointing and wisdom be upon all Methodist/Wesleyan Bishops/General Superintendents.

--------------------

For an interview with Bishop Hines click here.

For an interview with Bishop Starnes click here.

For a different perspective concerning women in holy orders, read the statement put out by the Anglican Province of America entitled, The Male Character of Holy Orders: Dogma Not Discipline, or see the blog article entitled, An Icon of Christ, written by Fr. David Straw who ministers in a United Episcopal Church located in Evansville, IN.