American Anglican Council Statement on the Consecration of Canon V. Gene Robinson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 2, 2003

Today is a grievous day in the history of our Church.  Heresy has been held up as Holy.  Blasphemy has been redefined as blessing.  The hope of the transforming love of Jesus Christ has been denied.  Holy Scripture has been abandoned and sin celebrated over sanctification.  The arrogance of the leaders of the Diocese of New Hampshire and the Episcopal Church is nothing less than stunning.

The world has now seen the foul fruits of "anything goes" spirituality and the leaders that have pushed it in the Episcopal Church.  The Apostle Paul says:

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Tim. 4:3,5)

The time has come.  Our family is now split and the whole cloth of the Anglican Communion is torn.  Realignment has begun.

But it is out of brokenness that God brings restoration; out of death God brings new life. Jesus died on the cross as a substitution for the very sin that the Episcopal Church now celebrates.  Jesus rose again to offer us a second chance - all of us. Therefore, we continue to earnestly pray that the Episcopal Church will repent and return to God.  So many are broken in our Church and desperately in need of the healing and transforming love, and new life, that Jesus has to offer.

We stand at an incredible moment in history - a moment of profound new hope. Mainstream Anglicans in America are moving forward, secure in purpose, standing for the truth and proclaiming the Good News. So even as we grieve, we rejoice. God still reigns, just as he did yesterday and will tomorrow. God does not change.  His truth is still truth.  His love is still deep, and He has promised to care for His faithful children.

In the footsteps of those great Church reformers of the past, it is now our time to boldly and unashamedly take a stand for righteousness. The cost may be high, but we must not be afraid.  We must hold firm, confident in our salvation and not forgetting that the vast majority of Anglicans in the world stand with us. We are the mainstream, and the Episcopal Church has left us.

The AAC will work tirelessly to insure that Mainstream Anglicans in America have a safe place to call home.  We seek a home free from harassment and persecution where the Gospel can again be proclaimed unhindered. The AAC has already developed guidelines and an application form for congregations wishing to request Adequate Episcopal Oversight. They are posted on our website, www.americananglican.org. We are also putting into place a new network of Confessing Dioceses and Parishes that will serve as the core of the new Anglican realignment in the United States.  Last Monday we met with the Canadian orthodox bishops and clergy leaders and have together created a new Conference of North American Anglican Bishops. We are making good progress, but it will take some time to put all the pieces of the realignment together.  

So to all mainstream Anglicans in America we say, "Take heart!  You are not alone. The AAC stands with you. The Anglican Primates stand with you. Most Christians in America share your beliefs. Two thousand years of church tradition support you. Holy Scripture supports you. You are not alone."

Please pray for the Episcopal Church, the leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the AAC, and for each other.  Redirect your financial giving to ministries or organizations that call Jesus Lord.  "Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." (2 Tim. 4:35) 

Ours is a future of hope.  God is our strength and He will prevail.  Jesus Christ is Lord!

The American Anglican Council is a network of individuals, parishes, specialized ministries and Episcopal Bishops who affirm Biblical authority and mainstream Anglican orthodoxy within the Episcopal Church. For more information on the AAC, and to register for the Plano Meeting, please visit our website at http://www.americananglican.org.

Date: 11/2/2003