Montana Anglican

This site is dedicated to the new Anglicans of Montana a place to gather, find brothers and sisters in Christ, and exchange encouraging news:

Currently, Montana has two Anglican Churches which are affiliated with the Diocese of Uganda:

Christ Church Anglican - Butte, Fr. Brian Miller: link

Christ Church Anglican - Billings: link

We also have Anglican friends in our vicinity:

Christ the King - Spokane, Fr. Jerry Cimioti: link

Northern Plains Anglicans:link

Christ the Good Shepherd, Fr. Chip Johnson - South Dakota:link

One of the things we try to do on this site is to bring information we thing would be applicable to Montana’s Anglicans and the struggles we face here. Fr. Matt Kennedy has been posting a series of sermons he has given these past few weeks reiterating why his Anglican church is currently under siege from the Episcopal Church. This most recent sermon, states so well what our objectives should be as we are costing the cost of standing for Christ:

When we speak of the cross, we think “religious symbol” Our crosses are gold plaited and adorned with decoration. The cross the disciples knew was gruesome; a device of torture and death and political oppression. We’ve spiritualized the call “to take up the cross”. Taking up the cross for us means dying to self, dying to sin, or dying to bad habits and all of that is good and necessary and included in the call to take up your cross, but we must not leave out the plain meaning. If you want to be my disciple, Jesus says, you must be willing to die, not just to self, not just to sin, not just to bad habits, but to die in a real and literal way because in the course of your Christian life you might be called to do so.

To follow Christ in the world that despised him means being despised. And if your devotion to and love for Jesus Christ is superseded by or eclipsed by your love for your family or your love for your own life, then you will shrink back. If you choose to follow Jesus you must be prepared to face the consequences of that decision. And so before you do, Jesus calls you to think through and be prepared for the worst.

Read the entire sermon here!

Let us remember as we walk our new paths that it is not for ourselves or our mission or even for our safety, but it is solely to proclaim the Gospel of Christ as it has been delivered to us

If you had an account here before the site was taken down - we apologize but everyone has to register. Not only did the ‘big crash’ take down our articles, but all our registrations as well.

Sorry about that - we are working to get our e-mail and ‘about us’ links up and going again.

You can find the ‘register’ link on the right hand side of the page.

hattip Standfirm:

A Fairfax circuit judge has awarded a favorable judgment to a group of 11 Anglican churches that were taken to court last fall after breaking away from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in late 2006.

In an 83-page opinion released late last night, Judge Randy Bellows ruled that Virginia”s Civil War-era “division statute” granting property to departing congregations applies to the Northern Virginia congregations, which are now part of the Nigerian-administered Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

“The court finds that a division has occurred in the diocese,” the judge wrote. “Over 7 percent of the churches in the diocese, 11 percent of its baptized membership and 18 percent of the diocesan average attendance of 32,000 [per Sunday] have left in the past two years.”

Link to Article here

Hattip: StandFirm

Yet even more reasons for Montana Anglicans to be thankful for the provision of God in putting us into the Diocese of Uganda.  If you have not have the opportunity to read A Purpose Driven Life, we highly recommend it.

Warren, who was in Uganda last week to launch the country’s first national Purpose Driven Living program, expressed his support last Thursday shortly after arriving in the country.

The influential pastor praised the Ugandan bishops who came across to him as “godly men who believe in the authority of Scripture, love Christ with all their hearts, and have a passion for taking the Good News to the entire world,” according to an email sent to The Christian post confirming Warren’s support.

Read Article Here!

Excerpt:

However, the question remains to why as Montana Anglicans we should care about the ongoing struggles of a church of whom we have no part. Why concern ourselves with the actions of people who have become disconnected from us and most of the Anglican Communion?

The fact is that these actions are intimately related with the people who find themselves Anglican at this place and time. For Bishop Cox affirmed and took under his wing for Archbishop Orombi were those who later took so many of us (including myself) under their wing when we were pushed out of the Diocese of Montana. If it were not for men of integrity - like Bishop Schofield and Bishop Cox - those of us who love Anglicanism and the role it has had in Christianity would find ourselves without a place to stand. Under their courage and strength we have found shelter and encouragement and we are responsible as brothers and sisters in Christ to stand with them when they are being oppressed by the Episcopal Church. We have that responsiblity - and let us not take it lightly.

by Kathrine Cook

Read the rest of this entry »

From Anglican TV

This is a great interview because Bishop Guernsey does an excellent job of explaining how churches can come under the Diocese of Uganda, how the Diocese works, why Bishop Guernsey came under Uganda, and his role as a Ugandan bishop.

“Uganda is committed that this is a temporary situation… still there are many things that are not feasible from a long distance away… we needed a bishop close at hand.”

Watch it all here!  The churches under this bishop are blessed by God to be under such a humble, loving man.

from Standfirm - link -

As Kendall Harmon would say - read it all!

Unless the primary reason for the current crisis and division in the Communion is properly addressed, and the broken and impaired communion restored, the common life of the Communion cannot be expected to continue normally. It will be difficult to effectively fulfill our apostolic vocation, life and witness in and to a world so broken and divided, confused and lost, without the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord Christ for Godly Bishops who are not blown by every ‘whim’ that comes along. They encourage our Faith and help us to see You more clearly.

from NorthernPlains:

On Palm Sunday and on through Holy Week, Christians around the world will hear The Passion Gospel, including the sham trials used to convict and execute Jesus. These were conducted by both religious and civil authorities, who ignored some of their own rules in order to get their desired results.

In U.S. news this week, bishops of what was once a church but is now the Episcopal Organization began procedures to inflict penalties on other bishops who stand for the Gospel of Christ. Only problem: the EO ignored its own Canon Law and held a kangaroo court. Like the Sanhedrin, which tried Jesus at night and without the presence of some key members who believed in him, the EO bishops voted without the legally required number of members present in order to attack those who stand up for God’s Word in the church.

Read article here!

From StandFirm:

The House of Bishops voted March 12 to consent to the deposition from the ordained ministry of the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, and the Rt. Rev. William Jackson Cox, bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Maryland, resigned.

Members of the House of Bishops are preparing a statement regarding these actions and for release after a March 12 afternoon session.

The process used to work through these resolutions took into account the importance of prayer and careful reflection before each vote was taken. Specifically, in both cases the House was first led in prayer by a chaplain, followed by small-group discussion, and then plenary discussion. After this, voting commenced. Each vote was cast clearly in the majority, with some nay votes, and some abstentions.

Nice that the Episcopal Church likes deposing bishops that no longer are a part of their ministry - what’s next for them? Deposing Methodist ministers? Banning Baptists from church? Telling Catholics when they can do Eucharist? The possibilities are endless for a Church that believes in no boundaries except their own diocesan borders!

Read it all here!