Trinitarian Sept 2015
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THETRINITARIANSM OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE ANGLICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH / SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 T 6 A A L 4 I D H N T 1 D E G 3 T R T L L E S S E I R . C S E T I N A S L QUAKE DAMAGES O E A I N R N T T V A , C I I C C R A S E O I T T A R . H E N 8 Q 0 CHAPEL IN CONGO O 1 U L 2 E I 0 S C BUILDING THREATENED T E C D BY LANDSLIDE — BISHOP H U R Ste.-Trinité Chapel, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of C H Congo, damaged by an earthquake in August, faces a new threat from landslides triggered by heavy rains in early September. The building housing the chapel is in danger of collapsing if some- thing isn’t done quickly, said the Rt. Rev. Steven Ayule-Milenge, Bishop Ordinary of the Missionary Diocese of Congo whose office is located in the damaged structure, in an email dated Sept. 4. The chapel had sustained a 2cm crack in the rear wall by the altar and along the chancel pavement in the quake, which registered 5.6 magnitude and occurred at 3:45am local time Aug. 7. According to the Volcanic Research Centre, the epicenter was in Lake Kivu, about 50km north of Bukavu, the largest city in eastern Congo with about 800,000 inhabitants. A retaining wall under construction was not affected by the quake, Bishop Ayule-Milenge said. The wall, which is funded by a ladies’ tea at St. Matthew’s, Newport Beach, California, U.S.A. as well as a donation from All Saints’, Saluda, Virginia, U.S.A., is built with stone and reinforced by concrete, he explained. No ACC members were injured in the quake, the Bishop said, al- P though three persons were killed and many others injured. There were e U D r N m . P e S o i n . no reports of property damage among Church members, he added. t n A v P N - e o P r I s o r This was the second earthquake to strike Bukavu in recent years. , t o D C . a 5 f g O Crack caused by the earthquake extends from the top i 3 t e A major quake in 2008 caused major damage to the city and sur- 7 of the wall behind the altar to the chancel steps. More 7 Please see QUAKE/5 pictures/5. KENYA SCHOOL GETS COMPUTERS Future projects include work on the ANGLICAN AID school’s kitchen and science laboratory, PROVIDES FUNDS he said. St. Anectus High School began with Newly established St.Anectus High eight students in Forms One and Two. School in Kayole, Nairobi, Kenya There are now 12 students — five boys has acquired computers and a printer, and seven girls. thanks to funds provided by Australia- The number is expected to increase based Anglican Aid Abroad. next year when the school enrolls anoth- er group of Form One students, Father The school, founded and operated by Ndegwa told THETRINITARIAN. the ACC’s Missionary Diocese of “Our target is 80 students in four years,” Kenya, opened in January. he said. With the money, which after conversion Current staff includes four teachers, totaled 263,979 Kenya shillings (AUS$3,572 one cleaner and Father Ndegwa’s wife, or US$2,572), the school was able to Esther, who volunteers as cook. Father acquire six computers with three power Ndegwa is director, together with Eunice backs and an Epson 800-series printer, Nyambura, who is doing her master’s said the Ven. John K. Ndegwa, archdea- degree in education at Mount Kenya con and bishop-elect of the diocese. University. “We were able to distribute electrical Subjects taught include mathematics, power to the lab and to build desks and English, Kiswahili, physics, chemistry, cabinets to make the lab fully equipped,” biology, history, Christian religious edu- he added. Also purchased were a projec- cation, geography, business studies and tor and a white board to be used for con- computer studies. ferences. Upon completion of four years, the stu- The school laid on a small breakfast for dents will be prepared to sit for their final students and parents on July 30 to mark exams, known as the Kenya Certificate of the completion of term, to give thanks to Secondary Examination, which qualifies God and to celebrate the provision of the Bishop-elect Ndegwa observes students at work in St.Anectus School’s newly them for admission to university, Father computers, Father Ndegwa said. equipped computer lab. Ndegwa said. MARRIAGE RULING:THE NEW ORTHODOXY/2 • • • SUMMER CAMP:A VITAL GROWTH TOOL/12 WWW.ANGLICANCATHOLIC.ORG 2 THETRINITARIAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 METROPOLITAN’S MESSAGE THETRINITARIANSM VOL. XXXIV, NO. 5 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 THE NEW ORTHODOXY THETRINITARIAN, the Official Gazette of the Angli- n late June a bare majority of the United States Supreme and sometimes overbalanced, by other considerations. At can Catholic Church, was first published in April 1979 Court asserted a right to marry for same sex couples present the courts do not usually go so far. But Obergefell as the official voice of the Diocese of the Holy Trinity. and in the name of that right invalidated all state laws shows how quickly the courts can discover new, hitherto un- In 1982, it became a churchwide publication of The An- and constitutional provisions which defined marriage suspected ideas that sweep all before them. If Roman Cath- glican Catholic Church. I in the traditional sense. The court now deems unconstitu- olic nuns can be forced to pay for their employees’ contracep- tional that which was universal until the day before yester- tives, we need to prepare for other once unthinkable things. PUBLISHERS day. In his dissent Mr. Justice Alito noted that Proponents of traditional marriage will increasingly come The College of Bishops under pressure. The Church must prepare. EDITOR [t]oday’s decision usurps the consti- The ACC’s canons already are tightly written so as to pro- John Omwake tutional right of the people to decide tect clergy in marriage cases. The local priest is given full P.O. Box 6785 whether to keep or alter the tradi- authority to decline to officiate at any marriage. Also our Christiansburg,VA 24068-6785 tional understanding of marriage clergy may only officiate at marriages when both of the par- Phone: (540) 381-3517 ... It will be used to vilify Americans ties are baptized and believing Christians and when one of Email: [email protected] who are unwilling to assent to the them is a practicing member of the ACC. Both of the par- new orthodoxy ... If a bare majori- ties must sign a Declaration of Intention whose text comes BUSINESS/CIRCULATION/ ty of Justices can invent a new right in a canon asserting that marriage is a “union…of one man ADVERTISING MANAGER and impose that right on the rest of with one woman.” The couple are required to accept pre- Paul Holmes the country, the only real limit on marital counselling. The priest giving the counselling has 6413 S. Elati St. what future majorities will be able to inform the couple of impediments to valid marriages, and Littleton, CO 80120 to do is their own sense of what those in turn the couple must assure the priest that no such im- Phone: (303) 798-6948 with political power and cultural pediment is present. One of the impediments which must THE MOST REV. FAX: (303) 798-9435 influence are willing to tolerate. be discussed and ruled out is homosexuality. However, all Email:[email protected] MARK of that may not be sufficient. The Provincial Chancellor and The majority’s decision (Obergefell HAVERLAND other canonists are preparing legislation for the next SUBSCRIPTION POLICY vs. Hodges) is not, however, the first Provincial Synod which will tighten up the canons further THETRINITARIAN is published in two editions — time in which the Supremes have swept aside the people and with an eye to the likelihood of future, intrusive attacks on print and digital. They are identical in content and ap- states and the natural law by discovering a constitutional right the Church and her clergy. This care may show an excess pearance.Annual subscription rates are US$22 for the to something that in fact is gravely wrong. In 1973 the court of caution. But I don’t know many clergy who think that digital edition only, US$25 for the print edition only, did worse than Obergefell and discovered a right to kill it does so. One priest in my diocese has already been asked and US$28 for both editions. Rates outside the USA unborn children. to perform a marriage for a same-sex couple. There will be are slightly higher; for specifics, kindly contact the Cir- Now not everything that is contrary to the law of God other such cases, and some of those will probably be delib- culation Manager.Additional donations above the sub- scription rates are greatly appreciated, and are tax- and of nature should also be against the civil law. Envy and erately designed to lead to litigation. deductible for U.S. readers under the provisions of Sec- covetousness are grave sins, but the civil laws really cannot One possible response is that our clergy simply refuse to tion 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Act of the United and should not attempt to outlaw such things. But killing serve as marriage officers for the state.