Message from Canon David Anderson, AAC President
Beloved in Christ,
This is Holy Week, so my remarks on recent news will
be brief in comparison to previous weeks' messages, in
part so that I can share an Easter story.
The American Anglican Council's  (AAC) Communiqué
Compliance Office has completed its March report, and
it will be released to the global Anglican Primates
during Easter Week. The report will subsequently
become available on the AAC Web site.
The big 60th birthday bash for Elton John – and
individual who is known to be hostile to Christianity
and is a gay advocate living with his legal partner –
was held last week in, of all places, the nave and
chancel of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New
York City. The Cathedral is said to be hard up for
money and so rents out the space for secular uses,
although this event must certainly push the envelope.
Religious statuary and the high altar, signs of a
better and more spiritual time, all looked on as
revelers ate and drank and celebrated, but not in
celebration of the sacred mysteries of the Christian
faith. Welcome to the progressive move of the
Episcopal Church.
Finally, in an event closely tied to Easter, the Very
Rev. Jeffrey John, a Church of England priest who was
at one point the bishop-appointee of Reading, has
flown his true faith colors in remarks about the
atonement and Good Friday. Speaking to BBC Radio, John
termed the traditional teaching of Christ's
crucifixion "repulsive" and "insane". Having to
withdraw from an appointment to the post of Bishop of
Reading in 2003 after it became clear that he was
living in a homosexual relationship, John was
subsequently appointed dean of a cathedral and  is
reported by Jonathan Wynne-Jones of the Sunday
Telegraph to be accusing clergy who preach this Easter
that Christ was sent to die in atonement for the sins
of mankind as making "God sound like a psychopath."
(The full transcript of his remarks are posted to the
AAC Blog  here ) This is actually not surprising, as
the AAC has been saying all along that the real issues
at stake in the Anglican Communion are primarily the
person and work of Jesus Christ and the authority of
Holy Scripture, and secondarily sexual morality. You
might say that theology is the sleeper tie underneath
the rails of morality. When the sleeper ties crumble
and rot, it is not surprising that the rails pull
loose and derail and wreck the train. So we are well
advised that it is not just the American Episcopal
Church that is in train-wreck mode.
Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus,
 
The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson
President and CEO, American Anglican Council