From the church’s press release:

The members of Christ Our Lord Episcopal Church, a thriving congregation of about 200 faithful Christians in this suburb of Washington, DC, have voted to dissolve the church and to conclude its existence as part of the Diocese of Virginia of The Episcopal Church of the U.S. The members of the congregation have reconstituted themselves as a new Anglican church, named Christ Our Lord Church and affiliated with the Anglican Province of Uganda.

The eligible voting members of Christ Our Lord Episcopal Church voted Sunday, October 15 by a 95 percent margin to dissolve the church and to terminate its relationship with The Episcopal Church in the US and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. The congregation also voted to relinquish to the Diocese the church property on Omisol Road in Woodbridge because it was titled in the name of the Diocese. At that meeting, the Rev. George Beaven, the vicar of the church, submitted his resignation and announced that he would retire from The Episcopal Church…

“Our experience is that the Episcopal Church has become an unhealthy environment for orthodox Christians…” Mr. Beaven said.

“Events in The Episcopal Church that have shown profound disrespect for Scripture and Biblical teachings…”

Excerpted from N. Va. Episcopal Church to Pull Out of Diocese Over Gay Issues, published Oct 25, 2006, in the pro-homosexuality Washington Blade:

The 200-member Christ Our Lord Church is the third northern Virginia Episcopal church to withdraw from the diocese and affiliate with the Anglican Province of Uganda.

It joins other conservative congregations upset with denomination leadership…

South Riding Church in Loudoun County left the diocese in November. The Church of the Holy Spirit, also in Loudoun County, left in February.

Two other northern Virginia Episcopal churches will soon decide whether to leave the denomination.

Continue reading in Washington Blade…

Part One of Two on the Growing ‘Gay’ Threat to Freedom

It’s still a free country…well, at least mostly free (for those fortunate enough to make it out of their mother’s womb alive or who don’t live in strong “gay agenda” states like California). Houston-area small business owners Todd and Sabrina Farber are free not to do work for a couple of men who proudly embrace homosexual behavior, which the Farbers regard as sinful and deeply offensive. And homosexuals like Michael Lord are free not to do business with the Farbers, and to tell others not to as well.

But notice how that’s not good enough for some pro-“gay” activists; they think what the Farbers did by exercising their freedoms should be illegal. The truth is, many homosexual and “transgender” advocates are quite willing to place their “rights” (read: demands for government-enforced acceptance of their lifestyle) above the freedoms of religion, association and conscience of others.

There can be no doubt that the expansion of “sexual orientation” (pro-homosexuality) laws will result in the steady loss of freedom for those committed to defending healthy, Biblical sexual mores. As with the struggle over abortion, this Titanic battle between competing rights will not go away. Any American who is committed to preserving religious freedom in this great nation should understand the need for repealing all “sexual orientation” laws, lest we face a future like Britain’s where the state is arresting Christians for alleged “homophobic” behavior, which includes passing out Biblical tracts at a “gay” festival.

If such an Orwellian nightmare can happen in the land that gave Western Civilization the Magna Carta, it could happen in the good ol’ USA.

The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

What part of not “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion do pro-homosexual advocates and lawyers not understand? Tomorrow we will discuss a Michigan case in which a radical homosexual activist says it should have been illegal for a Catholic girls school to dismiss an employee who proudly revealed her lesbian relationship in defiance of ancient Catholic teachings.

Stay vigilant. We will not sit back and allow the (In)Tolerance Brigade to steal away our God-given American freedoms in the name of “gay rights.” –Peter LaBarbera, AFT

The following is excerpted from Christian Landscaper Won’t Soil Hands with Work for ‘Gay’ Clients, published Oct 21, 2006, by WorldNet Daily:

…Todd and Sabrina Farber have owned and operated The Garden Guy since 1991 and, like other landscape contractors, use the Internet to show the quality of their past work and to solicit future business.

The Garden Guy was just one of the landscaping businesses Michael Lord and Gary Lackey, a homosexual couple who has been together for nine years, requested bids from earlier this week for the new home they’re building in Houston Heights. Lord said he found The Garden Guy through an Internet search and liked the “before and after” pictures on the website.

“We sent e-mails to several local landscaping companies asking for quotes. Garden Guy called Michael back saying they would like to bid,” Lackey told the Houston Voice. Lord called the company Wednesday morning to set up an appointment.

“Michael was asked if ‘his wife would be home’ when the consultation would take place. He brushed it off, but when he was asked again if his wife would be joining, Michael said, ‘No, but my partner Gary will be.’

“Michael set up the appointment, but a few minutes later we got the e-mail.”

We agree with Christopher Leighton, rector at St. Paul’s Church in Darien, who called Smith a ”perpetrator of false teaching” and said his decision defies ”Scripture and worldwide Christianity.”

Excerpted from Episcopal Bishop in Connecticut OK’s Same-sex Blessings, published Oct 24, 2006, in the pro-homosexuality newspaper The Advocate:

Episcopal parishes in Connecticut may bless same-sex couples, the state’s bishop announced over the weekend in Hartford. Bishop Andrew Smith‘s decision does not create an official prayer service for the blessings and does not allow Episcopal clergy to officiate at civil unions. But it allows parishes to acknowledge gay and lesbian couples who have had a civil union granted by the state.

”What I have permitted is a pastoral ministry of blessing, which does not mimic a wedding ceremony,” Smith said Saturday after the diocese’s two-day annual convention ended.

…At the heart of the matter is whether the church will ”bless persons who are homosexual and partnered as cherished and fully accepted members of the body of Christ,” Smith told the convention.

Continue reading in The Advocate…

Please read in its entirety this excellent article by our friend Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel for Concerned Women for America.

From Jesus Is Wedded to Biblical Marriage, by Jan LaRue, published Oct 18, 2006, by CWA and Townhall:

Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin will decide November 7 whether traditional marriage will be protected by their state’s constitution. Opponents from homosexual activist organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign are uniting with clergy to convince voters that Jesus approves same-sex “marriage.”

The Rev. Jack Rogers, “professor of theology emeritus at San Francisco Theological Seminary and past moderator of the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” says that “supporting same-sex marriage affirms our Christian faith, strengthens our communities and supports children and families.” (Jack Rogers, “Study Changes Pastor’s Mind on Same-Sex Marriage,” The [Charleston, South Carolina] Post and Courier, Oct. 1, 2006, p. H3).

Rogers’ reasons for supporting “same-sex marriage” have a tiny tad more substance than the “silence” argument from another clergyman, Rev. Gordon McBride, the rector of Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Arizona who opposes Arizona’s marriage amendment: “Jesus never said anything about it (gay marriage), so clearly it didn’t matter to him.” (Stephanie Innes, “Gay-marriage ban pits church vs. church,” Arizona Daily Star, Oct. 13, 2006).

That logic would lead to the absurd assumption that since Jesus never said anything about incest, rape, tofu or terrorism, they also clearly didn’t matter to Him.

Rogers says that “for much of his life” he “opposed same-sex marriage” until he participated “on a task force on homosexuality … in an intense nine-month process of Bible study, prayer and reflection on the issue from all angles.”

One would think that “reflection” on “all angles” about “same-sex marriage” would include the marriage angle. Rogers, however, doesn’t mention any of nearly 700 Bible verses about marriage — not one.

But then, it’s not easy to pronounce Betty and Veronica or Steve and Al together in holy matrimony as husband and wife, man and woman or bridegroom and bride.

Incredibly, Rogers fails to follow his own advice “to read the Bible through the lens of Jesus’ redeeming life and ministry.” He fails to acknowledge that Christ’s lens includes all of Scripture, and what it says about marriage and homosexuality “is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Excerpted from Despite Furor, Schools Back Gay History Month, by Susan Snyder, published Oct 12, 2006, in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

…Critics panned the move as political, “confusing” for children, and one that has no place in the schools.

“What were you thinking? What were you thinking?” Ann Martin, the grandmother of three students, said, admonishing the commission with her hand and calling for new calendars to be issued.

Others asked what the district would recognize next.

“Fornication pride month? Pedophile pride month?” quipped Rashad Faheem Shabazz.

Continue reading in The Philadelphia Inquirer…

Excerpted from Bishop Tobin Says Same-Sex Marriage Is ‘Spiritually Harmful’, published Oct 18, 2006, by Catholic News Agency:

Same-sex marriage is not an issue of civil rights, said Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence in a recent letter to the editor.

“There’s never a right to do something wrong,” he said. “Human freedom is not unbridled license; it must be grounded in truth.”

The bishop’s letter was published Oct. 14 in the Providence Journal, Rhode Island’s largest daily newspaper, after a Rhode Island lesbian couple — Wendy Becker and Mary Norton — was legally married in Massachusetts on Oct. 8, reported NBC 10.

In the letter, the bishop said same-sex marriage is “spiritually harmful to individuals and families and erodes the foundation of society”.

“Homosexual acts are contrary to the law of nature and gravely immoral,” the bishop wrote. “The state has no business encouraging immoral behavior or ratifying illicit unions.”

Excerpted from Gender Confusion in the Kindergarten?, by Dr. Albert Mohler, published Oct 18, 2006:

Some cultural developments represent massive shifts in consciousness and worldview. These developments can only be explained by a dramatic reshaping of our moral sense and understanding of basic reality.

Such is the case with news coming from both coasts indicating that “transgendered children” are now enrolled in kindergarten programs…

Let’s be honest here — these stories represent a breathtaking shift in the way human beings view sex, sexuality, and gender. The whole transgender issue, now a major focus of public interest, is proof of this. But the fact that these two articles deal with “transgender children” diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” at the age of 5 represents something altogether more shocking. “Gender fluid” children in kindergarten?

Continue reading at Albert Mohler…

To order Engel’s book, click HERE.

Former priest and Loyola Professor Emeritus Eugene C. Kennedy broke the silence surrounding the controversial book The Rite of Sodomy – Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church by Randy Engel with a scathing commentary on Religion News Service in Washington, D.C. on August 31, 2006.

Engel says that the Kennedy’s attack on her book, which documents 100 years of intergenerational homosexuality and pederasty in the American Catholic hierarchy, was specifically aimed at Engel’s disclosure of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin’s role in securing a stronghold for the Homosexual Collective within the Catholic Church in America (AmChurch).

…“What I do claim,” says Engel, “is that the Homosexual Collective to date has successfully infiltrated, colonized and metastasized the Catholic priesthood and religious orders in the United States as well as the Catholic hierarchy.” “Indeed, the main focus of my 1312-page book is the identification of homosexual prelates in AmChurch starting at the turn of the 20th century with William Cardinal O’Connell and Francis Cardinal Spellman and ending with Cardinal Bernardin and other American prelates,” Engel explains.

According to Engel, “The ongoing sex abuse scandal in AmChurch, that includes the systematic cover-up by members of the American hierarchy of criminal acts of Catholic priests and religious who prey on young boys, takes on new meaning when viewed within the context of a long-existing network of homosexual bishops and cardinals in AmChurch.”