Stay Tuned for Shocking Announcement about Ski - WELS Fox Valley - Anything Goes District

The WELS high school also had him speak on his favorite subject,
since Ski can relate on the same emotional and academic level as high school students.

This is from DP Doug:


Wishing to demonstrate sensitivity to those who have concerns about James’ return to the public ministry, and at the same time reflecting the thoughts of those both inside and outside the district who have expressed a desire to see this brother return to the pastoral ministry, we have placed a number of stipulations on the granting of CRM status. One: that the granting of CRM status exists only to allow James the opportunity to receive a call into another district. This means that he would not use his CRM status to preach or perform acts of public ministry in the Valley or in the synod, which normally could be done by those who hold CRM status. Two: according to COP policy CRM status will lapse after three years. If no call has been received or accepted in this period of time, it would seem appropriate to counsel him to move on with a different vocation. Three: should James fail to honor the terms under which we are granting CRM status, his CRM status will be revoked immediately.

---

Translated by someone as:

"Yes, here is a man who is irreproachable (except in the Valley) and an approved candidate for representing Christ to His people (except in the Valley, where he is not approved), and if the Lord of the Church extends a call to him through a congregation in this part of the state of Wisconsin, we will determine that the Lord has no right to extend such a call of that man whom we have approved for ministry."

When politicians like A. Weiner inspire memes like this,
their careers are over.
In WELS - the only one with a problem  is the person who reports it.
Glende's ministry team took a member to court for
responding to a public request for advice about Ski's fitness.

PS - There are bets that St. Peter in Freedom will call Ski anyway.

Pine Bluff Transgender Episcopal Priest

Posted by David Virtue on 2014/2/26 9:10:00 (1335 reads)

ARKANSAS: Pine Bluff Episcopalian priest says he is transgendered

Rick Joslin
PINE BLUFF COMMERCIAL
http://pbcommercial.com/news/local/local-episcopalian-priest-says-he-transgendered
Feb. 24, 2014

The Rev. Greg Fry, priest-in-charge at Grace Episcopal Church in Pine Bluff, told his congregation Sunday morning that he is transgendered and identifies himself as a woman, apparently becoming the only working member of the Episcopalian clergy in Arkansas ever to make such an announcement.

Church members and officials at Grace Episcopal declined comment on Monday, while one member said church leaders in the vestry were scheduled to meet on Wednesday, after which they may be in a better position to discuss the matter.

The Rt. Rev. Larry Benfield, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas, said in a statement that he has met with the congregation's vestry.

"I think that the congregation will spend time in the coming weeks asking questions and becoming knowledgeable about the issue," Benfield said, "and I hope that thoughtful questioning will precede any decisions about Greg's long-term ministry at Grace Church."

The bishop's response "is congruent with a resolution of the 2012 General Convention of the Episcopal Church stating that people have an equal place in the life, worship, and governance of the Episcopal Church regardless of their gender identity and expression," the statement read.

According to various definitions, a transgender person is one who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one that corresponds to the person's sex at birth. Transgender orientation is independent of sexual orientation.

Grace Episcopal, located at at 4101 S. Hazel St., was established in 1959 as a mission of Trinity Episcopal Church, the only other Episcopal church in the city. Trinity's rector for the past 12 years, the Rev. Dr. Walter Van Zandt Windsor, stated disapproval of Fry's announcement when contacted by The Commercial for comment.

"I am appalled by what has taken place at Grace Episcopal Church, but I understand," Windsor said in telephone and email comments. "I am primarily appalled because the announcement comes as a shock and obviously without concern for the Episcopalians in our community. I think it might have been less upsetting if we had spent time participating in a discussion of what all of this means related to our unified witness as Episcopalians."

Windsor said he assumes Fry has the support of the diocese and Grace's congregation.

"Grace is a loving group of people," Windsor said, "and I am sure that any error on their part is one of affirmation and love for one undergoing such tremendous changes in their life, such as their pastor is apparently undergoing."

Trinity, Windsor said, "upholds family values."

"We adhere to the traditional values of the church," Windsor said, adding that Trinity may have "perhaps more traditional mores than Grace" on some issues.

Fry's declared sexual status is a new occurrence within the Episcopal church in Arkansas, but not elsewhere in the United States, according to the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas.

"There are a relatively small number of transgender members of the clergy in the Episcopal church," Benfield said in the statement to The Commercial in response to questions that were emailed to him. "They work in a variety of settings, some in congregations and some in chaplaincies or other similar settings.

"This situation in Arkansas is the first time that the church in Arkansas has had a priest announce his or her transgender status to a congregation where that priest currently works," the bishop continued.

The diocese, headquartered in Little Rock, comprises more than 14,000 members and 60 congregations.

Fry, who resides in Little Rock, contacted The Commercial by email Monday afternoon and said he would entertain questions. Several questions were emailed to him, but Fry did not respond to any of them within a four-hour period as a publication deadline neared.

Benfield said Fry is protected in his sexual status by an Episcopal Church canon that states: "No one shall be denied rights, status or access to an equal place in the life, worship and governance of this church because of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disabilities or age, except as otherwise specified" by church law."

"There is not a church policy concerning transgender members of the clergy who announce their transgender status in a congregation," the bishop said. "Each situation is addressed individually."

The title of "priest-in-charge" at Grace Episcopal is a part-time position. Fry's wife, Lisa Fry, is a priest at an Episcopalian church in Little Rock.

*****

Fry: Hi Parishioners. Won't You Join Me On The Journey Toward My Sex-Change Operation?

That's all I can assume he means when he refers to "finalizing" the "transformation that has been working on me from the day I was born."

This letter was sent to the members of Grace Episcopal Church in Pine Bluff:

Dear friends,

The time has come for me to share something with you that is deeply personal. This is not easy, but important journeys never are, so let me just say what needs to be told and invite you to join me in this journey.

My entire life I have known that there was something different about me and the way I felt inside. It has been like my inner self was out of sync with my outer self and so I have always experienced (to use a technical term) dysphoria. As a child I prayed that I would wake up some day the whole person that I felt myself to be on the inside. I need to tell you that after years of self-searching and therapy I have come to accept in myself that I am transgender. And now I need to be honest with myself and all those I care about which includes you. I am going to begin the final stages of transitioning and I would like you to invite you to join me in this journey.

There will be plenty of time for talking this out and for education but for today.... I am the same person you have always known. I will continue to be that person you know and, if possible, I hope to grow and become even a better and more whole person and priest.

Do not pretend to have all the answers because I certainly don't have them all either.

My hope and my prayer is that you accept my sincere invitation to make the journey with me.

- To accept the challenge to grow as an individual and parish - To discover what transformations and transitions in your life are occurring and happening before our eyes
- To learn more about what transgender means and is, for many people - To walk with me as I complete (finalize) the transformation that has been working on me from the day I was born.

I hope that you will walk with me in faith, so that together we can discover and witness to that Love we are called to be, and bring into the world.

*****

Bishop Benfield: About This Transgender Priest... He's a faithful Pastor.

February 19, 2014

Dear members and friends of Grace Church:

For the past few months I have been talking with your priest, Greg Fry, after he revealed to me his awareness that he is transgender. I want to share with you my thoughts about what this situation means for Grace Church and Greg.

I have known Greg and his wife Lisa ever since we all attended Virginia Theological Seminary. I have respected and valued the ministries that they both bring to the church. In fact, I ordained Lisa as a priest as she began her work at St. Mark's Church in Little Rock.

The issue of being transgendered is not one with which many of us are knowledgeable. I have learned much since working with Greg and another transgender priest in Arkansas, as well as my encounters with other transgender members of the clergy throughout the larger church. It is an issue centered on a person's gender identity; it is not an issue of sexual orientation/attraction.

My hope is that we can spend our time in the coming weeks asking questions and becoming knowledgeable about the issue. Good and thoughtful questions always precede any decisions about long-term ministry.

I continue to value Greg's presence among all of you at Grace Church. he continues to be a faithful pastor. He and Lisa will be working on the next phase of their lives simultaneously with our working on learning more about this issue and how it is lived out in Greg's life.

With every best wish I remain

Faithfully yours,

Larry R. Benfield
Bishop of Arkansas

WELS DP Buchholz Will Consecrate the NNIV Version of the Seminary Cornerstone

Grace alone,
Scriptures alone,
Without faith.
WELS - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

Two people were kind enough to send me a cornerstone photo from Mequon. I did not notice the new motto until today. I bow to their Photoshop abilities.

The Mequon faculty must be nervous about people asking difficult questions regarding forgiveness without faith (UOJ).

Justification by faith is too well documented in the Scriptures, Confessions, Luther, and the Concordists to dismiss.

If we had a Hunnius or P. Leyser, caught with a tract promoting UOJ, there would be reason to doubt the dominance of justification by faith. However, we have just the opposite - Samuel Huber teaching a position (based on his previous Calvinism) very close to WELS-ELCA-LCMS-ELS today. The response from the Concordists was volcanic. Huber was carefully unmasked as false teacher and removed from the Wittenberg faculty, as all the Mequon, St. Louis, Ft. Wayne, and Mankato professors should be today.

Instead, the Jar-Jar Binks of WELS, DP Jon Buchholz, will visit the dormitory basement to unleash his doctrinal ignorance on the poor, suffering students.

The more they make a show of their support for UOJ, the more students will suspect their insecurities.

Didn't Buchholz deliver the same nonsense to the Anything Goes District of WELS, where Ski is patiently waiting to get his job back from Engelbrecht?

Didn't Buchholz lie to the New Mexico congregation, promising to continue the discussion about justification at the upcoming conference, only to drive out their pastor and the congregation itself?

Didn't Buchholz brag at that same conference that he was foreclosing the loan on the New Mexico congregation, licking his chops?

Buchholz, like the rest of the WELS District Popes, has shown himself to be a man without faith, without principles, without integrity, but not without guile.

Meet the real Board of Governors of WELS -
John Parlow, Mark/Avoid Jeske, Paul Kelm, and Kudu Don Patterson.

Virtue Online - A Lot More Gumption Than the "Intrepid Lutherans". VO Calls for Seminary Head To Resign

Dean Salmon Should Resign from Nashotah House

Editorial

By David W. Virtue MCS, DD 
www.virtueonline.org 
February 24, 2014

Bishop Edward Salmon, Dean and President of Nashotah House, the flagship Anglo Catholic seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin should resign, having forfeited his right to continue to lead the seminary following an invitation to Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to address the student body there.

The theological views of the Presiding Bishop have been well documented. She has, over the course of seven years, made un-Biblical statements about the person of Jesus Christ, the authority of the Bible, heaven and hell, the Resurrection, attributing a demon to St. Paul and made the statement from the 2009 General Convention that the "great heresy of Western Christianity" is the belief that one can have a personal saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

That he acquiesced to the request of three students to invite Jefferts Schori to "come and see" and then attempted to wash his hands of the event has been typical of the history of this bishop. He once famously said to his clergy, when he was bishop of South Carolina, that if TEC ever allowed the gay agenda to take hold he would take the diocese out of the Episcopal Church. He didn't and later denied saying that he ever said it. It was up to his successor Bishop Mark Lawrence to take that action.

In this latest debacle Salmon has revealed himself to be a prevaricator, a fence sitter and useful idiot for the episcopal administration.

In this ecclesiastical conflagration he has been called out by his predecessor Dean Robert Munday who says that what he did was totally contrary to the faith we are called to believe and teach.

"One of the things that saddens me most about this whole affair is what it models for students at the House. These students are no longer being taught to be valiant for truth and to take risks for the sake of the Gospel, they are being led by example to 'go along to get along,' and that dialogue with heretics and even having them in your pulpit is a good thing if it promotes better relationships."

Salmon is on record as saying, "The name of leadership is relationships - people connecting with each other and working together. Our broken relationships in the Church are a testimony against the Gospel."

Not true, wrote Munday. "The heterodoxy of the Episcopal Church, in general, and of Katharine Jefferts Schori, in particular, is a testimony against the Gospel. We are called to separate ourselves from false teachers; and a shepherd, whether of a diocese, a parish, or a seminary, is called to protect his flock from wolves. In the words of the ordination vows Bishop Salmon took: 'Are you ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God's Word; and both privately and openly to call upon and encourage others to do the same?' To lead a seminary like Nashotah House in these days, and to fail to keep that ordination vow, is to see your seminary turn into another Seabury-Western, or General, or worse."

What is doubly ironic is that the Presiding Bishop has spoken vigorously against students wanting to study at Nashotah House. The Presiding Bishop specifically told one of her Executive Council members not to seek his theological education at Nashotah House. This negative advice was also delivered to two other co-ed students while they were in discernment about their seminary training at The House.

Now ask yourself a question. Has the much ballyhooed "doctrines" of inclusivity and diversity ever led a liberal Episcopal seminary to invite an orthodox bishop to give a lecture on say the Trinity or a biblical view on human sexuality? It would be laughable to think that the "married" lesbian president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Massachusetts would ever make such an invitation. Hell would freeze over before that happened.

And the truly stupefying truth is that for over 30 years orthodox bishops in the Episcopal Church have drawn one line in the sand after another in order to appease liberals. I recall Central Florida Bishop John Howe voting for Resolution D039 that allowed homosexual fornication in the name of "holy love" to become part of the sexual fabric of the church. Other resolutions followed, orthodox bishops drew more lines in the sand till one day Bishop Barbara Harris stood up and demanded that all dioceses must ordain women to the priesthood (in the name of women's rights) thus nullifying the consciences of godly bishops like Keith Ackerman, William Wantland, Donald Davies, John-David Schofield, Clarence Pope, Edward MacBurney and Jack Iker and, with a stroke of the pen, forced them all out of the church they had spent most of their lives in.

And now Bishop Salmon thinks he can do it again. No you can't. That day is done. There are no more lines in the sand to be drawn. There is a new world ecclesiastical order. Jefferts Schori is a heretic and the NT is abundantly clear in several places that we should have nothing to do with them. St. Paul writing to the Galatians 1:7-9 is absolutely clear, "As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." This is strong language that seemed to have slipped Bishop Salmon's mind.

As one blogger observed The Presiding bishop's Gospel can be defined as the acquisition of property by law, defrocking for disagreement, homosexual marriage and the holiness of the spirit of divination?

We must ask as Dean Munday did, "what were you thinking Bishop Salmon?" The days of go along to get along are long gone. What you did was not only reprehensible but you opened your orthodox academy to the "spirit of divination" that would have allowed any theologically weak students (and there are always one or two) to "hear" the Presiding Bishop and conclude that far from being a heretic she is a "nice person" who is either misunderstood or has a point of view worth hearing. 

I have watched this woman in action at press conferences at General Convention and she can parse her way through anything and anybody with answers that leave one scratching one's head, but NOBODY is prepared to challenge her. The last bishop to say anything was South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence who stormed out of the House of Bishops at the last General convention never to be seen again. Jefferts Schori went right along as though nothing had happened. Later the litigation began in earnest and continues to this day.

You, Bishop Salmon have failed the seminary, your supporters, some of your board members in the name of a false "inclusivity". You have no business running this seminary. You should do the honorable thing and resign.

END

***

GJ - The soi-disant Intrepids are more famous for their silence than for their speaking out. They silenced themselves:
1. When Rick Techlin was excommunicated for telling the truth about Ski/Glende/Engelbrecht.
2.  When Paul Rydecki was kicked out with his congregation for teaching the truth about justification by faith.
3. When everyone finally realized, at least five years late, that Thrivent is in bed with Planned Parenthood abortions.
4. When police raided the WELS headquarters for Hochmuth's man/boy rape graphics, after Mark Schroeder publicly absolved Hochmuth, and when Hochmuth offended again after displays of faux-repentance.
5. When Mark Schroeder went to Fox Valley to cut a deal with Engelbrecht, Glende, Ski, and St. Peter in Freedom.