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ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH, Oklahoma City, announced it had completed the purchase of the former Abundant Love Fellowship. The new building will be dedicated by the Rt. Rev. William Cox, Assisting Bishop of the Diocese of Argentina, on Sunday January 20th at 7 PM. The new facility contains a sanctuary and parish hall and compliments the congregation's other property. The main worship services and fellowship activities will now be held there. For further information, please contact The Rev. Vern Caswell, Rector, at 405-759-3190. St. James Anglican Church is a member of the Diocese of Argentina, Province of the Southern Cone, of the worldwide Anglican Communion, under the episcopal authority of The Most Rev. Gregory Venables, Primate and Bishop. All this is living proof that new wine cannot be put into old TEC wineskins.

THIS ARTICAL WAS WRITTEN BY A MEMBER OF OUR CHURCH
AND APPEARED IN THE OKLAHOMA NEWSPAPER
Janurary 15, 2008

Rt. Rev. William Cox (Seated)-
1st Row left to right: Rev. Brian Turley - Deacon Vivian Gardner -Deacon. Roger Frye -Rev. D.O. Smart -Deacon Jason Miller -2nd Row left to right: Rev. Sam Gordon -Rev. Cliff Horvath -Rev. Vern Caswell -Rev. Don Lawrence -Rev. John Clifford.

OKLAHOMA CITY--The Anglican Diocese of Argentina, operating as a missionary outreach of Province of the Southern Cone, conducted its first ordination service within the United States on Saturday, April 28, in Oklahoma City. The Rt. Rev. William J. Cox served as ordaining bishop and celebrant for the Eucharist that followed the ordination.

Three ministerial candidates were ordained to the diaconate. The new deacons will now serve Anglican congregations in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and in the Dallas area whose members recently left a schismatic U.S. Episcopal Church in order to restore full ties with the Worldwide Anglican Communion. During the last three years, the Episcopal Church has consistently signaled that it would rather abandon its place in the Communion than submit to the consensus of
the World Primates on matters pertaining to biblical authority and morality.

The newly ordained include Jason Miller from Church of the Holy Spirit Anglican in Tulsa, Vivian Gardner from St James Anglican in Oklahoma City, and Roger Frye from Faith Church Anglican in Allen, Texas.

The Rev. Dr. Cliff Horvath read to the congregation of more than 150 a letter of greetings from Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone who, because of a prior commitment, was unable to attend the service.
The Archbishop admonished the Anglican faithful to remain “strong and be positive, not condemning and rejecting those who have abandoned the revealed truth of the gospel but living as lights in a dark and perverse world, which God still loves dearly in spite of our terrible rebellion and sin.”

The Archbishop assured those in attendance that he was constantly praying for them and their congregations and encouraged them “to not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4 12-13)

Following the service, the homilist and Commission on Ministry Chair, Dr. Briane Turley, remarked, "I am deeply grateful to our Lord for this first group of deacons. Each distinguished him or herself during the discernment process as an individual possessing not only impressive theological acumen but also a servant's heart." Turley observed that “with clergy like the ones who were ordained here today serving Christ and his Church, the future of orthodox Anglicanism in North America looks bright.”

Episcopalian bishop bolts to Anglicans

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
4/7/2007

A retired Oklahoma bishop charged with violating church law resigned this week from the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church and has been accepted into the Anglican Diocese of Argentina.

The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the worldwide Anglican communion.

The Rt. Rev. William J. Cox, 86, is a casualty of the growing rift in the Episcopal Church over biblical authority and the ordination of gay clergy.

Cox, who lives in Tulsa, was facing an Episcopal church trial on charges that he violated church law by ordaining two Anglican priests and a deacon in Kansas without the permission of the bishop of the Diocese of Kansas, among other charges.

His resignation leaves the status of the trial in question.

Cox said if the trial is held, he will not participate.

The Rev. Jan Nunley of the Episcopal News Service said the policy of the national church is not to comment on ecclesiastical trials.

Last week, Cox was accepted as a retired assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Argentina, Province of the Southern Cone.

That diocese, and some in Africa, have been accepting ecclesiastical authority over American churches and

individuals leaving the Episcopal denomination over the consecration of a gay bishop.

The Episcopal Church has been severely criticized by Anglican leaders, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, for consecrating Bishop Gene Robinson, a self-avowed practicing homosexual.

Cox, who served as assistant bishop of Oklahoma from 1980 until his retirement in 1988, is well-known in the area as a speaker and leader of healing seminars held in a variety of denominations.

He fell out of favor with the Episcopal leadership in Oklahoma in recent years by aligning himself with conservative Episcopalians who are leaving the church in the wake of the Robinson consecration.

"The church today is not the church I was ordained in 50 years ago, because of its revisionism and its lack of orthodox theology," Cox said. "It has abandoned biblical faith and practice."

Cox said he did not resign solely because of the pending trial, but that the trial was "the straw that broke the camel's back."

Cox's current trouble with the church began about two years ago when he was contacted by Anglican Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi, primate of the Province of the Church of Uganda.

Orombi had assumed authority over the former Christ Church Episcopal in Overland Park, Kan., when it left the Episcopal Church. He asked Cox to ordain two priests and a deacon there, so Orombi would not have to make the trip from Africa.

Cox agreed to do the ordinations.

The bishop of the Diocese of Kansas, the Rt. Rev. Dean Wolfe, asked him not to do it, and Oklahoma Bishop Robert M. Moody advised him against it.

Cox performed the ordinations in June 2005.

"If I had it to do over again, I would do the same thing," he said. "These people are not outcasts. They're my brothers and sisters in Christ.

"I'm not going to allow my ministry to stop. I'll make disciples for Jesus Christ whenever and wherever I can."

Cox said he has ministered all over the world, in numerous denominations, and it has never before been a problem.

Attorney Wicks Stephens represents Cox and also serves as house attorney for the Anglican Communion Network, a group of churches and individuals who are leaving the Episcopal Church and aligning themselves with Anglicans worldwide.

Stephens said complaints were brought against Cox by the bishops of Oklahoma and Kansas. The Review Committee of the House of Bishops examined the complaints and ruled that they merited investigation.

After an investigation, the Review Committee issued formal charges, called a "presentment."

Stephens said the next step would be a trial before a group of bishops. If the trial is held, and charges are found to be true, discipline could range from admonishment to permanent removal from ordained ministry.

He said Cox's position is that he did not violate church law because the ordinations were performed for non-Episcopalians, who are not under the authority of the Diocese of Kansas, and were performed at the request of an Anglican primate.

Moody declined to discuss the case. His spokesman, the Rev. Canon Charles Woltz, said it was an internal disciplinary issue, and the bishop would not comment to protect the reputation of the church and the people involved.

He said the case has been "out of our hands" since it went to the House of Bishops, "who felt the charges were serious enough to bring presentment."

Posted by David Virtue on 2007/4/10

In the DIOCESE OF OKLAHOMA, Bishop William Cox, 86, a retired Oklahoma bishop who was charged with violating church law by ordaining two Anglican priests, resigned from the Episcopal House of Bishops and was accepted into the Anglican Diocese of Argentina. He may now avoid a canonical trial because he has left the TEC. One of the presenting bishops, Robert M. Moody, (Oklahoma) who wants to put him on trial, called a diocesan clericus, last week. During his discussions he remarked, "Cox took the coward's way out." Word on the street it is that Moody has closed down as many as eight parishes during his tenure as bishop.

One church, St. James Anglican, in Oklahoma City, (formerly St. James Episcopal that pulled out of the Diocese of Oklahoma) is growing. It now has more than 130 members under the rector ship of the Rev. Vern Caswell. The old St. James Episcopal has about twenty-five members and lives off the diocese, which pays the salary of the priest. VOL was told that the two-year period for that priest ends shortly. It will be interesting to see if the bishop continues this financial arrangement. The Rev. Vern Caswell, rector of St. James Anglican told VOL that his parishioners have purchased a piece of property and will break ground some time this summer. "There are now four churches under the diocese of Argentina (Province of Southern Cone) in Oklahoma and we all are looking to plant new churches," Caswell told VOL.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the One Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I am enroute back to Buenos Aires having, as you are well aware, been meeting in Dar es Salaam with the other Primates of the Anglican Communion. The meeting has resulted in a great deal of attention. I thought it might be helpful to share some of my thoughts with you.

The meeting was a remarkable one in that we were able, through much painful honesty and clear speech, to come to a common agreement. Frankly, I was surprised at that. Given the great polarization in the Anglican Communion, I held out little hope for a way forward. The willingness of many of our colleagues from the two-thirds world to speak plainly about the changes to the faith that The Episcopal Church (now called TEC) has introduced to the “faith once delivered to the saints” was a clear sign of the work of the Holy Spirit. While these changes centre around their pursuit of what might be called a “same-sex agenda,” departures from Christian practice and teaching extend well beyond that. Their view and interpretation of Scripture is vastly different from Anglican teaching and two millennia of Christian understanding and interpretation. This, of course, tragically leads away from the essential and central truth of the unique role of Jesus Christ in the atonement and in the power of His resurrection. In other words the very basis of the Gospel which is our one hope and glory.

A number of press reports have asked why human sexuality was even discussed given the importance of the Millennium Goals for the elimination of poverty. Of course, a church with the compassionate heart of Christ will work to address–even eradicate–poverty. Contrary to popular understanding, however, behaviour of all types has theological implications. The Bible is completely clear that sexual behaviour has deep spiritual significance. It is concern for people’s souls that causes us to address this issue, not fear or revulsion. The heart and soul of the Church is the proclamation of the Gospel. The core of the Gospel is repentance, forgiveness, and new life in Christ.

We must now see if the Episcopal Church is going to be willing to fulfill the spirit and the specifics of our agreement. From the first indications, I am most ´concerned. We gave much time to producing a Communiqué which was unambiguous and straightforward. Tragically, in the Presiding Bishop’s remarks to the Church Center community just two days after the close of the meeting she misguidingly argues that there was agreement and understanding among the Primates that blessings of same-sex couples could continue as “pastoral care” as long as there was no official published liturgy for it. That assertion quite scandalously demonstrates the very concern that the Communiqué addresses in identifying this situation.

There appears to us to be an inconsistency between the position of General Convention and local pastoral provision. We recognise that the General Convention made no explicit resolution about such Rites and in fact declined to pursue resolutions which, if passed, could have led to the development and authorisation of them. However, we understand that local pastoral provision is made in some places for such blessings. It is the ambiguous stance of The Episcopal Church which causes concern among us.

It is alarmingly disingenuous to suggest that the Primates could adopt such an ambiguity after explicitly expressing such deep concern for the harm that this sort of action has caused.

At the close of the meeting, I said that what we had decided was “a way forward,” but not “the answer.” The answer for the communion is found in the Word of God and in the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus. It is a sufficiently robust message. It does not have to be replaced by another one. Indeed to attempt to do so would be to miss the whole point. In fact, there is no other message that can bring real hope to the souls of men and women. There is no other message that can bring salvation. It is to that proclamation that we remain committed together with many others.

May God richly bless you and grant you peace. And may God richly bless this wonderful province.

For those who are shocked by the crack-up of the Episcopal Church, let me explain: The answer was on a T-shirt I saw last month while traveling to the Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly in Birmingham and the Episcopal Church General Convention in Columbus. It read, "I'm Making It Up As I Go." Exactly.

IN COLUMBUS, when Katharine Jefferts Schori preached her first sermon to the Episcopal Church General Convention as presiding bishop-elect, she announced, "Our mother Jesus gives birth to a new creation and we are his children." No doubt many in attendance thought this was wonderfully profound--as undoubtedly Bishop Schori and her handlers did. The conservatives, however, heard this gibberish as, well . . . gibberish and heretical gibberish at that.
In contrast to Christians through the ages, the denominational left has substituted sentiments for facts, passions for authority, and subjectivity for reason. Their belief seems to be that if they "create space for dialogue" it will allow them to emote and vote with the result that a simple majority determines the new revised standard version of God's truth and will.