I'm an Orthodox Episcopalian

I am a completely orthodox Episcopalian, even in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

I know this because I was told so by a letter sent out from a newly-formed group here which has named itself Remain Faithful.

In their letter, they announce:
----------------------------------------------
"We are a group of orthodox Episcopalians who believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God which contains all things necessary for salvation as well as wisdom for Godly living.

"Orthodox Episcopalians believe:

*Holy Scripture is the revealed word of God
*Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected offering eternal salvation to all humanity
*Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior
*We believe in the Holy Trinity
*We believe in the Holy Spirit as a sanctifier and transformer
*We believe in the covenantal nature of the Holy Eucharist
*We believe in the Nicene and Apostle’s creeds
*We believe we come to the Father through the Son
---------------------------------------------------------
There you have it.

See, I believe every one of those things, with one addition -- I believe we come to the Father through the Son AND the Holy Spirit.

I don't believe that addition is enough to rule me out of the Orthodox camp.

I'll bet that there are many Episcopalians who read this blog who will be glad to discover how Orthodox they are.

I think we can all feel pretty secure in our orthodoxy because Remain Faithful's board is made up of some of the most powerful lay leaders in our diocese. They have been consistently elected as General Convention deputies, diocesan convention delegates, as members of the Standing Committee, Executive Committee, etc. etc. -- something that would NOT have happened here had there been the slightest doubt of their orthodoxy.

I do confess that that history leaves me more than a little puzzled why they felt the need to form this group.

For most of the life of this diocese, these are the lay people who have "owned" the microphones in this diocese. They have had unfettered access to every possible podium, publication, medium by which to communicate their point of view. If they haven't made their case to the people of this diocese by now, forming this group won't make much of a difference.

But hey! The more the merrier. Maybe this means that at last we might have a meaningful discussion of the issues here -- a discussion that includes all points of view. After all, what could be more orthodox for Anglicans?

I wish Remain Faithful all the best. I will keep them in my prayers, as I do all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope they are praying for me.

Here's the full text of the letter:
------------------------------------------
Dear Friends in Christ,
As some of you know, there is a new organization that has formed that is called "Remain Faithful". We are a group of orthodox Episcopalians who believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God which contains all things necessary for salvation as well as wisdom for Godly living.

We are comprised of and led by lay Episcopalians. We are committed to speak the truth in love, communicating clearly the position of faithful orthodox Episcopalians upholding the authority of Holy Scripture. We stand firm with the vast majority in the worldwide Anglican Communion in our commitment to serve our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to support orthodox Christian ideals and beliefs, and to spread the Good News of Jesus' gift of salvation to all.

I would encourage each of you to visit our web page by clicking on the following link, http://www.remainfaithful.org/ , and consider joining with us. There is a place at the top of the Home Page which says "Join Us" and if you click on that button, you can sign up and help us as we begin this mission to stay within the teachings of Holy Scripture.

What we, as Orthodox Episcopalians and the Broader Anglican Communion believe:

Holy Scripture- God’s word- is His revelation to humanity which records the story of faith- the unfolding of salvation history. It also outlines God’s vision of and standards of holy living, discipleship, ministry, morality, marriage, and family life.

Orthodox Episcopalians believe:

*Holy Scripture is the revealed word of God
*Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected offering eternal salvation to all humanity
*Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior
*We believe in the Holy Trinity
*We believe in the Holy Spirit as a sanctifier and transformer
*We believe in the covenantal nature of the Holy Eucharist
*We believe in the Nicene and Apostle’s creeds
*We believe we come to the Father through the Son

Some very good news ... we already have at least one representative from 25 different Parishes in the Diocese at this time. This is wonderful start for a week and a half into this since our initial press release. Please make it your responsibility for getting the word out to people and get them to actually join on the web site.

To date, the average member has been an Episcopalian (or Anglican for those outside U.S.) for over 38 years- so we are closing in on almost 9000 years of membership in our Communion at this time!

Some other notables- we have just over 240 members at this time – 160 from Diocese of Fort Worth at this moment (that have actually joined on the website). In addition to members from the Diocese of Fort Worth who have joined, we have members from: Diocese of Quincy, San Joaquin, Central Florida, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Minnesota, Maryland, Colorado, Missouri, Washington, Michigan, Western Louisiana, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Northwestern Pennsylvania, Eastern North Carolina, Alabama, Connecticut, Dallas, Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia, Massachusetts, Holy Cross- South Carolina, Rio Grande, Fond du Lac Wisconsin as well as members from South Africa, Uganda, Argentina, Scotland, England, Kenya and Ireland!

I would ask you to please take this into prayerful consideration, take a moment and join us on the site if you have not, and encourage your spouses and families to join with us. There is strength in numbers and we need to demonstrate once and for all that most of the laity believe in these basic truths. It only takes a couple of minutes to join with us. Please also share this email with other of your fellow concerned Episcopalians.

We will be having a major event in July, so be sure and check the web page for further information.

In His service,
Pat Salazar
--------------------------------------------