Churches line up to condemn ECUSA

The bishops of Congo, West Africa, are the latest to voice their condemnation of the consecration in New Hampshire of Bishop Gene Robinson and to dissociate themselves from dioceses and parishes “involved in homosexuality.”

Also, the Church of Uganda has refused financial aid offered by the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) for the war-torn region around Gulu. “The gospel of Jesus Christ is not for sale,” the Provincial Secretary, Canon Stanley Ntagali, told ECUSA in a letter. Despite the controversy, no province has yet asked ECUSA’s Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society to recall any of its 90 mission workers from the 29 countries in which it operates.

Meanwhile, the UK-based evangelical group Anglican Mainstream has delivered a petition to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams asking him to give his public backing for a new Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes being formed for conservative groups in the U.S. and elsewhere (see story below).

Mainstream said that its online petition had been given the backing of 13,628,200 Anglicans, including several primates. In fact, just over 4,000 individuals signed; but the primates signed on behalf of their entire provinces.