The Episcopal Divinity School fawning at the altar of apostasy:
Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts conferred honorary degrees (doctor of divinity, honoris causa) on three individuals “with distinguished and faithful ministries in social justice”: Bishop Michael Ingham of the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada; the Honorable Deval Patrick, governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts; and the Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop of the New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Ingham was recognized by the Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas, in acknowledgment of his “commitment to God’s mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation in the Church and in the world.” In 1994, Ingham was elected bishop of New Westminster and with his leadership, the diocese has been at the forefront of the struggle for full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church. “Your diocese’s authorization of the blessing of same-sex unions has challenged the Anglican Communion and led, in part, to the Windsor Report and the “Windsor Process,” said Douglas. “You continually call the church to work for justice for those excluded and your reputation of speaking truth to power precedes you.”
Examples Ingham’s compassion, commitment to reconciliation and thirst for justice include:
Threatening James Packer and David Short with trespassing.
Acting in a fiercely territorial fashion.
Being unable to reconcile with anyone who disagrees with him.
Being unwilling to even obey his own Canons.
Mere peccadillos in the eyes of the EDS, no doubt, which, after all is a special place:
Episcopal Divinity School is a special place. Throughout its history the EDS community has been shaped by several key commitments: to live out the Gospel values of justice, compassion, and reconciliation; to liberate institutions and people from the grip of all forms of oppression; and to lead the Church and society with courage and compassion in an ever-changing world.
A statement of purpose apparently inspired by the arid, lifeless dregs of committee constrained mediocrity.
I posted this on episcopalchurch.org, if they publish it…
As a clergy person serving under Bishop Michael Ingham, I strongly rebuke the falsehoods and slander you have stated here. You should be thoroughly ashamed. You have no knowledge of Bishop Ingham or his ministry.
1. My former colleagues, JI Packer and David Short relinquished their licenses to Bishop Ingham in accordance with their desire to join the Province of the Southern Cone. This was done according to their conscience.
2. Bishop Ingham has displayed infinite patience in attempting to reconcile the dissident faction of the diocese. This fact is plain to anyone who knows him or is in leadership in the Diocese of New Westminster.
3. The comment that Bishop Ingham is “fiercely territorial” is ludicrous, and, indeed, under the governance model of Anglicanism, meaningless.
4. The comment by Steve L. above is simply hyperbolic ignorance.
Rev. Steve,
Your comment is long in the rebuke department but contains little reason or evidence.
The facts remain that Ingham has threatened someone who is probably the most renowned living Evangelical theologian with trespassing; by doing this he has made himself and the church he is employed by a universal laughing stock.
He has consistently ignored the requests of 70% of the world’s Anglican’s; instead, he continues to prosecute his own agenda. By doing this he has become a major contributor to the breakup of the Anglican Communion.
His interests are indeed territorial since he is more interested in hanging on to buildings he has no use for than allowing others who need them to use them for the Gospel.
In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen in September 1997 he said, ‘It’s time for Christians to drop the idea that Christ is the one sure way to salvation’.
Why is this man a bishop?