Well, I guess they can take down the Crosses in their churches, at last

The worldwide Anglican Communion has booted the U.S. Episcopal Church off of a key council for three years, along with the Anglican Church in Canada. The issue: the nurturing of homosexuality in high places in the American Episcopal Church, and the blessing of gay unions by the Canadians. The Episcopal Church in 2003 consecrated V. Gene Robinson as a Bishop in New Hampshire. He is an openly gay priest living with another man. The decision to defy Anglican and Biblical teaching and to declare sin virtuous did not go over well with the rest of the Anglican world:

On Thursday, Anglican leaders meeting near Belfast asked the U.S. Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council for three years — a move some fear could be the first step toward a permanent split in the communion.

The withdrawal request was welcomed in Nigeria, which has the second-largest Anglican community after Britain.

"Asking them to quit is the right decision. And they should stay out if they won't change their ways," said Chika Ezenwe, a 44-year-old Anglican businessman in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

An overwhelming majority of Nigeria's 17.5 million Anglicans back the strong condemnation of gay priests and same-sex marriage by their Primate Peter Akinola.
Some conservative Anglicans at the meeting in Northern Ireland also hailed the bishops' statement as a victory.

"The clarity with which the primates have spoken is breathtaking," said Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, a leader of the conservative wing of the Episcopal Church.

"Individual provinces do have the freedom to act as they see fit under their various constitutions, but the exercise of that freedom beyond agreed teaching and practice will imperil their standing and participation in the communion."

But presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, head of the Episcopal Church, stressed after the meeting that discussions continued.

"These days have not been easy for any of us and the communique reflects a great deal of prayer and the strong desire to find a way forward as a communion in the midst of deep differences which have been brought into sharp relief around the subject of homosexuality," he said in a statement.

Andrew Hutchison, the Anglican Archbishop of Canada, said there had been a great deal of warmth and support at the meeting — although he confirmed that some of the primates had refused to participate in communion services with the North Americans during the five-day meeting.

My recommendation to the American Episcopal Church is to take down the Crosses inside your churches, get rid of that stodgy old Bible, get the organists to learn some '70s disco, and forget about all this Christ and His teachings business. In other words, drop all the pretense, and stop holding out your corruption as piety. Simple as that.