Editor's note: this address was given by the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh and the moderator of the ACN. There are three network parishes in the Diocese of Central NY.
The warmest of welcomes to one and all: to the distinguished representatives of our international partners – Archbishop Justice Akrofi of West Africa, Bishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, Bishop Marcelino Rivera of Northern Mexico, Moderator Don Harvey and Bible-Teacher for this Council David Short, both of Canada – to our beloved brothers and sisters of Common Cause in the United States, to the press and media, to the leaders of Anglican Relief and Development and our Anglican Global Mission Partners, to the Bishops, Deans and Clergy and Lay Representatives of our Network Dioceses and Convocations, to the staff serving us, and all others who have come in whatever capacity as guests and friends: You are well come. We want your stay in these days to be great days of worship, of labor, of re-commitment and of refreshment. Let any of us who are your hosts know what we can do to make it so.
Isaiah 43
14 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, And the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentations. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.” 16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 The people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.
A REFORMATION OF BEHAVIOR
Network Dean Bill Murdoch has been sounding a clear trumpet call since January: the time has come for a “reformation of behavior” among the orthodox: among orthodox Anglicans and among all the orthodox Christians of the West. Fr. Bill, just one month ago, preaching at an historic ordination of three church planters deployed to New England and the District of Columbia, said that this reformation would be characterized 1) by an embrace of holiness centered on both virtue and fruitfulness; 2) by a commitment to radical discipleship; and 3) by leaders concerned to “leave a ministry behind.” The phrase “reformation of behavior” was a gift to us from our dear brother Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (California) in his November address to the Hope and A Future Conference.
We are gathered for the Third Network Council, and we have come a very long way. The first and chartering Council met at Christ Church, Plano, Diocese of Dallas, in January of 2004. The second Council met at St. Vincent’s Cathedral, Bedford, Diocese of Fort Worth, in April of 2005. Now we meet at Pittsburgh in July/August 2006. In some measure, all of these Councils have been about a reformation of behavior.
Many who are gathered here will recall the extraordinary manner of decision making employed at the Plano Council. We operated as bishops, priests and laity together. We operated as a unicameral assembly. Diocese by diocese we reached consensus, and even unanimity: every article of the charter was adopted without final dissent, even though there were difficult and, at times, even painful, debates. I have never in my whole life presided over a gathering that was so obviously under the Holy Spirit’s sovereign sway. Do you remember the moment when we agreed to respect one another in our differences about the ordination of women? Thirty years of bitter division slipped away and we stood and sang the Doxology. This was a reformation of behavior: a national assembly meeting and deciding in a manner reflecting what we see in Acts 15.
At our Bedford Council we spent nearly all our energies on mission, both domestic and foreign. The leaders of the various mission agencies, who are gathered in Anglican Global Mission Partners, could scarcely believe that we were actually committed to giving so much attention to Jesus’ charter to his Church in Matthew 28. Yes, it is true, this Second Council fell back into old patterns as we attempted to draft a “Windsor Covenant,” but the dominant focus on mission in the gathering was another significant reformation of corporate behavior.
This Pittsburgh Council is about many things, all of which have to do with the Network’s defining vision of a “biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America.” The are many practicalities to attend to: elections, funding, relations with our Common Cause partners; children and youth initiatives, church planting developments, global missionary efforts; the aftermath of General Convention, Network-wide anxieties, significant actions in response; a coherent path-forward through the tumult and uncertainty of this next chapter of our lives as faithful Anglicans in a hostile domestic environment. But as your leader, your Network Moderator, as I enter this third year of what our Charter spells out to be an initial three-year term, I have no greater hope for this meeting than that the embrace of this reformation of behavior will have been, and will ever-increasingly be, our hallmark. “How those Christians love one another!”… “How they love their Lord!”… “How they sacrifice for the good of the world!”
The call to us is to be the Church at its best, no matter how hard the times. The call to us is to be ourselves at our best, as our God asks and the Holy Spirit enables. No greater achievement will be possible for this Council or for our movement, than this reformation of behavior. Fruitfulness and the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control [Galatians 5:22–23]) are inseparable. It is why “innovating ECUSA” has failed so miserably, and why we have often failed, too. Of course we have called on them to repent, but we, too, are every bit as much in need of repenting. Our struggle is not about sexuality, it is about sin. The “fix” is not about them, it is about us. The whole world is drawn to the Body of Christ when the Body of Christ looks like Jesus, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else [John 12:22]. Perhaps they have not looked like Jesus, but neither have we. A reformation of behavior: now…and among us… This must be at the center of our future together.
What has Happened?
Innovating ECUSA has walked apart. The clarity we prayed for has been given. We would have preferred repentance and return. It was what the Anglican Communion had asked and what many of us, in General Convention and before, had worked for.
The verdict from virtually every quarter, from global Christian observers to the secular press, that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church has “walked apart” means that the international and domestic situations are both changing very rapidly now. The Living Church described the events of the week following the General Convention in this manner:
No Calm after the Storm
Under normal circumstances, the days following the conclusion of a General Convention are a time of quiet…. Not this year. The week of June 25th turned out to be one of the most significant weeks in the history of the Episcopal Church, with developments occurring on an hourly basis. During the week, we began to see what appears to be the unraveling of The Episcopal Church, with dioceses asking the Archbishop of Canterbury for oversight, and the archbishop himself presenting a possible plan for realignment.
It all started with the announcement that Christ Church, Plano, Texas, was leaving The Episcopal Church. Then came…”The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican” [from Archbishop Williams.] …
The archbishop’s reflection had been released only a day when the Diocese of Newark announced…a non-celibate homosexual person [among its nominees for bishop.]…
Later that day, the rest of The Episcopal Church learned that the Diocese of Pittsburgh [had joined] Fort Worth in asking for alternate primatial oversight. Pittsburgh …[also] asked to be removed from Province 3 and to be placed in a non-geographic province...
Within hours of the Pittsburgh announcement on June 28, two other standing committees – South Carolina and San Joaquin (joined later by Central Florida and Springfield) – also announced they were petitioning the Archbishop of Canterbury for primatial oversight, and two or three other dioceses seemed ready to make similar moves.
Finally, on the same day, it was announced that the Rev. Martyn Minns, rector of Truro Church, Fairfax, Va., was elected a bishop by the Church of Nigeria.
[These] are early factors in the eventual realignment of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion…
No one can any longer say that “nothing is happening,” though some, despite all this evidence to the contrary, remain prisoners to that mantra. These last three years have seemed interminable, and the anxieties are only heightened by this latest break of the logjam.
While nothing can compare to the week of June 25th, the perspective one gains on the work of the Network, and that of our circle of allies and partners, by looking back to August, 2003, leaves one understanding that a great deal has happened in the intervening three years, a great deal that has brought us to this present moment of far more visible change and action.
8/5/2003 – 20 bishops appeal for intervention 8/7/2003 – the Archbishop calls an “extraordinary meeting of the Primates” 10/7–9/2003 – the Plano Conference: “A Place to Stand: A Call to Mission” 10/16/2003 – the Primates ask ECUSA to retreat from “tearing the fabric” 10/17/2003 – Rowan Williams speaks to four US bishops about a “Confessing Network” 11/2/2003 – consecration in New Hampshire Nov/2003 – Anglican Global Mission Partners organized 11/20/2003 – Memorandum of Agreement to form the Network (Heathrow Airport) Dec/2003 – Steering Committee appointed from 12 dioceses; convocational system devised 1/20/2004 – The Network is chartered by representatives of 11 dioceses and 6 convocations 1/25/2004 – Moderator seated at Archbishop Orombi’s enthronement in Uganda Winter/2004 – AAC begins service as Network secretariat Mar/2004 – Moderator’s Cabinet formed
May/2004 – Network office opened in Pittsburgh Jun/2004 – Common Cause Announced Jun/2004 – convocational, transfers and ordinations bishops in place Jun/2004 – Network team testifies to Lambeth Commission Jul/2004 – Anglican Relief & Development Fund established Aug/2004 – Convocation of Anglicans in North America inaugurated by Nigeria Aug/2004 – 3 Los Angeles congregations transfer overseas/ process begins by which 100 congregations come under Uganda, Kenya, So. Cone (incl. Recife), Cent. Africa Oct/2004 – Windsor Report released Oct/2004 – Network Moderator addresses All Africa Bishops Conference Feb/2005 – Common Cause Roundtable I Feb/2005 – Dromantine Primates Meeting and Communique Mar/2005 – Confirmations at Bath, Ohio Mar/2005 – Common Cause Roundtable II May/2005–- Network Bishops and Deans stand with Connecticut Six Jun/2005 – Common Cause announced Jul/2005 – Network ends financial dependence on AAC Sep/2005 – Network Moderator and Team included in Third South-South Encounter/ Archbishop of Canterbury recognizes all in Network as members of the Anglican Communion 11/10–12/2005 – Hope and A Future gathers in Pittsburgh Jan/2006 – Network staff additions in church-planting, children/youth, communications Feb/2006 – Common Cause Roundtable III Apr/2006 – Network’s International Conference comes into existence Jun/2006 – ECUSA General Convention re-confirms its “walk apart”
Despite our anxieties and our sense of how long and hard these days have been, would we not now say with the Prophet Isaiah, that our God has indeed made “a way in the wilderness and a stream in the desert?” Or, looking back to Hope and A Future, can we not see that there has been a cloud by day and a pillar by night?
Three Initiatives for the Days Ahead
It has been very hard indeed to speak of some “plan,” except in retrospect about “God’s plan.” The central reason for this is that we are part of a system, the Anglican Communion, whose reins we do not hold. We have done our part, initiating and responding as the Lord has led, but ours in just a part, a portion, of the story and the cast. This is very hard for us to admit, and even harder for us to accept. Our preference is for a “microwave church,” nearly instant results, on our terms, at the moment we desire. Let’s face it: It is the culture of the micro-wave that has gotten ECUSA into the troubles that have beset her, and we, too, have embraced that culture. The Bible is filled with stories of people who wanted God to act now to deliver, and to deliver on their terms. One of Scripture’s main messages is that God can be trusted for the results in His time and on His terms. A very big piece of the reformation of behavior that is being asked of us is in this matter of impatience and need for control. We dare only risk “plans” from the framework of trust and of repentance, or God will find it better to keep us in the wilderness or the exile, as He did with His people so long ago…and has done with the faith-less in every generation.
Having said this, I can risk talking about plans for the days ahead.
The structures of the Network have evolved with changing needs. One of the structures that emerged early in the life of the Network was the Moderator’s Cabinet. Members of the Cabinet have been: David Anderson (Secretary of the Network), John Guernsey (For the Deans), Ed Salmon (For the Bishops), Martyn Minns (International Concerns), Kendall Harmon (Strategic Initiatives), and Rose Marie Edwards (Intercessors). Larry Crowell, Wick Stephens and Daryl Fenton have each, in turn, shared in the Cabinet work. Bill Atwood of Ekklesia has shared in Cabinet discussions regularly. This key advisory panel has worked with me weekly for two and a half years now. Right after General Convention it was clear to the Cabinet that the work immediately ahead of us lay in three areas of endeavor. I want to speak to each of these matters now.
First, there is the matter of the appeal of seven Network Dioceses for an extra-ordinary pastoral relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury, a relationship that most have described as “alternative primatial oversight.” After the Bishops and Standing Committees of the seven Dioceses lodged the request, the Bishops of the seven Dioceses worked together on a submission to Lambeth Palace which unified and developed the original requests.. This fourteen page submission, including appendices, was transmitted in the week of July 16th. The purpose of the appeal was:
•disassociation from “innovating” ECUSA
•spiritual cover through re-assignment of the tasks normally assigned to the Presiding Bishop
•recognition of Communion standing from Canterbury as required in the ECUSA constitution
•commitment to accountability under the Constitution and Canons as an “enduring” ECUSA, and;
•the creation of a practical “cease-fire” in the American Church such that the Communion Covenant process might run its course.
Needless to say, we are hopeful about the Appeal, if not necessarily optimistic. This is a kairos moment in the life of the Anglican Communion, especially as regards the evolving role of its leadership by the Archbishop of Canterbury. If Canterbury can find a way to recognize the spiritual legitimacy of the claim of the Network Dioceses (and of the Network Parishes in Non-Network Dioceses) – together, one would hope, with the wider fellowship of emerging “Windsor dioceses” — to be that part of ECUSA that has “not walked apart” from the Communion – that has sacrificially and faithfully stood for what is the Communion’s articulated teaching and for what are the accepted boundaries of its order – then Canterbury sustains and renews his claim to be “gatherer” and “moral voice” of the Communion. To do this, he must bring along a strong majority of the Primates and of his own House of Bishops, for he is no pope. But do this he must. If he fails, any hope for a Communion-unifying solution slips away, and so does the shape and leadership of the Anglican Communion as we have known them. Our prayers are with Rowan Williams now more than ever. It is a kairos moment, a crossroads of Church history.
Many Network priests and deacons have – during the last three years – been charged with “abandonment of the Communion of this Church,” and – without trial – “deposed.” Happily, the rest of the Anglican world has not judged them deposed and they have found themselves warmly received and enfolded by leaders of the Global South, leaders who have had no difficulty determining which were the faithful Anglicans. With the conclusion of the 75th General Convention, a new chapter opens. Now, four California bishops have asked an “investigation” of a bishop, one here among us, our own John-David Schofield, also for “abandonment of Communion.” Bishop Bill Cox, functioning for bishops of Uganda and of the Southern Cone, has found himself “charged” of late by the Bishops of Oklahoma and Kansas. Canadian Network Moderator, Bp. Don Harvey, has been informed in recent days that he is will face charges of “invasion,” charges brought by none-other than Michael Ingham, the bishop who can be credited with the actual “launch” of the Canadian prologue to the full-blown Anglican crisis brought about by the consecration of the Bishop of New Hampshire. We are at a crossroads of Church history. What is Anglicanism? What is essential to the proclamation of the Christian Faith? Who will lead in the Communion? Will our whole Communion divide? Who can claim the patrimony? The Archbishop of Canterbury has but a brief window of opportunity – at least for a moral judgment — before the situation in the United States and Canada collapses into the anarchy of high profile ecclesiastical presentments and civil lawsuits, a collapse that may come in any case, but the depth of which may be greatly lessened if he, within the limitations of a conciliar church, can find a way to speak. Part of the kairos nature of this moment is that the Global South Primates meet in mid-September – those who have stood with the Network again and again — and we can be sure that they will not be voiceless on our behalf or on behalf of “the Faith once delivered to the Saints.”
Whatever Canterbury does or does not do – believes he can or cannot do — in response to the Appeal, the Network Dioceses will endure. We are “enduring ECUSA.” That is our claim and that is our legal ground. Consider this: “Innovating ECUSA” went so far as to embrace a symbolic change of name at this most recent General Convention. That part of ECUSA has now asked to be known as TEC (The Episcopal Church). Did not anyone notice? We did…
The second post-General Convention initiative articulated by the Network Cabinet has to do with Network Parishes in Non-Network (particularly Non-Windsor) Dioceses. The Network has always had to operate and plan in two very distinct arenas, the Network Dioceses and the Network Parishes in Non-Network Dioceses. In light of the results of General Convention it seemed clear to the Cabinet that the best path forward in innovating or hostile dioceses is to enable negotiated settlements between “the two churches under one roof” based on fairness, equity and Christian principles. The settlement arrived at between the Vestry of Christ Church Overland Park and the Diocese of Kansas, more than a year ago, was a pre-cursor of this direction. Such negotiations are now underway in many places across the country. Just days ago the vestries of St Stephen’s Anglican Church, St. Charles Anglican Church and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, finalized an agreement with the Diocese of Olympia, an agreement that I believe all would hail as “based on fairness, equity and Christian principles.” In the Diocese of Virginia, a group of parishes and missions, led by the venerable (they date to the period of the American colonies) parishes of Falls Church and Truro Church – a group of congregations larger in number than the number of congregations of at least a dozen American Dioceses – has begun a season of “forty days of discernment” to pray about their future. We applaud these developments. We encourage those Dioceses engaged in lawsuits with their parishes, and vice versa, to embrace this “more excellent” way.
In the short-run these negotiated settlements, as in the case of the Washington State congregations, may lead to rescue and oversight by a Province of the Global South. In the longer run, there is no question that these congregations will form the nucleus of new missionary dioceses in union with the Network Dioceses (“enduring ECUSA”) and in partnership with the jurisdictions of Common Cause, as the vision of a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America – in God’s time – becomes a reality, and as “innovating ECUSA” fades away.
The third work articulated by the Cabinet in the post-General Convention Anglican Communion is the need to take the next steps in building “coherence” among the Communion partners presently overseeing congregations in the United States, congregations now overseen by dioceses or initiatives of the Provinces of Rwanda, Uganda, Southern Cone, Kenya, Central Africa, and Nigeria. As a matter of first importance, I have begun discussions among key domestic leaders of each of these Provinces or initiatives, having first advised the respective Primates, to lead toward a working arrangement that might best be described as an inter-related and provisional “missionary district.” One person who will certainly be present to these developing discussions is Martyn Minns, who upon consecration in Nigeria in the very near future, will necessarily leave the Network’s Cabinet. Martyn, we congratulate you, we pray for you, and we thank you.
Is there a plan? Yes,…to the extent that our God has again moved the cloud of covering for protection by day and the pillar of fire for light by night. Is our God making “a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert?” Yes. Is it some grand, over-arching plan? No, it never has been and never could be, at least not so long as we choose to remain faith-full,… admitting that we are not in control, only that He is. Is it good enough? With Him it is more than enough! Have we not learned that we can trust Him for today, and for tomorrow, and for the end? All this is a part of that all-so-necessary reformation of behavior.
The Business of this Annual Council
The systems of the Network have been fluid, to say the least. That was by design. Our Charter was designed to describe what we could see at the beginning, and to allow us the flexibility to develop as the Lord showed us the way. The Bishops were the first of the dramatis personae. Though often spoken ill of, they have acted decisively at precisely those moments where their mandate to guard the Faith and protect the Unity was on the line.
Then came the Steering Committee, initially appointed by the Bishops. The Steering Committee were the first visionaries for the Network, putting together the structure that became the Charter. They did incredible work in the early months. Then they became the legal “trustees,” holding the authority to act between Councils. They admit affiliates and partners, an ever-increasing stream. They shape budget. They have met monthly by telephone in most seasons. It is time to imagine a more significant role for them again. As we hold discussions in this Council about marriage and holiness and prayerbook and mission, what I am imaging is that the issues and directions we articulate in small groups here will be commended to Steering Committee Task Forces (expandable by additional at-large participants) for work between now and the next Annual Council. We will elect half of the Steering Committee to two-year terms at this meeting. The other half will hopefully be returned for the second year of their two-year term. At the Bedford Council Meeting we worked to achieve a balance between clergy and laity on the Steering Committee. We need to continue that work, and we need to increase the number of women, both lay and ordained (for those dioceses having ordained women), serving the Steering Committee. And in this, as in all things, we need our racial mix to reflect what Revelation tells us we will enjoy in heaven.
I have spoken of the Cabinet, my day-in and day-out advisers, among whom great wisdom abounds. I have mentioned Martyn Minns and his new call. I must also point to Bishop Ed Salmon who is at the point of retirement as Bishop of South Carolina. The time is ahead when the Cabinet will suffer a loss here as well. In the meanwhile, Ed’s work gathering the wider fellowship of Windsor Bishops and at my side in dealings with the whole House of Bishops, as well as with much of the global Communion, especially in the Church of England, has been of incalculable value to the movement which is the Anglican Communion Network.
The Network Deans are my heroes. They have borne the heat of the day and the brunt of the battle: John Guernsey, Bill Murdoch, Jim McCaslin, D.O. Smart, Bill Thompson and Bill Illgenfritz, with Ron MacCrary and David Moyer as predecessors to two of them. They are the creative engine and the battlefield officers of so much that we have become. Reflecting those they serve, they are, today at least, now half “in” and half “out” of ECUSA. I know a great deal about what it is right now to hold two full-time jobs, and so do they. My most extra-ordinary brothers I salute you. John Guernsey, who is fondly known as “dean of deans” (thus serving on the Cabinet), will share the Chair during parts of this Council meeting.
When the Network was chartered, two offices were established, that of Moderator and that of Secretary. The terms specified were for three years. Just as at the Bedford Council we looked at the annual terms of Steering Committee members, and made adjustments to achieve stability and clergy/lay balance, so it would be wise for this Annual Council to discuss its intentions about matters of re-election and of process of nomination. Similarly, we might address the reality of the International Conference of the Network, with its ever-increasing number of congregations under oversight by dioceses of the Provinces of Uganda, Southern Cone (including Recife), Kenya and Central Africa, looking to see whether the International Conference ought to be represented in our Annual Councils in the same way the dioceses and convocations are.
On the last morning of this Annual Council we will give an initial consideration to the Common Cause proposed theological principles and mission commitments. Already much discussion has been devoted to their significance and refinement, both by the Common Cause working group charged with their development and on the internet. We, too, will enter that discussion at this meeting. This, too, is an aspect of our reformation of behavior. Bishop Ray Sutton of the Reformed Episcopal Church will help to guide us as we seek steps to incarnate our shared vision of a “biblical, missionary, and united Anglicanism in North America.”
One of the great miracles of God’s grace and provision has been the funding of the Network. From the almost limitless benefaction of the American Anglican Council in the first eighteen months of the Network’s life to the present day there has always been enough income to sustain and, as appropriate, grow the work. Don’t stop… This Council will look again at the basic funding formula that is recommended to dioceses and congregations, which we have not done together since the early days. My basic advice is that which I learned in the years of ministry in North Carolina: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There are so many areas in which our God “has made a way through the wilderness and streams in the desert,” and this is one of them. To God be the praise and glory. This, too, has represented a reformation of behavior.
Domestic and Global Mission
The Anglican Relief and Development Fund was another of God’s sovereign provisions. What organization would begin its life by also founding a relief and development agency? With the leadership of Fr. Greg Brewer of Good Samaritan Paoli, and with key leaders of Geneva Global who were parishioners of Good Samaritan, ARDF was born. From the beginning the Network embraced a vision of 50/50 giving, spending at least as much on mission – in all its forms — as we spent on ourselves. ARDF was created to serve the poorest of the poor in special partnership with our Bible-believing Anglican brothers and sisters of the Global South. As an instrument of Jesus’ love, the Anglican Relief and Development Fund’s mission is to see real life change come to the suffering and the poor in some of the most challenging parts of the world.
Since its inception ARDF has approved and funded a multitude of development projects and relief efforts all over the globe. These projects, with durations of 12–24 months, were funded directly to local implementers who are able to facilitate sustainable life change for local residents. In 18 months, $2 million in projects have been funded. This includes 42 development grants, 4 relief projects and 13 tsunami projects. These 59 projects have spanned 20 countries on three continents providing assistance for famine, food security, water and sanitation, healthcare, education, youth at risk, HIV/AIDS, evangelism and Christian leadership. These projects have provided life change not only in living conditions, but also in Christian spiritual formation in areas of the world where the Father is at work in a special way.
Can. Nancy Norton succeeded Dr. Kirk Burbank as Director of ARDF last summer. Nancy will address us during this Council. Can. Norton’s contribution to what the Network is, is immense. What I am very pleased now to announce is that the Rev. Mike Murphy of the Anglican Mission in America has accepted the role of Chairman of ARDF, succeeding Dr. Peter Moore, who has done a magnificent work in our launch. The Rev. Simon Barnes of Geneva Global must also be mentioned as a key, and continuing, bearer of the work and the vision. ARDF’s newest primatial trustee, the Most. Rev. Justice Akrofi, is here among us.
Tonight’s banquet will feature presentations by the Council representatives of Anglican Global Mission Partners. AGMP grew out of the ashes of the Global Episcopal Mission partners after General Convention of 2003. AGMP is the Network’s coalition of mission agencies, both domestic and foreign, that is another key aspect of our commitment to transform the world with and for Jesus Christ. At the Bedford Council the Network also entered into a special missionary relationship with the Province of South East Asia. When this Pittsburgh Council concludes I will be heading out to Cambodia, alongside Archbishop John Chew, to ordain as priest a young man who is a sacrament of that partnership, and who, with his wife, are missionaries of one of the AGMP societies.
Domestic church-planting efforts, bearing fruit everywhere, will also be highlighted during this Council meeting, as will our new initiatives in the formation of children and youth. You will see both Tom Herrick and Jack Gabig as very much present to this meeting, and of the whole national effort that each represents.
Last Things
Little of what I have reported to you today would have been possible without the incredible staff the Lord has provided to the Network. This, too, has been “a way through the wilderness and streams in the desert:” Daryl Fenton, Wick and Pam Stephens, Nancy Norton, Tom Herrick, Jack Gabig, Lisa Waldron, Jenny Noyes, Jen McDonough. We also need to thank the Diocese of Pittsburgh for their inestimable gift in unselfish willingness to share their bishop for this national and international effort. I want to thank the Chapter and people of Trinity Cathedral, as well, and their Provost, the Rev. Can Catherine Brall, for making this great facility open to us, as it is for the thousands who come in and out its glass doors day by day and year by year, from all over the nation and all over the world. To the cathedral staff and diocesan staff and to the volunteer staff for this meeting I also express our gratitude. All of you are regularly, and at this moment, yourselves at your best.
All of this is about that reformation of behavior that, by God’s grace, has made a good beginning among us.
(As I conclude let us rise and sing Hymn 637, “How Firm a Foundation,” the text of which is, in part, shaped by the 43rd chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, with verses from which this address began.)
Monday, July 31, 2006
From Integrity - Canada
"With positions crystallised, it seems that the Anglican Communion as it currently exists will burst soon, probably with various groups claiming that others have walked away, and that they are the remnant of the true church. The prognosis is not good."
Chris Ambidge in Integrator (the newsletter of Integrity, Canada)
btw, if you are unfamiliar with Integrity, it is the gay lobby in the Anglican Communion.
Chris Ambidge in Integrator (the newsletter of Integrity, Canada)
btw, if you are unfamiliar with Integrity, it is the gay lobby in the Anglican Communion.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Church Society (England) to Anglican Primates
Letter to the Anglican Primates
from Church Society - July 2006
Dear Archbishop ….
In the wake of the recent ECUSA General Convention we hope and pray that appropriate action will now be taken to safeguard the future witness of the Anglican Communion.
It should be clear to all that ECUSA and others have stepped well beyond the boundaries of orthodox, apostolic Christianity. We believe that postponing action any longer can only damage the Communion and the witness of Anglican churches worldwide.
Discipline is a “mark” of “the true Church” (Homily 28 on the Holy Spirit – part 2). Whilst in a local, or provincial church there will be clear means of discipline, at the international level discipline must be exercised carefully. The primary means of discipline in this way is to formally break fellowship with those in error. The purpose of this is to bring the erring to their senses by showing that they have separated from the truth, to safeguard the faithful from such error and to show to the world that we do not agree with them.
In the light of this we ask you to bring about the following:
1. The removal of ECUSA from the instruments of unity of the Anglican Communion, in particular membership of the ACC and invitations to the Primates Meetings and the Lambeth Conference. The Archbishop of Canterbury should be strongly requested to declare himself out of communion with ECUSA as a body.
2. The agreement within individual provinces that the orders of those now ordained within ECUSA will no longer be recognised.
3. The breaking of fellowship, including sacramental fellowship, at all levels with members of ECUSA, particularly its Bishops unless they show clear evidence as standing against the errors of their church. Such moves should not prevent discussion by appropriate channels as with those of other religions nor prevent humanitarian concern.
4. The establishment of a mechanism to establish fellowship with those in the United States who remain faithful to orthodox, apostolic Christianity and thus reject such innovations as the acceptance of same sex sexual activity. We suggest that a Commissary be appointed by the orthodox Primates who will work with the various bodies and individual churches in the US so that they can establish some means by which they can be welcomed formally into fellowship.
5. We advise strongly that the Primates give consideration as to how, as in the great creeds, statements can be crafted and required to delineate truth from error on the matter of sexual conduct.
6. We strongly advise that the Primates also recognise the innovation introduced within some provinces of admitting women as Priests and Bishops is divisive and that the only way to retain genuine unity is to call on all Anglicans to submit to the Biblical teaching that Presbyters/Elders should be male (1 Tim 3, Titus 1).
You may be assured of our prayers and support.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
David Phillips, General Secretary
on behalf of the Council of Church Society
from Church Society - July 2006
Dear Archbishop ….
In the wake of the recent ECUSA General Convention we hope and pray that appropriate action will now be taken to safeguard the future witness of the Anglican Communion.
It should be clear to all that ECUSA and others have stepped well beyond the boundaries of orthodox, apostolic Christianity. We believe that postponing action any longer can only damage the Communion and the witness of Anglican churches worldwide.
Discipline is a “mark” of “the true Church” (Homily 28 on the Holy Spirit – part 2). Whilst in a local, or provincial church there will be clear means of discipline, at the international level discipline must be exercised carefully. The primary means of discipline in this way is to formally break fellowship with those in error. The purpose of this is to bring the erring to their senses by showing that they have separated from the truth, to safeguard the faithful from such error and to show to the world that we do not agree with them.
In the light of this we ask you to bring about the following:
1. The removal of ECUSA from the instruments of unity of the Anglican Communion, in particular membership of the ACC and invitations to the Primates Meetings and the Lambeth Conference. The Archbishop of Canterbury should be strongly requested to declare himself out of communion with ECUSA as a body.
2. The agreement within individual provinces that the orders of those now ordained within ECUSA will no longer be recognised.
3. The breaking of fellowship, including sacramental fellowship, at all levels with members of ECUSA, particularly its Bishops unless they show clear evidence as standing against the errors of their church. Such moves should not prevent discussion by appropriate channels as with those of other religions nor prevent humanitarian concern.
4. The establishment of a mechanism to establish fellowship with those in the United States who remain faithful to orthodox, apostolic Christianity and thus reject such innovations as the acceptance of same sex sexual activity. We suggest that a Commissary be appointed by the orthodox Primates who will work with the various bodies and individual churches in the US so that they can establish some means by which they can be welcomed formally into fellowship.
5. We advise strongly that the Primates give consideration as to how, as in the great creeds, statements can be crafted and required to delineate truth from error on the matter of sexual conduct.
6. We strongly advise that the Primates also recognise the innovation introduced within some provinces of admitting women as Priests and Bishops is divisive and that the only way to retain genuine unity is to call on all Anglicans to submit to the Biblical teaching that Presbyters/Elders should be male (1 Tim 3, Titus 1).
You may be assured of our prayers and support.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
David Phillips, General Secretary
on behalf of the Council of Church Society
From The Weekly Standard
Religion Without Foundations
The split in the mainline denominations is about more than politics.
by Jim Tonkowich
07/26/2006 12:00:00 AM
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.
Both denominational meetings were characterized by division, polarization, and discord as conservatives and liberals attempted to discern and approve God's will on issues ranging from divestment from companies doing business with Israel to gay clergy to the doctrine of the Trinity ("Mother, Child, and Womb"?). As left and right argued their cases, the real issue emerged. It is not the opposing opinions on assorted overtures and resolutions that divide left and right; it is the underlying understanding of truth, and how we know it.
The left--also known as progressives, liberals, revisionists, and (in some circles) heretics--base their convictions on individualism, subjectivity, and majority vote with passing references to Scripture and creeds. The right--also known as traditionalists, conservatives, evangelicals, and orthodox (not necessarily said as a compliment)--insist on submission to the authority of the Bible and of historic confessions, regardless of contemporary preferences. It is this division that makes the conflict between the two sides so rancorous. Compromise on issues is possible. Compromise on the fundamental questions of truth and authority is not.
In a debate about whether the Presbyterian Church should divest from companies doing business with Israel, former Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase noted that the Israelis had their
passion and the Palestinians had their passion. The solution, he said, is to affirm and embrace both. The fact that Hamas controls the Palestinian government and that Hamas's passion is to kill Jews and wipe Israel off the map never entered the conversation. Passions are the touchstone, not reason and analysis. His suggestion, thankfully, was rejected.
In the same session, several speakers--mostly pastors--argued in favor of divestment, explaining that they had visited the Palestinians, "engaged in dialogue," and were "deeply concerned. No one informed these undoubtedly well-meaning people that the plural of "anecdote" is not "data." After all, with all that sincerity, who would want to call their judgment into question? In the end, the PCUSA did the right thing and voted to end divestment, but not without a very unusual debate.
As for gay clergy, the denomination elected to leave the rules against ordaining practicing homosexuals on their books while permitting a local option of ignoring the rules. This, of course, permits local churches to ordain polygamists or polyamorists--or just about anyone else--as well.
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.
Having so emoted and voted, the PCUSA has begun experimenting with reformulations of the doctrine of the Trinity. "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" will be substituted with "Mother, Child and Womb," "Rock, Redeemer, Friend," "Rainbow, Ark, and Dove," and other assorted triads. Again, the left is satisfied that dialogue and a vote have revealed God's truth. God names Himself anything a majority of delegates--presumably lead by the Holy Spirit--say He names Himself.
No wonder the left and right can't get along. They live in parallel universes and can barely communicate with each other.
THIS SAME CONFUSION OVER TRUTH is rapidly infecting the evangelical world as churches drink the "emerging church" Kool-Aid. Emerging or post-modern church leaders insist that truth is relational and must be experienced. I agree, but to leave it there is to fall into the same subjectivist error in which the mainline/old-line denominations are mired. The traditional Christian understanding is that truth is true even if it is not experienced. It is true objectively and absolutely. This is an assertion for which modern people have little patience.
In a speech given in 1898, Dutch theologian, pastor, politician, and professor Abraham Kuyper diagnosed modern problem with understanding the nature of truth: "Everyone who thinks he can abandon the Christian truths, and do away with the Catechism of Reformation, lends ear unawares to the hypotheses of the modern world-view and, without knowing how far he has drifted already, swears by the Catechism of Rousseau and Darwin."
Having abandoned a Christian epistemology and, thus,
Christian truths, the mainline/old-line denominations will continue their inexorable drift to the sideline. The current breakdown in the Episcopal church is the natural result of this crisis in authority and truth. The results will be a liberal vestige with lovely buildings and lots of endowment money, but few people.
Left and right represent radically different understanding of faith and truth. It's the difference between "Making It Up As I Go" and "Thus saith the Lord."
Jim Tonkowich is president of the Institute on Religion & Democracy.
The split in the mainline denominations is about more than politics.
by Jim Tonkowich
07/26/2006 12:00:00 AM
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.
Both denominational meetings were characterized by division, polarization, and discord as conservatives and liberals attempted to discern and approve God's will on issues ranging from divestment from companies doing business with Israel to gay clergy to the doctrine of the Trinity ("Mother, Child, and Womb"?). As left and right argued their cases, the real issue emerged. It is not the opposing opinions on assorted overtures and resolutions that divide left and right; it is the underlying understanding of truth, and how we know it.
The left--also known as progressives, liberals, revisionists, and (in some circles) heretics--base their convictions on individualism, subjectivity, and majority vote with passing references to Scripture and creeds. The right--also known as traditionalists, conservatives, evangelicals, and orthodox (not necessarily said as a compliment)--insist on submission to the authority of the Bible and of historic confessions, regardless of contemporary preferences. It is this division that makes the conflict between the two sides so rancorous. Compromise on issues is possible. Compromise on the fundamental questions of truth and authority is not.
In a debate about whether the Presbyterian Church should divest from companies doing business with Israel, former Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase noted that the Israelis had their
passion and the Palestinians had their passion. The solution, he said, is to affirm and embrace both. The fact that Hamas controls the Palestinian government and that Hamas's passion is to kill Jews and wipe Israel off the map never entered the conversation. Passions are the touchstone, not reason and analysis. His suggestion, thankfully, was rejected.
In the same session, several speakers--mostly pastors--argued in favor of divestment, explaining that they had visited the Palestinians, "engaged in dialogue," and were "deeply concerned. No one informed these undoubtedly well-meaning people that the plural of "anecdote" is not "data." After all, with all that sincerity, who would want to call their judgment into question? In the end, the PCUSA did the right thing and voted to end divestment, but not without a very unusual debate.
As for gay clergy, the denomination elected to leave the rules against ordaining practicing homosexuals on their books while permitting a local option of ignoring the rules. This, of course, permits local churches to ordain polygamists or polyamorists--or just about anyone else--as well.
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.
Having so emoted and voted, the PCUSA has begun experimenting with reformulations of the doctrine of the Trinity. "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" will be substituted with "Mother, Child and Womb," "Rock, Redeemer, Friend," "Rainbow, Ark, and Dove," and other assorted triads. Again, the left is satisfied that dialogue and a vote have revealed God's truth. God names Himself anything a majority of delegates--presumably lead by the Holy Spirit--say He names Himself.
No wonder the left and right can't get along. They live in parallel universes and can barely communicate with each other.
THIS SAME CONFUSION OVER TRUTH is rapidly infecting the evangelical world as churches drink the "emerging church" Kool-Aid. Emerging or post-modern church leaders insist that truth is relational and must be experienced. I agree, but to leave it there is to fall into the same subjectivist error in which the mainline/old-line denominations are mired. The traditional Christian understanding is that truth is true even if it is not experienced. It is true objectively and absolutely. This is an assertion for which modern people have little patience.
In a speech given in 1898, Dutch theologian, pastor, politician, and professor Abraham Kuyper diagnosed modern problem with understanding the nature of truth: "Everyone who thinks he can abandon the Christian truths, and do away with the Catechism of Reformation, lends ear unawares to the hypotheses of the modern world-view and, without knowing how far he has drifted already, swears by the Catechism of Rousseau and Darwin."
Having abandoned a Christian epistemology and, thus,
Christian truths, the mainline/old-line denominations will continue their inexorable drift to the sideline. The current breakdown in the Episcopal church is the natural result of this crisis in authority and truth. The results will be a liberal vestige with lovely buildings and lots of endowment money, but few people.
Left and right represent radically different understanding of faith and truth. It's the difference between "Making It Up As I Go" and "Thus saith the Lord."
Jim Tonkowich is president of the Institute on Religion & Democracy.
From The Church of England Newspaper
Episcopal Church on verge of split
Number: 5830 Date: July 28
By George Conger
The Episcopal Church retreated further into ecclesiastical anarchy this week with fears mounting that the institution as it now stands will not survive the year. The latest development concerns four California bishops who have filed legal charges against a fifth — the Bishop of San Joaquin — seeking to depose him out of fear he may lead his diocese out of the Episcopal Church.
Other dioceses and parishes have already made clear their intention to quit, including the Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas, while a parish in the Diocese of San Diego has quit the Church in protest at the actions of last month’s General Convention. The largest parish in the Diocese of West Texas has warned it may quit, while the Bishop of Central New York has filed a lawsuit and is seeking an emergency injunction to gain control of a Syracuse parish’s assets for fear it may leave as well. Meanwhile the Bishop of Arkansas has given permission to his clergy to begin performing blessings of same-sex unions, so long as the blessings are pastoral and not sacramental. In the California case the Bishops of San Diego, Los Angeles, California and Northern California have charged that Bishop John-David Schofield, California’s only Forward in Faith bishop, will “abandon the communion of this Church.”
The Diocese of San Joaquin rejected the charges, saying “these allegations are neither relevant nor justified.” In April 2005, Christ Church, Kansas’ largest congregation, seceded from the Episcopal Church, purchasing its property from the diocese for $1 million, and moving under the oversight of the Church of Uganda. On July 24, the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Fort Worth, voted to withdraw “its consent … to be included in the Seventh Province of the Episcopal Church.” The American Church’s 110 dioceses are divided into nine geographical provinces. Under the constitution of the Episcopal Church, a diocese must give its consent to be included in a Province. Fort Worth’s vote this week effectively removes the diocese from the Province. Critics of Fort Worth have objected to this, arguing that while the constitution allow for a diocese to give its consent to membership in a Province, it is unclear if the diocese has the power to withdraw that consent.
Across the state in San Antonio, Texas, the rector and vestry of Christ Church — the Diocese of West Texas’ largest congregation, announced they are making plans to disassociate themselves from The Episcopal Church over the actions of the last two General Conventions, as soon as the Primates and Archbishop of Canterbury provide a way forward. In the Diocese of San Diego, St John’s Church in Fallbrook, California, voted at a parish meeting on July 17 to secede from the diocese and move under the oversight of the Church of Uganda, citing The Episcopal Church’s innovations of doctrine and discipline that put it at odds with the majority of the Anglican Communion and Christian world. The defections are likely to continue as the divisions in the Church show no sign of being healed. On July 19, Bishop Larry Maze of Arkansas controversially wrote to his clergy giving them permission to bless same-sex unions. While Bishop Maze conceded that sacramental blessings of same-sex unions violated Church law and the recommendations of the Windsor Report, a pastoral provision for blessings did not.
Number: 5830 Date: July 28
By George Conger
The Episcopal Church retreated further into ecclesiastical anarchy this week with fears mounting that the institution as it now stands will not survive the year. The latest development concerns four California bishops who have filed legal charges against a fifth — the Bishop of San Joaquin — seeking to depose him out of fear he may lead his diocese out of the Episcopal Church.
Other dioceses and parishes have already made clear their intention to quit, including the Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas, while a parish in the Diocese of San Diego has quit the Church in protest at the actions of last month’s General Convention. The largest parish in the Diocese of West Texas has warned it may quit, while the Bishop of Central New York has filed a lawsuit and is seeking an emergency injunction to gain control of a Syracuse parish’s assets for fear it may leave as well. Meanwhile the Bishop of Arkansas has given permission to his clergy to begin performing blessings of same-sex unions, so long as the blessings are pastoral and not sacramental. In the California case the Bishops of San Diego, Los Angeles, California and Northern California have charged that Bishop John-David Schofield, California’s only Forward in Faith bishop, will “abandon the communion of this Church.”
The Diocese of San Joaquin rejected the charges, saying “these allegations are neither relevant nor justified.” In April 2005, Christ Church, Kansas’ largest congregation, seceded from the Episcopal Church, purchasing its property from the diocese for $1 million, and moving under the oversight of the Church of Uganda. On July 24, the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Fort Worth, voted to withdraw “its consent … to be included in the Seventh Province of the Episcopal Church.” The American Church’s 110 dioceses are divided into nine geographical provinces. Under the constitution of the Episcopal Church, a diocese must give its consent to be included in a Province. Fort Worth’s vote this week effectively removes the diocese from the Province. Critics of Fort Worth have objected to this, arguing that while the constitution allow for a diocese to give its consent to membership in a Province, it is unclear if the diocese has the power to withdraw that consent.
Across the state in San Antonio, Texas, the rector and vestry of Christ Church — the Diocese of West Texas’ largest congregation, announced they are making plans to disassociate themselves from The Episcopal Church over the actions of the last two General Conventions, as soon as the Primates and Archbishop of Canterbury provide a way forward. In the Diocese of San Diego, St John’s Church in Fallbrook, California, voted at a parish meeting on July 17 to secede from the diocese and move under the oversight of the Church of Uganda, citing The Episcopal Church’s innovations of doctrine and discipline that put it at odds with the majority of the Anglican Communion and Christian world. The defections are likely to continue as the divisions in the Church show no sign of being healed. On July 19, Bishop Larry Maze of Arkansas controversially wrote to his clergy giving them permission to bless same-sex unions. While Bishop Maze conceded that sacramental blessings of same-sex unions violated Church law and the recommendations of the Windsor Report, a pastoral provision for blessings did not.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
What Our Diocese Isn't Telling You
From the Dallas Observer:
The Episcopal Church, one of the most historically significant churches in America, is on the verge of implosion. It has endured schism before but nothing like what it faces today. Its "civil war over homosexuality," as The New York Times put it, threatens not only to divide its 2.3 million members but also to separate it from the 77 million-strong global Anglican Communion.
Once viewed as the Republican Party at prayer, over the past 30 to 40 years the Episcopal Church has morphed into something else altogether, losing much of its membership along the way. The turning point was 1976, when the church began ordaining women to the priesthood, and in the three years since Robinson's election, it has lost the numerical equivalent of a congregation a day. With Sunday attendance hovering around 800,000, the church has come to represent less than 3 percent of Anglicans worldwide and a little more than 1 percent of American Christians, making it, as the writer Allen Guelzo recently put it, "statistically negligible on the horizons of both American Christianity and the Anglican Communion."
The Episcopal Church, one of the most historically significant churches in America, is on the verge of implosion. It has endured schism before but nothing like what it faces today. Its "civil war over homosexuality," as The New York Times put it, threatens not only to divide its 2.3 million members but also to separate it from the 77 million-strong global Anglican Communion.
Once viewed as the Republican Party at prayer, over the past 30 to 40 years the Episcopal Church has morphed into something else altogether, losing much of its membership along the way. The turning point was 1976, when the church began ordaining women to the priesthood, and in the three years since Robinson's election, it has lost the numerical equivalent of a congregation a day. With Sunday attendance hovering around 800,000, the church has come to represent less than 3 percent of Anglicans worldwide and a little more than 1 percent of American Christians, making it, as the writer Allen Guelzo recently put it, "statistically negligible on the horizons of both American Christianity and the Anglican Communion."
A New First Verse
See post below, and substitute or add for first verse:
The Church's new foundation
Is shifting paradigms
Determined to be modern
And current with the times.
She lacks the consolation
Of certainty denied.
And turns her back on Jesus
His now-unfaithful bride.
The Church's new foundation
Is shifting paradigms
Determined to be modern
And current with the times.
She lacks the consolation
Of certainty denied.
And turns her back on Jesus
His now-unfaithful bride.
Sad, but all too true
There's a new hymn for the new TEC, to be sung to the tune Aurelia (The
Church's One Foundation"):
The Anglican Communion
Was mightily distressed
When bishops of ECUSA
Their heresies expressed,
And in Convention showed not
Repentance or regret,
But chose to walk their own path,
Firm in their own ways set.
Political correctness
And chic diversity --
These are our church's hallmarks,
And quite our cup of tea.
We follow where the winds blow,
We are the church of NOW.
We're new Episcopalians
And trendier than thou.
"To God alone be glory" -
This used to be our song.
With Kathryn Jefferts Schori
It likely won't be long
Before we change our story
And sing another tune -
Not Father, Son and Spirit,
But Mother, Child and Womb.
Our church has no foundation
And Christ is not her Lord.
She is our new creation
By our own mighty word.
The Bible's too oppressive,
And morals leave us bored.
Who then is our salvation?
It's our own selves - adored.
------------------------------
Church's One Foundation"):
The Anglican Communion
Was mightily distressed
When bishops of ECUSA
Their heresies expressed,
And in Convention showed not
Repentance or regret,
But chose to walk their own path,
Firm in their own ways set.
Political correctness
And chic diversity --
These are our church's hallmarks,
And quite our cup of tea.
We follow where the winds blow,
We are the church of NOW.
We're new Episcopalians
And trendier than thou.
"To God alone be glory" -
This used to be our song.
With Kathryn Jefferts Schori
It likely won't be long
Before we change our story
And sing another tune -
Not Father, Son and Spirit,
But Mother, Child and Womb.
Our church has no foundation
And Christ is not her Lord.
She is our new creation
By our own mighty word.
The Bible's too oppressive,
And morals leave us bored.
Who then is our salvation?
It's our own selves - adored.
------------------------------
SHAME - THE CURRENCY OF LIBERALISM
By Gary L'Hommedieu
Special to VirtueOnline
www.virtueonline.org
July 21, 2006
No one has more of a stake in hatred and bigotry than today's liberals, both inside the church and out. Not that liberals are especially hateful and bigoted, but they have learned to manipulate the shame that is the legacy of past hatreds.
Now they are committed to shame as method. Why? For one thing, it works. Ideas have failed them. Shame is the only alternative.
As a political methodology shame works. Conservatives are oblivious to the art of shaming, at least in the public square. Revisionists, who have learned to reduce political argument to name calling, pummel them at will. Defending a doctrine, such as the inspiration of Holy Scripture in the recent General Convention, shifts from rational debate based upon a rich heritage of ideas into a kangaroo court, based upon fear and loathing.
Here's the technique in brief.
In America's past some who have boasted a high doctrine of Biblical inspiration have been associated with White Supremacist organizations and ideology. Hence we can draw the following conclusion: a high view of Scripture is a form of racism. As we heard repeatedly at General Convention, any reading of the Bible that can be called "literalist" can also be called "racist". It's now a simple equation.
Hence the stunned amazement that befalls a conservative Episcopalian who thought he was defending an idea - the authority of Scripture - only to find himself instead defending his character. He is judged a bigot merely by being associated with the shame that lingers so close to the surface of the American psyche. The validity of the accusation is irrelevant. It's now guilt by association. He will yield his ground as the going rate for salvaging what remains of his reputation.
This is the politics of personal destruction. It is used deliberately and effectively in the Episcopal Church, as it has been in the wider American political scene for over a generation. It is the method by which a generation of elitist wanna-be's have stolen a prestigious religious institution, the Protestant Episcopal Church, along with its material holdings. Now they have the boldness, or the madness, to insist that their legislated rewrite of Christian doctrine IS the faith "as this Church has received it".
In recent interviews Katherine Jefferts Schori expressed her impatience with conservatives for prolonging the sexuality debate and keeping the Church from the business of feeding the poor and ending AIDS.
Here's how the technique of shame comes into play.
Jefferts Schori suggests that the Episcopal Church was minding its own business pouring food into the mouths of starving children around the clock, world without end. All of a sudden it was distracted form its enterprise by the noisy religious Right. Never mind that the Episcopal Church has been in a decades' long process of dismantling its missionary budget since (brace yourself) the 1960's, when social experimentation became the "mission" of the Church.
Bishop Schori's feigned indignation at the Right's squandering of priorities falls flat very quickly. Consider a few cursory points.
The Church hasn't taken seriously the frequent recommendation of eliminating its three year General Convention, an immense financial drain, with little to show for it except photo-ops and symbolism. A trimmed down convention every six years would be adequate, or even every ten. After all, TEC is now a global communion. Why not have our own Lambeth West every ten years or so and get serious about the "real work" of the Church?
Nor has the Church made plans to move its offices out of the New York financial district. It could relocate almost anywhere and save enough in operating costs to feed millions. If that's where our focus is, then how is this even a serious question?
As we all know, that's not where the Church's focus is. It's just a ploy to invoke shame upon conservatives when they try to hold their leaders accountable for the past thirty years. It's one thing for liberals to cause the Church to fail by ill conceived policies and vacuous theology. It's another thing to notice. Conservatives get the blame for noticing.
Has anyone tallied the number of poor mouths that could have been fed if the Church hadn't dallied in Prayer Book revision thirty years ago or women priests? Think of all the Episcopalians who left the Church, taking their money with them - money that could have been poured into feeding the poor and ending AIDS.
The same could be said about all of the "urgent" social concerns that have demanded the "focus" of the Episcopal Church. Every trendy cause that TEC has poured itself into over the past half century could have been spent on the Great Commission, both home and away. Either way it would have resulted in more food for hungry mouths and more food for famished souls.
In other words, conservative theology and liturgy are better suited as a political strategy for ending world hunger, AIDS, and any of the "justice" issues that extend beyond the realm of pure symbolism. Of course, conservatism does not offer the same brilliant career opportunities, like the world's first female archbishop. Think of all the frustrated upper-middle class white women who are now being "liberated" by the New Episcopal Church!
Here's the dirty little secret about the "justice driven" Episcopal Church: its social activism since the '60's has been entirely self-focused and self-serving. The strategic effect has been only this: to legitimize the '60's counter-culture at the expense the unsaved at home and the unfed around the world. And to erect a pretense of righteousness to counter the national shame that erupted in the mid-1960's.
Anyone who notices this and brings it to the attention of the public will be immersed in a shame he thought had been forgotten. And it may well have been nearly forgotten by now, if were it not for those who have an interest in keeping it alive.
Conservatives have allowed the Episcopal Church, its holdings and its gospel heritage, to be stolen out from under them rather than stand up to shame. This says something ominous about the power of the "orthodox" spirituality of salvation. It has not enabled the rank and file to stand against name calling. What would happen if we faced real trouble?
Let me make one suggestion for dealing with the shame game. When the name calling starts - when you are called a racist or a homophobe because you find the Bible more credible than some Baby-Boomer Bishop - say something like this:
"There are many things I need to apologize for in my life, and many things I ought to be ashamed of. I have turned from these things, and by the grace of God I stand forgiven.
"Whatever guilt remains is between me and the Lord. I don't owe anything more to you or to political opportunists whose career advances depend on their ability to ride the crest of yesterday's hatred.
"Therefore I refuse to accept your shame."
-- Gary L'Hommedieu is Canon in charge of Pastoral Care at St. Luke's Cathedral in Orlando, Florida
Special to VirtueOnline
www.virtueonline.org
July 21, 2006
No one has more of a stake in hatred and bigotry than today's liberals, both inside the church and out. Not that liberals are especially hateful and bigoted, but they have learned to manipulate the shame that is the legacy of past hatreds.
Now they are committed to shame as method. Why? For one thing, it works. Ideas have failed them. Shame is the only alternative.
As a political methodology shame works. Conservatives are oblivious to the art of shaming, at least in the public square. Revisionists, who have learned to reduce political argument to name calling, pummel them at will. Defending a doctrine, such as the inspiration of Holy Scripture in the recent General Convention, shifts from rational debate based upon a rich heritage of ideas into a kangaroo court, based upon fear and loathing.
Here's the technique in brief.
In America's past some who have boasted a high doctrine of Biblical inspiration have been associated with White Supremacist organizations and ideology. Hence we can draw the following conclusion: a high view of Scripture is a form of racism. As we heard repeatedly at General Convention, any reading of the Bible that can be called "literalist" can also be called "racist". It's now a simple equation.
Hence the stunned amazement that befalls a conservative Episcopalian who thought he was defending an idea - the authority of Scripture - only to find himself instead defending his character. He is judged a bigot merely by being associated with the shame that lingers so close to the surface of the American psyche. The validity of the accusation is irrelevant. It's now guilt by association. He will yield his ground as the going rate for salvaging what remains of his reputation.
This is the politics of personal destruction. It is used deliberately and effectively in the Episcopal Church, as it has been in the wider American political scene for over a generation. It is the method by which a generation of elitist wanna-be's have stolen a prestigious religious institution, the Protestant Episcopal Church, along with its material holdings. Now they have the boldness, or the madness, to insist that their legislated rewrite of Christian doctrine IS the faith "as this Church has received it".
In recent interviews Katherine Jefferts Schori expressed her impatience with conservatives for prolonging the sexuality debate and keeping the Church from the business of feeding the poor and ending AIDS.
Here's how the technique of shame comes into play.
Jefferts Schori suggests that the Episcopal Church was minding its own business pouring food into the mouths of starving children around the clock, world without end. All of a sudden it was distracted form its enterprise by the noisy religious Right. Never mind that the Episcopal Church has been in a decades' long process of dismantling its missionary budget since (brace yourself) the 1960's, when social experimentation became the "mission" of the Church.
Bishop Schori's feigned indignation at the Right's squandering of priorities falls flat very quickly. Consider a few cursory points.
The Church hasn't taken seriously the frequent recommendation of eliminating its three year General Convention, an immense financial drain, with little to show for it except photo-ops and symbolism. A trimmed down convention every six years would be adequate, or even every ten. After all, TEC is now a global communion. Why not have our own Lambeth West every ten years or so and get serious about the "real work" of the Church?
Nor has the Church made plans to move its offices out of the New York financial district. It could relocate almost anywhere and save enough in operating costs to feed millions. If that's where our focus is, then how is this even a serious question?
As we all know, that's not where the Church's focus is. It's just a ploy to invoke shame upon conservatives when they try to hold their leaders accountable for the past thirty years. It's one thing for liberals to cause the Church to fail by ill conceived policies and vacuous theology. It's another thing to notice. Conservatives get the blame for noticing.
Has anyone tallied the number of poor mouths that could have been fed if the Church hadn't dallied in Prayer Book revision thirty years ago or women priests? Think of all the Episcopalians who left the Church, taking their money with them - money that could have been poured into feeding the poor and ending AIDS.
The same could be said about all of the "urgent" social concerns that have demanded the "focus" of the Episcopal Church. Every trendy cause that TEC has poured itself into over the past half century could have been spent on the Great Commission, both home and away. Either way it would have resulted in more food for hungry mouths and more food for famished souls.
In other words, conservative theology and liturgy are better suited as a political strategy for ending world hunger, AIDS, and any of the "justice" issues that extend beyond the realm of pure symbolism. Of course, conservatism does not offer the same brilliant career opportunities, like the world's first female archbishop. Think of all the frustrated upper-middle class white women who are now being "liberated" by the New Episcopal Church!
Here's the dirty little secret about the "justice driven" Episcopal Church: its social activism since the '60's has been entirely self-focused and self-serving. The strategic effect has been only this: to legitimize the '60's counter-culture at the expense the unsaved at home and the unfed around the world. And to erect a pretense of righteousness to counter the national shame that erupted in the mid-1960's.
Anyone who notices this and brings it to the attention of the public will be immersed in a shame he thought had been forgotten. And it may well have been nearly forgotten by now, if were it not for those who have an interest in keeping it alive.
Conservatives have allowed the Episcopal Church, its holdings and its gospel heritage, to be stolen out from under them rather than stand up to shame. This says something ominous about the power of the "orthodox" spirituality of salvation. It has not enabled the rank and file to stand against name calling. What would happen if we faced real trouble?
Let me make one suggestion for dealing with the shame game. When the name calling starts - when you are called a racist or a homophobe because you find the Bible more credible than some Baby-Boomer Bishop - say something like this:
"There are many things I need to apologize for in my life, and many things I ought to be ashamed of. I have turned from these things, and by the grace of God I stand forgiven.
"Whatever guilt remains is between me and the Lord. I don't owe anything more to you or to political opportunists whose career advances depend on their ability to ride the crest of yesterday's hatred.
"Therefore I refuse to accept your shame."
-- Gary L'Hommedieu is Canon in charge of Pastoral Care at St. Luke's Cathedral in Orlando, Florida
HOMOSEXUAL NARCISSISM SIDETRACKS TEC MISSION TO LOST
News Analysis
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
7/20/2006
The Rev. Tad de Bordenave believes The Episcopal Church is paying the price for having sidelined the Lord's call to the ends of the earth. The TEC has been deluded and de-energized by its constant, overwhelming and narcissistic preoccupation with pansexuality.
Tad, as he is affectionately known, has spent the last 13 years of his ecclesiastical life preoccupied with a truly authentic understanding of the church's mission - reaching those two billion people who are in the dark about Jesus Christ.
This has been his love, preoccupation and deep concern, after spending 25 years as a parish priest. With all those years under his belt he could have retired and gone gently onto that soft golf course.
Then God woke him up one day to a new concern - millions of men, women and children who had never heard the Good News of God's saving love found in Jesus Christ.
This so energized him, that he formed Anglican Frontier Missions, (AFM) in 1993. He never looked back.
The lost, those who have never heard the name of Jesus, let alone his gift of salvation, became his concern and passion, and all along, he says, it should have been the heartbeat of the Episcopal Church. It wasn't. The church became consumed with sodomy instead.
The net effect was the TEC spent millions of dollars explaining, exporting and finally exploiting sodomite behavior into the church with endless conferences, general convention resolutions, primatial gatherings concerned almost solely with one single issue: homosexuality, and as a result the Episcopal Church now faces the consequences of a divided church with fleeing parishes, perhaps even whole dioceses. To any rational, sane outside observer, this must look like the kiss of death. If The Episcopal Church were a NYSE stock it would have been downgraded and thrown off the exchange a long time ago.
Tad believes that if the church were truly about its business of bringing the gospel of God's forgiveness and grace to tens of millions whom he calls "unevangelized groups" the Episcopal Church would have corrected some of its outlandish and revisionist theology and might have become a healthy, growing, loving, saving instrument of God's grace.
Instead the TEC is withering and dying because a small group of sexually obsessed gay and lesbian men and women became so fixated on their aberrant behavior that it became an all-consuming passion to broker it into the church at any and all cost - even the cost of those same millions that should have been spent reaching out to the world's least and lost.
God will judge The Episcopal Church for doing just that. And He should.
Writing in The Living Church Tad explains: "If the Episcopal Church wants to talk about future agendas for our church perhaps they should think about AFM's goal to be Christ's witnesses to each and every nation. This is supposed to include those tough and out of sight groups who receive hardly any Christian attention."
Tad got so riled up about the church's preoccupation with sex and what he called the "co-opting" of Romans Chapter 1 for purposes of talking about the Apostle Paul's views on homosexuality, that he says it lost sight of what the text was really about.
"Romans chapter 1 is where the great Apostle introduces the theme of missions, and particularly to those who have never heard the gospel. Paul is calling our attention to those who are as yet unevangelized, without scripture and clueless about Jesus Christ," he says.
"The sexuality issue is obscuring this mission theme, it also obscures the overlooked people Paul wants to bring to the attention of the church - once again," he writes.
It's not that complicated, says Tad. "Paul was talking about those who didn't have any revelation of God in the Bible or in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. These people have seen the divine nature only through creation. Some, Paul writes, have so abandoned the worship of God that he has abandoned them to the their own passions and expression of sexuality. These are the people who get shunted aside when we miss Paul's main theme of mission."
Tad calls them the unreached peoples of the world - no less than 20 percent of today's population - who remain blurred in our vision, fogged over, a blind spot in our response to God's missionary call to the Church. "As long as we only read sexuality in Romans 1 and don't hear his missionary call, this neglect of the unreached world will continue."
Tad cites Jesus' own words to the gathered church on the mountaintop in Galilee: "See that each and every ethnic group has believers and disciples."
Today, says the missioner, the number of people who have never heard of him is staggering. "About 1 billion 700 million have no clue who Jesus is and no means to hear about him. They have no way to receive an invitation to enter his kingdom," he says.
Tad puts it another way; "Whatever is wrong on the issues of sexuality and biblical authority is not as wrong as the Church leaving 1.7 billion people in the dark about Jesus Christ."
Then Tad adds this: "The sexuality issues and related matters are very important and must be dealt with biblically and charitably. Far more serious, however, is our neglect of the unreached population which probably leaves 20 percent of the world with no alternative to hell."
And trends in mission today do not indicate a change in directions, he says. "Judging from the destinations of short-term trips and response to visiting Anglican clergy and bishops, we are active in missions, but merely moving from one part of the Anglican Communion to another."
Humorously he writes: "For a period of ten years we should swap the locations of Costa Rica and Kazakhstan. Wouldn't that change our missions' perspective?"
Tad rips how The Episcopal Church spends its money. "What if just 10 percent of the conferences, organizations, blogs, money and attention on issues of sexuality were directed to the challenge of the church planting in the Aceh Province of Sumatra, Indonesia," he cries.
"This missions neglect will bring a high cost to the Church. We will face the Lord of the Church one day, and he will remind us of his charge to go to those at the ends of the earth. He will ask whether or not we went, and then he will deal with our disobedience."
Tad offers a way out. There are things we can do, he says.
* We recruit for ordained ministry; why not for missions?
* We do frequent infomercials on stewardship; why not on Morocco or Bhutan?
* We increase line items for Sunday school; why not a larger percentage for departing missionaries who must raise their own support?
* We use our research tools for church growth; why not for finding ways of involvement among the Yemeni people?
"If we read Paul on sexuality, we must first read him on mission. We hear the voices debating our internal issues, we must also train our ears to hear the cries of those searching for the living and loving God of heaven."
---Anglican Frontier Missions can be reached at: www.afm-us.org
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
7/20/2006
The Rev. Tad de Bordenave believes The Episcopal Church is paying the price for having sidelined the Lord's call to the ends of the earth. The TEC has been deluded and de-energized by its constant, overwhelming and narcissistic preoccupation with pansexuality.
Tad, as he is affectionately known, has spent the last 13 years of his ecclesiastical life preoccupied with a truly authentic understanding of the church's mission - reaching those two billion people who are in the dark about Jesus Christ.
This has been his love, preoccupation and deep concern, after spending 25 years as a parish priest. With all those years under his belt he could have retired and gone gently onto that soft golf course.
Then God woke him up one day to a new concern - millions of men, women and children who had never heard the Good News of God's saving love found in Jesus Christ.
This so energized him, that he formed Anglican Frontier Missions, (AFM) in 1993. He never looked back.
The lost, those who have never heard the name of Jesus, let alone his gift of salvation, became his concern and passion, and all along, he says, it should have been the heartbeat of the Episcopal Church. It wasn't. The church became consumed with sodomy instead.
The net effect was the TEC spent millions of dollars explaining, exporting and finally exploiting sodomite behavior into the church with endless conferences, general convention resolutions, primatial gatherings concerned almost solely with one single issue: homosexuality, and as a result the Episcopal Church now faces the consequences of a divided church with fleeing parishes, perhaps even whole dioceses. To any rational, sane outside observer, this must look like the kiss of death. If The Episcopal Church were a NYSE stock it would have been downgraded and thrown off the exchange a long time ago.
Tad believes that if the church were truly about its business of bringing the gospel of God's forgiveness and grace to tens of millions whom he calls "unevangelized groups" the Episcopal Church would have corrected some of its outlandish and revisionist theology and might have become a healthy, growing, loving, saving instrument of God's grace.
Instead the TEC is withering and dying because a small group of sexually obsessed gay and lesbian men and women became so fixated on their aberrant behavior that it became an all-consuming passion to broker it into the church at any and all cost - even the cost of those same millions that should have been spent reaching out to the world's least and lost.
God will judge The Episcopal Church for doing just that. And He should.
Writing in The Living Church Tad explains: "If the Episcopal Church wants to talk about future agendas for our church perhaps they should think about AFM's goal to be Christ's witnesses to each and every nation. This is supposed to include those tough and out of sight groups who receive hardly any Christian attention."
Tad got so riled up about the church's preoccupation with sex and what he called the "co-opting" of Romans Chapter 1 for purposes of talking about the Apostle Paul's views on homosexuality, that he says it lost sight of what the text was really about.
"Romans chapter 1 is where the great Apostle introduces the theme of missions, and particularly to those who have never heard the gospel. Paul is calling our attention to those who are as yet unevangelized, without scripture and clueless about Jesus Christ," he says.
"The sexuality issue is obscuring this mission theme, it also obscures the overlooked people Paul wants to bring to the attention of the church - once again," he writes.
It's not that complicated, says Tad. "Paul was talking about those who didn't have any revelation of God in the Bible or in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. These people have seen the divine nature only through creation. Some, Paul writes, have so abandoned the worship of God that he has abandoned them to the their own passions and expression of sexuality. These are the people who get shunted aside when we miss Paul's main theme of mission."
Tad calls them the unreached peoples of the world - no less than 20 percent of today's population - who remain blurred in our vision, fogged over, a blind spot in our response to God's missionary call to the Church. "As long as we only read sexuality in Romans 1 and don't hear his missionary call, this neglect of the unreached world will continue."
Tad cites Jesus' own words to the gathered church on the mountaintop in Galilee: "See that each and every ethnic group has believers and disciples."
Today, says the missioner, the number of people who have never heard of him is staggering. "About 1 billion 700 million have no clue who Jesus is and no means to hear about him. They have no way to receive an invitation to enter his kingdom," he says.
Tad puts it another way; "Whatever is wrong on the issues of sexuality and biblical authority is not as wrong as the Church leaving 1.7 billion people in the dark about Jesus Christ."
Then Tad adds this: "The sexuality issues and related matters are very important and must be dealt with biblically and charitably. Far more serious, however, is our neglect of the unreached population which probably leaves 20 percent of the world with no alternative to hell."
And trends in mission today do not indicate a change in directions, he says. "Judging from the destinations of short-term trips and response to visiting Anglican clergy and bishops, we are active in missions, but merely moving from one part of the Anglican Communion to another."
Humorously he writes: "For a period of ten years we should swap the locations of Costa Rica and Kazakhstan. Wouldn't that change our missions' perspective?"
Tad rips how The Episcopal Church spends its money. "What if just 10 percent of the conferences, organizations, blogs, money and attention on issues of sexuality were directed to the challenge of the church planting in the Aceh Province of Sumatra, Indonesia," he cries.
"This missions neglect will bring a high cost to the Church. We will face the Lord of the Church one day, and he will remind us of his charge to go to those at the ends of the earth. He will ask whether or not we went, and then he will deal with our disobedience."
Tad offers a way out. There are things we can do, he says.
* We recruit for ordained ministry; why not for missions?
* We do frequent infomercials on stewardship; why not on Morocco or Bhutan?
* We increase line items for Sunday school; why not a larger percentage for departing missionaries who must raise their own support?
* We use our research tools for church growth; why not for finding ways of involvement among the Yemeni people?
"If we read Paul on sexuality, we must first read him on mission. We hear the voices debating our internal issues, we must also train our ears to hear the cries of those searching for the living and loving God of heaven."
---Anglican Frontier Missions can be reached at: www.afm-us.org
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Petition of Parishioners of St. Andrew's Church delivered to CNY Bishop
From Tranfigurations blog:
On July 17, 2006, Bishop Skip Adams signed court papers to commence a lawsuit against St. Andrew's to seize the church property. On July 19th, he brought the case to court. That same day he sent a letter to the members of the parish inviting them to meet with him for "dialogue." The meeting was held this evening, July 25th, as a severe thunderstorm stuck the Syracuse area with lightening and drenching rain. The Bishop, his chancellor, and two diocesan employees were there to greet those who came. Raymond Dague, the attorney for the parish, accompanied by one member of the parish brought a petition to the bishop. Five other people showed up for the meeting.
Text of the petition read to the Bishop:
To: Bishop Gladstone B. Adams, III
July of 2006
We, the undersigned People of the Free Church of St. Andrews in the Valley, have received a letter from you inviting us to attend a meeting with you for “open dialogue.” We are deeply offended that you have sued our church and its leaders. We support our church and its leaders in the actions which they have taken and for which you have sued us. We find your words and actions hypocritical when you claim to desire open dialogue with us while you are suing us. We will meet with you to discuss our differences in our respective faith, beliefs, and practice once you have discontinued the lawsuit against us. We urge you to repent of your actions and the ungodly spectacle of you, a bishop, suing a Christian Church to impose your will on us. May God have mercy on your soul.
153 people who attend the Free Church of St. Andrews in the Valley in Syracuse, New York signed this petition to the bishop in response to his request to come to the cathedral to discuss things with him just after he sued the parish, its rector Fr. Bob Hackendorf, and all of the individuals on its board of trustees/vestry. The statement was read to the bishop and he was shown the written copy of it and allowed to flip through the pages to see all of the names. Out of concern that he could use this list against the people who signed it, the bishop was not given a copy of the petition.
Each person who signed the petition set forth next to their name the year in which they started to worship at St. Andrews. The total came to 1,712 years of attendance at the parish.
On July 17, 2006, Bishop Skip Adams signed court papers to commence a lawsuit against St. Andrew's to seize the church property. On July 19th, he brought the case to court. That same day he sent a letter to the members of the parish inviting them to meet with him for "dialogue." The meeting was held this evening, July 25th, as a severe thunderstorm stuck the Syracuse area with lightening and drenching rain. The Bishop, his chancellor, and two diocesan employees were there to greet those who came. Raymond Dague, the attorney for the parish, accompanied by one member of the parish brought a petition to the bishop. Five other people showed up for the meeting.
Text of the petition read to the Bishop:
To: Bishop Gladstone B. Adams, III
July of 2006
We, the undersigned People of the Free Church of St. Andrews in the Valley, have received a letter from you inviting us to attend a meeting with you for “open dialogue.” We are deeply offended that you have sued our church and its leaders. We support our church and its leaders in the actions which they have taken and for which you have sued us. We find your words and actions hypocritical when you claim to desire open dialogue with us while you are suing us. We will meet with you to discuss our differences in our respective faith, beliefs, and practice once you have discontinued the lawsuit against us. We urge you to repent of your actions and the ungodly spectacle of you, a bishop, suing a Christian Church to impose your will on us. May God have mercy on your soul.
153 people who attend the Free Church of St. Andrews in the Valley in Syracuse, New York signed this petition to the bishop in response to his request to come to the cathedral to discuss things with him just after he sued the parish, its rector Fr. Bob Hackendorf, and all of the individuals on its board of trustees/vestry. The statement was read to the bishop and he was shown the written copy of it and allowed to flip through the pages to see all of the names. Out of concern that he could use this list against the people who signed it, the bishop was not given a copy of the petition.
Each person who signed the petition set forth next to their name the year in which they started to worship at St. Andrews. The total came to 1,712 years of attendance at the parish.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Statement by Parishioner on Bishop's Letter
From Transfigurations, blog of Pat Dague of St. Andrew's, Syracuse:
In one of the more bizarre communications from a liberal Episcopal bishop to date, Central New York’s Skip Adams wrote a letter which he sent out by bulk mail to every member of St. Andrew’s church in Syracuse for whom he could find an address. Two days before he sent the letter out, he signed legal papers suing the parish and seeking to seize its property and shut down worship services at the church. On the same day of this letter the Diocesan lawyer was arguing before a judge that the court should prevent the transfer of any property of the church including any monies used to pay salaries or church expenses. The Court ultimately denied the Diocesan request, but had it been granted, it would have shut down the parish.
In one of the more bizarre communications from a liberal Episcopal bishop to date, Central New York’s Skip Adams wrote a letter which he sent out by bulk mail to every member of St. Andrew’s church in Syracuse for whom he could find an address. Two days before he sent the letter out, he signed legal papers suing the parish and seeking to seize its property and shut down worship services at the church. On the same day of this letter the Diocesan lawyer was arguing before a judge that the court should prevent the transfer of any property of the church including any monies used to pay salaries or church expenses. The Court ultimately denied the Diocesan request, but had it been granted, it would have shut down the parish.
Letter and Statement from Bishop Adams
The Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. Adams III
The Diocese of Central New York
July 19, 2006
Dear People of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church:
As you may know, the Vestry of St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, without prior conversation with me, has taken legal action to amend its Certificate of Incorporation. This is an apparent attempt to disassociate St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church from the Diocese of Central New York and, in turn, my authority as Bishop. Therefore, I have taken steps to challenge this action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. An accompanying press release to this effect is enclosed.
I am offering you the opportunity to meet with me so that I may explain this action and encourage open dialogue. This meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 p.m. in St Paul’s Cathedral.
Please know that you remain in my prayer with the hope that the reconciling live of Jesus will lead us through this difficult time.
Faithfully in Christ,
Gladstone B. Adams III
Bishop
Cc The Very Rev. Katherine Day [president of the Standing Committee]
Members of the Diocesan Board and Standing Committee
District Deans
Mr. Paul J. Curtin, Jr., Esq. [chancellor of the diocese]
Mr. Jonathan B. Fellows, Esq. [lawyer hired by the diocese]
Bishop’s statement on back of letter:
July 19, 2006
The Diocese of Central New York has commenced an action against the lay leadership of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Syracuse seeking a declaration from the Court regarding the ownership of property held by St. Andrew’s. St. Andrew’s was founded in the early 1900’s as an Episcopal Church, and was supported by the Diocese as a mission of the Diocese of Central New York for decades. Bishop Gladstone Adams stated: It saddens me to have to take this step, but it was necessary because the leadership of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Syracuse took legal action by filing an amended Certificate of Incorporation renouncing St. Andrew’s affiliation with the Episcopal Church. St. Andrew’s has stated that it is no longer under my supervision as the Bishop of Central New York, but is under the supervision of the Bishop of Rwanda. We regret that the current leadership has taken legal action to change the Certificate of Incorporation to renounce St. Andrew’s affiliation with the Episcopal Church. Their actions have left us no choice but to seek a declaration from the Court. While we would hope that people would not choose to do so, any of the members of St. Andrew’s who disagree with the actions of the Episcopal Church may leave the Episcopal Church. However, they are not free to take an Episcopal Church, its property or holdings, out of the denomination. We hope that the Court will act swiftly to set aside the actions taken by the lay leadership.
--end--
The Diocese of Central New York
July 19, 2006
Dear People of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church:
As you may know, the Vestry of St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, without prior conversation with me, has taken legal action to amend its Certificate of Incorporation. This is an apparent attempt to disassociate St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church from the Diocese of Central New York and, in turn, my authority as Bishop. Therefore, I have taken steps to challenge this action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. An accompanying press release to this effect is enclosed.
I am offering you the opportunity to meet with me so that I may explain this action and encourage open dialogue. This meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 p.m. in St Paul’s Cathedral.
Please know that you remain in my prayer with the hope that the reconciling live of Jesus will lead us through this difficult time.
Faithfully in Christ,
Gladstone B. Adams III
Bishop
Cc The Very Rev. Katherine Day [president of the Standing Committee]
Members of the Diocesan Board and Standing Committee
District Deans
Mr. Paul J. Curtin, Jr., Esq. [chancellor of the diocese]
Mr. Jonathan B. Fellows, Esq. [lawyer hired by the diocese]
Bishop’s statement on back of letter:
July 19, 2006
The Diocese of Central New York has commenced an action against the lay leadership of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Syracuse seeking a declaration from the Court regarding the ownership of property held by St. Andrew’s. St. Andrew’s was founded in the early 1900’s as an Episcopal Church, and was supported by the Diocese as a mission of the Diocese of Central New York for decades. Bishop Gladstone Adams stated: It saddens me to have to take this step, but it was necessary because the leadership of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Syracuse took legal action by filing an amended Certificate of Incorporation renouncing St. Andrew’s affiliation with the Episcopal Church. St. Andrew’s has stated that it is no longer under my supervision as the Bishop of Central New York, but is under the supervision of the Bishop of Rwanda. We regret that the current leadership has taken legal action to change the Certificate of Incorporation to renounce St. Andrew’s affiliation with the Episcopal Church. Their actions have left us no choice but to seek a declaration from the Court. While we would hope that people would not choose to do so, any of the members of St. Andrew’s who disagree with the actions of the Episcopal Church may leave the Episcopal Church. However, they are not free to take an Episcopal Church, its property or holdings, out of the denomination. We hope that the Court will act swiftly to set aside the actions taken by the lay leadership.
--end--
Friday, July 21, 2006
From Transfigurations blog
Dear Readers,
It has been an intense, exhausting day for the people of St. Andrew's in the Valley, Syracuse NY. Listening and watching the proceedings (The Diocese of CNY vs. St Andrew's in the Valley, their wardens and vestry), watching Matt Kennedy+ and his fingers flying over the keyboard, seeing the faces of my fellow parishioners as they intently watched, listened and prayed during the proceeding will stay with me forever. Families with babies and young children, teenagers, the elderly. One count estimated that 120 people were in that courtroom-approximately twice the average attendance of parishes in this diocese. (The exception is St. Andrew's whose ASA is 175 over the summer)
St. Andrew's has always been known as a praying church-a worshiping church and I believe this is what truly carried the day and prevented the church from being shut down. We have many brothers and sisters in other churches in the city, indeed all over the country who were with us in prayer. I didn't realize till later that one church had sent a prayer team who prayed out in the hall the whole time we were in the courtroom.
I cannot possibly do any better than linking to other blogs concerning what happened today-so check them out.
And I praise God for all the faithful prayer warriors! This is just the opening volley and there is more to come, so please continue to hold us up before the Lord.
Pat Dague
It has been an intense, exhausting day for the people of St. Andrew's in the Valley, Syracuse NY. Listening and watching the proceedings (The Diocese of CNY vs. St Andrew's in the Valley, their wardens and vestry), watching Matt Kennedy+ and his fingers flying over the keyboard, seeing the faces of my fellow parishioners as they intently watched, listened and prayed during the proceeding will stay with me forever. Families with babies and young children, teenagers, the elderly. One count estimated that 120 people were in that courtroom-approximately twice the average attendance of parishes in this diocese. (The exception is St. Andrew's whose ASA is 175 over the summer)
St. Andrew's has always been known as a praying church-a worshiping church and I believe this is what truly carried the day and prevented the church from being shut down. We have many brothers and sisters in other churches in the city, indeed all over the country who were with us in prayer. I didn't realize till later that one church had sent a prayer team who prayed out in the hall the whole time we were in the courtroom.
I cannot possibly do any better than linking to other blogs concerning what happened today-so check them out.
And I praise God for all the faithful prayer warriors! This is just the opening volley and there is more to come, so please continue to hold us up before the Lord.
Pat Dague
Binghamton Press and Sun: Episcopal diocese sues parish in property, homosexuality rift
Staff and Wire reports
SYRACUSE -- The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York sued one of its parishes Wednesday to stop any transfer of church property in a dispute over homosexuality in the church. Supreme Court Justice Edward D. Carni ruled Thursday against the diocese's request -- a request that would have shut down St. Andrew's Church in Syracuse.
"I was very pleased that the court did not do what the diocese wanted," said Raymond Dague, a parishioner and lawyer representing St. Andrew's Church in Syracuse. "What's very, very sad is this incredibly mean-spirited diocese suing one of its own."
Attorneys for the diocese could not be reached.
The court action stems from a rift in the diocese after Bishop Gladstone Adams voted in favor of the 2004 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, said a parishioner involved in the case. Robinson's appointment created a schism in the Episcopal Church because he is gay.
Dague said his parish is more traditional than the diocese and the issue of homosexuality in the church has been a "lightning rod" for the division. St. Andrew's Church did not support the consecration of the gay bishop.
The outcome of the suit could have ripple effects throughout the Episcopal community, said the Rev. Matthew Kennedy, rector of The Church of the Good Shepard on Conklin Avenue, Binghamton.
"The legal aspect of this is a tragedy," Kennedy said. "It says the relationships have broken down to such an extent that we no longer consider discussion a possibility."
Kennedy cited a passage from Corinthians that forbids lawsuits between believers.
Dague said the St. Andrew's Church parish and its 175 members moved in February to amend its certificate of incorporation and seek a shift in its "ecclesiastic oversight" from Adams to Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, head of the Anglican Church in Rwanda and the Anglican Mission in America.
The diocese responded by asking for a restraining order to prevent transfers of what it views as diocesan property, including St. Andrews, according to court documents. The diocese also wanted a full financial accounting from St. Andrew's and a ruling that the law grants the diocese title to all church property.
Lawyers for the diocese and the parish were scheduled to be back in court Sept. 1.
Staff writer Brian Liberatore and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
SYRACUSE -- The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York sued one of its parishes Wednesday to stop any transfer of church property in a dispute over homosexuality in the church. Supreme Court Justice Edward D. Carni ruled Thursday against the diocese's request -- a request that would have shut down St. Andrew's Church in Syracuse.
"I was very pleased that the court did not do what the diocese wanted," said Raymond Dague, a parishioner and lawyer representing St. Andrew's Church in Syracuse. "What's very, very sad is this incredibly mean-spirited diocese suing one of its own."
Attorneys for the diocese could not be reached.
The court action stems from a rift in the diocese after Bishop Gladstone Adams voted in favor of the 2004 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, said a parishioner involved in the case. Robinson's appointment created a schism in the Episcopal Church because he is gay.
Dague said his parish is more traditional than the diocese and the issue of homosexuality in the church has been a "lightning rod" for the division. St. Andrew's Church did not support the consecration of the gay bishop.
The outcome of the suit could have ripple effects throughout the Episcopal community, said the Rev. Matthew Kennedy, rector of The Church of the Good Shepard on Conklin Avenue, Binghamton.
"The legal aspect of this is a tragedy," Kennedy said. "It says the relationships have broken down to such an extent that we no longer consider discussion a possibility."
Kennedy cited a passage from Corinthians that forbids lawsuits between believers.
Dague said the St. Andrew's Church parish and its 175 members moved in February to amend its certificate of incorporation and seek a shift in its "ecclesiastic oversight" from Adams to Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, head of the Anglican Church in Rwanda and the Anglican Mission in America.
The diocese responded by asking for a restraining order to prevent transfers of what it views as diocesan property, including St. Andrews, according to court documents. The diocese also wanted a full financial accounting from St. Andrew's and a ruling that the law grants the diocese title to all church property.
Lawyers for the diocese and the parish were scheduled to be back in court Sept. 1.
Staff writer Brian Liberatore and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
AP: Episcopal diocese sues Syracuse parish in property dispute
7/20/2006, 11:45 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York sued one of its parishes Wednesday to stop any transfer of church property in a dispute over homosexuality in the church.
The court action stemmed from a rift in the diocese after Bishop Gladstone Adams voted in favor of the 2004 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, said a parishioner involved in the case. Robinson's appointment created a schism in the Episcopal Church because he is gay.
Raymond Dague, a parishioner and lawyer representing St. Andrew's Church, said his parish is more traditional than the diocese and the issue of homosexuality in the church has been a "lightning rod" for the division.
He said the parish and its 175 members moved in February to amend its certificate of incorporation and seek a shift in its "ecclesiastic oversight" from Adams to Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, head of the Anglican Church in Rwanda and the Anglican Mission in America.
The diocese responded by asking for a restraining order to prevent transfers of what it views as diocesan property, including the church on South Salina Street, according to court documents. The diocese also wanted a full financial accounting from St. Andrew's and a ruling that the law grants the diocese title to all church property.
State Supreme Court Justice Edward Carni rejected the request for a restraining order on Thursday, and said the disagreement comes down to ownership issues.
St. Andrew's is not planning to sell its church, but wants to ensure it has access to funds for operating expenses, Dague said.
The legal arguments on the lawsuit will go before state Supreme Court Justice James Murphy Sept. 1.
The Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York sued one of its parishes Wednesday to stop any transfer of church property in a dispute over homosexuality in the church.
The court action stemmed from a rift in the diocese after Bishop Gladstone Adams voted in favor of the 2004 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, said a parishioner involved in the case. Robinson's appointment created a schism in the Episcopal Church because he is gay.
Raymond Dague, a parishioner and lawyer representing St. Andrew's Church, said his parish is more traditional than the diocese and the issue of homosexuality in the church has been a "lightning rod" for the division.
He said the parish and its 175 members moved in February to amend its certificate of incorporation and seek a shift in its "ecclesiastic oversight" from Adams to Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, head of the Anglican Church in Rwanda and the Anglican Mission in America.
The diocese responded by asking for a restraining order to prevent transfers of what it views as diocesan property, including the church on South Salina Street, according to court documents. The diocese also wanted a full financial accounting from St. Andrew's and a ruling that the law grants the diocese title to all church property.
State Supreme Court Justice Edward Carni rejected the request for a restraining order on Thursday, and said the disagreement comes down to ownership issues.
St. Andrew's is not planning to sell its church, but wants to ensure it has access to funds for operating expenses, Dague said.
The legal arguments on the lawsuit will go before state Supreme Court Justice James Murphy Sept. 1.
Restraining Order Denied
Dissident parish stays in church
Episcopal Diocese's request for restraining order against local congregation rejected.
Friday, July 21, 2006
By Renée K. Gadoua and Jim O'Hara
Staff writers
State Supreme Court Justice Edward Carni on Thursday denied a request for a restraining order against a Syracuse Episcopal parish whose leaders reject the denomination's policy on homosexuality, saying the disagreement boils down to a question of ownership.
"What the court's interested in is, 'Hey, who owns this building?' " Carni said.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York says the vestry of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 5013 S. Salina St., violated state law and the rules of the Episcopal Church by changing the church's certificate of incorporation.
"That was an illegalact. It is not in the power of the vestry to secede from the Protestant Episcopal Church," said Jonathan Fellows, a lawyer representing the diocese.
The suit seeks financial accounting from the church and recognition that the law grants the diocese title to all its property. The diocese also seeks to oust Robert Hackendorf as the church's leader. Fellows said Hackendorf is not licensed to minister in the local diocese.
Some members of the parish have publicly disagreed with the 2003 denominational approval to consecrate V. Gene Robinson, of New Hampshire, as the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop. Homosexuality and biblical authority have been at the center of debates within the denomination since then.
Six of the diocese's 94 parishes have withheld assessments to protest the church's policies on homosexuality. No one from those parishes has said their congregation intends to leave the diocese, said Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams.
In court Thursday, Raymond Dague, a member of St. Andrew's and the lawyer representing the church, defended the church action and accused the diocese and the Episcopal Church USA of betraying traditional church values.
"This is nota church that has just wandered off," Dague said. "It would be our contention that the diocese has changed to a new religion."
Paul Curtin, diocesan chancellor, criticized the congregation's efforts to change its name and disassociate itself from the diocese while maintaining the building. He said the congregation has no right to affiliate itself with a Rwandan bishop, who opposes the consecration of Robinson.
"It's a clear example of them acting independently without authority," Curtin said.
Adams said the lawsuit is a final resort.
"It saddens me that we've gotten to this point," he said. "I would rather resolve this pastorally."
Adams said people who disagree with actions of the Episcopal Church are free to leave it.
"However, they are not free to take an Episcopal church, its property or holdings, out of the denomination," he said.
Thursday, about 40members of the congregation were in court, where Dague said a restraining order would essentially shut down the church. Carni said Dague was overstating the impact of such a ruling.
State Supreme Court Justice James Murphy will hear legal arguments on the lawsuit Sept. 1. Carni offered Thursday to mediate the dispute, but Dague declined.
Dague said the congregation hopes to continue worshipping at the building, but he doesn't expect the court to resolve the denomination's policies on sexual orientation.
"I think some things are not settle-able, judge," he said.
Renee K. Gadoua can be reached at rgadoua@syracuse.com or 470-2203. Jim O'Hara can be reached at johara@syracuse.com or 470-2260.
Episcopal Diocese's request for restraining order against local congregation rejected.
Friday, July 21, 2006
By Renée K. Gadoua and Jim O'Hara
Staff writers
State Supreme Court Justice Edward Carni on Thursday denied a request for a restraining order against a Syracuse Episcopal parish whose leaders reject the denomination's policy on homosexuality, saying the disagreement boils down to a question of ownership.
"What the court's interested in is, 'Hey, who owns this building?' " Carni said.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York says the vestry of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 5013 S. Salina St., violated state law and the rules of the Episcopal Church by changing the church's certificate of incorporation.
"That was an illegalact. It is not in the power of the vestry to secede from the Protestant Episcopal Church," said Jonathan Fellows, a lawyer representing the diocese.
The suit seeks financial accounting from the church and recognition that the law grants the diocese title to all its property. The diocese also seeks to oust Robert Hackendorf as the church's leader. Fellows said Hackendorf is not licensed to minister in the local diocese.
Some members of the parish have publicly disagreed with the 2003 denominational approval to consecrate V. Gene Robinson, of New Hampshire, as the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop. Homosexuality and biblical authority have been at the center of debates within the denomination since then.
Six of the diocese's 94 parishes have withheld assessments to protest the church's policies on homosexuality. No one from those parishes has said their congregation intends to leave the diocese, said Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams.
In court Thursday, Raymond Dague, a member of St. Andrew's and the lawyer representing the church, defended the church action and accused the diocese and the Episcopal Church USA of betraying traditional church values.
"This is nota church that has just wandered off," Dague said. "It would be our contention that the diocese has changed to a new religion."
Paul Curtin, diocesan chancellor, criticized the congregation's efforts to change its name and disassociate itself from the diocese while maintaining the building. He said the congregation has no right to affiliate itself with a Rwandan bishop, who opposes the consecration of Robinson.
"It's a clear example of them acting independently without authority," Curtin said.
Adams said the lawsuit is a final resort.
"It saddens me that we've gotten to this point," he said. "I would rather resolve this pastorally."
Adams said people who disagree with actions of the Episcopal Church are free to leave it.
"However, they are not free to take an Episcopal church, its property or holdings, out of the denomination," he said.
Thursday, about 40members of the congregation were in court, where Dague said a restraining order would essentially shut down the church. Carni said Dague was overstating the impact of such a ruling.
State Supreme Court Justice James Murphy will hear legal arguments on the lawsuit Sept. 1. Carni offered Thursday to mediate the dispute, but Dague declined.
Dague said the congregation hopes to continue worshipping at the building, but he doesn't expect the court to resolve the denomination's policies on sexual orientation.
"I think some things are not settle-able, judge," he said.
Renee K. Gadoua can be reached at rgadoua@syracuse.com or 470-2203. Jim O'Hara can be reached at johara@syracuse.com or 470-2260.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
2 Weeks and Counting...
It's been over two weeks since the Archbishop of Canterbury commented on General Convention 2006. Most folks in the Diocese of Central NY may not be aware of his statement because the diocese has not seen fit to send it out over their dionews system. I thought it was pretty significant, so I sent it to the bishop's secretary for distribution over dionews. It hasn't yet been sent out. It was not favorable to ecusa, so my guess is it won't ever be sent out. Some news just isn't good enough to be shared.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Suit against diocese to go to court
By Brian Liberatore
Press & Sun-Bulletin
7/6/2006
OWEGO -- A lawsuit alleging the local Episcopal Diocese failed to act on an accusation of sex abuse and retaliated against the former rector who brought up the complaint will go forward in state Supreme Court.
The former rector of St. Paul's Church in Owego, David G. Bollinger, claimed in the suit that Bishop Gladstone Adams retaliated against him for raising allegations against another former St. Paul's rector, Ralph E. Johnson.
The diocese blocked Bollinger for the last year from performing his duties at St. Paul's. The diocese claimed that Bollinger misused money while rector at the church. Bollinger said the diocese invented the claim as a means of retaliation.
Supreme Court Justice Jeffery A. Tait ruled Wednesday that two of the seven complaints in the suit against the Central New York Diocese of the Episcopal Church could stand. The diocese had asked Tait to dismiss the case.
Tait dismissed several of Bollinger's complaints: breach of fiduciary duty by Adams, misuse of diocese assets, defamation, interference with the plaintiff's personal financial accounts and the improper extension of the "inhibition" that kept him from performing his duties. Tait let stand two complaints: intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of services.
"It's further vindication of the position we've taken," Bollinger said Friday. He originally sought $4.35 million in damages. After Tait dismissed five of the seven complaints, Bollinger said the suit was reduced to about $1.25 million.
Bollinger claims that years earlier, he alerted Episcopal officials to Johnson's alleged sexual misconduct, but was rebuffed by Gladstone. Johnson resigned from the priesthood in May amid allegations that he abused a young boy in the 1970s.
Gladstone was not available Friday.
"The issue for me has been the cover-up," Bollinger said. "I tried to bring forth the fact that this happened and I was fired."
Bollinger also claimed diocesan officials broke into his bank account using identity theft. In his decision, Tait wrote, "as neither party has cited precedent addressing this issue (identity theft) ... it appears that this cause of action lacks the actual harm element and thus fails to state a cause of action."
END
Press & Sun-Bulletin
7/6/2006
OWEGO -- A lawsuit alleging the local Episcopal Diocese failed to act on an accusation of sex abuse and retaliated against the former rector who brought up the complaint will go forward in state Supreme Court.
The former rector of St. Paul's Church in Owego, David G. Bollinger, claimed in the suit that Bishop Gladstone Adams retaliated against him for raising allegations against another former St. Paul's rector, Ralph E. Johnson.
The diocese blocked Bollinger for the last year from performing his duties at St. Paul's. The diocese claimed that Bollinger misused money while rector at the church. Bollinger said the diocese invented the claim as a means of retaliation.
Supreme Court Justice Jeffery A. Tait ruled Wednesday that two of the seven complaints in the suit against the Central New York Diocese of the Episcopal Church could stand. The diocese had asked Tait to dismiss the case.
Tait dismissed several of Bollinger's complaints: breach of fiduciary duty by Adams, misuse of diocese assets, defamation, interference with the plaintiff's personal financial accounts and the improper extension of the "inhibition" that kept him from performing his duties. Tait let stand two complaints: intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of services.
"It's further vindication of the position we've taken," Bollinger said Friday. He originally sought $4.35 million in damages. After Tait dismissed five of the seven complaints, Bollinger said the suit was reduced to about $1.25 million.
Bollinger claims that years earlier, he alerted Episcopal officials to Johnson's alleged sexual misconduct, but was rebuffed by Gladstone. Johnson resigned from the priesthood in May amid allegations that he abused a young boy in the 1970s.
Gladstone was not available Friday.
"The issue for me has been the cover-up," Bollinger said. "I tried to bring forth the fact that this happened and I was fired."
Bollinger also claimed diocesan officials broke into his bank account using identity theft. In his decision, Tait wrote, "as neither party has cited precedent addressing this issue (identity theft) ... it appears that this cause of action lacks the actual harm element and thus fails to state a cause of action."
END
Friday, July 07, 2006
ENS Mention of Vestal
From an Episcopal News Service story:
On the Susquehanna, the crest at Vestal, New York, near Binghamton, was also 15 feet above flood stage, and the highest ever recorded there. In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, some 50,000 people had fled on the night of June 28, but the Susquehanna there rose only to 34 feet, well below its 41-foot floodwalls.
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Vestal had some flood problems in the basements of our two buildings, and two parishioner families had significant damage.
btw - We have received no inquiries from our diocesan office or the dean of our district about any damage from the historic flood. I guess concern for those on the orthodox side of the Anglican Communion is not a priority issue for the revolutionists in ecusa.
On the Susquehanna, the crest at Vestal, New York, near Binghamton, was also 15 feet above flood stage, and the highest ever recorded there. In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, some 50,000 people had fled on the night of June 28, but the Susquehanna there rose only to 34 feet, well below its 41-foot floodwalls.
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Vestal had some flood problems in the basements of our two buildings, and two parishioner families had significant damage.
btw - We have received no inquiries from our diocesan office or the dean of our district about any damage from the historic flood. I guess concern for those on the orthodox side of the Anglican Communion is not a priority issue for the revolutionists in ecusa.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Lawsuit Goes Forward
The judge in the case of Fr. David Bollinger versus Bp. Skip Adams and the Diocese of Central NY has notified the parties that two of the three charges can go forward to trial. The judge dismissed the charge against Gael Sopchak citing lack of precedent in his reasoning. The two charges for intentional infliction of emotional distress and other related issues will go to trial.
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