FLORIDA: Priest Tells Horror Story of Abandonment

From VirtueOnline:

Matthew 5:10-12

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for =
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say =
all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in =
the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


FLORIDA: Priest Tells Horror Story of Abandonment, Rejection and =
Neglect.=20
Abandonment is a two way street, says orthodox Anglican priest.

News Analysis
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org=20
4/7/2008

The Rev. Harald Haugan, or Whitey as he is known to his friends, was a =
priest in The Episcopal Church for nearly 50 years, 20 of those years he =
spent as the founding rector of All Souls' in Jacksonville, Florida, a =
church he served with distinction and honor, making it one of the most =
successful Evangelical Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Florida.

His parish was named after All Souls Langham Place in London where the =
legendary John R.W. Stott, a pillar of 20th Century evangelical =
Anglicanism, kept the faith alive even as spiritual darkness descended =
over the Church of England.

When Whitey retired in 1999, he left behind a thriving congregation, one =
of the largest in the diocese. He was 67 then. Now he's 76, a survivor =
of heart and other surgeries, but still, until the first of this year, =
vigorously involved with three unattached groups doing Bible studies and =
Communion. (They are now under other jurisdictions and clergy their =
members refusing to compromise their faith.) As a result of the =
treatment he received from Bishop Howard and the intimidated leadership =
in the Diocese of Florida, he has been welcomed to continue his genuine =
Anglican commitment as a priest with the Anglican Mission in the =
Americas.

When he saw his name among those officially deposed by the liberal =
Bishop of Florida, the Rt. Rev John Howard, this week, the pain of it =
all came back to him with a rush.

He wrote VOL saying that it would have been nice to have received a =
personal letter to the effect that he had been "fired" and not have to =
read it first from "outside sources"; so he agreed to tell of his =
encounter with Howard "the coldest and most angry attacker I've had in =
my 48 years of ordained ministry."

"On September 20, 2007, I sent a letter to the Standing Committee after =
I had received my letter of inhibition in the Fall of 2007. This was the =
first of three. (He sent a third by certified mail after not receiving =
any response to the first two.) This is just to let you in on how a =
lawyer turned clergyman (Bishop Howard) still operates as though he were =
in a courtroom."

The letter was sent to the Rev. George Young III head of the Standing =
Committee, who has openly stated his hostility for so-called =
"fundamentalists" from his pulpit, according to some of his former =
parishioners.=20

Dear Mr. Young,

"I have neither refused nor been asked to be an active clergyman in the =
Diocese. I have neither been contacted by the Chief Pastor and Bishop, =
nor has he written, phoned nor sought me out in any personal way to make =
his determination. I have never rejected communion with him. He has =
never asked. I am retired. I have not been contacted by any =
congregation, clergy or lay person associated with the Diocese of =
Florida to teach, preside, help, counsel, be on a committee, participate =
in Diocesan life or even had anyone express to me any personal desire =
for such contact.

"My last requested action in the Diocese as priest was the =
reconciliation and restoration of St. Gabriel's (under Bishop Jecko) =
which lasted for a period of fifteen months at the end of which they =
were received back at Diocesan Convention with standing ovation. At that =
time I returned to retirement and have not been asked to do any more by =
any official of the Diocese. As far as the Diocese of Florida is =
concerned it seems to me I have ceased to exist and find myself in a =
state of having been abandoned by the Bishop, officialdom and the =
overall diocesan structure."

Haugan said he underwent surgery and was homebound for several months. =
Not once during his heart procedure in 2005 was any concern shown for =
his well being by any diocesan official from the Bishop to Dean to =
Chairman of the Standing Committee to clergy in the Diocese. "No one =
came to pray, lay on hands, anoint me with oil or bring Communion. =
Abandonment is a two way street. Your claim is institutional =
abandonment, which I have not done. My claim is personal abandonment by =
the clerical leaders of the Diocese. At age 75 I must ask, which is the =
greater, the untrue one or the true one? You tell me. I believe an =
apology is forthcoming."

No apology was ever forthcoming. Haugan felt abandoned.

In October 22, 2007, he wrote a painful letter to Bishop Howard:

"Dear Bishop,

"Since no one has chosen to respond to my letter, I write a second note =
to request some kind of response from the Standing Committee or you. It =
is commonly considered polite, courteous and consistent with church =
manners for someone in authority to reply. You are undertaking a =
procedure to cut me and my family out of the Body of Christ, as =
expressed in the Episcopal Church. Does it not weigh on your heart and =
the hearts of your Committee that this clergyman or any clergyman is =
dealt with so impersonally? I have been in this Diocese since 1950, =
served as an acolyte and sponsored to seminary by St. John's Cathedral =
and Bishop Juhan and ordained by Bishop West in 1959. Before my heart =
surgery, I was asked by Bishop Stephen Jecko (now deceased) to help in =
the reconciliation of three parishes. A bishop in Yorkshire requested my =
help with the similar issues in a parish there. In all four we were =
successful.

"I have poured over the Scriptures, my ordination vows and your canons =
and can find no grounds for the non-specific points and date you have =
given me in your signed affirmation of the Standing Committee's =
recommendation for inhibition and ultimately being deposed. What have I =
done that offends Scripture and the Body of Christ?

"It seems to me that the Standing Committee has violated its own =
governing documents.

"First, Scripture tells us in Matthew 18:15, 'If your brother sins =
against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.' =
That is the first of three steps. No one from the Standing Committee has =
been obedient to that Scripture. This is by far the most important of =
all steps since it is from God's Word which takes precedent over and =
governs all other authority according to Article VI and XX of the 39 =
Articles and the Lambeth Resolutions.

"Second, my experience of the four prior bishops in the Diocese of =
Florida, Juhan, West, Cerveny and Jecko, was that they always approached =
any issue with individual clergy on a personal level. It was always a =
positive experience. I do not understand the Committee's or your =
reluctance in calling, writing or even delegating someone to contact me. =
I find it disheartening that not even one of the clergy on the Committee =
considered it important enough to call.

"Third, even the canons have been violated by the Standing Committee in =
that, canonically, no specifics were given, no offenses defined, no =
complaints explained, no acts described in detail (Sec.2,iii,iv.v.) and =
more especially in (a) no "sufficient facts" were given.

"Fourth, two of the Committee were absent. One has been on a sabbatical =
and the other does not even reside in the Diocese. How does the latter =
function in this Diocese while living in Pensacola? That leaves four. So =
did =BE of the four remaining make the decision? How did they decide on =
their recommendation?

"If I were in a secular corporation and had a committee I trusted to =
recommend the firing of one of my employees and found that they had =
handled it the way this committee handled it, all of them would have =
been fired.

"If the Committee had handled this biblically they would have never even =
approached you at all to sign this kind of hurtful, distressing and =
heart wrenching missive.

"Finally, what purpose is achieved, what goal is met, what is ultimately =
accomplished by deposing a 75 year old retired clergyman with failing =
health?"

Haugan signed the letter "perplexed."

When Bishop Howard did finally reply to Haugan, it was not in writing =
(Bp.Howard never responds in writing to me), but in a phone call and =
revealed nothing of the issues raised by the orthodox priest. So Haugen =
wrote back to the bishop, referring to the initial letter of inhibition:

"Dear Bishop,

"I am responding to your letter. It concerns me that your letter =
indicates little or no personal knowledge of my life and ministry before =
and in retirement. This letter is presently not being distributed and is =
to you alone.

"The counsel you have received from the Standing Committee is totally =
uninformed and not arrived at through any personal contact with me so it =
must be based on speculative and presumed activity. In fact it was =
shocking to say the least. If you would be so kind as to be patient as =
you read the following with an open heart, I believe you might =
understand.

"First, I am following the counsel and attitude of all my former bishops =
who encouraged me to go anywhere and be part of interdenominational =
clergy meetings (the larger Body of Christ), use my teaching gifts =
wherever I can (teach workshops and seminars), exercise evangelism (use =
creative methods to reach the unchurched) and speak in other churches =
(try to bridge the gap ecumenically).

"After an extensive ministry with youth and churches across the U.S., =
Haugan returned to Florida. In his letter to Howard he said that under =
Bishop West, he did evangelistic training with Campus Crusade, later =
chaired the Evangelism Committee and went on trips to the First National =
Episcopal Conference on Evangelism in 1973 in Memphis.

"I was a supervisor at the last Billy Graham crusade in Jacksonville in =
the Gator Bowl and part of the work of the Promise Keepers in the Gator =
Bowl attended by 55,000 men. I spent each Spring for two weeks for 15 =
years studying under John Stott at the London Institute for Contemporary =
Christianity and later served the Anglican Church in Norway conducting =
conferences in Yorkshire in both ecumenical settings and parish =
churches."

Haugan said Bishop West used to send him a card each year thanking him =
for being, in his words, "a pied piper to young people in the Diocese =
and a voice for the Lord."

"Coming from Bishop West I was humbled and blessed by that approval."

Then Haugan ripped the bishop: "Never has my integrity as a Christian =
been questioned by any Bishop of any church until I received this =
insulting letter from the Standing Committee out of the blue, =
vindictively enshrined in generalized, third hand, falsely informed =
legalese, as to what I have been doing in my retirement. No specifics or =
names or spelled out concerns. No one in any official position in the =
Diocese of Florida or even unofficial capacity has ever contacted me =
personally to express any sort of question, criticism or instruction."

"My experience of retired clergy in the many places I have been is that =
they are retired, 'out of the loop,' isolated and unused except for =
those who retain interest in having some sort of official recognition or =
fraternal bonding. My further experience of some of those clergy is that =
people who are in need call them on the phone, seek counsel and want to =
start a service, a prayer group or have a group meeting to learn about =
the Bible, spiritual gifts, evangelism and to have Communion services. =
In my experience no bishop I know has ever questioned answering these =
concerns regardless of where and when they took place."

"I remember clearly how you, at the May Camp Weed Diocesan Convention, =
just after I was able to travel a bit after bypass surgery, told the =
assembled delegates that if there were those who could not for any =
reason stay in the Episcopal Church, you would not only pray for them =
but also help them in their transition. To me that meant your concern =
was that they be pastorally cared for. I am a pastor at heart and able =
to occasionally do just that as long as they understand my health =
limitations.

"So taking your lead I have responded to the people out there who are in =
need since no one in the Diocese seems to care whether I live or die. =
And what about those who have called me for help? They claim no contact =
or support has been offered them by the Diocese and that, too, is =
evidence of the same avoidance I have experienced. Even with this kind =
of rejection, I have not sought outside authority, joined any =
organization, planted any churches, 'fled' to another province. I have =
gone nowhere. I am retired.

"Why is this harassment and undue emotional stress thrown at me at this =
very difficult time? What is the purpose and point of attacking the =
reputation of a retired 75-year-old retired clergyman with health issues =
involving the heart, internal surgery and a recent diagnosis of macular =
degeneration? No one from the Diocese knows any of this. Still no one, =
and I mean no one in the Diocese of Florida, has reached out pastorally =
to inquire about my health situation or contacted me since the onset of =
my health problems even though Diocesan staff knew them."

Haugan said no one in the Diocese has called on him for anything even =
though the needs around him were and are enormous. He said old people =
are neglected spiritually even as they age and die.

Haugan said those in institutional authority need to see the larger =
picture. "The Lord is doing a great thing (in the Anglican Communion). =
Let it happen. What is the fear all about? Our Gospel is not about =
institutional unity and power, about money, titles or land as it was in =
Jesus' day. It is not about canon law or who has the right orthodoxy. It =
is much, much larger. It is about Jesus Christ and letting Him be the =
Lord and Savior. Why not let Him happen? Of what is everyone so afraid =
that they allow canon law to rise above the Scripture to determine how =
people are dealt with?"

"Bishop, I am ready to sit down with you at any time preferably in some =
less ominous place than an office for more interpersonal exchange. This =
has always been my past experience. It is my hope you now understand =
some of the historical, ecclesiastical and spiritual influences that =
have led me to be where I am.

"If invited, I am quite willing to receive Holy Communion from you or =
with you and I offer the same to you by my hand."

Haugan concluded saying, "All the bishops I have had the pleasure of =
serving under have trusted me as I have trusted them."

Haugan had a meeting with the Bishop, at the Bishop's request, on =
November 13th, 2007, which will be reported on, later. He described it =
as demeaning, insulting and carried out in a most hostile fashion with =
no possibility given for "dialogue", the word of choice in TEC. He has =
never heard from the bishop since that degrading meeting of November =
13th, 2007, nor does he think he ever will. Howard has never responded =
to Haugan's request for the specifics of his alleged violations nor has =
he been willing to list the stipulations for lifting the inhibition. =
Haughen, like many orthodox priests across the country, is being =
vilified, sued and abandoned by bishops more concerned with the Church's =
Canons and Constitution than with the gospel. It is how the Episcopal =
Church will end, not with a bang but with a whimper.

END

FOOTNOTE: As of July 15, 2007, All Soul's Jacksonville is an empty and =
abandoned church. The property and five acres are valued at over $2 =
million. The entire parish has fled TEC. The diocese has not been able =
to keep it open.