Pastors hope someday to start new churches
By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal religion writer
http://www.ohio.com/news/18478419.html
May 2, 2008
A local leader of Orthodox Anglicans who have broken away from the Episcopal
Church USA is calling Thursday's ordination of five priests "a sign of new life"
in the American church of the Anglican Communion.
"It's another step in increasing the reality of another Anglican jurisdiction.
These men are the fruit of the realignment of the Anglican Communion in
America," said Bishop Roger Ames.
Ames is also rector at St. Luke's Anglican Church, 565 S. Cleveland-Massillon
Road, Fairlawn, where the ordination took place.
Ames and Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia presided over the ordination of five
former deacons who are expected to plant new churches for the Convocation of
Anglicans in North America.
The organization is made up of theologically conservative parishes that have
broken away from the Episcopal Church. CANA was formed in 2005 by the Anglican
Church in Nigeria, the largest province in the global communion.
The new priests - Jeremy Lile of St. Luke's; Greg Heath of St.
Anne-in-the-Fields Anglican Church in Madison; Kevin Maney of St. Matthew's
Anglican Church in Westerville; David Smith of Church of the Good Samaritan
Anglican in Cleveland Heights; and Sean Templeton of Holy Trinity Anglican
Church in Milan - will continue to serve in assistant pastoral roles in their
respective churches.
At some point, they will be looking at starting new churches in the Orthodox
tradition, Ames said.
Sign of growth
Bishop Martyn Minns, who heads CANA, said the ordination ceremony is an
indication of the organization's growth in Ohio. CANA has grown from 19 clergy
and 14 congregations in November 2006 to 125 clergy and 62 congregations
currently.
"These priests will no doubt serve as worthy shepherds to the flock of Orthodox
Anglicans in Ohio who live for profound transformation through Christ," Minns
said in a prepared statement. "We know that without Christ we are nothing, but
with Christ there are no challenges or obstacles that we cannot overcome."
The ordination ceremony comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the Episcopal
Diocese of Ohio against five parishes, including St. Luke's and St. Anne's, that
have left the Episcopal Church. The denomination is the American branch of the
global Anglican Communion.
The March 26 lawsuit, filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, asks the
court to declare that the property associated with the five churches belongs to
the diocese and the Episcopal Church. The other churches named in the lawsuit
are Church of the Holy Spirit, Akron; St. Barnabas in Bay Village; and the
Anglican Church of the Transfiguration in Cleveland.
The churches named in the lawsuit left the denomination in protest over the
consecration of an openly gay bishop and other doctrinal issues.
Ames said he is disappointed that the diocese decided to sue. He said the
churches had hoped to avoid litigation.
"We were seeking a new way forward. One of respect and negotiation," Ames said.
"We are disappointed that money we, both the diocese and the churches, will have
to be spent on litigation instead of the mission of the church."
Diocesan response
Bishop Mark Hollingsworth Jr., who heads the diocese, declined to comment about
the ordinations. He deferred to a statement that appeared on the diocesan Web
site to respond to the lawsuit.
"While I continue to hope that we might achieve a resolution responsive to the
interests of The Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Ohio, and the former
parishioners, I believe that clarification at this time by the Court will
further that possibility," Hollinsgworth said in the statement. The statement
also expressed that the diocese would rather use the resources being used for
litigation to further the mission of the church
St. Luke's has been an integral part of the movement of theologically
conservative churches out of the mainline denomination. It is the place where
the national movement to defy liberal bishops was launched. On March 14, 2004,
five retired Episcopal Church USA bishops and a diocesan bishop from Brazil
confirmed 110 people at a multicongregational service at the Fairlawn church
without the permission of the local bishop.
The church subsequently voted to leave the Ohio diocese and aligned itself with
CANA. Ames, along with three others, were consecrated bishops on Dec. 9 to serve
as assistants to Minns.
Ames oversees 13 parishes in CANA's Great Lakes region, which includes the five
churches named in the lawsuit. Ames will also oversee the five newly ordained
priests, bringing the number of priests that he shepherds to 27.
"This new leadership will give us an opportunity to go forward with our mission
of the gospel," Ames said. "We will be able to expand our reach with new church
plants and other forms of ministry."
END
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