From The Living Church:
Posted on: July 16, 2008
“Realignment has to be something that begins here and here,” Michael Howell said, pointing to his head and his heart as he addressed a gathering of some 400 conservative laity of the Diocese of Fort Worth on July 12. The program at St. Peter & St. Paul, Arlington, was presented by Remain Faithful, a lay-led organization that has grown to more than 700 members in the seven weeks since its founding.
“The councils of the church will do what they do, but we can start right now,” Mr. Howell urged. “Keep the focus on faith, not on institutional structures.”
Mr. Howell, a two-time deputy to General Convention and a member of the Forward in Faith executive board, is a lay member of the Standing Committee in the Diocese of Southwest Florida. In discussion later, Mr. Howell said that he expects to leave The Episcopal Church.
“For me it is a matter of when there is a truly viable, orthodox province or church established here in North America. That's the key thing,” he said. “I don't believe in running away from anything. I believe in going to something.”
The Diocese of Fort Worth is in a period of discernment between two annual conventions. Delegates voted by a wide margin last November to approve amendments to the diocesan constitution that would remove it from the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. Ratification is required at this year’s convention, scheduled for Nov. 14-15, for the changes to become effective.
Mr. Howell’s call to focus on faith rather than institutional structures was echoed by Chad Bates, Remain Faithful’s founder and president. On behalf of the organization, he issued a challenge to diocesan clergy who have indicated they will stay in The Episcopal Church if the Diocese of Fort Worth votes in November to leave the national church.
“Were the vows you made before God, other faithful clergy, and the laity, to an institution that has clearly embarked on revisionist theology, or were your vows to God?” he asked. “I submit to you that the faithful clergy realize that vows to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are much more important than any vows made to the flawed, man-made organization of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. It is time to form a new orthodox and Anglican province in the United States.”
Folding chairs were needed in the aisles and narthex of the church to accommodate the overflow crowd of 393 communicants. The Rev. William R. Dickson, rector of St. Andrew’s, Fort Worth, preached on the morning’s gospel text, the Great Commission. The worship service and program were videotaped and will be made available on two websites.
Mr. Howell presented a detailed account of the actions of The Episcopal Church that have precipitated a worldwide crisis and the response of the four governing instruments of Anglican Communion.
“The Dar es Salaam Communiqué called the Episcopal Church’s response to Windsor Report inadequate,” Howell said. “It asked for responses from the House of Bishops, but the bishops refused [the Primatial Scheme and call for a moratorium on same-sex blessings]. Then in New Orleans the Archbishop of Canterbury inserted a new process involving the Joint Standing Committee. He refused to call a Primates Meeting and deferred the discussion until the Lambeth Conference, which now is organized so that no resolutions will emerge.” The result of all this, Howell said, is that “GAFCON bishops have lost faith in the structures of the Communion.”
Before the concluding question-and-answer period, three members of the Remain Faithful executive board made brief presentations based on sections of the group’s 25-page position paper, Evidence that Demands a Decision, published in June. Cora Werley, a member of Trinity Church, Fort Worth, discussed revisionist understandings of Jesus Christ and Holy Scripture. David Weaver, a member of St. Alban’s, Arlington, spoke about the polity and origins of The Episcopal Church and the ancient understanding of the diocese as the “organ of union” in the church. Jo Ann Patton, a member of St. Andrew’s, Fort Worth, spoke of the pattern of innovation in The Episcopal Church, seen in its handling of women’s ordination and human sexuality issues, that begins with a violation of canons and progresses to permissiveness and then required practice.
Suzanne Gill
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