BROTHERS CALL A BROTHER TO A MEETING

From Episcopal News Service:

The bishops of the Episcopal Church’s Province IV have asked their colleague, Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence, to meet with them “to have a clarifying conversation” about his decision to issue property deeds to each diocesan congregation.

Diocese of East Carolina Bishop Clifton Daniels, provincial vice president, requested the meeting with Lawrence. He said in a letter to him that that bishops had “determined that it is our duty as bishops of this province to address these concerns in direct communication with you, as Jesus exhorts his followers in Matthew’s Gospel (18:15-20), and in accord with our ordination vows regarding the unity and governance of the church.”

He noted that “we have had no direct communication from you regarding these reported actions.”

Collegiality! It seems only right.

Daniels said that Lawrence’s fellow bishops discussed his action “with some concern” at the Nov. 29 – Dec. 1 meeting of the provincial House of Bishops. He told Lawrence that the other bishops want to know under what canonical authority he proceeded, whether he involved the diocesan Standing Committee, and whether the members of the Standing Committee were in accord with his action. Daniels also asked who signed the quitclaim deeds.

Daniels asked Lawrence to provide a sample copy of a deed and the letter of explanation that accompanied it.

The provincial bishops “respectfully request,” Daniels wrote, that Lawrence meet with several of them in Charleston, the seat of the South Carolina diocese, “or elsewhere if you desire.”

Bp. Lawrence said that the day after he issued the quitclaims to the parish properties was the first time that he felt like the bishop of the diocese, which seems rather strange to me. You'd think it would happen at his consecration. What has Mark Lawrence been all this time if not bishop of the diocese? Is issuing quitclaims to parish property now part of the process of becoming a bishop in the Episcopal Church?

If you don't like the rules, then make them up as you go along.

Matthew 18:15-20

‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

H/T to Jim Naughton at The Lead.

MARTYRDOM POSTPONED FOR BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE

 

Click on the letter for the larger view.

From Mark Harris at Preludium:

The Living Church has posted the letter from Bishop Henderson concerning the charges against Bishop Lawrence. The letter is dated November 22nd. Read it HERE.

I am glad the specifics of those charges were not found sufficient. I too felt they fell short of the abandonment canon.

They did not include the matter of the quitclaim deeds, as those were issued only on November 15th and were not part of the charges first brought.

The headline on my post is mine, not Mark's. I agree the charges were not sufficient for the Disciplinary Board to conclude that Bp. Lawrence abandoned the Episcopal Church, Although, at times, the bishop seems to long to be a martyr, I'd rather the church did not make him one.

The quitclaim deeds which the bishop issued to the parishes in the diocese are another matter about which we shall wait and see what develops. Mark Harris' previous post to the announcement by the Disciplinary Board concerns the quitclaims.

WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA?

Click on the image above for the larger view.

As I was getting ready to post the screenshot of Bishop David Anderson's letter at the American Anglican Council, I noted that Mark Harris had a new post on this very subject. Since I don't have a legal mind, and I don't know quite what to make of this latest move by Bishop Mark Lawrence, I will not post commentary, but rather refer you Mark's post at Preludium.

The South Carolina Episcopalians also address the subject of this latest move as well as earlier actions which indicate that something is afoot in the diocese.

Thanks to Lapin for the link that lead me to David Anderson's letter.

SUMMARIES OF THE INVESTIGATION OF BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

If you're interested in reasonable and non-hysterical summaries of the investigation of Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina ('Episcopal' has been removed from the name of the diocese at the website) and the complaints (no charges!) against him by persons within the diocese, which the Disciplinary Board of the Episcopal Church is now investigating, as it must, check out the posts at The Lead here and here and the article at The Living Church.

In an update, The Living Church also notes that Josephine Hicks has recused herself as the attorney representing the Disciplinary Board in the investigation.

BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE ON LAMBETH 2008

From Anglican Mainstream:
Canterbury, England

I am glad I came here for this Lambeth and worshipped one last time in the Cathedral home of Augustine and Dunstan, Anselm and Becket, Cranmer and Laud, Temple and Ramsay. I had come to speak a word of hope and perhaps to intervene on behalf of our beloved, but in the last resolve the family refused the long needed measures. So he just slipped away, our noble prince, one dreary morning in Canterbury with hardly even a death rattle.

The new prince was born last month in Jerusalem. I was there—arriving late, departing early. I was never quite sure what I was witnessing. It was an awkward and messy birth. He hardly struck me as I gazed upon him there in the bassinet as quite ready to be heir to the throne. I even wondered at times if there might be some illegitimacy to his bloodlines. But that I fear was my over wedded ness to a white and European world. May he live long, and may his tribe increase—and may he remember with mercy all those who merely mildly neglected his birth.

As for me my role for now is clear, to hold together as much as I can for as long as I can that when he comes to his rightful place on St. Augustine’s throne in Canterbury Cathedral he will have a faithful and richly textured kingdom.

Bishop Mark Lawrence of South Carolina

The death of the noble old prince is such a sad story - a real heart-breaker, but the good news of the birth of another prince brings a bit of heartsease. And the new prince's name? GAFCON! The name carries great weight and seems a heavy burden to lay upon a mere babe in a bassinet. Still: The prince is dead; long live the prince! And we rest a bit more secure in the knowledge of Bishop Lawrence's mighty effort to hold things together until the new prince takes the throne.

No more words, unless I take a page from the New Yorker to say: Block that metaphor!

Thanks to a friend who found this gem hidden away in the archives at Anglican Mainstream. If you check out their website, you'll soon realize that 'Mainstream' is a misnomer.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE [EPISCOPAL(?)] DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA?

"Episcopal" is no longer part of the name of the Diocese of South Carolina. Nothing new there. "Episcopal" was removed some time ago.

Two resolutions, both of which passed at the previous convention, passed again, by more than the required two-thirds margin in both the clergy and lay orders, amending the Diocesan Constitution. The first resolution removed the accession clause to the Canons of the Episcopal Church, and the second, enabled the Convention to meet more frequently than annually, if needed. These resolutions seek to protect the Diocese from any attempt at un-Constitutional intrusions in our corporate life in South Carolina and were in response to the revisions to the Title IV Canons of the Episcopal Church.

What's going on? Is the Diocese of South Carolina still part of the Episcopal Church?

In the comments to the post on the actions of the convention of the Diocese of South Carolina at The Lead, Tobias Haller says:

The accession required is in Constitution V.1. The question raised in SC is whether the accession to the law of the church required for the admission of a diocese into union with this Church must necessarily remain in place. Their view, in the retail world, is called "bait and switch."

What is cited above is the "Dennis Canon" -- which is also an area of concern, but isn't about accession to the C&C.

Well! Bait and switch is it? Who would ever have thought...?

Bishop Mark Lawrence's address to the convention is in his usual bombastic style and includes the usual disparaging commentary about the leadership of the "national" church, along with the usual "scare quotes".

As I have spoken in recent days to Diocesan Council, the deans, and the Standing Committee, it is my expressed hope that this year of 2011 will be free from constitutional and canonical challenges from the “national” leadership of the Episcopal Church, and that we in the Diocese of South Carolina can get on with the work of growing our parishes, strengthening the lives of our parishioners and churches, and planting new congregations.

Bishop Lawrence continues with a reference to Nehemiah, noting that he will not employ the martial metaphor from Ch. 4.

A Biblical metaphor I have employed from time to time is from Chapter 4 of the Book of Nehemiah where the workmen rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem labored with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. But as I have said, my hope is that this will be a season for the trowel not the sword. Time alone will tell if we will be permitted to do our work unencumbered by intrusions. I am eager to see this Diocese of South Carolina add daily to its number those who are being saved; and what better way to do this than by growing our existing congregations and planting new ones. This work, not the controversies of the day, will be the thrust of this address.

Rather, he will move forward with trowel in hand, yet ever on guard against "intrusions", presumably by the "national" leadership, when he may again require a "sword".

Bishop Lawrence's rhetoric is unlike any other Episcopal priest or bishop that I've read or heard. He sounds more like Billy Graham - not that there's anything wrong with that!

The weekend began Friday afternoon with a presentation by the Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, former Bishop of Rochester, who now serves South Carolina as Visiting Bishop for Anglican Communion Relationships, on “Triple Jeopardy: The Challenge of Islam, Secularism and Multiculturalism.”

Bishop Nazir-Ali also preached a sermon. I searched for a link to the actual text of Bishop Nazir-Ali's sermon and presentation without success. The link to MP3 version of the sermon, to which I have not listened, is below:

Sermon by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali.

The link at the diocesan website to the Presentation, "Triple Jeopardy: The Challenge of Islam, Secularism and Multiculturalism," by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali is broken.