AS THE ANGLICAN WORLD TURNS CONTINUED- JUSTIN WELBY REFLECTS ON THE PRIMATES MEETING

The Anglican Communion is a family of churches with roots in Anglicanism and the Church of England.  Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is "first among equals" of the primates (chief bishops) of Anglican churches around the world.  He is also the leader of the Anglican Church in England. 

After a recent gathering of Anglican primates in Canterbury, England, Archbishop Welby published a reflection on the meeting.

As leaders of the family of Anglican churches in a world so racked by violence and fear, we gathered in Canterbury with much to share and discuss – from climate change to religiously motivated violence.  A significant part of the week was spent discussing how – or even if – we could remain together as the Anglican Communion in the light of changes made by our brothers and sisters in The Episcopal Church (the historic Anglican Communion church in the USA and some other countries) to their understanding of marriage. (My emphasis)

The present policy in the Episcopal Church is to welcome all members of the church to all the sacramental rites of the church, including Christian marriage for faithful, committed couples of the same sex.  The question as to whether Christian marriage always consists in the lifetime union of one man and one woman would seem to me to have been settled by acceptance of divorce by Anglican churches.  Jesus himself never spoke of same sex marriage, but he spoke clearly about divorce.  If it was possible for Anglicans to overcome their scruples about divorce, then why has the union of faithful couples of the same sex become so serious a matter as to provoke threats of schism before the primates gathering?  As it was, the primate of the Anglican Church in Uganda, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, left the meeting early to protest the failure of a vote for a resolution asking the primates of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada to leave the meeting.  Later in the meeting, sanctions were imposed on the Episcopal Church. 

We remain committed to being together, albeit we asked that TEC, while attending and playing a full part in our meetings and all discussions, will not represent the Anglican Communion to other churches and should not be involved in standing committees for a period of three years. During this time we also asked that they not vote on matters of doctrine or how we organise ourselves.

So. The Episcopal Church was pushed to the margins of the Anglican Communion for instituting policies and practices that include justice and equality for all its members.  Archbishop Welby continues.

There will be wounds for each other, but we must repent of wounding others who are especially vulnerable, whether they are LGBTI people or those menaced by religiously-motivated violence, terrorism and exile. Some, of course, will fall in many categories.

But that unity is also joyful and astonishing, renewing and nourishing – because it is unity in love for Jesus Christ, whose single family we are, often argumentative, sometimes cruel (which is deeply wrong) but created by God and belonging to each other irrevocably.

From my vantage in the Episcopal Church, it's impossible for me to view the "unity" that came from the primates gathering as "joyful and astonishing, renewing and nourishing". What a strange way to comment on a policy which wounds and continues to discriminate against the Episcopal Church for practicing justice and equality.

Also, since marriages of couples of the same sex remain forbidden in the Church of England, how is it possible for Justin Welby to imagine that LGTB persons and their supporters in his own church take joy, renewal, or nourishment from the outcome of the primates meeting?  Pain and astonishment perhaps at the continuing injustice which wounds the members of the archbishop's own church, but there is no joy.  That's not to mention LGTB members of Anglican churches in other countries in Africa and the Global South, where persecution and discrimination are much more severe, who look to Christians in the West for help and support.

Does Justin Welby himself believe what he says? Does he expect LGTB Anglicans and members of TEC to believe what he says? The archbishop apologizes for marginalizing groups of people, but he does not change his ways.  How is his apology in any way sincere when he continues to wound and marginalize? The marginalized will believe him when he practices justice and equality.

In the end, church policies affect real people, which I wonder if Anglican church leaders forget, or, if they remember, they quickly put such thoughts out of their minds.  Since I have gay and lesbian friends in the Church of England, I care very much about policies and practices that not only hurt my friends and many others but also result in destructive, long-lasting consequences in their lives.

Photo of Justin Welby from Wikimedia Commons.

AS THE ANGLICAN WORLD TURNS

Colbert King, of The Washington Post, writes in an opinion piece on the continuing drama:

Last week, the Anglican Communion, the worldwide collection of national and regional churches that consider themselves Anglican or Episcopalian, suspended the U.S. Episcopal Church from full participation in the global body because of its decision to perform same-sex marriages. The suspension should have been the other way around. It is the Anglican Communion that deserves sanction. It, not the Episcopal Church, of which I am a member, has departed from the faith and teachings of Jesus with its un-Christian treatment of gay men and women.

The information in the column is generally accurate, but I'd note a few corrections. It was a gathering of Anglican primates (chief bishops) of the various member churches, not the Anglican Communion, that "sanctioned" the Episcopal Church. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby of the Church of England, the first among equals among the primates, later referred to "consequences" rather than "sanctions". Whatever. The majority of the primates are opposed to our church's welcoming LGTB members to all sacramental rites of the church, including Christian marriage. The gathering of primates has no power to legislate or enforce such "sanctions", "consequences", or "suspension", so we shall see what follows for the church.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, spoke with grace and eloquence following the meeting. 

This has been a disappointing time for many, and there will be heartache and pain for many, but it’s important to remember that we are still part of the Anglican Communion. We are the Episcopal Church, and we are part of the Jesus Movement, and that Movement goes on, and our work goes on. And the truth is, it may be part of our vocation to help the Communion and to help many others to grow in a direction where we can realize and live the love that God has for all of us, and we can one day be a Church and a Communion where all of God’s children are fully welcomed, where this is truly a house of prayer for all people. And maybe it’s a part of our vocation to help that to happen. And so we must claim that high calling; claim the high calling of love and faith; love even for those with whom we disagree, and then continue, and that we will do, and we will do it together. 

The link above includes the full text and the video of Bishop Curry's comments.

HOUSE OF DEPUTIES RESPONSE TO SANCTIONING OF EPISCOPAL CHURCH BY PRESIDENT JENNINGS

Statement from Gay Clark Jennings, President of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church.

Well said, Gay.

The practical consequences of the primates’ action will be that, for three years, Episcopalians will not be invited to serve on certain committees, or will be excluded from voting while they are there. However, the primates do not have authority over the Anglican Consultative Council, the worldwide body of bishops, clergy and lay people that facilitates the cooperative work of the churches of the Anglican Communion. I serve as a representative to that body, along with Bishop Ian Douglas of Connecticut, a four-time deputy before his election as bishop, and six-time Deputy Rosalie Simmonds Ballentine of the Virgin Islands, and I am planning to travel to Zambia for our scheduled meeting in April and to participate fully. 

Excellent.  The Anglican Consultative Council will have to follow up with action or the "sanctions", (which apparently are now not really "sanctions", but rather "consequences"), voted on in the primates meeting will have no force.   The majority of the primates at their gathering intend to put the Episcopal Church on the naughty step because of its policy to welcome everyone to the church and to extend equality to same sex couples to share in all sacraments and activities in the church.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH SANCTIONED AT ANGLICAN PRIMATES GATHERING

Canterbury Cathedral

Susan Russell says it well at The Huffington Post.  Imagine! The Episcopal Church was sanctioned for being inclusive!

Today's statement from the Anglican Primates sanctioning the Episcopal Church for moving forward on marriage equality was sad but not surprising. The Episcopal Church being blamed for "impaired communion" between constituent members of the 38 autonomous churches making up the worldwide Anglican Communion is news to absolutely no one who has followed the long running saga of the Anglican Inclusion Wars.

If you wonder what a primate is, or you think you already know, an Anglican primate is the chief bishop in a country or region. If you think that perhaps a more suitable label could have been chosen, I agree.

Our primate, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, made me proud with his response to the announcement of the sanctions.

Our commitment to be an inclusive church is not based on a social theory or capitulation to the ways of the culture, but on our belief that the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross are a sign of the very love of God reaching out to us all. While I understand that many disagree with us, our decision regarding marriage is based on the belief that the words of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians are true for the church today: All who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for all are one in Christ.

JE SUIS PARISIENNE - NOVEMBER 2015

For those who died  

Father of all, we pray to you for those we see no longer:
Grant them your peace; let light perpetual shine upon them;
and, in your loving wisdom and almighty power, work
in them the good purpose of your perfect will; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the wounded

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers:
Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your wounded
servants the help of your power, that their wounds may be healed, and that they may be restored to health and strength,
and their sorrows and the sorrows of those who love them
turned into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For all who mourn 

Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort:
Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; give them comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding to keep their minds and hearts in the knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  

Prayers quoted or adapted from The Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

I'LL BE THERE AT THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

National Cathedral - Washington DC

On Sunday, November 1, 2015, All Saints Day, I shall attend the installation of Presiding Bishop-elect Michael Curry as 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. My friend Lisa, who was a deputy to General Convention 2015, will not be able to use her ticket to the installation, so she offered it to several friends, and I was the first to respond with a yes. I had put my name in the lottery for a ticket but did not win, so I was thrilled by the offer of the ticket.

After I booked my flight, I noticed that along with the ticket, I would be asked to present ID. Well, I am not Lisa, so I wrote to her and asked if this might present a problem. Dear Lisa, who knew the right people to contact, along with having to deal with cat/veterinarian and other matters in her own life, arranged to have my name placed on the master list of ticket holders, so I will not need to pretend to be Lisa.  My flight is non-refundable, so I am quite relieved that all is in order for me to attend the ceremony.  Otherwise, I was going to DC anyway to present myself at the door of the cathedral to see what would happen.  If I didn't get in, I planned to enjoy a few tourist days in the nation's capital.

Thanks again to Lisa, for the gift of the ticket and for making the necessary arrangements for me to attend in my own name.

Cathedral image by Carol M. Highsmith from Wikipedia.

Below is a video of Bishop-elect Curry following his election at General Convention 2015 of the Episcopal Church.



FRIDAY UPDATE: I will not be attending the installation of Bishop Curry. I've been ill with gastrointestinal problems, aches, and fever, since Wednesday evening. Yesterday, I was not well enough to finish packing, and, though I feel somewhat better today, there's no way I could be on a plane. I'm so sorry to miss the ceremony and that the ticket will not be used, unless someone wants it, and we work out a way for me to get it to them.

I cancelled my flight reservation, and I will get a refund, which surprises me. Southwest wanted to give me a free round trip ticket to travel later, but I said this was to be my last flight, so the ticket would do me no good. The airline then agreed to refund the cost, and I'm grateful to them. I cancelled my hotel reservation at no charge.

Though I'm very disappointed, I've been too ill to think about what I'll be missing, and I know I made the right decision. This, too, shall pass, and now I know I need to stick to my plan not to arrange more travel, except for short car trips.

GOOD NEWS

The House of Deputies concurs with the House of Bishops on Resolutions A054 and A036 that provide for marriage equality. Thanks be to God and to the bishops and deputies at General Convention. May God bless the Episcopal Church.

PRAYER FOR THE 78TH GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel at the 78th General Convention for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE ELECTION OF A PRESIDING BISHOP FOR THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a presiding bishop for this church, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

My questions missed the anniversary of the consecration of Bishop Samuel Seabury on November 14 by a couple of weeks. In 1784, the Rev Samuel Seabury, rector of St Peter's Church, Westchester, NY, was consecrated first Bishop for the Church of Connecticut by the Right Rev. Robert Kilgour, Bishop of Aberdeen and Primus of Scotland, the Right Rev. Arthur Petrie, Bishop of Ross and Moray, and the Right Rev. John Skinner, Coadjutor Bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland, in Bishop Skinner's private chapel.

Would it be accurate to say that the Scottish Episcopal Church is the mother church of the Episcopal Church in the US, rather than the Church of England? The Church of England is the mother church of the Scottish Episcopal Church, so would the Church of England then be the grandmother church of TEC in the US?

ORDINATION OF THE PHILADELPHIA 11 - 39 YEARS AGO TODAY

Pearls

You are pearls.

You began

as irritants.

                                                                    The ocean pushed

                                                                     your small, nearly

                                                                              invisible

                                                                           rough body

                                                                 through an undetected

                                                                      crack in the shell. 

                                                                        You got inside. (Cont.)

                                                          by Alla Renée Bozarth

Read Alla"s post on the occasion of the ordinations.

From Deacon Leilani Nelson at The Daily Office:

Beloveds,

I can tell you where I was 39 years ago today, when 11 women were ordained as Episcopal priests in Philadelphia. It was that kind of historic, cataclysmic event. I’d just turned 23 and was attending the National Institute for Lay Training at the General Theological Seminary in New York.

Read all of Deacon Leilani's eye-witness account at the link above.

The names of the Philadelphia 11:

Merrill Bittner
Alison Cheek
Alla Bozarth (Campell)
Emily C Hewitt
Carter Heyward
Suzanne R. Hiatt (deceased 2002)
Marie Moorefield
Jeanette Piccard (deceased 1981)
Betty Bone Schiess
Katrina Welles Swanson (deceased 2006)
Nancy Hatch Witting


Ordaining Bishops:

Daniel Corrigan
Robert L DeWitt
Edward R Welles
Assisting: Antonio Ramos

H/T to The Lead for the names.

INTEGRITY USA MAPS & LISTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH DIOCESAN POLICIES ON SAME-SEX BLESSINGS

 

Integrity USA posted a map of dioceses in the Episcopal Church with their policies on same-sex blessings.  The link below takes you to the map and the list.  Scroll down below the map to see the list.

Map of Diocesan Blessings Policies Released!

The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana offers same-sex blessings.  The Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana does not.

ABOUT THAT TAX PLAN, GOVERNOR JINDAL

Bishop Morris Thompson

Two groups of religious leaders from several faith traditions and denominations gathered at the Louisiana State Capitol on Monday to protest  Governor Bobby Jindal's latest tax plan to eliminate income tax for individuals and businesses and replace the lost revenue with a sales tax.  Neither the governor nor members of his staff met with the representatives of the two groups.  One of the groups published an open letter to the governor explaining the reasons for their objections to the tax plan.  Among the clergy who signed  the letter, I'm pleased to note the names of four Episcopal bishops in Louisiana - two serving bishops and two retired bishops, along with the names of other Episcopal clergy.

Bishop Jacob Owensby

The Rt. Rev'd. Morris K. Thompson, Jr., Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana

The Rt. Rev. Jacob W. Owensby, PhD, DD, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana

Bishop Charles E. Jenkins, Retired Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana

Bishop James B. Brown, Retired Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana
 

Bishop Charles Jenkins

The text of the letter:

March 18th, 2013
The Honorable Bobby Jindal, Governor
P. O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004

Dear Governor Jindal,

We, the undersigned members of the Louisiana Clergy, are writing to express our deep concern about the tax proposal you are proposing for the upcoming legislative session.

Bishop James B. Brown

We serve in many different faith traditions, across a broad spectrum of people and communities in this State. As diverse as these traditions may be, we find unity around a few fundamental ethical principles: fairness, a concern for the least of these and an obligation to make our voices heard when matters of justice are at stake.

Our concerns about the proposed tax plan are as follows.

First, we are concerned that Louisiana already has one of the most regressive tax systems in the nation, putting a disproportionately high burden on low and moderate income families. Currently, families earning minimum wage (less than $16,000 per year) pay 10.6% of their income in state and local taxes; the average Louisiana family pays 10.1% of its income in taxes; while the wealthiest Louisiana families (earning over $1 million per year) pay only 4.6% of their income in state and local taxes. That is unacceptable, as a starting point.

Second, we are concerned that the reason we have such an unfair and regressive tax structure is our State's heavy reliance on the sales tax. It is universally recognized that sales taxes create a disproportionate burden on poor and moderate-income families, who spend nearly all they earn. Louisiana already has the 3rd highest sales tax rate in the nation.

Third, we are concerned that your tax plan seeks to increase our state's sales tax rates even further. Any increase in the sales tax would deepen the root causes behind the unfair and regressive nature of our state's tax structure and worsen the burden for poor and moderate income families in our community.

Fourth, we are concerned that your plan proposes to use the increased revenue generated by a heavier burden on poor and moderate income families, not to fund any of the important needs and services our State faces, but to decrease the tax burden for those members of our community who are most blessed with wealth and resources. That, too, is unacceptable.

Fifth, we are concerned that your proposed tax plan will be unsustainable over the long term. Historically, sales have grown much more slowly than personal income, in our State and across the country. Swapping income taxes for sales taxes replaces a faster-growing revenue source with a slower-growing revenue source. We worry that your proposal would be "revenue neutral" in its first year, but "revenue negative" over the longer term. If our State begins to rely even more heavily upon a slower-growing portion of our economy for revenue, we will face deficits and service cuts down the road that make our current ones seem small.

We believe that any proposed law that would increase the tax burden on low- and moderate-income families in order to decrease it for wealthy families must be judged an unjust law.
We believe that any proposed law that would threaten the long-term fiscal soundness of our State must be judged an unwise law.

Therefore, we ask you, in the full spirit of humility and faith, to develop a fundamentally different framework for tax reform.

To that end, we submit the following basic principles as guidelines for the kind of tax reform that would be just and in accord with the ethical frameworks of our faith traditions:

Principle #1) Tax reform should not increase the sales tax rate or take any other steps that make our tax structure more regressive than it is already;

Principle #2) New sources of revenue should be used, not merely to redistribute the tax burden from one group to another, but to invest in high priorities for our state, such as healthcare, education, human services and infrastructure, which have seen significant and far-reaching cuts in recent years; and

Principle #3) Tax reform should not replace a faster-growing revenue source with a slower-growing revenue source, thereby threatening our State's ability to afford important services and investments in the future.

We thank you for your serious consideration of these concerns. We would welcome the opportunity for a delegation of our leadership to meet with you to discuss these matters in more detail. We can be reached at LAfaithcommunity@gmail.com to schedule that meeting.

We pray that you, and all of us, may be blessed with the judgment to move forward in a spirit of wisdom and fairness on such an important matter to the lives and well-being of so many.

Yours faithfully,
--------------------------

View the signatories at the link above.

A second, unaffiliated faith-based group also came out against the governor's tax plan with a rally on the Capitol steps Monday afternoon. Led by the Micah Project, an affiliate of the interfaith community-organizing focused group PICO Louisiana, clergy denounced the proposal as benefiting wealthy Louisianians and corporations at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Referring to administration claims that a sales-tax based system would create a simpler tax code, the Rev. Chuck Andrus of Blessed Sacrement - St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in New Orleans said the tax system should take into account the needs of families in the state.

"We don't want what's simplest, we want what is just for our families," Andrus said.

I'm betting the governor will not meet with the clergy representatives, but I hope I'm wrong.  Jindal seems to listen to no one who does not already agree with his policies.  He surrounds himself with a closed circle of advisers and his supporters the legislature and hears only what he wants to hear.  

LOUISIANA DIOCESAN CONVENTION PASSES RESOLUTION ON GUN VIOLENCE

2013 Resolution R-2 AS PASSED

From: The Rev’d John H. Craft, Chaplain, Chapel of the Holy Comforter, and The Rev’d William H. Terry, Rector, St. Anna’s Church

Purpose: To Advocate for the Reduction of Gun Violence in America

Resolved, that the 176th Convention of the Diocese of Louisiana in response to the recent deaths from gun violence, including the loss of 28 of God’s children in Newtown, Connecticut, and escalating urban violence resulting in over 2,000 gun-related deaths since 2007 in Louisiana alone, commends and joins with other faith communities in an emerging moral consensus and with a prophetic voice by calling upon lawmakers at the federal, state, and local levels to take the following steps:

(1) Recognizing the sanctity of life, we urge the support and adoption of state and federal firearms legislation to promote safety, education and responsibility in the purchase, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition.

(2) Recognizing the sanctity of life, we urge the support and adoption of tighter controls, including background checks,on all gun sales and purchases.

(3) Recognizing the sanctity of life, we urge the support of mental healthcare reform, including adequate funding and improved care.

(4) Recognizing the sanctity of life, we urge the support of programs and policies discouraging our culture’s glorification of violence.

And be it further resolved that the 176th Convention of the Diocese of Louisiana encourages all members of the diocese to work within our congregations through prayer, preaching, education, and advocacy, toward eliminating all violence that kills so many of God’s children in our nation.

Thanks to Ormonde at Facebook for the link to the text of the resolution.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL - YES TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

The Washington National Cathedral had been ready to embrace same-sex marriage for some time, though it took a series of recent events and a new leader for the prominent, 106-year-old church to announce Wednesday that it would begin hosting such nuptials.

The key development came last July when the Episcopal Church approved a ceremony for same-sex unions at its General Convention in Indianapolis, followed by the legalization of gay marriage in Maryland, which joined the District of Columbia. The national church made a special allowance for marriage ceremonies in states where gay marriage is legal.
....

Cathedral officials said the church will be among the first Episcopal congregations to implement a new rite of marriage adapted from the blessing ceremony for gay and lesbian couples that was approved last year by the Episcopal Church's national governing body.

Though I may be the last Episcopal blogger to note the announcement by Washington National Cathedral that it will host same-sex marriages, I am pleased and proud that the Episcopal cathedral, where so many historic events have taken place, will perform same-sex marriages early in the history of the practice of marriage equality in the Episcopal Church.

THE BISHOP, THE DIOCESE, AND THE CHURCH

Sorry, but I don't know how else to give the background to the story of Bishop Mark Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina vis-a-vis the Episcopal Church, except to quote the first two sources whole and entire.

Disciplinary Board for Bishops certifies that South Carolina Bishop has abandoned the church

[October 17, 2012] The Disciplinary Board for Bishops has advised Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori that the majority of the 18-member panel has determined that Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina has abandoned the Episcopal Church “by an open renunciation of the Discipline of the Church.”

Following complaints of 12 adult members and two priests of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina, the determination was made under Canon IV.16(A).

The 18 member board – composed of 10 bishops, four clergy, four laity – issued a letter dated September 18. Following the assembly of numerous documents, the Presiding Bishop received the letter in her Church Center office on October 10; the letter was received via U.S. Mail.

On Monday October 15, the Presiding Bishop called Lawrence and, speaking directly with him, informed him of the action of the Disciplinary Board.  She also informed him that, effective noon of that day, the exercise of his ministry was restricted. Therefore, under the canon, he is not permitted to perform any acts as an ordained person. 

From here, Lawrence has 60 days to respond to the allegations in the certification.

Acts of abandonment

The Disciplinary Board for Bishops cited three particular acts of abandonment

“Bishop Lawrence failed to “guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church” by presiding over the 219th Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina on October 10, 2010, at which the following acts were adopted, without ruling them out of order or otherwise dissenting from their adoption, but instead speaking in support of them in his formal address to the Convention.”

“Bishop Lawrence further failed to “guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church” by presiding over the 220th Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina on February 19, 2011, at which Resolution R-6 was finally adopted on the second reading, without ruling it out of order or otherwise dissenting from its adoption.”

“On October 19, 2011, in his capacity as President of the nonprofit corporation known as The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina, Bishop Lawrence signed, executed, and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of South Carolina certain Articles of Amendment, amending the corporate charter 4 as stated in Resolution R-11, described in paragraph 7.c above. That amendment deleted the original stated purpose of the corporation “to continue the operation of an Episcopal Diocese under the Constitution and Canons of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America” and replaced it with the stated purpose “to continue operation under the Constitution and Canons of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina.”

“On about November 16, 2011, in an apparent effort to impair the trust interest of The Episcopal Church and of the Diocese of South Carolina in church property located in that Diocese, Bishop Lawrence directed his Chancellor, Wade H. Logan, III, to issue quitclaim deeds to every parish of the Diocese of South Carolina disclaiming any interest in the real estate held by or for the benefit of each parish.”

  South Carolina Episcopalians explain complaint against bishop:

With much deliberation, Melinda A. Lucka, an attorney in the Charleston, S.C. area and an active communicant in the Diocese of South Carolina, requested that the Disciplinary Board for Bishops review various actions of Bishop Lawrence that have taken place over the past two years. Ms. Lucka asked the Board if it could make a determination as to whether or not the actions were consistent with the mission and polity of The Episcopal Church.

Lucka made the request on behalf of 12 lay communicants and two priests in the diocese. The communicants are: Robert R. Black, Margaret A. Carpenter, Charles G. Carpenter, Frances L. Elmore, Eleanor Horres, John Kwist, Margaret S. Kwist, Barbara G. Mann, David W. Mann, Warren W. Mersereau, Dolores J. Miller, Robert B. Pinkerton, M. Jaquelin Simons, Mrs. Benjamin Bosworth Smith, John L. Wilder, and Virginia C. Wilder. The clergy who were named are longstanding Episcopal priests Colton M. Smith+ and Roger W. Smith+.

Generally, names of individuals who initiate ecclesiastical requests are held in confidence through privacy provisions of the Canons; however, the complainants in this request gave their approval to allow themselves to be made known to the Bishop.

Lucka said that they agreed to be named “as a courtesy to Bishop Lawrence, so as not to be cloaked in a shroud of secrecy.” They hope that this “will prevent any suppositions that may be asserted in the upcoming days or weeks that The Episcopal Church may have initiated or encouraged the filing of this request.”

“They also want to clarify that although most individuals are members of the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina, an organization of mainstream Episcopalians in the diocese, this was not an action taken by the Forum or its Board. In addition to the individuals who made this request, there are many, many other loyal Episcopalians in the diocese who felt strongly that Episcopal Church officials should review the Bishop’s actions.”

“There is definitely a place for orthodox and evangelical views within the diocese; that’s the beauty of being under the large tent of The Episcopal Church; however, viewpoints and practices in the diocese began to take large leaps away from the broader Church when various actions took place. Severing the legal connections to the governing laws of the Church and essentially forming a new corporate entity, outside of The Episcopal Church by changing the diocesan corporate purpose statement to no longer accede to the Constitution and Canons of our Church seemed to be going too far out of bounds.”

“The hope of these individuals is that the diocese will continue to be a home for all Episcopalians to worship and live together in God’s love through Jesus Christ. They ask the Church for prayers for the Bishop and all involved.”

The names of the complainants are now known.

Partial responses by +Lawrence and the diocesan officers are quoted below.  For the complete responses follow the links.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) has made an attack against our Bishop and Diocese, in the midst of efforts for a negotiated settlement, which has fundamentally changed our common life. You may have heard or read about this over the last week but it is vital today that we all understand what has occurred and what it means as clearly as possible.

-----------

This action is a deplorable assault upon the Bishop of this Diocese. The attack came in the midst of negotiations whose stated intent was to find a peaceful solution to our differences with the Episcopal Church.  It involved a process in which there was no prior notice of the proceedings, no notice of the charges against him nor any opportunity to face the local accusers (who remained anonymous until today).

The rhetoric of the response is typical of +Lawrence.   The bishop seems to have survived the attack and assault and is not yet a martyr to the cause, but he stands ready.  From his words in the past, I've suspected that long-suffering Bishop Lawrence was desirous of martyrdom, and perhaps he believes he already wears the martyr's crown, but - alas - not everyone would agree.

What was the Disciplinary Board to do once the diocese voted that the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of South Carolina trumped the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church, the church in which the bishop vowed to "guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church", and +Lawrence did not object?  In which church did Bishop Lawrence think he was consecrated bishop, and on what basis does he now see himself as released from his vows?

Still +Lawrence will stand in the breach and protect the diocese, which he now claims has been abandoned by the Episcopal Church, along with its bishop, which is himself.  How much more clearly could the diocese and the bishop have declared their independence from the Episcopal Church at their convention?  I'm not grasping the logic here.  Kendall Harmon, Canon Theologian, says:

As a result of TEC's attack against our Bishop, the Diocese of South Carolina is disassociated from TEC; that is, its accession to the TEC Constitution and its membership in TEC have been withdrawn.

The diocese withdrew at its last convention, and the bishop did not object, and now they say they have withdrawn because of the attack on their bishop?  What am I missing?

H/T to Thinking Anglicans.   

POSTCARDS FROM MY FRIENDS - FAIR AND ACCURATE

It seems that everyone (except me) has posted about Ross Douthat's opinion piece in the New York Times and Jay Akasie's thoroughly mean-spirited column in the Wall Street Journal.

From Akasie:

General Convention is also notable for its sheer ostentation and carnival atmosphere. For seven straight nights, lavish cocktail parties spilled into pricey steakhouses, where bishops could use their diocesan funds to order bottles of the finest wines.

I was in Anaheim for GC2009, and I was obviously not on the A-list for an invitation to the parties.  Akasie says he is Episcopalian, and I'd like to know which Episcopal church he attends.

Others have said that Ross Douthat's column in the NYT was thoughtful and reasonable, but I can't agree.  True, he was not as nasty as Akasie, but still...  Not that TEC is above criticism - I've been critical - but neither columnist paints a fair or accurate picture of the church.  I didn't have the heart to take on either of the columnists, but others did, many others.  Scroll though the posts at The Lead to find the responses.

I'd like to point to posts by a pair of friends of mine, not because the two are my friends, but because I like what Doug Blanchard and Elizabeth Kaeton say about The Episcopal Church, my church.  My friends paint a much more realistic picture of the church I love than either of the writers in major media outlets.

In his post titled "What Ever To Do About the Episcopal Church", Doug says:

September of this year will mark the thirtieth anniversary of my confirmation into the Episcopal Church.  I've joined or participated in congregations in Missouri, Texas, Michigan, Italy, Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.  In those three decades, I've been pleased to be part of congregations that were never large, but were full of people happy to be there, people from many different generations and classes.  Religious life was always a serious matter of education and prayer with Sunday school, adult education, Bible classes, pastoral training for laity, hospital partnerships, prison ministries, food pantries, hot meal programs, programs for homeless kids, Benedictine spiritual groups, prayer groups, house congregations, etc.  These congregations were always busy and full of life.  Most striking about all of them is that the majority of their members, including the clergy, were converts.

'Tis true; 'tis true.  Many of the members of my congregation also chose to be members of the Episcopal Church.  Read it all.

Next Elizabeth's post titled  "Postcard from Nineveh".  Already, I like the title.

The main thesis of the recent attacks have to do with holding up the recent actions of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church - authorizing liturgical blessings for the covenants made between people of the same sex, changing our canons to disallow discrimination based on gender identity and expression, etc. - as an example of why Christianity is in decline.

Elizabeth paints a picture of the church of the future, which I believe is spot on.

I don't think the church of the future is going to look anything like it does now.

I suspect it's going to look smaller, less bound to buildings and structures, more directed to caring for others than maintaining ourselves, more committed to following an unknown path to the future than cherishing dusty old maps that lead us over and over again to the past.

Of course, you should read the entire post.

UPDATE: And if you want even more on Ross Douthat, Paul (A.) says...

Our friend Slacktivist has posts on Douthat responses here, here, and here. The second of these posts posits an interesting proposition: Automobile-shaped development has produced an automobile-shaped ecclesiology. All are worth perusing.

MORE ON THE COMPLAINTS AGAINST SEVEN TEC BISHOPS AND TWO MORE

Disciplinary process set to begin on complaints against nine bishops:

[Episcopal News Service] Two complaints apparently have been filed about the involvement of five active bishops and four retired bishops in property litigation in two Episcopal Church dioceses.

Word of the complaints surfaced on various blogs and e-mail lists on June 30. No information about either complaint was released by the Episcopal Church, including the name or names of the complainants.

According to the reports, including an extensive one here, Bishop Clayton Mathews e-mailed two groups of bishops to tell them that he had received complaints against them and that “in the next few weeks” he would begin the disciplinary process as called for in Title IV.6.3-4 of the canons of the Episcopal Church.

It is highly unusual for the existence of a complaint to become public knowledge at this point in the process, regardless the order of the person against whom the complaint is filed.

“As cited in Title IV, disciplinary matters are confidential at this stage,” Episcopal Church Public Affairs Officer Neva Rae Fox told Episcopal News Service July 2. “We are honoring that confidentiality.” (My emphasis)

In one instance, the complaint apparently concerns the fact that seven bishops endorsed an amicus curiae or “friend of the court” brief prepared by the Anglican Communion Institute, Inc. in the pending appeal of a court ruling involving the Diocese of Fort Worth and the bishop, clergy and laity who broke away from that diocese in November 2008.
The brief objects to the trial court’s ruling that told the dissidents to return “all property, as well as control of the diocesan corporation” to the Episcopal leaders of the diocese.
....

Those named in the Fort Worth complaint are retired Diocese of Texas Bishop Maurice M. Benitez, retired Diocese of Central Florida Bishop John W. Howe, Diocese of Dallas Bishop Suffragan Paul E. Lambert, Diocese of Albany Bishop William H. Love, Diocese of Western Louisiana Bishop D. Bruce MacPherson, Diocese of Springfield Bishop Daniel H. Martins, and Diocese of Dallas Bishop James M. Stanton.

MacPherson is also named in the other complaint, along with retired Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Edward L. Salmon, Jr. and retired Diocese of Springfield Bishop Peter H. Beckwith. Matthews e-mailed them to say that a complaint has been received against them because they signed affidavits opposing to a motion for summary judgment made by representatives of the Diocese of Quincy and the Episcopal Church in the fall of 2011 to secure diocesan financial assets from a group that broke from the diocese in November 2008.

Read the entire article at ENS.

At least we now know that the persons who handle complaints in the Episcopal Church did not make the information public.  I had not previously written about the complaint against the bishops about the affidavits in the Diocese of Quincy because...well, because I have a one-track mind, and I am only one person and can't cover everything.  Now you know.

H/T to Ann Fontaine at The Lead.

MODEL RESOLUTION FOR TEC GENERAL CONVENTION FROM NO ANGLICAN COVENANT COALTION

Below is the model resolution from NACC on the Anglican Covenant for General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the US, which meets in July 2012  The resolution is also available here as a Microsoft Word file and here as a PDF file.  An introduction and explanation may be found at Comprehensive Unity.

Title: Relation to the Anglican Communion

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 77^th General Convention give thanks to all who have worked to increase understanding and strengthen relationships among the churches of the Anglican Communion, and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention reaffirm the commitment of this church to the fellowship of autonomous national and regional churches that is the Anglican Communion; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention believe that sister churches of the Anglican Communion are properly drawn together by bonds of affection, by participation in the common mission of the gospel, and by consultation without coercion or intimidation; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention, having prayerfully considered the merits of the Anglican Communion Covenant and believing said agreement to be contrary to Anglican ecclesiology and tradition and to the best interests of the Anglican Communion, respectfully decline to adopt the same; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention call upon the leaders of The Episcopal Church at every level to seek opportunities to reach out to strengthen and restore relationships between this church and sister churches of the Communion.

______

JONATHAN CLATWORTHY ON THE PAPER DOLL

At Modern Church, Jonathan Clatworthy, General Secretary to the organization, wrote an excellent response to Peter Doll's inaccurate and downright insulting essay on the Episcopal Church in the United States and its relationship to the Anglican Communion and to the proposed Anglican Covenant. Doll is originally from the US, but he has served in the Church of England since his ordination. Still, Doll claims to know the church which he says nurtured him well. Peter Doll is Canon Librarian at Norwich Cathedral in England, therefore one would expect the fruits of his personal knowledge and research to exhibit a result that paints an accurate and evenhanded picture of the Episcopal Church, rather than the biased views expressed in the essay.

Keep in mind that Clatworthy is English and that it is entirely possible to arrive at a more realistic and balanced view of the Episcopal Church from across the big pond in the Green and Pleasant Land. That Doll's paper was sent to all the bishops in the Church of England with the stamp of approval from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is astounding to me.

Wait! On second thought, as I remember certain of Rowan's statements about the Episcopal Church, I am not so surprised, because Doll and Rowan come to seem more like birds of a feather, which makes me even more grateful for Clatworthy's admirable rebuttal.

I met Jonathan when I was in England, and we had a wonderful, long, chatty lunch in London between his trains, and I speak from personal knowledge when I say that he's all right.

Disclosure: Jonathan and I are both members of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition.

Jonathan Clatworthy lives in Liverpool and is Modern Church General Secretary. He has worked as a parish priest, university chaplain and lecturer in Ethics.