Updated Saturday morning
Previous report here.
Earlier this week, Bishop James Lee took action against all the clergy of his diocese who participated in recent secessionist actions.
Diocesan press release: Bishop Inhibits Clergy; Diocese Responds to Filings by Separated Churches
ENS Bishop inhibits clergy; diocese responds to filings by separated churches
Living Church Bishop Lee Inhibits 21 Priests.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Episcopal Church bars 21 clergy from duties
Washington Times Breakaway Episcopal priests face defrocking
Today, Bishop Martyn Minns has responded to this action.
Bishop Minns responds to Bishop Lee’s premature and punitive actions against 27 clergy. (PDF)
For an html copy of the letter see here.
Today also, the diocese elected a new bishop coadjutor (suffragan with right of succession). For details of Shannon S. Johnston and his election see here, here, and here.
And the Falls Church News-Press reports that F.C. Episcopal Non-Defectors Gather Off-Site; Bishop May Defrock Yates. This report notes that The Falls Church formerly claimed 2800 members, but less than half this number had voted to secede.
Updates
Living Church Three Start-over Congregations Send Delegates to Virginia Annual Council by Doug LeBlanc
…Many of the 1,000 delegates and visitors present gave a standing ovation when the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee announced that both the standing committee and the executive board of the diocese voted unanimously to take legal action over property ownership in the departing parishes.
They applauded vigorously when the Rt. Rev. John Paterson, Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand, said, “If the Episcopal Church needs a strong and united Diocese of Virginia, it is no less true that the Anglican Communion needs a strong and united Episcopal Church, and The Episcopal Church needs the Anglican Communion.”
They gave a standing ovation when the Rt. Rev. David C. Jones, bishop suffragan, read a statement of unqualified support for Bishop Lee by nearly all the active and retired bishops in Province III of The Episcopal Church (with the notable exception of Pittsburgh’s bishops).
Bishop Jones said the departing congregations had shifted their emphasis “from belonging to Christ through baptism” to “adhering to one point of view.” When he added, “That is not an Anglican development,” delegates rose again, applauding and cheering….
Richmond Times-Dispatch Miss. priest next Va. bishop
Washington Times Bishop voted in as Lee’s successor
Good for Bishop Lee.
Perhaps Minns should be asking himself whether the CoN is Anglican first.
More nice liberals whose supreme tolerance has been pushed over the edge by those nasty conservatives – who unreasonably insist that Christian belief and moral conduct are more important than the person who gets to wear the funny hat!
Aside from the health insurance thing, Minns has no grounds to complain. the Church of Nigeria is Anglican, and I do not think that +Lee is trying to deny that, but CANA is not Anglican, and the Episcopal Church shouldn’t recognize it. the US doesn’t have universal health insurance. health insurance is provided through employment only, which is a relic from WWII practices (long story, don’t ask). I may not wish these dissident clergy well, but I wouldn’t deny even Peter Akinola his health benefits. when employees leave, are terminated or go on strike (all of which could describe what… Read more »
Dave, I’m not sure I follow your point. The only person who got a pointy hat out of this was Martyn Minns, who got one from Nigeria. He had previously stood for election in the Episcopal Church of the USA but he lost the election. Then, having got his Nigerian pointy hat, he didn’t go to Nigeria, but stayed put as Rector (very strange) of his previous church in the USA. Then, he conducted “40 days of discernment”, as a result of which, surprise surprise, his flock followed their new shepherd towards his new masters, the kind dispensers of the… Read more »
RE: Health care issues. An employer can not deny an ex-employee COBRA coverage. The employer is required to notify the Health Plan that the employee is terminated within thirty days of the termination (be it voluntary or involuntary). Bp Minns speaks of a ‘grace’ period – coverage under COBRA extensions can be for long as 18 months. What exactly has Bp Lee denied to the departing priests?
+Minns of the Convocation of Anglican Nigerians in America writes to +Lee of Virginia: “Are you, by your actions, suggesting that the Church of Nigeria is somehow not fully Anglican? Such a suggestion would be ironic in light of the meeting of the Primates in Dar es Salaam to be held early next month when a major agenda topic is whether or not The Episcopal Church – and hence the Diocese of Virginia – should continue to be recognized as fully Anglican or moved to a diminished or separated status” +Minns sums it up admirably: both sides see the others… Read more »
Did not Bishop Minns have some responsibility to care for those clergy he led into schism? I can’t see how the diocese of Virginia is responsible for providing health insurance for people who quit their jobs. (I realize that this may seem bizarre for people who live in civilized countries, but in regards to health care, the USA is a Third World country — it is scandalous, but again, not the fault of the diocese).
“More nice liberals whose supreme tolerance has been pushed over the edge by those nasty conservatives – who unreasonably insist that Christian belief…” Dave My Dear Brother Dave, Liberals, like me, have been tolerant of defamation, slander and crimes of hate waged against me and other LGBT Episcopalians/Anglicans (now in Nigeria/Uganda worst of all) for hundreds of years? Is that what you’re commenting about? Yes, we’ve been pushed over the edge and are no longer “accepting junk talk/acting-out” by nasty and bigoted selfrighteous conservatives who are anything but Christian acting and behaving as they wage their war of exclusion at… Read more »
http://info.insure.com/health/cobra.html “Under COBRA, if you voluntarily resign from a job or are terminated for any reason other than “gross misconduct,” you are guaranteed the right to continue your former employers group plan for individual or family health insurance for up to 18 months at your own expense. In many cases, your spouse and dependent children are also eligible for COBRA coverage, sometimes for as long as three years. However, individual plans — that is, plans you buy on your own, rather than through work or an association — are not subject to COBRA law, and once you lose that coverage,… Read more »
Bishop Minns doth protest too much, at least regarding the possibility of letters dimissory (transfers) between Virginia and Nigeria. Andrew Gerns, an priest also in Province III of TEC noted the following: “On the other hand, all of the twenty one clergy have by their own words and actions stated that they have left the Episcopal Church and now are doing ministry under the authority of a Bishop consecrated by the Church of Nigeria. The procedures Lee have initiated simply recognizes what the clergy themselves have already said: they are no longer priests of This (The Episcopal) Church but of… Read more »
Richard (above). Thanks for that link. But keep scrolling. “COBRA eligibility also extends to workers in state and local government, as well as to workers classified as independent contractors. However, the law grants an exemption from COBRA continuation rules to the District of Columbia, federal employees, certain church-related organizations, and firms employing fewer than 20 people. The IRS rules state that employers must figure part-time workers into their employee total to determine if they can claim exemption.” It could be that DoV is one of those “church-related organizations.” Additionally, the clergy are not employees of the diocese. Regarding health insurance… Read more »
‘Toleration’, pluralism and diversity do not mean accepting abuse, deceit, bad faith & bad behaviour; and the violation of personal and professional boundaries with in the life of the church.
Sometimes we have to ‘withstand ‘ the perpetrator(s) of such behaviours to his face. There is such a thing as right ordering, and the eldering of those who violate it. TEC has domocratic structures and leaders. The Cof E and the meetings of primates do not.
Your Christology (for example) may be impeccable but that is no pretext for behaving badly.
As has been posted here before, in the U. S. COBRA does not apply to religious organizations. It makes no sense whatsoever for Minns & Co. to claim COBRA benefits when the law simply does not apply to them. The Diocese of Virginia is under no obligation whatsoever to allow departing employees or clergy to remain under their health insurance provider. For those outside the U. S., all COBRA does in any event is to allow a departing employee to purchase health insurance completely at his/her own cost, from the former employer at their rates – which are usually cheaper… Read more »
COBRA allows them to retain previous health benefits at their own cost, for a certain period of time. I hope +Lee can rectify this situation,
Minns misrepresented the facts. The Diocese of Va in fact extended a period for these folks to be covered while they looked for insurance, and offered help in finding it.
badman wrote: “A cynical, ambitious, power seeking, worldly person would have done exactly the same thing.”
Dear Badman, now I wonder if I’m following your point. I presume you are commenting on Bishop Lee’s actions in making a grab at the dissident church’s buildings and funds, and trying to de-frock the priests!
Actually, I think +Minns is evading the real point of this action. +Lee is simply holding these people at their word. In other words, he’s treating them as if they truly believe what they’ve been saying all this time about broken communion (and so on…). They’ve now acted on these statements (joined / taken up canonical residence with CANA and kindred bodies), which is an action that has a clear consequence under the relevant canons. I wish commenters here would be clearer about this: +Lee is *responding* to the actions of these clergy, not launching some *new* tangent in a… Read more »
Dave suggested he disapproved of
“Bishop Lee’s actions in making a grab at the dissident church’s buildings and funds”
Isn’t that sub judice? The diocese says that the dissident group has purloined Episcopal property, and no doubt the lawyers will decide where legal ownership resides.
To rebuke the diocesan for playing things by the rulebook seems a bit uncharitable: I have to say that if a CofE congregation tried the same trick, they’d very clearly be out on their ear.
“Or do they believe that only they get to mete out consequences for other peoples’ actions, but that there are no repercussions for their own behaviour?” Most of these congregations did not support the budget of the diocese in the last few years. When there were suggestions that seat, voice, and vote in Council be tied to financial support of the diocesan budget, as is the case in almost all dioceses, they argued against the imposition of sonsequences BECAUSE it was a matter of conscience. Acts of civil or ecclesial disobedience without consequences: not exactly in the footsteps of Thoreau,… Read more »
Kieran Crichton wrote: “Or do they believe that only they get to mete out consequences for other peoples’ actions, but that there are no repercussions for their own behaviour?”
Yeess! Head on the nail!
Mynsterpeost wrote: “To rebuke the diocesan for playing things by the rulebook seems a bit uncharitable” Dear mynsterpreost, It’s an [more-or-less apostate] church’s rules versus faithfulness to Christian truth and moral behaviour. I think they will probably keep their buildings, due to state law, but even if they loose, they have already won! As for the CofE, I think that Christians ARE very exposed to nasty liberals in the heirarchy. Bishops certainly don’t own the buildings… but they get to decide who does every now and then! Personally I think that the buildings, and employment of clergy etc should revert… Read more »
Dave proposed
Personally I think that the buildings, and employment of clergy etc should revert to the PCC.
Ah, yes, Congregationalism. Don’t you think there are enough congregationalists around? How odd that someone who says so much about evangelism should be so supportive of a scheme which undermines prophetic activity by ministers…..
Dave ( a non-Anglican, so not biased) believes
As for the CofE, I think that Christians ARE very exposed to nasty liberals in the heirarchy
Names, please?
Dave suggested that TEC was “more-or-less apostate”
Bet you’re really glad you’re not an Anglican then. What tradition are you, by the way?
“Christians ARE very exposed to nasty liberals “
Interesting. Is it only the “nasty liberals” who are not Christians, or will any liberals do?