more on the ECUSA HoB meeting
updated Thursday
Jonathan Petre wrote a story for the Telegraph on Monday, which was headlined US bishops set for U-turn on gay ‘marriages’. Then today Wyatt Buchanan wrote a story for the San Francisco Chronicle Episcopal panel seeks slowdown on new gay leaders Church to be urged to repent for electing Gene Robinson.
This reporting depends heavily on an email sent by one bishop, Kirk Smith of Arizona, which can be read in full here but which was not intended for publication beyond an Arizona diocesan mailing list. He has subseqently commented further in an interview with the Living Church Bishop of Arizona Calls for Civil, ‘Religious’ Discourse.
Some comments have been published by other bishops who attended the meeting. See for example, Jeffrey Steenson of the Diocese of the Rio Grande and Charles G. vonRosenberg of East Tennessee. Also Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh made this comment.
Update See also these comments from John Howe of Central Florida and from Duncan Gray of Mississippi.
The special commission’s report which was discussed at the meeting was also referenced by Michael Langrish of Exeter, as previously noted. It has been finalised since the HoB meeting and will be published in full, along with many other pre-Convention documents on or around Monday 10 April. That’s about a week away.
Meanwhile, Jim Naughton’s opinions on what will happen may well be a better-informed estimate than other reports.
23 CommentsLEAC: more reports
For earlier articles go here and here.
Next, two reports in the Church Times by Doug LeBlanc:
Survey is part of anti-liberal bid on 17 March and
Low-budget fight-back begins in Maryland on 24 March.
Then, this report by Sarah Dylan Breuer in the Witness Inside LEAC.
And now, the LEAC website at http://www.layepiscopal.org/. This contains several pages which make clear the mission and objectives of LEAC, together with The LEAC Difference and The Call for Lay Help, and the LEAC Response, not to mention Less Talk, More Education, More Action.
Unsurprisingly their press release on the website reports that:
Bishops responding to LEAC survey reject key homosexual agenda items.
The version of this sent to others appears to be rather shorter, see Episcopal Bishops, If Voting Secretly, Would Oppose Church’s Stance on Homosexual Agenda Items Adopted in 2003, a Lay Poll Reports.
They sent surveys to about 298 bishops, and got 80 responses. Of these responses, they report that:
56.25% of respondents now would disapprove of the 2003 General Convention resolution which led to consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson, and 57.5% would oppose provisions for church blessing of same-sex domestic partnerships, another of the convention’s historic resolutions.
Considering the first of these two resolutions, this means that 45 bishops recorded to LEAC that they would now have voted against and that 35 recorded that they would now have voted in favour. The actual numbers of bishops who voted in 2003 was 43 against, and 62 in favour with 2 not voting. (Only active diocesans had a vote on the matter, whereas this survey went to all current members of the house.)
Voting by bishops on the second resolution at GC 2003 is not known as it was done by a voice vote.
Update
Magic Statistics has weighed in again with ECUSA survey results released. He comments in detail on the differences between the two press releases, and shows how misleading the public press release is.
Bishop of Exeter's speech to ECUSA HoB
The recent remarks of Bishop Michael Langrish in the USA previously mentioned here have been published in full on his diocesan website. You can read them at Some Reflections offered to the House of Bishops of ECUSA.
(*Addendum* This diagram, included in the article by Andrew Goddard mentioned below in a comment, may also be useful for readers of the original article.)
This has been reported today in the Church Times by Pat Ashworth as ECUSA could wreck it all, envoy warns US Bishops.
The Episcopal News Service reported this also, in Exeter bishop, South Indian scholar offer texts from House of Bishops’ meeting.
The other speaker whose remarks are published by ENS is Sathi Clarke, a priest of the Church of South India and a professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D. C. who delivered a paper on biblical interpretation: Sathi Clarke’s speech at Spring 2006 House of Bishops meeting .
13 CommentsECUSA: press reports
Following the recent meeting of the ECUSA House of Bishops, there have been American press reports which attempt to put the forthcoming General Convention into context:
Reuters Michael Conlon U.S. Episcopal church faces another showdown over gays
Associated Press Rachel Zoll Episcopal leader: concern on gay candidates for California bishop
The House of Bishops itself issued this: A Word to the Church which includes the following:
The unity, mission, and faithfulness of the Church are matters very much in our prayers. We strongly affirm our desire for the Episcopal Church to remain a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, and we recognize that the gift of communion requires generosity and restraint on the part of all. We were blessed by the presence and presentation of our guest from the Church of England, the Right Reverend Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter, who encouraged and challenged us in respect to our relationship with the larger Anglican Communion. On behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ms. Sue Parks, the Manager of the Lambeth Conference, briefed us on the plans for the Lambeth Conference 2008.
We believe that the most effective way to foster communion is to be present for each other, as often as possible, so that we may learn from each other, be corrected by each other, and discern the mind of Christ together. In this regard we were encouraged by the report of the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. We welcomed the Commission’s overview of the report that it is preparing in order to assist the General Convention in addressing the critical issues and concerns raised in the Windsor Report, in the Primates’ Communiqué, and by the Anglican Consultative Council. The report, which will be completed and issued early in April, affirms our commitment to the Anglican Communion, and will include a number of resolutions to be proposed for consideration by the General Convention. We commend to the prayerful reflection and legislative process of the General Convention this report of the Special Commission as a way forward in faithfulness to our Lord, to the Episcopal Church, and to the Anglican Communion.
The House of Bishops also issued this pastoral letter: The Sin of Racism: A Call to Covenant.
4 CommentsECUSA and the Windsor Report
Updated 23 March
The Living Church now has a report on this with more detail, Windsor Report Response Presented to Bishops.
The ECUSA House of Bishops is currently holding one of its regular meetings, this time at the Kanuga Conference Centre in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
They have received a preliminary report from the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion announced last September – for backstory see ENS Special Commission on Episcopal Church, Anglican Communion to meet and TLC Special General Convention Commission Appointed.
See the latest ENS report: Special Commission members brief bishops on progress.
The Commission will offer a full report, relating to the Windsor Report, Primates Meeting, and the Anglican Consultative Council, to the 75th General Convention approximately 60 days prior to Convention, i.e. about 10 April.
Then, as the General Convention of ECUSA approaches, a separate official commission will prepare formal resolutions for the Convention to consider. Membership of this commission was recently announced, see ENS Special committee on Church and Communion named. Although this is a separate body, there is a significant overlap of members between the two groups. The Convention meets from 13 to 21 June in Columbus, Ohio.
In a separate development, the Presiding Bishop has written to the other primates about the Listening Process:
see ENS Interview: Presiding Bishop supports listening process, writes to primates
Transcript: Presiding Bishop supports listening process, writes to primates.
This has been reported by the Living Church magazine as Presiding Bishop Writes to Primates.
The actual text of this letter has not (yet?) been published.
Meanwhile, in yet another development, the Diocese of California will hold its election of a new diocesan bishop on 6 May. This is thought to be relevant because the nominees include several persons who are in same-sex relationships. The General Convention will be asked to ratify the outcome of the election. You can read all about the election process of that diocese on a special website which contains profiles of all the candidates as well as of the diocese and much else besides.
8 Commentstrouble in Philadelphia
Bishop Charles Bennison of the Diocese of Pennsylvania says he won’t resign, according to the Living Church yesterday. Earlier in the week it had published this article: Church Report Concludes Reconciliation Unlikely in Pennsylvania.
The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Pennsylvania has its own website, independently of the diocesan one. The report which triggered this latest round in the long-running dispute is available here as a PDF. The Standing Committee explains why it has published it in this covering letter. For the attachments to the report go here and scroll down.
The Bishop’s reply to this amazingly frank report is in another letter, also available as a PDF here.
Next Saturday, 25th, a special diocesan convention will meet to try and agree a budget for the diocese, which was rejected at the previous convention. The entire Standing Committee had previously called for Bishop Bennison’s resignation. Earlier, the Regional Deans had proposed mediation.
Update 24 March The Church Times has Bennison refuses to resign see.
12 Commentsmore about the questionnaire authors
Updated Saturday 18 March
I can now also link to the Church Times report of last week:
Pat Ashworth Carey group looks to set up rival US province.
The following announcement issued by Lay Episcopalians For the Anglican Communion gives some insight into the purpose of the recent questionnaire.
No website yet for LEAC as far as I know, but the local parish church of Jim Ince is All Saints Chevy Chase.
Meanwhile, the Presiding Bishop wrote to all his colleagues about the questionnaire, see this article from the Living Church: Survey, Archbishop Carey Draw Presiding Bishop’s Ire which also reports on an interview with Mr Ince.
A professional statistician explains why an anonymous survey has technical problems.
42 CommentsAmerican Questionnaire
The members of the US House of Bishops have each been sent a questionnaire. Absolutely everything that is known about this questionnaire can be seen in the photo scans of the document that I have uploaded:
Cover
First page
Second page
(you might need to click on each picture to get it full-size and easily legible, depending on what browser you use)
ECUSA departures
I have no idea who is responsible for this blog, but it seems to contain useful information:
49 CommentsLists parishes that have left the Episcopal Church USA. When a group of parishioners has left, and the parish itself remains in the ECUSA, it is not listed here.
Pittsburgh conference videos
A number of videos are now available from this URL:http://www.anglicandecision.org/
Choose The Day is a video which was shown at the conference.
The Anglican Decision is a video (which is actually titled The Decision) that is packaged with the previous item on the DVD which was offered as a take-home item to all participants at the conference.
The first of these two features Robert Duncan, Kendall Harmon and others. A full transcript can be found here.
A full transcript of the second video can be found here. It tells the story of two parishes that left The Episcopal Church in 2004.
The opening narration is:
In this turbulent time of the Episcopal Church, your congregation is going to have an important decision to make, a decision brought on by national church leaders who have turned their back on the authority of scripture. This is the story of how two small parishes in Washington state, stood up and decided for good, between the current opinions of men and the unchanging heart of God.
The concluding narration is:
34 CommentsThe people of St. Charles’and St. Stephens’ Parishes had a choice. They could follow a national church that’s turned its back on 2000 years of biblical orthodoxy or they could remain true to God’s unchanging holy word. Your church has the same choice. When it’s all said or done, what will you do? Will you put your faith in the changing opinions of men, or will you stand firm and remain faithful to the Lord whose faithfulness never ends?
Network conference in Pittsburgh
Updated Sunday morning and again Sunday evening
A huge conference of conservative Anglicans has been happening in Pittsburgh. See the conference site, the diocesan site, and the Network site.
For press reports of the event, see
New York Times Conservative Episcopalians Warn Church That It Must Change Course or Face Split
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Anglicans urge disgruntled Episcopalians to join them
Associated Press via the Washington Post Anglican Bishops Urge U.S. Church Split
Washington Times Episcopal Church’s rift has asset edge and U.S. Anglicans called to ‘repent’
PBS Anglican Communion Network Meeting (this transcript links to a video report which includes quotes from many senior figures at the conference, well worth watching)
Religion News Service Episcopal Liberals Plan for Division
Update Sunday morning
Later press reports contain important developments:
Washington Times Bolivian ordains Anglican clerics
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Priest, deacons ordained to serve Episcopal splitoffs
and Pittsburgh bishop expects an effort to oust him
Update Sunday evening
Three Global South primates (Drexel Gomez,Datuk Yong Ping Chung, Emmanuel Kolini) held a press conference, and there is a 33 minute video of this (.wmv format) which can be viewed here. The sound is not very good, but it is worth persevering – a better version is promised to replace it soon
Also, another 11 minute video of the Bishop of Pittsburgh summarising the conference here.
(hat tip KH).
American paranoia?
After the Living Church published on 19 October a news report, Via Media Groups Mobilize for the ‘Day After’, the American Anglican Council got very excited about a document that came its way which was a partial rough draft of some minutes from a Via Media USA steering committee meeting. Curiously, the particular organisation discussed in this draft, the NACDAP, hasn’t yet shown any reaction at all.
Update Monday 24 Oct the NACDAP has now published this response: Network responds to “worst-case scenario” and reprinted the original document on its own website.
The author of the draft has issued a personal response which is reproduced here below the fold.
The silliness of all this is discussed by Mark Harris in this blog item, The AAC and the Via Media Memo: Lots of Noise and Smoke, and Certainly Paranoia.
Very sensible comments about it were made by Dale Rye on titusonenine which you can read here and here.
33 CommentsPittsburgh lawsuit settled
Updated Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Saturday
Two years ago, the Rector, Senior Warden and Vestry of Calvary Church filed suit against the Bishop and Assistant Bishop of Pittsburgh, and various members of the Standing Committee and Board of Trustees of the Diocese. This past week, Joseph James, President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County signed a court order, which rendered as binding an “amicable agreement” between the Defendants and the Plaintiffs…
Read the whole article in the Calvary parish magazine here
Read the court order here (PDF)
Read the press release of PEP here
There is as yet no now a mention of this matter at the Pittsburgh diocesan website.
Saturday The diocesan website now contains further interpretative commentary in Diocese Offers Perspective on Settlement
Nor from the NACDAP, which is also mentioned specifically in the settlement, see this quote from the PEP release:
The agreement also deals with an important point not raised in the original lawsuit. The diocese has agreed that parishes may decline membership in the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes. The Network, headed by Bishop Duncan, is a small collection of dioceses and parishes scattered throughout the Episcopal Church that have isolated themselves from the more moderate elements of the church. Ten parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh have indicated their unwillingness to participate in the Network, and PEP hopes that this stipulation will encourage others to make similar declarations.
Tuesday
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a report by Steve Levin which is headlined
Lawsuit settlement upholds canon law of Episcopal Church.
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review has Diocese, parish settle suit.
Wednesday
The Living Church reports this also: Pittsburgh Property Case Settled.
Connecticut Six file formal charges against bishop
Update
The Living Church has published this news report: Formal Charges Lodged Against Connecticut Bishop which explains more about the process.
The Connecticut Six have now taken formal action under Episcopal canon law against their diocesan bishop, Andrew Smith, by filing charges against him in accordance with TITLE IV, CANON 3 (PDF file) of the Episcopal Church.
The full text of these charges can be found in a 1.2 Mb 22-page PDF file, available here.
A press release from the American Anglican Council is here.
The charges have been filed by a total of 19 persons, all of whom are it seems either clergy at, or communicants at, the six parishes who are already in dispute. Some of the names are hard to read from the PDF, but I expect a list will be published somewhere shortly.
The charges accuse the bishop of “undermining the structure of the Episcopal Church and denying canonical due process for the so-called ‘Connecticut Six’ clergy” and include “violating the Episcopal Church’s Constitution, national canons, diocesan canons, and the laws of the state of Connecticut”.
I will add further links here as other reports are published. But what happens next, it appears, is this:
Sec. 26. Any Charge against a Bishop shall be filed with the Presiding Bishop who shall promptly communicate the same to the Respondent. The Presiding Bishop shall forward the Charge to the Review Committee at such time as the Presiding Bishop shall determine or when requested in writing by the Complainant or Respondent after 90 days of receipt of the charge by the Presiding Bishop…
…Sec. 40. Within sixty days after receiving a Charge, the Review Committee shall convene to consider the Charge. If after such consideration the Review Committee determines that an Offense may have occurred if the facts alleged be true, the Review Committee shall prepare a written general statement of the Charge and the facts alleged to support the Charge and transmit the same to the Church Attorney.
The ECUSA website shows the Title IV Review Committee mandate and its current membership.
What is not at all clear is how this action will affect the earlier appeal made to the international Anglican Panel of Reference.
32 Commentsdocuments from Eastern Michigan
There was another deposition in ECUSA today, this one in Eastern Michigan. It provoked a strong reaction from Forward in Faith North America which published five documents relating to this event.
The documents giving the diocesan view of this matter are reproduced here, below the fold.
And this report appeared on TLC Bishop Howe Withdraws Name from Eastern Michigan Censure Letter
Update
A further report on TLC Eastern Michigan Bishop Responds to Critics of His Deposition
developments in Connecticut
Updated Sunday 31 July
Since the last report there have been some major developments.
The Living Church published a further report headlined Archbishop’s Panel Stays Out of Connecticut Dispute.
Then, a group of nine ECUSA diocesan bishops issued a public letter to Andrew Smith.
In response, the Bishop of Connecticut has published his reply (PDF copy) which is reproduced below the fold here.
Update Another letter, dated one day earlier, addressed to the members of the parish, has now also been published. PDF file here, full text below the fold (scroll down).
The Living Church has reported this here.
Earlier TLC had published this interview with Jack Iker one of the signatories to the 9 bishops letter.
The Associated Press reported Bishops plan to take Connecticut cleric to church court.
Reuters had US Episcopal clerics to sue bishop in church court
Bristol Press Bishop’s peers threaten charges
New London The Day Out-of-state Bishops Threaten Action
A martyr in Connecticut?
Updated
There has been intensive coverage elsewhere this week of the disciplinary action taken by the Bishop of Connecticut towards the Reverend Mark Hansen, one of the Connecticut Six about whom TA has reported in the past.
The official diocesan statement is here, together with links to several other documents that give more background, and ENS earlier included a similar report in this diocesan news roundup.
The report by The Living Church magazine is here and further information is in this report.
The New York Times carried Episcopal Priest Is Removed in Connecticut
and the Associated Press had Episcopal bishop suspends one of six embattled priests
while the Bristol Press reported that Bishop suspends Episcopal priest
The CEN has this week reported the story as Mediating Panel not wanted in US diocese.
The Church Times also has a report, not yet available on the web except to its paid subscribers, titled Dispute over support for gay Bishop worsens, which says in part:
The six asked to be released from their ordination vows of obedience to the Bishop, and for suspension of selected canons, and withdrew their parish share.
They refused the terms of the offer of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight approved by ECUSA’s House of Bishops last year, asking that the delegated rather than the diocesan bishop take responsibility for the future succession of clergy and future candidates for ordination in the diocese.
In March, the diocese determined that the six rectors had “abandoned communion” and recommended the inhibition of all six priests — the first step towards unfrocking. A meeting between Bishop Smith and the six in April reached an impasse, but the recommendation was not carried out (News, 22 April).
Mr Hansen has been on sabbatical leave since 10 April, having declared to his parishioners on 15 March that the day would be “my last Sunday as your priest”. Bishop Smith has declared his absence unauthorised.
The St John’s Church Vestry accused the Bishop on Sunday of violating canon, civil, and criminal law, and refused to accept the ministry as priest-in-charge of the Revd Susan McCone, the executive director of Affirming Catholicism.
Mr Hansen declared himself “personally devastated” by Bishop Smith’s action in inhibiting him on the grounds of abandonment of communion, and accused him of misrepresenting the facts. “The Bishop is fully aware that family circumstances necessitated a sabbatical leave. . . [He] has knowingly and wilfully endangered my family’s well-being and security,” he said.
Here is the website of the Connecticut Six which contains links to many who support them. They include the Moderator of NACDAP and the AAC and there is also this riveting eyewitness account of the events when the bishop came to the parish on Tuesday.
A comprehensive report from Fr Jake The Making of a Connecticut Martyr suggests that the facts are not as straightforward as the supporters of Fr Hansen have made out.
Kendall Harmon has expressed surprise more than once that so few people other than conservatives have criticised the bishop’s actions.
I do not think this is because there is widespread support for Smith, but rather that there is very little support for the position taken by the Connecticut Six in the first place.
See also this commentary from Alistair Highet in the Hartford Advocate.
And this criticism from AKMA.
36 CommentsThe Panel and the Connecticut Six
It’s now 18 days since we were told (on 11 May) that the other participants in the Panel of Reference would be named “next week”.
Meanwhile these developments in the Connecticut case:
A Statement by the Connecticut Six was issued on 27 May, in response to the diocesan statement of 19 May. This starts out:
A recent statement by the Bishop of Connecticut (issued through his spokesperson, Karen Hamilton), which has been masquerading as a piece of journalism, includes distortions of fact and blatant misrepresentations; it is proof positive of the need for immediate intervention here in Connecticut. There are two major issues that must be addressed: Bishop Smith’s abandonment of orthodox Anglican faith and order and his continued harassment of faithful clergy and congregations in Connecticut.
Unfortunately, the article fails to substantiate this criticism by listing any specific “distortions” or “misrepresentations” in the diocesan article, but after addressing the other two issues mentioned, it concludes:
Everyone in the Episcopal Church concerned with the preservation of the Anglican Communion and the imperatives of simple Christian charity, should call on the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury to employ the Panel of Reference to intervene immediately, so that adequate episcopal oversight can become a reality for faithful Episcopalians of Connecticut. No further adversarial action, or threats of such action, should be countenanced.
There has been one attempt to suggest a way forward in this dispute, in earlier (April) blog posts by Leander Harding, which I had missed at the time: Observations On CT Clergy Meeting Today and Thoughts On The CT Six. These suggestions do not seem to have had any effect on the dispute.
Also, last week, David Anderson issued An Open Letter to the Anglican Communion from the AAC President
While this does not mention Connecticut, it is an extended criticism of the remarks already reported from Archbishop Peter Carnley about the Panel.
If the Panel of Reference is a serious effort by the Primates and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office to address the needs of those who otherwise would seek succor from global Anglican Provinces, and if there is serious intent to implement this Panel so that it fills this need, major change including the choice of the chairman will be necessary for this to be acceptable and useful. If it is designed to be unacceptable or useless, the bother of assembling the Panel can be dispensed with.
One might have thought that this subject should be placed firmly on the agenda of the forthcoming Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Nottingham, where other provinces could express their views face-to-face to ECUSA representatives. However, since the ECUSA delegation was asked by the Primates meeting (and has agreed) not to participate in that meeting, that’s now not possible. What a pity.
3 CommentsECUSA team for Nottingham is named
Update
The Living Church has published a further report on this subject: Presiding Bishop: ACC Presentation will Invite Dialogue
The Episcopal Church’s presentation will “fall into three sections,” the Presiding Bishop noted. The seven-member team will address issues “scriptural and theological; the reality of homosexuality in the life and experience of faithful persons and families; and a witness to the fact that divergent points of view on issues of sexuality need not be church dividing, and that those who stand in different places can make common cause together in the service of Christ’s mission.”
While the Anglican Consultative Council will “pay for three persons to represent us” in Nottingham, Bishop Griswold wrote, he added that “I feel that we are best served by sending six, in addition to myself, and I have every confidence that these six persons will represent the Episcopal Church with faithfulness and grace.”
The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada will each have an hour and a half to respond to the primates’ Feb. 24 communiqué. “This will include time for queries, clarifications and conversation with the members of ACC, as our presentation needs to be put forward in a gracious and open-ended way that invites dialogue and conversation,” Bishop Griswold wrote.
The Living Church has published a news story Delegation named for June 21 ACC Meeting
The list of names is:
The Rt. Rev. J. Neil Alexander, Bishop of Atlanta; the Rev. Michael Battle, associate dean of academic affairs and vice president of Virginia Theological Seminary; the Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, Bishop of Louisiana; the Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam, suffragan bishop of New York; the Rev. Susan Russell, President of Integrity; and Mrs. Jane Tully of Clergy Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (C-FLAG) will join the Presiding Bishop and a delegation from the Anglican Church of Canada in addressing the ACC on June 21.
This report also confirms the date for this session as 21 June, and says of the names listed:
26 CommentsThe delegation chosen by the Presiding Bishop represents a diverse slice of the Church. Bishop Jenkins voted against affirming the election of Bishop Gene Robinson at the 74th General Convention, while Bishop Alexander voted in favor. Bishop Roskam participated in Bishop Robinson’s consecration. The Rev. Susan Russell is president of the Church’s largest gay and lesbian advocacy group, and Mrs. Tully, wife of the rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City, is a leader of C-FLAG.
Duncan claims network is the legitimate church
An earlier item reported a major interview with Robert Duncan in the Living Church. A further segment of this interview appeared later in the magazine, and is reproduced below the fold.
13 Comments