If asked to sum up her life in one word, Catherine “Kitty” A. Tomes Pinkney, recipient of Virginia Theological Seminary's eighth annual Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans award, would tell you it has been “joyful.”

Never mind that she grew up in foster care in a racially-segregated rural community where the prospects for young African-American girls rarely exceeded working in somebody else’s home. Miss Kitty, as she is affectionately known, was determined to flourish, and to help others flourish, too.

Read it all in the Washington Window.

The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith, Bishop of Connecticut, wrote a letter to the clergy of that Diocese to let them know they would be receiving an invitation to the ordination to the priesthood of the Rev. Bill Hesse, in Bishop Seabury Church, Groton, and that the ordination will be celebrated with his permission.

Bishop Seabury Church is one of six congregations in the Diocese of Connecticut that has been in a dispute with the Bishop and the diocese since the consecration of the present Bishop of New Hampshire. The dispute included a law suit and ecclesiastical charges initiated by the congregations against Smith, both of which were recently dismissed.

The letter, which was sent electronically to subscribers of the For Clergy newsletters, also shared developments in the relationship between the congregation and clergy of Bishop Seabury Church, and Bishop Smith.

Also planned is an Episcopal Visitation by Smith at Bishop Seabury Church on Trinity Sunday, June 3rd, a meeting with the Vestry and another meeting with the entire congregation prior to the May 12th ordination.

Here is the letter:

Read more »

Fort Worth Weekly describes the state of The Episcopal Church in Fort Worth. Writer Eric Griffey interviews people from a variety of views on issues in the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Fort Worth and their Bishop Jack Iker.

A Great Schism?
The fight between liberal and conservative Episcopalians comes to Cowtown.

....this rich tapestry, threaded with strong strands of tolerance and freedom from clearly defined dogma, is threatening to unravel. The American-based Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion of which the church is a part are engaged in a bitter struggle over the roles of homosexuals and women within the church. This long-simmering disagreement broke out into open warfare in 2003 with the consecration of the openly gay V. Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire. Since then, the events in this intense and increasingly less polite fight have often seemed more like something you might read while standing in the checkout line in the grocery store than in the annals of a denomination that intuitively searches for the “middle way.”

Read more »

Former police officer, The Rev. Dr. Edward J. Konieczny was elected bishop of Oklahoma today on the first ballot. He has served as rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Grand Junction, Colorado, and has also served congregations in the Diocese of Texas.

According to Oklahomans, his last name is pronounced: con YETCH nee

Full story HERE
Information on the bishop-elect HERE

Remember the Connecticut Six? It's now the Connecticut Five. One of the six is back in the fold. After some negotiation, another has agreed to a visit from the bishop. But tensions still run high. So reports Ed Stannard in The Bristol Press.

One town, two Episcopal churches

BRISTOL - The two Episcopal churches in this city are headed down different roads.

One, Trinity Church on Summer Street, is among five parishes in Connecticut at odds with Bishop Andrew E. Smith, especially since he voted in favor of V. Gene Robinson, a priest in an openly gay relationship, as bishop of New Hampshire.

The other, St. John's Church on Stafford Avenue, less than 3 miles from Trinity, once was in that group but, since its rector left and was then deposed by Smith, is again on good terms with the bishop and an active member of the diocese.

Trinity's stance in opposition to the bishop will be made all the more stark Saturday, when Deacon William Hesse is ordained a priest at Bishop Seabury Church in Groton by a conservative bishop from Pittsburgh.
...
Smith agreed to allow Scriven to ordain Hesse - the diocesan bishop's permission is required according to church law - if Gauss would allow Smith to make an official visitation, celebrate Communion and preach, which he will do in June.

The last member of the Connecticut Six, the Rev. Mark Hansen of St. John's, was deposed, but both Smith and a new lay leader of that church agreed that that had little to do with disputes over the Bible and sex.

Hansen had taken a secular job in New York and left on sabbatical with no apparent plans to return, said David Desmarais, senior warden. "Bishop Smith stepped in for many reasons, and I can tell you, from my point of view, the least of which was the theology," he said.

Since then, St. John's has hired the Rev. Audrey Murdock as a part-time vicar, and some of the 50 people who left have returned, Desmarais said. "We at St. John's have been moving on quite nicely," he said. "Our numbers are not what they were, but they're respectable."

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The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon had issued a letter to the clergy of South Carolina outlining the procedures to re-elect The Very Rev. Mark Lawrence as bishop of South Carolina. Lawrence failed to receive the proper consents from the Standing Committees of the other dioceses following his first election. Diocesan rules will have to be suspended in order to re-elect. The letter follows:

Dear Friends,

I have just come from a meeting of the Standing Committee where critical decisions were made toward the re-election of the Very Rev. Mark Lawrence as the XIV Bishop of South Carolina. The position of the Standing Committee was that there was an overwhelming consensus that 1) the Holy Spirit had spoken in the election of Fr. Lawrence; 2) that the Bishops and Standing Committees had intended to consent to the election even though technicalities had prevented it; 3) and that we carefully follow our own Canons in order to strongly support the election.

In order to follow our Canons, it is necessary to re-convene the Diocesan Convention of November 2006, which according to the minutes was recessed, not adjourned. This means that the delegates from the November 2006 Convention are still in place. The date for convening this Convention is June 9, 2007. At that Convention, it will be necessary to suspend Rule 21; because it would require an entirely new election process duplicating the process we used in the first election. Rule 22 gives us the authority to suspend the Rule 21 by a 2/3 vote. After its suspension, the Convention can then call for an Electing Convention. This would then require our congregations to elect new delegates for this Convention. The former Electing Convention cannot be re-convened. It was called for the purpose of electing a Bishop for the Diocese, and this work was done.

The re-convened convention of 2006 will also be asked to affirm the appointment of Wade Logan as Diocesan Chancellor as required by the Canons. Due to reasons of health, Mr. Eugene N. Zeigler has resigned as Chancellor of the Diocese. He will remain as Chancellor until the Convention approves a new Chancellor.

This Electing Convention will then be convened later in the summer of 2007 for the purpose of re-electing Fr. Lawrence. This date will be announced when the Electing Convention is created.

Following the election, the Standing Committee will implement an intensive effort to receive the consents during the 120 day period. Since a majority of Standing Committees intended to approve in the first election, the Standing Committee has a clear field in which to work.

This process will allow a consecration date to be set so that when consents are in, we may proceed to consecrate Fr. Mark Lawrence as the 14th Bishop of South Carolina.

Yours faithfully,

(The Rt. Rev.) Edward L. Salmon, Jr.
Bishop of South Carolina XIII

Read it HERE

News from the clergy conference in the Diocese of Los Angeles: The Rev. Michael Battle, current dean for academic affairs at Virginia Theological Seminary will become the Provost for the Cathedral Center.

The Rev.Susan Russell of All Saints, Pasadena reports that a Q and A on "what happens next with the Communion" was part of the dialogue and -- "at least for our four bishops -- there is not an ounce of interest in doing anything other than staying the course set in Camp Allen and moving the church forward without, as +Jon put it in his own inimitable style, "throwing anybody under the bus."

Other news: Bp. Chet Talton is getting married at the end of the month.

Read it all HERE.

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The Diocese of Colorado has taken legal action to regain control of the property of the parish of Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The vestry of the parish recently decided to follow their priest, The Rev. Don Armstrong and leave the Episcopal Church to become affiliated with CANA

From the news report in the Colorado Springs Gazette:

Saying it owns Grace Church and St Stephen’s Parish, the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado asked a judge to evict the breakaway congregation worshipping there.

The diocese filed an answer and counterclaim in 4th Judicial District Court on Thursday asking for possession of the church building on north Tejon Street.

It also asked the court to declare that because the breakaway leadership has renounced its affiliation with the Episcopal denomination, they have no claim to the property, worth an estimated $17 million.

The counterclaim says the group worshipping in the church, which voted to secede from the Episcopal Church in March, has no legal right to the building, which was held in trust for the diocese.

“It is a shame that a small, misguided group has forced this litigation by illegally taking possession of the church property,” diocesan Chancellor Lawrence Hitt said in a statement. “This litigation is not about theology or differences of opinion in the church, it is an effort by that breakaway group to distract attention from the very serious charges of theft and misconduct against (the Rev. Donald) Armstrong.”

The full article is HERE

There's more local and detailed information in a post on the "Faith at Altitude Blog" along with this bit of news;

Another interesting revelation was that, at least according to the presentment, Grace's longtime chancellor Derry Adams advised Grace's vestry back on Dec. 8, 2006, that the parish and its vestry was under the authority of the diocese and the Episcopal Church and that the property was the diocese's.

The Rocky Mountain News is reporting "as the Episcopal Diocese (of Colorado) closed in on alleged financial wrongdoings, the Rev. Don Armstrong was shredding documents and records so furiously that a shredding machine broke down (pdf), according to a countersuit filed Thursday."

The paper's report provides further insight into the competeting claims the diocese and the secessionist congregation over the Grace and St. Stephens property:

The Armstrong camp argues that it’s free to join CANA because the parish is a separate non-profit corporation founded 14 years before the Episcopal Diocese. Also, it has held its own title to the property since the land was donated to the church in the 1870s by Colorado Springs founder, General William Palmer.

They regard it as relevant that the parish is incorporated under name which doesn’t include the word "Episcopal."

In its counterclaim, the Episcopal Diocese said that the parish and the congregation used the name Episcopal regularly over the years, dating back to the mid-1800s when the first Episcopalian settlers came to Colorado.

What’s more, the diocese maintains that while a local parish corporation may hold the title to the property,the parish’s purpose has always remained constant — to further the mission of the diocese and the Episcopal Church, said the diocese's attorney, Martin Nussbaum.

"This is absolutely settled law in Colorado," Nussbaum said.

The diocese is citing a 1986 Colorado Supreme Court decision which said an Episcopal parish in Denver had to return its property to the diocese. The parish, St. Mary's, tried to keep its property after it broke away from the Episcopal Church in the 1970s after it voted to ordain women.

The paper also reports on "aggressive emails":

The diocese quotes from a purported March 26 e-mail from Armstrong to vestry head Jon Wroblewski as they were preparing to break away. Referring to Episcopal Bishop Rob O’Neill, the e-mail said: "He has no army and no keys and no authority — possession is 9/10s of the law and I have the microphone."

Wroblewski sent the e-mail on to other vestry members adding his own message: "Prepare for battle. Ramming speed." Wroblewski acknowledged his e-mail today.

At the time Armstrong was not to be in communication with the congregation pending the diocese's review of allegations of financial wrongdoing.

The entire Rocky Mountain News article is available here. There's more at Faith at Altitude.

UPDATE: The motion for summary judgment filed by the diocese on Thursday is here (pdf). One extract:

Colorado law requires the Court to determine the ownership and control of church property by applying the "neutral principles" methodology described in The Bishop and Diocese of Colorado v. Mote, 716 P.2d 85, 103 (Colo. 1986). Mote held that when a faction within an Episcopal parish seeks to secede from the Episcopal Church and attach, instead, to another denomination in the Anglican tradition, the property is held in trust not for the local church but for the general church. See also Church of God of Madison v. Noel, 318 S.E.2d 920, 924 (W. Va. 1984 (secessionist "members have every right to withdraw from doctrinal unity and membership with the general church, but they cannot take general church property with them").

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Patrick Getlein, Secretary of the Diocese of Virginia, writing in the May Virginia Episcopalian gives a "Litigation Update":

In each case the leadership of the formerly Episcopal congregations filed documents with their local courts in an attempt to take real property held in trust for the Diocese and the Episcopal Church.
...
The Diocese petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court to have all these matters consolidated and transferred to Fairfax Circuit Court for pretrial motions and hearings on issues common to all cases and to gain procedural and cost efficiencies. Counsel for the separated congregations did not oppose this action, and filed a similar petition. A panel appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court approved the petition to consolidate and transfer the cases, which will take several weeks and possibly as long as a few months.

Update: the Diocese of Fort Worth's Standing Committee released a statement around 5 p. m. that does not nearly fit Ruth Gledhill's breathless description. ("Sensational news from the United States.") They have decided to move forward in the pursuit of Alternative Primatial Oversight. In other words, they plan to keep doing what they have been doing. (Link)

Mark Harris is making a valiant effort to make sense of a recent letter from the Bishop of Pittsburgh, rumors from England's most erratic religion reporter about the Diocese of Fort Worth, and pleas from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Meanwhile we may be free to say something over on Daily Episcopalian in the next few days about the egregious op-ed former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson wrote in today's Washington Post. But to do so now, would jeopardize our chances of reaching a larger audience.

The vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, Texas has issued the following statement (link):

Vestry Response to Executive Council Action

On Wednesday, May 16, 2007, the Executive Council of the Diocese of Ft. Worth met and adopted a statement from the Standing Committee concerning efforts to seek alternative primatial oversight. A copy of this statement is available on the Diocesan website.

On Saturday, May 19, 2007, our vestry met to formally respond to this statement. Fourteen of the fifteen members were present. After brief discussion, the resolution below was accepted unanimously. Later in the day the fifteenth member of the vestry gave his acceptance of the resolution via email.

Resolution of the Vestry - 05/19/07

The Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church wishes to express its profound disagreement with the actions of the Executive Council taken on May 16, 2007, concerning alternative primatial oversight.

Trinity Episcopal Church, while affirming its place in the Diocese of Ft. Worth and in the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America, does not support any search for forming a new Anglican Province. Trinity Episcopal Church does not support transferring to another existing province of the Anglican Communion. Trinity Episcopal Church does not support seeking the status of an extra-provincial diocese. Trinity Episcopal Church affirms the place of the Diocese of Fort Worth in the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America.

See, also, Barbi Click's analysis of life for dissidents in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

While we're talking Texas, I thought you'd enjoy this: How Dallas became Gay-Friendly.

In what promises to be the first of many such days, a court battle over church property begins today in Virginia. According to a report in the Washington Times, representatives of the Diocese of Virginia and the Anglican District of Virginia will face off before Fairfax County District Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows.

There are eleven congregations, their clergy and lay leaders named in the suit, not to mention the Bishop, Diocese and lay and ordained leaders named in the response. According to Robert W. Prichard, Kinsolving Professor of Christianity in America at the Virginia Theological Seminary, this is the largest lawsuit in terms of the number of individuals named and the fair market value of the properties involved in the history of the Episcopal Church.

The departing congregations assert that, when they voted to leave the Episcopal Church, they were following the recommendations of a special commission that attempted to reconcile competing property claims within the boundaries of diocesan constitution and canons. The Chancellor of the Anglican District of Virginia, Mary McReynolds says that the Diocese made an about face alleging that they gave into pressure from the Episcopal Church headquarters.

The diocese says that the commission report was received but not formally accepted by the Diocesan Council (convention) or standing committee. On November 16, 2006 Patrick Getlein, Secretary of the Diocese said, through a news release from the Diocese of Virginia, “There is no approved protocol.” The assessment was reiterated by Col. Jean D. Reed, president of the Standing Committee.

Bishop Lee has said that the actions of the parishes including the votes to separate the congregations from the Diocese rendered the negotiations, including the proposals of the report, moot and necessitated the court actions. On January 18, 2007 he wrote that "the votes to separate from The Episcopal Church negated all the work we had done in good faith over the years to accommodate the views of the leadership of these churches and focused our attention on the only two remaining factors: the status of clergy and the status of property."

One of complaints by the Anglican District against the Diocese of Virginia is that the 21 clergy who withdrew from the Episcopal Church to become clergy in the Church of Nigeria were subsequently inhibited by Bishop Lee and so cannot function within the Episcopal Church.

In an op-ed piece published yesterday in the Richmond Times, James Oates, senior warden of the Truro Church CANA, and vice-chairman of the Anglican District, styles the fight in terms of religious freedom. “Whoever thought American citizens would have to fight for their own religious freedom against an American church in the land of religious freedom?” he wrote.

In the January 18, 2007, letter to the Diocese, Bishop James L. Lee wrote “In the structure of the Episcopal Church, individuals may come and go but parishes continue.” He stated that the votes in the eleven churches “left remaining (the) Episcopal congregations in those places without vestries, without clergy and without their churches, whether the remaining congregations numbered one or 100 souls. The spiritual abandonment of their Episcopal brothers and sisters of the past, the present and the future, is perhaps the greatest offense for which there is no redress under our tradition.”

According to the Washington Times report, Professor Prichard would not guess how these suits would turn out saying "I've got better sense than that.”

This past weekend, Bishop Robert Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh told diocesan leaders that "we're here together to discuss our way forward in light of our failure to obtain Alternative Primatial Oversight," according to PGH.anglican.org. In other words, the diocese is admitting the path they have been pursuing will no longer work.

The diocese could simply keep doing what it has been doing, remaining on the periphery of The Episcopal Church, but not attempting to reach a concluding moment in the conflict. It could submit to the will of the Episcopal Church in its majority, reversing the diocesan convention's actions over the last four years. It could attempt to separate as a diocese from The Episcopal Church, an option a number of Anglican Communion Network dioceses are considering. It could attempt to create space for conserving parishes to negotiate an exit from the diocese.

Regardless of what option is ultimately adopted, the diocesan leadership was clear about several things. There is no path forward for the diocese that will not involve significant costs and pain. Staying with the Episcopal Church in the light of its rejection of mainstream Christianity will force members of the leadership, individuals and congregations to consider cutting their ties to the diocese. Separating from the structures of the Episcopal Church will force others to reevaluate their relationship with the diocese. Regardless of the choice, parishes and the diocese are likely to face financial challenges.

"We are facing something that we never thought we would face. We thought we would prevail. We thought that what we believed and what the majority of the Communion believed would be provided for," said Bishop Duncan.

The entire release is here.

WASHINGTON (May 26) - With the sounds of Rolling Thunder motorcycles filling the streets of the nation's capital in the background, a different sort of roar rolled through the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday when the Rt. Rev. Shannon Sherwood Johnston was consecrated as the bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Virginia.
...
In his sermon, the Rt. Rev. J. Neil Alexander, Bishop of Atlanta, urged Bishop Johnston to "wear us out! Wear us out with the promise of the resurrection!"

Bishop Johnston will make his first episcopal visit to the Church of the Holy Comforter in Vienna on Sunday. "It does not get better than that, visiting that church on the Feast of Pentecost," he said.

Emphasis added. The special edition of The Virginia Episcopalian is here.

The Myrtle Beach Sun News reports:

The most recent development in the court battle came last week, when the congregation that remained with the Episcopal diocese appealed an April ruling by Judge Thomas Cooper to deny the diocese ownership of the church property.

However, Cooper said the group that stayed loyal to the Episcopal Diocese are the true representatives of the historical church and have the right to use the All Saints Parish, Waccamaw, name.

He ordered the Anglican Mission congregation to return items such as furniture, books and historical church documents, since those belong to the Episcopal Diocese.

But he upheld a 1745 deed that said the church real estate is held in trust for the benefit of the people of the Waccamaw Neck, for the establishment of an Anglican church.

That means that neither the Episcopal Diocese nor the Anglican Mission in the Americas can lay claim to the church property.

The Anglican Mission congregation will continue to call their church All Saints Church, said Senior Warden Dan Stacey.

No real estate or real property will be transferred while the case is on appeal, Stacey said. "I'm not surprised [about the appeal]," Stacey said. "The judge ruled that they didn't have any interest in the real estate and I'm sure that was a surprise to the national church."

A two acre site adjacent to the church campus is not covered under the original 1745 deed, is not held in trust, and does belong to the Episcopal Diocese, according to Cooper's ruling.

One correction: AMiA is not "another branch of the Episcopal Church." Further, it is not recognized by the Anglican Communion.

This summer, Episcopalians in at least 20 dioceses are reaching out to them -- children under under the radar of government aid -- by sending them to summer camp for a week of learning and fun.

The president says there are 1.5 million of them, the smallest victims of crime. The Bureau of Justice statistics say they have a 70 percent chance of going to prison just like their parents. “If we can give them a week of unconditional love, there is hope,” says the now-retired director of prison ministry for the national church, the Rev. Jackie Means. These children bring to camp “anger, fear, insecurity, suspicion and shame” said Means. “They need to know that Jesus loves them as they are. They need a safe place to deal with the hard stuff and to be shown respect.”

Sponsoring dioceses in 2007 include: Rio Grande, Oklahoma, Northern Michigan, Mississippi, Texas, West Texas, Nevada, East Carolina, Montana, Maryland, Florida, Southwest Florida, Arkansas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Easton, Md., Connecticut, Northern Indiana, Alaska and Louisiana.

Val Hymes of the Diocese of Maryland has the story.

Court records reveal that the Diocese of Los Angeles has won its case, on appeal, against St. James, Newport Beach, St. David's, North Hollywood, All Saints, Long Beach and others. These churches were attempting to claim ownership of parish property although the Consitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church affirm that all property is held in trust for The Episcopal Church.

From a source in Los Angeles:

The Court of Appeals ruled in the case of the 3 churches which believed they could disaffiliate with the Diocese of Los Angeles and seek refuge from a diocese in Uganda. The Barker decision (from the 70's - when the three parishes left over women's ordination) was overturned. Along with a reversal of the earlier rulings made by Judge Velasquez, this means that Newport Beach (St. James) , North Hollywood (St. David's) & Long Beach (All Saints) will be returned to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles

From the Appeal:

V. DISPOSITION
The judgments of dismissal against the diocese and the national church are both reversed. Further proceedings shall be consistent with this opinion. Appellants shall recover their costs on appeal.

The file in pdf is here. [Or here.]

Background on the case and more information on the decision can be found at Episcopal Life Online here.

A letter released today by the Diocese of Massachusetts clarifies the status of the Rev. William Murdoch who has been elected a bishop of the Anglican Province of Kenya.

The Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, today announced that a priest of the diocese, the Rev. William Murdoch, who has served as the rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in West Newbury, Mass., since 1993, is leaving the Episcopal Church to serve as bishop suffragan of All Saints Cathedral, Diocese of Nairobi, in the Anglican Province of Kenya. Murdoch was elected as such on June 29 and is to be consecrated on Aug. 30 in Nairobi.

Murdoch has served since 2004 as New England dean of a network of congregations in disagreement with the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, some seeking Anglican affiliations outside of it. Murdoch will conduct his last worship service at All Saints' Episcopal Church in West Newbury on Aug. 19. He and All Saints' vestry members have been in consultation over a period of months with Bishop Shaw and the diocese's bishops suffragan, the Rt. Rev. Bud Cederholm and the Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris, resulting in a cordial agreement under which the congregation, should it decide to leave the Episcopal Church, will vacate the Episcopal church property at 895 Main Street and its administration will be assumed by the diocese

"My continuing heartfelt prayers are with Bill, his wife, Sally, and their entire family, as well as with the members of All Saints' who feel God calling them to this path in their faith journey," Bishop Shaw said. He noted that the discussions between the bishops and potentially departing All Saints' leadership have been characterized by an extraordinary spirit of cooperation through which all have been well served. "This process of discernment has been marked by mutual respect for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and for the different theological views that have brought us to this pass, and it is in that same spirit that we now make our way forward," Bishop Shaw said.

No decision has been made about the status of the West Newbury Episcopal church. Diocesan representatives will meet with Episcopalians from the area in early September to discuss the continuing Episcopal Church presence [in] the Merrimack Valley, which is also home to Episcopal parishes in Amesbury, Andover, Chelmsford, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, Newburyport, North Andover, North Billerica and Westford.

Contact:
Maria Plati
Communications Director
Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
mplati@diomass.org

The Newburyport News yesterday had reported "Murdoch will remain rector of All Saints Church even as he takes on this nationwide role."

All Saints has also been in the news because of its interest in moving to a larger site. That story is here.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that the cathedral for the Diocese of West Tennessee is going through some belt tightening:

"There's a myth that the cathedral is crashing and burning, but it's not going under, it's not closing, and it's not for sale," Bishop Don Johnson said recently in an exclusive interview.
...
At issue is an aging and shrinking congregation, resulting in diminished annual giving. And with fewer members, the

number of clergy and staffers needed to serve the congregation decreased.

From a peak membership of around 900 in the 1960s, St. Mary's now counts about 400 and averages 140 at weekly worship services. Half the congregation is age 60 and above and more than three-fourths are 50 and older.

To help cover expenses, the cathedral has dipped into its endowment fund, but that's not a sustainable solution.
...
"We made a conscious decision to be transparent about the financial condition of the cathedral in this parish and beyond. It must be able to address the needs of its Sunday worshipers as well as the hundreds who come here for special diocesan events," Johnson said. "Truth-telling is important, but it comes with a price. We've gone through the 'Let's get real' phase and now we're in the 'What's next' phase."

See, also, today's story in The Living Church about the closing of the cathedral in Diocese of Western Michigan.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh is furnishing its parishes with a toolbox full of "materials, opinions and news about the choices facing the diocese and each parish in light of the decision of The Episcopal Church not to place moratoria on same-sex blessings and the election of bishops in same-sex relationships and to unequivocally reject the request of Pittsburgh and six other dioceses for Alternative Primatial Oversight."

The resources include an essay by the Rev. Geoffrey Chapman, author of the Chapman Memo, which laid out the American Anglican Council's strategy for replacing the Episcopal Church with a conservative U. S. presence in the Anglican Communion.

Meanwhile, Bishop Robert Duncan, has this to offer from a meeting of the Anglican Communion Network Council in Bedford, Texas.

Monday he was praised as a "great leader" by The Right Rev. Bob Duncan, Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network. Tuesday an Ecclesiastical Court in the Diocese of Colorado met for an evidentiary hearing regarding allegations of financial misconduct against him. The Rev. Don Armstrong chose not to attend the hearing. He left the Episcopal Church with a portion of his congregation and joined with CANA in March. The Grace and St. Stephens property remains occupied by Armstrong and his followers.

As reported by The Denver Post,

The Episcopal diocese's five-member court, led by the Rev. Peter Munson, ruled that it still has authority over Armstrong because he has made no formal renunciation of his Episcopal priesthood. Church attorneys have asked that the court remove Armstrong from his office and order him to pay restitution of more than $610,000.
...
The court will probably issue a written decision late this week, diocese spokeswoman Beckett Stokes said.

The diocese is seeking to resolve the matter internally before considering civil or criminal action, Stokes said.

Armstrong faces five counts related to financial wrongdoings, including fraud and tax evasion, over a 10-year period beginning in 1997.

The five members of the court (3 clergy, 2 lay) are elected at Diocesan Convention and operate independently of the Bishop of Colorado.

According to the Rocky Mountain News,

The whistle-blower who entangled the Rev. Don Armstrong in allegations of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars in church money was the parish bookkeeper, an attorney said Tuesday.
...
Hopkins, bookkeeper from 1997 to 2001, said in a written statement that Armstrong instructed that his two children's educational expenses be paid with money from the funds and trust. Armstrong has said those expenses were OK'd by church authorities.

According to the diocese's Motion for Summary Judgment, Armstrong gave detailed instructions on how payments and money transfers were to be posted in the church's books, and no one but Armstrong was allowed to open incoming mail. Armstrong would prepare the financial reports for the vestry and these did not correspond to the bookkeeper's data. He did not explain to the bookkeeper how arrived at his numbers.

More from the Colorado Springs Gazette:

What the pastor missed was the testimony of two witnesses, one of whom spelled out how Armstrong diverted money from parish accounts to pay for the college education of his son and daughter, as well as for things such as cell phones and car repairs. The other witness testified that a trust fund from which Armstrong took the college money could not legally have been used for such a purpose.

Hal Haddon and Ty Gee, serving as attorneys for the standing committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, asked the court to recommend the maximum sentence and revoke Armstrong’s standing as an ordained Episcopal minister.
...
Haddon said he believes the IRS has opened a criminal investigation into the matter. An IRS spokeswoman said that she could not comment, and Armstrong spokesman Alan Crippen said that no one from the federal agency had contacted Armstrong.

Haddon then played the video deposition of Karl Ross, a Colorado Springs attorney who set up the Bowton Trust and has served since its inception on the board that distributes the scholarship money. Trust bylaws strictly forbid the money from going to anyone, such as Armstrong’s kids, who are studying subjects outside the ministry, and they also forbid the church from using the money at its whim without approval of the trust board, as it appears to have done, Ross said.

Bishop Peter James Lee of the Diocese of Virginia has removed 21 clergy from the Episcopal priesthood. These clergy members had been inhibited in January after the diocesan Standing
Committee determined that they had abandoned the Communion of The Episcopal Church, according to a release from the diocese:

The possibility of such a determination was explained by the Bishop in a December 1, 2006 letter to the clergy and leadership of the now-former Episcopal congregations. By this action, the former Episcopal clergy are "released from the obligations of Priest or Deacon and ... deprived of the right to exercise the gifts and spiritual authority conferred in Ordination."

Of the clergy members originally inhibited, one chose to retract his association with anything but the Episcopal Church:

The Rev. Nicholas Lubelfeld "has declared his loyalty to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church" wrote Bishop Lee in the notice lifting Mr. Lubelfeld's inhibition. Mr. Lubelfeld has accepted a call to serve as priest associate of Church of Our Redeemer in Aldie, Va., serving under the supervision of the Rev. John Sheehan, rector of that church.

In making his retraction, Mr. Lubelfeld sent a letter to Bishop Lee dated June 30 in which he states his "intention to remain a member of The Episcopal Church and of the clergy of The Diocese of Virginia." In that letter he also states, "I did not and do not intend to renounce or be disloyal to the doctrine, discipline or worship of Christ as The Episcopal Church has received them." He further states "I have not sought or received admission into any religious body not in communion with The Episcopal Church, or in any way severed my ties with The Episcopal Church."

The Very Rev. Mark Lawrence was re-elected as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina August 4 at a special electing convention held at St. James Church on St. James Island, South Carolina. Lawrence was the only candidate in the election since no petitions to add other names to the slate were received by the July 11 deadline.

A majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan Standing Committees must now consent to Lawrence's ordination as bishop within 120 days of receiving notice of the election.

Lawrence, 56, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bakersfield, California, in the Diocese of San Joaquin, was first elected September 16, 2006 to be South Carolina's 14th bishop.

On March 15, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori declared that election "null and void," saying that a number of the consent responses did not adhere to canonical requirements since Lawrence's election did not receive the consent of the majority of diocesan standing committees.

Episcopal Church canons, which govern the procedures for the election of bishops, call for consents to episcopal ordinations from standing committees to be "signed by a majority of all the members of the Committee. (III.11.4 (b))"

Further, the canon states (on pages 101-102) that standing committee members must sign in their own handwriting: "In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this (blank) day of (blank) in the year of our Lord (blank)."

Where the signature requirement had not been met by standing committees, the consent forms for Lawrence's election were rejected for not complying with that part of the canon.

Canonically adequate ballots were received by South Carolina from 50 diocesan standing committees of the 56 required. Several other standing committees were reported to have consented, but no signatures were attached to their ballots, or the ballot itself was missing from South Carolina's records, Jefferts Schori reported in March. Any committee that did not respond to the diocese's consent request is considered to have voted no.

Read it all.

Via email:

To the Clergy and Lay Leaders of The Diocese of Virginia
August 8, 2007

Dear Friends:

Many of you have written, called and sent e-mails of support in recent months. I am grateful for all that you do in support of the mission of the Church to be the hands and feet of Christ at work in the world.

Our aim is to help preserve the integrity of the Church so that you can continue to do that as Episcopalians in The Diocese of Virginia and to make sure that future generations will be able to say "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You."

Clearly The Episcopal Church faces challenges as our church is beset by groups and individuals determined to hijack the legacy of our ancestors and make off with the inheritance we are honor bound to protect, preserve and pass on to future generations. We face opposition from groups that are not only leaving The Episcopal Church but are now also steering a new course away from the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is very telling that Dr. Ephraim Radner, one of the founders of the Anglican Communion Network, one of the realignment groups, has resigned and distanced himself from the mission of that group.

Closer to home, this is an important week in The Diocese of Virginia's defense of its heritage and stewardship of its future. On Friday, August 10, The Diocese of Virginia and The Episcopal Church will appear in Fairfax Circuit Court to defend our claim to Episcopal Church property against non-Episcopal groups that are trying to appropriate our churches for their own uses. This Friday, those groups will press technical and procedural claims that the Diocese and the Church have failed to state a case. In other words, they will try to have our case dismissed. Naturally, we oppose their actions. Later, in November, the court will hear arguments on the lawsuits, styled as petitions, filed by the Nigerian congregations that started this dispute. The Diocese and The Episcopal Church are named as defendants in that action.

Someone recently remarked to me how sad it is that we find ourselves in court at this time. The situation we find ourselves in is regrettable and unfortunate. Nevertheless, we must protect and preserve our heritage for future generations. The truth of this came home poignantly to me in a call I received from an older woman whose congregation and property have been hijacked by forces outside The Episcopal Church. She called because she is concerned she may not be able to be buried in an Episcopal service by an Episcopal priest in the cemetery of her Episcopal Church, sacred ground where her family and ancestors are buried. It is in stories such as hers that our requirement to preserve, protect and pass on the legacy of our church ancestors has real meaning. Those of us in this generation with the responsibility of stewardship are working tirelessly to that end.

We cannot know how these matters will play out in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. We know it will take time and, even when the courts decide, the work of repairing relationships and rebuilding congregations will be in front of us for some time to come. But that is the work we are called to at this time, and it is an honor to serve you, our bishops and this diocese in these challenging days.

Faithfully,

Patrick N. Getlein

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports:

DENVER - An ecclesiastical court on Wednesday convicted the Rev. Donald Armstrong of stealing nearly $400,000 from his Colorado Springs parish, though it cannot legally punish the breakaway pastor.

The court of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado will decide in about a month, however, whether to recommend that Bishop Robert O’Neill defrock Armstrong, a largely symbolic action that would end all ties between the church and him.

Armstrong left the diocese with a majority of the Grace Church & St. Stephen’s vestry board in March and now oversees the congregation of the Grace CANA Church that is affiliated with the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America. His spokesman, Alan Crippen, said the Episcopal Diocese does not have authority over Armstrong.

The press release from the Diocese is here (pdf). Extract:

The five members of the Ecclesiastical Court found unanimously that the Rev. Don Armstrong is guilty on all Counts included in the Motion for Summary Judgment in his case. Those counts are: Count 1 – commission of crimes, including theft of $392,409.93 from Grace Church, and causing Grace Church to issue false W-2s and underreport Armstrong’s income andbenefits by $548,097.27; Count 2 – that Armstrong received illegal loans totaling $122,479.16 in violation of Diocesan Canons; Count 3 – unauthorized encumbrance and alienation of Grace Church’s real property; Count 4 – violation of the temporary inhibition placed on Armstrong; Count 5 – the improper use of clergy discretionary funds; and Count 6 – failure to maintain proper books of account.

Episcopal News Service is reporting on yesterday's ruling in Virginia:

Virginia's Fairfax Circuit Court ruled August 10 in favor of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia in denying the claims of 11 separated congregations that the court should not consider the Church's Constitution and Canons in deciding property disputes.

The congregations, in which a majority of members have voted to leave the Episcopal Church but continue to occupy its property, asked the court to dismiss the complaints of the Church and the diocese.

After hearing arguments by all parties, the judge overruled all but one part of the motions. The court dismissed the claims of the diocese for a judgment that the congregations had committed a trespass by holding onto the property. Such claims, the court ruled, should be pleaded separately.

...

Also on August 10, after hearing arguments on a motion to dismiss all the individual defendant vestry members, clergy, and trustees from the litigation, all of the parties agreed that they -- together with the separated congregations -- will be bound by whatever ruling the trial court makes regarding ownership of the real and personal property. Their agreement extends to any ruling on appeal.

According to the agreement, if the court rules in favor of the Episcopal Church and the diocese, an orderly transition with respect to all property would ensue. The Church and the diocese reserve the right, however, to seek an accounting of all monies spent by the departed congregations and bring the individual vestry members and clergy back into the litigation for that purpose.

Hat tip to Simon Sarmiento for this. The whole thing is here. The Diocese of Virginia press release is here.

From a letter to the editor in Sunday's Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

As the representatives and allies of four Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Virginia met in Fredericksburg last month, I was reminded of something Lincoln said: "We must settle this question now: Whether in a free government, the minority have the right to break up the government whenever they choose."

The Episcopal Church has weathered many storms, and emerged intact. Despite the Civil War, issues like slavery and segregation, the impact of cultural change including divorce, birth control, and the emerging role of women in society, the church existed as space where people could lay aside differences and worship together as one.

In 2003, after the general church voted to consecrate an openly gay man as the bishop of New Hampshire, the capability of the church to accommodate various views was strained. In 2006, a small minority of parishes in the diocese voted to leave the Episcopal Church, yet moved to retain Episcopal Church buildings.

While the court decides property issues, those who voted to remain Episcopalian in those parishes found themselves briefly without places to worship. Some are celebrating services in shared space with other denominations, while one is worshipping in a church abandoned by a former Episcopal congregation.

The delegates to the Fredericksburg meeting came from as far away as Arlington and Ashland, from Colonial Beach to Richmond, east from the Northern Neck, south from Falls Church and Herndon. There were priests, deans, region presidents, senior wardens and our bishop coadjutor--all present to reaffirm our commitment to the Episcopal Church, tell stories, and share the support we'd received through the generosity of friendly congregations.

A conference for continuing parishes is being held this fall. More details here (pdf).

The Diocese of Maine is using online video interviews as a part of their discernment process in electing a new bishop co-adjutor. This innovation will allow many in that geographically large diocese to observe, see and hear candidates answer questions about their desire to become the next bishop of Maine.

Watch them here

What other videos or information would help you discern what you need to know in an election? What about a video of each one preaching or presiding at a meeting?