Breakaway Anglican group that left Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth wins property fight

From RNS-

The Texas Supreme Court awarded a Fort Worth breakaway group affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America the right to $100 million in church property.

The ownership of the property has been in dispute since the ACNA-affiliate group broke away from the Episcopal Church in 2008.

The ruling on Friday (May 22) is the latest over properties held by breakaway congregations and dioceses that the Episcopal Church has been fighting in court for decades.

The Texas ruling may be the first time that a breakaway diocese has prevailed.

Ever since the Episcopal Church ordained Gene Robinson as an openly gay bishop in 2003, scores of congregations and five dioceses withdrew from the church over doctrinal differences. Many joined ACNA, formed in 2008.

That was the case in Fort Worth, too, where a majority of clergy and lay leaders in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth voted to leave. Both groups continue to call themselves the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

More here-

https://religionnews.com/2020/05/26/breakaway-anglican-group-that-left-episcopal-diocese-of-fort-worth-wins-property-fight/ 

and here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/texas-supreme-court-rules-against-episcopal-church-100m-in-properties-belong-to-breakaway-diocese.html

exas Supreme Court rules against Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in property dispute

From ENS-

On May 22, the Supreme Court of Texas issued a ruling against the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and in favor of a breakaway group now affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America in a dispute over which group legally controls the diocese’s property.

The ruling reversed a 2018 appeals court decision that established The Episcopal Church’s diocese, led by Bishop Scott Mayer, as the rightful controller of the Diocese of Fort Worth. In 2008, a majority of clergy and lay leaders in the Diocese of Fort Worth voted to leave The Episcopal Church and join the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone over doctrinal differences on topics like same-sex marriage and the ordination of women. Now there are two entities calling themselves the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth: the original diocese associated with The Episcopal Church and the breakaway group that is now part of the Anglican Church in North America.
 
The Supreme Court decision puts the ACNA-affiliated group in control of the diocese’s $100 million worth of property.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/05/22/texas-supreme-court-rules-against-episcopal-diocese-of-fort-worth-in-property-dispute/

Time to ordain women bishops in the Church of Uganda

From Uganda-

We give glory to God for Dr Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, the new Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, and former Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, whom we hope to see continuing his work of evangelism. 

Archbishop Kaziimba’s to-do-list must be a very long one. What with the spiritual coldness and moral rot that have the country in their grip! Human rights abuses; grand corruption that has become the country’s tradition; commercialisation of Jesus Christ’s name; State capture of the Church; and the urgency of cross-generational communication to attract the youth to the Church. These are some of the challenges that will keep Kaziimba awake at night.

To this list, I add election of women bishops, an equally important item that should be central to his legacy when he retires in 2027. I am aware of the passions that inform the worldwide debate on this subject. Many leading clergy in the Anglican Communion are strongly opposed to ordination of women to the priesthood. Among these opponents is Dr Foley Beach, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, who was the main preacher at Dr Kaziimba’s enthronement at Namirembe Cathedral two days ago. 

More here-

https://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/columnists/MuniiniMulera/Time-to-ordain-women-bishops-Church-of-Uganda/878676-5477348-punw43/index.html

Prominent Fairfax church seeks to explain rector’s sudden departure

From Virginia-

There are competing explanations for why Tory Baucum abruptly resigned his position as the leader of the prominent Truro Anglican Church in November and has agreed not to set foot on the property since.

Baucum says that after years as an Anglican pastor, he made the decision to resign his clerical credentials and convert to Catholicism. Any tensions between him and the staff at the church in the Northern Virginia city of Fairfax, he says, were because of his “passion” for the theology of the late Catholic Pope John Paul II.

The staff say those tensions arose from causes that have little to do with Baucum’s theology. His behavior in the workplace, church leaders wrote in a summary of an investigative report, was “abusive,” “intimidating,” “coarse,” “vulgar” and “unpredictable.”

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/02/21/prominent-fairfax-church-seeks-explain-rectors-sudden-departure/

Diocese of Chicago and Episcopal Church reach settlement with ACNA Diocese of Quincy

From ENS-

The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and The Episcopal Church have reached a settlement with the Diocese of Quincy in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and 15 parishes and missions in that diocese over real property, other assets and church records that were part of the former Episcopal Diocese of Quincy and The Episcopal Church in 2008.

The settlement, the terms of which are confidential, includes property at issue in a suit filed in 2013 in a circuit court in Peoria.

“I give thanks for your perseverance and courage through the past eleven years, and I am grateful that this settlement will benefit God’s mission in the Peoria Deanery for many years to come,” Bishop Jeffrey D. Lee of Chicago wrote in a letter to the people of the deanery. “Participating in your ministry has been one of the great joys of my time as bishop of Chicago, and I continue to rejoice at your commitment to our beloved Episcopal Church and the communities and people you serve,” added Lee, who will retire in August.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/pressreleases/diocese-of-chicago-and-episcopal-church-reach-settlement-with-acna-diocese-of-quincy/

How American Anglicans Went Mainstream

From Philip Jenkins-

But what strikes me most forcefully is the absolutely normal and mainstream way in which people describe this affiliation. This is interesting for me because I have in a sense lived through this story over the past twenty years or so, and I am still used to the earlier idea of American Anglicanism as something new, breakaway, experimental, even radical…. whatever word you like. Back in 2005 (say) if you were talking with American Anglicans, they were very conscious of the novelty of their enterprise, and were keen to talk about the causes and issues motivating them. Today, there’s nothing of the sort. “I’m an Anglican” has exactly the same weight as declaring membership of any other established tradition – Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, whatever. It’s just part of the religious landscape.

Equally fascinating for me is the lack of any obvious sense that things were ever different. If you are an Anglican younger than forty or so, there seems to be little sense of how recent or novel or daring that whole project is, or how and why that split came with the Episcopal church. Or even, dare I say, that such a split or breakaway ever occurred. I base that remark on anecdote and impression, rather than a sophisticated scientific survey, but I think it’s fair. As in other denominations, people don’t seem that interested in how that church or group got there, or indeed what was the passionate point of principle that led to the group being founded in the first place.

More here-

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2020/01/how-anglicans-went-mainstream/

Anti-Gay Priest Who Set up Church to Oppose Homosexuality Removed Over Sexual Harassment

From News Week-

The founder of an Anglican church in Florida who expressed staunch anti-LGBT views has been removed from the priesthood over allegations he routinely harassed young men.

Father Eric Dudley, who set up the St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, is accused of overstepping boundaries, grooming and sexually harassing several men at his church, which he set up "based on anti-homosexuality" principles.

Dudley founded the church having left his previous position as rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in 2005 after it brought in a gay priest and he could no longer abide to the "deeply unrepentant heresies" there.

Dudley left his post as dean of St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral in August 2018 after several of his alleged victims came forward. He has now been fully removed as a priest from the Anglican Church following a report by the non-profit Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment (GRACE).

More here-

https://www.newsweek.com/priest-antigay-father-eric-dudley-florida-church-1474669 

and here-

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thefreethinker/2019/11/anglican-church-founder-abused-trainee-priests-other-young-men/

Report: Antigay Priest Used Position to Sexually Abuse Other Men

From Florida-


An Anglican priest who founded his congregation on antigay dogma used his position to commit sexual abuse against numerous young men, according to a new report from an independent watchdog group. 

An investigation by a group called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, or GRACE, found that Rev. Eric Dudley of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, Fla., frequently touched men in a sexual manner without their consent, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Dudley was forced to resign from the church in August 2018.

Dudley was rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, also in Tallahassee, from 1995 to 2005. He departed after announcing from the pulpit that he was leaving the Episcopal Church due to its “deeply unrepentant heresies” — specifically, the elevation of an openly gay man, Gene Robinson, to the position of bishop, a first for the denomination. He then founded St. Peter’s, which is part of the Anglican Church in North America, formed in opposition to the Episcopal Church’s acceptance of LGBTQ people. Dudley is married to a woman and the father of three.

More here-

https://www.advocate.com/religion/2019/11/26/report-antigay-priest-used-position-sexually-abuse-other-men 

and here-

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2019/11/26/eric-dudley-st-peters-founder-subjected-men-sexual-misconduct/4290537002/

St. Peter's founder Eric Dudley engaged in sexual misconduct, investigation finds

From Florida-

Eric Dudley, the founder and former leader of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Tallahassee, subjected adult staff members to sexual misconduct and abused his authority as a priest, an outside investigation found.

Dudley resigned unexpectedly in 2018, prompting the church to begin an investigation into what led to his departure.

St. Peter's hired an independent organization, Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), that helps churches investigate allegations of misconduct and abuse.

On Sunday, the Rev. Robert Duncan, bishop in residence, sent a letter to the congregation saying the GRACE investigation was complete and a report with detailed findings will be released Tuesday.

The letter confirmed allegations of misconduct against Dudley, which came to light not long after his resignation.

More here-

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2019/11/25/st-peters-founder-eric-dudley-committed-sexual-misconduct-investigation-finds/4298058002/

Breakaway diocese in South Carolina loses legal battle to keep its name

From The Church Times-

A DIOCESE in South Carolina which broke away from the Episcopal Church in the United States after years of disagreements over issues including the ordination of openly gay clerics has lost a drawn-out legal battle to keep its name.

The breakaway diocese was known as the Diocese of South Carolina. It left the Episcopal Church in 2012 (News, 23 November 2012). The parties have since been entangled in a dispute over the right of the congregations of the breakaway diocese to retain their identity and property, including 29 parish churches valued at $500 million (News, 15 June 2018).

On 21 September, however, a district court in Charleston ruled in favour of the Episcopal Church and its diocese — the Episcopal Church in South Carolina — in a trademark case that compelled the breakaway diocese to change its name. The Judge, Richard M. Gergel, issued an injunction which prevented the breakaway diocese and its parishes from using the original seal and names of the diocese. These are: “Diocese of South Carolina”, “The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina”, and “The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina”.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2019/4-october/news/world/breakaway-diocese-in-south-carolina-loses-legal-battle-to-keep-its-name

Holy Comforter priest: Betterments is a 'Plan B'

From South Carolina-

A circuit court judge's ruling this week that a state church district of about 50 congregations would still have the right to compensation for improvements it made to parishes, even if it lost property ownership to a national church group, is a good "Plan B option," according to a local priest.

The Rev. Marcus Kaiser, rector of Church of the Holy Comforter, 213 N. Main St., spoke Thursday about various scenarios that could play out in a back-and-forth legal case between the state diocese that his parish is part of and the national Episcopal Church.

The Diocese of South Carolina split from the national church group in 2012 because of theological concerns and is now part of The Anglican Church in North America.

Since 2013, the Episcopal Church has said that 28 parishes' property from the breakaway group in the state belong to it, pointing to an imposed trust from 1979. Two parishes in Sumter County - Church of the Holy Comforter and The Church of the Holy Cross in Stateburg - are part of the diocese in the legal battle.

More here-

https://www.theitem.com/stories/holy-comforter-priest-betterments-is-a-plan-b,332734

Judge: S.C. diocese has right to money for property upgrades

From South Carolina-

In a back-and-forth legal case, a state circuit court judge has ruled a state church district of about 50 congregations would still have the right to compensation for improvements it made to parishes through the years, even if it lost property ownership to a national church group.

Late Tuesday, Judge Edgar Dickson of South Carolina's First Judicial Circuit denied the motion of The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church of South Carolina to dismiss a Betterments Statute claim filed by a former breakaway group, the Diocese of South Carolina, according to a diocese news release.

And compensation for those improvements could be "substantial," according to a diocese official.
The diocese, or state church district, split from the national Episcopal Church in 2012 because of theological concerns and is now part of The Anglican Church in North America.

"The Betterments Statute makes this possible: If you improve it - thinking you owned it - and it turns out somebody else does, they have to in some fashion compensate you for those improvements," said Jim Lewis, Canon to the Bishop of the diocese on Wednesday.

More here-

https://theitem.com/stories/judge-sc-diocese-has-right-to-money-for-property-upgrades,332676

Former priest accused of sexually assaulting parishioners taken into custody

From Fresno (ACNA)-

A former Anglican priest accused of sexually assaulting several male parishioners was taken into custody again on Friday.
Jesus Serna had to post a higher bail amount after prosecutors added additional charges against him. He's now facing 18 felony counts.

The district attorney filed charges on behalf of eight victims who they say were violated by the man who was their priest. The allegations range from 2014 to 2018.
Prosecutors say five more victims came forward since the DA and Fresno Police Chief had a news conference. The charges increased the bail to $444,000, and the bond wasn't posted by the 11 a.m. deadline.
His explanation that it was in the process of being posted was not good enough for Judge Jon Kapetan Friday. A deputy handcuffed the longtime Anglican priest and took him to jail, until the bail is processed. 

More here-

https://abc30.com/former-priest-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-parishioners-taken-into-custody/5178114/

Former priest with Anglican church arrested for sex crimes, police say

From San Joaquin (ACNA)-

A former priest with the Anglican church is now facing charges of sexual abuse. 

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer held a joint news conference with Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp on Monday, to discuss the charges against Jesus Antonio Castañeda-Serna.

Serna was arrested on Sunday, February 24th after complaints were filed with the Fresno Police Department.

Police say four accusers have come forward, but they are certain there are many more.
"Serna has preyed on undocumented males, and perhaps an undocumented female, knowing they'd be reluctant to go to police," Dyer said.

More here-

https://kmph.com/news/local/police-announce-arrest-of-former-anglican-diocese-of-san-joaquin-priest 

and here-

https://abc30.com/fresno-police-arrest-anglican-church-priest-for-series-of-sex-crimes/5156232/

and here-

https://lompocrecord.com/news/state-and-regional/anglican-priest-arrested-in-fresno-for-alleged-sex-abuse/article_2e40f5a2-ed86-566d-98f7-6b2ffc892e4c.html

and here-

https://www.fresnobee.com/latest-news/article226782514.html

Outgoing and incoming chairmen of GAFCON at loggerheads

From The Cafe-

The Anglican Church of North America is facing an apparent challenge to its ecclesiastical independence from its sponsor, the Church of Nigeria. ACNA was formed as a so-called orthodox alternative to The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.

The outgoing and incoming chairmen of GAFCON are at loggerheads over the surprise unilateral appointment of four Nigerian bishops for the Anglican Church of North American (ACNA) by the House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican). ACNA is not part of the Anglican Communion but is recognized by provinces of the communion who belong to GAFCON.

ACNA is led by Archbishop Foley Beach who becomes chairman of GAFCON in April. The current chairman of GAFCON is Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, primate of the Church of Nigeria.

An ACNA news release dated January 2018 states “Conversations between Archbishop Beach and Archbishop Okoh are ongoing as they seek a way forward that honors Christ and his Church, and builds up the Gafcon movement.”

The full statement by ACNA follows.

More here-

https://www.episcopalcafe.com/outgoing-and-incoming-chairmen-of-gafcon-at-loggerheads/?fbclid=IwAR3bkEoL1HCJEm6Ru40b3-EJz8t41WXbphMhUIWlI-ajPzc1dWE46MEsGZg

Episcopal parties seek summary judgment in lawsuit

From South Carolina-

The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church have asked the U.S. District Court to grant motions for summary judgment and call a halt to the “pervasive” public confusion caused by a group that broke away from the church yet continues to use Episcopal names and marks.

The motion asks U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel to prohibit false advertising and the use of confusing names and marks by the breakaway group and its affiliated churches. A motion for summary judgment is a request for the court to rule that the other party has no case, because there are no facts at issue.

“The public confusion resulting from Defendants’ conduct is pervasive,” according to a memo filed by TECSC on Dec. 7 in support of the motion. “It is undeniably causing irreparable harm to The Episcopal Church, and more locally, to TECSC and its Bishops. All that the Plaintiffs seek in this action is declaratory and injunctive relief, not damages (for which they could easily make a case).”

More here-

https://thetandd.com/news/local/episcopal-parties-seek-summary-judgment-in-lawsuit/article_f6e1198d-1005-52b5-98bf-a77aa1f0020c.html

ACNA diocese contemplates secession, dissolution

From Anglican Ink-

Fears for its future and disquiet over the Anglican Church in North America’s stance on the ordination of women has prompted the Missionary Diocese of All Saints (MDAS) to explore relations with non-Anglican bodies.

The bishops of the MDAS  have not withdrawn the small traditionalist Anglo-Catholic diocese from the ACNA, however in his presidential address to the 15-17 March  2018 meeting of his diocesan synod in Ocean City, Md., the Rt. Rev. William J. Ilgenfritz stated the diocese was speaking to “non-Papal Catholics” with a view to joining a new denomination.

While no decisions on withdrawal is imminent, diocesan sources tell Anglican Ink, but Bishop Ilgenfritz’s speech highlights the disquiet traditional Anglo-Catholics feel over the church’s policy of “two integrities” on women’s orders. The address also comes as Bishop Ilgenfritz and his suffragan, the Rt. Rev. Richard Lipka, prepare for retirement, raising questions as to the viability of the 34-congregation diocese’s survival.

http://anglican.ink/article/acna-diocese-contemplates-secession-dissolution

Trouble in the land of Gafcon/ACNA

From Episcopal Cafe-

The Anglican Church in North America, not a part of the Anglican Communion, is comprised of dioceses, several that broke away from The Episcopal Church and remain in litigation with a diocese loyal to The Episcopal Church. That includes the breakaway Diocese of Fort Worth, one of the ACNA dioceses opposed to female bishops.

Recently GAFCON revealed that a female bishop was consecrated in South Sudan in December 2016.

The following is the reaction of the breakaway Diocese of Fort Worth under the leadership of Bishop Jack Iker:

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Psalm 133. 1 

RE: Appointment of Elizabeth Awut as Bishop

To the GAFCON Primates:

Greetings in the strong name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In advance of the GAFCON meeting in Jerusalem this summer, we renew our gratitude for the many sacrifices the international body of Anglican Christians has made to maintain a community where “the faith once delivered to the saints” may be practiced and preached to the glory of God, the edification of the Church, and the conversion of the world. Indeed, the GAFCON movement has come to the aid of many groups, such as the Diocese of Fort Worth, in our hour of need, for which we maintain an attitude of thanksgiving in prayer and fellowship.

At the same time, we write to express our deepest concerns over the actions taken by the Episcopal Church in South Sudan in consecrating Ms. Elizabeth Awut to the office of Bishop. 

More here-

https://www.episcopalcafe.com/trouble-in-the-land-of-gafcon-acna/

ACNA defends Gafcon decision not to reveal existence of female bishop

From Episcopal Cafe-

Although the press in South Sudan ran the news when it occurred, it was only recently learned that the Province South Sudan consecrated the first female bishop in Gafcon. The Rt. Rev. Elizabeth Awut Ngor was consecrated assistant bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek in the Province of South Sudan in December 2016, breaking a Gafcon moratorium on female bishops. Once word was out, Gafcon issued a statement revealing that the Gafcon primates first learned of the consecration in April 2017. The communique from that meeting makes no mention of the consecration, nor does any subsequent Gafcon communication.

Yesterday a press release from ACNA (Anglican Church in North America) addressed why Gafcon took no initiative to make news of the consecration public. Its author is the Rev. Canon Andrew Gross, Canon for Communications and Media Relations of ACNA. He has also served as Gafcon’s spokesperson.

ACNA’s press release is reproduced in full below. It has not appeared on ACNA’s website.

More here-

https://www.episcopalcafe.com/acna-defends-gafcon-decision-not-to-reveal-existence-of-female-bishop/

Judge lifts stay in federal court case

From South Carolina-

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel has lifted a stay in a lawsuit over false-advertising and related claims against the bishop of a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church in 2012, issuing a scheduling order for the trial to begin on or after September 1.

The case, known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, had been set for trial in March, but the judge issued a stay in August 2017, putting the proceedings on hold while the parties entered a mediation process.

Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, said TECSC and The Episcopal Church remain hopeful that mediation efforts will be productive.

The lawsuit was filed in March 2013, a few months after Mark Lawrence and a breakaway group announced they were leaving The Episcopal Church. The suit involves a claim of false advertising under the federal Lanham Act. At that time, Bishop Charles vonRosenberg was the only bishop recognized by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. By continuing to represent himself as bishop of the diocese, Mark Lawrence is committing false advertising, the lawsuit says.


More here-

http://www.episcopalchurchsc.org/news-blog/judge-lifts-stay-in-federal-court-case