The Episcopal Church authorizes rite same-sex blessings; Diocese of South Carolina walks out of #GC77 in protest

From here:

Deputies debate the authorization of rites for same-sex blessings.

The Episcopal Church officially authorized provisional rites for same-sex blessings at their 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis yesterday.

The House of Deputies overwhelmingly concurred with the House of Bishops who had earlier voted by a substantial majority to allow provisional blessings of same-sex couples in the Episcopal Church with 76% of the clergy and 78% of the laity in the House of Deputies voting in favor of establishing the rite. The bishops voted to authorize the rites 111-41, with three abstentions.

“For the church to say, ‘This is an active part of our life in ministry, and we support this,’ is an extraordinarily important step,” said the Very Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, President of Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA. Dean Hancock married her partner, the Rev. Mally Lloyd at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston in 2011.

The Episcopal Church becomes the largest mainline church in the United States to authorize the rites for same-sex couples seeking blessings of their unions or civil marriages. The denomination follows the United Church of Christ (UCC), which has supported same sex marriage since 2005.

“I believe the Episcopal Church will continue to evolve on the issue of marriage equality and look forward to joining our UCC brothers and sisters in being a headlight instead of taillight on marriage equality,” the Rev. Susan Russell, a gay rights advocate and Episcopal priest based in Pasadena, CA, said in a statement.

Currently gay marriage is legal in six states and the District of Columbia, with at least three more states poised to legalize gay marriage in the near future. Thirty states have constitutional amendments defining marriage as between a man and woman only.

Although Episcopal bishops are now able to publicly authorize the rites in their diocese, a “conscience clause” was also added that allows bishops to choose to refrain from authorizing the rites in their dioceses without penalty.

Twelve conservative and moderate Episcopal bishops released a “Minority Report” stating their opposition to the rites. “The liturgy entitled The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant, is for all practical purposes same-sex marriage,” they write in their Minority Report. “It includes all of the essential elements found in a marriage rite: vows, an exchange of rings, a pronouncement, and a blessing.”

“We believe that the rite subverts the teaching of the Book of Common Prayer, places The Episcopal Church outside the mainstream of Christian faith and practice, and creates further distance between this Church and the Anglican Communion along with other Christian churches,” the bishops stated.

They were joined in their opposition by the deputations of the both the Diocese of South Carolina and the Diocese of Central Florida.

This afternoon, the deputation of the Diocese of South Carolina walked out of General Convention in protest. "Due to the actions of General Convention, the South Carolina Deputation has concluded that we cannot continue with business as usual," they wrote in a statement. "We all agree that we cannot and will not remain on the floor of the House and act as if all is normal. John Burwell and Lonnie Hamilton have agreed to remain at Convention to monitor further developments and by their presence demonstrate that our action is not to be construed as a departure from the Episcopal Church," the deputation wrote.

Earlier this week the Episcopal Church voted to place no barriers against transgendered persons from assuming leadership positions in the Episcopal Church or from pursuing ordination as priests.

Now dipping below two million in membership, down from its peak of 3.6 million members in the 1960's, the Episcopal Church belongs to the 77 million-member Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. Much of its membership is centered in the "Global South" of Africa and Asia where Anglican leaders have voiced concerns about the actions of the Episcopal Church.

Following the election of the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson as the bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, global Anglican leaders asked the Episcopal Church to initiate a moratorium on electing non-celibate gay bishops. The Episcopal Church agreed at their General Convention in Columbus in 2006 to the moratorium. But at the 2009 General Convention in Anaheim, CA, even with the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the church lifted the ban, allowing private same sex blessings at the local bishop's discretion.

The public rites for same-sex blessings will be available for use by December 2, 2012.

Read it all here.

Watch General Convention Live

Click here for live coverage from the 77th Episcopal General Convention in Indianapolis, IN.

Episcopal House of Bishops affirms same-sex blessing rites #GC77

The Episcopal Church meets in General Convention.

From here:

The Episcopal House of Bishops voted to affirm rites for same-sex blessings July 9, 2012, at the 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis, IN.

Resolution A049 was passed overwhelmingly by the Episcopal House of Bishops in a vote of 111-41, with three abstentions. It now goes to the House of Deputies for ratification.

The affirmation comes a week after the Episcopal Church in General Convention voted to approve the ordination of transgendered people.

The House of Bishops authorized "provisional" rites after the Standing Committee on Liturgy replaced the phrase "authorize for trial use" from the original resolution with the sentence to “authorize for provisional use I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing for study and use in congregations and dioceses of The Episcopal Church.”

"We act in humility," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said to the House of Bishops after the roll-call vote.

Bishop Shannon Johnston of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia proposed an amendment clarifying that the rites are only to be used for same-sex couples and not opposite-sex couples. On a voice vote, the House of Bishops adopted his amendment.

During debate, bishops rose in support or opposition to the resolution, including Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina, saying that it would likely be viewed and used as a marriage rite. “I do not want to lose the symbolism of the of the holy marriage feast of Christ and his bride,” he said in opposition to the resolution.

But Bishop Stacy Sauls, Chief Operating Officer at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, expressed support for the resolution. He drew a parallel with A049 and the decision fifty years ago to allow divorced people to remarry in the Episcopal Church, saying that the theological arguments to affirm gay blessings are as strong as allowing divorce and remarriage.

“They are the same,” Bishop Sauls said.

Bishop Marianne Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington stated on the floor of the House of Bishops that she supported the resolution and rites for same-sex blessings. Gay and lesbian people “only want the church to honor their relationships,” she said.

The resolution is expected to be ratified by the House of Deputies this week.

Read it all here.

Now is the time to pray #GC77

It is not hard to want to turn away from the actions now underway at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church.  For so many of us, we have walked on, shaking the dust, and starting again. Why care?  Why care?

Why care?  Because there are hundreds of thousands of Christian believers in the Episcopal Church - maybe a million, maybe more.  Thousands more on the road, looking for Jesus.  They are our brothers and sisters and we share a common faith, a common story.  God the Father loves them, Jesus died for them, the Holy Spirit is alive, He is alive and at work, even when we cannot see, especially when we cannot see.

Now is the time to pray.  So for the next few days as General Convention continues in Indianapolis, let's pray for our friends, for our brothers and sisters, for those who are estranged from us and we from them.  May the Holy Spirit come and do a work in all our hearts, that we may see Jesus - step by step by step.

#GC77 Going, Going, Gone ...

Listening to this while watching the Episcopal House of Bishops debate their future at #GC77.  And this one as they vote:

House of Bishops actions at #GC77 appears to sink #TitleIV charges against nine conservative Episcopal bishops

From George Conger at AnglicanInk:

The House of Bishops presided by Bishop Jefferts Schori.

The push by the provisional bishops of Fort Worth and Quincy to censure nine bishops for disloyalty to the Episcopal Church has failed in the House of Bishops and has likely sunk any attempt to discipline the accused through the church’s legal system.

After two and a half hours of discussion over three private sessions at the 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis, on 8 July 2012 the House of Bishops responded to claims of misconduct leveled against the nine by the provisional bishops of Quincy and Fort Worth.  The House of Bishops responded with a “Mind of the House” resolution proposed by one of the accused, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Martins, Bishop of Springfield, affirming the loyalty of Episcopalians in the dioceses of Fort Worth, Quincy, San Joaquin and Pittsburgh.

The House of Bishops had “no stomach” to discipline Bishop Martins, the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe, retired Bishop of Central Florida, the Rt. Rev. Maurice Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas, the Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith, the retired Bishop of Springfield, the Rt. Rev. Paul E. Lambert, suffragan Bishop of Dallas, the Rt. Rev. William H. Love, Bishop of Albany, the Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana, the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, retired Bishop of South Carolina and Dean of Nashotah House, and the Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas, a participant in the 6-8 July meetings told Anglican Ink.

The “Mind of the House” resolution does not end the Title IV investigations into misconduct made against the nine, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told the bishops.  However, by seeking an immediate resolution to the dispute the Title IV process has effectively been shut down as those bishops present in the discussions who serve on the disciplinary board will have to recuse themselves from adjudicating the case.  All of the episcopal judges that will hear the case are now disqualified from participation in a decision on grounds of personal involvement.  

On 5 July the Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl, Jr., Provisional Bishop of Fort Worth, and the Rt. Rev. John C. Buchanan, Provisional Bishop of Quincy wrote to the presiding bishop asking the House of Bishops to “set the record straight regarding recent statements by certain bishops in our Church.”

They accused the seven of the nine for misconduct and disloyalty to the Episcopal Church for having filed a friend of the court brief in the lawsuit currently before the Texas Supreme Court between the breakaway Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Episcopal Church.  The brief disputed the national church’s claim that the Episcopal Church was a unitary ecclesial structure, with the dioceses subordinate and creatures of the General Convention.  Their brief did not, however, support the secession of Bishop Jack Iker and the Diocese of Forth Worth.  Three of the nine were also accused of misconduct for having signed an affidavit in the Diocese of Quincy case affirming their view on the polity of the Episcopal Church.

In their letter of complaint, which drew upon the same issues and was directed against the same nine bishops as the Title IV disciplinary proceedings launched last month, Bishops Ohl and Buchanan leveled four charges against the nine. They had “falsely claimed” that “dioceses can unilaterally leave” the Episcopal Church. They “denied the Dennis Canon and failed to safeguard Church property”; the “recognize the wrong bishops” thereby injecting “chaos into core ecclesiastical functions” of the Episcopal Church; and they “violated the ecclesiastical jurisdictions” of Fort Worth and Quincy by having endorsed legal documents pertaining to questions outside their dioceses.

The charges drew sharp criticism from outside the House.  Canon lawyer Allan Haley – an attorney for the Diocese of San Joaquin – stated that the Ohl/Buchanan letter was “despicable” and “completely unworthy of the calling of a bishop. It is filled with lies and untruths.”

ACI leader Professor Christopher Seitz, who also signed the friend of the court brief in Fort Worth dismissed the charges as unfounded.  “This is a lot of grasping at straws,” he said.

After the Ohl/Buchanan letter was made public, one bishop told AI that he believed the letter was “ill-timed” and was an “end-run” around the Title IV canons.  By pressing their claims simultaneously in two venues -- the House of Bishops and the Title IV board – the bishops had effectively “shot their bolt” with the letter. Misspelling the Presiding Bishop’s name – a sensitive point for Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori – was also “unfortunate.”

In their public response released after the first closed session that reviewed the charges, the nine protested their loyalty to the church but acknowledged their actions had been “controversial. We took these actions, however, precisely because we thought it our duty to do so in order to uphold the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church as we all have pledged to do.”

The charges brought by Bishops Ohl and Buchanan were untrue.  The bishops said they had never defended the actions of Bishop Iker and the Diocese of Forth Worth, nor had addressed the question of diocesan secession.  Nor had they discussed the Dennis Canon or challenged the church’s right to “recognize its own bishops.” And the fourth charge, that by exercising their civic duties they had violated their ecclesiastical responsibilities, was false.  “To our knowledge, no one has ever before suggested that petitioning the legislatures or courts in Washington or state capitols—our brief was filed in Austin, not Fort Worth—requires the consent of the local bishop.”

Details of the three discussion sessions have not been made public, and those bishops contacted by AI have been unwilling to break the rules of the House by giving details of the deliberations.

However, through speaking with several participants in the meetings the general outlines of the proceedings have become clear.  Both sides to the dispute were able to present their concerns and responses to the House in a full and frank exchange of views.

The partisan wrangling and personal animus that had made past gatherings “poisonous” appeared to be absent this time.  Past scenes of applause following a personal attack on the integrity of a bishop by another bishop – Bishop Gene Robinson’s characterization of Bishop Robert Duncan as being untruthful was cited by one bishop – were absent from this proceeding.

Nor was the adoption of the Mind of the House resolution a “quid pro quo,” as there had been no negotiations.  The bishops’ “hearts were just not in it” – it being the sanctioning of nine of their members – AI was told.  By the end of the third session it was clear that the push to punish the nine “had no legs” one bishop said.

Writing in his blog on 8 July Bishop Dan Martins said: “I personally moved a mind-of-the-house resolution that affirms Bishops Ohl, Talton, Price, and Buchanan as the legitimate bishops of the Episcopal Church dioceses of Fort Worth, San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, and Quincy, respectively. This motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote. And it is in no way inconsistent with the amicus curiae brief that seven of us recently signed. My sense is that this has significantly lowered the thermostat in relations between the bishops. What effect it might have on the Title IV complaints remains to be seen. But I am hopeful.”

Speaking to Episcopal Café after the third session, Bishop Buchanan said: "Bishop Ohl and I triggered this resolution by writing our letter. The House of Bishops spent nearly two and a half hours discussing this matter in productive and collegial conversation that worked toward reconciliation. The matter will continue to be discussed at future meetings of the House of Bishops.”

"I am most grateful for the resolution that identifies me as the bishop of the Diocese of Quincy."

However, Bishop Jeffrey Lee of Chicago told an 8 July press conference the Mind of the House resolution was “virtually” identical to a resolution adopted in 2009, and "said nothing new" one of the nine explained.

Read it all here.

Tonight at the Cafe: Million Miles

Bonnie Raitt's cover of Bob Dylan's Million Miles:

House of Deputies votes to sell Manhattan headquarters

From here:

The Episcopal Church national offices at 815 Second Ave.

The Episcopal Church, meeting for its 77th General Convention in Indianapolis, IN, is considering selling its headquarters located at 815 Second Avenue in Manhattan.
The House of Deputies, one of two legislative houses that make up the Episcopal Church General Convention, voted today to sell the property.

"People are not happy that we have a building in New York that takes millions of dollars out of our missionary operations," said Bishop Andrew Doyle, Vice Chair of the Committee on Structure. "They are not happy, and we have known that for years.”

The resolution to sell the church headquarters as well as home of the Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, now goes to the House of Bishops for ratification.

The decision to sell the Manhattan property comes in the wake of budget cuts and staff layoffs as the denomination falls to its lowest membership in 70 years. The church has lost 200,000 members and 300 parishes between 2006 and 2010 with a total of 657,831 attending church on Sundays per year. Membership has declined to below two million, it's lowest level since the 1930s.

The Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) has not yet completed a final budget for consideration to General Convention #77. Earlier this year competing budgets were submitted by both the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies to the Executive Council, an elected body that provides oversight to the Episcopal Church between General Conventions.

The Executive Council is charged with presenting the budget to the PB&F at General Convention, but when the PB&F convened in Indianapolis earlier this week they accepted another budget from the Presiding Bishop based on the Anglican Consultative Council's Five Marks of Mission.

“The budget process does not work. PB&F right now is restructuring the Church by deciding who gets money and who doesn’t, even before we get the resolutions to vote,” Bishop Doyle said.
The House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson recently announced that she would retire to spend more time with her family and not seek re-election.

The General Convention legislative sessions resume their deliberations on Saturday, July 7, 2012.

House of Deputies Structures Committee votes to sell 815

UPDATE: The House of Deputies votes to sell 815 (but removed the word "now" from the resolution).  George Conger has his story here.

The Diocese of Virginia's Center Aisle reports on the Committee on Structures from the House of Deputies made a dramatic turn and called for the sale of the Episcopal Church in Manhattan. Lauren Stanley reports for the Center Aisle:

The Episcopal Church headquarters in Manhattan.

But the mood changed dramatically when the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle of Texas, vice chair of the Bishop’s committee, spoke.

“I feel frustrated,” he said, “because there is nobody else. There’s us. There’s no special committee that is going to go away and do something and won’t have to come back to us.”

“This is a brilliant group of people,” he said, referring to the Structure committee. “We have expertise in this room to do this work. We believe, in our system, that God put us in this room to do this work. So the notion that we can’t do it is an unfaithful notion, in my opinion. It is unfaithful. That’s when the system no longer works.”

Doyle went on to declare, “The budget process does not work. PB&F right now is restructuring the Church by deciding who gets money and who doesn’t, even before we get the resolutions to vote.”

The governing system, he said, “is broken and we can fix that. We can change that. People are not happy with us spending this much money to talk to each other about people who are not here. … People are not happy that we have a building in New York that takes millions of dollars out of our missionary operations. They are not happy, and we have known that for years. How many studies have we done? Do we need to study it again? … Let’s force change. Don’t study it. Let’s sell [815]. We in this committee have the power to make change happen.”

He concluded, “We have the opportunity to make these changes. … To walk away and give it to somebody else is unfair.”

Other members of the committee voiced their own frustrations. Howard lamented that “we come into this place … without any real singular vision being projected and we’re let loose to debate things [with] no unified vision of what a budget for mission and ministry looks like.”

However, the Rev. Wendy Abrahamson of Iowa echoed Doyle’s call for action. “I do think there’s a need for a vision to be found, but I do think there are some specific themes that are well within our ability to address. The financial ones are very specific. All of the resolutions (on the structure of the Church) point out that administration is half the budget. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, parishes can’t afford a clergy person. … The stuff that we’re doing is not going to address that. But money in the world and the Church living in the world as it is, those are things we can do something about. … There are a lot of things that we can begin to attack that will create some room for maybe helping that vision to be clarified,” she said, referring to financial issues and the length of General Convention in particular.

Deputy Debby Melnyk of Florida ended that portion of Structure’s discussion by saying, “I left last night very enthusiastic, and I feel we have a wonderful opportunity right here to start some change. … We have an opportunity for creative thinking. … We have all sorts of opportunity to do greater thinking to create change. … I agree with Bishop Doyle. I think we can do it. We can put our minds to come up with a creative framework to effect that change.”

Twenty minutes later, Structure slashed seven “resolveds” from D016 and reduced it to the basics:

Sell 815 before the next General Convention and report back in 2015 on the sale.

Read it all here.  The committee is chaired by Gay Jennings, a leading candidate to replace Bonnie Anderson as President of the House of Deputies.

"Show Trial" set for House of Bishops today

SATURDAY UPDATE: 


Please note that the House of Bishops will again convene in closed session on Sunday to take up this matter.

Seven of the bishops have written a Open Letter to the House of Bishops "repudiating charges of disloyalty brought against them by the provisional bishops of Fort Worth and Quincy."  The authors of the letter are:

The Rt. Rev. John W. Howe, retired Bishop of Central Florida

The Rt. Rev. Paul E. Lambert, suffragan Bishop of Dallas, 

The Rt. Rev. William H. Love, Bishop of Albany 

The Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana 

The Rt. Rev. Daniel H. Martins, Bishop of Springfield 

The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, retired Bishop of South Carolina and Dean of Nashotah House 

The Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas,

They stated they had been forced to act in order to protect the Episcopal Church – not to harm it.  

“No charge is more serious to us than the one that we have acted against our own Church—in other words, that we have been disloyal. We assure each of you that we have acted out of a profound loyalty to this Church we love,” they wrote.

Read more about it at Anglican Ink here.

*

The 815-appointed bishops of the shadow dioceses of Ft. Worth and Quincy have petitioned the Presiding Bishop for a closed door session today.  Remember, these two bishops are appointed by the very person they are petitioning to hear their complaints.  What a show!  George Conger of Anglican Ink has the story:

A letter accusing nine bishops of disloyalty to the Episcopal Church and violation of its canons is scheduled for discussion on 6 July 2012 during a closed session of the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops meeting at the 77th General Convention in Indianapolis.

The letter has been described as “end run” around the Title IV canons, one bishop told Anglican Ink, that seeks a political solution to a judicial process.

On 5 July the Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl, Jr., Provisional Bishop of Fort Worth, and the Rt. Rev. John C. Buchanan, Provisional Bishop of Quincy wrote to the presiding bishop asking the House of Bishops to “set the record straight regarding recent statements by certain bishops in our Church.”

Misconduct complaints were filed and investigations under the Title IV disciplinary canons have been initiated against the Rt. Rev. Maurice Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas, the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe, retired Bishop of Central Florida, the Rt. Rev. Paul Lambert, suffragan Bishop of Dallas, the Rt. Rev. William Love, Bishop of Albany, the Rt. Rev. De. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Martins, Bishop of Springfield, the Rt. Rev. James Stanton, Bishop of Dallas, the Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith, retired Bishop of Springfield, and the Rt. Rev. Edward L Salmon, retired Bishop of South Carolina and Dean of Nashotah House.

The nine bishops have so far not been informed as to the crimes they have committed or have been told the names of their accusers, but in their 5 July letter Bishops Ohl and Buchanan accused them of harming the church by “officially misrepresenting the polity of the Church; invading the episcopal jurisdiction of other bishops; taking official, formal, affirmative actions directly against their own Church and sister dioceses; and even recognizing the continuing authority of breakaway former bishops over the bishops who are recognized by this Church.”

“In doing so they give aid and comfort to breakaway factions who would take title and control of substantially all of the real and personal property of this Church and cripple its mission and ministry,” the two bishops said.

By endorsing an amicus curiae brief in the Diocese of Fort Worth lawsuit before the Texas Supreme Court, and having executed an affidavit affirming their testimony in the Quincy lawsuit the bishops had violated the doctrine and discipline of the Episcopal Church.

The two bishops charged their colleagues with having “falsely claimed” that “dioceses can unilaterally leave” the Episcopal Church. They “denied the Dennis Canon and failed to safeguard Church property”; the “recognize the wrong bishops” thereby injecting “chaos into core ecclesiastical functions” of the Episcopal Church; and they “violated the ecclesiastical jurisdictions” of Fort Worth and Quincy by having endorsed legal documents pertaining to questions outside their dioceses.

“This is not a matter of a few unhappy bishops stating their personal views on church polity. They each affirmatively and officially acted by injecting themselves, intentionally and without invitation from the bishops exercising jurisdiction, into local litigation, opposing this Church and sister dioceses on core ecclesiastical issues regarding the very identity of other dioceses,” the two argued.

“We respectfully urge that the House of Bishops set the record straight on the polity of this Church regarding its hierarchical character,” they asked Bishop Jefferts Schori.

Read it all here.




The Bishop's seem to be holding forth now as they are supposed to be back on the air, but are on hold.  Here is the text of the letter from SF here:

July 5,2012

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefforts Schori
The Episcopal Church
815 Second Avenue
New York, NY, 10017

Re: Request to set the record straight

Dear Bishop Jefforts Schori:

We, the bishops of the Dioceses of Quincy and Fort Worth, with the support of the Standing Committee and Council of each diocese, respectfully urge the Church’s House of Bishops, at its meeting at the 77th General Convention in Indianapolis, to set the record straight regarding recent statements by certain bishops in our Church. The subject bishops are:

1. The Rt. Rev. Maurice M. Benitez (resigned, Diocese of Texas);
2. The Rt. Rev. John W. Howe (resigned, Diocese of Central Florida);
3. The Rt. Rev. Paul E. Lambert (suffragan, Diocese of Dallas);
4. The Rt. Rev. William H. Love (diocesan, Diocese of Albany);
5. The Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson (diocesan, Diocese of W. Louisiana);
6. The Rt. Rev. Daniel H. Martins (diocesan, Diocese of Springfield);
7. The Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton (diocesan, Diocese of Dallas);
8. The Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith (resigned, Diocese of Springfield); and
9. The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon (resigned, Diocese of South Carolina).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The House of Bishops is well aware of the litigation across this Church resulting from breakaway factions who left The Episcopal Church but claim to have taken parishes and entire dioceses, and all the historic church property, names, records, and funds, with them, and claim to “be” the continuing parish or diocese. In the Dioceses of Quincy, Fort Worth, San Joaquin, and Pittsburgh, these breakaway efforts were led by former members of the House of Bishops.

Recent events illustrate that there are still bishops in our Church who harm the Church by officially misrepresenting the polity of the Church; invading the episcopal jurisdiction of other bishops; taking official, formal, affirmative actions directly against their own Church and sister dioceses; and even recognizing the continuing authority of breakaway former bishops over the bishops who are recognized by this Church. In doing so they give aid and comfort to breakaway factions who would take title and control of substantially all of the real and personal property of this Church and cripple its mission and ministry.

Specifically, on April 23, 2012 Bishops Benitez, Howe, Lambert, Love, MacPherson, Martins, and Stanton, purporting to act in their official capacities as bishops of The Episcopal Church and its House of Bishops, caused to be filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in litigation in support of a breakaway faction led by former bishop Jack Iker and against this Church and its Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

Similarly, on October 6, 2011, 2011, Bishops Salmon, MacPherson, and Beckwith,purporting to act in their official capacities as bishops of The Episcopal Church and its House of Bishops, caused to be filed affidavits in litigation in support of a breakaway faction led by Alberto Morales and against this Church and its Episcopal Diocese of Quincy. The details of their misrepresentations are reflected in the documents themselves. However, generally the bishops falsely claimed as follows:

1. They Represented that Dioceses Can Unilaterally Leave: These bishops give aid and comfort to breakaway factions trying to alienate this Church’s historic property and identity and urge a false view of polity that would purport to authorize each bishop across this Church to lead his or her diocese and church property in the diocese out of The Episcopal Church.

2. They Denied the Dennis Canon and Failed to Safeguard Church Property: These bishops advocate that the breakaway parties should prevail in the litigation against The Episcopal Church and the loyal Episcopalians in those dioceses and assert positions that would strip millions of dollars of historic property and funds, lovingly accumulated by generations of Episcopalians, from the mission and ministry of this Church, and instead urge that they be used by breakaway factions for the mission and ministry of a new church. They thus would nullify this Church’s trust interest in all the real and personal property of congregations in those dioceses and, indeed, across The Episcopal Church and fail to safeguard property of the Church and its dioceses.

3. They Recognized the Wrong Bishops: The amicus bishops in the Fort Worth case expressly claim that Iker, not Bishop Wallis Ohl, repeatedly recognized by the Church, is still the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth; in the Quincy filing the affidavit bishops imply that Morales, not Bishop John C. Buchanan, repeatedly recognized by the Church, is the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy. By this claim these bishops not only reject this Church’s authority to recognize its own bishops but they arrogate for themselves, in direct defiance of this Church, the authority to determine the episcopal authority of every other bishop in the Church, substituting at will their personal standards for those of this Church and trying to inject chaos into core ecclesiastical functions of The Episcopal Church itself.

4. They Violated Episcopal Jurisdiction: By their public filings in local litigation, without invitation or consent of the ecclesiastical authority in those sister dioceses, these bishops directly violated the ecclesiastical authority and episcopal jurisdiction of Bishop C. Wallis Ohl and Bishop John C. Buchanan, respectively, who have been consistently recognized by The Episcopal Church as being the current bishops of Fort Worth and Quincy. By inserting themselves in local litigation against the ecclesiastical authority in those dioceses, the subject bishops have violated the longstanding prohibition against “acting in another diocese without the consent of the diocesan authority”’ and have engaged in boundary crossing to interfere profoundly in the mission and the very existence of a sister diocese and the jurisdiction of other bishops of this Church.

CONCLUSION

This is not a matter of a few unhappy bishops stating their personal views on church polity. They each affirmatively and officially acted by injecting themselves, intentionally and without invitation from the bishops exercising jurisdiction, into local litigation, opposing this Church and sister dioceses on core ecclesiastical issues regarding the very identity of other dioceses.

We respectfully urge that the House of Bishops set the record straight on the polity of this Church regarding its hierarchical character. Respectfully submitted,

The Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF FORT WORTH

The Rt. Rev. John C. Buchanan
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF QUINCY

Live Streams: House of Bishops & House of Deputies

House of Bishops:



House of Deputies:

Today at the Cafe: Like a Rolling Stone

General Convention opens with a deep breath

Candied "Road Kill" compliments of the Diocese of CF.

Deputy Jim Lewis (SC) reports: Both Houses gathered for the opening addresses by the Presiding Bishop and by the President of the House of Deputies. You can view both on-line so I'll simply make this observation. The red thread connecting both of these, and many of the budget presentations, is that the church is in a crisis. The acknowledgement that there is a problem is a first and a faint positive sign. Whether this dawning reality will have a positive effect on the outcome of Conventions business is yet to be seen, but reality does seem to be breaking in.

Concluded my day with a reception for the Communion partner dioceses. A soberingly small group, amidst the 800+ gathered in the Deputies hall. It brings to mind the most humorous moment of the day. The Central Florida deputation brought us gifts. They have baskets of candy, apparently, at their deputations table. The contents: "candied road kill". We recognize we are little more than spectators here, at least in terms of impact.

The Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church

Deputy John Burwell (SC) reports: I hope some of the blogs commented on her speech. It was one of those talks where you don’t know exactly what meant by what she said. She used a lot of veiled language. Her repeat line was “Breathe deep.” She was talking about breathing in the Holy Spirit (whom she never called anything but “the spirit” and taking a deep breath and getting over all the things you don’t like about the Church. She kept saying, “Breathe deep. Breathe Deep.”

My mind wondered off to the Moody Blues, on the album, “Days of Future Past.” The Postlude to “The Story in Your Eyes” has the words, “Breathe deep the gathering gloom…”

Now I know I’ll have nightmares.

Sadly, President Bonnie sort of took up where the Presiding Bishop left off in her talk. She deconstructed the 4th of July, reminding us how much we Americans have oppressed our own people and the world. She quoted a Frederick Douglas speech where Mr. Douglas said, “The 4th of July might be yours, but it’s not mine.”

This is sad. God, Bless America anyway.

BB NOTE: I was just going to put up the excerpt John Burwell refers to on the classic Moody Blues album, but thought, well - why not post the whole album for your General Convention 2012 listening pleasure?  So - here it is, a great soundtrack in fact for General Convention:

Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride

by Ralinda Gregor

“This is your captain speaking. There are thunder- storms nearby, and we’re heading into some turbulence, so please fasten your seat belts.”


Even after a 20+ year career supporting navigation in the Air Force, I hate to hear those words. I’m not afraid to fly, and I rarely worry about my husband when he’s jetting your packages here and there during the night, but I don’t like turbulence. Even though I know the captain is charting a safe course through the storms, and we will reach our destination in one piece, I hate the feeling of turbulence.

I know many of you feel the same way, but I need to tell you—the members of our parish family—“We’re heading into turbulence, so please fasten your seat belts.”

Every three years the Episcopal Church convenes a General Convention of bishops and lay and clergy deputies from every diocese across the church. This summer they will meet from July 5-12 in Indianapolis, Ind. where they will finalize a budget for the next three years and will consider more than 200 resolutions on the structure, administration and work of the church.

There are resolutions to form a com- mission that will recommend ways to streamline the administrative and governance structures of the national church to make it more effective and to reduce the huge expense these “overhead” functions cost the church—currently 47 percent of the entire budget.

There are resolutions to delay or suspend the implementation of the denominational health plan for clergy and lay employees that was approved during the last General Convention. It was supposed to provide better care at a lower cost for more employees, but it has turned out to be cost prohibitive for many parishes and dioceses because the plan does not base premiums on the national pool of those covered, but instead varies by the small pool of employees in each diocese. While these will be difficult issues to resolve, they bode well for the future of the business side of church administration.

The turbulence instead will come from resolutions that impact the liturgy and theology of the Episcopal Church. In fact, I should probably remind you that that we have been in that turbulence for about 40 years. You probably felt the biggest jolt nine years ago when the church approved the consecration of New Hampshire’s Bishop Gene Robinson, a non-celibate homosexual, even though leaders from provinces across the Communion warned the Episcopal Church that it would go against Christian and Anglican church teaching and destroy the unity of the Anglican Communion.

This summer, the General Convention will decide whether to approve a liturgy for same-sex blessings. Leaders at all levels from the presiding bishop on down have indicated “it’s a done deal.” Before you read about this resolution in local or national newspapers, the leadership of St Francis in the Fields wants to make you aware of what is coming.

The last General Convention in 2009 tasked the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) to gather existing rites for same-sex blessings and to come up with a single rite to use on a trial basis. For the past three years, this group has diligently worked to do just that. They have consulted widely throughout the church, even hosting a meeting of two deputies from each diocese to help craft what that rite would look like. The question was not “should we do this?” but rather “how should we do this?” Interestingly, more than half a million dollars was donated to fund the SCLM’s work by two secular foundations that advocate for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender rights.

The proposed rite is available in the Convention “Blue Book” (starting on page 239) which can be downloaded here. Parishes will not be required to perform same-sex blessings, and those that want to offer them must do so with the approval and under the guidance of their diocesan bishop. Bishops will be authorized to provide a “generous pastoral response” to same-sex couples, particularly but not exclusively where same-gender marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships are legal. This three year trial will allow the SCLM to fine-tune the liturgy with the expected next step—left unstated—to eventually include a liturgy for same-sex blessings in the Book of Occasional Services or the Book of Common Prayer.

Undergirding this work is a new understanding of baptismal theology espoused by many in the Episcopal Church. Baptism is viewed as full initiation into the church, and by virtue of one’s baptism, all the sacraments—including marriage and ordination— should as a matter of justice, be available to all the baptized all the time. Justice trumps everything, and sanctification—becoming more like Christ in holiness, love and service to others—assumes less importance. It is a “baptismal theology” that has been detached from catholic and biblical doctrine. In following this ‘baptismal theology” to its logical conclusion, confirmation is made unnecessary, and a series of resolutions even propose to remove the requirement for confirmation before one becomes a lay leader in the church, such as a vestry member or lay Eucharistic minister.

The national church may be following this flight path, but the clergy and vestry will continue to uphold the sacrament of marriage and not squander the inheritance of the faith once delivered that has been given to us. We will continue to emphasize personal discipleship through Bible studies, Sunday school, and small group studies. We will continue to be a parish that welcomes people in all walks of their faith journey, trusting that the Holy Spirit will teach, convict and sanctify each one of us who trusts in Christ and his salvation. We will continue to reach out to others in service as the hands and feet of Christ, meeting practical needs and sharing the transforming message of the Gospel. We will stand firm in the faith once delivered with the majority of the world’s Anglicans and Christians who do not accept the innovations of our denomination.

You’ll be hearing more in the coming weeks. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or any of the other vestry members or our clergy if you have questions or concerns. The flight is going to get bumpy, but don’t fear because God is not our co-pilot; He’s the pilot in command.

Ralinda Gregor is Senior Warden of St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church, Harrods Creek, KY.

Unbelievable: Title IV Complaint Filed Against Dr. Philip Turner

It's official - The Episcopal Church currently based in Manhattan appears to be completely losing its mind.  There is simply no other way to put it - first we have this, then we have this, then we have this, and now - well,

We have this.

Philip Turner?  Really?  There's simply no words.  Who will break out of the Think-Pack and call the question at General Convention?  Who?

Where are the true liberals  - the true liberals, you know who you are, who will speak to this?

Interesting reading from Bishop John W. Howe here.  Kendall Harmon  has very helpful links here.

And by the way, contrary to the rights we Americans enjoy, these folks have no idea who is behind these charges, though there is interesting speculation here.  Here is your annual asking at work.  Might just want to check that line item.

Did the annual viewing of 1776 again.  There was a reason we broke off from the "hierarchy" of the Church of England in the first place - something the founders of the Episcopal Church, including the leaders of the Diocese of Virginia still had fresh in their minds when they thought up General Convention and the Office of Presiding Bishop.  There was a reason that the Episcopal Church was not set up to be hierarchical beyond the diocese - in fact, Virginia and the other twelve colonies fought a war over it, something all Anglicans in the United States should remember.

It is for freedom Christ came to set us free.

UPDATE: Anglican Curmudgeon reviews the Anglican Communion Institute's official response to the Title IV charges against the Episcopal bishops and Dr. Turner here.

The June Ruine: Seven Episcopal Bishops "charged with misconduct" just days before General Convention

UPDATE: Bishop Dan Martins of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield responds at his blog, Confessions of a Carioca.  Here is an excerpt:

Bishop Dan Martins

I cannot presume to speak for any of the other eight, but I need to be clear that my intention in attaching my name to the amicus brief was in no way to affect the outcome of that case. As the Bishop of Springfield, which is in Illinois, it is no concern of mine how a property dispute in Texas is resolved. If my action has the effect of aiding one side or the other, that is, from my perspective, an immaterial consequence. Rather, I took the action I did with the best interests of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Springfield, as nearly as I can discern them, at heart. My principal concern was to not leave unchallenged the assertion that the Episcopal Church is a unitary hierarchical organism at all levels, and that the dioceses are entirely creatures of General Convention. I viewed signing the amicus brief as consistent with my vow to uphold the doctrine and discipline of the Episcopal Church. 

Read it all here.


It's official: The Episcopal Church jumps the shark.



Best guess for the reason they are actually are doing this and doing this right now - just days before General Convention begins - is that the leadership is in complete chaos.  Bonnie Anderson and Katharine Jefferts Schori put forward two competing budgets, then did a major switcher-roo on the Executive Board and Bonnie Anderson threw in the towel.

Not a little angst is now filling many leaders in the House of Deputies towards the House of Bishops (many are still steaming from 2006 when Bishop Schori took the unprecedented action late in that General Convention to march onto the floor of the House of Deputies and plead for the deputies to change their pending vote her way - right, and no, many are not so happy lately about her new Chief Operating Office, Bishop Statcy Sauls, who has been lobbying the House of Bishops to call for a Constitutional Convention before Bishop Schori flies the coup in 2015).

The HoB/HoD list serve has been a portrait of chaos, with the activists using it for their usual strategic maneuvers to lobby the list remnant for their latest radical twist (and yes there is a doozy).  But the main focus has been budget, budget, budget and it's not very pretty.

So what do we have just days before General Convention begins?  Why a massive witch hunt (ever wondered why Dorothy went on a witch hunt?) to stir up the townsfolk to forget about the mess TEC is in and get the attention to look else where - exactly!  Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Seven bishops have been charged with misconduct for having endorsed a friend of the court brief prepared by the Anglican Communion Institute in the Diocese of Fort Worth case. 

On 28 June 2012, the Rt Rev Maurice M. Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas, the Rt Rev John W. Howe, retired Bishop of Central Florida, the Rt Rev Paul E. Lambert. Suffragan Bishop of Dallas, the Rt Rev William H. Love, Bishop of Albany, the Rt Rev D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana, the Rt Rev Daniel H. Martins, Bishop of Springfield, and the Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas were informed they had been charged with misconduct.

Did they miss anyone?  Oh yes, there is one not yet on this list who no doubt is being saved for dessert, saved so that he may get his just desserts by the litigation long knives.



In a U.S. election we wait with great anticipation for the October Surprise, but apparently in the Episcopal Church it's called the June Ruine.  Remember, Gene Robinson was elected - you guessed it - in June 2003.

“As the Intake Officer for the Church, I am obliged to inform you that a complaint has been received against you for your action in filing of Amicus Curiae Brief in the pending appeal in the Supreme Court of Texas in opposition to The Episcopal Diocese of Texas and The Episcopal Church. In the next few weeks, I will initiate a disciplinary process according to Title IV Canon 6 Sec. 3 & 4 of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church,” Bishop F. Clayton Matthews wrote to the seven bishops.

You know, I remember when Clay Mathews was once the Suffragan Bishop of Virginia.  He was kind and gentle and wise.  How he ends up left holding the bag to lend his personal gravitas is, quite simply, sad.  He was once friends with John Howe, back in the day, back before the dark times, before the Empire.

The bishops have not been notified with violation of the canons they have committed, but Bishop Matthews’ notice refers to the pleading they endorsed in the Diocese of Fort Worth case presently before the Texas Supreme Court.

Of course not.  They have to make sure the press release gets out in time before General Convention kicks off so that all the momentum shifts from the big-time doo-doo to "let's get the conservative tar baby back out for one more roll."  It would be one thing if the Empire could think up a new strategy forthwith, but they don't, they keep using the same play over and over, even as $millions drain out of the Episcopal coffers.  Bringing Clay Matthews to kick the tar baby back out before General Convention denotes the fact that this is right out of any DC political activist's playbook.

What have they done wrong?  Nothing.  They exercised their freedom of being a citizen of the United Sates of America and expressed their opinion that the litigators financed by the office of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is incorrect in their filings against the Diocese of Ft. Worth.  So much for freedom!



What is Bishop Schori and her litigators going to do - depose them all?   Is it hoped that the chaos of factions now breaking out all over General Convention will tidy up and mind their manners?  So much for that that "I in you and you in me" Ubuntu stuff.

The 29-page brief stated that attorneys for that national Episcopal Church sought “to establish an alternative authority to that of the diocesan bishop” in their pleadings, which they said was contrary to the church’s Constitution and Canons.

What it all really means is resistance is futile. 






Read it all here.

Georgia Supreme Court rules against Christ Church Savannah

UPDATE:  With thanks to our friends at SF, you may read the court opinion and the dissenting opinion here.

From here:

Christ Church, Savannah, GA

Christ Church, the oldest Episcopal church in Georgia, was founded in 1733, when James Oglethorpe, an English general, designated the property on Bull Street as a place of worship, the state Supreme Court said.

When the national Episcopal Church named the Rev. Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop in 2003, the Savannah congregation voted to leave the national church and move under the leadership of an Anglican diocese in Uganda.

The breakaway congregation refused to give up the Savannah church building and property, valued at $3 million, prompting a lawsuit by the national church and the Georgia diocese.

The Georgia Supreme Court ruling on Monday upheld lower court rulings that the Savannah property belongs to the national church.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution "allows (the local congregation) and its members to leave the Episcopal Church and worship as they please, like all other Americans. But it does not allow them to take with them property that has for generations been accumulated and held by a constituent church of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America," the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in a 6-1 vote.

Christ Church is considering whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, its lawyer, Jim Gardner, said in a statement.

"At its core this case is about fundamental property rights of individual congregations in hierarchical churches," Gardner said.

If the church loses access to the building during the appeal, it will hold services in another downtown Savannah church building, the statement added.

In 2003, the 2.1 million member Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of global Anglicanism, triggered what many observers describe as an ongoing schism by consecrating Robinson as bishop of the New Hampshire diocese.

Read it all here.  Anglican Curmudgeon has commentary on the ruling of "implied trusts" here.  More on Christ Church here with their official statement here.

BREAKING NEWS: Greg Brewer elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida; will succeed Bishop John W. Howe

From here.

The Rev'd Greg Brewer

Episcopal pastors and lay leaders have elected The Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, rector of Calvary-St. George’s Church in New York City, to head the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida.

Fr.Brewer replaces Bishop John Howe, who will retire early next year. The diocese says Brewer’s selection is “… pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church.”

The diocese reports Brewer was chosen on the 4th ballot from the seven nominees for the position. He got 141 votes of 241 cast by lay order and 110 of the 192 votes by the clergy. An election on that ballot required 125 in the lay order and 95 in the clergy order.

The election was held during a special Saturday convention at Trinity Preparatory School. Winter Park.

Under canons of the Episcopal Church, a majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees must consent to the bishop-elect's ordination as bishop within 120 days of receiving notice of the election.

Rev. Brewer has significant ties to Central Florida. He was ordained a priest at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Winter Park, and his wife Laura is from Orlando. The couple has five children.

He was not here for the vote, because his diocese in New York was choosing its bishop. In a phone call, he told the Central Florida Diocese, “I’m just very excited to return to Central Florida and will pray for God’s blessings on our work together there.”

Rev. Brewer’s current parish, Calvary-St. George’s Church, has 500 members, and is described as multi- cultural and multiracial, and is located in downtown Manhattan.

If the process goes as expected, he will be consecrated as the fourth bishop of Central Florida on March 24.

The Diocese of Central Florida says it has 31,000 baptized members at 88 parishes and missions in 15 counties.

Read it all here.  The vote tallies are here.  Here is his talk to the Diocese of Central Florida when he was a candidate:

BREAKING NEWS: Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori releases statement regarding Father Bede Parry

UPDATE: Good commentary in this post at SF.  The Washington Post also has an article here.

The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has issued the following statement regarding Father Bede Parry who had been removed from ministry as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church for child sexual abuse and was then received by Bishop Schori as a priest in the Episcopal Church.  

You can read more about the issue here and here and here and here and here.

From here:

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori

Bede James Parry was serving as organist and music director at All Saints Church, Las Vegas, when I became aware of him. His arrival preceded my own in the Diocese of Nevada.

He approached me to inquire about being received as a priest, having served as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. At the time, he told me of being dismissed from the monastery in 1987 for a sexual encounter with an older teenager, and indicated that it was a single incident of very poor judgment. The incident was reported to civil authorities, who did not charge him. He told of being sent to a facility in New Mexico, serving as a priest thereafter both in New Mexico and in Nevada, and recently (2002) being asked to formalize his separation from the monastery.

In consultation with other diocesan leadership and the chancellor, we explored the possibilities and liabilities of receiving him. I wrote to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas and the Diocese of Santa Fe, receiving brief responses from each bishop, who indicated no problematic behavior. I wrote to Conception Abbey, from whom I received only an acknowledgement that he had served there, been sent for treatment to a facility in New Mexico, and had been dismissed for this incident of misconduct. Neither then nor later did I receive a copy of any report of a psychological examination in connection with his service in the Roman Catholic Church. His departure from the Roman Catholic priesthood had to do with his desire to take up secular employment.

Parry was required to fulfill all the expectations of the canons regarding reception of a priest from another communion in historic succession. He did undergo a psychological exam in the Diocese of Nevada, was forthcoming about the incident he had reported to me, and did not receive a negative evaluation. His background check showed no more than what he had already told us. He was forthcoming about the previous incident in his interviews with the Commission on Ministry and with the Standing Committee.

I made the decision to receive him, believing that he demonstrated repentance and amendment of life and that his current state did not represent a bar to his reception. I was clear that his ministry would be limited to an assisting role, under the supervision of another priest, and like any other diocesan leader, he would not be permitted to work alone with children. Since that time, as far as I am aware, he has served faithfully and effectively as a minister of the gospel and priest of this Church.

The records of his reception are retained by the Diocese of Nevada, and further questions should be directed to Bishop Dan Edwards.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

I am not sure why she thinks anyone is going to direct further questions to her diocesan successor when she was the one who is responsible for authorizing and presiding over Father Parry's reception as a priest in the Episcopal Church. 

Here is the statement of Father Bede Parry from May 2011:

Statement of Bede Parry
May 7, 2011
All Saints Episcopal Church, Las Vegas, Nevada

Father Bede Parry

My name is Bede Parry and I currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. In November of 2010, I was contacted by and subsequently met on two occasions with Patrick Marker regarding my knowledge of misconduct by personnel at Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.

In my meetings with Mr. Marker in November of 2010, and in several telephone and email conversations since, we have discussed issues related to my background, inappropriate contact by members of the clergy (at Saint John’s and elsewhere, including my own), and a mutual desire to create a safe environment for children and vulnerable adults.

I have agreed to provide details of my background, as follows:

In 1973, I joined Conception Abbey, a Benedictine monastic community located in Missouri. Between 1974 and 1979, I was involved in three relationships that included sexual contact, and were thus inappropriate for a monastic. In 1979, I admitted my misconduct to Abbot Jerome Hanus of Conception Abbey. Later in 1979, I enrolled in the three-year School of Theology program at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

In 1981, a student at Saint John’s University made allegations of sexual misconduct against me. I was asked to attend a meeting with [St. John's Victim #1], the student with whom I had indeed engaged in inappropriate sexual contact, Fr. Roman Paur and perhaps one other member of the Saint John’s community. During the meeting, I apologized for my inappropriate conduct and agreed to have no further contact with [St. John's Victim #1].

Immediately after the meeting with Roman Paur, I phoned Abbot Jerome Hanus at Conception Abbey and made him aware of my misconduct. After a discussion about the misconduct, Abbot Jerome simply said, “Don’t do it again.”

A few days after the meeting with Roman Paur, I met for tea with Saint John’s Abbot Jerome Theisen. Abbot Theisen said that he had spoken to Abbot Hanus about my conduct. There was an understanding, by all parties, that I would not do it again. I also agreed to get some counseling. I counseled with Fr. Finian McDonald for several weeks then met with a counselor in St. Cloud, Minnesota for additional therapy.

While attending the School of Theology, I lived with the other monks at Saint John’s. There was an awareness of my misconduct among the other monks. In addition to Fr. Roman Paur and Fr. Finian McDonald, Fr. Rene McGraw also knew details of my misconduct. I recall that other monks commented or joked about my misconduct in a light-hearted, but nonetheless inappropriate, manner.

I completed the School of Theology program in 1982 and returned to Conception Abbey that summer. I was ordained on April 16, 1983. Abbot Jerome Hanus reminded me at the time of my ordination that I would need to be “especially observant” of my vow of celibacy.

In the summer of 1987, Conception Abbey hosted a choir camp. I had been involved with the Abbey Boy Choir as organist, director, or both, for several years. During the camp, I had inappropriate sexual contact in my living quarters with [John Doe 181], a member of the Abbey Boy Choir.

My misconduct with [John Doe 181] was reported to the leadership at Conception Abbey the same day. At a meeting with [John Doe 181’s parents] and the Abbot, I admitted to the misconduct and apologized for my behavior.

Soon after the incident with [John Doe 181], I left Conception Abbey for Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Abbot Jerome Hanus drove me to the airport. I took part in a three-month program at the Servants of the Paraclete facilities.

I have since recognized that I may have acted inappropriately with at least one other member of the Abbey Boy Choir.

Late in 1987, I finished the Paraclete program and accepted a job, as choirmaster and organist, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Albuquerque. I continued to receive therapy from a female counselor, Margaret, in Santa Fe.

I am aware that in 1990, someone from Conception Abbey asked [John Doe 181’s parents] about my potential return to the area. I am unaware of the details of the conversation but was told by Abbot James Jones that it would “not be wise” for me to return to Conception Abbey.

In 1995, Fr. Anthony Gorman from Saint John’s Abbey sent [St. John's Victim #1's] obituary to me. I do not know how Fr. Gorman knew to contact me, or the nature of Fr. Gorman’s relationship with [St. John's Victim #1].

In 2000, I was recruited by Mary Bredlau to work at All-Saints Episcopal Church in Las Vegas.

Also in 2000, I considered joining the Prince of Peace monastery in Riverside, California. Prince of Peace had me undergo a series of psychological tests. After the testing, Prince of Peace’s Abbot Charles Wright informed me I was no longer a candidate. The psychological evaluation had determined that I had a proclivity to reoffend with minors. Abbot Wright called Conception Abbey’s Abbot Gregory Polan with this information.

Abbot Polan would later share the information with Robert Stoeckig from the Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas, Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the human resources department at Mercy Ambulance in Las Vegas. Bishop Daniel Walsh, Monsignor Ben Franzinelli, Bishop Joseph Pepe, Archbishop Robert Sanchez and Rev. Bob Nelson were also made aware of my previous misconduct.

In 2002, I pursued a cooperative dismissal from the Catholic Church. Fr. Dan Ward, a canon lawyer from Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, prepared the documents.

I have only recently begun to understand how my misconduct has affected my victims.

Everything that I have done in my life has been with me, and haunting me, every day. I dream about it. I think about it. Not a day passes when I do not regret my conduct. I am truly sorry.

Bede Parry
May 7, 2011

A video interview where Father Bede Parry answers questions is here. And more on the Parry case here and here and here and here and here.