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Northern Indiana: Diocese Protests TEC's Schofield/Cox Depositions

Source: Diocese of Northern Indiana website
A Statement from the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Northern Indiana
May 27, 2008

We, the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Northern Indiana strongly protest the failure of the Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori and Chancellor David Booth Beers to follow the Canons of our Episcopal Church in the depositions of Bishops John Schofield and William Cox.

Deposition is the harshest punishment that can be handed a bishop.

It is essential that both the letter and the spirit of the Canons be followed since, in this case, the rights of the accused are protected, in part, by the extraordinarily high level of involvement and concord called for within the House of Bishops by Canon IV.9.2.

As others have pointed out, the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church at various times distinguishes between a majority of the Bishops at a meeting, from a vote by a majority of the whole. Mr. Beers was incorrect in his assertion, reaffirmed by the Presiding Bishop in a letter to the House of Bishops (April 30, 2008), that the Canonical language of "the whole number of bishops entitled to vote" can be taken to mean only "those in attendance at a particular meeting."

This makes deposition an action with no higher standard than any matter of routine business. We agree with the analysis provided by the Bishops and Standing Committees of the Dioceses of South Carolina and Central Florida that the Canons plainly require a majority of all Bishops entitled to vote, not just those in attendance at a particular meeting. [1]

We call upon the Presiding Bishop and the House of Bishops to revisit those decisions and make every effort to follow our Church Canons in this and all future House of Bishops decisions.

We note with alarm that the Presiding Bishop has publically stated her intent to begin, at the September meeting of the House of Bishops, deposition proceedings against Bishop Robert Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh for abandoning the communion before the diocese votes to do so in November. We plead for calm and prayer in the face of temptations to escalate abuses of power in this way. We agree with the Standing Committee of Central Florida and others who insist that depositions are an unnecessary and unfortunate way to deal with disagreement, dissension, and even division within our Church. We believe it also borders on unchristian.

This statement was written shortly after Trinity Sunday. The Trinitarian faith we profess in our worship is no mere exercise in divine arithmetic. The Trinity helps us know God's true character within whose being exists a community of divine self-abasement. Thus understood, the Trinity is the foundation upon which truly human relationships are built. Everything the New Testament has to say about Christian relationships flows from this essential understanding of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nowhere is this clearer than in Philippians 2:1-11.

We believe that when we let the same mind be in us that was in Jesus, other ways of responding to division come into view. Those Bishops (or other clergy) who, for sake of conscience, can no longer minister as part of The Episcopal Church can be transferred at their request, or permitted to renounce their vows and join with other Anglican Provinces without vindictiveness or punitive measures. Confrontation in the Church is an opportunity to show the world how Christians conduct themselves in the midst of serious disagreements. It is an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel.

We urge the House of Bishops to give attention to these matters in the name of mutuality, humility and concord.

We insist that when it becomes necessary to invoke the Canons, that both the letter and the spirit of the law be dutifully followed.

We encourage the Standing Committees of the various dioceses within The Episcopal Church to investigate these matters for themselves and prayerfully consider an appropriate response.

Peace be to the Church, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have an undying love our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Northern Indiana:

The Rev. Bennett G. Jones II, President
The Rev. James Warnock, Secretary
The Rev. Canon Richard A. Kallenberg
Timothy C. Gray
Cynthia Guzzo
Pamela Barnes Harris

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Two More Dioceses Oppose Depositions

Source: The Living Church
May 27, 2008

The bishop and standing committees of two more dioceses have joined with the dioceses of South Carolina  and Western Louisiana to formally protest the means by which the House of Bishops removed two of its members from the ministry in March.

Bishop Peter Beckwith of Springfield and the standing committee of that diocese approved a resolution on May 22 calling on Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori in part "to acknowledge publicly that the depositions of bishops [John-David] Schofield and [William] Cox were not validly procured, and, should it be their desire to continue to seek depositions in these questionable circumstances, to revisit this issue at a future meeting of the House of Bishops, conducting any further proceedings in accordance with the clear language of canon."
 
In order to depose a bishop for abandonment of communion, the canons of The Episcopal Church require a majority "of all bishops eligible to vote." A majority of bishops present at the meeting approved the depositions on a voice vote. The canons also stipulate that any procedural challenges must be made at the time of the vote.
 
The decision by the leadership of the Diocese of Springfield is similar to a letter sent to the Presiding Bishop by the bishop, diocesan board and standing committee of the Diocese of Central Florida on May 15. ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.

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Connecticut: Church In Bristol Settles Dispute With Episcopal Diocese

Source: Hartford Courant
By Elizabeth Hamilton
May 29, 2008

In the end, former members of Trinity Church in Bristol decided it wasn't worth the fight.

The parishioners have settled their legal dispute with the Episcopal Diocese by agreeing to relinquish their historic church home. In return, both the diocese and the national Episcopal Church will withdraw their lawsuit against Trinity's priest and its leaders.

The diocese took legal action last year after the congregation defected from the Episcopal Church in a theological dispute and aligned itself with a more conservative Anglican group, but refused to leave the property.

The settlement was not unexpected. Negotiations have been underway since the beginning of this year to resolve the case before it went to trial.

"Long-term, it's just not financially feasible for us to continue the battle. All indications were it would be drawn out long-term," said the Rev. Donald Helmandollar. "Also, we really wanted to get on with our lives as a congregation that is totally free of any ties to the Episcopal Church."

Helmandollar said he and about 120 parishioners will worship this Sunday for the first time at their new home - the auditorium of the Greene-Hills Elementary School - under a new name, Holy Trinity Anglican Church.

The acting head of the Connecticut Episcopal diocese, Bishop Suffragan James Curry, who announced the settlement Wednesday, said Trinity will now be led by the Rev. Stanley Kemmerer, who was appointed priest-in-charge of the parish last year.

Curry said he did not know how many parishioners Kemmerer will have at Trinity - at least at first. Kemmerer has not had access to the church property until this week and has been leading a joint service at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Bristol on Sunday evenings, which will continue, Curry said.

There are no immediate plans for Kemmerer to hold Sunday worship services at Trinity, Curry said.

"We'll continue to work on the future of Trinity Parish," Curry said. ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.

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England: Church pulls out of Catholic agencies over 'gay equality' adoption law

Source: DailyMail
By Jonathan Petre
May 24, 2008

The Roman Catholic Church is pulling out of three of its top adoption agencies because it cannot comply with Labour's new gay equality laws. The Mail on Sunday has learned the Church will this week cut its ties with the Surrey-based Catholic Children's Society, one of the biggest in the country covering much of the South-East. The dioceses of Nottingham and Northampton have also decided to pull out of their agencies.

The development will anger Catholic MPs, who warned last year that the contentious legislation would have a dramatic impact on the charities. Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said: ‘This is a tragedy. We are taking the ethos out of these adoption agencies and leaving them with a crisis, all because the Government wouldn't listen.'

It will also dismay hundreds of thousands of parishioners who have raised millions of pounds over the years to support the much-loved organisations. Senior bishops put the blame squarely at the door of Government Ministers. The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, the Rt Rev Kieran Conry, said: ‘The Government has lost out. The Catholic agencies do and did very good work. For the sake of a principle and certain political correctness we are losing some very good facilities.'

The fate of the ten remaining agencies in England and Wales is now in the balance. The Church argues its agencies cannot remain both Catholic and conform with the Sexual Orientation Regulations. ...

The rest of the article may be found at the link above.