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January 25, 2013

Malicious prosecution warnings for Episcopal clergy

A bulk email offering assistance akin to a pre-paid legal services plan has refocused the Episcopal Church’s attention on flaws within the new Title IV Ecclesiastical Discipline canons.

A 17 January 2013 email from CanonLawyer, Inc., an organization set up by long-time General Convention deputy and the former chancellor of the Diocese of Newark, Michael Rehill, elicited a wave of chatter amongst the clergy of the Episcopal Church after it warned of the risks of malicious prosecution under the new code.

A bulk email offering assistance akin to a pre-paid legal services plan has refocused the Episcopal Church’s attention on flaws within the new Title IV Ecclesiastical Discipline canons.

November 17, 2012

Episcopal Church will suffer no backlash over adopting gay marriage rites, bishop declares

Authorizing provisional rites for the blessing of same-sex unions will not have any negative consequences for the Episcopal Church or the Diocese of Missouri, Bishop George Wayne Smith told his diocesan convention today.

Speaking to the delegates attending the 173rd annual convention of the Diocese of Missouri, meeting in Columbia on 16-17 November 2012, Bishop Smith said the opprobrium visited upon the Episcopal Church from the wider communion for its consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and its adoption of gay blessings had passed.

The call for the Episcopal Church to be disciplined had not been heeded, and the American Church retained its “place at the table” of the Anglican Communion, he said.

September 22, 2012

No decision from South Carolina on secession from the Episcopal Church

The Bishop of South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence has written to the clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina urging them to hold fast, as no decision has so far been made by the diocese in response to the actions of the 77th General Convention in Indianapolis.

July 19, 2012

South Carolina Clergy to Talk about Gen. Con. 2012

My Dear Brother and Sister Clergy in the Diocese of South Carolina,

I believe it is important for you, the clergy of this diocese who are actively serving in parishes, to hear from me personally regarding this decision and particularly to know what I shared with the House of Bishops in our Private Session in Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon July 11th.

My Dear Brother and Sister Clergy in the Diocese of South Carolina,

July 14, 2012

Lawrence writes to South Carolina

The 77th General Convention has endorsed sexual, liturgical and doctrinal anarchy, the Bishop of South Carolina declared in a letter to the diocese dated 15 July 2012.

The Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence stated the 77th General Convention that met from 5-12 July in Indianapolis had been an exercise in “incoherency”, and urged members of the Episcopal Church in his diocese to pray for discernment as to God’s will for the church in the coming days.

The 77^th General Convention has endorsed sexual, liturgical and doctrinal anarchy, the Bishop of South Carolina declared in a letter to the diocese dated 15 July 2012.

The Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence stated the 77^th General Convention that met from 5-12 July in Indianapolis had been an exercise in “incoherency”, and urged members of the Episcopal Church in his diocese to pray for discernment as to God’s will for the church in the coming days.

July 12, 2012

Bishops close "Open Table"

The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church has returned Resolution C029 “Access to Holy Baptism and Holy Communion” to the House of Deputies, removing language from the resolution that would permit clergy to omit out of pastoral considerations the requirement that those who partake of the Body and Blood of Christ at the Eucharist be baptized.

Two resolutions seeking to remove the canonical requirement of baptism being a precondition for receiving Holy Communion and a call to study the question of Baptism and Eucharistic hospitality were presented to the 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis from 5-12 July 2012.

July 12, 2012

Indianapolis Statement given to the House of Deputies

The Indianapolis Statement dissenting from the authorization of gay blessings has been delivered to the House of Deputies of the 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis.

Shortly after the start of the final legislative session on 12 July 2012 the Rev. Canon Neal Michell, Deputy from Dallas, rose on a point of personal privilege and read the Indianapolis Statement – the document presented to the House of Bishops on 11 July by Bishop Michael D. Smith of North Dakota, and gave voice to his dismay.

The Indianapolis Statement dissenting from the authorization of gay blessings has been delivered to the House of Deputies of the 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis.

July 12, 2012

Indianapolis Statement given to the House of Deputies

The Indianapolis Statement dissenting from the authorization of gay blessings has been delivered to the House of Deputies of the 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis.

July 11, 2012

12 bishops say no to gay blessings

A coalition of conservative and moderate bishops attending the 77th General Convention has released a statement denouncing the passage of Resolution A059: "Authorize Liturgical Resources for Blessing Same-Sex Relationships."

The "Indianapolis Statement" joins declarations by the bishops and deputations of South Carolina and Central Florida in rejecting the authorization of provisional local rites for gay blessings as being contrary to Scripture, the Prayer Book, the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, and the undivided theological, pastoral and moral witness of the universal church for the past 2000 years.

July 11, 2012

Less guns more butter in TEC's new budget

An austerity budget that its proponents say will foster growth and renewal for the Episcopal Church will be taken up for debate today at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church meeting from 5-12 July in Indianapolis.

The “Five Marks of Mission” budget represents a compromise between the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Spending priorities and cuts advocated in both proposals have found their way into the final $113,709,150 three-year budget.

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The funds set aside for the church’s legal battles have also been reduced. The Title IV budget – funds used in disciplinary proceedings – have been cut from $1.069 million in the 2010-2012 budget to $820,000 in the current budget. Litigation expenses for the battles with breakaway dioceses and congregations have also been reduced. According to the draft, $3,115,190 was spent in the last triennium on lawsuits, while only $2 million has been budgeted for the next three years.

July 11, 2012

South Carolina not seceding from the Episcopal Church

The Bishop of South Carolina is not leaving the Episcopal Church, but has withdrawn from the 77th General Convention meeting in Indianapolis out of pastoral concern and respect for the members of his diocesan deputation and over his personal disquiet over the church’s authorization of gay blessings.

On 11 July 2012 the Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence said, “I am not leaving the Episcopal Church, but need to differentiate myself” from the actions taken this week by the General Convention, he told Anglican Ink.

July 9, 2012

Show’s over -- No censure for Fort Worth 9

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.

July 7, 2012

Article X rule may block gay marriage for Episcopalians

Questions over Prayer Book revision and parliamentary procedure were raised by members of the House of Bishops on the morning of the 3rd legislative day at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting 5-12 July 2012 in Indianapolis.

On 7 July 2012 the Bishop of Arkansas raised the question of special voting procedures under Article X of the Constitution of the Episcopal Church in response to a resolution dealing with lectionary reform. However, his query as to what constitutes a majority in the House of Bishops under Article X of the Constitution has a direct bearing on the Resolution A049: “Authorize Liturgical Resources for Blessing Same-Gender Relationships”. The inability to muster a majority under the Article X voting rules makes it likely that the trial rites for the blessing of same sex unions will fail to pass this General Convention.

July 6, 2012

Episcopal Church deputies vote to sell Church HQ at 815 Second Avenue

Friction over shares of a shrinking financial pie has animated the opening days of the 77th General Convention, meeting 5-12 July 2012 in Indianapolis. The House of Deputies has voted to sell the church’s national headquarters at 815 Second Avenue in New York City, while deputies have protested proposed cuts in funding for favored projects.

While the Church’s Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) has yet to submit a final budget to convention for approval, competing interest groups have sought to preserve their share of the church pie.

Friction over shares of a shrinking financial pie has animated the opening days of the 77th General Convention, meeting 5-12 July 2012 in Indianapolis. The House of Deputies has called for the sale of the church’s national headquarters at 815 Second Avenue in New York City, while deputies have protested proposed cuts in funding for favored projects.

July 6, 2012

Show trial set for 9 bishops

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.

May 31, 2012

TEC wars claim another casualty

The Episcopal Church’s political wars have claimed their highest profile casualty. The President of the House of Deputies has announced that she will not seek reelection at this summer’s General Convention in Indianapolis.

In a statement released on 23 May 2012, President Bonnie Anderson said that after serving as president of the House of Deputies – one of the two co-leaders of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church – since 2006, she wanted to “to spend more time with my family.”

While Mrs. Anderson’s decision to step down has been couched in personal terms – many church watchers see her exit as the end move in the political battle between the presiding bishop and the president of the House of Deputies. Declining income and membership, a bloated bureaucracy and committee structure and a clash of ecclesiological visions has prompted bitter in-fighting in the higher echelons of the church.