LAT: (Episcopal) Parishes Split Off (from national church) Over Gay Issues

[DeepModem Mom]

Parishes Split Off Over Gay Issues
Two congregations in the Southland leave the national Episcopal Church. The L.A. bishop is caught by surprise.

By Larry B. Stammer, Times Staff Writer


Two Southern California Episcopal parishes announced Tuesday that they had broken with the national church over the issue of homosexuality, placing themselves under the jurisdiction of a conservative Anglican bishop from Africa.

The announcement by All Saints Church in Long Beach and St. James Church in Newport Beach escalated a confrontation in the Episcopal Church over the role of gay clergy and the interpretation of Scripture.

Conservative leaders in Washington and South Carolina said Tuesday that the Southern California developments had broad implications...."It's only the beginning," said the Rev. Canon Kendall Harmon, a theologian in the Diocese of South Carolina who has frequently defended the cause of "biblically orthodox" Episcopalians.

In Washington, Cynthia Brust of the conservative American Anglican Council estimated that 45 to 50 and perhaps as many as 100 Episcopal parishes nationally had left the church in one way or the other. There are 7,305 parishes in the United States.

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which claims 77 million members. Debates over homosexuality have increasingly split the communion, with many churches in the United States and Western Europe accepting gay clergy and same-sex weddings, while churches in Asia and Africa uphold the authority of biblical verses that condemn homosexual relations....

***

The split is the latest development in a widening theological fight that opened last year after the Episcopal Church's highest legislative body approved the ordination of an openly gay priest as bishop of New Hampshire. At the same time, the church's General Convention gave tacit approval for local bishops to authorize blessings of same-sex unions....


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-episcopal18aug18,1,5262556.story?coll=la-home-local

[roguevalley]

1. amazing. hardly Christ-like now is it? But then, so few are concerned with

what he wanted, what he did, what he did and why anymore, are they?

[uptown ruler]

2. well...

in many cases, the parishes are not allowed to keep the property (church, grounds, schools, offices) because these are owned by the regional church organizations.

the episcopal church has split before: once when women were allowed to become ministers and once when the prayer book was changed. it will survive; however, many of those groups who left during the latter two splits have not.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Church buildings and property are an issue -- from the article:

"The latest move could lead to a legal battle, including a dispute over who owns the church buildings and property — the parishes themselves or the diocese."

[annabanana]

11. I believe that the Diocese

retain ownership of the property. These aren't Congregationalists you know!

[ablbodyed]

4. Let 'em go>>>>

They're bigots, hiding their moral cowardice behind the bible. I used to be an e-piss-copalian, and this does not surprise me a bit. The legal battle over the buildings is typical. Organized religion is ALWAYSALWAYSALWAYSALWAYS more concerned with the physical aspects of the situation and their own remuneration than with the spiritual and emotional well-being of their members. The parish I was a tithing member of (and to be fair, I have no idea about subsequent events) paid over 65% of its budget to the priest; another 35% for upkeep. This left precious little for good works. Oh, they talked about it but never did anything. The slut priest even threatened to leave if she didn't get more. Oh, and they had enough to repaint the church, and to use gilt (and guilt) lavishly. Selfish fools.

[noonwitch]

7. I agree, let them go

If they want to hang a big "Straight People Only" sign on their church, let them do it without the sanction of the denomination.

I wonder if they will also now ban other people who violate the old testament rules? Will they forbid urban rape victims who didn't scream while they were being raped? Deuteronomy states that those women should be stoned. Can men with deformed genitalia be ordained as priests? That's a violation of the law in Leviticus. Every man who has sex with a menstruating woman is unclean-he's unclean if he sits on a chair she just sat on!

They are picking and choosing who is a bigger sinner, which is just plain silly. There are lots of churches gay people can be comfortable in-Unity, UU, UCC, UMC(even though they have issues, they are at least trying to work out the issue and there is a base of liberals who want to ordain gays and have gay weddings).

[realFedUp]

9. The vote of the parishioners was not large

Each had a 12 member vestry...not terribly large
in itself that includes the Wardens and the vote
within the parish was in the low 100's. I have
to think that gays and straights together have
left these churches because of their narrow minds.

This will be an interesting case to watch in legal
terms....

[JerseygirlCT]

17. Yes, it's important to remember that

it's not just gay church members who are affected by this, and who are acting on it.

My congregation has gained several families since Gene Robinson was made a bishop. (We have also lost a few, to be honest...). There are people there who cannot live with the idea, but there are also those out there -- gay and straight -- who feel strongly about human rights in the church, and will enthusiastically support open and affirming congregations!

[realFedUp]

10. Don't paint with a broad brush

There are Episcopalian churches and then there
are Episcopalian churches...there's quite a split
nationally.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[pelagius]

15. Censored

My response to #4, in which a rude, sexist slur is made against a minister of my church has been removed by the moderator.

In my removed post, I made a point that the Episcopal Church is an inclusive denomination -- one of the most inclusive of any major Christian Church, in fact -- and responded to the poster's assertion that an "e-piss-copalian" "slut priest" was in it for the money in an over-the-top parody of his scurrilous tone.

My apolgies to the irony-impaired.

[JerseygirlCT]

18. You sound very angry -

and I'm sorry your experience was so bad.

But the truth is that organized religion is not always evil. As with any other group of people, the organization is made of individuals. Some try to use religion to their own ends. Others have done great good because of the influence of their religion -- even an organized one!

One thing I like about the Episcopal church is the amount of control the individual parishioners have over the financial dealings of their parish -- it's all pretty open in my experience, and there's lots of room for anyone's voice to be heard. But I will admit, my experience as an Episcopalian is limited to one parish.

[Tarheelhombre]

5. Time to part ways

If those who are wedded to bigotry and prejudice just can't stand it any longer, I say "so long." Besides, that means there will be less votes against equality and inclusion within the church.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Works both ways, too...

It's time for those who are members of persistently bigoted sects to split.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Good Riddance, I think

Let them marginalize themselves.

[realFedUp]

12. Letter from Bishop Bruno to parishioners

A Pastoral Letter from the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles

This letter shall be read at every service in all churches of this diocese and made available to all members of our congregations this Sunday, August 22, 2004.

August 17, 2004

To my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the Diocese of Los Angeles:

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus. You may already have heard that two congregations in this Diocese, St. James’ Episcopal Church in Newport Beach and All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Long Beach, have informed me of the decisions made by their rectors, wardens and vestries to leave the Episcopal Church and to join the Diocese of Luwero in the Anglican Province of Uganda, and that clergy of these churches were now under the bishop of that diocese. The rectors of these congregations appeared unexpectedly, and without an appointment, at the Cathedral Center on Tuesday morning, August 17, and delivered written notice of their actions. They also left a voice-mail message for me and seem to have believed that this served as sufficient communication with me.

The Reverends Praveen Bunyan, William Thompson and Richard Menees, priests, and the Rev. Kathleen Adams, deacon, all of whom are clergy of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and canonically resident in this Diocese, have therefore abandoned the communion of this Church. I temporarily inhibited these clergy immediately and requested that the two rectors of the congregations meet with me to rescind their decision. They refused this invitation. Subsequently, I called for an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee and, in accordance with the canons of this church, the Standing Committee has informed me in writing that there is sufficient evidence that these clergy have abandoned the communion and I have responded by inhibiting them from the exercise of the ordained ministry. Should they wish to return to the communion of this Church during this period, a process of restoration will take place. Should they not change their minds, they will be deposed. My sincere hope for these clergy and vestries is that they will reconsider their decision and return to full communion with me, the Episcopal Church and indeed with the Anglican Communion.

All of my actions have been in consultation with the office of the Presiding Bishop, the Standing Committee and our diocesan chancellors. I have also written a letter of protest to the Bishop of the Diocese of Luwero with a copy to the Primate of the Province of Uganda. I have also asked the Presiding Bishop and the Archbishop of Canterbury to intervene in this breach of trust and authority.

I have chosen to take the extraordinary step of writing to you in a pastoral letter because of the extreme nature of the decision these congregations and clergy have made and the implications it has on our life together, not only for the Episcopal Church in the USA, but for the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Our Constitution and Canons help to bring order to our common life in the Episcopal Church. Recall that much of our current crisis arose after the General Convention of the Church last summer. The decision to assent to the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire was made, in large part, because that diocese duly elected a bishop in accordance with the canons of this Church. Both the House of Bishops and House of Deputies attested to the authority of that diocese to elect its own bishop, that it had been done appropriately and that their decision was based on the quality of Bishop Robinson’s life and experience. As a Church, we seek, whenever possible, to allow autonomy in decision-making to individual dioceses. Each Bishop in every diocese has authority over the life and work of that diocese, its congregations and clergy. The Bishop’s ministry is based in our belief that in any given place, there is one Bishop, who continues the work of the holy apostles and is the chief priest, pastor and teacher in that diocese. Priests exercise their ministry on behalf of their Bishop and only under the Bishop’s authority. No bishop outside the diocese has the jurisdiction to oversee ministry within that geographical diocese. The fact that a bishop from another autonomous church within the Anglican Communion has chosen to exercise oversight in this diocese flies in the face of our ethos as Anglicans and of the catholic unity of the Church. It is a clear statement that the Diocese of Luwero and its Bishop and the Province of Uganda and its Primate have broken with the established historic authority of the Anglican Communion.

This is all the more troubling because for some time now an international commission of the Anglican Communion, established by the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been hard at work attempting to respond pastorally to some of the concerns of more conservative members of the Communion who are troubled by the decisions of our last General Convention and by the blessing of same-sex unions taking place in the Church in Canada. The final report of this commission is due out in approximately one month. How disappointing that our congregations would make such a decision at such an inopportune time. Moreover, I have attempted to honor the congregations and clergy who have dissented from the decisions of General Convention and even offered them the oversight of a bishop of our Church whose opinions on these issues are more in keeping with theirs. The rectors of these congregations did not avail themselves of this opportunity and even up to two weeks ago affirmed their love and loyalty to me as their Bishop. How distressing their recent decision has been to me.

It is both my pastoral and fiduciary responsibility as your Bishop, in concert with the Standing Committee, to protect and preserve the properties of these congregations as part of the Diocese of Los Angeles. The consecrated buildings of each of our congregations rightfully belong to the Episcopal Church in this Diocese and in the USA. I also have a pastoral responsibility to all those of Christ’s flock entrusted to my care and am developing plans for the pastoral care of those members of our Church in these congregations who seek to maintain their loyalty to this Church.

Perhaps more than any other time I have felt that I am not alone through this troubling time, not only because similar events have been taking place in other parts of our Church, but principally because I have been contacted by our Presiding Bishop’s office and by many other bishops in our Church bringing words of encouragement and support, along with the other bishops in our diocese with whom I have been in contact. Yet even more than these, the messages of your prayers and love from around the Diocese have heartened me. I cannot thank you enough.

Finally, apart from the issue of sexuality, these clergy have also framed their leaving in terms I find unfair and false. They have stated that this Church is not orthodox biblically or theologically. How wrong they are. I want you to know as your Bishop that I continue to uphold the vows I made on the day of my consecration “to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church.” I believe today as I did when I was first ordained that the Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation. Yet I will not let the Holy Scriptures be compromised by those who seek to make their literalist and simplistic interpretation the only legitimate one. Further, I uphold the orthodox faith given to us by the apostles in all the essentials laid down in the historic creeds of the Church. In these necessary things there must be unity of faith, but in other things there may be diversity within this roomy house we call the Anglican Communion. Please join with me at this time as you are gathered at the Lord’s Table in praying for these congregations, our Diocese, and for the whole Church. Let us pray:

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[JerseygirlCT]

16. Good for him - great letter -m

thank you for sharing this!

I think the Episcopal church will weather this storm in good shape. In fact, the uproar (such as it is) will likely do as much to continue the education and enlightenment of those still part of the church and the Anglican communion as a whole.

I'm sad that some feel that the Episcopal church doesn't represent their views, but I do pray they'll see the light...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. So approximately 1/73 of the parishes want to split off

Sad. But the rest of us will do fine.

[yardwork]

19. Exactly. I think many of the posters here are missing the point

A tiny minority of Episcopalians have left the Church because it has become more inclusive toward GLBT people. The vast majority of Episcopalians have stayed, and many of them are very happy with the change. The glass is much more than half full and that is worth celebrating.

There is still a long way to go but I remember being the first female acolyte in my Episcopal parish not so long ago, in 1977. There is a steady movement toward becoming more inclusive, and the parishioners who make that happen deserve praise and support.