Curious Letter from Christ Church, Plano

The huge parish (by Episcopal standards) of Christ Church, Plano, in the diocese of Dallas has issued an interesting letter today. I am not sure exactly what it means, but their rector, the Rev. David Roseberry, says in part:

As the vestry of Christ Church, we declare our intention to disassociate from ECUSA as soon as possible. We are thankful for the shepherd role of the Right Rev. James Stanton and his standing in the Anglican Communion, and we regard him as our apostolic leader.

We assure the clergy, staff and congregation of Christ Church that throughout this process we will continue to worship, teach, pray and study as we have in the past with renewed and vibrant commitment to the mission of Christ Church.

Over the next few weeks we will explore the ways that this separation will be best realized. Both the vestry and I will keep you informed and updated as needed, and you can be assured of our prayer and definite actions. We likewise would request your patience and prayers. But rest assured that our church is Anglican now… and will always be within the great historic family of the Anglican Communion.

You should know that our bishop is aware of our decision and is very supportive. As we move forward together I ask for your prayers, support and blessing on the work ahead of us.

Read the entire letter from Christ Church here.

So the good people of Christ Church are very soon to "disassociate" from ECUSA, but they seem to have the blessing of Bishop Stanton of Dallas for this action and continue to regard him as their "apostolic leader." So what does all this mean? It seems they are "Anglican," but not ECUSA, yet are still under the pastoral guidance of a bishop who remains part of ECUSA (for the present, at any rate). Very interesting times are ahead for all of us, clearly.