Opinions on GenCon06 in the Diocese of Dallas

In his report to their recent diocesan convention on their just-concluded on-line "listening process" Bishop Stanton of Dallas announced some very interesting findings. Among these is the following:

In the Online Survey [of congregational leaders], 30% of the leaders of our congregations said they favored removal of the name “Episcopal” from their signs, letterheads, and literature. This matter was brought up in some discussions, but not many. I would not have guessed that this action, certainly a form of disassociation, would have been supported by so many. But I hasten to add that it is not possible to conclude that all of these would favor “leaving” the Episcopal Church even so. In that same survey, about half of all respondents declared their preference for realigning with the Anglican Communion. Only a third said they would prefer to remain with the Episcopal Church. About 15% were unsure.

My impression is that congregational leaders in the diocese of Fort Worth, while not unanimous in their opinions, are more united in defense of orthodoxy than the leaders of Dallas. I suspect that 75% or more of our congregational leaders would favor "realigning with the Anglican Communion" rather than remaining within the Episcopal church any longer. Only a handful of Fort Worth's parishes, I believe, would strongly oppose a move out of TEC into a new, orthodox provincial structure that is in full communion with the majority of the world's Anglicans. Of course, without a similar survey that is only a guess on my part. Our diocesan convention in a couple of weeks ought to make the feelings of the diocese clear. Some big news may come out of it!