Diocese of Quincy, Illinois, realigns with Southern Cone
The third diocese has departed from TEC. Here is the press release published on TitusOneNine:
The Annual Synod of the Diocese of Quincy’s meeting November 7-8 in Quincy, Illinois, has voted by strong margins to realign itself with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, breaking its ties with The Episcopal Church in the US. On two key votes more than ¾ of the clergy and lay deputies voted in favor of the realignment.The move came after several years of prayer and discernment about the diocese’s relationship with The Episcopal Church. Many in the Quincy Diocese, both clergy and lay people, have been at odds with the national leadership and other dioceses over the authority of the Bible, church order and discipline, and the church’s moral standards and teaching on Christian marriage.On the vote to disaffiliate from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, 75% of the clergy and 82% of the lay deputies voted in favor. On the subsequent vote to realign the diocese with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone the vote in favor was 92% in the clergy order and 87% in the lay order.
Presiding Bishop Schori of TEC issued this statement, in-keeping with her oft-repeated (and in terms of the Constitution and Canons of TEC, groundless) assertion that "individuals may leave but dioceses and parishes cannot":
We lament the departure from The Episcopal Church of some individuals in southern Illinois. The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy remains, albeit with fewer members, and we are working to assist in the reorganization of diocesan affairs. We assure all, both Episcopalians and former Episcopalians, and members of their surrounding communities, of our prayers for clarity and charity in their spiritual journeys. May all be reminded that the gospel work of healing this world will take the best efforts of every person of faith.
The Annual Synod of the Diocese of Quincy’s meeting November 7-8 in Quincy, Illinois, has voted by strong margins to realign itself with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, breaking its ties with The Episcopal Church in the US. On two key votes more than ¾ of the clergy and lay deputies voted in favor of the realignment.The move came after several years of prayer and discernment about the diocese’s relationship with The Episcopal Church. Many in the Quincy Diocese, both clergy and lay people, have been at odds with the national leadership and other dioceses over the authority of the Bible, church order and discipline, and the church’s moral standards and teaching on Christian marriage.On the vote to disaffiliate from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, 75% of the clergy and 82% of the lay deputies voted in favor. On the subsequent vote to realign the diocese with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone the vote in favor was 92% in the clergy order and 87% in the lay order.
Presiding Bishop Schori of TEC issued this statement, in-keeping with her oft-repeated (and in terms of the Constitution and Canons of TEC, groundless) assertion that "individuals may leave but dioceses and parishes cannot":
We lament the departure from The Episcopal Church of some individuals in southern Illinois. The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy remains, albeit with fewer members, and we are working to assist in the reorganization of diocesan affairs. We assure all, both Episcopalians and former Episcopalians, and members of their surrounding communities, of our prayers for clarity and charity in their spiritual journeys. May all be reminded that the gospel work of healing this world will take the best efforts of every person of faith.
posted by Texanglican (R.W. Foster+) | 10:17 PM
8 Comments:
The BP's assertion is not "groundless" and neither was her statement that people can leave but a diocese cannot.
Boo to you for continuing to insist otherwise.
The Episcopal Church nurtured you, supported you, loved you, prayed for you, gave you a job when you were called and now all you want to do is "slap" her in the face.
You have been unkind in this blog about Episcopalians and unbecoming in your remarks about those you disagree with but I am sure you have continued to accept a salary for your work as an Episcopal priest, will leave with a vested pension as apparently that is not tainted enough for you to leave behind. You justify your "taking" of property as a right because it belongs to the people. The people who knew they were giving to an Episcopal church and did so freely. Just like you who knew you were taking a vow as an Episcopal priest. No one made them and no one made you.
I pray that one day you will realize that God does not exclude and neither should you.
When I said that PB Schori's claim is groundless I meant it literally. Please cite chapter and verse from the Constitution and Canons to prove me wrong. I do not think it is there. 815 made this claim up out of thin air just a few years ago. It is simply not in the C & C.
And no, I am not vested in the pension plan. I want nothing at all from the national Episcopal church. I only ask that it let us depart in peace.
And please show me how I have been unkind to people who want to stay in the TEC on this blog. I have tried hard not to engage in ad hominem attacks. I have said only what I believe to be verifyable facts about the postitions of PB Schori and the "Steering Committee" and its plans here, so that people will be informed as they make their decisions in the near future. I will be happy for the TEC loyalists to thrive after we depart from TEC next week.
I only ask that they not attack us and try to take our churches from us in law courts in the coming months. Let us be charitable toward one another and leave each other alone to do as conscience dictates! Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. I do not understand where your vitriol toward me is comign from, Anon. I have tried not to have any toward you.
If it is really your wish to leave the Episcopal Church, you must realize that leaving the buildings that could be proven in court to belong to her could become a reality for you also. It is time to stop being angry about that and go and do God's work, with or without a building, just like the Episcopalians are planning to do in Fort Worth after November
15th. If you get rid of your anger I think you will be able to get a whole lot more done than if you hang on to it. Do not blame your problems on the Episcopalians, they are trying to move on just as you are trying to move on. Would you entertain a lawsuit if your congregation votes to remain in TEC (because you thought the law was on your side) even though you want to join the Southern Cone? Now you see what I mean..difficult choices are going to be made in the near future by people on both sides. We are all trying to get through a difficult situation, no matter what side we are on. We may not be friends, but we can sure not make fools of ourselves by name-calling and saying things we will regret later when our comrades hear what we have said to each other. "What was whispered in secret will be shouted from the rooftops," and maybe even will be exposed in the courtroom. We must be civil.
I couldn't agree more. That is why I do my dead-level best not to do anything that could be considered "name calling" on this blog. [Commenters here who think my blog is "mean-spirited" should look around the the blogosphere a bit. Texanglican is a pussycat compared to most bloggers on either side of the aisle! :-)]
Do please remember though, anon, that just walking away from buildings isn't always an option. If it was just a parish church at issue in my case perhaps "just walking away" might be thought I could entertain. Parishes can worship in school gyms if necessary.
Unfortunately the loss of my school building would close my school immediately. My flock is primarily my kids at school, and if the soon-to-be-formed TEC loyalist "diocese of FW" should win their lawsuit for the cathedral and its property St Vincent's School closes the next day and my flock scatters. I am confident on legal grounds that we will win in court if it comes to that (I pray it never does), but in my case as chaplain of St Vincent's School "just walking away" and abandoning the school's property without doing all I can to insure that it stays in the same hands that have been using it for fruitful ministry for 20 years just isn't an option. It is hard not to be greatly displeased (and yes, sometimes angry) at the thought the Steering Committee has apparently already targeted my school's grounds for its first round of lawsuits. I try to fight that anger (I really do), but for the moment the best I can sometimes do is just remain civil in the way I express my displeasure. I hope you can understand that.
Let's hope wiser heads prevail and we go our separate ways with the property we have each long been using to do our ministries. Lawsuits will not in any way serve Christ.
Thanks for stopping by. God bless.
The loss of the school?
So be it. Iker made the choice to leave, and thus children may suffer the consequence of Iker's actions.
Nice! (saracasm)
Anon, you are acting like the filing of TEC's lawsuits is the result of some inevitable law of nature. They could simply chose to follow the injunctions of 1 Cor 6:7, forego their lawsuits and take part in the negotiated settlement plan our diocese has put into place to let "loyalist" parishes depart from us with their property. We could each follow our consciences without ministries being jeopardized.
If things go on with the course that seems to be planned by PB Schori and the Steering Committee, a great deal of money will be wasted on lawyers and in the end I am confident the status quo will be maintained. What a waste. Why can we not simply part with a handshake and be done with it. There is nothing to be gained by TEC's scortched earth approach. Even if they happened to win their suits (very unlikely in our case) TEC's loyalist diocese would have to sell all those properties immediately at bargain basement rates. In the case of our $2 million dollar mortgage on the middle school building, I suppose they would simply let the bank forclose on property they spent so much money to win by suing other Christians. How can they possibly think this is the right course of action?
Texanglican,
I hate to say it, but I am extremely pleased with the actions of you and your Diocese. I was raised in an Episcopalian church, as a small child, but am currently a member of an evangelical church in the Des Moines, IA area.
My reading and understanding of the Bible leaves me little room but to believe that the Episcopal Church has long strayed from its following of Christ, and that is the priority that a believer and follower of Christ should have. Jesus tells us in the book of John, that if we love him, we will do as he says, and the Episcopal denomination had drastically strayed from that.
I was disheartened to read in the news today that several courts have found in favor of the Episcopal Church in regards to property, and belongings. I still believe that what you are doing, as well as what Bishop Iker in Fort Worth, TX is doing is to the glory of Jesus Christ. One thing that I have learned both from reading the Bible, and in real life, is that God takes care of his children, so this may well be his opportunity to show the United States, as well as the Episcopal Church what he will do for those who follow him.
(I would love to see him take and raise a church and group of believers from the ground and make a mighty church out of them in southern Illinois, when they start from nothing but a firm belief that Christ is there leader and Lord, and nothing else. What kind of testimony would that be?)
You’re in my prayers and thoughts. I am so proud of you and your parish for all that you are doing, and even though I am not there in person to encourage, support, and comfort you, know that I am doing it from here, and you are deeply in my prayers.
Sincerely,
Chris
YOU are the ones LEAVING the Episcopal Church in which you grew up (unless you came into the Church as part of your social--and hopefully spiritual--ascension).
If YOU want to leave, you can leave; you have not right to TAKE from the Church you reject!
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