Seven parishes to split from Central Florida?
Bishop to send pastoral letter to diocese
This is going around the listservs. Susan Shannon is high priestess to the AAC/Network/CCP.
The list is what one might suspect. Interestingly, only seven parishes are listed - not 17, as per earlier speculations. There could be a few more to jump ship, who knows, but this indicates the jumpers haven't been able to drum up that much support. Remember, at one time they planned to take the whole diocese out of the church. I recognize most of these rectors as the most vocal in spewing malcontentment against TEC, so these parishes come as no surprise.
Bishop John W. Howe sent out a notice to clergy yesterday:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I will be sending you a Pastoral Letter tomorrow, with the request that the rectors and vicars on this list either read or otherwise distribute it to your congregations on Sunday. It outlines where I think we may go from here, following yesterday's meeting at Diocesan House. I will want to discuss all of this with you at our Clergy Conference this coming week. These proposals will not be finalized until after that discussion. I welcome your comments and suggestions, as well as those of the members of your congregations, either shared with you or with me, directly.
Warmest regards in our Lord,
The Right Rev. John W. Howe
Episcopal Bishop of Central Florida
Here's the Shannon e-mail:
From: "Susan Shannon"
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:09:47 -0400
On Thursday, October 18, 2007, the Rectors and Senior Wardens of seven parishes of the Diocese of Central Florida and two church planters met with Bishop John W. Howe and representatives of the Diocese to discuss the possible scenarios by which all or part of the congregations may disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church.
Each parish will now enter a process of conversation and negotiation with the Diocese based on its particular circumstances. Bishop Howe reiterated his commitment to provide pastoral care both to those who leave and to those who wish to remain.
All parties agreed to enter into these negotiations in good faith using Biblical principles in an effort to avoid litigation and scandal to the Church of Christ .
The parishes are:
Cocoa , Gloria Dei Church
The Reverend Paul Young, Rector
Frank Travassos, Senior Warden
Crystal River , St. Anne�s Church
The Reverend Kevin Holsapple, Rector
Victor Hernandez, Senior Warden
Maitland, Church of the Good Shepherd
The Reverend John P. Nyhan, Rector
George C. Madill, Senior Warden
Mount Dora , St. Edward�s Church
The Reverend Woodleigh Volland, Rector
Charles Cronebaugh, Senior Warden
Ocala , Grace Church
The Reverend Donald J. Curran, Jr., Rector
Dr. Jim Wilkerson, Senior Warden
Vero Beach , Trinity Church
The Reverend D. Lorne Coyle, Rector
Mrs. Nancy N. Reichardt, Senior Warden
Winter Haven , Holy Cross Church
The Reverend Andrew S. Doan, Rector
Bill Johnson, Senior Warden
The church planters are from:
Lake Nona , St. Philip�s
The Reverend Paul Jagoe, Church Planter
Melinda Tedder, Lay Representative
Poinciana, St. Nicholas
The Reverend Geoffrey Boland, Church Planter
Charles Secord, Lay Representative
9 comments:
Susan Shannon is not the "high priestess" of anything, Pat. And you should be ashamed of yourself! She's the Communication Director of CFLAAC and so, it was her job to write out the announcment for distribution. And as far as "malcontents" go, you could hardly label any one of these parishes or plants as that, and the priests in those churches are some of the most godly men you could ever hope to meet. If you are concerned about the numbers, also, please get your facts straight. Bishop Howe has said the parishes choosing to leave are not all leaving at the same time, and your mole Ernie Bennett has noted, in an interview in this month's Episcopalian, that 20 are leaving. Just not all at the same time. And there will be more after that. It's not that anyone wants to leave the diocese: it's that this is time to leave liberal TEC, and not everyone is leaving on the same schedule, or to the same place. So do your homework.
You say to-may-toes, I say to-mah-toes! Heh.
" Cocoa , Gloria Dei Church"
This is where the late Jeffrey Kittredge was? It's really weird. He was the vicar, then first rector, of the church where I grew up. (My family was a founding member of the congregation.) He and his wife, Sylvia, were so important in my formation and yet by the time I wrote them about my ordination to the priesthood I think they had moved to a place where it appeared to me that they didn't approve of women's ordination because I never heard back from them. It was sad because they had been so, so influential in my life. Then, in a moment of tragic (divine) irony, he died from ALS (I would never wish that on anyone) on my priesthood ordination anniversary. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. There's a lot more history at least from the northern end of things but I am sorry for where things are going.
Don Curran will probably burn down Grace Church before he let's those sinner take over control of it.
I don't think I ever met anyone so vindictive as Don Curran.
Caminante, I'm sorry to hear about your experience. These things are painful. Some former "friends" now turn away from me because of my moderate/liberal "stance."
David, you're probably right, from what I read. Thankfully, I don't know Don Curran.
I don't know Canon Ernie Bennett, either, but from what I know about him, he's a deeply spiritual person who walks the path of Christ, and he ain't nobody's mole. SHAME on you, Anon!
Pat, the Lakeland Two are inviting T19 readers to scrutinze this thread. So get ready for the shark attacks and the orgies of mean-spirited vindictiveness -- after all, that's what being Network is all about, isn't it?
As you can see, no invasion. But what bothered us especially were four things in this thread.
1. The calling of Susan Shannon "high priestess". That was a joint press release. And we didn't see it put up on the Diocesean website, not the letter from +Howe, nor the +ABC's letter. I feel that calling Susan "high priestess" was meant to be demeaning, and that is not respecting the dignity of every human being. As much as we don't care for +KJS for many reasons, we try to honor the position and we try not to attack her personally. When we disagree with what she says and does, we try to do it nicely. And when we step out of line, we try to correct and apologize quickly. we tend not to post as much because of our frustrations have gotten the better of us.
2. The comment about Don Curran+
burning his church down. That definitely doesn't respect Don's and is borderline if not outright slanderous. That St. Pat agreed made it worse. Even worse for me of the L2, is the fact that my church (in +Swing's diocese) was threatened when my priest was fighting for orthodoxy with "Wooden churches burn." At a diocesan event. Perhaps you can understand why that would make me less trusting of "the other side". This did not respect the dignity of the priest, any of the parishoners, nor God. To be easy and quick to say that Curran+ would burn the church down can say much about the sayer. Would you burn it down to keep him from having it? Some would.
3. We don't feel that Anonymous#1 should have labeled Ernie Bennett+ "your mole", but our personal experience with Bennett+ doesn't fall within your comments here or previously. We've read other comments from you where the overall feeling is that we orthodox "malcontents" should be thrown out the door as trash. And through our travels, there are people who would like just that. It is why I was amazed to hear ACC David Anderson vocalize what we L2 have concluded ourselves: that it isn't just the silence of the orthodox that is sought, but our annihilation. These comments above have that feel, right or wrong.
4. While Charlotte is sweet to give you a heads-up, what she wrote is sad but assumes and implies to the point of slander.
To be very honest, to read comments listed above and those on sites like Fr. Jake's, well, it makes us stop wanting to find solutions and just head for the door and we fully understand why others have. Jesus's prayer of "Father, make them one" just flies out the window.
To us L2, the shark attack had already occurred. That was why we suggested to others to look. To be aware of how some reappraisers think. Are there some on the reasserter blogs that need to have their keyboards taken away and put in time-out? Yes. We've all been there. I also think we all are just plain tired and cranky.
We're here trying to understand the other half of this divide. We can not find solutions otherwise. We need to have some respect on both sides in order to get there. To follow the baptismal vows of respecting others means everyone, including us orthodox.
We have a very Godly priest whose mind and heart are on serving God. He's not one of the 20. We like the orthodox elements of being Episcopalian/Anglican. It is what I personally have experienced and known for over 44 years, over 2/3's of that in Cent. FL. So being told we don't want you only your property really hurts.
We have thought there was room for finding a compromise that meets the needs of both sides. Is that still possible? That we may all be "one"?
We don't usually write much, but felt an explanation would be helpful.
We wish you well and pray that God will bless you (and us) and that we all will hear loudly and obey His will, even when we don't like it!
The Lakeland Two
Well, well, well, David G.,
I do know Father Don Curran. In fact I just left the inagural services of Christ The King Anglican Church, which held three services this morning, attended by about the same number who have been attending three services at Grace Episcopal Church prior to the "disaffiliation" last Sunday afternoon.
I drive by Grace on my way from my office to my home and was very pleased to see about 60-70 cars in the parking lot and on the street and, to your horror, david G . . . the building is still standing; Father Don did not burn it down. He has wished them nothing but success.
We who left, left with a fat zero in our bank account, no furniture, no computers, no equipment, no chairs or pews -- nothing except our faith.
And, we quickly found that God may not be there when you want him, but He is always there when you need him -- as Dottie Peoples sings -- An On Time God -- will provide: and did he ever provide!!!!
A charasmatic church just north of Ocala quickly heard of our need for a home (seriously, within three hours) and God led them to provide Christ The King Anglican a complete Sanctuary to seat 300, a complete full Sunday School Department, and a complete church office building -- all within 3 hours after the door had been closed to sharing workship services and times at Grace.
The leadership that has guided Grace for the 40 years I have been a member is now largely all gone, and we left our friends with more than $300,000 in cash in the Grace bank account, plus additional restricted funds, and $3 million in property.
Understand, Grace was not built by ECUSA or the Diocese: not one dime has ever come from outside Grace and the Ocala community to build those facilities; they were funded by members of Grace and dedicated to Christ, our Savior. And behold, Father Don and his flock left them behind! White, proud and with 153 years of history and heritage.
And on January 24, when Christ The King was formed, the spirit of the Lord filled that sanctuary like no other time in the 40 years I have been there. It was powerful, and humbling to watch in His presence!
David G., I wish you would have been there with us!
In addition to the property and money, we leave our friends and partners in Christ with our prayers and hopes for their happiness and success.
For years Grace has been in the top five percent of Sunday attendance among all Episcopal Churches (ECUSA statistics, not mine). And wouldn't it be wonderful for them to rebuild their membership to remain in such a faithful, strong position? I think so, and I wish them well and will continue to pray for them.
The people who stayed at Grace love the Lord; Some have not realized the fight for ECUSA has been lost, others do not care, they are just comfortable in that wonderful, wonderful building (I know that feeling!). Others (a small group) do agree with 815 and the way they now intrepret Scripture: "Christ is one way to Salvation", as the presiding Bishop says she now believes.
If you cared to find facts before writing, you would have ben here for the last eight years while Father Don spent his time and the money of the Diocese (Grace paid not a dime of his travels and expenses, it was all funded by the Diocese) in the effort to save ECUSA. This was not just his battle, it was a battle endorsed and funded by the whole diocese, obviously concurred in by Bishop Howe, who spoke last week at Father Don's tenth anniversary as Grace's Rector, and his retirement party all rolled into one.
From your profile, it appears you were but a teenager when the battle over the faith in ECUSA started, and Grace found it's way clear (I made the motion) more than 30 years ago to shut off their funds. It may surprise you to find that many, perhaps a majority of churches in your Diocese (I'm gone so it is no longer mine) followed our lead and cut ECUSA off.
This was long before the issue of Bishop Robinson, so don't try to claim that canard is the reason we and others have left.
Unfortunately, 815 has not gotten the message, and at the present rate, ECUSA will be below one million members within two or three more years.
When I joined the Episcopal Church about 40 years ago this month, the national figures claimed 4 million members. Today, they claim about 1.3 million and lost 105,000 in 2003-2004-2005. As a businessman for 40 years, those kind of losses would make me want to see why.
Faithful people like Father Don have been trying to tell ECUSA for years. Their hearts are hardened and will not hear.
And to those who say we are just following Father Don, you are wrong. Were it not for the school and my grandchildren, I would have gone long ago. As part of the agreement under which we have left, Grace Day School is no longer part of Grace Episcopal Church or the Episcopal Diocese, and is a stand alone corporation. As such 815 can not affect the Gospel that is taught, now or in the future, so my grandchildren are safe from heresy, and it was time for me to go.
I am not a saint, only a Sinner Saved By Grace as George Yonce used to sing, but as an old Baptist, I know The Word when I hear it, and I was ready to leave until Bob Smith and Don Curran came to Ocala. Father Bob was called home far too young, but we have had Father Don for ten years, and he does preach a good sermon and tries to live by what he preaches.
My prayers are with you David G., and may God continue to bless Christ The King Anglican Church of Ocala. He's sure provided us one whale of a trip so far!
God Bless -- pwf
Dear David G.
We have worshipped with Fr. Don Curran for five years and we have never heard from him the concept of burning any thing, least of all his beloved Grace Church.
We believe that such an evil idea is a product of your mind or some one associated with you.
We will pray for you so the Lord will help you to not have such ideas.
Bernardo and Gigi Vergara,Ocala,FL
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