No waiting
Well, logic doesn't define the Network. San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, and Dallas have rejected the Episcopal Church's oversight. Marty Minns has joined the Nigerian Church, from where he can meddle in Episcopal churches with impunity.
Obviously, they were never committed to subjecting themselves to the Windsor process -- just banging TEC over the head with it.
How will the Presiding Bishop and the Archbishop respond? Will they respond?
I haven't seen or heard any comment from the Diocese of Central Florida yet. I wonder if the bishop is planning to jump ship now, or if he'll wait and see how the wind blows. Back in January, he set a special diocesan meeting in September to review General Convention.
4 comments:
Pat, I'm so sorry. It looks like your Diocese has applied for ALPO.
Well, they've all jumped ship now, Pat.
Before I start picking up the pieces,let me say: Isn't it a relief! I deleted TitusOneNine from my "favorites" list this evening, with thanksgiving, because I am never going to have to read it again to learn what my bishop is up to.
Of course, they claim they are still in the Episcopal Church, even though they want to place themselves under the chain of command of the Primate of a different church. It's kind of like saying you are still in the US Marine Corps, but you're going to start wearing the uniform and obeying the orders of the Nigerian Army, because you like the way they do things in the Nigerian Army better. Nope. Doesn't happen.
In about a week, I suppose, everyone will have figured out that "alternative primatial oversight" is a nonsense and that the (former) bishop of this Diocese has simply abandoned communion. And then we'll have to hold a Diocesan Convention to elect another bishop. The good news is that we'll get to elect a real one this time.
Thanks, both of you.
Charlotte, your Marine Corps analogy hits it exactly. They want to claim all rights as members of the Episcopal Church while they make a bid for the property, etc., and foment discord.
I would like to elect a real bishop. Reading some of the pastoral letters from bishops of other dioceses through this, and meeting another one about six weeks ago, has brought home how unpastoral this bishop and other diocesan leaders are.
Pat, here's something I just posted at Father Jake's. I'm willing to bargain in a fairly hardnosed way to get this, too. Hope it's a practical suggestion. Not sure we can get a new bishop just yet, but we can at least have some checks and balances --
Quote--
The decision to seek A(l)PO for Central Florida was taken by a very small group of very conservative committee members. There is no representation on these committees for the moderate or liberal Episcopalians in the diocese. We didn't even know the names of these committee members until yesterday; they aren't posted on the diocesan website. Yet they have put all of us in the diocese at risk.
What I'd like to see is representation for moderates and liberals at all levels of the diocesan leadership, and I'd like to see it effected as soon as possible, perhaps through a mass resignation of all current Standing Committee members, followed by a special election.
In other words, a kind of Glorious Revolution in the diocese, making it possible to introduce some checks and balances into the decision-making process.
They are needed! After reading the Guardian article, "Divine Divisions," I'm quite convinced that the decision to seek A(l)PO will prove to be disastrous for the persons who took it. If they climb down from their present position, it will be humiliating; if they do not, they will split the whole Communion, including the Church of England -- and I would not want that to be my legacy to the Church I love! If they had been able to hear the voices of dissenters, they might not have succumbed to groupthink and the excitement of the moment.
Post a Comment