The House of Bishops & Deputies listserv (the “HoB/D”), being populated as it is mainly by raving nutcases, is packed with a lot of posts that aren’t worth the effort to read. Some of the more… shall we say… “illuminating” posts come to me from various sources, and while the list owner (Louie Crew) would rather people didn’t distribute them, I’ve decided that Episcopalians are entitled to see what their bishops and deputies post to the official church forum that’s been set up for them. I realize this will rankle our Worthy Opponents, and perhaps even a few of our fellow Roistering Episcopal Adventurers.
To the former, I say: Tough.
To the latter, I say: I know priests and lay people who have been involved with the church for years, who have recently been elected as deputies to GenCon, soon afterward subscribe to the HoB/D, and are promptly appalled at what they read there. Every remotely orthodox Christian I know who sees what gets posted there says the same thing: “Do you think the average person in the pews has any idea what they’re talking about on that list?”
No, I don’t. I don’t even think the average Stand Firm reader knows the kind of 200-proof malarkey that gets posted there on a daily basis.
But they should.
So here we go.
Bishops and deputies are allowed to post directly to the list. All other subscribers - members of the list on a “read-only” basis, called “kibitzers” - who want their messages posted must know someone with posting privileges, and send their message through them.
Joan Gundersen is president of revisionist organization Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh. She chimes in via our old pal Tom Woodward on what her group is doing in the diocese:
I am posting this update on the status of things in the Diocese of Pittsburgh from kibitzer Joan Gundersen of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. She, as most know, has been very active in this process, working to honor the Constitution and Canons of TEC as well as upholding the responsibilities of her diocese under the Accession Clause in its C&C.
Tom Woodward, DRG c; CSW 09Tom, I’m afraid that those of us in Pittsburgh have been focused on the planning we need to do to get through convention, and have not been keeping people informed about the status of things in Pittsburgh. Your response about what the TEC should do, prodded me to give an update. You are welcome to share this with the whole HoB/D list.
1. Since his deposition, Bishop Duncan has been acting as a paid “consultant” to the current standing committee and has been received into the Southern Cone as a bishop; Bishop Henry Scriven also has a consulting contract since his status as Assistant Bishop ended with Bishop Duncan’s deposition. Bishop Scriven leaves for a new position with SAMS at the end of the year. There will need be no negotiation with Bishop Duncan about leaving. He has already left, and should the realignment vote pass, is expecting to be invited back by the realigned group as bishop.
2. While most of the standing committee favors realignment, we are sure that at least one member is voting against it. We also have members of diocesan council and the board of trustees who are staying. This means that we will have an unbroken chain of governance to go forward as a diocese within TEC should the realignment vote pass. It will take a short time to confirm with each member of the various governing bodies whether they have realigned or remain Episcopalians, and then our remaining member(s) of standing committee will begin appointing people to essential vacant spots. We will be able to run our own reorganizing convention. Thanks to planning by the Across the Aisle group which has brought together EVERYONE we can find who is staying (liberal, conservative, or in-between), plans for a continuing presence of TEC are well in hand. We will need to negotiate with the realigned group over access to office information and issues such as insurance. We are putting plans in place for everything from office space and web site to lay reader training and the care and tending of parishes who are without clergy. It won’t be easy and we are sure to be short of funds at first. HOWEVER, passage of realignment is not a sure thing. There is a strong core of congregations and individuals committed to staying.
3. Should the realignment vote fail, we will have a bishopless diocese that is internally divided and in need of healing. We will also experience a rolling set of resignations as certain leaders and congregations individually withdraw. Should the vote pass, we will have an externally divided diocese and a number of deeply wounded parishes. Either way we will need everyone’s prayers.
4. Those of us opposed to realignment have at EVERY convention tried to have the chair rule that the amendments concerning the accession clause are out of order, and have at EVERY convention reminded people of their fiduciary duties. We are prepared to do so again.
5. Because of the law suit filed in 2003 by Calvary Episcopal Church (and others), a signed stipulation on property that resulted in 2005. The return to court by Calvary in 2006 rulted this fall in a appointment by the court of a special master who is inventorying diocesan property and reporting to the judge supervising the case. Thus the status of property issues in Pittsburgh is VERY different from San Joaquin or Fort Worth. The 2005 stipulation signed by Bishop Duncan states that all diocesan (not parish) property belongs to the “Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A.” We believe that the meaning of this is clear and have every confidence that the judge will enforce this agreement. On the other hand, institutions such as Calvary Sheldon Camp will not turn away a child from a realigned group, and so the camp will in that sense (but not in a governing) sense remain available to all in the region. The stipulation also includes a process for negotiating property settlements with parishes leaving TEC.
6. Our Cathedral parish has announced a plan where they would be neutral, serve the entire region, and participate in both the realigned and continuing dioceses. It is not clear whether this will be workable, but they are certainly going to give it a good try.
The best thing TEC can do for Pittsburgh should the realignment measures pass at convention is to recognize and support those who are going to ensure a continuing presence of TEC in this part of Pennsylvania.
Joan R. Gundersen
kibitzer, Church of the Redeemer
45 Comments •
Ms Gundersen, kibitz all you want, but that’s not going to change things. Regardless of which way the vote goes, your “replacement” diocese and your Church are on their death beds. The faithful orthodox Anglican Christians of the Diocese of Pittsburgh will leave anyway, and your diocese will be the poorer for their having left on their continuing mission of serving Christ and His Church, and not the corporate entity known as The Episcopal Church, which in truth is now a functioning Secular Humanist organization.