News for Week Ending 9/29/2008

Virginia diocese sharpens legal strategy as court date looms

Litigation instigated by 11 Diocese of Virginia congregations that are now part of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) returns to court on October 6, 2008. (The most recent Pittsburgh Update story on this litigation can be found here.) The parties will now argue specifically about the disposition of property. The Diocese of Virginia has indicated that it will try to limit the property covered by Virginia’s controversial “Division Statute.” which it believes to violate the First Amendment. It has also dropped its objections to the votes by which congregations decided to leave The Episcopal Church. These moves are described on the diocese’s Web site here. A CANA statement on the decision not to contest the voting by the departing congregations can be read here.

The diocese has also reached a settlement with two missions that hold no real property, Potomac Falls Church, Sterling, Va., and Christ the Redeemer Church, Centreville, Va. The CANA statement describes this development as well, and the diocese has a statement that can be read here.

The diocese plans to appeal the application of Virginia’s Division Statute.

Pittsburgh convention votes on realignment Saturday

The diocesan convention, meeting at St. Martin’s, Monroeville, on October 4, will vote whether it should leave The Episcopal Church and become a part of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a story September 28 describing what happened in the Diocese of San Joaquin in the wake of its vote for realignment. There are, however, both differences and similarities in the Pittsburgh and San Joaquin situations.

The Pre-Convention Journal provided to convention deputies can be found as a PDF here.