Week Ending 5/30/16

New Zealand Church Delays Vote on Replacing Confirmation

The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, NZ and Polynesia decided to hold over to their next synod a proposal to replace  the rite of Confirmation with The Laying on of Hands for Affirmation, Renewal and Reception.  The proposals for changes to baptism and replacement of confirmation were left lying on the table at the synod recently concluded. The church will use the time to hold wider conversations.  Those who made the proposal noted that the rite of confirmation has slowly lost its importance since the church made baptism the entry point for communion.  Others were concerned about the replacement of the rite with a very different ritual. This discussion should be of interest to the Episcopal Church given that the TEC has a very similar stance on baptism.

Archbishop of Canterbury Tries to Mend Rift with Scottish Episcopal Church 

The announcement shortly before Christmas that the Church of England and the (presbyterian) Church of Scotland had drafted an accord for closer ties, blindsided the Scottish Episcopal Church. (See update stories here and here.)  To the Scots, it appeared that the Church of England was crossing boundaries and inserting itself into another province's business.  The Church of Scotland approved the agreement at its recently concluded General Assembly.  Archbishop Justin Welby was present and addressed the Assembly.  In his address he took responsibility for blindsiding the Scottish Episcopal Church and requested that as the conversations continue and details are worked out, that the Scottish Episcopal Church be given a seat at the table. For at least some this gesture is too little too late.  See the commentary here.

Still Another Episcopal School Dealing with Possible Sexual Improprieties

St. Andrews School in Boca Raton, LA has dismissed its headmaster, Peter Benedict, Jr.  and a month later announced it had hired two law firms with experience in sexual misconduct issues to represent the school.  One of the firms has been charged with conducting an investigation to see if there has been any improprieties.  The board has also contacted parents to find out if there are unaddressed incidents of sexual misconduct.  There is no specific charge pending at St. Andrews, but the previous headmaster, the Rev. George Andrews's name has surfaced in conjunction with investigations at St. George's School in Rhode Island. 

Newest Bible Translation in Emoji!

Given the texting shortcuts used extensively by younger Americans, it was bound to happen.  A translation of the Bible is now available using emoji and all the abbreviations used by frequent texters.  The Episcopal Cafe has a sample of the new text. 

PBS Interview with Presiding Bishop Curry Available

Both the video and a transcription of Judy Woodruff's interview of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry are now available.  She interviewed him to see how things were going after 6 months in office.

Week Ending 5/23/16

Episcopalians Lose Again in Illinois

An Illinois District Court has ruled against Episcopal Church claims again.  In a follow-up case involving funds frozen while litigation continued, an Illinois District Court ruled again against the Episcopal Church claims.  The Illinois Supreme Court refused to take an appeal from the earlier decision in 2014, ( see notice from Chicago Diocese here)  but the Episcopal Church went back to the appeals court claiming the earlier decision had not disposed of all the issues related to funds held in trust for parishes.  The legal issues are still not fully settled because there are cases concerning parish property pending in several counties.  The comments on this decision are all from those siding with ACNA, but they include more details.  The ACNA bishop's Statement is here and Alex Haley's comments are here.

National Cathedral Chooses New Dean

Bishop Budde of the Diocese of Washington has announced that the Rev. Randy Hollerith, rector of a large and thriving parish in Richmond, Virginia, has been selected as the new Dean of the National Cathedral.  The previous dean, the Rev. Gary Hall, had resigned last year (see update story) saying he was too close to retirement age to carry the cathedral through an extensive fundraising effort. Hollerithl has ties to the Cathedral, and has been in his Richmond parish for 16 years. The Washington Post article gives more details on Hollerith's successful parish building and fundraising.

New Zealand Anglicans Set Goals for Gender Equity in Church Offices

While last week's synod meeting of the Anglican in Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia deferred decisions on blessing same sex marriages, they passed a resolution setting a goal of 50% representation of women in all aspects of their church's governance, including appointed boards, and at the highest levels of liturgical leadership (i.e. bishops).  The resolution was sponsored by those who had attended the UN meeting on the status of women and it passed to rounds of applause.

Same Sex Marriage in the News in Scotland and South Africa

Both the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church put same sex marriage on the agendas of their governing body meetings this spring.  The Church of Scotland passed changes that allow ministers of their denomination to take advantage of the civil marriage laws.  They have not approved any changes though that would allow same sex couples to wed in the church.  That however, is the question that the Scottish Episcopal Church will vote on at its synod in early June.  A commission has submitted a proposal to amend the marriage canon to allow same sex marriages.  It will require votes at two successive synods to go into effect.  Meanwhile, Archbishop Tutu's daughter has resigned her ministerial license rather than be suspended by the church in South Africa because she married her same sex partner in the Netherlands, home of her spouse.  Archbishop Tutu and his wife were present for the wedding, and the Archbishop gave a father's blessing during the service.  South Africa has had legal civil marriage for same sex couples since 2006, but the church has not changed its canons.  Her resignation does not affect Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu-Van Furth's standing as a priest in the Episcopal Church.  She is canonically resident in the Diocese of Washington.

Initial Court Ruling Disappoints St. James Newport Beach

The initial court ruling on whether the restrictive covenant forbidding sale of St. James Church in Newport Beach has disappointed that congregation.  The original donor of the land was sued by Bishop Bruno because they claimed that they had not removed restrictions on the church property that barred its use for anything other than a church.  The trial court has ruled that the restrictions were lifted on all three parcels of land donated by the company in the 1980s.  The company claimed it had only removed the restrictions on parcels being bused for parking.  The company is considering appealing. For more on the dispute, you can pick up the threads at this Update post.

Bishops of Four Rebuilding Dioceses Meet with President of the House of Deputies in Pittsburgh

On May 10-11, Bishops from Fort Worth, South Carolina, San Joaquin and Pittsburgh met with Gay Jennings, the President of the House of Deputies, and Sally Johnson, Chancellor to Jennings.  The bishops of the four dioceses have met periodically to discuss common issues and news.  The meeting in Pittsburgh allowed them to also brief Jennings on what was happening in the dioceses. The Diocese of South Carolina e-news has an article on the meeting and a picture.

Week Ending 05/16/16

Moravians Add Full Communion with Presbyterians

The Moravian Church, which is already in full communion with the Lutherans and Episcopalians, has now added full communion with the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., the largest of the various Presbyterian bodies in the U.S. The two denominations will celebrate their "covenant relationship" at a service in Wisconsin, June 10, 2016.  Full communion between the Moravians and Presbyterians means that clergy in each denomination are recognized and fully authorized to serve in the other.  The Episcopal Church has been in conversation with the Presbyterian Church for a decade and a half, and has a limited agreement approved in 2008 (See Update story here), but a formula for TEC and the Presbyterians that allows each to fully recognize the other's clergy has not been found.

Virginia Bishops Are Working on Transgender Policy for Church Schools

The three bishops of the Diocese of Virginia, Diocesan bishop Shannon Johnston, Suffragan Bishop Susan Goff, and Assisting Bishop Ted Gulick have issued a statement that they are carefully working on a policy for the Church Schools of the diocese, (and for other diocesan related organizations and camps) that will address controversies that have arisen in fully including transgender students.  The principles that will infuse the policy are sensitive to the needs of transgender students and parents, educators, psychologists, and others involved with the schools.  There are six official Church Schools, some of which are day schools and some that take boarders. The diocese elects a single board of trustees that oversees all six schools while granting much autonomy to individual boards at each school.  The six are Christchurch (Middlesex County)  St. Catherine's (Richmond), St. Christopher's (Richmond), St. Margaret's (Tappahannock)   Stuart Hall (Staunton),  and St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School (Alexandria).  Three of the schools are single sex schools. One Additional Richmond school, the Anna Julia Cooper School is considered an "related institution" for the diocese. The Cooper School is a middle school with ties to the Church Schools in Richmond.  In addition the policy would affect the diocesan summer camps run at Shrine Mont.  The Episcopal High School in Alexandria is independent and it is not clear if any policy developed by the diocese will apply to it.

New Zealand Anglicans Delay Decision on Blessing Same-Sex Couples

The Synod of the Anglican Church in New Zealand has deferred any decision about same-sex union blessing to their 2018 meeting.  The Synod had authorized a committee in 2014 to study and draft a proposal. (See Update here.) While two of the three ethnic strands appeared ready to support a blessing of civil marriages, the strand representing those of European descent came to the meeting divided.  (See Pittsburgh Update here.)  As a result, the synod received and then tabled the report from the committee while they use the next two years to find a structure that will allow both those supporting and opposing blessings to stay within the church.

Strong Response to the Need for Aid to Distressed Communities in Ecuador and Canada

Episcopal Relief and Development has provided substantial aid to the areas hit by the earthquake last month in Ecuador.  ERD is working  through the Episcopal Churches in the area to provide basic needs for the thousands displaced, and to assess rebuilding strategies.  A fuller report is here.  Meanwhile the monster wildfire in Canada that displaced 80,000 residents of Fort McMurray has also elicited contributions from across Canada and beyond.  The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (i.e. a discretionary fund of Canadian archbishop Fred Hiltz)  has sent an initial grant of $15,000.  Individuals and dioceses have also been sending money to help feed and house those who have been displaced and begin rebuilding.

Week ending 5/9/16

What Did the Anglican Consultative Council Mean?

Responding to the Archbishop of Canterbury's claim (see last week's Update) that the ACC had fully adopted the "consequences" outlined in the January Communique issued at the Primate's meeting, six members of the Standing Committee including its chair and vice chair issued a statement saying that the ACC had endorsed nothing except the desire to continue to work together, and that "received" is not the same as "endorsed" or "affirmed."  Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon of Nigeria, the current Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion followed with a defense of Archbishop Welby's interpretation. More interpretations are sure to be forthcoming.

Virginia Suffragan Bishop to Serve Jointly as Assistant Bishop in England

The Church of England continues to find ways to increase the number of women serving as bishops .  The latest is the outgrowth of partnership ties between the Diocese of Virginia and the Diocese of Liverpool. Suffragan Bishop Susan Goff of Virginia has been commissioned as an Assisting Bishop in the Diocese of Liverpool.  She will continue to have duties in Virginia and will commute periodically to England.  Her first duties in England will be to share in the June ordinations scheduled for Liverpool and to speak at that diocese's clergy conference.  The arrangement has the approval of both Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.  She will also be available to Liverpool on-line. You can read more about the arrangement here or watch a Facebook video of Bishop Goff explaining what she will be doing.

Sale of Church Off Before Bishop Bruno Locked Out Newport Beach Congregation

The Update report of May 2, noted that evidence had emerged that the supposed sale of the church building in Newport Beach had been cancelled weeks ago.  The online newspaper, the Newport Beach Indy has now revealed that the sale offer had been withdrawn in June 2015, probably before Bishop Bruno locked the congregation out of the building under the pretext that it had been sold.  One of the partners in the condominium complex planned for the church site withdrew its financing when it learned that there might be a restriction on the deed limiting the property to use by a church.  At that point the investors cancelled the sale.  Bruno has sued the company that originally donated the land for damages because its insistence that the original deed restrictions were never removed has held up the sale.  Documents filed in that suit provided the evidence that the sale was dead before the end of June 2015.   This article has generated a fair amount of discussion on a Facebook page dedicated to issues of interest to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

New Zealand Synod Struggles with Same-Sex Blessing Resolution

The Anglican Synod in 2014 authorized a committee to study and propose a way to bless civil marriages of same sex couples.  The committee report has been a major focus of the Synod meeting now in New Zealand.  Two  (Maori and Polynesian) of the three ethnic strands of the New Zealand church were ready to approve the blessing forms brought forward, but the seven dioceses in New Zealand were divided and looking for ways to accommodate those unhappy with the idea of blessing same-sex couples.  After a closed door discussion for voting members only on Monday afternoon, the Synod granted time to the "Pakeha" strand to try to rewrite the resolution to make it more acceptable.  They are expected to report by the synod meeting on Wednesday.  The Anglican Communion and New Zealand  news sources cover the various concerns leading up to Monday meeting.

Week ending 5/2/16

ACNA Diocese Files Request for Rehearing in San Joaquin

The ACNA diocese in San Joaquin followed through on their announcement (see the April 25, 2016 Update) and has filed a brief requesting a rehearing, claiming both error and that the Appeals Court opinion did not resolve issues surrounding all of the contested property.  Alex Haley, counsel for the ACNA group summarized the argument in his blog and provided a link to the filing.  As of posting time, there has been no public response from the Episcopal Diocese, nor any indication of how this may delay final resolution of this 8 year litigation.

Bishop of Diocese of Kansas Says Church Will Continue Resettling Refugees

Bishop Dean Wolfe of Kansas has announced that his diocese will continue to resettle refugees working with the Episcopal Migration Ministry despite the Governor of Kansas's announcement that the state is withdrawing from the federal refugee resettlement program.  Wolfe stressed that the church had an obligation to reach out to those in need, stating "Jesus was a refugee."

St. James Newport Beach Finally to Get Its Hearing

St. James the Great, Newport Beach congregation which filed a Title IV complaint in July 2015 against Los Angeles Bishop Bruno announced that a date for the Title IV hearing has finally been set.  The hearing will be held at a venue yet to be announced on June 20, 2016. The congregation filed the complaint after Bruno announced he was selling their property for redevelopment and locked the congregation out of the building. ( See Update Stories here, here and here.)  The congregation currently meets in a building owned by the City of Newport.  The announcement noted that the sales agreement lapsed months ago. The parish has uncovered questionable financial dealings by the bishop, and events became more complicated when Bishop Bruno sued the company that originally donated the land for the church building over deed restrictions.  Bishop Bruno has announced his retirement for 2018 and the diocese is currently preparing to elect a bishop coadjutor.

Events Affecting Anglican-Roman Catholic Relations 

Conversations around ministry and ordination continued  April 17-22 between Anglican and Roman Catholic theologians meeting at Rocca di Papa just South of Rome, This was a follow-up on topics explored at a meeting held last year at Chestnut Hill in Massachusetts.  The next meeting is scheduled for 2017 at Cambridge, England.  Meanwhile, the Anglican Church in America, a splinter group that broke from the Episcopal Church in the 1970s over ordination of women has voted to move as a block to the Roman Catholic Church's Ordinate.  The ACA has about 100 parishes. The ordinate is a special  structure that allows those from the Anglican tradition to keep their worship and clergy while affiliating with the Roman Catholics.  The ACA was a member of the Traditional Anglican Communion.  This is the second block of churches to move to the Ordinate.  The first was the Australian Chapter of Forward in Faith (FiF).  The British FiF is also exploring changing their affiliation from Church of England to the Ordinate.  While  a move by the British FiF suggests the Roman Church is ready to accept SOME Anglican orders as valid, it will complicate ecumenical relations.

Methodists and Episcopalians Hold Latest Conversations On Full Communion

The conversations between the United Methodist Church and The Episcopal Church continued and the committee's communique suggested that they had made substantial progress in crafting a proposal for full communion between the two bodies. They will meet again in 2016.  Conversations with the Methodists have been approved by several General Conventions, including Resolution A017 of the 2015 convention.

Church in Brazil Supports Embattled President

As the movement for impeachment of the Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, gained momentum, the House of Bishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in Brazil issued a statement in support of her.  They claim that the impeachment charges surrounding manipulation of some accounts is being engineered by right wing elites and conservative Christians who oppose her governments actions to improve the lives of the poor and working classes. Spokemen for the church noted that some of those leading the impeachment efforts are themselves accused of crimes, or  used the same financial tactics they are charging Rousseff with. 

The Crusty Old Dean Takes on Archbishop Welby

Comments on the recent Anglican Consultative Council continue.  The Archbishop of Canterbury has now tried to suggest that the resolution "receiving" the Primate's Communique was a full endorsement and adoption of it.  This is not what "receive" means in parliamentary procedure.  In response to Archbishop Welby, The Rev. Tom Ferguson, who blogs as "The Crusty Old Dean" wrote this withering response.