Week Ending 6/13/22

 All articles are continuing previous threads.

 Court Issues Additional Orders in South Carolina

In response to documents filed by both the Episcopal Diocese and the ACNA diocese, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued two additional orders last week.   The first dismissed the request for reconsideration for Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant stating that the parish had clearly acceded to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and the property belonged to the Episcopal Diocese.  It also dismissed some of the claims made by 3 of the remaining 7 parishes who had asked for reconsideration.  It then asked the Episcopal Diocese and the Episcopal Church to respond to the issues raised by the remaining seven, concerning whether they had acceded to the Dennis Canon.  Responses are due by June 20.  A second order granted the Episcopal Diocese a partial remittitur which finalized the their decision that the diocesan property and the parish property of the 7 parishes (including Christ Church) are the property of the Episcopal Diocese.  The notice on the ACNA Diocese focused on the request for a response from Episcopalians on the ACNA parish appeals.  The scepiscopalians.com blog entry for June 8, 2022 has interesting commentary on the latest development, although it is wrong in saying that ACNA is governed by 6 African Archbishops. 

One Step Closer to Merger of Texas Dioceses

The Diocese of Texas has voted approval of a merger with the Episcopal Church in North Texas (the group of faithful Episcopalians from the Fort Worth Diocese who remained in the Episcopal Church.  The vote was 526 to 14.  The proposal to merge was announced publicly in  April. In May,the bishops of both groups issued a call for June special conventions. The Diocese of Texas has the largest membership of any of the Texas dioceses.  The Episcopal Church in North Texas is the smallest. Its special convention is set for June 18.  The object of both dioceses was to be able to present their request for merger to General Convention when it meets in July.

Parish Organizes Response to Mass Shootings

The Episcopal Church has been very active in its opposition to gun violence and advocacy of reasonable gun control.  Individual parishes have made their own responses to the recent shootings.  One of these is St. James Episcopal Church in Montclair, New Jersey.  Those who were shocked by the shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde gathered on the church lawn for a time of remembrance and calls for action.  Those speaking ranged from local high school students, to family members and survivors of gun violence to  local officials.  A display of t-shirts hung over crosses with names of recent victims sat on part of the church lawn along side the gathering. The local on-line newspaper gave the event extensive coverage with a number of photographs.

Jesus College Relieved of Paying Court Fees

Update carried a recent story about the unsuccessful attempt of Jesus College, Cambridge, to move a memorial to one of its benefactors from the chapel to a less prominent place on campus.  The College wanted to move the memorial because of the benefactor's ties to the slave trade.  The issue was settled in court, and those who had opposed removing the memorial then filed to have their considerable court costs paid by the college.  The court, however, has denied that request.  Thinking Anglicans has full coverage of the decision here. 

AAC Continues to Stir Up Dead Issues

The American Anglican Council, which was one of the instigators of the actions leading to schism in 5 dioceses and withdrawal of a number of scattered congregations (or parts of congregations) has filed an open letter addressed to General Convention asking for the same things that its open letter to the House of Bishops in April.  Its major request is to reinstate all the clergy who were released from the Episcopal Church after they voluntarily left the church.  As Update noted in the early posting, the open letter misstates the conditions of the releases, and gives no indication that the majority of these clergy actually want to be in the Episcopal Church. 

Canada Starts Process to Find New Indigenous Archbishop

Following a complaint of sexual misconduct, Archbishop Mark MacDonald resigned his position as the leader of the Anglican Church of Canada's Indigenous Community  MacDonald had been the guiding force in the conversations that led to the creation of the Sacred Circle,  the new church-within-a-church for Indigenous People.  The Anglican Council of Indigenous People (ACIP) has now announced formation of a search committee to fill the vacancy.  The search may not be limited to those who are already bishops.  Should the search committee decide to open the field to candidates who are priests, an election process would have to be approved by the ACIP and Sacred Circle. The ACIP  provides the interface between the Sacred Circle and the rest of the Canadian church.