Episcopal priest resigning over gay bishop's election

In one of the most tangible pieces of fallout from the Episcopal Church's confirmation of its first openly gay elected bishop, the rector of St. Timothy's Church in Catonsville is resigning and says he expects to take much of his congregation with him.

The Rev. Steven R. Randall, who announced this month that the parish would withhold its $5,000 monthly dues from the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland in protest, said he could no longer submit to the authority of the denomination and is resigning to end the turmoil in his congregation over how to proceed.

"I'm not called to fight the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church," said Randall, 52, whose letter of resignation arrived last week at the office of Maryland's bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert. W. Ihloff. "I've been called to the best of my ability to shepherd the flock of the Lord. This is the time to take the flock to another valley."

Randall also said in a statement: "From some of those who plan to stay at St. Timothy's: I have been asked to resign so they can get on with normalizing their church life. It seems clear to me that healing cannot occur ... as long as I remain here."

A church official said Friday that the diocese is looking for Randall's replacement and hopes to have one selected in the next couple of weeks, subject to the approval of the St. Timothy's vestry.

"We should be able to have somebody in place very quickly," said the Rev. Mark Gatza, who handles congregational development for the diocese. "The truth is, it seems like a very fair and honorable decision on his part if he feels he can no longer be a part of the Episcopal Church."

Randall, whose last day at St. Timothy's will be Sept. 15, said he and many parishioners will move temporarily to nearby Bishop Cummins Memorial Church, a part of the Reformed Episcopal Church, which split from the national church in the 1800s. The Rev. Paul Chaim Schenck, rector of Bishop Cummins, said his parish has offered Randall office space and use of a gym where he can hold Sunday morning services.

Randall's resignation concludes a tumultuous month for the Episcopal Church and the worldwide, 75 million-member Anglican Communion. Amid threats of a global schism, the church, which is the communion's branch in the United States, confirmed the election of the Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as the bishop of New Hampshire on Aug. 5.

Robinson's confirmation marked the first time an American church had approved the selection of an openly gay bishop. The move outraged traditionalists, who point to scriptural condemnation of homosexual acts.

Church conservatives are planning an international meeting in October in Plano, Texas, to plot strategy. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, first among equals in the Anglican Communion, is holding a meeting of international church leaders later that month to try to heal wounds.

In the wake of Robinson's confirmation, a few parishes around the country also announced they are withholding funds from their dioceses. They include Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ga., which is withholding $7,000 a month.

The Episcopal Diocese of Florida, which provides $200,000 annually, has put payments to the national church in escrow.

On a parish-by-parish basis, withholding funds is unlikely to make a big dent in the Episcopal Church's annual budget of $48 million - $30 million of which comes from the church's 116 dioceses. If several large dioceses were to stop paying, it could have an effect.

"It could have significant, severe impacts on programs and ministries that the national church supports," said the Rev. William M. Krulak, rector of St. David's Church in Roland Park, who opposed Robinson's confirmation.

It might be months before the church can gauge the financial fallout. Tom Hershkowitz, controller for the national church, said pledges for next year won't start coming in until January.

In Maryland, which is regarded as a fairly liberal diocese, Randall's response to Robinson's confirmation has been by far the strongest. While a small number of worshipers have left Maryland parishes, no priests have resigned. Nor have any other congregations withheld money.

During the national convention in Minneapolis, which confirmed Robinson, Gatza said he received just 15 calls - most of them negative.

"The volume of calls is way less than we expected," Gatza said. "I was expecting to be here on the phone day and night, and I wasn't."

In some Maryland churches, though, parishioners are struggling with Robinson's confirmation.

At the Church of the Ascension in Westminster, the head of the annual giving campaign resigned in protest. The Rev. Bill Shiflet, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicott City, said "a very few" members have left his parish.

At All Saints' Episcopal Church in Reisterstown, the Rev. David A. Stenner said that giving from the congregation is off by 5 percent to 10 percent.

"We have some people who are hesitant to give because they don't want their donation to support the national church or diocese," Stenner said.

Ihloff has been holding open meetings in parishes around the state to give a theological explanation of his vote and the vote of his fellow bishops for Robinson's confirmation.

The response from St. Timothy's, an evangelical church and one of the most conservative in the diocese, came soon after Robinson's confirmation. Parishioners draped black crepe over the sign outside the church and placed purple tapestries around the altar, using the color for Lent, the season of penitence.

On Aug. 10, less than a week after Robinson's confirmation, Randall delivered a blistering sermon in which he compared the leadership of the national church to the terrorists of 9/11.

"Like many of you, I feel like our church has been hijacked by misguided and in some cases evil terrorists," Randall told the congregation. "And like those planes of 9/11, our church is being used to destroy not only those inside in the name of some false god, but to destroy the lives of others, outside the church."

Although the sermon received a standing ovation, some members said privately they thought the comparison to 9/11 was overwrought and were unhappy with the resultant publicity, which landed Randall on the Fox News talk show Hannity and Combs.

After Randall announced the withholding of dues to the diocese and said he could no longer submit to the bishop, he met with Ihloff. According to an account of the meeting on St. Timothy's Web site, Ihloff told Randall that he had the right to "inhibit" him, or temporarily remove his ability to function as a priest, but said he wouldn't because he didn't want to make Randall a "martyr."

According to parishioners, St. Timothy's has split along three lines, with some deciding to follow Randall, others choosing to stay and still others deciding to leave the congregation altogether. While Randall said he expects many parishioners to leave with him, Ihloff said through a spokesman that he had talked with some parishioners and thought that "the vast majority" would stay.

Randall said he plans to create a new parish. Some members see that as a great opportunity.

"Frankly, I'm pretty excited about it," said Paul Willis, senior warden of the St. Timothy's vestry, who is leaving with Randall. Willis said Randall has received overwhelming support for his position in scores of phone calls and e-mails from as far away as Australia.

"I think we've created a home," said Willis, "not only for the hurting Episcopalians in our own church, [but also] for hurting Episcopalians from some distance away."

For Catherine Bellis, the decision on whether to leave St. Timothy's, where she has spent her 92 years, is wrenching. She opposed the confirmation of Robinson, but the parish has always been a part of her life.

She was married there and raised her children there. Her husband and daughter are buried in the graveyard.

"I don't want to leave the church, naturally, after all these years," Bellis said in a phone interview. "I'm not sure where I belong yet."

If the Christian churches won't resist this virus at the leadership level, who in God's name will? I think there is widespread mass confusion regarding the clear teaching of Christ, the misguided application of "love your neighbor", distortion of the principle of tolerance, and just plain refusal to accept that right and wrong are not just catch words but have eternal repercussions. One has to wonder what it is that holds people to a church whose main purpose seems to be that of satisfying some social need of communion and belonging, but whose spiritual authority flutters in the winds of change. My God have mercy on their bewildered souls.

Lady, if you don't know where you belong after 92 years practicing your religion, you belong in a retirement home playing bingo.

That’s pretty cold. The women has spent her life as a member of a church which has turned its back on Biblical teaching.

Naturally she would be torn by loyalty to a parish which has been an important part of her life. A parish which more than likely has been both spiritual and social center of her life.

In order to be true to God’s word she must feel she must leave the parish. But she must also feel that in leaving the parish she is leaving the best part of her life.

I would have a hard time making such a decision.

Do you fight from within the Church? A pretty much hopeless endeavor. The heretics own the leadership.

Or do you leave the Church and try to take as many of the faithful with you? If you do you are abandoning those who do not follow and their children who will grow up with a distorted view of God’s plan.

Randall told the congregation. "And like those planes of 9/11, our church is being used to destroy not only those inside in the name of some false god, but to destroy the lives of others, outside the church."

This is a great statement of truth. We are in a culture war, not unlike the war the terrorists started on 9-11.

Do you fight from within the Church? A pretty much hopeless endeavor. The heretics own the leadership.

True, but do we abandon the church – those of us raised in it – or do we try to save? Romans 8:28 says “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”. I can only believe that God is using this to some how strengthen His Church. Perhaps I am wrong, but for now, I will stay and fight.

...Ihloff told Randall that he had the right to "inhibit" him, or temporarily remove his ability to function as a priest, but said he wouldn't because he didn't want to make Randall a "martyr."
Politics is every where isn't it?

I would hope and expect that there would be many more resignations and withholding of money.

I think there is widespread mass confusion regarding the clear teaching of Christ, the misguided application of "love your neighbor", distortion of the principle of tolerance, and just plain refusal to accept that right and wrong are not just catch words but have eternal repercussions.

Last week a local talk show had an area priest on discussing the Robinson affair.

Several listeners called in to remind the priest of the Bible's stand on homosexuality.

The priest said that the Bible must be tempered with Man's reasoning.
I was on the verge of exploding.

This particular radio program is only 1 hour long so calling in a rebuttal is next to impossible.

By this priest's statement anything can be justified.

Her loyalty must be to God first, period.

Why can't these people see that these are just buildings with a name on them. Without Christ at the head they are nothing more, or maybe something worse. Having a homosexual bishop, or priest is bad, but haven't these liberal churches been allowing all kinds of this stuff for years? I go to church to hear the Bible taught, and preached because “faith comes by hearing the Word” Rom 10:17 You don’t have to read much of the Bible to know these things. We are to hold fast the Word. Tit 1.9

Read the Bible! Its in there! Without the Word of God Jesus isn't there anyway.

Her loyalty must be to God first, period.

I of course agree.

But in such a situation you must spend a good amount of time in thoughtful prayer on what is God’s will.

Do you stay or do you go. Do flee the sinking ship or do you stay and fight to keep it afloat.

How do you know God’s will in such circumstances.

You know what is right from Scripture. You know that the Church Leadership is wrong and committing heresy on the altar.

But do you stay in your home parish and ignore the distant national leadership as long as the local pastor continues to teach true to the Word of God? Do you stay and do combat with the enemy on what is now his ground?

These are the hard questions the US Episcopal Church must now ask themselves and pray long and hard over. I do not envy them. But I fear that many of us may one day follow them on to this same battleground.

"Ihloff has been holding open meetings in parishes around the state to give a theological explanation of his vote and the vote of his fellow bishops for Robinson's confirmation."

This bishop is nothing more than a Clinton era "spin-doctor" trying to sell the "bad-news" of sin and death as well, really good social policy.

We left the Episcopal Church in 1995 after the Gays successfully took over our parish. Out here in California there are only two kinds of priest: 1. middle-aged women who are doing the priest job as a second career and 2. GAY MEN who are activists for the radical left agenda who preach Marxism instead of Christianity. It is interesting to do a web search of "Affirming" churches in your area.(Open and Affirming is code for Gay life-style acceptance.) You'll find there are very many -- many more than you'd believe.

The real joke is that Episcopalians beleive that being "more open" will increase the dwindling church attendence numbers while the fact is that every attemp to be more PC causes more people to leave..

"By this priest's statement anything can be justified."

We went to an Episcopal church that had an openly Gay priest. There was only one sermon -- every week -- accept everyone no matter what sin they commit -- the church had no men who attended, only women over 65 who I guess liked the sissified gospel of inclusion. So yes, in the end anything will be rationalized in the name of inclusion.

BIG exception here -- Republicanism can never be forgiven.

Why can't these people see that these are just buildings with a name on them. Without Christ at the head they are nothing more, or maybe something worse.

True words

But if you leave you surrender those who are weak in the word to the enemy. A Church is more than a building it is a fellowship in the Lord.

If you leave with out a fight you leave those who are not strong in the word to be misled. If you leave with out a fight they may never know you are gone or why you left. You must at least put up a fight so that those you leave behind must at least be aware of the true Word of God and they must at least wonder if you are right.

If you put up a fight before you leave then at least they have heard the true Word and some at least may be saved.

"I've been called to the best of my ability to shepherd the flock of the Lord. This is the time to take the flock to another valley."

I'm sorry to be less than respectful but that line made me LOL.

Let's make like a shephard and get the flock out of here.

On a more serious note, the posters noting how to know the will of God in this situation are really hitting the nail on the head. BTTT

I wrote this last night: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/973228/posts

A few years ago the pastors of the church I attend got into a false doctrine. We had to finally kick them out of the church. We followed the Bible as are guide on how to handle the situation. It wasn’t easy at first because many of the members, including the elders were not used to following the Word, instead had always let feelings lead them. It did not happen over night, and most of the people in the church left before it was resolved. I love my new pastor, but I check his teaching by the Bible. If one of our elders, or ministers in the church started living a blatantly sinful life as this homosexual priest is doing, and the pastor or leaders wouldn’t follow the Bibles guide as to how to handle it, I would leave that particular fellowship. Yes I would try to change there minds somehow, but if they refused to act I would have to leave as the Bible clearly tells us to do.

I agree that you should fight, and reach out to those who might be deceived. I had to do this too. Some were so close to the pastor. I did not use personal attacks but I used scripture to show them that the pastors were teaching “demonic doctrine”

I really know very little about Episcopalian doctrine, but from what I see in the news its one of those very liberal denominations. I was raised a Mormon, descended from the first Mormon families. After I accepted Christ as my personal savior and was born again I started reading the Bible. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the religion I had been brought up in did not follow the Bible. I got out! I believe that my ancestors who were first converted to Mormonism were deceived by a false prophet because they did not know, or use the Word as their guide. They followed a feeling.

I don't have a problem with going to church with gays, and I know I have.

My problem is with their being leaders, the person I would go to with troubles in marriage, etc.

There I draw the line.
I believe that homosexuality is a perversion and any advice or counceling that person would give is distorted by that perversion.

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