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Posted on 10/09/2003 5:04:54 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
Episcopalians outraged by the U.S. church's election of a gay bishop prepared a request asking worldwide Anglican primates to intervene and urged church members to stop funding the denomination.
Speakers at a conference of more than 2,700 conservatives described the Episcopal Church's liberal policies on homosexuality as "heresy" and "apostasy," and participants planned a Thursday vote on a formal appeal to the international Anglican Communion.
Those attending the three-day meeting organized by the conservative American Anglican Council submitted responses Wednesday to a proposed draft of a declaration from the meeting. Leaders were to rewrite the document overnight for endorsement before departing Thursday.
"We plan to send a very clear, decisive message to the Episcopal Church asking it to repent and reverse these actions," said the Rev. David Roseberry, of Plano.
At a convention in Minneapolis this summer, the church confirmed the election of a gay bishop living with his partner and voted to recognize that its bishops are allowing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.
The conservatives' meeting in Dallas is about finding ways to fight back against those decisions, with the possibility of a schism looming. About 45 of the church's 300 bishops are attending.
The meeting received a surprise greeting at the end of Wednesday's sessions from Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's doctrinal office. He expressed "my heartfelt prayers" for the Episcopalians at the meeting and said Christians share "a unity of truth" with one another.
Four lawyers advised the meeting on the rights of clergy and congregations if a schism occurs. The advice: hire one of the rare attorneys who is an expert on church property, check state and diocese laws and be careful with words and actions. Clergy were assured that vested pensions of those who've worked five years were secure.
With feelings strong on both sides in many congregations, the potential split threatens not just the denomination, but individual parishes.
"Some people just wish it would go away," the Rev. Chris Ditzenberger, of Greenville, S.C., said of views held by his parishioners.
"There's a lot of fearfulness about what else could happen down the line with regard to our doctrine and our understanding of the gospel."
Conservatives acknowledge they're in the minority in the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. But they believe they are in the majority among Anglicans around the globe.
Next week, 38 leaders of the world's Anglican branches will gather at an emergency session in London to discuss the American situation and a similar dispute among Anglicans in Canada.
The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, released a letter Wednesday that he sent to U.S. bishops saying the confirmation of gay clergyman V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire did not settle the debate in the church over homosexuality. He also expressed his wish that Episcopalians could move beyond "condemnation and reaction."
But the draft version of the conservative declaration commits supporters to stop funding Episcopal dioceses and agencies that support the convention decisions, and appeals to next week's meeting to "create a new alignment for Anglicanism in North America."
For many Episcopalians, angst is mixed with uncertainty as they await the world primates' guidance.
"Mostly, all of us now are just kind of listening and waiting," said the Rev. Clifton Warner, a 33-year-old deacon from El Paso.
In my opinion, the left wants the church property, which is why they have taken over the Episcopal Church rather than starting their own. Billions of dolars in real estate, trust funds, endowments, and art are a handy thing to have when you wish to advance a liberal agenda to the public.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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So send this homosexual "bishop" away.
The liberal faction then put rules in place that said the property had to stay with the main denomination. That may be what the liberal episcopalian US denomination will argue - that conservatives have to abandon their own church property if they want to "leave" the denomination. While in reality, the denomination is the one who has left.
Why would you be fearful? People who want to separate themselves from the spirit and deny truth will choose wrongly. It's not about an understanding, it's about listening to God and letting him lead.
In my opinion, this is what is happening with all main line denominations. Traditionalists are being forced out while an increasing leftist agenda is pushed by the hierarchy. They intend to hold the land and money for their own uses.
If the church refuses to meet those goals over a long period of time, the church can be closed and the property (which is owned by the denomination and not the local congregation) can be sold.
It's a long-shot, but worth trying. It is not right that people whose donations have built those churches, in many cases for generations, be driven out while opportunistic leftists grab the real estate.
No comparison. The Presbyterian Church is a federation of churches who own their own property, select their own officials and hire their own pastors. The "heirarchy" consists entirely of delegates sent by the churches to small regional districts called presbyteries. Those delegates send representatives to larger distircts of several presbyteries called synods, who send delegates to the general assembly. Basically it works just like the US Senate did be before direct election of Senators, when they were selected by state legislatures.
The Episcopal Church has an, err, episcopal system, meaning rule by bishops. They control the property owned by the churchs and assign clergy to the churchs, except for a few parishs which either predate the Episcopal Church, or joined from other denominations.
They insert some people in the seminaries and in the hierarchy, espouse more and more liberal dogma, and hope that the dissenters will leave. Once they have congregations filled mostly with liberals or those who don't care, they are pretty much free to use endowments and trust funds for whatever leftist cause they want to back.
Exactly. They can't produce anything, but they sure do know how to live off of the sweat of others. Parasites.
Gorilla tactics?
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