Posted on 05/10/2005 9:01:29 PM PDT by newheart
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF FLORIDA 162nd Diocesan Convention - May 21, 2005 – 9:00 am Camp Weed & the Cerveny Conference Center - Live Oak, FL
Proposed Resolution # 2005-04 Submitted by: Church of the Advent, Tallahassee St. Catherine’s, Jacksonville Title: [None Given]
Be it resolved, in the Spirit of Christian love and with the desire of keeping property issues from the courts (1 Corinthians 6), should a congregation in the Diocese of Florida desire to leave ECUSA because of its unwillingness to repent and comply with the full recommendations of the Windsor Report and Primates’ Communiqué, or desire to leave the Diocese of Florida because of adherence to the above mentioned reports in order to remain faithful to ECUSA, the Diocese of Florida would convey title of property to the congregation, if requested, along with fiduciary responsibility of current indebtedness of said congregation. ________________________________________________
Proposed Resolution # 2005-05 Submitted by: Church of the Epiphany, Jacksonville Church of the Redeemer, Jacksonville Title: On Strengthening Our Impaired Fellowship with ECUSA
Whereas, we in the Diocese of Florida, an Orthodox diocese under the leadership of an Orthodox Bishop, the Right Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, have declared ourselves to be in “impaired fellowship” with V. Gene Robinson, those bishops who voted for his consecration, and his consecrators; and
Whereas, the House of Bishops in its March 2005 statement declared that, “this extraordinary moment in our common life offers the opportunity for extraordinary action”; and
Whereas, the Primates of the Anglican Communion gave a model of extraordinary action by refusing to receive communion with our Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold as a sign of the strained relationship that exists in the communion; therefore
Be it resolved, that the Diocese of Florida requests our Bishop to refrain from receiving communion with Bishop Robinson and his consecrators as a symbol of our impaired communion and that if in good conscience he cannot so act, we ask that he would allow congregations freedom to appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury to provide alternative episcopal oversight, as provided for in the Primates Communiqué; and
Be it further resolved, that this diocese will make no decision that would further separate it from the majority of Anglicans in the Communion who have already broken communion.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. It seems that there is at least one group left in Florida which values morality and has the courage of it's convictions to act on it. Good news, because I was beginning to think that the entire state of Florida had collectively lost touch with reality.
I agree. Now we just have to see if the rest of the diocese has the resolve to stay the course and pass these 10 days from now. Pray without ceasing.
As much as I'd like to see it pass, it probably won't even come close. Diocesan conventions are made up of two groups: clergy in good standing and lay delegates. On anything remotely controversial, there would be a vote by orders meaning that both a majority of clergy and a majority of laity are required for the motion to pass. It's unlikely this motion would pass either group, much less both. Here's why:
All clergy in good standing attend the convention. Few of the clergy come from large parishes. Most of them are from small congregations and various ministries that depend upon the diocese and its budget for survival. There are also the "clergy without cures" present. They are cannonically resident in the diocese but are not assigned to a specific congregation or diocesan ministry. They are either retired or working in a non-parish/non-diocesan ministry (March of Dimes, City Rescue Mission, etc). Basically, these priests, while fulfilling a Godly calling, are more into charity than outreach and are usually fairly liberal.
Each parish sends a number of delegates depending upon that parish's average Sunday attendance (it used to be on official membership, but the diocese wisely dropped that method in the days of Bishop Jecko and Canon Brust). Still, few parshes exceed 300 on a Sunday. The result is that most of the delegates are from small to medium-small parishes and missions. As stated above, the missions depend upon the diocese and its budget for their survival. Furthermore, the persons elected delegate meet three criteria: ability to spend all day Friday in a convention hall (translation: retired), enough clout in their church to be elected delegate (translation: they've been there for a long time), and a willingness to sit through the convention year after year (various translations include: church geek, nothing better to do, and one who wants to kiss up to the bishop). This means that the delegates tend to be blue/gray haired Episcopal lifers who would only leave if they are carried out feet first.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.