No Change in Connecticut Following Bishop's Visit

The Living Church Foundation ^ | 8/01/2005 | unknown

[sionnsar]

Bishop Andrew D. Smith’s offer of an olive branch to the members of Christ and the Epiphany, East Haven, one of six Connecticut parishes that have rebuffed his Episcopal authority, had no takers on July 24, the parish's rector, the Rev. Gilbert V. Wilkes, told The Living Church.

Bishop Smith cited his visit to the parish as an example of his good faith adherence to the House of Bishops’ Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) guidelines in a July 28 letter to nine bishops who objected to his conduct over the discipline of the Rev. Mark Hansen, rector of St John’s, Bristol.

Bishop Smith wrote that “in the spirit of ‘Caring for All the Churches’,” he had accepted an invitation from Fr. Wilkes, and “met with members of” Christ and the Epiphany “on Sunday afternoon, July 24, for an open and direct conversation. For me it was a time of grace, both during formal discussion and our informal reception afterward, the beginning of a renewed relationship, I pray.” “Caring for All the Churches” is the House of Bishops’ DEPO agreement.

Fr. Wilkes told TLC that Bishop Smith “is more optimistic about the outcome than I. He wanted to visit and he got that. People were polite and on the whole non-confrontational, but no one agreed with him.”

Bishop Smith and Fr. Wilkes scheduled the meeting at 4:00 p.m. because “based on the current atmosphere of ‘hostility and mistrust’ between the bishop and us, we both thought that a non-Eucharistic setting would be best,” Fr. Wilkes said.

Approximately 60 parishioners attended the 75-minute question-and-answer session. “The parish was polite and deported themselves well,” Fr. Wilkes said, with the questions to the bishop ranging from “disagreement with the Bishop’s departure from biblical norms, to the current situation, and the issues at St John’s church.

“I don’t really see any change in the situation, certainly not any easing of our position or hope for the future came from the session,” Fr. Wilkes observed.