Posted on 12/17/2005 12:39:32 PM PST by sionnsar
The following letter was sent to the Senior Wardens in all ECUSA churches in Dean D.O. Smart’s Anglican Communion Network 20 state area, called a convocation. It has the ACN logo and the ACN title prominently at the top.
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To: Senior Wardens within the ACN Mid-Continental Convocation
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
There has never been a more critical time in the lives of the people in the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) is a part.
It appears increasingly likely that, at its General Convention in June 2006, the Episcopal Church USA will fail to sufficiently respond to the conditions of the Windsor Report, thus choosing to ‘walk apart’ from the worldwide Anglican Communion. When that happens, Episcopalians will have to decide, “Whom will I follow?”
If you, your Vestry and the people in your congregation are fully familiar with the issues that are increasingly threatening the Body of Christ, praise God! – but you are in the minority. Regrettably, many parish clergy have chosen to ignore these unpleasant issues in hopes that they will somehow go away. I can assure you that this appears to be most unlikely. The differences having to do with the authority and interpretation of Holy Scripture have now become so polarized as to be mutually exclusive and irreconcilable.
In order to make informed choices, people simply must have reliable evidence to examine and to consider. To this end, I would love to gift you with a brand new DVD titled “Choose This Day” and ask you to share it with people in your congregation. “Choose This Day” was developed by some of our most respected scholars and theologians, and their wisdom is presented in a simple, interesting and understandable form.
If you will return the enclosed postcard, I will get a DVD coming to you by return mail. If you need additional information and/or resources, I’d be pleased to have you give me a call.
The issues we’re considering have huge significance. The choices you and your fellow parishioners make will have eternal consequences. For that reason, I do pray that my offer will not fall upon the pathway, nor on shallow ground, nor amongst the thorns, but on rich soil where it may produce good fruit.
Yours in the love of Jesus,
The Rev. D. O. Smart, Dean
P.S. If you can give me the names of contacts in other parishes who would benefit from this offer, I would be glad to send you “Choose This Day” DVDs for them as well.
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It received the following response from the Bishop of Kansas according to the diocesan website.
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From Bishop Wolfe
Editor’s note: This letter was sent today by the bishop to all clergy and senior wardens in the diocese in response to information being disseminated by the Anglican Communion Network.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I was disappointed to learn a letter was mailed this week to Senior Wardens in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas from D.O. Smart, a former deacon in this diocese. Smart was deposed on November 1, 2005, for breaking his ordination vows, and while the letter he wrote looks official (with a seal, signed by a “dean” on behalf of an Anglican “convocation”) neither Smart nor the Anglican Communion Network is affiliated with or has any authority within the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas or the Episcopal Church, USA. The letter was mailed in plain envelopes marked “Personal,” and the clergy in charge of these parishes were not afforded the courtesy of a copy.
The apparent purpose of this letter, which contains a number of falsehoods, is to drive a wedge between the laity and the clergy and to encourage faithful Christians to leave the doctrine and discipline of the Episcopal Church. This negative mail campaign is in clear violation of the spirit of the agreement reached between Christ Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas when the congregation left the Episcopal Church earlier this year. At that time we said in a joint statement, “The diocese and parish have attempted to conduct the entire process with respect for one another’s beliefs and opinions. While these issues have caused great pain for many people, the agreement allows us to move forward on separate paths in our ministries.” Apparently Smart no longer feels bound by this agreement.
Smart predicts the Episcopal Church will “fail to sufficiently respond to the conditions of the Windsor Report.” However, Bishop John Paterson, Chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council, states that the Episcopal Church has been “exemplary” in adhering to the recommendations of this report. Ironically, the only violations of the Windsor Report in our diocese occurred when bishops outside their own jurisdictions officiated at irregular services at Christ Church, Overland Park, including the one in which Smart was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Kampala in the Church of Uganda.
I would observe there is a certain desperation underlying this type of mailing. Smart has offered to provide information about a church to which he no longer belongs. I believe we are better prepared to provide such information. Accordingly, if any clergy person, warden or communicant in this diocese would like information about the Windsor Report or the issues to be addressed at the 2006 General Convention, please contact me or any of our General Convention deputies, and we would be happy to meet with you.
It is becoming clear that the objective of the Anglican Communion Network is to create schism in the Episcopal Church. As your bishop, I have promised to guard the “faith, unity and discipline of the Church,” and I intend to keep that vow.
In Christ,
+Dean
The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe
Ninth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
"Let's get ready to Ruummmmmmmble....!"
I have a question, my friend. Why do your hierarchs sign their letters with simply their first names? It is true that ours do too, but their names are those given to them at their monastic professions and are not their birth names, nor do they really have "last names", or at least last names that are used.
If he can identify two falsehoods in that letter, I'll apologize to him. If he can't, then he's a liar.
Actually, they don't... I think... I 've never actually paid close attention, but I think there are a variety of ways they sign.
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