Do I recall correctly you have something that weighs on on this issue?
The letter to the parish by the rector was not a sabbatical it was a letter of resignation. It clearly says he was not coming back.
http://www.ctdiocese.org/news/march15letterbristol.pdf
When it was said he was on a sabbatical, I was mislead into believing that the Rector had taken a leave and intended to return. That is not the case according to this letter.
If the rector leaves in a CT diocese, the normal process is the appointment of a search committee which begins the work of selecting a new rector. This process is done in connection with the Diocese.
In as much as nothing was done along the lines of establishing a search committee, it appears that this parish would be with a supply priest indefinitely.
As much as I disagree with Smith and believe he is more than capable of abusing his power, after reading that letter I liniked to, I am not as shocked about this. Smith did have an obligation to step in even though he did overreact.
I understand that it is possible to take a sabbatical as part of the final days of ones posistion.
Here is the problem. It seems as if Smith was not told the rector was leaving, only that he was on sabbatical. This leaves the impression that the Priest is returning.
At some point someone faxes the letter of resignation to Smith. He is under the impression that the Rector is returning but finds he was not told their is a vacancy.
What does he do? It is his responsibility to see that a parish takes the necessary steps to fill the posistion. It is also the vestries responsibility to provide notice to the diocese that the rector has left. In short, Smith has an obligation to the members of a parish who have not uphold their responsibility and may be misleading him.
It looks to me like this parish was doing the dardenest to avoid beginning the search process under Smith and in doing took steps that created a credibility problem.
I leave this as a second question that I am know wondering about.
The CT diocese has great health care insurance. Why did the rector need to leave to get health care?