Download it and read it all. The election is scheduled for November 10th..

In analysing a crisis of this kind, one should always bear in mind that nothing difficult happens unless there is a real pressure for it to happen. General Musharraf would not have instituted the state of emergency if there had been no Islamic militants.

Chuck Prince would not contemplate resignation unless the bank had lost a great deal of money. The oil price would not be more than $90 a barrel if there were no shortage and no threat of war. Gold would not be above $800 an ounce if people trusted the dollar. Real events force painful decisions to be made.

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At this point, I wish to switch from the strictly narrative to the personal. As has now been noted in my earlier posting, I was in error regarding the necessity of a two-thirds majority vote for Resolution One (I plead as my excuse that I heard someone with a track record in the Diocese remark upon it in my district meeting and took it on faith instead of consulting the canons.) I find at the end of two very long days that I am troubled. I am no more troubled about my vote than I was before; amidst a multitude of evils I believe it to have been the right choice. What concerns me is the temper that I see emerging among the majority, of which I still consider myself a member. It is a temper of loyalty at all cost, to person and practice as well as to principle. It is a temper that speaks to the solidarity of the elect and has little time for the more quirkish orthodox spirits that inhabit this Diocese. One almost wonders if the spirit of fear is less a fear of what those outside can do to us and more of how reliable our fellow conservatives will be.
I believe there are measures of orthodox Christianity and that they should govern our leadership choices. Sadly, it would seem, we are now demanding a ”˜higher’ standard. As I listened to some conservatives speak today about the climate of intimidation, I couldn’t help but feel that they were missing the point of Bishop’s Duncan’s sermon yesterday in which he reminded us that Christians are called to suffering and ostracism and rejection. If a decision is ”˜right,’ why should it alarm us to be called upon to state it? What price conscience, without cost? If our enemies behave badly ”“ and some of them have done and are doing so ”“ it does not exempt us from behaving well. I am loyal to my Bishop in large measure because I believe he has a better sense of balance than some of those who proclaim themselves to be his most loyal supporters. I disagree with some of his judgments, but I have never faulted his sense of pastoral care.

Let us at least be clear among ourselves. We are witnessing the passing of something that was at the core of Anglican identity here in Pittsburgh and at the core of Anglican witness in the United States until now. The loss will not simply be the loss of liberal friends but will almost certainly be the loss of assurance and perhaps of the orthodox ”˜diversity’ to which we have been so long accustomed. It behooves those who know that beyond the veil there is perfect freedom, to remember the rest of us who will walk that way certainly in uncertainty, perhaps in pain, because they know that to remain where they are is much the more perilous.

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Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday, deploying troops and sacking a top judge in a bid to reassert his flagging authority against political rivals and Islamist militants.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan’s internal security has deteriorated sharply in recent months with a wave of suicide attacks by al Qaeda-inspired militants, including one that killed 139 people.

State-run Pakistan Television said Musharraf had suspended the constitution and declared an emergency, ending weeks of speculation that the general who seized power in a 1999 coup might impose emergency rule or martial law.

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Representatives from the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh voted overwhelmingly yesterday to approve constitutional amendments that are the first step in leaving the national church in a widening rift over homosexuality and interpretation of Scripture.

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Representatives of Pittsburgh’s Episcopal Diocese ignored a warning to their bishop from the church’s national leader on Friday and took a step toward a possible affiliation with an Anglican church outside the United States.

Lay representatives voted 118-58, with one abstention, in favor of a resolution to leave the New York-based Episcopal Church, said Peter Frank, a diocesan spokesman. Representatives of the clergy at their 142nd Diocesan Convention at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center in Johnstown voted 109-24 in favor.

Another measure must pass the next convention in November 2008 to make the action binding, Frank said.

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Saturday, November 3, 2007

The Presiding Bishop
815 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Dear Katharine,

I have read with great sadness your letter to Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh. And, since you have chosen to make your letter to him public, I will make this one public, as well.

I have stood shoulder to shoulder with Bob in the efforts of the Network to reverse the course of The Episcopal Church with regard to recent decisions regarding human sexuality. I part company with him in his decision to abandon the commitment we made when we formed the Network, to work “within the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.”

But, Katharine, I cannot support your thinly veiled threat to resort to litigation if the Diocese of Pittsburgh rescinds its accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.

Dioceses voluntarily join (accede to) The Episcopal Church. And they can voluntarily determine to separate from (withdraw their accession from) The Episcopal Church.

During the Civil War, the Dioceses within the Confederate States withdrew from The Episcopal Church without penalty. They were reunited when that terrible war ended. Perhaps there will be a reunion of presently seceding Dioceses at some point in our future, as well.

But just now, to threaten litigation, especially in the face of the unanimous exhortation from the Primates in Dar es Salaam (an exhortation you agreed to) to end such litigation, is deeply troubling.

I beg you to stand down.

This can only harm our relationships as fellow members of the Body of Christ and our witness to the outside world.

Warmest regards in our Lord,

The Right Rev. John W. Howe
Episcopal Bishop of Central Florida
1017 East Robinson St.
Orlando, FL 32801

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After passionate appeals from both sides of the debate, clergy members and lay people voted 227 to 82 to “realign” the conservative diocese.

If Friday’s vote is approved again in a year, the diocese will begin steps to remove itself from the American church and join with another province in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

After the vote, Bishop Robert W. Duncan of Pittsburgh, who is also moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, an alliance of conservative dioceses and parishes, defended the decision.

“What we’re trying to do is state clearly in the United States for the authority of Scripture,” Bishop Duncan said after the vote, taken during the diocese’s annual convention in this city about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh.

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The leader of the Episcopal Church of the United States said Friday that church dissidents unhappy with the ordination of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire should refocus their energy on more pressing world problems.

“Obviously a handful of our church leaders are still upset and would like to see the church never ordain and never baptize a gay or lesbian person,” said Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, in Burlington to attend the annual convention of the state’s 175-year-old Episcopal diocese.

“We need to refocus on more life-and-death issues like starvation, education, medical care.”

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Some Christian congregations, particularly in lower income, urban areas, are turning to an unlikely source for help — the Church of Scientology.

Scientologists do not worship God, much less Jesus Christ. The church has seen plenty of controversy and critics consider it a cult. So why are observant Christians embracing some of its teachings?

Two pastors who spoke recently with CNN explained that when it comes to religion, they still preach the core beliefs of Christianity. But when it comes to practicing what they preach in a modern world, borrowing from Scientology helps.

The Rev. Charles Kennedy, of the Glorious Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal church in Tampa, Florida, and the Rev. James McLaughlin, of the Wayman Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, are among the theological hybrids.

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Yuck.

The Anglican District of Virginia will install the Rev. Tory Baucum tomorrow as rector of Truro Church in Fairfax. The Anglican District is an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia and part of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

The installation will take place at 11:15 a.m. at Truro Church, 10520 Main St.

Baucum serves as a missioner of Alpha International and an adjunct professor of mission at Asbury Theological Seminary. He received a doctorate in intercultural theology with expertise in the catechumenate, Christian revitalization movements and the history of preaching.

A conservative Episcopal parish in Marlborough is bolting the denomination, in the latest indication that even in liberal Massachusetts the Episcopal Church is losing congregations over its support for gay rights.

Holy Trinity Church in Marlborough is leaving behind its building, renting space in a nearby Methodist church, and affiliating with the Anglican Mission in the Americas, which is overseen by the Episcopal Church of Rwanda.

The small Marlborough congregation, with about 70 active members, is following a national trend in which conservative Episcopal congregations are leaving the Episcopal Church USA to affiliate with theologically like-minded Anglican provinces in Africa.

The Marlborough congregation is the third local group of Episcopal parishioners to bolt this year. In January, many of the parishioners of All Saints Episcopal in Attleboro left to form All Saints Anglican in Attleboro and in September, most of the parishioners of All Saints Episcopal in West Newbury left to form All Saints Anglican in Amesbury. The new Attleboro congregation is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, the new Amesbury congregation with the Anglican Church of Kenya.

There are also several other Anglican congregations in Eastern Massachusetts – including in Brewster, Brockton, Middleborough, and Sandwich – that have been formed by individuals who are unhappy with the direction of the Episcopal Church.

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MySpace and Facebook have become addictions in our society. Similar to people who are dependent on drugs or alcohol, social networking junkies count the minutes to their next profile fix, checking their computers multiple times per day to see how many shout-outs, virtual drinks or new friends they’ve acquired. But recent data has indicated a slowing in growth for MySpace while Facebook has continued to accelerate. Is a new king on the horizon for the social networking space? Or can two very different social networks co-exist?

According to Hitwise, as of last week, the MySpace domain is one of the most visited domain amongst U.S. Internet users, accounting for 4.92% of all Internet visits. At its peak in June of this year, the site accounted for 7% of all Internet visits. Meanwhile, Facebook has been increasing steadily, currently taking the position as the ninth most popular domain in the U.S., accounting for 1% of all Internet visits. Even though both sites ”” being within the top 10 of all Internet domains ”” are somewhat ubiquitous, demographic and psychographic data on users indicates that there are some unique audience components to each service.

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We welcome the comments from the Archbishop of Canterbury, contained in a recent letter to the Bishop of Central Florida, where he reminds us that “the organ of union with the wider Church is the Bishop and the Diocese rather than the Provincial structure as such,” calling this a “basic conviction of Catholic theology.” He goes on to say:

“I should feel a great deal happier, I must say, if those who are most eloquent for a traditionalist view in the United States showed a fuller understanding of the need to regard the Bishop and the Diocese as the primary locus of ecclesial identity rather than the abstract reality of the ‘national church’.”

Given the current atmosphere and controversies in the life of the Anglican Communion, it is helpful to be reminded that dioceses, not provincial structures, are the basic unit of the catholic church. As is stated in the clarifying note issued by Lambeth Palace on Oct. 23, “The diocese is more than a ”˜local branch’ of a national organization.” Clearly, provincial alignments are intended for the benefit of the dioceses, and not the reverse.

It is indeed painful when a number of faithful congregations, striving to discern God’s will in these days of controversy and seeking to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ, arrive at a moment of conviction that compels them to separate from their bishop and diocese. It is also difficult for a faithful diocese to reach the collective decision to separate from its national province. Such congregations and dioceses, however, now feel compelled to take definitive actions to secure their future and to guard the orthodoxy of their faith communities in the decades to come. Affiliation with a heterodox province hampers their mission and witness, just as affiliation with an orthodox province enhances and strengthens it.

As the realignment of the Anglican Communion continues to unfold and take shape in the months ahead, we pray for the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit for all those who seek truth and unity in Jesus Christ, and we urge that such separations as must take place may be accomplished without rancor and litigation.

The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker The Very Rev. Ryan Reed
Bishop of Fort Worth President, Standing Committee

NASHOTAH, WI, October 23, 2007 ”“ After two days of worship, dialogue and brainstorming, the faculties of Nashotah House Theological Seminary and Trinity School for Ministry, meeting on the Nashotah House campus this week, announced today their commitment to partner together in common witness to a biblically faithful, traditional Anglicanism, and to welcome opportunities to join in common ministry as they emerge.

“While each seminary has its own unique character and ethos, we are united in our core theological convictions,” said the Very Rev. Robert S. Munday, Dean and President of Nashotah House. “Above all, we are united in our commitment to training biblically faithful leaders for the Church, and in our desire to support a renewed orthodoxy within North American Anglicanism today. These past two days of fellowship have only strengthened those shared commitments.”

“We each belong to our own tradition,” said the Right Rev. John Rodgers, Dean and President of Trinity School for Ministry, which is located near Pittsburgh, PA, “and we each need to be faithful to our own tradition. But it’s growing increasingly clear that the fullness of our faith and our tradition is realized when we come together. We rejoice in each other’s encouragement. And we need to be a caution to each other. We want the diversity and the fellowship of both traditions sharing the same table.”

“These past two days have been a joy for all of us,” said the Rev. Dr. Grant LeMarquand, Trinity’s Academic Dean. “Sharing our own stories, sharing the Eucharist, and considering the needs of the whole Church””this fellowship heartens our hope, our confidence in the future of God’s mission in North America.”

“In the current state of the Episcopal Church, the old disputes between our traditions pale in significance when measured against our common devotion to the great tradition of the Christian faith,” remarked the Rev. Martha Giltinan, Trinity’s Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology. “Both schools are asking themselves what the future of Anglicanism is going to look like. And the return to a biblically faithful, traditional Anglicanism isn’t just about our Bishops coming to agreement. It involves the whole Church–including its organs of theological education.”

The two faculties are contemplating a wide variety of possibilities for future collaboration, including sharing expertise in creating and growing new degree programs, and the mutual stimulation each faculty can provide the other in terms of academic scholarship. “We recognize that each school, because of its particular emphases, teaches subjects that the other doesn’t,” said Bishop Rodgers, “and it’s easy to see how students could profit from being able to take advantage of what both seminaries have to offer.”

The 22 faculty members of both schools will meet again in the Spring of 2008, on the campus of Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA, to continue their discussion.

A Muslim group’s plan to build a mosque and convention site on a 224-acre farm has met with resistance from many residents of this rural, overwhelmingly Christian town who fear its tranquility and security may be jeopardized.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA insists it will be a friendly neighbor, but its proposal — including an annual national gathering of thousands of Ahmadis — could be blocked by a measure under consideration by the town commissioners.

”Muslims are a whole different culture from us,” said the mayor, Ralph Whitmore, taking a break at his livestock feed store. ”The situation with the Muslims is a touchy worldwide situation, so people are antsy over that.”

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From here:

FiF Assembly Resolution on TEC
Oct 24, 2007

The FiF National Assembly, having heard Bishop Jack Iker’s Report, passed nem. con. the following emergency Resolution on the situation in The Episcopal Church:

Resolution 2007/09

This Assembly notes with concern that the actions of the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church consistently fail to match its words and assurances. The Assembly cannot agree with the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting that the response to the Windsor Report and the Dar-es-Salaam communiqué was adequate or honourable.

Proposed by the Reverend Dr Geoffrey Kirk

Seconded by the Reverend Prebendary Sam Philpott

An independent forensic audit requested by a breakaway Episcopal congregation found no wrongdoing by the Rev. Donald Armstrong, accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish.

There was no theft or tax fraud found, according to a statement about the audit released Tuesday. The audit, conducted for Grace Church CANA vestry and Armstrong’s attorney Dennis Hartley, was done by Robert D. Johnson, a Colorado Springs certified public accountant.

His audit found that six counts against Armstrong presented by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado in an ecclesiastical court had reasonable explanations and that financial transactions had been approved by parish officials.

“I am grateful for this report, for its clarity and completeness in addressing the false accusations against me and our vestry by the Diocese of Colorado, its Bishop, and their representatives,” Armstrong said in a statement.

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After a thorough investigation of several months duration, independent forensic auditor Robert D. Johnson, CPA, P.C. today issued a report surrounding the allegations of financial mismanagement, fraud, and theft at Grace Church & St. Stephen’s. His findings concluded that the Parish rector, the Rev. Donald Armstrong, is innocent of allegations of fraud and theft.

The forensic audit was initiated by the vestry in direct response to the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado’s investigation and presentment against Fr. Armstrong. Since 2003 relations between the conservative parish and the diocese have deteriorated over the revisionist theology of The Episcopal Church, creating a tenuous standing within the mainstream of the biblically faithful worldwide Anglican Communion. Grace Church has chosen to remain in the Anglican Communion.

The Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill, Episcopal Bishop of Colorado, suspended Fr. Armstrong from ministry within the parish during the Christmas season of last year pending completion of an investigation of financial mismanagement. After several frustrated attempts by the vestry over the course of months to mediate in a situation that it viewed as politically motivated, the vestry determined that the Episcopal Diocese’s investigative and ecclesiastical judicial process was fatally compromised.

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The inimitable Tim Conway from the old Carol Burnett Show

Amendment #2007C01 – Amendment of Preamble
(Sponsors: Committee on Constitution and Canons)

SECOND READING
PREAMBLE

We, the Clergy and Laity resident in that portion of the State of Texas constituting what is known as the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, a diocese within the province of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, which is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion — a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer — do hereby ordain and establish the following Constitution:

(Italicized text represents additions to the present text.)

Amendment #2007C02 – Amendment of Article I
(Sponsors: Committee on Constitution and Canons)

SECOND READING

Resolved, The Diocese of Dallas in Convention assembled amends its Constitution in Article I to read as follows:

ARTICLE I
AUTHORITY OF GENERAL CONVENTION
The Church in this Diocese accedes to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and recognizes the authority of the General Convention of said Church.
The foregoing accession and recognition are expressly premised on the Episcopal Church in the United States of America being and at all times remaining a full, constituent member of the Anglican Communion as set forth in the Preamble of the Constitution of the said Church, “a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in the communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer.” In the event that such premise shall no longer be applicable in whole or in part to the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, such accession and recognition may be revoked, limited, or otherwise amended by this Diocese immediately, notwithstanding Article 17, by a concurrent two-thirds vote of both orders at any Annual or Special Convention.
Moreover, the foregoing accession and recognition shall in no way be deemed to prevent or limit this Diocese from disassociating (as the word is used in Title IV, 3.21 b) itself from any actions of the General Convention by concurrent majority vote of both orders at any Annual or Special Convention.

2007 R05
Resolution regarding the response of the House of Bishops to the Primates’ Dar es Salaam Communiqué, and the assessment of that response by the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council.

RESOLVED, that this 112th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas believes the House of Bishop’s “Response to Questions and Concerns Raised by our Anglican Communion Partners,” issued on September 25, 2007, to be an insufficient response to the Dar es Salaam Communiqué because it does not forthrightly answer the Primates’ requests for clarity.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that while the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council [JSC] has asserted that the HOB’s statement meets the Primates’ requests, this Convention maintains that the bishops’ response is another indication that The Episcopal Church continues to “tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level” (The Windsor Report [TWR §27]) and has not properly committed itself to the necessary conditions of communion at this time: “the repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation enjoined on us by Christ” (TWR §134).

Submitted by:
The Rev’d David S. Houk ”“ St. John’s, Dallas
The Rev’d Matthew S.C. Olver ”“ Incarnation, Dallas

Rationale
The Communiqué that was issued by the Primates at their February 2007 meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, called for clarity from The Episcopal Church’s (TEC) House of Bishops (HOB) on a number of matters, two of which were to
1. confirm that the passing of Resolution B033 of the 75th General Convention means that a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent (cf The Windsor Report [TWR] §134); unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion (cf TWR §134); and to
2. make an unequivocal common covenant that the bishops will not authorize any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses or through General Convention (cf TWR §143, 144).
Regarding the first request, while the bishops helped clarify the intention of Resolution B033, they did not offer the assurance requested, namely, that a candidate for the episcopacy living in a non-celibate, same-sex union would not receive consent. Rather, the bishops reiterated the language of B033 that they would only “exercise restraint” in the consenting process.
Regarding the second request, the bishops’ pledge not to authorize public rites of blessing for same-sex unions fails to address the reality that many bishops allow such rites in their dioceses. The statement also falls short in that it states that this pledge may be overturned by subsequent actions of General Convention, irrespective of a new consensus in the Communion.
While the Joint Standing Committee of Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council gave the HOB’s response a preliminary approval, many in the U.S. and throughout the Communion do not see TEC’s response as a clear commitment to the Windsor Report and subsequent requests of the Primates.
Katharine Jefferts Schori has written to all diocesan bishops, asking them and their dioceses to reflect on whether or not the JSC’s Report is an acceptable assessment of the HOB’s response. Bishop Stanton has already given the diocese a very detailed evaluation and this resolution gives voice to clergy and lay delegates as to our view.

The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy “opened the door” to possible realignment with a different province of the Anglican Communion at its annual synod Friday and Saturday.
The west-central Illinois diocese, based in Peoria, is among several U.S. dioceses unhappy with the actions, teachings and policies of The Episcopal Church, the American province of the Anglican Communion.

The Rev. John Spencer, the synod’s press officer, said Saturday night that while several resolutions were approved by clergy and elected leaders of the diocese, no final decision was made to seek alternate affiliation.

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Two long-time members of Christ Church explain how the recent decision to break ties with Episcopalians has caused them to take an honest look at what they believe.

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The annual Synod of the Diocese of Quincy meeting in Moline on Friday and Saturday remained focused on moving forward with mission and ministry inside the diocese, around the county and around the world, even as it seeks to secure its relationship to the wider Anglican Communion.

Presentations were made about continuing relief efforts coordinated with the Free Church of the Annunciation in New Orleans, earthquake relief for Peru, an upcoming medical mission to the Dominican Republic, and new outreach work in Haiti and Quincy’s companion Diocese of the Upper Shire in Malawi.

During the synod banquet Friday evening, Deacon Phil Fleming, the diocese’s disaster and relief coordinator, received a national recognition award for his Katrina relief work in New Orleans, and also received the St. Paul’s award for meritorious service to the diocese.

The synod took steps to consider possible relationships with other branches of the Anglican Communion. Quincy is presently affiliated with the Episcopal Church in the US. A number of decisions were made that open the door for possible alignment with a different branch of the world-wide Communion.

“As a Diocese our goal is to remain in fellowship with the wider Anglican Communion,” said the Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy. “Over a year ago we asked for alternative oversight from an archbishop outside the US. We re-affirmed that request at this synod.”

“No final decisions were made about our affiliation at this synod,” according to Fr. John Spencer, press officer for the Diocese. Spencer said a number of decisions are currently being made in various parts of the Anglican Communion that will affect not only the US church, but all 38 provinces of the Communion. “Decisions will be made in the next few weeks about who will or will not attend next year’s Lambeth Conference,” a meeting of all Anglican bishops held every 10 years. Many bishops, including a significant number of bishops in the Church of England, have indicated they may not attend if American bishops are present who have continued to reject the scriptural and moral teaching standards of the Communion.

“Also, several of our sister dioceses in the Anglican Communion Network will be considering canonical changes in the coming weeks, ” Spencer said. “We want to discern a way forward together in a reasoned and prayerful manner over the coming months.”

Check it out.

Update: To look for statistics for your parish or diocese click here.

Priests and lay leaders from nine Episcopal churches – including two with Polk County ties – have begun talks with the Diocese of Central Florida that could lead to them breaking away from the denomination.

Among the nine priests are the Rev. Andrew Doan, rector of Holy Cross Church in Winter Haven, and the Rev. Geoffrey Boland, who leads St. Nicholas, a newly planted church that meets at Liberty High School in Poinciana in Osceola County but draws members from Polk County. The group has been critical of increasingly liberal policies in the Episcopal Church toward the role of homosexuals, including ordaining them as priests or bishops and using liturgies to bless same-sex unions.

On Friday, Boland would say only that the priests and lay leaders had met Thursday with Bishop John Howe and other diocesan leaders and entered into “a process of conversation and negotiation.”

A statement released Thursday said the two sides discussed “possible scenarios by which all or part of the congregations may disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church.”

Doan said no decisions have been reached.

“We’re still in wait-and-see mode. There’s a lot of talking to do,” he said.

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The College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) recently petitioned for “full, corporate, sacramental union” with the Roman Catholic Church recently.

The appeal for union was debated during a meeting of bishops in Portsmouth, England during the first week of October. It was delivered in a letter, which was signed by all the bishops present. The letter was delivered personally to the Holy See by the Most Rev. John Hepworth, Primate of TAC, and two other bishops selected by the college.

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