THE Catholic Group on the General Synod has initiated a letter of support for the Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt Revd Jack Iker. He has been warned by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, of disciplinary action if his diocese changes its constitution to effect secession from the Episcopal Church.

The letter has 51 signatories. It applauds Bishop Iker’s “stand for scripture and traditional Faith and Order” and describes the Episcopal Church’s “departure” from this as “deeply damaging and divisive within the Anglican Communion and in our relationships with major ecumenical partners”. It describes the leadership’s use of litigation as “nothing short of a scandal”.

It continues: “We are delighted by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement in response to Bishop John Howe of Central Florida that any diocese compliant with Windsor remained in communion with the See of Canterbury and the mainstream of the Anglican Communion, and trust that you and your diocese will be encouraged thereby.”

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Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia, a guest at the Diocese of Fort Worth’s annual convention, told delegates and visitors that Archbishop Gregory Venables had “received a positive response” from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams last September when he informed Archbishop Williams that his province would likely extend a formal invitation to Fort Worth and other U.S. dioceses.

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By margins of more than three-to-one, the annual convention approved nine significant changes to the constitution and canons in the Diocese of Fort Worth. Convention met Nov. 16-17 in Fort Worth.

Attendance in the visitor’s gallery outnumbered the 206 clergy and lay delegates registered to vote. Debate was extended and cordial on most of the proposed legislation, which removed the diocese from the authority of General Convention. Separately, convention unanimously approved by voice vote a resolution endorsing an invitation to affiliate with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. There were several abstentions from that resolution, however.

At a press conference at the conclusion of convention, Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker said the decisions made at this convention are preliminary and will require ratification by another convention before they take effect.

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At issue in this Convention today are constitutional and canonical decisions about how we shall chart our course as a Diocese for the next 25 years and beyond. We are preparing a future for our children and our grandchildren. As you know, by way of background, the chancellor to the Presiding Bishop, wrote my chancellor on Oct. 19, 2006, declaring that certain provisions in our diocesan Constitution and Canons were contrary to those of the Episcopal Church and needed to be changed, or else the Presiding Bishop would “have to consider what sort of action she must take in order to bring your diocese into compliance.” The following month, on Nov. 15, the Executive Council of the General Convention received a task force report identifying Fort Worth as a “problem diocese” that needed to be monitored. On June 14, 2007, this same Executive Council declared certain constitutional and canonical amendments in this Diocese to be “null and void.” Our Standing Committee and I replied by pointing out that such declarations exceeded the authority of the Executive Council, which is responsible for the program and budget of the General Convention, and that they had no legislative or judicial authority to make such a pronouncement. The Council’s declaration about the legitimate legislative process in this Diocese is, in fact, null and void.

And then just last week, the Presiding Bishop sent me an open letter, that she quickly posted on the internet, threatening disciplinary action against me if I did not prevent this Convention from acting on certain legislative proposals. I believe all of you have seen my reply. What you may not have seen is the Episcopal News Service story saying that if I did not heed her warning it would (and I quote) “force her to take action to bring the diocese and its leadership into line with the mandates of the national Church.” Now hold on there a minute. I don’t want to force her to do anything, but I must object to the claim that the Presiding Bishop has any canonical authority in this Diocese or any legitimate power over the leadership of this Diocese. She has no authority to bring Fort Worth into line with the mandates of a so-called “national Church.” There is no such thing as “the national Church.” We are a confederation of Dioceses, related to each other by our participation in General Convention. From the earliest days of the beginnings of the Episcopal Church in this country, including the formation of dioceses and eventually the creation of the General Convention itself, there has been a strong mistrust of centralized authority that is deeply rooted in our history as Episcopalians. We do not have an Archbishop in this Church, who has authority over other Bishops and their Dioceses. Instead, we have a Presiding Bishop, with very limited canonical responsibilities, mainly administrative in nature. We must object to the tendency in recent years in this Church to create some sort of central bureaucracy at the top that holds power and authority over the various Dioceses of this Church. We do not have a Curia that dictates policy and dogma in this Church. We do not have a Presiding Bishop with papal authority over us, nor do we believe in the infallibility of any Bishop or any council or, indeed, of any General Convention. If I may be so bold to speak on your behalf, dear friends: the leadership of this Diocese does not need to be brought into line with the mandates of some mythical “national Church.”

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Delegates to the Fort Worth Episcopal Diocese’s annual convention took the first step Saturday to cut ties to the Episcopal Church, a move driven in part by the diocese’s opposition to the ordination of women and gay men and the blessing of same-sex unions.

More than 200 clergy and lay delegates voted at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, with an overwhelming majority rejecting on first reading an amendment assenting to the authority of the Episcopal Church.

The church’s 2.1 million members constitute the U.S. body of the Anglican Communion, but the national church has taken more liberal stances than the worldwide communion in the past 30 years.

Delegates also adopted on first reading an amendment affirming membership with the Anglican Communion, which has 75 million members.

They rejected on first reading an amendment stating that church and mission property within the 24-county diocese are held in trust for the Episcopal Church. Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker and his followers say property owned by parishes and missions is held in trust for the diocese through a corporation.

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A committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth recommended Monday that the diocese leave the U.S. Episcopal Church and affiliate with another province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Because the proposal involves a constitutional change, it would first have to be approved at the diocese’s annual convention Nov. 16-17 and again in 2008, Bishop Jack Iker said.

“This is just a first step,” Iker said.

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Leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth have recommended that it leave the more liberal Episcopal Church, the Anglican body of the United States.

The Episcopal Church faces considerable internal division, including revolt by some dioceses and parishes, over allowing an openly gay bishop and not forbidding the blessing of same-sex unions.

The Fort Worth diocese’s standing committee ”“ a key panel of clergy and lay leaders ”“ proposed Monday that the diocese withdraw from the Episcopal Church and affiliate with another province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

In announcing the recommendation, the Rev. Ryan S. Reed, president of the committee, described Fort Worth as a “traditional, conservative diocese” that has long found itself at odds with the leadership of the Episcopal Church.

The proposal to withdraw would have to be approved at the diocese’s annual convention Nov. 16-17. And because the move involves changing the diocese’s constitution, a second vote would be required at next year’s annual convention.

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We, the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, have recently conducted two meetings with clergy and lay leaders of the diocese. This was done in accord with our decision, announced in May, to continue to seek Alternative Primatial Oversight as requested by vote of the 2006 Diocesan Convention. The meetings allowed us to explore the options before us. All active parish clergy resident in the diocese were invited to attend one of the two meetings. The junior and senior wardens of each congregation also were invited to attend, to represent the concerns of the laity.

The purpose of the meetings was to give each participant an opportunity to share personal feelings and opinions on the crisis facing The Episcopal Church and the relationship of this diocese to General Convention. The meetings were characterized by a spirit of charity and openness, as well as anxiety and grief. We heard sincere and faithful voices from all points of view. It was the opinion of all that, regardless of what course of action is taken, there will be tremendous cost at all levels. At the same time, we were encouraged by the honest discussion during this time of listening.

Three general options for the future were identified in May. During the whole course of both meetings, we heard two or three persons voice support for a path of complete accession to the positions taken by the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. There was a little more support for continuing the current course of staying and witnessing within The Episcopal Church. The overwhelming opinion expressed by those who spoke was that it is time for the realignment to move forward, as we committed ourselves to doing at our Diocesan Convention of 2003.* Sadly, no other solution to the crisis could be identified. With faith and renewed hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, we will move forward.

We appreciate the contributions made by all who participated, and we pray for the life and direction of this diocese.

The Very Rev. Ryan S. Reed
President
on behalf of the Standing Committee