Now that the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Southern Cone) are separate entities, they are both reporting unanimous decisions by their respective legislative bodies. The decisions move the dioceses away from one another and toward their respective theological commitments.
The article seems to say that there were 47 dioceses in the original TEC diocese, and that 13 have been “reorganized” and remain in TEC today (13 parishes is hardly enough to sustain a diocese). Are there only 34 (47 minus 13) in Bishop Iker’s diocese? Or do the 13 “reorganized parishes” contain various remnants, home groups, etc.? Could someone “on the ground” in Fort Worth give an objective count of the number of parishes that remain w/ Bishop Iker, versus the number that acknowledge TEC oversight?? Thanks!
I hadn’t noticed Susan Slaughter’s age in earlier articles. Wow… 67…. seriously… what is the point? Like so many other things in TEC, I’m sure the immediate answer is that the Holy Spirit is behind it. Who could have imagined the Episcopal Church becoming so Pentecostal?
#!, from a quick count from the website of the +Iker diocese, there are 55 churches listed. Here is the link: http://www.fwepiscopal.org/churches/congregations.html#E
From a quick count from the website of the +Ohl diocese, there are 18 “active parishes” listed. I suspect that some of the “reorganized parishes” have two components: a +Iker group and a +Ohl group. Here is the link: http://www.episcopaldiocesefortworth.org/churches.htm
I did not compare the names of the parishes on the two websites to search for duplicates.
I’m in the diocese and can tell you that of the 19 parishes listed by the TEC diocese, 8 are in their property and 11 are meeting “on the bricks” as we say here. Three of the 8 in their property actually have title to their property as given to them by Bishop Iker. The remaining 6 are in dispute and will be settled through the trial courts.
I count 56 parishes currently under Bishop Iker. This includes the 5 new parishes/missions added at last month’s Diocesan convention. As far as I can tell, there is only 1 parish meeting “on the bricks†and that is All Saints’ Fort Worth.
I am sorry to say that this is the second recent article by The Living Church which has reported about the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (whose bishop remains the Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker) without consulting us at all. As a consequence, both have contained errors. In times past, I have received phone calls from TLC to verify facts.
This article takes its numbers from reports by the new TEC diocese. In fact, a number of parishes and missions are on the rolls of both dioceses; only four parishes have completely left the diocese formed in 1982 to remain in TEC. In some cases, these congregational splits have resulted in only a handful of people in the TEC column, with the rest still in the church where they always have been. Parishes where a more significant number have remained in TEC include St. Stephen’s in Hurst and St. Alban’s in Arlington. So, counting churches is not (for the most part) an either/or proposition, but, in most cases in the new diocese, a both/and affair.
The article also fails to report that we received five new congregations into the diocese at our convention. Two of these are located in Dallas, one is a church plant, and two more are from outside the state. One of these (St. Gabriel’s in Springdale, Ark.) has not yet been listed on the diocesan Web site; this brings the number of our congregations to 56. There will be more: Already Bishop Iker has agreed to help nurture a new congregation in Waco that is calling itself King of Glory Anglican Church.
It must be said that, since Steve Waring was laid off after General Convention and George Conger has been phased out as a part-time contributor, news reporting at TLC has not been what it used to be. Those who are preparing the news there now must do it without being full-time reporters. This is a discernible handicap to them and a loss to us all. I hope that we will soon see a renewed commitment to original reporting in TLC. Certainly talented reporters are available; they need adequate resources (that is, the “luxury†of full-time employment) to do the job. I mean no disrespect to those working now to fill the gap. I only want “more, please.â€
Suzanne Gill
Director of Communications
The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth
It’s really hard to tell what FW(TEC) is up to these days. Verger has it right wrt the actual numbers but FW(TEC) at their gathering “busted” 27 FW(SC) parishes down to mission status…mine included. Kinda makes me shake my head and giggle.
BigTex AC
#6 clarification…I’m sorry..it was only 15 parishes that were busted down to mission status…including St. Andrew’s FTW and St. Laurence in Grapevine.
BigTex AC
#7,
And don’t forget the Cathedral (St. Vincent’s, Bedford) was also reduced to mission status. [my parish]
For a mixture of charity and clarity, Suzanne Gill’s contribution above would be hard to beat. Well done!
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[blockquote]”The Episcopal Diocese of Forth Worth (Southern Cone) unanimously agreed Nov. 6 and 7 to: … • Express its intention to work toward “full, visible, and sacramental unity†with the Orthodox Church in America.”[/blockquote]
Can anyone flesh out this report? I am aware that Metropolitan Jonah has opened the door, but the height of the threshold is formidable. Is there really a commitment on the part of the members of the diocese to become Orthodox?