The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh expects its convention in Sewickley this weekend to be a remarkably unremarkable.
In 2008, at what was then an Episcopal diocesan convention, delegates voted to split from the Episcopal Church. Last year the Anglican diocese was regrouping and fighting property litigation that is still on appeal.
“God willing, this will be a tame convention,” said Archbishop Robert Duncan, the bishop and leader of the Anglican Church in North America, to which the diocese now belongs. The convention began Friday night at St. Stephen Church, Sewickley, and continues today.
The new denomination — which is seeking recognition from the global Anglican Communion — has unusual geographical dynamics. The Diocese of Pittsburgh has taken in congregations from far outside the original 11 counties. Christ Church in Plano, Texas, which draws more than 2,000 worshipers weekly, has asked to join the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, as have parishes from Illinois and Wisconsin.
Here’s the [url=http://catholicandreformed.blogspot.com/2010/11/strife-is-oer-battle-won-anglican.html]unofficial [i]official report[/i][/url], if anyone’s interested 🙂
While I understand it is a fragile time for the ACNA, the manner in which parishes choose a diocese far removed from their geographies (without some specific issue like FiFNA for those who object to the ordination of women, but are in dioceses which do not forbid that practice) makes me exceedingly uncomfortable and will, I think, become a large problem in the future. It is tough for me to envision how a chief shepherd is able to provide his full range of function when a parish may simply choose some other whenever they like. It will also be fraught with inefficiency, when bishops must fly criss-cross patterns in order to visit their flocks in remote places – places near to another bishop.
As I understand it, the non-geographical parishes now associated with Pittsburgh are there for the same reason: each has a woman priest and for that reason cannot be part of their local geographical diocese. Christ Church, Plano, for example, could not join with the neighboring Diocese of Fort Worth because of the woman priest it has on staff. Same thing with the two parishes in San Jose and Ohio. The group of 11-12 parishes in Chicago that will be applying for acceptance as a deanery with Pittsburgh also has several women priests. The only exception to this specific “reverse-FiFNA” situation is the Missionary District of the Upper Midwest, which does not ordain women, but has very different focus on church planting and multiplication. (Jeremy Bonner’s link above will provide more information.)
The goal is not for these extra-territorial parishes to remain part of the Pittsburgh diocese on a permanent basis. Christ Church, the Upper Midwest district (and the Chicago-based deanery, if accepted) will only be under Pittsburgh’s oversight until they can develop the critical mass necessary to establish a new local diocese in their own area.
I have similar concerns as montanan. How does a bishop maintain quality control, uniformity and oversight in parishes that are “non-geographical”? As a program evaluator for CA teacher credentialing program, I noticed that the further from the flagship schools one got, the more muddled things got in the outlying programs. The bishops in ACNA need to ask this question, “How do we grow in an orderly way?”. I think it is possible and suggest the answer is in Information Technology. Speaking only for myself, I can say that I am technologically literate but probably don’t have the communication skills of the average teenager. I believe it is job one for bishops to ensure their people have the necessary technology and software skills at their disposal. Technology is cost effective in an age when money is in short supply.
Barbara (#3),
Thanks for the clarification, and especially for the update of those dozen or so congregations in the Chicago area that hope to become a deanery of the Pittsburg diocese, until they can grow into a regional diocese of their own. I hope your own marvelous church is one of those.
David Handy+
#1 Jeremy Bonner – very interesting, thank you for your labor of love.
Happy to be of service, Pageantmaster.
I have to say, it was interesting hearing the response by Bp. Duncan as to why these parishes were joining Pittsburgh and not a more local diocese without actually saying the words “they have ordained women” or something similar. I have to wonder how this will work in the long run when there are local diocese that are in conflict over these issues.
Holy Trinity, Raleigh, part of this diocese, does not have a woman priest on staff at this time.