The Episcopal Church has launched an investigation of Bishop Mark J. Lawrence a year after the Diocese of South Carolina voted to distance itself from the national church because of disagreements stemming from the 2003 consecration of an openly gay bishop.
Two years ago, the diocese, under the leadership of Lawrence, voted to strengthen its autonomy and “begin withdrawing” from the church. In February, it changed its constitution, asserting the authority of the local diocese over the national church. The national church’s accusation of abandonment sets the stage for disciplinary action.
[blockquote]Barbara Mann, chairwoman for the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina, a group that is “working for unity and inclusion within the diocese,” said the recent flurry of correspondence was meant to inform the parties of one another’s position, not instigate legal action.[/blockquote]
I am sorry but I don’t believe a word of this quote of Barbara Mann’s. Not one word. She is the chairwoman of the Episcopal Forum of SC and knows as well as anyone the consequences of the various letters and actions they have taken to inform the Presiding Bishop and the Executive Council via attorney Melinda Lucka.
There have been opportunities for discussion with Bishop Lawrence. There is no discussion with the Forum as he found out. According to them, they are right and the rest of us including the bishop are wrong. The forum knows exactly what they are doing and they are glad to be doing it. Many of their members are not afraid to express their dislike of Bishop Lawrence and their support of the national church especially the Presiding Bishop.
There is nothing wrong with expressing their opinion. If expressing their opinion is all they wanted to do then their website surely does that very nicely. There is no need to inform the national church if they truly are just wanting to do that. Nope. Informing others of what is happening in the diocese means that they want things to change and they will see that change happens by informing those who can and will make it happen. Now that they have done the deed, they want to say “we did not mean for this happen”. Don’t believe a word of it. Barbara Mann has taken a very active role in this effort since the beginning. This was a deliberate effort on their part and is the culmination of years of work.
Quislings and fifth-columnists. A similar group of insiders staged a coup in my old TEC parish and got the vestry sacked and the parish reduced to a mission, whereupon the bishop installed his own “bishop’s committee” composed of the quislings and we were left on the street. God will guard +Lawrence and his faithful diocese and we must all redouble our prayers for them.
RE: “a group that is “working for unity and inclusion within the diocese,†. . . ”
Well, no. Because the vast vast vast majority of the diocese *is* unified — only not with the teensy minority of revisionists in the diocese, who wish to force others in the diocese to accept TEC leadership’s heresy.
What a pretentious and smarmy and false statement.
“If the allegations of abandonment trigger legal action, the national church feasibly could depose Lawrence as bishop”
not according to AS Haley, who is a canon lawyer, unlike the activists at TEFSC who unfortunately (but not surprisingly) have misled the media…..
Sarah, I am not sure The Forum is as small a group as you might think. They are a minority within the diocese – TRUE! I think they comprise no more than 15-20% of the diocese if recent votes at diocesan convention are any indication.
SC blu cat lady — oh, I think we know who is “The Forum” — it’s the names of people who signed on back before they got wise to putting their names out there in cyberspace — and that list is archived over at StandFirm.
Most of those people — from the 4-5 parishes which are the raging liberals ones — are the delegates to convention, it’s true. But I think they’re as “large” as Integrity nationwide — which would be, oh, maybe 2-3% on a really really really good year.
Sarah,
Which are the raging liberal parishes? I’m frequently in charleston or down hilton Head way and blithely assume all Dio SC parishes are sound. Would hate to get a shock by wandering into a den of revisionists.
Grace Church, Charleston
Holy Cross Faith Memorial, Pawley’s Island
St. Stephens, Charleston
All Saints, Hilton Head
Fortunately there are plenty of other parishes whose leaders believe the Gospel in that diocese.
Thanks Sarah. I’ve not been to any of these and will make sure to give them a wide berth in future. When in Charleston, we worship at St. Phillip’s, which we all dearly love, but I also very much want to visit the Church of Holy Communion. When in Hilton Head, we’ve worshipped at St. Luke’s but usually go down to Savannah to the incomparable St. John’s.