I’m sure that Mr Barnett has at least some interest in what is written on some of the conservative Anglican blogs, so in that vein, I will simply ask him this question: Mr Barnett, how closely do you pay attention to what your Presiding Bishop is doing?
Are you aware of the [i]fact[/i] that none of what has befallen your Church since Katharine Jefferts Schori took office as your Presiding Bishop would have happened if she had not inhibited and defrocked [i]more than 400 faithful clergy for merely failing to agree with her?[/i]
Are you aware that she has assumed powers not granted to her by your own constitution and canons, but by the Executive Committee, which she chairs, thereby bypassing General Convention? You are aware, of course, of the decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court, in which they hold that the Dennis Canon has no effect in South Carolina…..and quite possibly in many other states eventually.
I remind you that none of us…..in the Diocese of South Carolina or elsewhere……would’ve left TEC if it had not been for their unscriptural actions, which left us with no other choice but to leave.
And I also remind you of this, Mr Barnett: Your own Presiding Bishop has questioned the divinity of Christ (it’s a matter of record, by the way), and has openly said that “there is more than one way to heaven than through Jesus;” knowing very well of His own words which say “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes unto the Father except through Me. He who hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”
I am not resident in +Mark Lawrence’s diocese, but I am in the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, and +Lawrence came from among us to serve [i]faithfully[/i] in the Diocese of South Carolina, and he has done that…..and is still serving faithfully. That’s the kind of man that he is. He has been accused of not remaining faithful to his vows. That is simply not true. He’s not made that way, Mr Barnett.
There has been a vendetta against him from the very beginning by a tiny group of Schori’s followers, and it has to [i]STOP.[/i]
I chuckled over that too, Ralinda. Love how he accuses Bishop Lawrence of the declining numbers, when it’s the very heresies enacted by this man’s allies that *caused the hordes to leave*!
[blockquote]The national church hasn’t forced the bishop to accept anything in South Carolina that he isn’t comfortable with[/blockquote]
No? Even I know that the Presiding Bishop appointed a lawyer in South Carolina without permission, organised a group in opposition, appointed a lesbian lawyer member of her council of advice to investigate +Mark and has finally sought to restrict him in this her third attempt to take over the diocese. Would anyone be surprised if Bishop Mark had been a little ‘uncomfortable’ with that, do you suppose?
There’s only one group in TEC who are more dangerous and devastating to their own Church than Schori and Friends, and they are the [i]FOOLS[/i] who’ve sat back and done nothing to stop them.
[blockquote]“I have been a member for 22 years….†[/blockquote]
This the usual beginning of a lot of letters somehow equating longevity with legitimacy. “We are children of Abraham….â€
[blockquote] “Is this leadership?†[/blockquote]
The edifice of straw is burning and collapsing and a lone voice calls “ Follow me!†. Yes! That’s leadership.
This is then followed by a incoherent confession of ignorance.
Bishop Lawrence did take an oath to “solemnly engage to conform to the doctrines, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church.†and omits the important aspect of authentic apostolic succession ‘â€as it has received it†and not something made up last year.
[blockquote]“But please don’t take our church away from us.â€[/blockquote]
It was never your church, it belongs to Jesus Christ who graciously offers you an opportunity to join it.
Complacency has been the ruin of TEC; complacency in the form of those who knew that something was changing for the worst and didn’t bother to question it, complacency in the form of “Oh, it’s alright if Bishop So-and-so says so,” or if our House of Bishops says that “we must change with the times.” People in the pews just sat there and said nothing, while their clergy said it for them……often wrongly, as it turned out.
This was a remarkable letter, and I don’t mean that in a positve sense. It is remarkable because it does reveal how some folks see Bishop Lawrence and have developed an almost pathological hatred for him – while those of us who know him well could not recognize him from this description. Others have noted the irony that he almost perfectly describes the current national leadership/state of TEC. One thing is factually incorrect – the diocese did see some modest gains in membership in 2011 — this is unlike most dioceses and despite the loss of St. A’s, Mt. Pleasant which had an ASA about the size of the Diocese of Nevada (our PB’s home diocese). Not many dioceses would be vital enough to sustain this kind of loss.
I took the complaint about declining numbers to apply to Mr. Barnett’s parish. If this is the case, declines in a liberal parish are not surprising, and this would have little to nothing to do with the bishop.
I’m sure that Mr Barnett has at least some interest in what is written on some of the conservative Anglican blogs, so in that vein, I will simply ask him this question: Mr Barnett, how closely do you pay attention to what your Presiding Bishop is doing?
Are you aware of the [i]fact[/i] that none of what has befallen your Church since Katharine Jefferts Schori took office as your Presiding Bishop would have happened if she had not inhibited and defrocked [i]more than 400 faithful clergy for merely failing to agree with her?[/i]
Are you aware that she has assumed powers not granted to her by your own constitution and canons, but by the Executive Committee, which she chairs, thereby bypassing General Convention? You are aware, of course, of the decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court, in which they hold that the Dennis Canon has no effect in South Carolina…..and quite possibly in many other states eventually.
I remind you that none of us…..in the Diocese of South Carolina or elsewhere……would’ve left TEC if it had not been for their unscriptural actions, which left us with no other choice but to leave.
And I also remind you of this, Mr Barnett: Your own Presiding Bishop has questioned the divinity of Christ (it’s a matter of record, by the way), and has openly said that “there is more than one way to heaven than through Jesus;” knowing very well of His own words which say “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes unto the Father except through Me. He who hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”
I am not resident in +Mark Lawrence’s diocese, but I am in the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, and +Lawrence came from among us to serve [i]faithfully[/i] in the Diocese of South Carolina, and he has done that…..and is still serving faithfully. That’s the kind of man that he is. He has been accused of not remaining faithful to his vows. That is simply not true. He’s not made that way, Mr Barnett.
There has been a vendetta against him from the very beginning by a tiny group of Schori’s followers, and it has to [i]STOP.[/i]
Declining attendance? Maybe due to letting SAMP leave for ACNA. To paraphrase the Great Santini: this guy could find poop in ice cream.
I chuckled over that too, Ralinda. Love how he accuses Bishop Lawrence of the declining numbers, when it’s the very heresies enacted by this man’s allies that *caused the hordes to leave*!
[blockquote]The national church hasn’t forced the bishop to accept anything in South Carolina that he isn’t comfortable with[/blockquote]
No? Even I know that the Presiding Bishop appointed a lawyer in South Carolina without permission, organised a group in opposition, appointed a lesbian lawyer member of her council of advice to investigate +Mark and has finally sought to restrict him in this her third attempt to take over the diocese. Would anyone be surprised if Bishop Mark had been a little ‘uncomfortable’ with that, do you suppose?
Sounds like David Axelrod wrote this for Mr. Barnett. It is impossible to refute all of the distortions and not look defensive.
There’s only one group in TEC who are more dangerous and devastating to their own Church than Schori and Friends, and they are the [i]FOOLS[/i] who’ve sat back and done nothing to stop them.
[blockquote]“I have been a member for 22 years….†[/blockquote]
This the usual beginning of a lot of letters somehow equating longevity with legitimacy. “We are children of Abraham….â€
[blockquote] “Is this leadership?†[/blockquote]
The edifice of straw is burning and collapsing and a lone voice calls “ Follow me!†. Yes! That’s leadership.
This is then followed by a incoherent confession of ignorance.
Bishop Lawrence did take an oath to “solemnly engage to conform to the doctrines, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church.†and omits the important aspect of authentic apostolic succession ‘â€as it has received it†and not something made up last year.
[blockquote]“But please don’t take our church away from us.â€[/blockquote]
It was never your church, it belongs to Jesus Christ who graciously offers you an opportunity to join it.
Complacency has been the ruin of TEC; complacency in the form of those who knew that something was changing for the worst and didn’t bother to question it, complacency in the form of “Oh, it’s alright if Bishop So-and-so says so,” or if our House of Bishops says that “we must change with the times.” People in the pews just sat there and said nothing, while their clergy said it for them……often wrongly, as it turned out.
This was a remarkable letter, and I don’t mean that in a positve sense. It is remarkable because it does reveal how some folks see Bishop Lawrence and have developed an almost pathological hatred for him – while those of us who know him well could not recognize him from this description. Others have noted the irony that he almost perfectly describes the current national leadership/state of TEC. One thing is factually incorrect – the diocese did see some modest gains in membership in 2011 — this is unlike most dioceses and despite the loss of St. A’s, Mt. Pleasant which had an ASA about the size of the Diocese of Nevada (our PB’s home diocese). Not many dioceses would be vital enough to sustain this kind of loss.
I took the complaint about declining numbers to apply to Mr. Barnett’s parish. If this is the case, declines in a liberal parish are not surprising, and this would have little to nothing to do with the bishop.