To: Clergy, Members of Diocesan Council and Standing Committee
From: The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf
Re: The Rev. Dr. Ann Holmes Redding
As many of you know, The Rev. Dr. Ann Holmes Redding is an Episcopal priest who has recently professed her faith in Islam. Dr. Redding is canonically resident in the Diocese of Rhode Island, though she has not served here for over twenty years.
After meeting with her I issued a Pastoral Direction giving her the opportunity to reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and what I see as the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam. During the next year she is not to exercise any of the responsibilities and privileges of an Episcopal priest or deacon. Other aspects of the Pastoral Direction will remain private.
I am sending this e-mail to you because the continued web-site coverage suggests that I be as clear as possible with those exercising leadership in our diocese.
====
Update: The Living Church has an article with the news here.
Everything I have read about Geralyn Wolf, or by her, suggests that she is a fine lady. While I doubt we would agree on much, ecclesiological, and, perhaps theological, she seems to have a fundamental decency which many of her reappraiser peers would do well to study and emulate.
Not to be judgemental, of course.
Good for Bp. Wolfe!!
Glad to see this from Bp. Wolf. And this helps bring some closure and clarity on the matter, certainly.
That said, however, even though Redding is canonically resident in Rhode Island, she is/was licensed to serve as a priest in Olympia, and the diocesan leadership there did absolutely nothing to take a stand, in fact doing the opposite: promoting her views as something exciting and innovative, featuring Redding in two articles of the diocesan newspaper.
I hope reasserters in Olympia will continue to share their concerns and press their diocesan leadership to respond!
And of course, the bishop has just verified what I have said previously: It may not be OK to be an Epiacopal cleric (who gets publicity) and be a Muslim, HOWEVER, it *is* OK to be a layman in good standing. NOTHING, nothing under the sun, can be grounds to excommunicate a layman in the Eouscopal Church. Discuss?
Sort of takes the wind out of the deep discussion about “open communion”, doesn’t it?
Hooraahh!
#4 Note the last part about pastoral direction. Good enough for me…
Forgive my ignorance, but does the Bishop of Olympia have to go along with Bishop Wolf’s decision, or can he ignore it? Where do episcopal boundaries begin and end, canonically resident vs. licensed.
Thanks be to God for B. Wolf.
Gives me a little more faith in TEC bishops.
As with #1, though I likely would disagree with many of +Wolfe’s theology, this was an appropriate, mature (lacking in so many of our bishops) and well-measured pastoral response to a priest who seems sincere but confused in her seeking after God, and so should step back from ministry until her issues are resolved.
oops, should be “many aspects of +Wolfe’s theology”
Praise God! There is a bishop who will act to shepherd.
Bravo Bp. Wolfe!
I agree with many here who have said good things about Bishop Wolf. She works hard to be a shepherd to all in her diocese – including the traditionalists and reasserters in her diocese.
I applaud the actions she took. They are measured and concrete. She basically suspended Ann Redding for a year and, I assume, that Dr. Redding will either recant her views on Islam or her Ordination after that year.
As for Bishop Warner. I’m not sure of his ability to allow Dr. Redding to continue to function as a priest in his diocese, but Dr. Redding can be deposed if she violates the Pastoral Direction (and the caps are important) of her bishop.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Bp. Warner can not allow her continue. He can only license priests in good standing. She is not in good standing and her license to officiate is automatically void.
nwlayman, if you read through the ancient canons, you will find that many of them specify separate penances for clergy and laity, usually deposition for clergy and excommunication for laity. This was done so that clergy would not, in essence, be punished twice for the same offense; rather, they would be returned to the laity on the first offense, then treated as a layman and excommunicated on the second offense. While TEC chooses to ignore the ancient canons most of the time, in this case, the action taken is the correct one.
It will be interesting to see if Bp. Warner will follow those canons.
Hmmmmm… very interesting. After deliberately suppressing the story of Ann Holmes Redding, Jim Naughton HAS published this news about Bp. Wolf’s disciplinary action. I wonder if Jim Naughton’s readers know what he’s talking about?! But note his spin:
[blockquote]Bishop Geralyn Wolf has told a priest who professes to be both a Christian and a Muslim that she is “not to exercise any of the responsibilities and privileges of an Episcopal priest or deacon” for the next year. The case of the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding had become a cause célèbre among conservative bloggers, but was laregely ignored by the mainstream media.[/blockquote]
[url=http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/episcopal_church/the_conflicts_inherent.html][from here][/url]
Jim, please get your facts straight:
1. It was the diocese who first trumpeted the news of Redding. We bloggers only picked up on the published story.
2. Seattle Times = major mainstream media.
But nice to know you noticed that your attempt to keep the news quiet failed spectacularly.
I find it VERY interesting as well that Naughton puts “conflicts inherent” in quotes in his blog entry title. Now of course, that is a phrase found in +Wolf’s e-mail. However, I wonder if Naughton meant it as scare quotes? His whole attitude to the story suggests he doesn’t take any conflicts very seriously at all.
LOL — KarenB I agree with your comment . . . except for this statement. RE: “His whole attitude to the story suggests he doesn’t take any conflicts very seriously at all.”
I believe he took it quite seriously . . . which is why he wanted to keep the story “under the radar” . . . ; > )
[blockquote] deposition for clergy and excommunication for laity [/blockquote]
Hmmmm… On the other hand, Redding[+] has not been inhibited from attempting to simultaneously live the life and perform the functions of an Episcopalian [i]layperson[/i] and a Muslim believer, and could conceivably generate more press thereby.
Would that bring, then, possible excommunication? Should it?
Peter, quite correct. The key word is *ancient* canons, none of which apply even for a second to ECUSA. You might as well expect such canons, or the Nicene Creed to apply to bishops Spong or Robinson. Highly not likely. 40 years ago, ECUSA sidestepped discussions of theology with Pike, 30 years ago the Diocese of Olympia overlooked the sub-christian beliefs of Laura Fraser, even waiving her OT exam prior to ordiantion. THey knew she couldn’t pass. When in 1986 this woman was found to be into witchcraft, again they ducked theological discussion by awarding her a full disability pension to renounce her orders. I predict Rev Redding will go quietly once some minor medical reason is agreed upon (Fraser wore a hearing aid!) and resume her career of teaching New Testament to grad students at Seatttle University. Watch for it.
If you want to carry on with the idea (only that) of the canons, wait til Rev Redding is merely Ms. Redding, a Muslim/Episcopalian layman for a while. This is done not for reasons of truth, but to get off page one.
Is it common in TEC for clergy to be ‘canonically resident’ in one diocese and bodily resident in another?
driver8, it is not uncommon.
From TLC: “Ms. Redding, who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament, recently accepted a position to teach graduate courses in theology at Seattle University, a Jesuit Roman Catholic university.”
Seems strange that the Jesuits would have a Christian/Muslim on their staff…..even though it’s in Seattle. I hope Pope Benedict finds out.
Thanks Br_er Rabbit, under what circumstance does that occur? I’m trying to think if I have ever encountered any priest in the CofE “canonically resident” in one diocese but living and ministering for many years in another.
As I recall, the resolution that would have accepted/promoted/allowed the disciplining of laypersons by bishops was rejected at the last GC.
Driver8 (#23)
It often occurs when priests are in non-parochial employment, such as teaching, or when priests are retired and move to another diocese.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Did any of you not Jim Naughton’s own response, in which he is “happy–and relieved–that Bishop Wolf has taken this step.” What he goes on to say implies an entirely different motivation for his desire to “keep this under the radar” than has been imputed here and elsewhere. Perhaps his desire was to not give the matter to much attention to prevent (or lessen) the kind of brouhaha that ensued on all the conservative blogs, or to avoid the implication that reasserters as a body supported her position. Admittedly, if that was his motivation, his action still failed.
Truth is, I don’t know a single reappraiser (and most everyone I know is a reappraiser) who thought Dr. Redding’s claim was really a good thing. While one can respect her spiritual quest, to a person those I’ve talked with believed that she should do exactly what Bp. Wolf has asked her to do.
Driver8, I work under Father James Giles who is the assistant director of God’s Katrina Kitchen here (for the nonce) in Gulfport, MS. He is canonically resident in Florida, but he was led to this missionary outreach to serve in Mississippi. He has obtained a licence from the bishop of Mississippi to serve in this diocese, and on occassion he acts as supply priest for one of the Episcopal churches here.l
Seems strange that the Jesuits would have a Christian/Muslim on their staff…..even though it’s in Seattle.
One might wish…
In fact, this is a Jesuit university and it’s quite clear from their website they deal with that fact in a most flexible manner. I suspect they are all a-twitter with the thrill of this woman’s tres nouveaux spiritual insights.
Fr. Frank Fessio, a Jesuit often in hot water with his order, was here some years ago and opined that we have only 7 Catholic universities in the United States. While that number has probably grown since then, I suspect Seattle U. would not make his list.
I hope Pope Benedict finds out.
The fact is that these are independent organizations and pretty much do as they please. Technically, their theological faculty is supposed to have a license from the local bishop, but again, if they don’t…. so what? There is no copyright on the word “Catholic”. In reality, committed Catholics know that the state of “Catholic” education in the U.S. is a mess, and can direct their giving (and children) accordingly.
Is slightly baffling to me! Why is he not ‘canonically resident’ in Mississippi? He is ministering in Mississippi, has a licence from the Bishop of Mississippi and is resident in Mississippi. Normally in the CofE the giving of a licence is tied to the oath of canonical obediece to the Diocesan.
#28 WM. Thanks for the information. Pope Benedict better look out or the RC in this country is going to be as bad off as the TECECUSA. Our current troubles started in our colleges, gained a strong hold in the seminaries and now look at what we have; a church priesthood many in which seem to read the NY Times for direction and not the Bible.
Sadly, the area in which Jesuit universities seem to be least orthodox is in their theology departments. At Boston College, the only orthodox Jesuit I knew taught philosophy, and (as Peter Kreeft, who is also in the philosophy department, has observed) the only orthodox professor in the theology department is a Lutheran. (It’s true too- her name is Margaret Schatkin.)
Driver8, I can’t speak for James, but there are issues about the permanency of his ministry (he’s living in a travel trailer) and about his call to service, which is connected in no way with the operations and service of the Diocese of Mississippi. There may also be issues about attachment to orthodoxy and the possible future actions of the various bishops as TEC unravels. It is an unusual situation, and I think that we both were surprised when +Mississippi granted him a license to minister in his diocese.
For myself, I fled from an apostate bishop (+Bruno), or rather was swept along when my parish fled to the protective arms of ++Orombi. Now I am ordained to serve in a nongeographic diocese of a communion which owes no allegiance to TEC. I am more comfortable with that: even though the communion and fellowship is small, there is zero uncertainty about the Faith Once Committed and about the centrality of Christ.
Rats. The html that works fine in my blog is useless here. I’ll try to fix it later; have to go to work now. Elves, will this ever be fixed?
Though it’s off-topic, I just have to try to fix post #32:
For myself, I fled from an apostate bishop (+Bruno), or rather was swept along when my parish fled to the protective arms of ++Orombi. Now I am [a title=”Deacon” href=”http://resurrectiongulfcoast.blogspot.com/2007/06/north-carolina-trip.html”]ordained[/a] to serve in a nongeographic [a title=”missionary diocese†href=”hthttp://www.staidanlindisfarne.org/”]diocese[/a] of a [a title=”the CEEC†href=”http://http://www.theceec.org/”]communion[/a] which owes no allegiance to TEC. I am more comfortable with that: even though the communion and fellowship is small, there is zero uncertainty about the Faith Once Committed and about the centrality of Christ.
I give up. What works at Stand Firm won’t work here.
There is an article in today’s Seattle Times about his that has some interesting additional information, including quotes from Redding about her visit with Bishop Wolfe:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003776947_redding06m.html
All, for the record to avoid confusion:
Geralyn Wolf is the Bishop of Rhode Island.
Dean Wolfe is the Bishop of Kansas.
Two different spellings. Two different bishops. Obviously in this context, it is crystal clear that everyone is talking about Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island. But in other contexts, there could be much confusion if the names are misspelled.
#35, for some reason TitusOneNine comments are only accepting BulletinBoard style code. I’ll post a tech note in a little while if I can get a few minutes. Greg may or may not be able to “fix” it so that HTML also works.
Sorry for the frustration.
Br_er, here’s how Bulletin Board code works for links. It’s actually easier than HTML.
[url= the link ] the name [/url]
thus for T19 it looks like this:
[url=http://new.kendallharmon.net/wp-content/uploads/]Titusonenine[/url]
[i]I am sending this e-mail to you because the continued web-site coverage suggests that I be as clear as possible with those exercising leadership in our diocese. [/i]
Did anyone else read this as “If we hadn’t gotten caught, no action would be taken, but because we did, I’ll do only as much as I have to until the furor dies down”???
Thanks, Elves, I have saved that sample.
Bishop Warner should have not allowed Ann Holmes as Bishop Wolfe.But let’s see what Bishop Warner does to Ann Holmes in the church to change her.
krish
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http://www.addictionrecovery.net/rhode-island
Addiction Recovery Rhode Island