Dear Jim,
Now that the Diocese has voted to amend its Constitution and align with the Province of the Southern Cone, it is our duty on the Standing Committee to faithfully serve as the Diocese’s ecclesiastical authority within that organizational structure.
Your recent letter “to the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh” makes clear that you do not believe that you have this duty, but rather that you feel called to a different duty ”“ to challenge the validity of the Diocese’s realignment. Your October 6 letter to the members of the Standing Committee also reflects this perspective.
I fully understand that your position on these issues is a matter of personal conviction. Nonetheless, I must sorrowfully conclude that your letters (and other actions) are a violation of your obligations as a member of the Diocese’s Standing Committee. Further, your actions, and the Resolution of your parish which you have already forwarded to the Diocese, make clear that you are no longer qualified to be a member of the Standing Committee under Article IX, section 2 of the Diocesan Constitution. Accordingly, I am calling a special meeting of the Standing Committee to fill the vacancy left by your departure.