According to a local blogger, the Bishop is now being told that there is no firm date to leave. When asked if they will leave, the answer is, "Not Yet." Canon Bennett indicated that this is like one spouse saying to another, "I will not divorce you yet."

There was also an attempt to "buy out'" the Bishop [John W. Howe] or give him a "golden parachute" to retire in an attempt to take the Diocese out of the Episcopal Church according to the blogger.

"There has been an attempt to move out of the Episcopal Church as a 'block.' This proposal was for 'The Twenty' to pay a block amount of money so that all the departing parishes would exit with their property at the same time. The Bishop has said that he will not negotiate with any 'block' but is ready to negotiate with any individual in good faith.

"A group of four persons, including members of the Standing Committee, approached the Bishop to ask him to retire. They offered to pay off his mortgage ($335,000) plus give him the difference between his salary and retirement income if he had served until age 72. The Bishop was born 11/4/42; he is 65 years old. (His yearly compensation according to the Journal of the 2007 Convention is $131,700).

"The Bishop refused this 'golden parachute' or 'buy-out' for two reasons: (1) He wants to be there for those who are staying in ECUSA and (2) He wants to be there for those who are leaving ECUSA.

"'The Twenty' asked Bishop Howe to fire Canon Bennett. Bishop Howe does not plan to do so. The Diocese is not preparing a budget yet for 2008, as there is great uncertainty and the likelihood that several parishes may leave reducing diocesan assessments. They know that there will be a financial impact, but it is not yet predictable.

"Canon Bennett urged the clergy present to think about elections in the upcoming Diocesan Convention particularly the ones involving the Standing Committee and the Diocesan Board.

"Canon Bennett and Bishop Howe are in complete agreement, but have come to this from different perspectives," concluded the blogger.

When confronted with this news, Bishop Howe told VirtueOnline that this was "absolutely awful" and said this. "Four very caring individuals, none of them currently holding offices on either the Standing Committee or the Diocesan Board, came to me in early July out of concern for Karen and me. Her health is precarious, and they can see the coming 'train wreck' as well as anyone can, and they said that if I were of a mind to take retirement in the relatively near future they thought they might help me financially.

"They made no specific offer as to the amount but suggested they might be able to help pay off the mortgage and close the gap between what I would receive if I were to take retirement at this point and what it would be if I were to stay on until mandatory retirement at age 72.

"This was absolutely NOT an attempt to "buy me out" or "get rid of me." I told them I would need to pray and think about this very carefully, and I would get back together with them after my classes in England this summer.

"When we got back together about a month and a half later I told them that I thought their offer was one of the most loving, astonishing and generous things I had ever heard of, but I could not accept it. I believe I am called to be here, especially if there is a "train wreck," both for the sake of those who are contemplating separating from The Episcopal Church and for those who are planning to stay.

"The problem is that a twisted version of their offer became known. We had questions about it from at least six of our clergy, all of whom characterized it in the way it was reported in the 'St. Pat Blog'.

I have no idea how any word about this got out. "There has been discussion among a number of our clergy of the possibility of separation from The Episcopal Church.

I believe these clergy are at various levels of commitment to doing so, but for the moment everyone is in a 'wait and see' mode, awaiting the September 30 'deadline,' the Archbishop's visit to our House of Bishops, our response (or non-response) to the Primates, and whatever that might trigger across the Communion.

"There was also a motion at our June Board meeting to modify Central Florida's 'accession' to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. I ruled it out of order, and refused a motion to over-rule. "I think some people have put these three parallel things together and added them up quite incorrectly," Howe concluded.

END