Two Fort Worth Bodies Tout New Unanimity

http://tinyurl.com/ylczrja
November 17, 2009

Now that the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Southern Cone) are separate entities, they are both reporting unanimous decisions by their respective legislative bodies. The decisions move the dioceses away from one another and toward their respective theological commitments.

The convention of the diocese remaining with the Episcopal Church voted unanimously Nov. 14 to:

* Call the Rt. Rev. Wallis C. Ohl as its next provisional bishop. Bishop Ohl succeeds the Rt. Rev. Edwin "Ted" Gulick, who has served as the provisional bishop for 10 months.

* Pledge 21 percent of the diocese's operating budget to the wider Episcopal Church. The diocese expects a budget of about $600,000.

Delegates also voted to make diocesan constitution and canons conform to those of the Episcopal Church, and declared that the 47 parishes that left the Episcopal Church with the Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker are not compliant with the Episcopal Church's canon law. Of those 47 parishes, 13 have reorganized to remain in the Episcopal Church's diocese.

Bishop Gulick ordained the diocese's first female priest, the Rev. Susan Slaughter, 67, on Nov. 15. Bishop Ohl installed the newly ordained priest as rector of St. Luke's in the Meadow Episcopal Church in Keller, a suburb north of Fort Worth. The ordination prompted letters of congratulations from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and from Bonnie Anderson, president of the House of Deputies.

The Episcopal Diocese of Forth Worth (Southern Cone) unanimously agreed Nov. 6 and 7 to:

* Accede to the constitution and canons of the Anglican Church in North America, while also remaining a member diocese of the Province of the Southern Cone, based in Buenos Aires. * Adopt the proposed Anglican Communion covenant.

* Express its intention to work toward "full, visible, and sacramental unity" with the Orthodox Church in America.

* Dissolve its relations with Trinity, Fort Worth; St. Martin's, Keller; and St. Luke's, Stephenville. Bishop Iker, with the consent of the Standing Committee, already had released all property to the rectors and vestries of those congregations.

* Praise both Bishop Iker and the Most Rev. Kevin Vann, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, for their friendship and efforts for unity between their dioceses. The same resolution praised Pope Benedict XVI for the Vatican's expanded welcoming of sojourning Anglicans.

* Authorize Bishop Iker to welcome more affiliating parishes of the diocese. Both dioceses are contending for parish properties in a lawsuit in the 141st District Court in Fort Worth. On Nov. 16, the Court of Appeals for the Second District of Texas ordered suspension of further proceedings until it issues an opinion.