No one publicly rose to challenge the bishop on whether he should even be chairing the convention, bearing in mind the severity of the charges leveled against him.

A move not to partake in the religious ceremony led by Bennison prior to the convention failed to materialize, just as 30 liberal clergy, fed up with Bennison's rule, threatened to take out ads in "The Living Church" and the "Philadelphia Inquirer" saying Bennison was not welcome in their parishes also failed to materialize. At the end, most of the liberal clergy took communion from Bennison. A few special ones did not succumb and refused communion.

While Bennison refused even to discuss the presentment publicly, the bishop has hired an attorney, James A.A. Pabarue to weigh whether he will fight the Presentment charges and go to trial. Pabarue is with the Philadelphia law firm of Christie, Pabarue, Mortensen and Young. "We will consider all our options this weekend," Pabarue told VOL.

It was Diocesan Chancellor Steve Chawaga who told delegates that Bennison would cease to oversee the diocese because of presentment charges, brought by Jefferts Schori, that will culminate in an ecclesiastical trial for the outgoing bishop. He said that starting Sunday Nov. 4 the diocese would be run by the Standing Committee and outside bishops would be engaged to fulfill functions formerly done by Bennison. These bishops would not become the ecclesiastical authority. Other administrative functions would be done by the present staff and other bodies, he said.

In his prayer for Richard Hooker at the 224th Diocesan Convention, Bennison said it was a day of bitter controversy for Hooker, perhaps having himself in mind as he faced his own final convention in Philadelphia. He shamelessly went about convention business oblivious to the innate contradiction of his position. Delegates seemed also not to care. He got a weak clap following his sermon.

Observing the convention, one is struck by the makeup of the clergy. They are largely a group of aging weak, white, feminized men, homosexuals, and middle-aged angry lesbian women, most with about as much theology as Bennison himself. Their churches are slowly withering and dying. Perhaps they should. If revival and reformation ever came to this diocese, it would sweep away the dross of vacuous clergy and spiritually empty-headed men and women. The diocese has slipped from the fourth largest in the denomination to fifth.

During a presentation speech, Bennison let it slip that there were 10-12 congregations that cannot be turned around and their properties will, in time, be sold. An orthodox clergyman later told VOL that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Scripture reading might have also spoken to the bishop as well: "The Spirit searches all things, yea the deep things of God." God has searched out Bennison. So has the National Church. Now he will go into a humiliating retirement to cogitate on his sins - sins he refuses to believe he has committed. His stewardship of the diocese is in tatters. The diocese itself hovers on the fiscal edge with many parishes closing. His programs have gone nowhere. A diocesan camp in Maryland has cost the diocese millions of dollars with very little return.

A resolution on the Maryland-based Camp Wapiti asked that the Finance and Property Committee purchase the 433 acres of land surrounding Wapiti with the option of selling all the assets at some future point. An estimated $8 million has so far been sunk into the property, which the diocese still does not own. The camp has been a source of deep conflict in the diocese with many seeing it as a diversion of much-needed resources. For all the millions poured into the property, only 125 young people took advantage of the summer program, a poor return on such a huge investment.

VOL learned that one of the reasons a local politician in Maryland got upset with the deal between the state Conservancy Association and the diocese was that Bennison applied for a liquor license for the place and got turned down. Why does a youth camp need a liquor license? The truth is Wapiti was supposed to be a retreat for diocesan clergy as well as Bennison's private use. It morphed into a camp for kids because few in the diocese used it. A number of the youth praised the need for the camp, saying how important it was for them. A source, however, told VOL that Bennison had primed the kids in advance.

Bill Bullitt, an attorney with Drinker Biddle & Reath and the diocesan parliamentarian, blamed Maryland politics for the failure to buy the easement. The Wapiti acquisition creates problems, but it is not a crisis, he told delegates. "We will acquire it with no restrictions. Going forward we have far more flexibility without the conservation easement. We have something of far more value." He said the tract of land would be acquired by a loan agreement from Wilmington Trust and that the diocese would have complete title by Nov. 26. One speaker, a CPA asked how $8 million could be spent on 433 acres and the diocese still not own it. He berated the Finance Committee saying, "We heard last year that the Camp would be self sufficient and fully funded. Now we are being told that $8 million has been spent on something we don't own, and now we are being told that we need another $3.5 million mortgage to buy something which we might never own!" According to one independent report, 18 months ago the Wapiti costs were $8.5 million. Now some estimate the costs between $11 to $13 million.

Bennison opined that so much money had been spent on the capitalization of the property that there was now no income from Wapiti to keep it going. Eight staff was laid off at the end of summer. A camp leader said that despite conflict and controversy a difference was made. A resolution was passed allowing the Finance and Property committee to purchase the 433 acres of land surrounding the Wapiti improvements, with a view to exploring all possible avenues for selling all the assets at some future point. Bullitt said selling off significant pieces of it will happen. "The resolution on the agenda calls for a lot of work to be done to develop the stewardship of the land. The acquisition will not impact the budget for the next 2 years," he said.

On a positive note, the Rev. Mary Laney of St. Christopher's Church, Gladwyne, and Jane Cosby, St. Luke's Germantown, won enough spots as General Convention Deputies to have firm control at the next convention. Furthermore, the Standing Committee's presentment against Bennison is still viable and will go forward no matter what happens with the current presentment.

The Dean of the Cathedral Richard Giles, who was an Anglo-Catholic in the Church of England before coming to Philadelphia at Bennison's behest to rebuild the cathedral, paid tribute to Bennison praising him for his championing of the cathedral, calling him "a friend indeed." He said the church owed a great debt to Bennison. Giles abandoned his Anglo-Catholic faith for Bennison's new religion.

On the financial state of the diocese, a report said the National Church has not been paid some $400,000 because of short falls last year. The program budget was $500,000 or 25% short of its annual goals, but the year will end in the black. A report said a number of parishes are withholding their assessment to the diocese for a variety of reasons and that there was nothing left in the Bishop's Fund.

An attempt to sell Church House for $4 million so the money can be used for Cathedral Commons, a pet project of Bennison's, was put on hold. Bennison said it would cost $2 million to renovate. When completed it will become the Center and life of the diocese and cathedral staff. The owner of a piece of a property, which includes a building next to the cathedral, has also agreed to sell it to the diocese.

As of Sunday Nov. 4 the Standing Committee will manage the diocese. VOL learned that an attempt was made by an unauthorized individual who sent emails to "everyone" attempting to get a movement and resolution through to usurp and nullify the Standing Committee's new role in the running of the diocese. Apparently that was nipped in the bud.

Delegates sang the hymn, "There is a sweet, sweet spirit in this place" another sign of the dysfunction rampant in the diocese. The truth is there was very little sweetness of spirit at the convention, just a surreal air of spiritual lifelessness led by a morally and theologically bankrupt bishop who is out the door leaving the diocese in worse shape than when he came. Only time will tell if the pieces can be put back together again and if the diocese will ever fully recover.

END