CENTRAL FLORIDA: BISHOP DELAYS FUNDING "THE NETWORK"

Diocese of Central Florida

The following letter from the Rt. Rev. John Howe to the Diocesan Board discusses a delay in sending money marked for "alternative giving" from the Diocese of Central Florida to the NACDP:

June 23, 2004

Dear Members of the Diocesan Board,

Our administrator, Mr. Earl Pickett, advised me last week that he was ready to distribute the monies allocated for "Alternative Giving" and did I consent to his doing so. I told him I saw no reason not to send the monies as they have been designated with the exception of the money designated for The Network.

As it was remarked by several of you last week, Father Don Curran's resolution that we support The Network financially came to us at the end of our meeting in May without any advance warning, and several of you expressed a degree of discomfort with making a decision like that and having no chance to reflect or pray about it beforehand.

As you also know, the reaction to that decision has been extremely mixed. Some of our people are absolutely outraged that "our hard earned money is going to support The Network."

The decision to join The Network passed at our January Annual Convention by about a two-thirds vote. This means that one-third of our clergy and delegates voted against it. Many of them are dismayed that monies given to the Diocese of Central Florida are now finding their way to the work of The Network. Some are choosing to "pay us back" by withholding any of their money from the diocese.

As is true in many other areas, it is certainly true that when we begin to use money as a political weapon "every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

For over a decade we had a very well thought out balanced formula for supporting ministries around the globe with the monies of those who did not want their contributions going to the support of ECUSA. Now we are suddenly making decisions that seem, at best, arbitrary to me and we have lost a sense of balance and clarity.

The decision made last week to support the Church in Uganda is a case in point. Certainly, the Church in Uganda is impoverished and in many ways suffering, but the same could be said for so many other parts of the world. And, the Church in Uganda has made the political decision (moral, theological, as well) to refuse money from ECUSA because of the sexuality decisions made at the last General Convention. That is a costly and courageous decision, but also one with tragic irony since it would be hard to find an Anglican congregation anywhere in Uganda that does not have among its active membership any number of polygamists. The cultural issues we are struggling with in the USA are very different from those in East Africa and yet there is a certain parallel, isn't there?

So, I am asking Earl to hold the monies designated for The Network until we have a chance next month to revisit the issue, and I am asking each of you to make it a matter of prayer and discussion with other members of your congregation. I believe we need to have a more thorough discussion before finalizing this kind of a decision.

Warmly and gratefully yours in our Lord,

John W. Howe, Bishop

cc: The Standing Committee