CENTRAL FLORIDA: Episcopalians Vote to Join Conservative Group

Central Florida Episcopalians vote to join conservative group

By MIKE BRANOM Associated Press Writer January 24, 2004

WINTER PARK, Fla. Conservative Episcopalians from central Florida, disturbed by an openly gay bishop's consecration and other liberal trends, voted Saturday to join a new organization in its fight against church leaders.

The Diocese of Central Florida is the state's first to align itself with the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, in existence only since Tuesday.

The diocese consists of 48,000 members in 87 parishes across 15 counties.

"We're going to network with like-minded dioceses ... to uphold and propagate the historic faith as we received it," Bishop John Howe said.

Next week, the conservative Jacksonville-based Diocese of Florida will consider at its convention affiliating itself with the network.

Network officials insist that dioceses under their aegis would remain Episcopalian and join the group rather than strike out on their own.

That was good, Howe said, because "a diocese simply cannot leave."

Episcopalians have been debating homosexuality for years, but November's consecration of V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire sparked a crisis in the denomination.

The network was created in response, and it was to little surprise that the20 central Florida diocese voted to join during its 35th annual convention.

The diocese was among 12 nationwide that sent delegates to Plano, Texas, for the meetings that brought about the network. Those dioceses make up 10 percent of the church's 2.3 million members.

Howe asked the church's national head to resign following Robinson's consecration. Also, the diocese's second-highest ranking official resigned in September to protest the church's direction over the ordination of gays, only to20 reconsider a month later.

Reflecting the leaders' sentiments was Saturday's voice vote: 267 clergy and lay delegates in favor of joining to 108 against. Howe was among 11 abstentions.

The balloting followed two lopsided votes against Howe's recommendation to delay a decision until the Diocesan Board could further study the network.

Outgoing board member Leslie Poole said it was upsetting how the diocese rushed to join.

"My mother always used to say, `In the Episcopal Church, you don't leave your brain at the door,'" Poole said. "You're expected to be thoughtful and have consideration of important issues. Today, I felt like we weren't given enough time."

While the balloting at All Saints Episcopal Church went without incident, tears have been shed over the rights of gay Episcopalians.

"Every diocese has lost some of its members and some of its money," Howe told the convention in his address on Friday. "And most of them, including central Florida, has lost some of their clergy."

In Saturday's first vote, the convention almost unanimously passed an amendment to the diocese's canon allowing clergy members to officiate only marriages between a man and woman.

"The clergy is not here to follow human opinion," said the Rev. Reinel Castro, the amendment's sponsor. "The clergy is here to follow Scripture."

The Episcopal Church is the American branch of Anglicanism, a global body of churches stemming from the Church of England.

A wide majority of overseas Anglican leaders insist on the traditional Christian teaching against same-sex activity, but that is a minority view among U .S. Episcopal leaders. The network wants to get recognition - and greater legitimacy - from those overseas Anglican leaders. Due to the U.S. dispute and another over same-sex blessings in the Anglican Church of Canada, the world Anglican leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, appointed a crisis committee to propose solutions by Sept. 30.

Anglican Mainstream sets up Eames Commission Website

Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission (Eames Commission) Website - Anglican Mainstream http://eames.anglican-mainstream.net/

On the 28th October 2003, Archbishop Rowan Williams announced the formation of a Commission to examine Anglican Communion life in the light of recent events. The Commission is to be chaired by Most Revd Robert Eames, Archbishop of Armagh, and will report by October 2004 to the Primates.

The Commission is seeking and gathering input to its work from all members of the Communion. If you have a contribution to give to the Commission you can do it through this website. All contributions taken through Anglican Mainstream will be forwarded to the Commission.

The first meeting of the Commission is on February 9th, so submissions received before the end of the first week of February will be read early on in the process.

New - You can now read some of the contributions already submitted here: http://eames.anglican-mainstream.net/

A Prayer for the Commission

Dear Heavenly Father, We thirst for godly hearts. We thirst for godly hearts so that the ungodly can see You in our hearts. We thirst for godly hearts so that we can give glory to Your name. We thirst for a godly Communion. May we become fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. May we and the members of the Archbishop's Commission anchor our hearts in the cornerstone of Christ Jesus. May we and the Commission build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. May the Anglican Communion, being joined together, grow into a holy temple in the Lord. Spirit, build the Anglican Communion into a dwelling place for God. Amen

Ephesians 2:18-22

Members of the Commission

Archbishop Robin Eames, Primate of All Ireland, Chairman The Revd Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, Director of Faith, Worship and Ministry, the Anglican Church of Canada Bishop David Beetge, Dean of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa Professor Norman Doe, Director of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University, Wales Bishop Mark Dyer, Director of Spiritual Formation, Virginia Theological Seminary, USA Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies Archbishop Josiah Iduwo-Fearon, Archbishop of Kaduna, the Anglican Church of Nigeria The Revd Dorothy Lau, Director of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Ms Anne McGavin, Advocate, formerly Legal Adviser to the College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church Archbishop Bernard Malango, Primate of Central Africa Dr Esther Mombo, Academic Dean of St Paul's United Theological Seminary, Limuru, Kenya Archbishop Barry Morgan, Primate of Wales Chancellor Rubie Nottage, Chancellor of the West Indies Bishop John Paterson, Primate of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, and Chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council Dr Jenny Te Paa, Principal of College of Saint John the Evangelist, Auckland, New Zealand Bishop James Terom, Moderator, the Church of North India Bishop N Thomas Wright, Bishop of Durham, the Church of England.

The Revd Canon John Rees, Legal Adviser to the Anglican Consultative Council, will act as Legal Consultant to the Commission.

The Revd Canon Gregory Cameron, Director of Ecumenical Affairs and Studies, Anglican Communion Office, will act as Secretary to the Commission.

Mandate of the Commission

The Archbishop of Canterbury requests the Commission:

1. To examine and report to him by 30th September 2004, in preparation for the ensuing meetings of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council, on the legal and theological implications flowing from the decisions of the Episcopal Church (USA) to appoint a priest in a committed same sex relationship as one of its bishops, and of the Diocese of New Westminster to authorise services for use in connection with same sex unions, and specifically on the canonical understandings of communion, impaired and broken communion, and the ways in which provinces of the Anglican Communion may relate to one another in situations where the ecclesiastical authorities of one province feel unable to maintain the fullness of communion with another part of the Anglican Communion.

2. Within their report, to include practical recommendations (including reflection on emerging patterns of provision for episcopal oversight for those Anglicans within a particular jurisdiction, where full communion within a province is under threat) for maintaining the highest degree of communion that may be possible in the circumstances resulting from these decisions, both within and between the churches of the Anglican Communion.

3. Thereafter, as soon as practicable, and with particular reference to the issues raised in Section IV of the Report of the Lambeth Conference 1998, to make recommendations to the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council, as to the exceptional circumstances and conditions under which, and the means by which, it would be appropriate for the Archbishop of Canterbury to exercise an extraordinary ministry of episcope (pastoral oversight), support and reconciliation with regard to the internal affairs of a province other than his own for the sake of maintaining communion with the said province and between the said province and the rest of the Anglican Communion.

4. In its deliberations, to take due account of the work already undertaken on issues of communion by the Lambeth Conferences of 1988 and 1998, as well as the views expressed by the Primates of the Anglican Communion in the communiqués and pastoral letters arising from their meetings since 2000.

END