CENTRAL FLORIDA: St. John's Departure from the Episcopal Church

On Sunday, January 25, 2004, Fr. John E. Miller, III, the Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Melbourne, Florida, and Mr. William R. Schultz, Senior Warden, announced that the parish vestry, meeting January 22, 2003, had voted (11-1) to recommend to the parish that it leave the Episcopal Church. The vestry, the church's governing body, also unanimously voted to affiliate with the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), an Anglican province formed some six years ago in an effort to revitalize Anglican theology and mission in America. St. John's is one of the oldest churches in Melbourne, having been founded in 1897. The Journal of the 34th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida reports that St. John's has 887 communicants in good standing and operating revenues of $764,000. The parish has been a generous contributor to the Diocese for many years.

Miller and Schultz spoke to members gathered for the church's Annual Meeting, which typically meets for an hour, and announced that, due to the gravity of the decision placed before the members, the Annual Meeting would be extended to include a three-hour session scheduled for 1:00 – 4:00pm January 31, 2004. Present to address parish members at the later gathering will be the Bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida, the Right Rev. John W. Howe, and a representative from AMiA, the Rev. Dr. Tim Smith. At the conclusion of the presentations and question and answer session, parishioners have been asked to vote either to accept or reject the vestry's proposals.

Fr. Miller also informed the congregation that he has requested a letter dimissory from Bishop Howe to the AMiA. A letter dimissory is, in effect, an ecclesiastical letter of transfer. Miller reported that the Bishop was amenable to this, and added that other clergy of the parish staff, including the Rev. Jonathan H. Riddle and the Rev. E. Lynn Turner, had also requested letters dimissory. Fr. Gray T. Echols, Miller's assistant for seven years, received his letter dimissory from Bishop Howe to the AMiA on Friday, January 23, 2004. One member of St. John's clergy, deacon Elizabeth A. Murray, has decided to remain in the Episcopal Church.

The Vestry proposals and letters dimissory come on the heels of the election of Gene Robinson to the office of Bishop in the Episcopal Church in November of last year. Robinson abandoned his wife and two children to embrace a noncelibate, homosexual relationship in which he has remained to date. In addition, Miller noted that at the last General Convention, the legislative body of the Episcopal Church, resolutions were adopted which enabled Church liturgies for the blessing of same-sex unions to occur.

Schultz stated that plans were under way to have the property, on Young Street in historic Eau Galle, appraised for the purpose of negotiating a purchase from the Diocese. It was unclear as to whether such a purchase would proceed, as diocesan- and national-level requirements would need to be explored. If it is not possible to purchase the land, departing members would gather in another location to make additional plans.

"Yes, there is a measure of sadness in this," Miller remarked. "But, God has given us a truly exciting vision. We labored long and hard to see the vision take shape within Episcopal Church, but the new wine is rupturing the old wineskins. Now we are beginning to understand that part of the great adventure of fulfilling God's vision for St. John's may entail seeking a new location. That's a bit scary, but thrilling, as well. I have great faith that God will provide for us, just as He always has."

Asked about those who choose not to follow him out of the Episcopal Church, Miller stated, "My heart and love remain with them. These are people I have served in Christ for eight years, and we have greatly enriched one another's lives. I will miss them, and I understand that leaving a church as warm and lively as St. John's is an extremely difficult thing to do. It's been agonizing for me " the hardest year's I've ever given to God. Jesus still has good work for those who chose to stay, and I am working very hard with Bishop Howe to make sure that the pastoral needs of those who remain will be met, and I am certain that they will be."

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