FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL TO AN UNHAPPY CHURCH

By T.R. Fehrenbach | San Antonio Express-News | August 8, 2004

For light midsummer reading, I offer an update on the goings-on inside the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, aka the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.

When the General Convention of the church approved, and New Hampshire consecrated, a practicing homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson, this sent shock waves across the entire 80-million-odd Anglican Communion. Aftershocks continue.

World scene: The prelates of the several provinces, i.e., nations, expressed dismay at this action by roughly a 60-40 split vote in the U.S. House of Bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury was ticked, as was Britain, Australia, all Asia and most of South America, but the sub-Saharan bishops raised real Cain. All except South Africa vehemently denounced the U.S. deed.

Now the opinion of Darkest Africa may seem unimportant, but the sub-Saharan area contains most of the world's Anglicans and is the church's most fertile missionary region. Anglicans there are mostly newer converts (and thus true believers) and engaged in deadly Muslim-Christian wars—which American Christians would like to ignore. They take religion seriously. And if they split, what will happen to the vast U.S. missions industry?

The rising dissonance led the archbishop of Canterbury to call for a study, due out in October, and a conference of prelates, by invitation only, for August. Canterbury is the ranking see in Anglicanism, but unlike the pope the archbishop has authority but no power over national churches.

In similar cases in America and England, he counseled the parties to back off for the good of all; but only England took his advice, while Canada pursued sanctifying same-sex marriage. Members of the Communion, which is technically a communion of bishops, not memberships, are expected to abide by rules and canons, which the American church did not.

This means that whatever is adopted by a Communion conference, it has no power to legislate. But the Americans can be "isolated." This means that erring bishops would no longer be invited to Lambeth and other conferences and would no longer be part of the Communion.

Meanwhile, some new twists: The next big confab will be in South Africa, not Lambeth, and both clergy and laity will be invited (Robinson will not), so this will be a gathering of thousands, not including media. Oh, yes—when all the African bishops refused to come to South Africa unless its archbishop changed his stance, he flipped, saying this was no longer a civil rights issue but a theological one. Wait and see.

National scene: Most American bishops are quiet; anything they say makes somebody mad. Many clergy sit on the fence, glued, as cynics put it, to their pension plan. However, the church is already divided among conservative, "right-wing" groups looking for a new home, liberals who hope they leave and bishops who simply want to hold their dioceses together and damn the politics.

The main thing happening is on the money trail. The financial reaction to Robinson has been far worse than liberals feared, the greatest diversion of funds in Episcopal history.

Donations to the national church went south. Virginia, the largest diocese, has cut $1 million to date, Connecticut in liberal New England, $500,000. The dioceses of Texas (Houston) and Dallas have sent nothing. West Texas (local) will send less than $200,000 of a once-projected $750,000.

The national church bureaucracy has a large endowment and can last about two years, but after that, crisis. Withholding funds does not reflect hostility to church work but no confidence in the leadership.

Local scene: The last West Texas diocesan council did its usual thing—protesting and punting. However, it authorized individuals and parishes to withhold funds according to conscience, which most clearly did.

The current bishop will never allow the ordination of homosexual clergy, blessing of same-sex marriages or invite errant prelates into his bailiwick. This the middle way, sticking to the old-time religion and having no truck with agitators left or right. Locally, it has kept things calm.

Of course, not just bishops but dioceses, parishes and individuals are divided on the issue. Final damage—or restoration—can't be estimated yet. On the surface, things are quiet.

However, the money trail shows all is not happy within the church.

Mr. T.R. Fehrenbach is San Antonio's resident historian. This story appeared in the San Antonio Express-News.