THE IMPLOSION OF A SMALL PARISH — A CASE STUDY

By Robert Seitz

To witness the descent of the ECUSA mindset to the parish level is a painful experience. The divisiveness that at first was distantly abstract quickly became up close and personal. Suddenly one finds that the parish is composed of “them” and “us”—and one of the two is no longer welcome.

This occurred recently at Grace Episcopal Church in Tampa, Florida—a relatively small parish (≈300 communicants), proud of its family atmosphere and friendliness, and proud to have attained parish status.

It became subtly obvious not long after General Convention that there are two emotionally incompatible sides to this debate (the exception: the apathetic and parochial—“What’s a presiding bishop?”).

We initially engaged in a series of “conversations,” largely focused on homosexuality—the symptom—rather than the real question of orthodoxy and its spiritual foundation. Our bishop (John Lipscomb, Southwest Florida) was of the mind that “it is a time for conversation, not action.” After half a dozen essentially worthless sessions, divisiveness had crept in, quietly but palpably.

Life moved along comfortably as the elephant in the room was largely ignored—until pledge time. A serious number of former pledgers abstained or cut pledges to a pittance. The 2004 budget was short many thousands. The elephant was gaining mass.

In December, a small group of conservatives met to discuss moving the parish toward becoming a Confessing Parish of the AAC—thus defining it as scriptural, orthodox, and traditional. The rector was present, and they agreed to present the idea at the February vestry meeting.

Meanwhile, in January, pre-service meetings were held to discuss Grace’s future. All were invited, but attendees were largely pro-AAC. At this point, the liberal contingent became quietly active—and the elephant took visible shape. A parish leadership edict—read from the pulpit—prohibited any AAC discussion on church grounds. The backlash was bitter and vocal—and the ban was lifted the next Sunday.

The February vestry presentation was received neutrally, and the vestry agreed to study the idea, possibly voting in March.

To inform the congregation, three evening open meetings were scheduled—but the liberal, anti-AAC contingent became publicly vocal: suspicion, accusations of misguided activity, and serious acrimony. The elephant’s presence was now unmistakable.

At the March 16 vestry meeting, eleven individuals (three opposed) addressed the vestry. Then a spokeswoman for the opposition delivered a fifteen-minute “theses”-style rebuttal: AAC supporters were dividing the church, forcing unwanted alliances, attempting a takeover. Joining the AAC would accomplish nothing but schism.

The rector (a member of AAC, soon to retire) abstained. The vote was 6–6. The tie defeated the motion.

Then the senior warden produced a pre-written motion: all AAC individual members be listed and sent yearly to the diocese—to show “unhappiness” with ECUSA. This “Schindler’s List in reverse” was the last straw: most AAC supporters walked out, never to return.

Fifteen+ faithful families resigned—large contributors of time, talent, and treasure. Many now attend a local AMiA parish.

A priest hoping to retire in a blaze of glory instead went down in flames. It is easy for a priest (or bishop) to intimidate—it is very difficult to repair the resulting damage.

Bob Seitz has been a member of the Diocese of SWFLA since 1962, serving on numerous vestries, and a longtime member and lay reader at Grace Episcopal Church in Tampa, FL. He recently left.