WESTERN NEW YORK: You Have Your Opinion, You Will Not Change Mine

Here is my account of another travesty in the Diocese of Western New York.

These were the words spoken repeatedly by Bishop Michael Garrison as he visited St. Bartholomew in Tonawanda, NY. on January 8th. It was a bitter cold snowy evening (5*) when members of all ages (from babies in arms to those in their late 80) filled the sanctuary for a scheduled meeting to tell the bishop of their concerns regarding his vote in favor of the consecration of V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. St. Bartholomew, a parish of over 1100 members, has long been known as a faithful congregation who both know and love Holy Scripture. Over and over Parishioners stood in the sanctuary to give their own personal faith statements and their opinions of their Bishop decision at General Convention. Some mentioned that the many letters sent before General Convention appealing to the Bishop to carefully consider his vote had gone unanswered.

The bishop’s reply was that he was too busy to answer these letters. The parishioners continued to pour their hearts out to the bishop and implore him to hear what they were saying and to understand the pain and suffering his vote had caused them. Hundreds of faithful people had braved the cold and snow just to ask their bishop to be their pastor in the midst of this issue. The Bishop may have heard the words being offered but clearly he did not understand the hearts of this loving congregation. For in the middle of the evening he said : I hear what you are saying and quite frankly if this is who you are I would not like to be a member of your church. Although somewhat stunned, a member was quick to remind the Bishop that as  bishop of the diocese and  he was indeed a member of St Bartholomew. 

And so it went as one person after another rose to speak. Finally the Bishop said he wanted to address the congregation on their recent decision to cut their fair share pledge from 67,000 to 1,500, in the upcoming year. The Bishop then read a letter he had addressed to the vestry about this. He started by citing what he called the stinginess of St. Bartholomew. He further stated that they should know all parish, assets, property etc. would revert to the diocese in the event that St. Bartholomew ever tried to leave the diocese (a move which the parish has not discussed). Finally, he said that in the event that this fair share was not paid within this calendar year he would move to have the parish declared delinquent and thus come under the classification of dependent.

Such a decision would make the diocese the ultimate controlling authority in the life of St. Bartholomew. His letter further reminded the church that such a classification would allow the diocese to select all future clergy for this church.  Following the reading of this letter his Administrative Canon, who had accompanied him on this visit, rose to tell the congregation that earlier that day the Diocesan Council had met and given their affirmation to the bishop letter and the information which it conveyed. As if this letter had never been read, several minutes later the bishop told the congregation that he had come to listen to them and certainly not to threaten them. It was this comment that caused the congregation to pause in disbelief and moved a member of the congregation, who was also a litigating attorney, to call the Bishop on what he had just said to this congregation.  The Bishop then said that he was the one being attacked and that he felt like Michael in the Lions den.

Still this faithful congregation stood to give personal faith statements of who they were as Christians and what Jesus meant to them. Certainly there was a passion to the words which they spoke, but it was the passion of those who know right from wrong - the passion of those who know the truth of Holy Scripture.

Finally the meeting was over;  it was now 3 1/2 hours since parishioners of all ages had braved the elements of a stormy night to come and share their faith with the man they called their Bishop. Yet, the last to speak was the young Rector of this parish, Arthur Ward. Thanking the bishop for coming, this brave priest continued to stand his ground on what he and his parish believed. There were no names called, no threats offered. Instead, this young priest looked pastorally at his flock. As he stood before them he realized that on that dark and cold January night his congregation had stood for what was morally true and just. His congregation had ministered to the Bishop of The Diocese of Western New York.

Submitted by:

David Rich

Christ Our Healer Ministries

Buffalo, New York

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS TO PULL OUT OF WORLD BODY

by Bill Bowder

THE Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is facing the loss of one third of its members. The 16-million-strong Southern Baptist Convention is planning to withdraw from the 48-million-strong BWA because of what it calls a leftward drift. A key element in the rift is a report of the BWA study committee prepared for the Southern Baptist Convention by Professor Paige Patterson of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Southern Baptists were not being given a fair hearing, said Professor Patterson. The BWA showed a leftward drift, which included an anti-American tone, continued emphasis on women as pastors, and no open discussion about abortion.

Those and a host of other facts had led to the decision not to support the BWA, as it no longer represented world Baptists, he said.

View of Germany As an example of the drift, Professor Patterson cited a meeting at which a German Baptist theologian said: I am not sure that there is any such thing as the Great Commission, but if there is I am confident that Jesus never said it.

Professor Eric Geldbach, a visiting professor at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in the Czech Republic, believes he is the theologian referred to, and claims to have been misquoted.

All your allegations are totally unsubstantiated, Professor Geldbech said in a letter to the Southern Baptist Convention’s committee chairman, Dr Morris Chapman, quoted in this week’s Baptist Times. Your committee is therefore guilty of trespassing at least two commandments: ˜Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour, ˜Lie not one to another.  Religious games The Southern Baptist Convention expects to withdraw its financial contribution” $300,000 in this current year” to the BWA by 1 October. Its president, the Revd Jack Graham, said at the end of last month: In a world full of terrorists and extremists, we do not have time to play religious games or become bogged down in the quagmire of Baptist debates. It is time for Southern Baptists to move on.

Dr Denton Lotz, the BWA general secretary, has called the decision a sin against love. It brought schism into the life of Baptists worldwide, he said in a statement last week.

The BWA leadership had bent over backwards to accommodate the concerns of the present Southern Baptist leadership, but, alas, now to no avail , he said.

What message is this schism against love sending to the non-believing world?

Illiberalism confirmed He rejected the false accusation of liberalism made by the Southern Baptists against the BWA. It did not have a liberal agenda and it had rejected the theology of liberalism, he said.

Dr Billy Kim, president of the BWA, said that SBC had pioneered the establishment of the BWA nearly a century ago. It is essential that we remain united to fulfil the Great Commission before Christ returns.

The final decision over a split will be taken at the Southern Baptist Convention in June.