Update on Secessionist Conventions

Fort Worth and South Carolina in Convention: Secession and Increasing Isolation from the Church

Besides Fort Worth, another secessionist diocese, South Carolina, also met in Convention today. Its bishops and many of its clergy stridently denounce the Episcopal Church, its leadership, and many of its laity. The leadership of both dicoeses regularly coordinate.

According to a statement on their website, a majority in South Carolina approved a resolution for "alternative primatial oversight," meaning, those attending the convention wish to have someone other than ++Katharine Jefferts Schori as their Primate, and obviously, another body besides the Episcopal Church as their organizational body. This is clearly reflected in the language of their resolution:

"Be it resolved that this 216th Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina endorse the action of the Standing Committee, taken June 28, 2006 in requesting from the Archbishop of Canterbury an Alternative Primatial Relationship.

And be it further resolved that this Convention authorize the Diocesan Bishop (with Bishop Salmon acting in his stead until the consecration of Fr. Lawrence), together with the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council, to implement the details of this request, in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, his Panel of Reference, the Primates of the Communion, and the leadership and bishops of the Anglican Communion Network."

Notice that those voting in the majority at the convention, want many other parties involved, except the legitimate bodies of The Episcopal Church: they mention the Network, the Primates, the ABC, etc. With such a position there is no hope whatsoever for any request for "an alternate primate" to succeed, becasue the first body they must deal with is the Episcopal Church, the body that created them and which sustains their mission, their name, and their very legitimacy.

The bishop-elect of South Carolina, after this convention, likely faces strong opposition to his approval by the wider Church.

In Fort Worth, a similar resolution passed. Another resolution calling for the listening process so that those demonizing gays and lesbians would have to come face to face with them, was ruled "out of order." A substitute "affirming Lambeth I.0 in its entirety" passed, meaning that Fort Worth will very likely not establish a listening process.

Why would they? The secessionist clergy and bishop there long ago decided that there is no point to a listening process because they already know everything they want to know, and no one speaking up in the listening process would say anything worth hearing anyway.

There is little "Episcopal" left in the leadership of either diocese. They do not wish to pass on the name and the buildings despite all their wild protestations, because if they did, they would have nothing left.

The overarching issue they refuse to accept is that they are not Anglican if they are not also Episcopal. There is no way around it, though they have striven mightily to try to change it, in the process regularly displaying a schizophrenia about wanting everything associated with the Church, except having anything to do with the flesh and blood people who comprise her.

When this point is reached, as sometimes it is in any institution, the solution is for the displeased entities to depart, rather than insist that the institution dissolve itself, or give itself over to them. On a ship of the service, the solution is to relocate the mutineers to the brig until land is reached, and then transfer them to a stockade pending courts martial.

In the meantime, groups of faithful Episcopalians continue to gather in those dioceses and petition the national Church to assist them in their efforts to remain true to the Church.

Fr. Jake's and Thinking Anglicans have timely entries on the conventions.