This very nice article appeared this past Saturday in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Once upon a time, I was Rector of St. Anne in the Fields, Madison, OH and Chief of Staff at St. Luke’s, Bath, OH.  I was blessed, and am thankful, to have served both parishes.

I was pleased to read of how the parishes have moved forward.  I’d heard a bit last week as I was in Atlanta (for an AAC Board meeting) with +Roger Ames (my old Rector and boss).  I was saddened to read of the ongoing vindictive nature of TEC; the buildings sit empty as the parishes were not permitted to purchase the buildings from the Diocese (per the Presiding Bishop’s directives).  Folks like Carla are representative of the hundreds of folks in the various communities who were well served by these parishes – now displaced by the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.

Carla Long is overcome with sadness every time she sees the unoccupied church building in her East Buchtel Avenue neighborhood.

“It’s heartbreaking. That church has been a beacon of light in this neighborhood,” said Long, 46. “We always called it a hospital because it was a place where you could go for comfort and healing.”

Long is a recovering addict who found support at Holy Spirit Church when it was located at 825 E. Buchtel Ave. The congregation moved out of the building in July, after losing it in a court battle.

Read the rest.

Over at his blog Kendall Harmon had interesting stats for the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia.  Being a slow Saturday, I was curious to see the same stats for the Diocese of South Carolina.

According to the U.S.Census Bureau’s figures, Charleston, the see city of the diocese, has grown in population from 96,650 in 2000 to 120,083 in 2010. This represents a population growth of approximately 24.2% in this time frame.

According to Episcopal Church statistics, the Diocese of South Carolina went from Average Sunday Attendance (or ASA) of 12,623 in 2000 to 11,994 in 2010. This represents a decline of 5% during this decade.  The ASA for the Diocese of South Carolina peaked in 2004 at 14,143 (a 15.2% decline over these past 6 years).

Found this very nice article over the weekend.  Quite a bit to think about.

When John Wesley was born in 1703, four million out of Britain’s five million people lived in absolute poverty—unless they found enough food for that day, they would begin to starve to death.

When John Wesley launched a Church Planting Movement in this context, he not only changed the eternal destinies of an estimated one million people who came to Christ through his ministry, he changed their economic status as well. Not only did the Methodists he led get saved, they got out of poverty and became a powerful influence in discipling their nation. Wilberforce and other “spiritual sons” of Wesley honored him as the “greatest man of his time.”

The Methodists made such an impact on their nation that in 1962 historian Élie Halévy theorized that the Wesleyan revival created England’s middle class and saved England from the kind of bloody revolution that crippled France. Other historians, building on his work, go further to suggest that God used Methodism to show all the oppressed peoples of the world that feeding their souls on the heavenly bread of the lordship of Christ is the path to providing the daily bread their bodies also need.

Could Church Planting Movements of our day apply these same teachings with similar impact?

Read the rest.

I received this email from the DSC this afternoon:

Jim Lewis+, Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese of South Carolina, sent me this email:

Dear Friends,

On Friday of last week, the Standing Committee made its response to the Dec. 5th letter from Bp. Clifton Daniel, acting as Vice-President of Province IV. The attached letter summarizes the unanimous belief of the Standing Committee of the Diocese  of South Carolina regarding the issues raised by Bp. Daniel’s letter. It is asked that the people and parishes of the Diocese keep the scheduled Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 14th) meeting of Bp. Lawrence with the representative Province IV bishops in your prayers.

Here’s the Standing Committee letter.  Very nicely written.  Keep the DSC and +Lawrence in your prayers.

In a public letter released today +Daniel of East Carolina writes +Lawrence:

December 5, 2011

The Right Reverend Mark Lawrence
The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
126 Coming Street
Charleston, South Carolina 29413

Dear Mark,

I write to you following the regular annual meeting of the bishops of Province 4, gathered this year in Memphis,Tennessee. We missed you and understood your need to stay at home and close to your diocese.

The meeting covered a variety of topics: the Denominational Health Plan; the beginning of a search process for a new dean of the School of Theology at Sewanee; the upcoming Provincial Synod in June and the General Convention in July; ministry to retired clergy and their families; Daughters of the King; a prison ministry network in our province; ongoing concerns about the sin of racism in our world and church; and immigration, among other topics.

We also considered, with some concern, recent publicly reported actions regarding quitclaim deeds given to parishes in the Diocese of South Carolina. Since we have had no direct communication from you regarding these reported actions, we determined that it is our duty as bishops of this province to address these concerns in direct communication with you, as Jesus exhorts his followers in Matthew’s Gospel (18:15-20), and in accord with our ordination vows regarding the unity and governance of the church. What we seek in the coming weeks is a face-to-face meeting with you and and a representative group of your fellow Bishops Diocesan of Province 4 in order to have a clarifying conversation and to address the concerns raised among us:

A. We have heard and read reports that you have given a quitclaim deed to each congregation in your diocese. Is this true? If this report is true, under what canonical authority did you proceed? Did you involve the Standing Committee and are the members of the Standing Committee in accord? Who signed the deeds? Would you provide a sample copy of a deed and the letter of explanation that accompanied it?

B. In order to better understand your action, the Bishops of Province 4 gathered in Memphis respectfully request that you meet with several of your fellow Provincial Bishops Diocesan in Charleston, or elsewhere if you desire, to discuss what has been noted above. We make this request in a spirit of collegiality and fellowship as well as out of concern for the people of the Diocese of South Carolina and concern for the well-being of The Episcopal Church.

I have contacted you earlier today by telephone and shared with you the content of this letter, as well as seeking a date in the very near future for our proposed meeting. I will send you an email and hard copy of the letter. I am also releasing this letter to Episcopal news organizations today after our conversation.

Faithfully yours,

Dan

Clifton Daniel, 3rd
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina
Vice President of Province 4 of The Episcopal Church

Kendall had this interesting interchange posted on his blog.  It gives insight into the DSC perspective regarding the issues they face and the framework of their decision-making process.

What is your opinion of the Church’s decision?

We are relieved at the decision and thankful for the hard work of the people involved. We are, however, deeply troubled by the process, a process which the diocese itself has believed is unholy and unhelpful (and most especially that it was passed unconstitutionally).  A careful reading of the statement of the committee on their decision reveals a troubling underlying tone of institutional pressure to conform which is sadly lacking in grace. Even more upsetting, it reflects a larger pattern of those in The Episcopal Church’s leadership of the use the external push of canons to achieve desired ends which only the Holy Spirit and genuinely Christian relationships can produce.

Read the rest.

The Episcopal News Service reports:

The Episcopal Church’s Disciplinary Board for Bishops Nov. 28 said it cannot certify that Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence has abandoned the communion of the church.

“Based on the information before it, the board was unable to make the conclusions essential to a certification that Bishop Lawrence had abandoned the communion of the church,” the Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson Jr., board president, said in a statement e-mailed to Lawrence and reporters. (Henderson said he informed Lawrence of the board’s conclusion by telephone as well.)

Read the rest.

Friends passed the below article on to me.  St. Anne-in-the-Fields was my first parish out of seminary.  I followed Geoff Chapman as Rector (although a 5 year interval existed between his service and mine during which time St. Anne’s was without full-time ordained leadership).  I love those folks and I loved the little sanctuary and the years of faithful prayers and service that has been generated out of that parish.  Sadly, with the economy in NE Ohio and the antipathy of TEC toward biblical, historic Anglicanism, the church building will almost surely be shuttered.

The life and ministry of St. Anne’s will continue.  The local churches, appreciative of St. Anne’s witness, have rallied and new space has been obtained.  Please keep these good folks in your prayers.

The repercussions of a rift in the Episcopal Church are being felt locally.

St. Anne-in-the-Fields of Madison Township is one of five Ohio parishes court-ordered to relinquish its building and assets as a result of disaffiliating from the former Episcopal Church USA, now known as The Episcopal Church, or TEC.

The now-Anglican congregations disaffiliated in 2005 because of a conviction that the TEC leadership and denomination are moving away from biblical beliefs. In 2008, the Ohio Episcopal Diocese and TEC sued all five parishes for their buildings and certain belongings.

In September, after a three-year court battle, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Deena R. Calabrese ruled that the real and personal property belong to the Ohio Diocese and TEC.

The ruling was based on a canon of the denomination, which states that TEC congregations hold their buildings and possessions “in trust” for their local diocese and TEC.

“What we have bought and paid for over the years as a congregation with our own money and sweat equity is not ours at all — it belongs to the denomination,” said the Rev. Kelly Irish, pastor of St. Anne’s.

Read it all.

Adam Parker had a story in this morning’s Post and Courier about the Diocese of South Carolina sending quitclaim deeds to each parish.

The move merely formalizes an arrangement already in place, according to Bishop Mark Lawrence. “A quitclaim deed isn’t giving someone something they don’t have if they already own the deed,” he said.

Some observers say the move could heighten the risk of litigation or other challenges by national church authorities and provide additional evidence to a disciplinary committee now evaluating allegations that Lawrence has abandoned his responsibilities.

Read the rest.