|
1) http://gs2004.classicalanglican.com/modules/news/ NEWS of the ACiC-- Anglican Communion in Canada ... (acicanada)
2a) http://www.virtuosityonline.org/portal/modules/news/ LOS ANGELES: True motives behind lawsuits are financial, says attorney Posted by dvirtue on 2004/9/11 7:18:00
2b) http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/la.asp http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21474~2399572,00.html# Press-Telegram Newspaper Article Published: Monday, September 13, 2004 - 7:56:36 PM PST L.B. reverend calm in storm 'Father Bill' Thompson of All Saints deliberate in plan to split church from U.S. diocese. By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
LONG BEACH - As the clouds of controversy whirl about him, the Rev. William Thompson maintains the calm of a man seemingly unaffected by the furor his actions have caused.
That calm, however, can be misinterpreted. Rather than serenity, Thompson says he has been going through alternating feelings of grief and relief. Grief at having to turn his back on the only church he has ever known. A church he says has nurtured him for a lifetime. Relief that by leaving the Episcopal Church with his congregation, he can now practice and fulfill his vows in the way he believes God intended.
Putting it a little more bluntly, Scott Strong, a parishioner at All Saints, says he posed this question to the priest.
"I asked him 'Is this a resurrection or a crucifixion?" He didn't answer, but I believe it's a little of both," Strong says, his voice beginning to halt with emotion. "He realizes this will hurt and upset people in the short run, but in the long run the focus will be where it's needed, and that's on Christ and the Scriptures."
Thompson, who is referred to as "Father Bill" by his congregants, has quietly ministered to his flock in Long Beach for the past 29 years. However, he helped ignite a firestorm within the Episcopal Church of the United States when he, the vestry and members of All Saints Church announced their disassociation, not only with the local diocese, but the entire national church(...)
It's a radical and unprecedented move for an otherwise unimposing priest. It raises fundamental questions about the order, structure and integrity of not only dioceses in the Episcopal Church, but in the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a move that puts the parish's building and property all the way down to prayer books and hymnals at risk of being taken away by the Episcopal Church. And it ends whatever dialogue was left between the parish and the larger U.S. church.
Although the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles says it continues to hold out the opportunity of reconciliation, Thompson says he and his congregation have moved on.
Since the announcements by the churches, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has 'inhibited' the clergy of the three parishes from practicing, appointed new priests-in-charge and filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court to claim all property from the parish.
Long time coming The decision to leave the diocese is one Thompson and leadership at the church say they had been moving toward for years, due to what they see as continual movement by Episcopal leadership away from the tenets of the Scriptures. These include views on homosexuality, marked by the election in November of Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the church's first openly gay bishop and the blessing of same-sex unions, including one by the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the L.A. Diocese.
But these recent actions are only a part of a much larger mosaic, Thompson and his congregation contend.
So what is it that drives a conservative man to such a radical gesture?
To understand that, one must understand the man, his background and his faith. Thompson, 58, was born and raised in Long Beach and was a parishioner at All Saints Church from infancy.
Bob Campbell, who was married at All Saints Church in 1956, remembers Thompson as a child who always sat at the back of the church with his family.
Thompson graduated from Wilson High in 1964 and attended Stanford University where he received his bachelor's degree in psychology. That year he married Claudia, now his wife of 36 years.
Thompson then attended Seabury-Western Seminary in Illinois and earned his masters of divinity degree in 1971.
In 1973, Thompson came full circle as he returned to the parish in which he was raised. After two years as an assistant, he became the rector in 1975 and has maintained that position since.
A modest man Thompson speaks in a matter-of-fact style. He zealously protects his free time with his family.
Thompson considers himself easy to get along with on a personal level and several fellow priests in Long Beach agree, as do members of his congregation.
The priests say although Thompson is steadfast in his beliefs, he is respectful to gays and lesbians. They say when he argues for his views of Scriptures, he always listens to other points of view.
Parishioners describe Thompson as a man of almost limitless patience who shies from the public spotlight and is quick to recognize his own foibles.
"He prefers priestly things, not politics," Campbell says, noting that Thompson positively radiates when performing functions such as baptisms.
In his free time, Thompson is a musician who plays bluegrass mandolin and likes to jam with friends.
Thompson is the father of three grown children: Matthew, 31, a biologist with a doctorate from Harvard; Christopher, 28, a local sixth-grade history teacher; and Betsy, 25, an interior designer in Seattle.
Thompson says he's looking forward to becoming a grandfather although he jokes neither of his married sons are necessarily ready to oblige.
A church divided During his childhood years at All Saints Church, Thompson remembers the parish and Episcopal Church maintaining close positions on biblical orthodoxy.
But beginning in the 1960s, the turmoil in the church seemed to mirror social change in the United States. It was a time when old notions and definitions were challenged and new interpretations debated. In this sea of change, some of the more radical elements of the church gained a voice.
Two of the best known were James Pike, the bishop of California, and John Spong.
According to Thompson, Pike denied the Trinity, the virgin birth of Christ and the Jesus' physical resurrection, which Thompson says are pillars of faith.
Pike, who appointed the church's first woman deacon in 1965, was later tried for heresy and censured for espousing "offensive" and "irresponsible" theological views and left the church. However, that was only after years of "passive permission" was given to his radical theology, Thompson says.
More recently Spong, an author of 15 books, including "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism" and "Resurrection: Myth or Reality," became well known and something of a media celebrity and rose to Bishop of Newark before he retired in 2000.
In 1989, Spong ordained an openly homosexual priest and was censured in 1990. Immediately after Spong's censure, his assistant bishop, William Righter, ordained another gay priest. He was later cleared in an ecclesiastical trial.
Spong, who also challenged virgin birth and physical resurrection and supporting blessing same-sex unions, came to represent a face of a church Thompson no longer recognized.
"Over the years, we saw more of a drift in that direction," says Thompson, who blames leadership for failing to act to censure or contain radical clerics.
Growing apart In 1993, Thompson says he was rebuffed at a diocesan convention when two seemingly modest proposals he introduced languished and faltered.
He made proposals to adopt language that stated on matters of faith and morals, the Scriptures were the primary authority.
"Not the only authority, just the primary authority," Thompson says.
Thompson also says a resolution was tabled to affirm Jesus was the only son of God and no one comes to the Father but by him.
Thompson says such exchanges were symbolic of the growing schism between his view of the church and those of his brethren.
"It became increasingly apparent we no longer shared the same view of what Christianity was about," Thompson says.
Although Thompson says the ordination of women into the clergy can be debated on orthodox interpretation of Scriptures, such is not the case in the ordination of gay clergy.
The election of Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire was apparently the last straw, although Thompson insists there was no single moment or event that tipped the scales.
The break The Rev. Gary Commins and the Rev. Bryan Jones, two Episcopal rectors in Long Beach who know Thompson say they believe he came by his decision earnestly, albeit wrongly.
"I know this was a decision he thought about for a long time and didn't take lightly," says Commins, the rector at St. Luke's Church in Long Beach.
Parishioners say as in all his decisions, Thompson was exceedingly deliberate.
"He's not someone who rushes to decisions easily," Strong says.
"He's very deliberate, sometimes to others' dismay," Strong adds, referring to the decision to leave the Episcopal Church, which many parishioners thought was long overdue.
Commins says Thompson's views were well known and he was not shy about sharing them. But eventually his rhetoric may have left him with no place to go.
"I don't want to say he painted himself into a corner," Commins says, "but he drew a line in the sand."
"I guess (All Saints) was feeling increasingly isolated," says Jones, rector at St. Thomas of Canterbury in Long Beach. "But the Episcopal Church is democratic, and they kept getting outvoted."
Jones bristles at the notion Thompson and his supporters float that the rest of the church is veering away from orthodoxy. Rather, he says, the greater church simply has a different orthodoxy.
"I guess the opposite of orthodox is heresy, but these questions don't rise to that level," Jones says of the divisiveness of Robinson's election and the church's changing views on sexuality. "I think (Thompson's) position is such a minority that it's just frustrating for him."
Thompson didn't immediately flee the church after Robinson's election.
In January he joined a group of conservative U.S. clergy and helped form the Anglican Communion Network and became its West Convocation representative. The ACN, which includes parishes from numerous U.S. dioceses, was formed in response to the 2003 General Convention and the elevation of Robinson. Although it is widely believed the group seeks to form a separate and autonomous Anglican province within the nation, apart from the Episcopal Church, Thompson says that was never discussed.
Whether it is seeking independence, the ACN still operates under the constitution of the Episcopal Church.
"Among other things, we were still under the spiritual authority of the Los Angeles Diocese and that became problematic," Thompson says.
Despite the talk of conciliation, the schism grew worse. In June, Bruno was barred from a gathering of leaders of the American Anglican Council, another conservative group of which Thompson was member. It was a slap in Bruno's face and symbolic of the worsening divisions within the church.
Parishioners at All Saints say it is the Episcopal Church that has left them.
"I never would have lasted as an Episcopalian if it weren't for Father Bill," says Michele Wright, who was consistently dismayed by decisions by the church but encouraged to keep her faith by Thompson.
Safe harbor Thompson says he chose to align with the Diocese of Luweero in Uganda because he has a personal relationship with Henry Orombi, archbishop of the Church of Uganda.
"We developed an instant connection," says Thompson, who met Orombi when the archbishop was visiting California recently.
Thompson attended Orombi's enthronement as archbishop.
When All Saints decided to leave the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Luweero offered "a safe harbor," even though Thompson and Luweero's bishop, Evans Kisekka, did not know each other.
The Rev. Maurice Benitez, a retired conservative bishop from Texas, has been named by the Ugandan archdiocese as the acting bishop for the breakaway parishes.
It was important to the parishioners to remain in the Anglican Communion.
"We're not going off into the deep blue," Campbell says. "Having a bishop is integral to our faith, but we're under the authority of a bishop who is sympathetic to us."
Diocese reacts While the Los Angeles Diocese of the Episcopal Church vows it will not let the parish go, Thompson says it's too late, he's gone.
As Bruno calls for him to be defrocked, Thompson says he's no longer an Episcopalian so the requests are meaningless. He and the clergy have already been accepted in Uganda.
The chance Thompson will be called to the mat by higher authority in the Anglican Communion seems unlikely. As all provinces of the Anglican Communion are autonomous by design, only Orombi and Kisekka hold sway over Thompson and they publicly support him(...)
A larger question for the entire Anglican Communion is a parish joining a diocese in another continent half a world away and what the effects of that will be.
"What's unprecedented is that you can leave your diocese," Jones said. "Dioceses by definition are geographic. You have to be physically present."
Although churches have left the Episcopal Church in the past, the notion that a parish can pick and choose bishops and provinces yet remain Anglican could change the landscape of the faith and, some say, cause even further fracturing in a somewhat delicate web.
Church property Of more immediate concern to All Saints is the future of the parish property and its holdings. Although Canon Law would seem to indicate the parish belongs to the Episcopal Church, the parish insists as it is no longer an Episcopal Church, the laws don't apply.
All three split churches claim to hold the titles to the properties of their churches and that nowhere are the Diocese or Episcopal Church mentioned.
California law does not necessarily follow Canon Law and seeks to steer clear of doctrinal disputes. Rather California courts following the lead of two U.S. Supreme Court rulings, tend to use what are called neutral principles of law, meaning state courts need not defer to rulings by the hierarchy of churches.
In 1977, four churches split from the Los Angeles diocese in a dispute over the ordination of women priests. Although the parishes lost their initial cases, on appeal all but one were allowed to keep their properties. The lone church to lose its case had been incorporated after changes in Diocesan Canon in 1958 and specifically identified itself as "a subordinate body" to the larger church.
The three churches that successfully defected with their property, amended their by-laws to delete all references to the Diocese and the national church. Officials at the breakaway churches say they have done the same.
Parishioners at All Saints also say they bought the property and built the church without any help from the Diocese.
Life goes on Meanwhile, Thompson insists nothing has changed in the daily life of his parish. He still conducts services on Sundays and throughout the week and attends to myriad duties.
He insists, "for us, things will go on as they've always gone."
Campbell agrees that church life hasn't changed except that there are new faces in the congregation.
Strong says things are actually better.
"It's an exciting time," Strong said. "After the decision was made (to leave the Episcopal Church), the next Sunday, this church was so alive with the Holy Spirit. You could feel it and sense it. There were tears of joy and tears of hurt at how we'd be perceived. But this is how it has to be, the focus is on Jesus Christ and the Scriptures."
September 14, 2004 A CLOSER LOOK Church cautiously optimistic about suit * The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is suing three Southland churches, but local pastor is confident. Deepa Bharath, Daily Pilot NEWPORT BEACH - Real estate law or canon law? It's going to be a difficult choice for the courts entrusted with the case that pits a church and a diocese against each other.
The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is suing three Southern California churches, including St. James Church in Newport Beach. The diocese alleges that the churches committed a breach of fiduciary duty when they broke away from the diocese and aligned with an African church in the worldwide Anglican Communion last month.
The churches announced secession Aug. 17, stating they did not agree with the Episcopal Church's liberal views on homosexuality, the divinity of Jesus Christ and the supremacy of the Bible.
The land on Via Lido, where St. James Church sits, belongs to a nonprofit organization called The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James Parish, which was set up in the late 1940s, property deeds show.
The property of a mission is typically held under the name and control of the diocese and its bishop. But in California, the parish is usually organized as a nonprofit corporation run by an elected vestry or board of directors. The rector of the parish, in this case Praveen Bunyan, acts as the president of the church corporation.
But diocesan officials say it doesn't matter whose name is on a piece of stamped paper.
The lawsuit states the "canons of the Episcopal Church, which were repeatedly adopted and ratified by the parish and expressly incorporated into its Articles of Incorporation and by-laws provide: All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any parish, mission or congregation is held in trust for this church and diocese thereof …"
The lawsuit also says the founders of St. James swore in their application to become a parish that the church would be "forever held under and conform to and be bound by the ecclesiastical authority of the Bishop of Los Angeles and his successors in office" and the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church.
The canons, laws written by the Episcopal Church, clearly state the church properties are held for the benefit of the diocese, said John Shiner, the attorney representing the diocese.
"The churches that seceded did not follow those canons they had agreed to follow," he said.
But Eric Sohlgren, an attorney for the seceded churches, said the judges should and will base their verdict on California real estate law, not canon law.
As precedent, Sohlgren uses a 1981 case, Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles vs. John D. Barker. About 23 years ago, the diocese was in a similar situation, fighting four churches that broke away because they were unhappy with the diocese's ordination of female priests.
Three out of the four churches in that fight succeeded in keeping their respective churches and surrounding properties. The churches initially lost the case but won it on appeal.
In the initial case, Sohlgren said, the judges looked at two things - who owns the deed to the land and who contributes money to whom.
"The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James Parish own the deed to the property, and secondly, for many, many years, St. James has been contributing to the diocese, not the other way around," he said.
Last year alone, St. James contributed about $72,000 to the diocese, Bunyan said.
"That's pretty close to the amount of money we've donated to the diocese every year for the last 55 years," he said.
The churches in the 1981 case also amended their articles of incorporation to delete all references to the diocese and Episcopal Church of the United States, just as St. James did.
It's unfair to compare what churches in other states have done with similar lawsuits involving the Episcopal Church, Sohlgren said.
"California is a state that follows the neutral principles of law," he said. "The courts step back and look at who would own the property if it were not a church. Courts are supposed to follow published law and precedents."
But canon law can still apply in a court of law, Shiner said.
"There are many precedents after Barker, which show that California courts have upheld church canon laws," he said.
Bunyan said he is cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the lawsuit.
"We're confident, but we're also not naïve about it," he said.
The congregation voted 280 to 12 to secede from the Episcopal Church and 340 to 4 in favor of amending the Articles of Incorporation, Bunyan said. The church's membership is 1,200, but that number includes babies, children and adolescents, he said.
"It even includes people who moved away but haven't let us know," he said. "Our quorum for an annual meeting is 200, and the number of people who attended these meetings exceeded that number."
Church administrators made phone calls to inform every family about the important meeting, Bunyan said.
All church members who voted in favor of the secession are in it for the long haul, he said.
"For so many years, they have poured everything they have into this church," Bunyan said. "They want to see all that used for something they believe in."
o DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter. She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.
2d) http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/index.php?p=2481 9/14/2004 L.A. Rectors Seek to Explain Decisions Filed under: * General - kendall @ 8:46 am
The three parishes that declared their independence from the Diocese of Los Angeles and the Episcopal Church last month [TLC, Sept. 5, 12] are affiliated with the American Anglican Council, and the Rev. William Thompson, rector of All Saints' Church, Long Beach, Calif., also serves as regional dean for the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (NACDP). Yet according to Fr. Thompson, neither organization had any part in the decision-making process that led him, his congregation and all the clergy and members at the two other parishes to do what they did(...)
"Bishop Jon strongly endorsed General Convention," Fr. Bunyan said, adding that the bishop had told the diocesan convention in December "that anyone not following the teaching of General Convention [on homosexuality] was being disobedient to God."
"This was the time to go," agreed Fr. Thompson. -The Living Church
2e) http://www.latimes.com/news/local/pilot/news/la-dpt-stjames11sep11,1,6351528.story Sept 11th 2004 Churches respond to diocese lawsuit Lawyers for St. James in Newport Beach and two other breakaway churches say legal claims show 'true colors' of the Los Angeles diocese.
NEWPORT BEACH - Financial reasons motived the Episcopal Church's lawsuits against three seceded Southern California churches, including one on Via Lido, attorneys for the churches said on Friday(...)
"The Episcopal Church is treating these churches as businesses," Sohlgren said. " … Does the Diocese really want a court order to take away toys, crayons and paper crosses made by the Sunday school children on the theory that they were purchased when the church was Episcopal?"(...)
"Two fundamental American values are at stake in these cases: freedom of religion and property rights," Sohlgren said. "The churches are confident that the California court will respect these rights and ultimately conclude that they, as separate California religious corporations, can retain their properties and get on with their ministries."
o DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter. She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.
2f) http://www.latimes.com/news/local/pilot/news/opinion/la-dpt-qampa12sep12,1,4454480.story Standing firm on church schism Los Angeles Times, Sept 12th 2004 Sunday For many, like St. James Church parishioner Galen Yorba-Gray, the Episcopal Church has strayed from what Yorba-Gray said are key tenets of religious faith: belief in the supremacy of biblical scripture and Jesus Christ.
That's why he has stood firmly behind his Newport Beach church and its pastor, Praveen Bunyan, as the church, with its 1,200 members, has broken away from the Episcopal Diocese and taken shelter under the Diocese of Luwero in the Anglican Province of Uganda, Africa(...)
Anglican Mission in America 2005 Winter Conference
"Empowering and Equipping for Mission" Jan 12 to 16, 2005
Radisson Plaza Hotel, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 2101 North Oak Street (corner of Oak and 21st Street) 1-800-333-3333 or 1-843-918 -5000 www.radisson.com/anglicanmission - web site for hotel reservation only Be sure to ask for Anglican Mission rates of $89/night plus tax. Free shuttle from hotel to and from Myrtle Beach Airport (MYR). Call Radisson in advance to arrange.
For conference registration: Go to website of http://theamia.org/ You may print form for mailing or Register on line with secure credit card charge
For additional information call All Saints, Pawleys at 1-843-237-4223 Monday through Friday 10 to 4
Speakers and Guests Archbishops Yong, Kolini and Peter Jensen of Australia Brian McClaren Ed Stetzer Bishops of Anglican Mission in America Canon Michael and Rosemary Green Bishop David and Mary Pytches More names will be announced at a later date
We would like to draw your attention to the election taking place next Saturday, September 18th, for the future ACC bishop of Montreal, Quebec.
People can go to http://www.podm.net/synod/nominees.htm and pray for all the candidates that God's will would be accomplished in each of their lives at this time.
Enforcing the law in 'Vansterdam' Susan Martinuk, National Post Tuesday, September 14, 2004 VANCOUVER - The owners of Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop wanted to make a point. They sold marijuana over the counter for months, openly violating drug laws and essentially challenging Vancouver's police officers to take action. When the SWAT team didn't swoop in with guns blazing, they sought media assistance to provoke liberalization of our supposedly archaic drug laws(...)
Marijuana isn't the harmless drug that Baby Boomers recall from 25 years ago. Thanks to scientific progress and genetic modifications, it's been remade into a far more potent and addictive drug(...) Twenty-five years ago, levels of THC (the active chemical ingredient in marijuana) hovered around 0.5% to 2.0%; they can now be as high as 35%. "B.C. bud" consistently registers at 25%. Varying levels of THC make it difficult for researchers to document or standardize reactions, but one scientific relationship is clear: As THC increases, so do marijuana's addictive qualities and health risks.
Consequently, The New England Journal of Medicine says smoking five joints a week is the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. (Anti-smoking lobbyists can do the calculations on how much that will cost our already overburdened health care system.) Neurotoxicity & Teratology reports that exposure to marijuana in the womb increases chances of hyperactivity and social problems; The National Academy of Sciences says marijuana can cause cancer, lung damage and babies with low birth weights. Circulation reported a five-fold increase in heart attack risks; the British Medical Journal revealed an increased incidence of schizophrenia and depression; and a Dutch study shows cannabis smokers are seven times more likely than other people to have psychotic symptoms(...)
6) Report could have a 'profound impact for good' says Eames http://www.churchtimes.com/80256E4E00384246/httpPublicPages/BAE571FAA466279C80256F11003D97F0?opendocument By Bill Bowder, Sept 16th 2004 THE Lambeth Commission's report, concerning the future shape of the Anglican Communion in the light of current disputes about homosexuality, is finished. A number of Evangelicals are already saying that they will accept the report only if it passes the test of scripture.
It will be considered by the Primates' Standing Committee and the Anglican Consultative Council on the morning of 18 October. It will be made public that afternoon. (...)
The Bishop of Durham, Dr Tom Wright, a member of the Commission, said that healing required "appropriate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. We have done our best to offer that, and we have finished our task."(...)
"We were asked to clarify the ways in which decisions are made, and this will inevitably be not only about the past, but also about the future. There has been a clarifying of perspectives that are already there."
But the chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council, (CEEC), the Ven. Paul Gardner, said: "The CEEC will want to continue talks very widely with bishops right round the world. We want to see the Eames report upholding traditional biblical and orthodox understandings of behaviour and the place of holiness in Christian life. We will judge all things by scripture."
Anglican Mainstream warned last week that the report would not be accepted if it tried to resolve the crisis by adopting a process of "reception", nor if it proposed any kind of associate status for the Episcopal Church in the United States. Federation was also out. "Orthodox members of the Communion will not accept such a compromise move," the group said(...)
Next Ed-Mail Same-sex Blessings |