Dallas Seeks Leadership from February Primates' Meeting
12/15/2006

The Diocese of Dallas will not consider any new applications by congregations desiring to leave until after the Feb. 14-19 meeting of the primates of the Anglican Communion. The Rev. Ed. Monk, rector of St. John’s, Corsicana and president of the standing committee, informed the clergy of the decision in a Dec. 13 letter following a regularly scheduled meeting of the standing committee the day before.

“[Dallas] Bishop [James M.] Stanton has done everything he can to hold us together up to now,” Fr. Monk told The Living Church. “It’s out of his hands now. Our belief is that this primates’ meeting is going to be an ‘either or’ moment: either The Episcopal Church will be disciplined or it won’t. If it is not, then everyone will have to make their own decision about their future.”

Last September, Christ Church, Plano, Texas (the largest Episcopal congregation in the United States in terms of average Sunday attendance) voted to leave and affiliate with the Province of the Southern Cone. Unlike the majority of other bishops, Bishop Stanton has not deposed clergy who have left The Episcopal Church and sought to remain within the Anglican Communion. He has also offered generous financial settlements to congregations which have desired to purchase their church building.

“This is not meant to be punitive, nor does it mean that such requests cannot be heard favorably,” the letter states. “Rather, this resolution is intended to give time for the meaning of the Dar-es-Salaam [Tanzania] meeting of Primates to be heard and understood.”

Fr. Monk said a number of clergy and lay leaders have contacted him since the release of the letter. Diocesan bylaws require the standing committee to concur with the bishop before clergy can be released and property transferred. The standing committee must issue a recommendation to diocesan convention as to whether differences are irreconcilable before the Episcopal parish is dissolved and it is those three decisions upon which the bishop and standing committee will not act before April, Fr. Monk said.

“I clearly understood when we made this decision that those who were already thinking of leaving would not be happy,” he said. “One of the grave misunderstandings is that this prevents anyone from following the protocol developed by the diocese and bishop. This doesn’t stop anyone from continuing that process. I am encouraging [those who might want to leave] to get as much of the other steps done as possible between now and April.”

There is one parish whose application to be released from The Episcopal Church had already been received, according to Fr. Monk, who said the standing committee will probably make a decision on that application next month. He said he is aware at present of less than six of the 70 congregations that might leave, but that number could change significantly depending on what happens at the primates’ meeting.

This article comes from The Living Church Foundation
http://www.livingchurch.org/

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