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The vestry of All Saints' Episcopal Church on October 2, 2008, unanimously passed a resolution to remain in the Episcopal Church. This prompted a pastoral letter from the bishop. Three communicants of All Saints' chose to rebutt the argumentation found in the bishop's letter. All five documents are recorded below:
All Saints’ Episcopal Church October 4, 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Vestry, at a special called meeting on October 2, 2008, unanimously passed the following resolution (Kent Henning and Elaine Edwards being absent): WHEREAS, the Vestry, putting aside individual personal opinions and as a show of solidarity for our fiduciary responsibility on behalf of this Parish; and WHEREAS, the Vestry, having carefully listened to the varied opinions of the members of this Parish; and WHEREAS, the Vestry, appreciating and supporting Father Jambor's leadership of this Parish, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that All Saints' Episcopal Church is a parish that follows and supports the Windsor Process, including but not limited to: -The Windsor Report; the blessings of same-sex unions -the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10 regarding human sexuality; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Vestry will not consider changes to the governing documents of this Parish. Signed this 2nd day of October, 2008 Information on the Windsor Process, Resolution 1.10, and our parish's governing documents can be found on the bottom left side of the home page of our parish web site at www.allsaintsfortworth.org. What this Resolution means is that All Saints' Episcopal Church is a parish which will continue to be true to its identity as defined by its governing documents, namely, that we are an Episcopal parish in the Episcopal Church, and that we will support and participate in those things which further our unity within the Anglican Communion. Please be assured that All Saints' Episcopal Church will continue to be the fine parish you know and love and, with God's help, will continue to Go and Grow as One. [signed] 5001 Crestline Road Fort Worth, Texas 76107-3699 817-732-1424 FAX 817-731-2417
A PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE BISHOP Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Fr. Jambor was kind enough to send me a copy of his recent letter to all of you concerning the resolution adopted by your Vestry on October 2, 2008. I rejoice and give thanks for this unanimous expression of support for the position that I have taken as your Bishop in supporting Resolution 1.10 of the Lambeth Conference, the Windsor Report, and the development of an Anglican Covenant. It is gratifying to have your Rector and Vestry so clearly endorse the decisions made by overwhelming majorities at our Diocesan Conventions in years past. As you know, our Diocese endorsed the Lambeth Resolution 1.10 on sexuality in 1998 and the Windsor Report in 2004. Convention reaffirmed both of them in 2006. The problem is that the General Convention of The Episcopal Church has not complied with the Lambeth Resolution on human sexuality and several Bishops and Dioceses of TEC (including the Presiding Bishop) have acted in defiance of the requests of the Windsor Report. That is why we are in the crisis we are in! At this last summer’s Lambeth Conference, TEC Bishops consistently expressed the position that they will only accept a future Anglican Covenant if there are no consequences for breaking it! The Vestry resolution goes on to say that it “will not consider changes to the governing documents of the Parish.” Evidently, this is a reference to the parish bylaws. However, the real governing documents of the parish are the Constitution and Canons of this Diocese and the Constitution and Canons of the General Convention, which your Vestry cannot change by means of parish bylaws. Only the Diocesan Convention can alter or amend the Diocesan Constitution and Canons, and no parish Vestry has the canonical authority to repeal or ratify such actions of the Convention once they have been duly adopted. As our Diocesan Convention votes next month to rescind our accession to the Constitution and Canons of the General Convention, I sincerely hope that the vast majority of the clergy, vestry and members of All Saints’ Church will continue to stand with your Bishop and this Diocese. We are committed to upholding and propagating the historic faith and order of the apostolic church, what the Prayer Book calls “the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this Church has received them.” For in doing so, The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth continues to stand with the vast majority of Anglican Christians around the world. Please stand with us. Be assured of my prayers and pastoral support as we move forward together in the days ahead. Faithfully in Christ, The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker Subject: RE: Another Response to Bishop Iker's Pastoral Letter of 10-20-08 In his letter to the clergy, vestry and members of All Saints’ on October 20, 2008, Bishop Iker states: “We are committed to upholding and propagating the historic faith and order of the apostolic church, what the Prayer Book calls ‘the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them.’ ” The above quote comes from the question that a bishop asks of both a deacon and a priest. But refer to your 1979 Prayer Book. The deacon or priest then responds with this vow, “…I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.” Also note that when a bishop is ordained, The Book of Common Prayer (September 1979). page 513, stipulates: "When the reading of the testimonials is ended, the Presiding Bishop requires the following promise from the Bishop-elect" "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, I, N.N., chosen Bishop of the Church in N., solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.”
"The Bishop-elect then signs the above Declaration in the sight of all present. The witnesses add their signatures." One does not solemnly "engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church" by attempting to remove a diocese from the Episcopal Church. While Bishop Iker does not say anything false in his letter, partial-truths can certainly can be misleading to his followers and those on the fence. Laura Adcock
If I were to respond to the Bishop's letter, which I may do, I might mention the following: We are unsure of what position you have taken with respect to supporting Resolution 1.10 of the (1998) Lambeth Conference in that there has been no compliance by the diocese of Fort Worth regarding a listening process called for by that resolution. We are unsure of what position you have taken with respect to the Windsor Report. Your invitation to and consideration of affiliation with the Province of the Southern Cone is in direct violation of that Report. We appreciate your reference to the lack of canonical authority of our parish to change the Constitution and Canons of this diocese, but it is apparent that the vestry had no intent of doing so and they so state in this resolution. Your admonition also applies to the authority of the diocesan Convention with respect to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church, to which you refer to as the “General Convention.” Perhaps your admonition would be better directed to the Standing Committee and Delegates to the Diocesan Convention. We do not believe that the exploration of a combination of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth with the Roman Catholic Church has anything to do with standing with the majority of Anglicans around the World. David Leedy
October 26, 2008 This is my personal response to Bishop Iker’s Pastoral Letter to All Saints Parishioners dated October 20, 2008. The General Convention of the Episcopal Church (TEC) is in complete compliance with the Windsor Report’s recommendations and has been since they were issued in 2004. The same cannot be said about Bishop Iker and his followers, who are NOT in compliance in two major areas. First, both Lambeth and Windsor require that there should be a listening process to hear the concerns of gay members of the Church and for open discussions of the important issues confronting our Church today. The Bishop has consistently refused to allow any open dialog or any presentation, at the Diocesan level, of any alternate interpretations of what is happening in The Episcopal Church. So, at the direction of the Bishop, NO listening process. And, just for clarification, contrary to what Bishop Iker and his followers have said, the General Convention of TEC has not authorized the blessing of same-sex couples or even a rite to do so. Second, the Windsor Report requires that ALL Provinces of the Anglican Communion refrain from violating the integrity of any other Province for any reason. Bishop Iker is obviously in violation of this requirement, as he is actively directing his followers to join the Southern Cone Province. In addition, four of the Bishop’s top lieutenants have made a formal presentation to the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth seeking to find out how the Diocese of Fort Worth could possibly join the Roman Catholic Church. The following quotes are from the written document of this formal presentation to Bishop Kevin W. Vann: “In April, 2006 our Diocesan Bishop (Jack Leo Iker) and several of the clergy made a pilgrimage to Rome. At that time we were blessed to have an informal visit with his Eminence, Bernard Cardinal Law.” ………….. “In essence, that trip crystallized for us the need for perusing unity with the See of Peter now.” With respect to an Anglican Covenant, well, at this time there is NO Anglican Covenant. It is still a work in progress. For Bishop Iker to state that TEC and/or the Presiding Bishop are opposed to a document which does not exist, is, at best, absurd. Given the current turmoil in the Anglican Communion (what was Gafcon all about if the Anglican Communion is so united), an Anglican Covenant might take quite some time to be completed and accepted. Also ridiculous is Bishop Iker’s implication that the Vestry of All Saints has changed or attempted to change its Bylaws to be in conflict with the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. The vestry has not tried to repeal or ratify the Constitution & Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in any shape, form or fashion. The only significant change which has been made to All Saints Episcopal Church’s Bylaws, occurred in 1990. This change was a simple amendment to Article II, Governance, to which was added the following language, “; provided in the event of any conflict between the General Convention Canons or these Bylaws, as they relate to the affairs of the Corporation (All Saints), the General Convention Canons shall prevail, to the extent of such conflict.” This was added to our Bylaws because many people believed that it was, from the beginning, the intention and goal of the leadership of the Diocese of Fort Worth to separate (schism) from The Episcopal Church. And guess what, THEY are on the verge. Bishop Iker states that a parish cannot alter the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Fort Worth or of The Episcopal Church, but he fails to mention that neither can a Diocese override the Constitution and Canons of the General Convention, as the Diocese of Fort Worth purportedly has done on more than one occasion. Finally, let me restate the obvious, the Bishop and “his” Convention may vote to separate from the Episcopal Church, but that does not give them the ownership of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth or any of the Churches and their assets in this Diocese. People can choose to leave but Churches and their property cannot. Of note is the fact that Bishop Iker does not acknowledge in any way the Vestry’s unanimous vote in support of Fr. Jambor and his decision to remain in The Episcopal Church and in not making any changes to our Bylaws. Basically, Bishop Iker’s letter is just another of his “interpretations” or his “spin” on what is happening in The Episcopal Church and at All Saints Episcopal Church. Blessings & Peace, Richard Chowning |