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WFAA.com
Fort Worth Episcopal
diocese
moves toward split
with national church
Conservatives
disagree with national Episcopal body
on gays, scripture
Matt Curry, AP from
the Web, November 19, 2007
Fort Worth, Nov. 18 -- The
Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth gave preliminary approval Saturday to
constitutional amendments that will lead to withdrawal from the national church
in an increasingly contentious battle over homosexuality and scriptural
interpretation.
The conservative diocese joined those in Pittsburgh; San Joaquin, Calif.; and
Quincy, Ill., in approving such measures. The dioceses contend U.S. church
leadership has wrongly abandoned scriptural authority and traditional teachings
on truth, salvation and the divinity of Jesus Christ.
A series of amendments relating to the split passed overwhelmingly, including an
amendment that deleted reference to the authority of the Episcopal Church and
replaced it with the Anglican Communion. That measure passed in votes of
69-14 by clergy and 95-28 by lay delegates.
The convention followed a testy exchange of letters between the national
church's presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Fort Worth Bishop Jack
Iker.
Bishop Jefferts Schori warned Bishop Iker that he could face discipline if he
continues to back proposals to separate from the U.S. church. Bishop Iker
responded by accusing her of "aggressive, dictatorial posturing."
Bishop Jefferts Schori was attending a peace conference in South Korea and had
no immediate comment, said Canon Robert Williams, a spokesman for the presiding
bishop.
Speaking in a news conference after the convention, Bishop Iker said the
decision showed firm resolve about moving forward. He said he recognized
that not everyone fully supported the decision, but that the debate was
characterized by respect and honesty.
"It's important to note that the decisions made today are preliminary decisions
that need to be ratified by another convention," he said.
The measures will be up for final approval at next year's convention.
George Komechak, a spokesman for Fort Worth Via Media, which opposes separation,
said much of the convention was spent targeting Bishop Jefferts Schori and the
national church.
"My reaction is the bishop has the diocese in a state where they are very intent
on withdrawing from the national church," said Mr. Komechak, who attended as an
observer. "They spent a good portion of the day attacking the national
church –- trying to discredit the national church and the presiding bishop."
The convention said the diocese wishes "to remain within the family of the
Anglican Communion while dissociating itself from the moral, theological, and
disciplinary innovations of the Episcopal Church."
The convention thanked the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone for offering
to give the diocese membership, but took no action on the proposal. The
province includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
A majority of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion hold traditional views
that homosexuality is condemned by Scripture, while a majority in the Episcopal
Church do not.
The division between conservatives and the Episcopal Church, the Anglican body
in the U.S., has sharpened since the denomination consecrated New Hampshire
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, in 2003.
The Episcopalians are among several denominations struggling to agree on what
the Bible says about gender and sexuality. Some Episcopal leaders in
Texas, including Bishop Iker, object to the ordination of women, which the
denomination approved in the 1970s.
The Fort Worth diocese includes about 56 congregations in north central Texas
with about 20,000 members.
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