Saturday, November 17, 2007

Presiding Bishop would rather have a nightclub in a vacant TEC church than negotiate - Anderson

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/index.php/2007/11/16/presiding-bishop-would-rather-have-a-nightclub-in-a-vacant-tec-church-than-negotiate-anderson/

[Anglican Mainstream] 17 Nov 2007--Of particular interest this week is the news about the lawsuit in Virginia, where Katherine Jefferts Schori admits that she forced Virginia Bishop Peter Lee to renege on his agreed Protocol with the departing congregations and instead, hit them with law suits.

Schori would rather have a bar or a nightclub in a vacant Episcopal Church than negotiate with a departing Anglican congregation about a fair arrangement for the building’s ownership and future. She is afraid that if TEC is forced to compete for the souls of men and women, they will lose badly because they have no life-giving Gospel. The orthodox Episcopal Churches that do preach the true Gospel are under persecution and are endangered, and if she has her way, she will drive the people and priest out and keep the building.Although both CANA (Convocation of Anglicans in North America) and AMiA (Anglican Mission in America) have US infrastructure and bishops, Schori seems to be focusing her rage on CANA for the moment. One of the realities of the realignment is that CANA, which is relatively young in its growth spurt, has expanded to 61 congregations and 12,000 baptized members, 10,000 of whom are former Episcopalians. The average Sunday attendance (ASA) is currently estimated at 9,600 which is a high ratio compared with TEC where less than 50% ASA would be expected. When people decide to leave and are mistreated and sued, they have a higher incentive to attend and support their local church. At 9,600 average Sunday attendance, CANA’s ASA is higher than 70% of TEC’s domestic dioceses.

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