ARE WE TOO LATE?!

Well folks, from the Diocese of Rio Grande comes another parish "leaving" TEC. This time the vestry removed the parish from TEC and filed for summary judgement for the current members of the parish to take the property with them. See The Three-Legged Stool for more on this.

Let's see: We have the Diocese of San Joaquin and the Diocese of Pittsburgh. We have parishes in the Diocese of Los Angeles and the the Diocese of San Diego. We have parishes in the Diocese of Rio Grande and pending we have the Diocese of Fort Worth and the Diocese of Quincy and maybe the Diocese of Louisiana. Then of course we have more alphabet soup than one can easily maneuver and one really hot ex bishop that thinks he is God's gift to the Anglican communion (literally).

We have lawsuits in more counties and states than one can possibly imagine and it looks like it is only going to get more expensive. We are going to fight tooth and nail over inch and mile of the entire country. Are we tired of this? NO! Is it going to get better? NO! Do we wish to continue in this ever spiraling circle of depression and disaster? NO!

So, given all of that how about a solution? What do you say we try to get in front of this power curve before we are so caught up in this incredibly stupid schism that we are doing nothing but suing, being sued, chasing Bob Duncan all over hades, telling Greg Venables to get a life and Peter Akinola to retire. How about a proactive solution that goes something like this.

1, We state what and who we (TEC) are and reiterate what we are all about. Clearly, definitively and without reservation. We ask each and every person at general convention to get on board.

2, we set yup a special,national, ad hoc, committee designed to deal with those parishes and dioceses that will not conform. This committee will be the clearinghouse for all schismatic fools that seem to think that there is something to be gained by stirring up s**t inside the TEC. This group can streamline the process for separating the fools (lay and clergy alike) from TEC. This group would be empowered by the General convention to claim property and help clergy and lay persons who no longer wanted to be affiliated with TEC. This group would also be empowered by General Convention to assist any persons, lay or clergy, who were "trapped" inside a diocese or parish that was schismatic.

3, Our presiding Bishop, along with the Presiding Bishop of Canada would prepare a document that would be sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury that would remove any transgressors from the Anglican communion immediately upon separation from our respective provinces. That in keeping with existing formularies the Archbishop of Canterbury would go on record as also not recognizing those persons removed from TEC or the CoC.

4, There would be another group authorized by General convention to travel into all the diocese to hear and respond to complaints of all sorts. That this group would be a reconciliation group made up of all types willing to work within the TEC to make our church stronger.

It is time to get on with the business we began almost 220 years ago. In fact it is time to get on with the business established over 2008 years ago. An old saying "Lead, follow or get out of the way."