Anglican Mainstream

By Jim Oakes, Virtueonline

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending a "thanksgiving dinner" to give thanks and honor to God and to recognize the efforts of the men and women who guided us on a challenging journey. Several Anglican congregations in Virginia voted to separate from the Episcopal Church of the United States and affiliate with other branches of the worldwide Anglican Communion, a process that was trying on many of us from a legal, communal and faith perspective. The dinner brought back wonderful memories of the adventure we had been through the past few years.

I was particularly struck by a comment made by my good friend Martyn Minns, missionary bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) and former rector of Truro Church. He said, "As Christians, we are a people of stories, and we must not forget the story of how we came to this place." Indeed, we must not forget. So, let me tell you a story.

I will not forget the first meeting I attended of a group of lay leaders ("wardens") and clergy ("rectors") of orthodox Episcopal churches shortly after I was elected senior warden of Truro Church in the spring of 2005. There were more than 50 people at the meeting representing about 20 congregations in the Diocese of Virginia. There was much emotion in the room, as leaders of these churches grappled with a way to handle the backlash from the latest public scrutiny of the Episcopal Church – in this case, the organization’s decision to consent to the ordination of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man living in a same-sex relationship, as bishop of New Hampshire.

Many of these leaders were telling stories of their congregations evaporating out from under them, as more parishioners decided that they could no longer support the teachings and practices of the Episcopal Church. Virtually everyone there told of anguish in the pews; some spoke of membership attrition of more than 70 percent. But what could be done?

Some thought we needed to sever our ties with the Episcopal Church immediately. Others felt just as passionately that this was our denomination and that we had a duty to stay and fight for orthodoxy from within. Many others were just confused, not knowing what to do. The situation seemed hopeless. And when someone suggested that we formulate a joint plan of action, we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry – we were hopelessly disunited, it seemed.

Trying to Reconcile

That summer, the picture changed. After several more meetings and much prayer, we sensed a growing unity and decided on an all-day retreat to map out our options, plan next steps and gain strength from each other. That retreat culminated in a group of 20 clergy going to meet with the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. Although many were apprehensive about this meeting, the clergy felt that the bishop did not understand the depth of the orthodox congregations’ concerns.

The bishop did indeed hear these voices and subsequently appointed a commission of six people, three from our informal "coalition" and three from the diocese. The goal was to find a way for those churches in ongoing struggles to remain in communion with the diocese.

The special committee, after nearly a year of meetings and prayer, finally produced a report in the fall of 2006. In their report, titled a "Protocol for Departing Congregations," the committee acknowledged the reality that some congregations would choose to sever their ties with the Episcopal Church – indeed, by that time, two congregations had already done so – and urged that negotiations with departing congregations be conducted in an "amicable, Christ-like manner." The final report was adopted unanimously by the committee, presented to the bishop, and received without amendment by the Standing Committee and the Executive Committee of the Diocese.

In the meantime, events had continued to unfold. Our growing coalition now numbered more than 30 orthodox congregations, and we continued to pray for clarity as we sought a direction. We got that clarity in the summer of 2006, when the Episcopal Church’s General Convention (which meets every three years) not only failed to turn back from the actions of the 2003 Convention but also went several steps further, with the culminating event being the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as presiding bishop. In her early remarks, she made it clear that she did not believe that Jesus was the only way to salvation, that the Bible was the Word of God, or that the Christian faith was really any different than any other faith. Her stance made our decision clear.

Time to Leave

It was becoming abundantly clear to us that we had no future in the Episcopal Church in its current trajectory. …

We were determined, however, to continue to lead our congregations in a way that would seek God’s will for us, rather than our own will. Accordingly, we prepared a congregational study entitled "40 Days of Discernment," with materials developed by leaders of all our congregations. We invited the diocese to participate in the discernment process, and they responded by making materials available to those participating and by sending representatives to speak at congregational meetings at a number of our churches prior to the votes. Each church participating in the discernment process used the same materials; at Truro, we asked every member of the congregation to participate in a small-group study during that time, and more than 800 people did so.

Eventually, 11 congregations made the decision to sever their ties with the Episcopal Church, and ours was one of them. We did so knowing that we had listened carefully and humbly for the will of God, and that we were following His desire for us. We all voted independently, with nine congregations voting on the same day, December 17, 2006. The final two voted in January 2007. In each case, the vote was well in excess of the 70 percent majority called for by the Special Committee, and in many cases the vote was unanimous.

Several points became clear after the votes. First, our parishioners wanted to remain Anglican – they did not want to become freestanding, nondenominational churches. To that end, we formed the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) in December 2006, with the intent to provide an Anglican "home" for former Episcopal churches, no matter what their jurisdiction. ADV has now grown to 25 congregations and four mission fellowships, with average Sunday attendance of more than 6,000. As vice chairman of this organization since its birth, I have counted it a high privilege to watch it grow and thrive. But legal problems were on the horizon.

Going to Court Over Property

At Truro Church, we clearly understood that the diocese would negotiate with us regarding the disposition of our property, although we expected amicable, Christlike proceedings. Indeed, we had a model to follow. All Saint’s Church in Dale City, Va., had voted to dissolve its ties with the Episcopal Church the previous month and had successfully negotiated a buyout of their property. We expected, based on the protocol, that we would do the same.

However, we were shocked when the diocese abruptly pulled the plug on negotiations with us in January 2007 and decided to pursue secular legal actions against us. That decision forced us to raise and spend more than $2 million to defend ourselves, and we understand that the diocese and the Episcopal Church have spent at least that much themselves.

Fortunately, virtually every legal decision handed down at the trial court level has gone in our favor, and we are in a much stronger position today than we were two years ago. Taking advantage of a "division statute" unique to Virginia, we have been able to follow the requirements of that statute to secure a ruling by the court: The property – which we bought, maintained and improved through the years – indeed belongs to us. The judge’s final ruling was issued in early January 2009, and although the Episcopal Church and Diocese have appealed the ruling, we remain confident of our position.

What next? We are watching the new Convention of Anglicans in North America come together with great interest, and we look forward to becoming a part of it. We continue to build ADV as a key building block in that new church, and we are confident God will continue to bless us as we move forward.

With all this in mind, I sat and listened to Martyn talk about the need to remember our stories. I told him later that I will always look back with immense gratitude at a time that I knew with certainty that God was intervening in the lives of his people – that we were following His will for us. That knowledge has given me confidence that, whatever the eventual outcome of our case in the legal system, we have already won the battle by being faithful to God. Standing for our principles with these wonderful believers has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.

—-Jim Oakes is the vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia and a member of Truro Church in Fairfax, Va. He serves on the board of directors of Five Talents International, an initiative of the worldwide Anglican Communion dedicated to providing economic opportunity across the globe by sponsoring microfinance loans, training and business opportunities for poor entrepreneurs. He also sits on the board of Crosslink International, a ministry dedicated to providing medical supplies and equipment worldwide. He can be reached at joakes@hcicllc.com.
 

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