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QUINCY: Diocese begins to reorganize after split
The gathering follows a series of telephone conference calls between representatives of the diocese and representatives of the Episcopal Church that have taken place since the majority of delegates at the Diocese of Quincy's synod voted November 7 to realign with the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
"We're really starting from square one," said the Rev. John Throop, who served as a priest in Quincy for 19 years before transferring his canonical residence to the Diocese of Chicago last year. He said that when similar votes to realign took place recently in the dioceses of San Joaquin, Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, there were already groups in place ready to begin the reorganization process, but that was not the case in Quincy.
"At this point we are looking for any Episcopalian in the Diocese of Quincy who wants to remain an Episcopalian and inviting them to the meeting on December 13," said Throop, who lives in Peoria and is actively involved in the reorganizing movement.
To aid in that search an online discussion board and social network have been established. It is described as "a place for those who do not choose to be removed to the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone to meet and talk." Nearly 40 people have joined the network to date.
Shortly after the vote to realign, Throop consulted with David Booth Beers, chancellor (legal counsel) to the Presiding Bishop, to identify potential leaders for the reorganization process. Throop said that as many as 20 people from the diocese have been involved in the conference calls.
In addition to Beers, Bishop Clay Matthews of the Presiding Bishop's staff and Mary Kostel, chancellor for the Diocese of Washington, have represented the Episcopal Church on the conference calls.
Throop said that Beers, Matthews and Kostel have provided valuable counsel and helped the local group to focus on immediate goals. The new steering committee will elect a governing board that will keep in regular contact with the Episcopal Church representatives.
Throop welcomed the news of the Presiding Bishop's appointment of the Venerable Richard Cluett as pastoral assistant to reorganizing dioceses.
Based on representation of participants in the conference calls, Throop said he believes several congregations will remain in the Episcopal Church. Two have already formally voted against joining the Province of the Southern Cone: St. James' Church, Lewistown, and St. James' Church, Griggsville.
The third such vote is scheduled for December 4 at St. Paul's Cathedral in Peoria, the largest congregation in the diocese.
St. Paul's dean, the Very Rev. Robert Dedmon, spoke against realigning with the Southern Cone at the November synod meeting. He said that voting to break away from a parent body is the formal definition of schism and that "historically schism begets more schism."
He beseeched the synod "not to further divide the body of Christ" by what he termed an "impossible and compulsive pursuit" for a perfect situation. "Those who seek moral superiority and doctrinal perfection, like the Pharisees, are going to be deeply disappointed because they are not available to us sinners," said Dedmon. "Heresy can be remediated, people can change their minds, but schism, once it occurs formally, is never reconciled."
Throop said that he anticipates similar votes to be taken by other congregations later this month and early in the New Year.
Hope for the future
Erich Yetter, artistic director of the Peoria Ballet, has been a participant in the conference calls and plans to participate in the steering committee. He and his wife are technically members of Christ Church, Limestone, but have been worshipping at a nearby congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America because they became dissatisfied with the direction of the diocese under its former leadership.
"We were drawn to Christ Church because it seemed to be the last stronghold of a loving, welcoming, open, and spirit-led congregation," said Yetter in an interview.
Yetter said things changed when the former bishop put in place a new priest who espoused "the company line" which was "ultra-conservative and very unwelcoming."
Now Yetter said there is renewed hope for the future -- a hope that the reorganized Diocese of Quincy will again be a welcoming group of Episcopalians.
"There is a 'sleeping beauty' about to reawaken," he said. "Just how we awake and blossom is the immediate concern."
Yetter said that the meeting on December 13 will be a "seminal moment" for the group that now intends to bring renewed life to the Diocese of Quincy.
He also said that the Presiding Bishop has urged that the new steering committee be "broad-based and inclusive of everyone in the diocese who wants to remain in the Episcopal Church."
Yetter said he admits there are a "variety of views" but believes there is room for all.
Tom Ewing, a member of St. James Church, Lewiston, agreed. He has also participated in the conference calls and plans to be involved with the new steering committee.
He said that it has been clear in the conference calls that there are "different perspectives" but that all are "very interested in making the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Quincy a welcoming church for a number of points of view."
"We understand there may be disagreements," he said, "but we don't want to be disagreeable. We want to live together and be in mission together."
Beverly Everett of Galva, Illinois is another Episcopalian in Quincy who has migrated to the Lutheran Church in recent years. She said in a telephone interview that she used to attend St. John's Church in Kewanee until she could "no longer accept the messages" she was hearing.
She says she "chose" the Episcopal Church nearly 30 years ago because of its inclusiveness. She attended Episcopal churches in New York, Arizona and Wyoming, where she started a women's shelter with a friend -- a female Episcopal priest. She said moving to the Diocese of Quincy 10 years ago was "culture shock," not least of all because the diocese refused to ordain women.
Everett responded to a story on Episcopal Life Online about the vote by the Quincy Synod in early November stating publicly: "I have no desire to leave the Episcopal Church and align with Southern Cone. What are my options? How do I remain a member of the Episcopal faith in good standing with no church to attend?"
Everett says she misses the Episcopal Church very much, especially its liturgy, and is delighted to hear about the efforts to reorganize the Diocese of Quincy. "This gives me a lot of hope," she said.
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