OPEN LETTER TO THE RT. REV. STEPHEN H. JECKO

closed discussion list | ?10 September 2003 | Father George A. Burns

[ahadams2]

OPEN LETTER TO THE RT. REV. STEPHEN H. JECKO, D.MIN. D.D. BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF FLORIDA, AND THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE OF FLORIDA

To the Rt. Rev. Stephen Jecko, Bishop, and the clergy of the Diocese of Florida.

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We all received a letter from the Very Rev. Edward Harrison, Dean of St. Johns Cathedral, describing the Consecration Events for Bishop-elect Howard. The letter stated that Presiding Bishop Griswold was to be the chief consecrator and that the clergy would meet with him for two hours on All Hallows Eve, attend a dinner at which he would be present in the evening, and then attend the Consecration on All Saints Day at which he would preside.

The turmoil in the Church is such that if this Consecration is to take place, it may very well be that by 1 November the Consecrator will be Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the Province of Nassau and the Bahamas, or some other Primate who still believes the Word of God.

There are a few facts which should be ever before us:

1. Bishop Griswold has ordained sodomites to the priesthood, which is condemned by the Word of God, the Sacred Tradition of the Holy Catholic Church and by the Lambeth Conference This announcement was made at the question session before the clergy of this diocese two weeks after he became Presiding Bishop.

2. Bishop Griswold has blasphemed the Word of God. I quote from his writings:

“Broadly speaking, the Episcopal Church is in conflict with scripture.” (Philadelphia Inquirer 1999). “So one would have to day that the mind of Christ operative over time, has led the Church to, in effect, contradict the words of the gospel” This is a theological impossibility. Christ cannot through His Body the Church contradict what he says in His written Word.

3. Bishop Griswold just voted at the General Convention 2003 to approve the election of a divorced sodomite to be a Bishop of the Church. He also voted at the same General Convention to prepare rites to bless the union of same-sex couples and to authorize same-sex blessings in the Church. Both of these actions have been condemned by many presiding Archbishops of Provinces of the Anglican Communion, and by at least 45 Bishops of ECUSA. Both of these actions are contrary to the Word of God, to the Sacred Tradition of the Holy Catholic Church, and are the cause of the schism that confronts the Episcopal Church at this very hour.

My dear Bishop Jecko and my brothers and sisters among the clergy, these matters are not superficial window dressing. These heresies are part of the Christian faith which we pledged our lives to defend at our Ordination.

These are not venial sins; they are mortal sins. The eminent theologian of the nineteenth century, Soren Kirkegaard, spoke of this difference in his book ‘THE SICKNESS UNTO DEATH”. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead he said,

“This is not the sickness unto death.” ( John 11:4) “The Christian understanding of it is that not even death is the sickness unto death...or all of the events which the sufferer says ‘This is worse than death’. (Introduction)

But there are some sins, which if not confessed and forgiven by our Lord Jesus Christ, become the SICKNESS UNTO DEATH. They become the cause of losing the promise of Baptism, that we are inheritors of the kingdom of heaven.

“Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” ( I Corinthians 6:9-11)

To have the sins of the flesh and not to confess them with full purpose of amendment of life, and to have them forgiven, is to have the SICKNESS UNTO DEATH. From this sin our Lord Jesus Christ said there will be no resurrection, and no everlasting life.

If Bishop Spong were to come to Jacksonville to conduct a Consecration, I am sure many of us would not attend. If Bishop Bennison or Bishop Chane came to our town to conduct a Consecration I am sure most of us would not attend. Now our Presiding Bishop has been invited to our Diocese to Consecrate a Bishop. If to whom much is given our Lord expects much in return, then Bishop Griswold, because of his high position, is the chief of sinners.

Bishop Jecko I call upon you to state that Bishop Griswold is anathema, and to notify him that he need not come to Jacksonville because we have made other plans for the Consecration. I call upon all of the clergy of the Diocese to state that they will not attend an Ordination where Bishop Griswold is present.

Bishop Jecko and clergy, it is time for all of us to stand for the Lord:

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SEREVE THE LORD”. (Joshua 24:15)

God bless the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of Florida.

Father George A. Burns, Assisting priest, The Church of the Nativity, Jacksonville, Florida

[ahadams2]

gee whiz, I wonder what he really thinks? :-)

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP - ECUSA

[trad_anglican]

Angry Episcopalian ping

[AnAmericanMother]

C'mon, now, Rev., tell us how you REALLY feel . . .

I understand his situation! If I were a priest I might feel the same way - but as of now I am lurking around the edges and waiting for October's meetings of the orthodox bishops in TX and of the primates in Canterbury.

I felt very uncomfortable in church on Sunday, even in the choir where I've sung for over 20 years -- the rector is pushing the GC line very hard. I'm not going to choir practice tonight, and I don't know whether I will be able to attend church on Sunday. It's all very annoying and uncomfortable.

[Grampa Dave]

I have informed our local priest and vestry that I will never attend a mass where our bishop is present. He voted for both issues this summer.

[Gman]

While it took some time to get over, I'm grateful that our Rector and Vestry had the foresight to leave ECUSA in 1996. Since then, we have been able to help others pick up the pieces and move on too. As an AMiA priest, I see no point in fighting this battle when you can be worshipping and serving instead. I firmly believe that in less than 10 years ECUSA will be "officially" relegated to the list of cults that claim to be part of the larger Christian community.

As an AMiA Bishop put it: "The problems with the Episcopal church started when they decided that their idea of evangelism was to say: 'Just wait, people with good taste will eventually show up.'"

[EBITDA]

Given the obvious connection to Sodom that this controversy carries, I wonder if there is not some assistance from Scripture in helping one decide when, if ever, to leave. Abraham's argument with God over whether he would destroy the city if there were 50 or 10 righteous people there strikes me as key.

At this point I am inclined to think that the Epsicopal Church is not Sodom simply because a minority has insinuated itself into the leadership. Leadership can, over time, change when the membership prays and works hard for that change. I still believe there are more orhtodox Episcopalians than one might think.

But as the orthodox start to leave, the balance shifts. (God did eventually destroy Sodom.) And the decision to leave becomes easier for all of us. I am waiting to see what happens at the Primates meeting. If they kick out the ECUSA and our diocese and parish chooses to remain in the ECUSA--the dicoese will, I'm afraid, and the parish may not--then I'm out of here myself.

It won't be easy. The primary mission of our parish is an Episcopal school (preK-8th grade) I have three kids there. My wife works there. I am on the board of trustees. Depending on how this all falls out a decision to leave the parish might even require leaving the school and that will break my heart.

But for now, I wait, watch and pray.

[ahadams2]

If you, or anyone else out there would like some help finding a different parish, please freepmail me with at least a geographic location and whether you're looking for an Anglo-Catholic, Evangelical, or Charismatic parish.

[AnAmericanMother]

I was in the same boat until recently - had two kids at the Episcopal school associated with our parish. I am an alumna. My dad was one of the founding trustees and the school's attorney for many years. One of my daughter's best friends is the niece of the rector, and another is the daughter of the choirmaster. But my last child is now out and at another school.

Unfortunately, the rector (who is relatively new) has spent the 2 years of his tenure cleaning house and hiring people who agree with him 100 percent (he is very authoritarian). He even got rid of the school headmaster and hired his own man. He has alienated a substantial number of people, and a lot of the remaining staff and vestry have been bullied or ridiculed into silence. Many parishioners are afraid to speak out for fear that the rector will turn his considerable rhetorical skills on THEM. Others just don't want to think about the implications of what he's supporting.

So it's not just this issue -- a lot has to do with the way the church is being run. I've considered speaking out but so far have not done so. Not that I'm afraid - if I thought there was any point in speaking out, I would, because as my dad says I'm not afraid of anybody who can't tell me to pack my toothbrush and go with the sheriff. But I think everybody is too cowed for a mere parishioner to make much difference here.

I've been seeing this coming for awhile. I don't think there's any question, no matter what happens, that after October we will be in a new parish.

Whether it is in a new administration under Canterbury, under AMiA or the Province of Christ the King or one of the other Anglican offshoots that already exist, or in a Catholic Anglican Use parish, remains to be seen.

Like you, I wait, watch and pray. :-(

[AnAmericanMother]

Thanks. FreepMail on the way.

[secret garden]

If it's any consolation, you are not alone in the waiting and praying.

[EBITDA]

Our rector has been around for close to 20 years and is retiring at the end of January. He is a nice guy, but not up for a battle this close to the end of his tenure. Much less a war.

We will be sans rector for at least 18 months after January (according to diocesan policy). The factions are already aligning and it may get ugly.

It seems to me that more than just the Anglicans are in the process of having the wheat separated from the chaff.

[AnAmericanMother]

Ouch. An unfortunate time for your rector to be retiring, and I can understand why he doesn't want to gird up his loins for this one.

I'm afraid any parish that's divided on this issue is going to have some very unpleasant times ahead. If things were less awful already in our parish, I might stay and fight, but the whole situation is so out of hand anyway (people leaving and very high staff turnover - just this past MONTH we lost two associate rectors and a long-time secretary, as well as the sweet blue haired old lady who ran and wrote a column in the parish newsletter for 30 years and was bounced unceremoniously off the newsletter staff) that it doesn't seem worthwhile. Most of the fighters have already headed off to other pastures, and we're young enough to change. The ones I feel sorry for are the retirees and very elderly folks who've been members since the 1960s and have no idea where else to go or what to do.

[mel]

We have a large school with our parish also,

[EBITDA]

Has the school itself taken any position on the actions of the Bishops?

[altura]

Interesting -- your remark about people being cowed.

It is hard to speak up against one's priest. It's also hard to be labeled intolerant, fogeyish or homophobic (and I may be all three).

But, anyway, at a small meeting at my church, I was the only person to speak up against the National Church.

I don't know if anyone else agreed with me or not ... the moderator had even asked for people to tell him what they thought as he is going to the Plano/Dallas meeting.

Maybe if we had a secret ballot ...

[mel]

The rector's sermon was on the defense of the vote was related to that same old diatribe slavery and women. Since the school is a part of that church, I imagine that is their stand also. This is our last year there, we could stay one more year, but I am ready to go now. I ought to email the headmaster to determine exactly what the school's position is on it. Believe me, I have done plenty of talking to my daughter about it. I doubt if I go back to church there.

Isn't it crazy, so much going on in the world and Episcopalians have taken on their cause de jour as homosexuality? People are suffering, I believe a lot of people are still in PTS from September 11, instead of trying to build people's faith, the Episcopalian church is trying to destroy it by saying the Bible doesn't stand the test of time.

[johnb838]

or in a Catholic Anglican Use parish

Do you ever feel like you're sort of missing out on the real deal by being catholic lite? I know I do.

[EBITDA]

Happilly our school does not look at this as equivalent to slavery and the rodination of women. For the moment, the position of the school is a wait and see. We are independently incorporated from the parish, but the parish owns the property. If the parish comes down on the side of Griswold, Robinson and our own bishop, then it will get very tough. And I don't have a lot of hope for the school in that eventuality.

i really cannot imagine why Anglicans have chosen this particular hill to die on. I am very angry that after Bill Clinton caused us to have to explain oral sex to our kids, the church has caused us to have to discuss homosexuality. You are right, there are many more important problems in the world that need the attention of the people of God.

[FleeApostasy]

Our parish realized the Episcopal Church had left us in 1992, so we became Orthodox. Sure, we lost our building, but better that than our souls.

If the African bishops are serious about maintaining the Christian faith, they should quit wasting their time with heresiarchs like Griswold and Williams and start negotiating with the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.