We have late-breaking news that the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church has authorized filing yet more lawsuits - this time against the Bishop of Pittsburgh, the Rt. Rev'd Bob Duncan and the leadership of the diocese, and all the local churches who voted to leave The Episcopal Church and affiliate with the Anglican province of the Southern Cone.The purpose of the lawsuit is to sieze all of the property of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, as well as all the churches that voted to separate under the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The Presiding Bishop's attorneys seek to remove the authority of the bishop and the local churches over their own property and church homes and turn it all over to the shadow diocese specifically setup by the PB's office for this purpose. You can read the freshly minted lawsuit here.
Apparently, they want it all - all of it, they seek to expel everyone out of their church homes, even the children from their Sunday Schools, and confiscate the churches and diocesan offices. It's astonishing.They are demanding an accounting for every single item in the diocese, right down to the children's own crayons and then they seek to take over everything for themselves, every single bit of it, and by doing so, throw the children into the streets.
No, we're not kidding. Where do you think they're going to go?
This same type of lawsuit was one of the first threats in Virginia as well, but the court ruled in Virginia that there could be no judgment of the properties until after the trials were all over. Currently, the Virginia properties have been ruled by the court to go to the congregations where they are held in trust, but that is now being appealed by the Episcopal Church to the Virginia Supreme Court. In California, the Bishop of Los Angeles (seen yesterday promoting the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in his backyard of Anaheim) has sued the leadership of St. James Church in Newport Beach personally to recover his own litigation fees for the lawsuits he initiated. In Central New York an entire congregation and their clergy were forced from their church home and that church now remains vacant. Just what does the Presiding Bishop expect to do with all the property if the judge rules that she can take it all over through her surrogates? Doesn't she have enough crayons all ready?Read it all here. The hearing is scheduled for May 27.
Time to lift up our brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh, on both sides of the litigious fence. There must be a better way to do this. How dare we even dream of pointing fingers at Israel when we can't even practice peace-making in our own backyard.
12 comments:
and the ABC is sient.....
I meant..... the ABC is silent......
I hate to pray this way, but it's time...
Father, the buildings are temporal, but the people are yours eternally. We only care about the buildings as a base of operations to extend your kingdom. We only want to retain them to prevent the Evil One from using them as a fifth column (a synagogue of Satan).
Open the eyes of the people of the real Pittsburgh diocese to the protection of your angels.
Turn the hearts of the shadow diocese and the leadership of TEO to you. May they see their sin in the light of your mercy and repent and be saved. Recall to their minds the words of your prophet Isaiah when Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:20-37). Failing that, may you visit on them the same fate as the armies of Sennacherib. May the proud tower of 815 fall and the strategems of GenCon be utterly confounded.
Deliver your people from the false gods who have enslaved them and put into their heart a fire to reach out and share the Gospel with a perishing world.
All this we ask in the name of Jesus your Son who had no place to lay his head but changed the world and saved us. Amen.
Amen, Doug Stein, I agree with you in prayer, Amen.
May the eyes of those in authority under God, from the Primates to the laity, be willing to repent, renounce, do battle and stand watch against the evil spirits that have held Anglicanism in their grip from the beginning.
Inspire your people, wake up and raise up men to be shepherds, priests of God to do what you have called men to do, to lead, teach, bring cleansing truth, to guard, protect and provide for your Church.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Ditto Amen, Doug.
In what seems to be today's theme in my web browsing, we see a pattern of an oppressive "state" pitting itself against God's children.
We here all realize that there is more going on here than just temporal buildings, property, and little bits of green paper. While the oppressive state may often appear to triumph, it is weakened ethically, morally, and spiritually, and the ultimate victory belongs to God.
Breaking news: Judge in CA throws out suit against vestry members of St. James Newport Beach. Thanks be to God.
Gosh. I know I have so many crayons that I'll never have to buy another as long as I live. What is she planning on doing with all those crayons?
Great news about St. James!
The crayons are for the new PB action figure coloring book.
The U.P,
It is the "I Am Special" edition coloring book intended to help foster self esteem and inclusiveness.
Please pray also for the Cursillo weekend going on right now in Pittsburgh - that the faithful warriors are continuing to lead their brothers and sisters into a deeper relationship with Jesus. THAT is the important stuff.
Thank you!
Dear BabyBlue it appears that you have forgotten the Diocese of San Joaquin....The first diocese to secede from TEc who also finds itself in court and awaiting the judges ruling.
Tec has so many lawsuits out there against individual churches, and whole diocese that it can be hard to keep track at times I understand.
TLDillon
You are quite right to remember the Diocese of San Joaquin. They were first out of the gate - the idea that we are going to see the Episcopal Church take the Bishop of San Joaquin and toss him out of his office in his wheel chair - well, let's see that image on Fox News.
bb
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