Peripatetikos

The former priest-in-charge of St Bartholomew Parish, Nashville, has recently pulled out taking over a hundred or so communicants with him to start a new congregation affiliated with the AMiA (see website listed herein). He got inhibited by the bishop for his evangelical wrong-kind-of-church-planting effort, the first step toward his eventual deposition if they ever get around to it.

"Inhibited" in churchspeak has nothing necessarily to do with anybody's personality, it just means they can't do the holy stuff with ECUSA that they're going to keep on doing anyway with their new enamorata. It may also put a crimp in their previous pension funds, but these guys seem with ease to find ways around those problems. "Deposed" means about the same thing but with an extra dose of doomsaying.

Along these same lines, but with somewhat less bravado, several Diocese of Tennessee congregations have either replaced their public signs with some fancy new Anglican graphics or perhaps in the face of current budget difficulties, just slapped some black plastic tape over the word "Episcopal." Some have also hooked up with something called the Network, the new aspirants hopefully holy enough for extra-continental primatial approval and blessing come February. The forthcoming diocesan convention may well take note of whether the delegates from these renegades expect seat and vote. Surely they'll have the good manners not even to ask, but simply to observe -- or perhaps just stay home.

Money's scarce and getting scarcer in diocesan coffers, so much so that fund-raising letters to select communicants are arriving from on high in congregations without so much as the courtesy to alert, let alone ask the rectors or vicars. The diocese wants the money mostly for all these new recent church-planters and their gardens that got overspent afore they knew it. Think Big Holy and Audacious Goals.

Our Chief Priest and Pastor already having two canons to look after his priestly stuff has now got himself a volunteer shrink to pick up his pastoral responsibilities under the guise of a "counseling service for clergy and spouses." It's all entirely hush-hush -- no charges, no records, no reports. Patrons will have to go elsewhere for pills. Habits are bad enough already. The bishop says he "views (this new service) as an answer to prayer." His or ours?

[COVENANT, Number 19, January 2005]