[Magdalen] Supreme Court denies breakaway Episcopal group control of its churches - Religion News Service

[Ginga Wilder]

There is no way in God's world that anyone can stop anyone else from saying
what they will say and doing what they will do.  For the most part, since
the schism actually happened, I have chosen not to get hooked by what 'the
other side' says, be that from news services, Bp Lawrence, his clergy, his
theological supporters, etc.  It does me no good.

I am going to put out a new post - a letter that my priest has just sent to
our parishioners.  I pray you will read it...I believe this is what God
calls the church to be and what we vow to do in our baptismal covenant.

I encourage you to read things from The Episcopal Church, rather than the
Lawrence church and other conservative media.  Even the Post & Courier,
Charleston, SC newspaper, stands with Lawrence, et al.

Love to each and all,
Ginga

On Wed, Jun 13, 2018 at 9:58 AM Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com> wrote:

> This ends with a rather one sided perspective...
> https://religionnews.com/2018/06/12/episcopal-properties/
>
> Supreme Court denies breakaway Episcopal group control of its churches
> June 12, 20183 Min Read
>
> The steeple of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Charleston. The historic
> property will return to the control of The Episcopal Church in South
> Carolina. Photo by Spencer Means/Creative Commons
> (RNS) — The Episcopal Church in South Carolina is preparing to reclaim
> control of more than two dozen properties worth an estimated $500 million
> after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal brought by a
> breakaway group of conservative Anglican congregations.
>
> “We are grateful for the clarity that this decision offers, and hopeful
> that it brings all of us closer to having real conversations on how we can
> bring healing and reconciliation to the Church, the Body of Christ, in this
> part of South Carolina,” said the Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. “Skip” Adams III,
> bishop of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, known as TECSC, in a
> statement.
>
> In the same statement, TECSC chancellor Thomas S. Tisdale, Jr., said there
> would be no “immediate change in the physical control of the properties”
> because of the Supreme Court denial. However, the South Carolina
> Episcopalians and the parent Episcopal Church body have asked the state
> court to place the properties and assets under TECSC control and transfer
> ownership to both groups.
>
> A spokesperson for the breakaway group, which calls itself the Diocese of
> South Carolina, acknowledged that the congregations and their 22,000
> members might need to leave the properties if the Episcopal Church in South
> Carolina won’t work with them.
>
> “We are preparing for all eventualities including moving our worship and
> ministries from buildings we have been in, in some cases for over 300
> years,” said the Rev. Canon Jim Lewis, a spokesperson for the breakaway
> group, in an interview with Religion News Service. “If we must restart,
> replant congregations, we have plans in place for going about how we’ll do
> that.”
>
> This latest development marks an important victory for the Episcopal
> Church. The denomination had initially lost in a lower court ruling that
> sided with the breakaway group, but a state high court decision overturned
> that ruling last year. Occupants of the 29 properties appealed to the U.S.
> Supreme Court, but the high court decided not to get involved.
>
> The multi-year battle traces to theological differences between the
> groups, which have divergent views on human sexuality and biblical
> interpretation. Differences intensified after the Episcopal Church
> consecrated its first openly gay bishop, the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson of New
> Hampshire, in 2003. Since then, the Episcopal Church has gone on to
> redefine marriage to include same-sex couples.
>
> The litigation has been closely watched around the country for indications
> of how the courts would adjudicate competing claims to contested church
> properties. Some observers now wonder whether the Episcopal Church in South
> Carolina will try to use and maintain the properties or consider selling
> them to their current occupants and former legal foes.
>
>  “What does the Episcopal Church plan to do if and when it assumes control
> of these properties?,” asked Jeff Walton, spokesperson for the Institute on
> Religion & Democracy, a conservative advocacy group based in Washington,
> D.C. “If they expel the (breakaway) congregations, it’ll be costly and a
> hollow victory.”
>
> But working together after a long, bitter court fight could prove
> challenging. Calls to reconcile have not been accepted.
>
>  “What they really mean, when they use the word ‘reconciliation,’
> translates to: ‘you completely surrender, give us back everything, and all
> returns to the way it was before, with us in charge’,” Lewis said. “That’s
> not something anyone in our diocese is interested in. We’re not interested
> in their definition of reconciliation.”
>
>