Fort Worth in impaired communion with some ACNA dioceses

From Anglican Ink-

The second event on the Provincial level is the completion of the five-year study of the Task Force on Holy Orders, concerning the ordination of women, and the meeting of the College of Bishops to discuss the report for the first time at a conclave in Victoria, British Columbia, in early September. At the end of the meeting, a Statement was released stating where we are in this continuing controversy that divides us. It was the first time that all the Bishops went on record by stating their position on this issue. It was evident that no Bishop had changed his mind as a result of the study and that a majority of the Bishops are opposed to the ordination of women priests on biblical and theological grounds.

It is interesting to note that when Archbishop Robert Duncan appointed the Task Force, he charged them with doing a study of the issue of women in holy orders, but instructed them not to come to a conclusion or to make any recommendation as to how to resolve the debate. The report simply summarizes the arguments for and against. This is in stark contrast to a similar study done by the Anglican Mission in America several years ago, known as the Rodgers Report, which concluded that women cannot be ordained bishops or priests, while leaving open the door to the possibility of women deacons. Those of us who agreed to the formation of the ACNA in 2009 did so with the clear understanding that a serious theological study would be done and that a decision would be made at that time.

More here-

http://anglican.ink/article/fort-worth-impaired-communion-some-acna-dioceses

Breakaway Diocese Files Legal Response to The Episcopal Church Over Property Dispute

From Christian Post-

A Texas diocese that opted to break away from The Episcopal Church over theological differences has filed a legal response before the state supreme court.

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth filed Friday in response to TEC's motion for a rehearing regarding the legal dispute over the name and property of the diocese. In the 17-page document, the breakaway diocesan leadership argued that TEC's lawsuit over the property should be dismissed.

"TEC has no more control over Appellants' property or affairs than Royal Dutch Shell has over the property or affairs of ExxonMobil," reads the response in part. "The Court noted probable jurisdiction of this direct appeal two years ago. By May 2014, it will have been on this Court's docket for three years. It is time to dispose of it."

The breakaway Fort Worth Diocese argued that it has the right to the diocesan church property via "Neutral Principles", which involves determining property ownership by looking at the language of the paperwork associated with said property.

More here-

http://www.christianpost.com/news/breakaway-diocese-files-legal-response-to-the-episcopal-church-over-property-dispute-110359/

Texas Supreme Court overturns lower court decision in dispute between Episcopal groups

From Ft. Worth-

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday narrowly overturned a summary judgment in the dispute over property between the two groups that claim to be the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

The 5-4 opinion was handed down Friday in Austin. The high court remanded the case to 141st District Court in Fort Worth “for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

The Rev. Jack Leo Iker, bishop of a group that left the national Episcopal church, said his members were glad to learn of the ruling.

“In sum, while today’s opinions are not a final victory, they indicate that a final victory is only a matter of time,” Iker said in the statement.

The dispute began in 2008 when Iker and most of the 56 congregations in the Fort Worth diocese chose to leave the national church because of disagreements that included the ordination of a gay bishop.

Iker’s group continues to call itself the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Those who remain with the national church use the same name.


Read more

here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/08/30/5122692/texas-supreme-court-overturns.html#storylink=cpy

Texas Supreme Court wades into Episcopal dispute

From Austin-

Wading into the tricky legal waters where religion and government meet, the Texas Supreme Court will decide who owns 52 Fort Worth-area churches — the national Episcopal Church or the diocese that broke away in protest of the consecration of a gay bishop, the ordination of women and other liberal policies.

The properties at stake are worth more than $100 million, making this the largest church-property dispute in Texas history, and probably in U.S. history as well, lawyers say.

What’s more, the court decision will affect the way Texas handles future church disputes by further pinning down a moving legal target: the dividing line between the free exercise of religion, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, and state laws affecting property, nonprofits and related areas.
“It’s not the amount of money that makes the case important,” Scott Brister, a lawyer for the breakaway diocese, told the court during oral arguments in October. “Churches are, of course, an important part of this state. After all, what does it profit a state to gain the whole world if you lose your soul?”

Led by conservative Bishop Jack Iker, members of the Fort Worth diocese overwhelmingly voted to leave the national church in 2008, joining an exodus involving dozens of individual congregations and three other U.S. dioceses, which are regional collections of churches.

More here-

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/texas-supreme-court-wades-into-episcopal-dispute/nTfNb/

Texas Supreme Court to Decide Property Dispute Between Episcopal Church, Breakaway Diocese

From Christian Post-

The Texas Supreme Court will determine whether or not a diocese that broke away from The Episcopal Church four years ago holds the right to the 52 church properties in its territory.

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, led by conservative bishop Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker, appealed a lower court decision giving them 30 days to give the disputed property to The Episcopal Church.
Arguments for the case were heard in October and presently both the departed diocese and its continuing Episcopal counterpart await the court's decision.

After leaving The Episcopal Church, the Fort Worth Diocese joined the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a newer and more conservative member of the global Anglican Communion.
Read more at

http://www.christianpost.com/news/texas-supreme-court-to-decide-property-dispute-between-episcopal-church-breakaway-diocese-87246/#kA4GQQKDAWHA4hyW.99

Land battle between Episcopal Church, Fort Worth diocese headed to Texas Supreme Court

From Ft. Worth-

The Texas Supreme Court will decide who owns 52 Fort Worth-area church properties valued at more than $100 million in one of the largest church property disputes in state and U.S. history.

The disagreement erupted about five years ago after the Fort Worth Episcopal Diocese broke away from the national church in protest of the consecration of a gay bishop, ordination of women and other policies it perceived as too liberal.

The Fort Worth Diocese said it owned the churches and other properties, but in 2009 the national church sued, arguing the breakaway group could not take the buildings and land.

Attorneys believe the Supreme Court’s decision could determine how Texas handles similar disputes, cases that often require a balance between the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion and state laws on property rights and nonprofits.

“It’s not the amount of money that makes the case important,” said Scott Brister, an attorney for the Fort Worth Diocese.

The Fort Worth Diocese is led by conservative Bishop Jack Iker. When he led his group’s split, Iker said his diocese held the deeds to all church properties, including the 48 congregations that joined him and the eight that remained loyal to the national church.

More here-

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/religion/20121225-land-battle-between-episcopal-church-fort-worth-diocese-headed-to-texas-supreme-court.ece

Fort Worth 7 indicted on charges of failure to inform on other bishops

From Anglican INK-

The episcopal defendants in the Fort Worth 7 case have been charged with fraud, financial misconduct and failing to inform on their fellow bishops  who held opinions on church order contrary to those advocated by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

In an email dated 2 Oct 2012 seen by Anglican Ink the Fort Worth 7 were informed of the specific canonical violations they had committed by filing an amicus brief in the Fort Worth case before the Texas Supreme Court.

The intake officer for the House of Bishops, the Rt. Rev. F. Clayton Matthews told the seven:

"The complaints were filed by the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Fort Worth and Mr. Paul Ambos, a member in good standing of Christ Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey and a Deputy to the 77th General Convention from the Diocese of New Jersey.  They allege you violated Canons IV.3.1, and Canons IV.4.Sec1(c),(e),(g),(f),(h)(6),(h)(8), and possibly IV.4.Sec.1(h)(2).”
More here-

http://anglicanink.com/article/fort-worth-7-indicted-charges-failure-inform-other-bishops

New Episcopal bishop has ties to Fort Worth

From Ft. Worth-

When Bishop Rayford High Jr. was asked to become the provisional bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, he jumped at the chance.

It's a return to a city where he spent some happy times.

"I was at Texas Christian University for my first year of college," he said. "That was during some of TCU's glory years of football. Bob Lilly, Jack Spikes and Don Floyd made the All-American team."

He also attended Fort Worth's Trinity Episcopal Church, was mentored by the TCU Episcopal chaplain and joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

"As bad a rap as fraternities have gotten over the years, they were helpful to me," he said. "I met some neat friends. I was part of a band of brothers, and we had to keep our grade-point averages up or we would be put on probation."

Read more here: 

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/09/4401999/new-episcopal-bishop-has-ties.html#storylink=cpy

Rayford High elected, installed as Fort Worth’s provisional bishop

From ENS-

The Rt. Rev. Rayford High was elected and installed as the third provisional bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth during the 30th Diocesan Convention Nov. 3 at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.

The convention was voting on the Sept. 19 recommendation of the diocesan Standing Committee, which had called High to serve as its next provisional bishop. High served as bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas from 2003-2011.

High succeeds the Rt. Rev C. Wallis Ohl, who retired as provisional bishop at the end of the diocesan convention. Ohl issued a call for the election of a bishop diocesan, a process that can take more than two years.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/11/05/rayford-high-elected-installed-as-fort-worths-provisional-bishop/

Texas Supreme Court agrees to hear Fort Worth Episcopal dispute

From Ft. Worth-

The nearly 4-year-old property dispute between the two groups that claim to be the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is heading to the Texas Supreme Court.

Justices agreed last week to hear oral arguments Oct. 16, the same day the state's highest civil court was already set to hear a similar case involving an Episcopal church in San Angelo.

A group headed by Bishop Jack Iker made a direct appeal to the Texas Supreme Court after losing its case in a Tarrant County civil court to maintain control of numerous properties, including the stately St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in downtown Fort Worth.

"Bishop Iker and our legal team are extremely pleased with this development, which brings us closer to a complete resolution of the lawsuits which began in April 2009," the group said in a statement posted on its website Friday.

Background

The dispute stems from the decision in 2008 by Iker and a majority of the 56 congregations in the Fort Worth diocese to leave the national church because of disagreements that included the ordination of a gay bishop.

Iker's group, which continues to call itself the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, allowed the parishes that voted to remain in the Episcopal Church to keep their assets. It took the rest of them, saying they were diocesan property under state law.

Read more here:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/09/04/4230156/texas-supreme-court-agrees-to.html#storylink=cpy

New Amicus Brief in Fort Worth

From The Living Church-

The nonprofit Liberty Institute has filed an amicus brief in the dispute between the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Fort Worth and the Diocese of Fort Worth led by the Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker.

In arguing that the Texas court should dismiss the case, Liberty cites the U.S. Supreme Court’s January ruling in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC. In that ruling, the high court found that “the First Amendment permits hierarchical religious organizations to establish their own rules and regulations for internal discipline and government.”

“When the factions of a church disagree about its hierarchical nature, and its structure of control is ambiguous on its face, the courts must treat the issue as a ‘religious question’ and dismiss the action for lack of jurisdiction,” the Liberty brief argues.

Kelly J. Shackleford, a graduate of Baylor University’s School of Law, founded the firm in 1972.

The court has granted a request from Bishop Iker’s diocese to expedite the case and it will hear further arguments Oct. 16. The request for an expedited hearing resulted from Title IV allegations being filed against seven bishops after they filed an amicus brief in 2011.

More (including the text of the brief) here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/new-amicus-brief-fort-worth

6 former Episcopal clergymen are ordained in Catholic Church

From Ft. Worth-

 Under a huge dome with images of winged angels, six former Fort Worth-area Episcopal clergymen -- including a father and son -- lay facedown at a marble altar Saturday and were ordained as priests in the Roman Catholic Church.

In what officials called a historic moment, Fort Worth Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann and other white-robed priests in the diocese laid hands on the priests at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Keller to welcome them.

It was the first ordination class under Pope Benedict XVI's new Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, created Jan. 1 to allow Episcopal priests to be ordained as Catholic clergy and for Episcopal congregations to join the Roman Catholic Church.

The priests' wives carried in vestments that the priests later donned, assisted by other clergy. Then, standing before Vann, the priests each said, "I will" in answer to his questions about whether they will faithfully carry out their responsibilities.

More than 1,000 in the church stood and applauded.

The ordinariate is headed by a former Fort Worth Episcopal priest, Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, who earlier converted to Catholicism.

Read more here:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/06/30/4071150/6-former-episcopal-clergymen-are.html#storylink=cpy

Like father, like father: Dad and son ordained Catholic priests

From Ft. Worth-


A tall, young man dressed in black kneels before the alter at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Keller.

"Do you promise respect and obedience to your Ordinary?"

"I do," the young man responds.

It's rehearsal for the ordination ceremony to become a Catholic priest.

Or as they say in one family, like father, like son.

"Go ahead."

"No, you go ahead," they talk over each other in comfortable, comedic banter.

"[I'm] Father Chuck Hough III," the older man says.

"And I will be father Chuck Hough IV," said the younger.

"Who is my son," his dad adds with a big laugh.

Talk about a proud father. Proud son, too.

Chuck Hough the third and fourth are Deacons from the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

More here

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Father-and-son-ordained-Catholic-priests--160920105.html

Fort Worth Episcopal Diocese to get first black female rector

From Ft. Worth

The Rev. Carlye Hughes never dreamed that she would return to her hometown and become rector of one of the city's most prominent Episcopal churches.

Hughes was chosen from 28 applicants to become the 18th rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, just south of Texas Christian University.

She has resigned as rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Peekskill, N.Y., and is expected to preach her first sermon at Trinity on June 2.

"I'm very excited about coming back home, and especially to Trinity," she said.

Hughes and her family -- including her father, legendary retired Dunbar High School basketball coach Robert Hughes; mother, Jacqueline; brother and current Dunbar coach, Robert Jr.; and sister, Robin Hughes -- all attended St. Simon of Cyrene Episcopal Church in Fort Worth's Stop Six neighborhood.

"Back then in Fort Worth, women were not ordained," she said. "Girls were not on the altar at all. We could sing in the choir. I never thought much about it. I knew what a priest looked like, and he didn't look like me."

She also credits Our Lady of Victory Catholic School and Nolan Catholic High School for nurturing her spiritually.

Read more here:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/30/3849166/fort-worth-episcopal-diocese-to.html#storylink=cpy

Former Episcopal Bishop Clarence Pope, Jr. Dead at 81

From Catholic Online-

Clarence Pope, former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, gained the reputation over the years for being an orthodox Anglo-Catholic. He made the news in the 1994 and 1995 regarding his entrance and subsequent exit from the Roman Catholic Church. He re-entered in 2007.

The Right Reverend Clarence C. Pope, Jr, the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, died in his sleep on Monday in a Baton Rouge, LA hospital where he was battling pneumonia. He was 81.

According to George Conger, on his blog "Anglican Ink," his wife, Dr. Martha Pope, and other members of the family had visited the former bishop this past week.

Pope gained the reputation over the years for being an orthodox Anglo-Catholic. He made the news in the 1994 and 1995 regarding his entrance and subsequent exit from the Roman Catholic Church.

Upon his retirement in 1994, he announced that he and his wife would be entering the Roman Catholic Church. After his reception by Cardinal Law in Boston, the former bishop sought re-ordination in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. He was subsequently turned down and, with urging from some fellow Episcopal bishops, re-entered the Episcopal Church in 1995 and was reinstated to the House of Bishops.

More here-

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=44340

Fort Worth bishop to play part in Vatican plan for Anglicans

From Ft. Worth- (Bishop Vann is the R.C. Bishop of Ft. Worth)

The Vatican, working with its Fort Worth Diocese and Bishop Kevin Vann, is launching a structure today to allow Anglican parishes and their married priests in the United States to join the Roman Catholic Church.More than 1,300 Anglicans, including 100 priests, have applied to be part of a new body, essentially a diocese.

Among them are members of St. Luke's in Bladensburg, Md., which last summer became the first group in the country to convert to Catholicism.Vann, leader of the Fort Worth Diocese, said in an interview Sunday that he will oversee requests nationwide from Episcopal priests who wish to become Catholic."My job is to oversee any individual Episcopal priests [who want to become Catholics] ... individually rather than as a group," he said. Under the Vatican plan, St. Mary the Virgin Catholic Church in Arlington, a former Anglican parish that came into the diocese years ago under Fort Worth Bishop Joseph Delaney, will be part of the new group, Vann said.

The Vatican's new structure will be a small push toward reuniting Protestants and Catholics, who split nearly 500 years ago.Pope Benedict XVI established the dioceselike ordinariate, led by a priest with ties to Fort Worth, after persistent requests from Anglicans to become Catholic in groups, Catholic leaders said. This is only the second such structure; the first serves England and Wales. Traditional Anglicans in several countries have become increasingly upset by the ordination of women and gay bishops. Formerly, Anglican converts to Catholicism were accepted case by case.

Read more here:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/01/02/3628486/fort-worth-bishop-to-play-part.html#storylink=cpy

Former Dallas, Fort Worth and Europe Convocation Bishop Donald Davies dies at 91

From ENS-

The founding bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, Archibald Donald Davies, died peacefully on Oct. 16 aged 91.

A requiem will be held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 21 at the Church of the Good Shepherd, located at 3600 Fall Creek Highway in Granbury, Texas.

Davies served as the bishop of the Diocese of Dallas from 1970 to 1978 and bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth from 1983 to 1985. After he retired from Fort Worth, then-Presiding Bishop John Allin appointed him bishop of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe from 1986 to 1988.

In 1992, Davies left the Episcopal Church to help form the Episcopal Missionary Church, actions which prompted the House of Bishops to give its consent to his deposition in 1994, according to a release from Suzanne Gill, communications officer for the breakaway Fort Worth diocese.

Born in Pittsburgh on April 15, 1920, Davies earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Tulsa in 1944 and a master's degree from Western Theological Seminary (now Seabury-Western) in 1947. While earning his doctorate he joined the faculties of Huron College and the University of Tulsa, teaching philosophy and religion for three years.

He was ordained in 1950 and initially served as a rector in the Diocese of Kansas and as campus chaplain at Kansas State University.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80263_130218_ENG_HTM.htm

Local Churches Waiting To Hear Ruling On Church Properties

From Ft. Worth-

Some local worshippers may have to look for a new place to meet on Sundays. A few hundred church members are waiting for the final word from the courts over a disagreement that has left parishioners split.

A recent court ruling has stemmed from disagreements in the Episcopal Church. About two years ago there was a rift among delegates to the Episcopal Church in the united states. 80% of the delegates didn't feel in good conscience about some teachings of the church.

"The Episcopal Church started to look in the bible and say, 'Ya know, I don't really care for this page, and they would vote on it and take it out.' And that's when we decided to take the stance and leave the episcopal church," said the Very Reverend Scott Wooten, a priest at the Church of the good Shepherd in Wichita Falls.

At that point, things got complicated. There are currently two groups called the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Each claims to be the original diocese of the church, and says the other one is a newly formed diocese.

The minority group filed a lawsuit against the majority, saying because the Episcopal Church is hierarchal, it owns all the church buildings built by generations of Episcopalians. Wooten and the majority, however, say the diocese are independent from any governing national body, and therefore plan to appeal the recent ruling that sided with the minority.

More here-

http://www.newschannel6now.com/Global/story.asp?S=14279493

Court rules against Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in property dispute

From Ft. Worth (the headline is a little misleading)

The Episcopal Church of the United States is the rightful owner of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd property in San Angelo, a Texas appeals court has ruled, upholding a trial court's judgment. In an opinion issued this week, the 3rd Court of Appeals rejected arguments by breakaway parishioners that control of the property rested with the majority of parishioners.

The breakaway group had also said the trial court failed to apply the proper law to resolve the dispute.

A state district judge in Fort Worth ruled in January that a group of Episcopalians headed by Bishop Jack Iker had to surrender control of all diocese property to the national church.

Read more:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/18/2933121/religion-briefs-court-rules-against.html#ixzz1H2cgCp00

Presiding bishop of Episcopal Church to visit Fort Worth this week

From Ft Worth-

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, will be in Fort Worth this week with other national Episcopal leaders.

She will speak at 7 p.m. tonight at Congregation Beth-El, 4900 Briarhaven Road. The event is sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and TCU's Brite Divinity School.
Jefferts Schori will also preside at meetings of the Executive Council on Wednesday through Friday at the American Airlines Training and Conference Center, 4501 Texas 360 South.
"The Executive Council is the major governing body of the denomination between general conventions," said Katie Sherrod, director of communications for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and an elected member of the Executive Council.

Bishop C. Wallis Ohl, provisional bishop of the 24-county Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, and other diocesan leaders will host a reception for the 40-member Executive Council on Thursday night at Theatre Arlington. It will be followed by a dinner next door at the Arlington Museum of Art.

Members of St. Alban's Episcopal Church who have remained loyal to the U.S. church have been meeting at Theatre Arlington since 2008. They had to find another meeting place after a majority of St. Alban's members joined Bishop Jack Iker and other Fort Worth-area Episcopalians in voting to leave the Episcopal Church three years ago.

Read more:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/02/14/2848846/presiding-bishop-of-episcopal.html#ixzz1E1sFddO6