Ian T. Douglas: Our job is not to keep the church in business

From Faith and Leadership-

As bishop of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas takes seriously his administrative duties.

But, he says, he also enjoys “throwing all things up in the air, causing chaos, inviting imagination and encouraging folk, particularly by virtue of their baptism.”

Specifically, he points to efforts, at both the diocesan and the parish level, to send Christians out into the world, open to the work of the Spirit.

“How do we join in that faithfully, and what does it mean to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus today, who is sent into the world as an apostle to join God in God’s mission?” he said.

Douglas, who was elected bishop in 2009, serves approximately 168 parishes and faith communities in the state of Connecticut.

More here-

https://www.faithandleadership.com/ian-t-douglas-our-job-not-keep-church-business?fbclid=IwAR0oqsFB8oK_jDhJXoXwMk-C0qfQXi76L1t8aUwZYZhPlPN-1CYqt3W28RA

Bishop takes control of St. Paul’s Church in Darien

From Connecticut-

Months of tension between St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s parish leaders and rector have ended in all positions being dissolved. The church now falls under the authority of the Rev. Ian Douglas, bishop diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.

This comes after repeated mediation between the former vestry, which are the lay leadership of the church, and former Rev. Canon George Kovoor. In June, conflict between the two parties led to an attempt by the vestry to change the locks of the church. A lawsuit was later filed July 6, accusing Kovoor of obtaining his job by providing false credentials.

More here-

 https://www.dariennewsonline.com/news/article/Bishop-takes-control-of-St-Paul-s-Church-in-13352943.php

Diocesan convention vote puts Connecticut congregation under direct authority of bishop

From ENS-

On Oct. 26, the highest governing body of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) — its Annual Convention — changed the internal governance of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Darien putting the church directly under the authority of the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Bishop diocesan.  This action was taken as a result of the refusal of its elected lay leaders to participate in reconciliation efforts with its rector, the Rev. George Kovoor.

The action changed St. Paul’s status in ECCT from a “Parish” to a “Worshiping Community,” which puts it now under the exclusive supervision, direction, and control of Bishop Douglas. While the change in status does not affect the worship life or the property of St. Paul’s, the change ended the authority of the previous lay leaders of the church, the Vestry and Wardens, whose job it had been to oversee the property and business affairs of St. Paul’s.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/10/29/diocesan-convention-vote-puts-connecticut-congregation-under-direct-authority-of-bishop/

Vestry of US church attempts to lock rector out after fallout

From Church Times-

A FORMER Principal of Trinity College, Bristol, Canon George Kovoor, has fallen out with his church in the United States. Lay leaders have attempted to change the locks on the church to keep him out.

Canon Kovoor, who is also a chaplain to the Queen, was appointed Rector of St Paul’s, Darien, in the diocese of Connecticut, in 2016. He served as Principal of Trinity for eight years, until he resigned in 2013.

Canon Kovoor moved to the US to take up a post in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to Darien.

Tensions became apparent last October when the vestry of St Paul’s — the equivalent of a PCC — told the diocesan Bishop, the Rt Revd Ian Douglas, that they wanted to remove Canon Kovoor. Bishop Douglas informed the parish that it could not remove Canon Kovoor without his own approval.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/22-june/news/world/vestry-of-us-church-attempts-to-lock-rector-out-after-fallout

Rise in Glory: Bp. Walmsley

From The Living Church-

The Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas, Bishop of Connecticut, announces the death of a predecessor, the Rt. Rev. Arthur E. Walmsley:

I write with sad news. Our dear friend and bishop, the Rt. Rev. Arthur E. Walmsley, 12th Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, died peacefully at his home in Deering, New Hampshire early this morning. Bishop Walmsley had been struggling with a bad case of pneumonia for the last few weeks. He had recently returned home from the hospital and was being cared for by his loving wife and companion in ministry, Roberta. He was 89 years old.

… Arthur, together with Roberta, cared deeply for the clergy and their families in Connecticut as pastor and counselor.

More here-

http://htl.li/x3cJ30fFZ0v

Connecticut bishop will not stand for Anglican Consultative Council chair

From ENS-

Diocese of Connecticut Bishop Ian Douglas, one of the Episcopal Church’s three Anglican Consultative Council members, said April 12 that he would not stand for election as its chair.

Douglas, who had been widely expected to seek the office, sent a letter about his decision to the members of the ACC Standing Committee who were at that group’s April 6-7 meeting.

“While I pray that I can continue to be of service to the Anglican Communion in some new way in the future, I believe that my not pursuing election as chair of the ACC at this time will best facilitate our walking together in unity as the Anglican Communion, and that is my highest priority and my greatest hope and prayer,” Douglas said in his letter.

Douglas is ending his term on both the ACC and Standing Committee at the close of the ACC-16 meeting. The ACC elected Douglas in 2009 to be one of its representatives on the Standing Committee.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/04/12/connecticut-bishop-will-not-stand-for-anglican-consultative-council-chair/

A Cathedral’s Uncertain Future

From The Living Church-

The Diocese of Connecticut is not sure it needs a cathedral anymore. For the past nine months, a six-member task force appointed by the Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas, Bishop of Connecticut, has been asking what type of cathedral, if any, is needed to serve this diocese of 168 parishes and other Episcopal institutions. At annual convention in November, the panel will present its recommendations.

“Everything is on the table,” said the Rev. Harlon Dalton, priest-in-charge at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford and convener of the task force.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/cathedral-hartford-future

Shocked and Overwhelmed

From Conn-

We are shocked and overwhelmed by the horrendous tragedy of the school shooting in Sandy Hook. We hold the victims, their families, and all who are affected by the shooting in our thoughts and prayers for healing and strength. We pray that those who have died will be held in the arms of our loving God whose heart aches for those affected by this tragedy.

We bishops have been in touch with the Rev. Mark Moore, the rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Sandy Hook, which is adjacent to the school were the shooting took place. We have also communicated with the leadership of Trinity Church, Newtown, and we understand that the Rev. Kathie Adams-Shepherd, rector of Trinity Church, is on the scene ministering to the bereaved.

We are departing immediately for Newtown/Sandy Hook to be of whatever assistance we can. We will be in contact when we have additional information.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/shocked-and-overwhelmed

Newtown School Vigil: 'These Parents Lost Their Hearts Today'

From Conn.-

St. Rose was one of many area churches marking the tragedy. Another memorial service was held at Trinity Episcopal Church, where at least one family of parishioners lost a child, according to Bishop Ian T. Douglas, leader of the Connecticut Episcopal diocese. Dozens more candlelight vigils and prayer services across the state are scheduled for the weekend.

The rector at Trinity, the Rev. Kathleen Adams-Shepherd, arrived early at the scene of the shooting and counseled parents as they learned of their childrens' fates, Douglas said.

"Kathy has been in many ways a rock for those families," Douglas said.

Outside St. Rose with a group of friends was Michael Eisele, 15-year-old who was holding up better than his parents.

His 10-year-old sister had hid in a gym locker during the rampage. His sister in kindergarten stayed home sick today. Their close call unleashed emotions he didn't know his parents possessed.
More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/15/newtown-school-vigil-_n_2305056.html

New bishop calls on faithful to join in God’s mission (video)

From Hartford-

Archbishop Desmond Tutu left no gray area when it comes to what Bishop Ian T. Douglas must do in his new ministry.

“We are thrilled that God called you to be a bishop here to remind us that we are all God’s children,” preached Tutu, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his reconciliation work after the dismantling of apartheid.

“Ian, please tell the children of God, each one of them is precious, the preciousness that cannot be computed. ... Each one of them is a member of God’s family in which there are no outsiders.

“Each one ... those louts on the street corner, the down and outs, the drug addicts. It was for them Christ died. ... Tell them that Jesus loves them. Tell them that they matter.”

Douglas, 51, was consecrated Saturday the 15th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in a nearly three-hour ceremony attended by 2,000. St. Luke’s Church of New Haven’s steel drum band played at the beginning and end of the service, adding to the joyous air.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefforts Schori led the ceremony, in which numerous bishops laid their hands on Douglas, signifying the unbroken line of bishops stretching back to Jesus’ apostles.

More here-

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/04/18/news/aa3_ctconsecrate041810.txt

Conn. Episcopalians welcome new bishop

From Connecticut-

With all the pageantry the Episcopal Church can muster, the Rev. Ian T. Douglas was consecrated Saturday the 15th bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut.

The nearly three-hour ceremony brought together about 2,000 lay people, deacons, priests, bishops and seminary professors. Among the musicians, St. Luke’s Church steel drum band from New Haven had many, including Douglas and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who preached the sermon, swaying and clapping.

Before numerous bishops laid their hands on Douglas, signifying the unbroken line of bishops stretching back to Jesus’ apostles, the candidate made the promise required of all bishops:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, I, Ian Theodore Douglas, chosen Bishop of the Church in Connecticut, solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.”

In his sermon, Tutu spoke of how God requires Christians to love everyone, no matter who they are:

“All the poor, rich, white, black, Hispanics, all, all. Clever, not so clever, beautiful, not so beautiful … tea party, Democrat, Republican. This is radical, man. This is radical.


More here-

http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2010/04/18/news/doc4bca9a4d3c5d5253862114.txt

Episcopal Diocese to consecrate bishop

From Connecticut-

The state will be the shining star of the Anglican Communion today when the Rev. Ian T. Douglas is consecrated the 15th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

Douglas sits on the Anglican Consultative Council, which represents Anglicans worldwide, so he is well known outside the Episcopal Church. He asked a friend, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to be the preacher today.

Douglas, formerly professor of world mission at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., said his connections will benefit the diocese, and vice versa.

“I’m not afraid to call in favors around the world to help us in Connecticut,” he said recently. “I have a pretty good Rolodex that I would hope to utilize.”

As for his new flock, “The Diocese of Connecticut has so much to offer,” he said. “I think we need to be generously making those resources available to those beyond our boundaries.”

According to tradition, bishops are consecrated by having three other bishops lay hands on them, extending a succession said to go back to the Apostles.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefforts Schori will be chief consecrator, joined by Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina and Edward Little of northern Indiana. Douglas said he chose them because they are diverse in race, sex and theology, and so represent “the catholicity of the church.”

More here-

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/04/17/news/bb9_tepiscopal_bishop041710.txt

The Road Home: State's new Espiscopal leader brings worldy persepctive

From Hartford CT.

Bishop-elect Ian T. Douglas’ heart is drawn to two different places these days. One brought him to where he is now; the other will form his future.

Douglas, a former missionary to Haiti, was elected Oct. 24 as the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and, while he won’t be consecrated until April 17, he’s finished teaching at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., and is settling in at Diocesan House on Asylum Avenue, waiting for his office to be painted.

Douglas, 51, has spent his ministry primarily involved in world mission, looking outside the Episcopal Church’s boundaries to the church’s role in the worldwide Anglican Communion. But he decided to run for bishop of Connecticut because of what’s within the state’s boundaries.

“It was Haiti and l’Eglise Episcopale d’Haiti (the Episcopal Church of Haiti) that actually gave me my vocation,” Douglas said last week. “While my life has been one whose boundaries literally were the four corners of the Earth, or the ends of the Earth … I felt like God is guiding me to go deeper rather than broader.”

More here-

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/02/07/news/doc4b6e30cfde4d3790758947.txt

Massachusetts professor new bishop of Connecticut diocese

From Hartford-

The first ballot hinted at the outcome, and on the second ballot Connecticut Episcopalians broke a centuries-old tradition Saturday, electing the Rev. Ian T. Douglas as the 15th bishop of the nation's oldest diocese. He becomes the first outsider to hold the post.

Douglas, a divinity professor at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., who is also associate priest in that community, downplayed the significance of his election, rejecting the notion it was a repudiation of current leaders in Connecticut.

Douglas will succeed Bishop Andrew D. Smith, who is retiring.

The Rt. Rev. Jim Curry, who will continue to hold the post of the diocesan bishop suffragan, was expected by many to prevail in Saturday's election.

"I'm still a little stunned," said the Rev. Jim Bradley of St. John's Church on the Waterbury Green, moments after the historic vote. "I really thought that Bishop Curry would win handily ... it certainly was a vote for change."

Douglas, reached by telephone in Massachusetts soon after the results of the second ballot were announced at Christ Church Cathedral, said Smith, Curry and other current leaders have brought the diocese "to a place of new energy, new commitment."

As for his place in history, "I would take it as a sign of newness," Douglas said.

Bradley said the church would have been well-served by any of the four candidates, a field that also included the Rev. Mark Delcuze, rector of St. Stephen's Church in Ridgefield, and the Rev. Beth Fain, rector of a Texas church.


More here-

http://www.rep-am.com/news/local/445006.txt

The new Anglican branch will face several significant hurdles.

Christianity Today gives a realistic assessment of the obstacles confronting the "new province". Already Jack Iker (who may or may not be a Bishop (See below)) has declared himself to be in impaired communion with the women clergy in Pittsburgh. Ian Douglas is right, this sort of division is just part of their DNA.

Under Anglican rules, formal recognition of a province usually requires the assent of two-thirds of the communion's 38 primates — or leading archbishops. But Wednesday's unprecedented announcement raises new questions.

Bishop Martyn Minns, a leader in the Common Cause Partnership, estimates that nearly a dozen primates will support its new venture, about half the number it needs for recognition. Gaining the approval of more primates may prove difficult, said the Rev. Ian Douglas, of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"What happens in one province could set a precedent and come back to their own (province)," said Douglas.

Similar concerns could be raised by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), a 70-member international body that must also approve the new province, said Douglas, who sits on the council.

In an essay published online, the Rev. Ephraim Radner, a leading North American conservative, argued that these obstacles are nearly insurmountable.

The new province "will probably not be recognized at the primates' meeting as a whole or even by a majority of its members," he said. "Nor will it be recognized at the ACC. Thus it threatens to be yet another wedge in the breakup of the communion."

(snip)
According to the constitution released late Wednesday, each diocese, cluster or network in the newly declared province will have significant autonomy on women's ordination and other matters. But already, Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth, Texas, whose diocese seceded from the Episcopal Church this year, has declared himself in "impaired communion" with female priests ordained in Pittsburgh.

"The new grouping is, in the eyes of many," said Radner, "representative of diverse bodies whose theology and ecclesiology is, taken together, incoherent, and perhaps in some cases even incompatible."

That bodes ill for the denomination's future, Douglas said. "Those who have been quick to separate themselves out in the past have that as part of their operational DNA," he said.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/decemberweb-only/149-53.0.html

US Anglican leaders look to replace Episcopal Church

The Guardian reprots that the "New Province" is intended to replace the Episcopal Church.

But observers in the Episcopal Church, which has about 2 million members, say the event at an evangelical church at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, the same spot where the Reverend Billy Graham nearly 70 years ago began his evangelism, does not hold much significance for the rest of the Anglican Communion.

"I do not think Wednesday's event is as big a deal as the organisers think it is," said the Reverend Ian Douglas of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Yet another threatened line in the sand."

The new church is the first province to be drawn according to theological and not geographic boundaries - a dramatic departure from Anglican policy and procedure that may not get approval from the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams or other bodies that normally would give approval to the new province.

"While claiming more conservative tradition on human sexuality and biblical interpretation, their approach is radical and contrary to church polity," Douglas said.

Its all here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/04/religion-episcopal-anglican-us