From Episcopal News Service-
A Texas judge continued until next week a September 9 hearing regarding an aspect in ongoing litigation between the Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, and a breakaway group seeking to challenge the authority of the attorneys and leaders of the reorganized diocese to institute the litigation.
The Hon. John P. Chupp set 2 p.m., Wednesday, September 16 as a new hearing date in Tarrant County's 141st District Court. Attorneys for the Fort Worth diocese and the breakaway group are expected to argue their group is the legitimate authority for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.
"We find ourselves in a ministry of the recovery of identity and resources after the storm of schism," according to a statement by Bishop Edwin F. Gulick Jr. of Kentucky, who was elected provisional bishop of Fort Worth during a February 2009 special meeting of the diocesan convention.
"It is stewardship work and we do it deliberately and prayerfully and with urgency so that we can be the most effective community we can be," said Gulick, who wrote about the litigation in "The Fall -- Season of New Beginnings," a reflection posted on the diocesan website.
In motions filed September 3, attorneys for the Episcopal Church and the reorganized diocese cited both Texas law and the First Amendment in support of their argument that the property and assets of dioceses and congregations are held in trust for the mission and ministry of the wider Episcopal Church.
"Texas authority establishes that a constituent part of a hierarchical church is comprised of those remaining loyal to the hierarchical denomination," according to a statement released to the media September 4.
"The First Amendment requires the courts to defer to a church's own determinations concerning ecclesiastical issues, including the identity of its leaders and constituent parts," the statement said.
More here-
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_114576_ENG_HTM.htm
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