From Episcopal Life Online-
The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh's provisional bishop has invited the clergy and lay leaders of 40 congregations to meet with him and discuss concerns they may have with the Episcopal Church, according to a Jan. 21 news release from the diocese.
"I believe that much of the recent pain and turmoil in the Diocese of Pittsburgh has been caused by misunderstandings about the Episcopal Church," wrote Bishop Kenneth L. Price in a Jan. 20 letter to parish leaders who have not actively participated in the Episcopal Church since October 2008. "An important part of my ministry in Pittsburgh will be attempting to address these misunderstandings, which I believe is best done in face-to-face meetings."
On Oct. 4, 2008, a majority of the delegates to the diocese's 143rd annual convention approved a resolution by which the diocese purported to leave the Episcopal Church. In November 2009, Price released 135 priests and deacons who had said they belong to an entity called the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, which claims affiliation with the Argentina-based Province of the Southern Cone. Price also said that those clergy, who had accepted letters of transfer to the Southern Cone province, may be reconciled to the diocese at any time.
"There are canonical procedures that can be followed to receive you and again license you to practice ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church," Price wrote in 2009, "and my door will always be open for such a conversation with you."
Price asked that his Jan. 20 letter be received in a "conciliatory spirit," while noting that "in our eyes, all parishes that were part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh before the convention of October 2008 remain part of our diocese."
"As soon as I arrived here late last month, I began visiting our 28 active parishes to help those congregations be the people they feel called to be," Price added, "so I want to offer the same for those congregations that feel separated from the Episcopal Church."
A copy of the letter was sent to the diocese's deposed bishop, Robert Duncan, "in his capacity as the leader of those who regard themselves as part of the Anglican diocese," the news release said. In June 2009, Duncan was invested as archbishop of the Anglican Church of North America, composed mainly of groups that have left the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
http://www.episcopal-life.org/81803_118719_ENG_HTM.htm
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