From David Virtue (regarding All Saints Pawley's Island)-
Like so many others, I am very fond of Rob and was all in favor of calling him to be rector of All Saints when Terrell Glenn resigned. Also like many others, I was unaware of any undercurrents until Thad Barnum read Terrell's very inflammatory letter of resignation to an unsuspecting Bible Study group on a Saturday morning this past November. Since that time I have been amazed at the venom and animosity that have been directed at Chuck Murphy, to the point where he and his family no longer feel welcome to worship at All Saints on Sunday morning. This is unconscionable.
Ever since Terrell resigned from AMiA Rob has made no secret of the fact that his heart was with Terrell and that he wanted to stay with Rwanda or move to ACNA and that is certainly his prerogative. Unfortunately for him, there are a substantial number of All Saints members who have no desire to make that change. In his letter to the congregation last week Rob seemed completely oblivious to the fact that it was under Chuck's leadership that the campus we all enjoy today was conceived and built. He talked about Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, but failed to credit Chuck with having the courage and vision to lead us out of an increasingly apostate Episcopal Church and create the Anglican Mission as a place of refuge, not only for us, but for those who were unwilling to stand with him (but were quick to follow after he had prepared the way). Rob has even insinuated that those who want to continue with Chuck and AMiA are guilty of idolatry. I can't believe he equates trust, loyalty, affection and appreciation with idolatry, but that's the message many of us have gotten.
Like it or not, Chuck Murphy is Rob's bishop and All Saints is an AMiA church, but that has not stopped Rob from pursuing his agenda. One of the first things that occurred, back in January, was a decision to divide All Saints tithe to AMiA and give half of it to Rwanda without even consulting or informing the congregation at large. This actually amounted to a 50% cut to AMiA and a 500% increase to Rwanda (compared to the 10% tithe they had formerly received from AMiA). More recently, Steve Breedlove, from PEARUSA, came to preach and conduct a forum, and Terrell and Teresa Glenn have been invited to speak to the vestry. In a week or so, Archbishop Duncan is scheduled to preach. This is an all out effort to persuade All Saints to leave AMiA and blatant 'in-your-face' insubordination on Rob's part that no leader should be expected to tolerate. Even so, Chuck waited until he was asked by a committee of four vestry members, including the present SeniorWarden, plus six former Senior Wardens, before he intervened.
It seems pretty obvious that this whole issue has been clergy generated, including the problems with Rwanda, with the single purpose of moving the AMiA to ACNA, without Chuck Murphy. That plan backfired when the AMiA bishops chose to remain with Chuck, but the effort to get control of All Saints continues. Are the rectors personal preferences all that matter? Can anyone tell me what we would gain from being in ACNA that would be worth splitting All Saints down the middle?
More here-
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=16417#.UCzgumhCITw
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