Bishop Stanton Announces Retirement

From Dallas-

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

On 14 May, I informed the Standing Committee and Executive Council that I had sent the following letter to the Presiding Bishop:

On 6 March, 1993, I was consecrated as the sixth Bishop of Dallas. On 6 March next year, 2014, I will complete 21 years in this Office. 

These have been the most challenging, fulfilling and joyful years of my ministry. I am grateful for the trust vested in me by the People and Clergy of the Diocese, and cherish the many relationships which have developed and deepened over this time.

I have come to the place where I believe it is time to relinquish the responsibilities of the Bishop Diocesan, and permit the Diocese to consider and chart its future mission under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I herewith submit my resignation effective May 31, 2014. Please proceed with the canonically appropriate next steps.

This is the way we go about retiring from the Episcopate in our Church. But I want to take this opportunity to thank one and all for the gracious way you have received me and Diane, and our whole family, over these last twenty-plus years.

More here-

http://edod.org/index.php/home/item/319-bishop-stanton-announces-retirement

Glorying in the Cross

From The Living Church-

By James M. Stanton

In an age when the significance and centrality of the individual seems to be taken for granted, preaching of the cross may seem to be not only counter-intuitive but also counter-productive. It is easy to pillory or caricature the biblical story as follows: God sets up impossible commandments; his human creation cannot fulfill these commandments; God’s divine honor is thereby insulted and his honor requires vindication; because God is infinite the insult is infinite; human beings are finite and cannot pay the debt of the insult; so God sends his “Son” to die a horrible death in order to pay the debt which he himself has imposed.

Many, apparently, are trying to remove the cross from the Christian story. We are instructed by the enlightened today that Jesus is no “savior” and that humanity is not in need of saving. A whole band of New Testament scholars even questions whether Jesus died on the cross at all, claiming that there is evidence of alternative views in the early Church that do not include his death as of any significance, and that offers versions of these other — sometimes called “lost” — gospels and their implications for Christian living.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/8/30/glorying-in-the-cross

Another Dallas Episcopal priest suspended

From The Dallas News-

Dallas Episcopal Bishop James Stanton's list of problem priests isn't limited to the Rev. William Warnky (right), who, as I reported in yesterday's paper, has been suspended in recent days from both ministry and securities trading because he owes an ex-parishioner $50,000 for stock fraud.

I learned today that two months ago, Stanton quietly stripped the Rev. Keith Roberson (below right) of his collar for three years for "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy."

Here's a partial translation that I coaxed out of Stanton's top aide, Bishop Suffragan Paul Lambert: The conduct was directed at women at the Terrell church where Roberson worked, Good Shepherd. "It was more harassment than anything," and "it was nothing physical."

Roberson declined to comment today. He runs an optical repair business in Fort Worth called J.R. Optical, whose Web site says:

"I am an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church and I uphold the values and character traits associated with a life of personal commitment and service to the Lord. I live by the Scripture verse 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.' I am honest, open, professional, congenial, and stand by my word."

Lambert acknowledged that Roberson previously left another parish -- he wouldn't say which one -- amid controversy. "It was a bad match," he said. "It was not sexual harassment."

Years ago, Roberson also worked briefly as a fill-in priest at Good Samaritan, where Warnky was the priest in charge until this week. It hasn't been decided yet how long Warnky will be out of ministry.

http://watchdogblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/08/another-dallas-episcopal-pries.html

Fort Worth Diocese to officially split from Episcopal Church today over social issues

From the Dallas Morning News - I think this is interesting mostly for the quotes from neighboring Dallas Bishop Jim Stanton a conservative who says leaving is not the right thing to do. Ft. Worth will be the last diocese to leave TEC.

"There's been this huge disinformation campaign," said Ms. Sherrod, a Fort Worth writer active in local groups advocating loyalty to the Episcopal Church. "Voices that would offer a counterpoint have not been heard."

Ms. Sherrod points to Bishop James Stanton of the Diocese of Dallas as a conservative leader who, after a survey and listening tour of the diocese, decided against secession.

Bishop Stanton, who has sided with Bishop Iker in many church controversies, said that 80 percent of his parishioners had concerns about the direction of the national church. But 80 percent of them weren't troubled enough to want to leave.

The Dallas Diocese has seen some conservative churches leave on their own, including the large, influential Christ Church in Plano. But Bishop Stanton is disinclined to follow the lead of his close friend Bishop Iker.

"We're not going anywhere," Bishop Stanton said. "If I've heard it said once, I've heard it said a thousand times: You don't win a battle by leaving the battlefield."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-episcopal_15met.ART.State.Edition2.4a4bed4.html

Lambeth: Interview with the Dallas bishops

The Dallas Diocesan Newspaper interviews the bishops about Lambeth. these are conservative bishops who are not in favor of the realignment.

ESPRIT: So where from here?

+JMS: It depends much on the will of the Communion. Bishops acting unilaterally do not help this. The future of the Communion depends on those who are willing to forgo what they perceive to be their rights and their prerogatives and agree to live with and for others. We’ve been deaf to that call. It just depends on the will of those who are in leadership and who say, you know, the time has come to work together in unity. As far as I’m concerned as diocesan bishop, we have strong ties and relationships with the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Global South. The Global South bishops invited both Bishop Paul and me to a meeting with them. We cherish those relationships, and we will continue to witness and carry out our part in the Anglican Communion.

+PEL: I don’t know how I can expand upon that. We need to be faithful to the Scriptures and our Lord’s command to go forth into the world, but one of the things I’m trying to live into is what it means to be faithful to the vows I took when I was consecrated. There are some significant vows there. I think the House of Bishops and all bishops would do well to read those every day.

http://episcopal-dallas.org/