FORMATION

In response to certain decisions of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA made in August 2003 and the ongoing effects of these decisions upon the membership of St. Mark’s, within the Diocese of Florida, and throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion, it seems wise and necessary to undertake a prayerful and thorough study and assessment of the options and ramifications of potential emerging responses to the crisis in the Episcopal Church as it relates to our common life in this parish. 

Based on this rationale, the Rector appointed, and the vestry unanimously approved, the creation of St. Mark’s Commission on the State of the Church.  Serving on this commission are:  Robin Hyde, Senior Warden, Dave Auchter, Junior Warden, vestry members, Greg Anderson and Nancy Burrows and the current and immediate past diocesan delegates of the parish, Dale Beardsley, Marilu Dempsey, Randall Mann, Debby Melnyk, Bob Read and Hank Wilson.

This commission met for the first time on February 10, 2004.  This introductory time gave each member an opportunity to share his/her own feelings and thoughts concerning the issues and to engage in discussion.  It was agreed that this commission concentrate on becoming as informed and educated as possible concerning the issues.  And, equally important, they want everyone in our church to feel that they will have their views heard.

Some specific tasks were defined:

• To confer with our Bishop and other diocesan leaders about the response(s) of the Diocese of Florida to potential and emerging changes.
• To await and assess the recommendations of the commission recently appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury (the “Lambeth Commission”) whose work is to study “the legal and theological implications flowing from the decisions of the Episcopal Church USA…” and whose recommendations are to be reported to the Archbishop of Canterbury by September 30, 2004.
• To help the rector and vestry consider appropriate opportunities to engage the membership of this parish in conversation about these issues, and to ensure that all members of the parish are given an opportunity to be heard on them.
• To study the potential legal issues pertaining to the ownership and alienability of properties of the St. Mark’s campus.
• To study the potential issues relating to the Church Pension Fund and their effects upon the clergy of the parish.
• To study potential ramifications of these matters for our Day School.
• To make periodic reports on its progress to the Rector and Vestry.
• To work with and compliment the ongoing Strategic Planning Process of the Parish.
• To await our own Diocesan Report which comes out three months following the Lambeth Commission Report.
• To complete its work no later than mid-January, 2005.

The commission also decided on the following guiding principles:

• To be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ
• To be guided in this process by prayer, our devotion to Scripture, and our inherited traditions and teachings.
• To seek to maintain the unity and vibrancy of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
• To respect the leadership of our Bishop in the Diocese of Florida.
• To seek and share a deepened awareness of what it means to live out our Christian identity within the Anglican Communion.
• To promote healing and reform of the Episcopal Church USA.
• To become increasingly a community of love and welcome for all who hunger for the gospel.

To provide structure for the commission, three subcommittees were formed with designated tasks. 

The Parish Communications Committee is charged with providing summaries of developments to date; provide objective synopsis and comparison of points of view; give periodic status reports on the work of this commission, diocesan commission and Lambeth commission; and devise and implement multiple forums/mediums to provide opportunities for parishioners to be heard and discuss the issues with each other. 

The Liaison Committee will monitor the work of the Lambeth commission; establish contact, share and work with the Diocesan commission, and ascertain findings of special application/meaning to St. Mark’s. They will monitor compliance with recent Diocesan resolutions concerning these issues, including but not limited to resolution pertaining to instruction of young people on traditional church teaching on sexuality; explore ramifications of convention actions with the Day School; and interface with the Strategic Planning and Implementation Committees to explore effects, if any, of convention action on our strategic plan.

The Charter, Canon and Properties Committee will liaise with the Diocesan Charter and Canons Committee; summarize status of ownership of parish property; summarize legal effects of national church over St. Mark’s property under varying circumstances of separation; summarize legal effect of joining the newly-formed Network, considering varying circumstances; and find out what effect, if any, there would be in leaving ECUSA or joining the Network. 

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMISSION ON THE STATE OF ST. MARK’S CHURCH

DECEMBER 2004

I.                   WHO WE ARE

At the recommendation of the Rector in January 2004, the Vestry and Rector appointed the Commission on the State of St. Mark’s Church to “undertake a prayerful and thorough study of the ramifications of potential emerging responses” to the crisis brought on by certain decisions of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA (“ECUSA”) in August, 2003, namely approval of the consecration as bishop of an openly gay man living in a homoerotic relationship with another man, and a resolution recognizing the development of liturgies for same-sex marriages.  The Commission was given the objective of exploring and assessing for the St. Mark’s the options and ramifications of possible future changes within the polity and structure of the Anglican Communion and ECUSA, and to make recommendations to the Rector and Vestry on St. Marks’ response to these changes.

The Commission was given a number of specific tasks including (1) conferring with our Bishop and other diocesan leaders about this matter; (2) engaging in dialogue with the membership of the Parish and to give members of the Parish an opportunity to be heard on these issues; (3) to study practical matters such as ownership of church property, status of the church pension fund; (4) to monitor and study actions in the greater church and the Anglican Communion, in particular the Windsor Report; (5) to regularly report to the Vestry and Parish; and (6) to finish this work by the end of December, 2004.

The Commission was also given a number of guiding principles, which are reproduced in Annex 1 to this Report along with the tasks.  Two of the most important guiding principles were to be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for St. Mark’s Church to become increasingly a community of love and welcome for all who hunger for the Gospel.

The Commission was composed of present and past Senior Wardens, the Junior Warden, present and immediate past delegates to the Diocesan Convention and two members of the Vestry at large, one of whom is the current Senior Warden.

II.                WHAT WE DID

After two introductory meetings with the Rector in February 2004, the Commission began meeting regularly to carry out its assigned tasks and meet its objectives.

The Commission worked up outlines of issues facing St. Mark’s arising from the 2003 General Convention, and established three subcommittees to divide its work.  A Parish communications subcommittee was established to arrange for and facilitate dialogue with members of the Parish in large and smaller group contexts and individually.  A liaison subcommittee was formed to communicate with various entities including the Diocese, church-related organizations, SMEDS and others.  A Charter, Canons and Property subcommittee was formed to summarize the status of ownership of Parish property, to explore the ramifications of possible actions and to look at clergy pension issues.  A copy of our internal working documents is attached as Annex 2.

Since its formation, the Commission has undertaken and performed a variety of tasks:

·                    Met at least once each month to bring each other up to date on developments in the greater church, at St. Mark’s, and in particular to share responses and information gleaned from individual parishioners.

·                    Conducted a large meeting for the Parish in May 2004 at which all members of the Parish who requested were allowed to express their thoughts and views on the current crisis.

·                    Held small group meetings over a number of months concluding November 2004 to invite feedback from parishioners on their views of the current crisis, in particular with respect to St. Mark’s, and what they wanted to see happen.

·                    Met with the Bishop to hear his views on the current crisis, the Windsor Report and the future of the Diocese.

·                    Met with St. Mark’s clergy, including the Rector, to ascertain their assessments of the impact of the crisis at St. Mark’s Church.

·                    Spoke with an official of the Anglican Communion Network to learn more about the network and consider the possibility of joining the network.

·                    Talked informally with numerous individual parishioners, and attended meetings of ad hoc groups on both sides of the issues, as well as a number of meetings of church-related organizations such as the Anglican Communion Network.

·                    Made available copies of key documents on the subject matter including copies of pertinent resolutions of the Diocese of Florida and the Rector’s Marksman article discussing the overall subject matter.

·                    Added a “page” at the St. Mark’s website describing and periodically updating our work, and providing reference and links to a number of other websites with background and current information and discussion on the subject, including ECUSA, Diocese of Florida, Anglican Communion Institute, Anglican Communion Network, American Anglican Council.

All of us read extensively on the subject matters which have been raised as a result of the actions of the 2003 General Convention.  We recognized that those actions triggered a host of questions much broader and deeper than the triggering question of the Episcopal Church’s response to homosexuality and the consecration of homosexual bishops and openly gay priests and the blessing of same-sex marriages.  Along with many members of the Parish, as a result of these events sought to inform ourselves more deeply on:

·                    The primacy and authority of Holy Scripture;

·                    What the Scriptures say on the subject of homosexuality;

·                    The traditional teaching of the Christian church on the subject of homosexuality, and the position of those (referred to as “progressives”) who advocate or accept a departure from that tradition and teaching;

·                    The common beliefs of members of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion; the nature of the Anglican Communion and our relationship to it as individuals, as a parish, and as a Diocese, through our Bishop. 

We believe that all of our efforts in this area helped to inform our consideration of this issue and in considering how to describe the situation as we see it at St. Mark’s and to make recommendations to the Rector and Vestry.

III.             WHAT WE FOUND

Unlike other parishes we have learned of, which have endured serious repercussions directly resulting from the current crisis (such as, for example, resignations of clergy and/or Vestry, loss of substantial financial support, substantial losses in membership, conflict with bishops, etc.), St. Mark’s as a corporate parish appears to have generally weathered the crisis so far.  At the personal level, and at the level of personal relations between members of the Parish, however, the crisis has left significant effects.  We will address these in turn.

A.                At the corporate or “institutional “ level, we have not observed obvious signs of serious problems engendered by the current crisis.  We base this impression on the following:

·                    Overall Sunday attendance has not only not decreased, but has slightly increased between 2003 and 2004.

·                    Although annual giving has not increased in relation to past years, the Parish has experienced a higher than average rate of deaths of parishioners who had been strong financial supporters of the church within the last three years.

*                    We also observed, however, that the requests from pledging parishioners to withhold their contributions from the National church and confine them either to the Parish level or to the Parish and Diocesan levels, increased about four-fold from 2003 to 2004.

*                    There appears to have been some attrition, which has had some impact on finance and attendance.  It is difficult to quantify how much attrition in membership stems directly from the crisis. Some of the attrition is attributable to other factors, such as relocation, reemployment, specific opportunities at other parishes, and the like. 

·                    The clergy have been able to identify a relatively small number of persons who have left St. Mark’s because of their opposition to the actions of the General Convention.

·                    There has also been report of reduced attendance at St. Mark’s by persons either who accept or do not oppose the actions of the General Convention, although this number also appears to be relatively small.

·                    It appears that some people have recently come to St. Mark’s from other parishes because St. Mark’s is generally perceived as following in the tradition and teaching of the Church.

·                    Rally Day in 2003 and in 2004 was an unqualified success.  2004 was the best attended Rally Day ever.  We believe that this is one sign of a parish community determined to make every effort to stay together, and prayerfully and carefully work out the issues that confront us as a result of the actions of the 2003 General Convention.  This is not to say, however, that concern and unrest do not continue.  This will be treated in more detail below.

·                    The work of the many ministries of St. Mark’s continues to go forward without abatement.  There has been no discernable drop-off in participation by members of the Parish in its many varied ministries.

In summary, the Parish community at St. Mark’s appears to have corporately held together relatively well during this crisis, at least to this point.  How well this will continue may depend on a number of factors, including

·                    Further digesting of and response to the Windsor Report in the Anglican Communion, and in particular the response by the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA and the House of Bishops to the Windsor Report;

*                    The 2005 meetings of the ECUSA House of Bishops, and the Primates of the Anglican Communion;

*                    The Spring 2005 Meeting of the Anglican Consultative Counsel (the highest body in the Anglican communion involving laypersons, along with clergy);

*                    The January 2005 Convocation of the Diocese of Florida and the May 2005 Convention of the Diocese of Florida;

*                    Some of these events will have occurred by the time this report is submitted to Vestry and clerical leadership of St. Mark’s, but it will take time to fully digest them.

B.                 At the personal and intrapersonal level, however, it has become plain to us over the months of our work that the events of 2003 have had a deep impact on most members of the Parish.  Over the course of our work, we conducted a large Parish-wide forum in May which was well-attended and at which persons on both sides of the issue articulated their views and concerns.  We have conducted a number of smaller discussion opportunities for parishioners on a monthly basis between services.  With that background, here in a deliberately qualitative and anecdotal recitation, are our principal findings of the effect of the 2003 crisis on us individually and intrapersonally:

·                    The Clergy have roughly estimated, and we see no reason to disagree, that the membership of the Parish is roughly aligned 70% in opposition to the actions of the General Convention and 30% either supportive of or accepting of, the actions of the 2003 General Convention.

*                    We observed that in the public forums that we have conducted over the months, those who chose to step forward and speak publicly about the issue lined up about half and half with respect to the issues.

·                    There are healthy minorities of parishioners who hold very strong views at both ends of the spectrum and they have made their views known firmly and repeatedly.

·                    We believe that there are a substantial number of persons, also on both sides of the issue, who do not feel so strongly about the issues that they would leave St. Mark’s or the Episcopal Church and would be content for the Parish to continue operating as it has in the past and try not to let the current crisis affect St. Mark’s in its worship and in carrying out its ministries.

·                    We believe that many members of the Parish on the opposing sides have made good faith efforts to listen to and try to understand the views of those on the other side of this issue.  This has not been universally true, however.

*                    Although the overall division is not even, as we said before it is plain to us that there are deeply committed Christians from St. Mark’s on both sides of this issue.

·                    While we believe that, generally speaking, the dialogue between those on the opposite sides has for the most part been as civilized as it can be or could have been, we do not see any signs that there has been any significant change in position by any members of the congregation that we spoke to.  In other words, people have not changed or significantly modified their positions on the issue since the beginning of our work in early 2004.

*                    This is as much, if not more, true, for the many people who have done extensive study on the related subjects that are involved in this complex matter.

·                    Many relationships between parishioners who have been long time members of St. Mark’s, in many instances long-time friends, have been strained, in some cases severely so.

·                    There has, regrettably, been some venality and oversimplification on both sides.  For example, persons opposed to the actions of General Convention 2003 have at times accused those on the other side of questionable moral standards and theology.  Persons who accept (or do not oppose) the actions of General Convention have accused traditionalists of being ignorant and superstitious fundamentalists.  In our view these characterizations are caricatures because there are intelligent, faithful people on both sides of the issue who have made honest and scholarly efforts to explore and better inform themselves about the many ramifications of the actions of the 2003 Convention.

·                    The range of actions recommended by individual parishioners has been varied. 

*                    Some of the more strident opponents of the actions of General Convention insist that the Parish should join the Anglican Communion Network and take a strong stand against the actions of the 2003 General Convention.

**               All should keep in mind that at the Special Convention of the Diocese of Florida in the fall of 2003, St. Mark’s supported the passage of a Diocesan resolution strongly disapproving the actions of the 2003 General Convention and declaring that the Diocese was in a state of impaired fellowship with all of the delegates of the General Convention who supported the controversial actions.

*                    Some have impliedly threatened to leave St. Mark’s if strong “action” of one sort or another is not taken.

*                    It has been suggested that a statement of the core values and beliefs of St. Mark’s Church should be adopted by the Vestry.  We believe that this is a good idea and will address it in Part IV below.

*                    Members on the progressive side contend that the Parish should take no position and make no public utterance concerning the actions of General Convention but rather should positively adopt a stance of acceptance of all persons regardless of their sexual preferences or practices, adhering to our Lord’s admonition that we love one another.

*                    A few persons on the progressive side have expressed discomfort at the attitudes they have perceived at St. Mark’s from Clergy and the Parish at large with regard to their views.

**               While we listened to these comments, the Commission found no evidence of such at the Clergy level and has looked in vain for any institutional or corporate manifestations of such hostility.  Those who have expressed such concerns appear to be genuine in their perception; we simply observe that we have not seen evidence on our own objectively supporting such perceptions.

·                    Some of the more strident spokespersons on both sides of the matter have criticized this Commission and the leadership of the Church for not “taking action.”  We believe this is a manifestation of how deeply people on both sides of this issue feel.  With regard to any matter of deep concern, such as this, it is natural for persons to desire closure and finality.

*                    We observe, however, that beginning with the resolution of the Vestry which was issued immediately after the events of the 2003 General Convention, the Parish resolved to address these issues in a systematic, thorough and prayerful way, and not to rush to judgment or rash conclusions.  This commission has conducted its work and deliberations in just that vein, and it has been no secret that this was the way that we would and did proceed.  We understand the anxiety of persons on both sides for closure, but we do not believe that we or the Parish should be pushed into precipitate words or actions.  That said, we do believe that there are certain actions that the leadership of the Parish can and should consider which we shortly address in Part IV.

C.                 We did not spend much time examining issues pertaining to ownership of church property.  It appears clear that the central campus at St. Mark’s is owned by the Diocese of Florida and is subject to the Canon of the Episcopal Church (adopted by the General Convention in the late 1970’s) which states that all the property of churches in ECUSA is held “in trust” for the National church.  This canon also applies to the outlying property of St. Mark’s title which is held by the St. Mark’s Foundation.  At present there is no concern about the entitlement of staff clergy to all pension and related benefits available to ECUSA clergy.

IV.              WHAT WE RECOMMEND

The Commission recommends to the vestry and clerical leadership of St. Mark’s the following as representative of the majority of the parish:

1.                 Consider enacting a resolution which confirms St. Marks’ adherence to the Articles of Faith, creeds, and the orthodox teaching and tradition of the Christian church on human sexuality.

a.                  The resolution would specifically state that St. Mark’s embraces the Christian tradition and teaching that God’s intention and will for us is that lifelong, faithful heterosexual marriage is the sole context for intimate sexual relations.

b.                 The resolution would state that St. Mark’s embraces and adheres to resolutions passed by the 2003 Special Convention of the Diocese of Florida and the 2004 Convention of the Diocese of Florida expressing disfavor with the actions of the 2003 General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA), and affirmatively assuring that Christian formation for young persons in every parish of the Diocese of Florida shall include instruction on the church’s historical teaching and traditions on the subject of human sexuality.

c.                  The resolution would recognize that we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness, and thus would reaffirm our welcome of and respect for parishioners who hold divergent views on the subject of the 2003 General Convention actions on the subject of human sexuality, and emphasizing that one’s position on these issues is not a litmus test for full membership and participation in the life of St. Mark’s Church.

d.                 The resolution would recognize that we cherish our heritage in the Diocese of Florida and in the Episcopal Church and we believe in a strong world-wide Anglican Communion.

e.                  The resolution would state that St. Mark’s will comply with and support diocesan compliance with the Windsor Report, and will request our Bishop, with the support of the Diocese, to exhort ECUSA to do the same.

f.                   The resolution would provide that we will review and consider on an ongoing basis whether or not participation in one or more church-related structures and organizations would be helpful to the parish in carrying out this resolution, but does not see the necessity for doing so at this time.

g.                 The resolution would provide that if ECUSA continues by its actions to separate itself from the Anglican Communion, St. Mark’s will seek to reestablish communion within the greater Anglican Communion within the bounds of and in harmony with the Diocese of Florida and our Bishop.

A proposed form of such resolution for the vestry’s consideration is attached as Annex 3.

2.                 Recognizing the concurrence of major events in the life of the National Church and the Anglican Communion, including without limitation the February 2005 meeting of the Anglican Communion Primates, the May 2005 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, the May 2005 Convention of the Diocese of Florida, and the 2006 General Convention of ECUSA, we recommend that the Parish not consider membership in Episcopal Church related organizations such as the Anglican Communion Network or the American Anglican Council at this time, but should continue to assimilate information concerning these organizations and not permanently foreclose consideration of membership in either of them, as the future unfolds.  We believe that in the next 1-2 years the resolution of these issues at the levels of ECUSA and the Anglican Communion should be much clearer.

a.                  Parishioners should not be discouraged from individually joining such organizations if they so desire.

3.                 Unless the leadership of the Parish determines otherwise, we do not believe that it is necessary for this Commission to continue to remain active.  To the extent that future events lead the Vestry to conclude that further consideration of additional actions by the Parish may be indicated, this Commission could be reactivated or a new one established.

4.                 The Vestry may in its discretion want to make this report, either in its entirety or in summary form, available to the membership of the Parish.  We believe that some expression to the Parish, either in the form of this Report or a summary of it, and the Vestry’s action in response to same, should be made.

Respectfully submitted this ____day of March, 2005.

Gregory Anderson                                Randall Mann

David Auchter                                      Deborah Melnyk

Nancy Burrows                                    Robert Read

Marilu Dempsey                                   Harry M. Wilson, III

 

    ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
RESOLUTION OF THE WARDENS AND VESTRY
APRIL 12, 2005

1.      St. Mark’s Church recognizes we are all sinners in continuing need of repentance and God’s redeeming grace, and welcome all into the household of faith.

2.      St. Mark’s Church affirms that the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to our salvation and reaffirms our adherence to the foundational documents of the Episcopal Church including the Creeds, the Articles of Religion, and the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral 1886, 1888.  We affirm our desire for adherence to the recommendations of the recently issued Windsor Report.  St. Mark’s Church upholds the Biblical standards for leadership in the church

3.      St. Mark’s Church cherishes our historical heritage in the Episcopal Church U.S.A. and the Diocese of Florida and supports a strong worldwide Anglican Communion through The See of Canterbury (Archbishop of Canterbury).  If the Episcopal Church U.S.A. were no longer to be in communion with the See of Canterbury, St. Mark’s Church will encourage the Diocese of Florida to reestablish and maintain communion with The See of Canterbury through appropriate channels.

4.      St. Mark’s Church is in harmony with our Bishop who has stated he is an orthodox Bishop and that the Diocese of Florida is an orthodox diocese in which “no one in an active homosexual relationship” will be ordained as clergy and further that same-sex marriages will not be blessed.  We reaffirm our support for the Diocese of Florida and its resolutions at its 2003 Special Convention and 2004 Annual Convention in response to the actions by the General Convention of ECUSA in 2003.

5.      St. Mark’s Church affirms the Book of Common Prayer’s definition of Christian marriage as a solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman in the presence of God.  We also affirm that marriage is the sole context for intimate, faithful, sexual relations.  It is the Vestry’s desire that these affirmations form the basis for preaching, teaching, and practice at St. Mark’s Church in regard to this area of human life.

6.      Membership and inclusion in the parish life of St. Mark’s Church does not depend in any way on one’s position on the issues of blessing of same-sex unions, or the consecration or ordination of openly gay persons to positions of church leadership.

St. Mark’s Church acknowledges that its parishioners hold differing views on the subject of human sexuality in the Christian life and reaffirms our loving respect for and ministry to all persons.

 

REFERENCE WEB SITES 

The following links are offered as additional resources.  St. Mark’s does not officially endorse all the contents or subsequent links found on these sites.  These sites have been carefully selected, but sites are updated without the knowledge of St. Mark’s. 

Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) web site
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_32933_ENG_HTM.htm

Web site for Caring For All The Churches
A Response of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church to an expressed need of the Church
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_32884_ENG_HTM.htm

American Anglican Council/A Place to Stand web site
http://www.aplacetostand.org/

General Convention 2003 Theology Committee Report on Sexuality.  It is a summary of the position of both sides of the issue from the Convention  (the issue being full inclusion of homosexuals in the life of the church, not specifically Gene Robinson)
http://arc.episcopalchurch.org/presiding-bishop/pdf/theologycomreport.pdf

Lambeth Commission web site…on Tuesday 28 October 2003 the Archbishop of Canterbury announced the setting up of the Commission that had been promised at the meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion at Lambeth Palace earlier that month. This Commission has come to be known as the 'Lambeth Commission'.
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/ecumenical/commissions/lambeth/index.cfm

Anglicans on Line web site
http://anglicansonline.org/usa/States/florida.html

Episcopal Diocese of Florida web site
http://www.diocesefl.org/

Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes Shape Structure and Strategy
http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=991&c=21

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Studies on Sexuality
http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney/
http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney/study02.html

Web site of the Anglican Communion Institute based out of Colorado; a source for some of the most thoughtful position papers on this whole issue found here
http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.org/

Via Media web site… Episcopalians striving for a middle way of diversity and tolerance in the Diocese of Albany
http://www.albanyviamedia.org/ 

Members of the commission welcome your input. stateofthechurch@bellsouth.net