Bishop issues ultimatum calling on church to abandon its property
The Layman Online, January 18, 2006
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida has ordered one of its former congregations, now known as Grace Anglican Church, to immediately “turn over all symbols of possession, like keys, the books and records” – or else the diocese will file a lawsuit in civil court to claim the property.
Grace is one of ten congregations in the Tallahassee region of the Episcopal Church (USA) that decided to leave the denomination because of theological differences. Those congregations are aligning with more Biblically-grounded Anglican provinces in other nations.
Grace was among the first six congregations to declare en masse that they are independent of the ECUSA. Grace and two others in the original group have continued to worship in their own buildings, while three have forfeited their property.
Sam Pascoe, rector of the 1,300-member congregation, was attending a meeting of the Anglican Mission in America in Birmingham, Ala., when the ultimatum was delivered by diocese Bishop John Howard’s chief of staff, the Rev. Canon Kurt Dunkle.
Pascoe send a response back to his congregation in Orange Park, Fla.
He referred to a number of actions that Howard has taken, including the bishop’s move to “inhibit” him from performing any priestly functions as an Episcopalian. Pascoe termed that move “interesting in an odd sort of way” but “irrelevant to my life as a priest or our life as a congregation.”
Pascoe said, “Mr. Howard no longer has any authority over me because I am not an Episcopal priest. He no longer has any authority of Grace Church because it is not an Episcopal congregation.”
He also referred to “a letter sent by Mr. Howard to the Episcopal Diocese of Florida regarding what has been happening. It was a long missile of an epistle, full of half-truths and false assurances, crying ‘peace, peace, when there is no peace’ and, finally, misquoting our Lord’s Great Commission to prop up a shaky agenda. It makes one sad to read it.”
Pascoe said he would not be surprised if Howard “petitions the Archbishop of Canterbury to discipline Archbishop Immanuel Kolini for receiving us into the Province of Rwanda.”
He urged his congregation not to be “hi-jacked, side-tracked, or distracted by minor irritants and momentary afflictions. We are often faced with choices. These often involve choosing between the momentary and the momentous. Those choices create momentum.
“We at Grace Church have made our choice. We have chosen to be involved in momentous causes, not momentary distractions. We have momentum for mission and ministry. We have set our face like a flint. Yes, we are standing firm, but we are not standing still.”
According to the Florida Times-Union, Grace’s lawyer made offers either to purchase the six-acre, 17-building campus or to lease it from the diocese. The Times-Union quoted Dunkle as saying, “The diocese is not willing to sell its property to anyone.” The property includes five acres of land and 17 buildings with an estimated value of $2.5 million, the newspaper said.
Pascoe told the newspaper that he doubts that the diocese can find enough replacement worshippers to pay approximately $200,000 a year that is needed to cover a $600,000 mortgage plus maintenance and insurance costs.