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Statement from the Vestry (November
10, 2007)
WE the undersigned Vestry members of the Church
of St. Peter and St. Paul make the following statements relative
to the our position on matters between the Episcopal Diocese of
Fort Worth and the Episcopal Church USA.
- WE fully support Bishop Jack Iker.
- There have been three (3) options presented
and discussed relative to actions under consideration between
the Diocese and the Episcopal Church; one, to submit to the Episcopal
Church, two, to stay the course and continue to be in opposition
to the beliefs and actions of the Episcopal Church, or three,
to leave the Episcopal Church along with the Diocese and reaffirm
our position as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion,
a Fellowship of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,
consisting of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces and
regional churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding
and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in
the Book of Common Prayer. WE fully support Option three
(3).
- WE welcome the comments from the Archbishop
of Canterbury contained in a recent letter to the Bishop of Central
Florida where he reminds us that “the organ of union
with the wider Church is the Bishop and the Diocese rather than
the Provincial structure as such”, calling this a “basic
conviction of Catholic theology”. He goes on
to say; “I should feel a great deal happier, I must say,
if those who are most eloquent for a traditionalist view in the
United States showed a fuller understanding of the need to regard
the Bishop and the Diocese as the primary focus of ecclesial
identity rather than the abstract reality of the ‘national
church’.”
- WE also urged our Delegates to the Diocesan
Convention to support the Constitutional Amendments to the Canons
as proposed on this first –reading.
- With Christian charity, WE support the process
whereby parishes and/or families may leave the Diocese in an
amicable and Christian manner.
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