Via Media USA was founded in 2004 to preserve and protect the faith, unity, and vitality of the Episcopal Church. Via Media USA is an alliance of grass-roots voluntary regional organizations without endowments, and dependent on supporter’s contributions.

We hope to act so that all those who want an Episcopal church will have one. We are called to craft a unifying middle way, continuing to be a church of the crucified and risen Christ. Such a church is founded on a unity of the sacraments God has given to us, and a unity that celebrates the differences and abundant love in which God has created us. In this truly living church to which God has guided us, we come to the altar to receive the Eucharist—side by side by side. In receiving these sacramental gifts we are reminded that only God knows the final truth of things and that for this reason if for no other, all shall be well. We return from the altar, filled with the God-given dignity of being fully human and redeemed, able to understand and be free and distinct individuals as well as members of thriving, faithful communities.

In our home dioceses, our hearts are broken as we watch individuals and congregations pour out contempt on our beloved church—by removing the word “Episcopal” from signs, directing funds to other groups that once were earmarked for the Episcopal Church or Episcopal Relief & Development, rebuffing us when we propose reconciliation, and amending diocesan constitutions to nullify actions of General Convention.

While some have difficulty understanding our sense of urgency, many of our dioceses have passed resolutions saying that they no longer accede to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. One bishop has warned clergy that “the day after” General Convention 2006 they will no longer be part of the Episcopal Church. Another has requested that his diocese be placed under another province’s jurisdiction. In the midst of predictions of “realignment” and pronouncements that we are already two churches, our groups struggle to be a voice for that traditional Episcopal practice of the via media.

In the context of the actions and statements of some conservative leaders here and abroad, the topics discussed at our September Via Media USA steering committee meeting are those that reasonable and prudent individuals who are committed to the Episcopal Church must discuss. If those who have threatened to realign were to act on statements they have made, schism and abandonment of the communion of the Episcopal Church would then have taken place in their jurisdictions. Episcopalians in those jurisdictions would need to move quickly, within the structures of church’s canons and constitution, to rebuild. While we pray that our unity can be restored, this threat of schism in our dioceses troubles us deeply. As faithful stewards, we must be prepared to care for those people and things entrusted to the Church in our home regions should the divisions occur.

Our wish is for a church able to celebrate a diversity of theological opinions. Leaders in the Episcopal Church who conform to the constitution and canons of this church and respect the polity of its General Convention, under whose authority they lead their portion of the flock of Christ, should have no cause for concern arising from our planning. Those who do not, particularly if they should persist in breaking their vows and separating their portions of the Episcopal Church from the rest of it, may take such good counsel as seems best to them. Our efforts will be to serve, as best we can, those who wish to remain connected to the Episcopal Church of the United States of America.

Via Media USA strives to help the Episcopal Church be healed, whole, and welcoming to all. To that end we work, and pray we work with grace. We welcome others with that same goal to join us in our work.

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Copyright © November 2005 Via Media USA. Further distribution is permitted so long as this notice is included. All rights reserved.