Press Releases
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE new Contact: Christopher I. Wilkins, Ph.D., VMUSA Facilitator December 12, 2007 Via Media Decries Destructive Actions of Diocesan Leadership in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin Via Media USA views with regret the recent decision of Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin to leave The Episcopal Church and join a separate Anglican province. It clearly is an act of abandonment of the communion of the church by the bishop and by those of the clergy who accept certificates declaring them clergy of the Province of the Southern Cone. As individuals, clergy and laity are free to make such decisions, however, and Via Media USA hopes that they will find the spiritual home they now seek. Our immediate concern is for the continuing Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, whose members have now been abandoned by their leadership and must reconstitute the leadership structure of the diocese. The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin continues to exist. At least five parishes are part of that continuing diocese, and faithful remnants exist in many other parishes. We hope that others will join them, and we were heartened by the number who attended the post-convention meeting organized by Remain Episcopal (a member of the Via Media USA alliance). Bishop Schofield’s attempt to use convention votes to transfer the diocese to the Province of the Southern Cone is destructive. As the Presiding Bishop, the House of Bishops, the Executive Council, the president of the House of Deputies, and even the Archbishop of Canterbury have repeatedly made clear, such an action does not lie within the power of either an Episcopal bishop or an Episcopal diocese to enact. It also denies resolutions about the nature of the Anglican Communion affirmed by the bishops of the Communion at multiple meetings of the Lambeth Conference. The attempt to secede is a violation of the constitution and canons of The Episcopal Church, of the ordination vows of clergy who voted for the measure, and of obligations that every deputy to the convention assumed upon election as a deputy. Much as a state cannot secede from the federal union, or a city secede from its state, or a neighborhood from a city, an Episcopal diocese cannot secede from The Episcopal Church. Dioceses are legally created by the General Convention of the church. They share in its councils, join in its common mission, and abide by its judgments. Those who lead dioceses hold a sacred trust to guard the unity and faith of the church. This attempt to “realign” the diocese now requires that the faithful remnant reconstitute the diocese. Bishop Schofield’s continued occupation of the offices of the diocese and his claim to all financial and property resources of the diocese deprives the continuing diocese of resources built up over the history of the diocese—first as a part of the Diocese of California, and then, for a half century, as a missionary district supported directly by The Episcopal Church, and finally as a diocese OF the church. This unnecessary and willful occupation not only will lead to costly litigation, but shows disdain for others with similar views who honorably departed as individuals from The Episcopal Church because they understood this route to be their obligation under the constitution and canons of the church they were leaving. Our prayers and support go out to those who will continue the ministries in the ongoing, and, eventually, reconstituted and newly led, Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, and to those throughout the church and communion who will support them in these efforts. We hope that those who have now left The Episcopal Church will, if they persist on this road, walk it graciously under the terms that the law allows, and not force the church to do all that it could to protect the resources dedicated to its ministries, and to the world that a loving God has called it to serve.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Christopher I. Wilkins, Ph.D., Facilitator (ciwilkins@viamediausa.org) July 29, 2006 To a Church in Transition: a Message from Via Media USA Via Media USA is grateful for the hope and faith so vividly evident during The Episcopal Church’s 2006 General Convention. Many of its actions show a church that effectively carries forward the work God has given it to do at home and abroad. We are especially grateful for the new heads of our church, the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop-elect, and Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies. They bring to their roles a great many gifts and several years of experience in, and dedication to, the Episcopal Church. We look forward to their leadership. We are confident that General Convention’s actions, including the dearly-bought resolutions related to the Windsor Report, will be accepted in the spirit in which they were offered. They show the Episcopal Church reaching out with sincerity, unity, and integrity to a world in need, and not least to its Anglican Communion partners. We are disappointed, but not surprised, that eight dioceses have leaders who have rejected these efforts, this new leadership, and the Episcopal Church. Whether appealing for alternate primatial oversight, requesting direct oversight by the Archbishop of Canterbury, seeking to withdraw their dioceses into a new province, or highlighting how they think this church has abandoned the gospel, their actions show that they continue to walk apart from the Episcopal Church. As they do so, they make themselves a stumbling-block to the faithful, and a millstone around the church’s neck. We find it regrettable that their message to our church boils down to, “I have no need of you.” However sweetly they phrase their words, these words are declarations of schism. These individuals seek to separate a part of this church from the rest of it, isolating dioceses and parishes from the church in the process. That these actions have come so quickly—one might say precipitately—following General Convention shows premeditation. We hope and trust that our leaders will do what is necessary to protect the church and enable it to move forward faithfully in Christ’s mission. We must ensure that those who continue with the Episcopal Church have support so that the church’s ministries may not be diminished.
Our website, http://viamediausa.org, and those of our alliance members, will contain updates as events unfold. Via Media USA has not initiated actions against any leadership. Our intent is to find and support the faithful Episcopalians who will rebuild the Episcopal Church in dioceses where it has been broken.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Pittsburgh, PA, March 11, 2005 Commentary on the Windsor Report and Primates' CommuniquéKeeping the Broad Church on the Middle Way The middle way, the via media, is the way of the broad church--a way of being a church that is one of Anglicanism's greatest gifts to Christianity and to the world. Our decision as members of the broad church is to consider well the provisions in the Windsor Report that would lead to multiple layers that might work to interfere with the Holy Spirit at work amongst the people of God. The Episcopal Church, through the grace of God, has made decisions based on the Holy Spirit as it has been shown to us in our particular place and situation. We cannot speak for others in other parts of the Communion. Our witness is here where we have a representative democratic church that listens to all voices, sending witnesses to speak every three years at General Convention. We acknowledge that there are a broad range of reactions to the decisions made at the 2003 meeting. The bishops and delegates, having listened to the testimonies of the whole church, voting by majority, made the decision that the Diocese of New Hampshire should be allowed to choose a bishop based on his work as a man chosen by God. This was a legal and responsible choice made through the Christian practice of discernment involving the people of New Hampshire. Their witness is continuing and they are especially vexed by the caricature portrayed of their beloved bishop. There were many voices, as is our custom, at the gathering of the faithful in the United States. Some were fearful. Others wished we would wait, thinking that thirty years was not long enough for clear discernment. Some thought that this was not scriptural. Of the forty-four bishops that voted against this there were some who had formed groups long ago to oppose this use of Scripture. They already had used scriptural argument in years past to oppose the ordination of women and changes in the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer. They now carefully gathered those in the world who were already in agreement with them and turned the conciliary Anglican Communion into a battleground. The once peaceful councils were turned into tables of conflict and used to discredit our democratic polity. We are heartened to note that the Primates’ Communiqué recognized that the decisions of the 2003 General Convention were made in a responsible manner in complete compliance with our canons and constitution. It is up to us now to explain why and how these decisions were made. Despite the break in fellowship displayed by some of the Primates attending the last Primates' meeting, we are still in loving fellowship and communion with the Anglican Communion. We encourage the Episcopal Church to be prepared to represent to the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) in June 2005 how the Episcopal Church determined its current course after long scriptural study and to provide the scriptural basis for those determinations. The Primates have requested that for a short time we deny ourselves fellowship at the only table in the Anglican Communion that is representative of the lay, ordained and bishops worldwide. We understand that this was the solution proposed as a way toward reconciliation. However, we believe that the ACC must make its own decisions about fellowship, and that the Episcopal Church should do nothing on its own to inhibit fellowship and communication among members of the ACC. In a world fraught with wars that have taken the lives of many innocent and vulnerable people, we are determined that we, the members of via media, the broad church of the Anglican teaching, will find a way of peace that will recognize the full humanity and dignity of all struggling people worldwide. We offer this in humility, truth, and sufficiency. We go forward in faith and courage as people of God in this particular church, proclaiming our friendship with God who has given us all more love than we can possibly imagine. --end--
-- For Immediate Release -- February 24, 2005, from Via Media USA Contacts: Via Media USA Releases "In Our Many Voices.""In Our Many Voices" is a Via Media USA report on the state of the Episcopal Church in the dioceses in which we are active, and on our particular ministries within them. Via Media USA is an alliance of thirteen groups in twelve dioceses around the country that have gathered together to preserve and protect the unity and integrity of the Episcopal Church. Via Media USA was invited to provide information on our experience in the dioceses where we are active to the Executive Council's Standing Committee on Congregations in Ministry at the council's February meeting in Austin, Texas. Because this preliminary draft received so much interest, Via Media USA has polished it slightly and is now releasing it generally. Via Media USA's goals include providing structures and communities of support for Episcopalians who feel disconnected and isolated from the Episcopal Church; identifying threats to our church's unity, integrity, and mission; and working for reconciliation within the Episcopal Church, particularly in our own dioceses and parishes. "In Our Many Voices" addresses each of these goals. We hope that it can contribute to efforts underway throughout the church to bring acts of healing, reconciliation, and grace to bear on our common life in Christ. Copies of the report may be obtained from Dr. Wilkins or Ms. Poole or accessed online via http://viamediausa.org. --end--
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE From Via Media USA (Pittsburgh, PA, December 13, 2004) Contact: Dr. Christopher Wilkins, Facilitator, Via Media USA, Contact: Leslie Poole, Public Relations Committee, Via Media USA VIA MEDIA USA RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT "WHO WE ARE"Who and what is Via Media USA? Via Media USA is an alliance of independent groups who have joined in common cause to support the Episcopal Church and its traditional via media. The via media perspective is a priceless gift from the Anglican tradition to an increasingly polarized world. We strive to be a voice for the ordinary Episcopalian who treasures the Church as a sacramental and service community that rejoices in multiple understandings of God's call to us. The Via Media USA alliance was formed in March 2004 when leaders from a number of independent groups met together for the first time. We have since grown to include thirteen groups in twelve dioceses:
Each group is unique, with its own system of organization. Some groups focus more on education, others on making a difference in the diocesan activities, still others on providing a forum for dialog. Our allied groups are not all in dioceses claiming affiliation with the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, but they have emerged first where there have been challenges to the via media. All the groups are committed to strengthening the Episcopal Church and preserving its unity. Our members mirror the face of the Episcopal Church: we are laity and clergy; high-church Anglo Catholic, low church and broad church, liberal and conservative. We are male and female, of a variety of races, married and single; young, old and everything in between. Our sexual identities and relationships reflect the range found in the Episcopal Church, and, we hope, God's love to us. While not all of our members agreed with the decisions of General Convention in 2003, we all support the decision-making processes of our church. The mission statement of Via Media USA states our collective goals. You can learn more about us at Via Media USA Mission Statement of Via Media USA Via Media USA, an alliance of associations of laity and clergy, is committed to promoting and protecting the faith, unity, and vitality of The Episcopal Church as the American expression of Anglican tradition. Via Media USA Strives to emulate Jesus Christ, respecting the dignity of every human being; Affirms the four principles of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral-the Nicene Creed as a sufficient statement of belief, the Holy Scriptures as containing all things necessary to salvation, the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist, and the Historic Episcopate; Acknowledges that Holy Scripture must be understood within the context of its origins and traditions of interpretation, as well as with the mediation of reason and the Holy Spirit; Nurtures greater understanding of Anglican tradition and Episcopal polity; and Celebrates its diverse understandings of matters outside the basic tenets of the faith as indicative of humanity's struggle to understand God's will for contemporary societies. Via Media, the middle way, is not a compromise for the sake of peace, but a comprehension for the sake of truth.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE From Via Media USA
(Pittsburgh, PA, October 18, 2004) Contact: Dr. Christopher Wilkins, Facilitator, Via Media USA, Contact: Leslie Poole, Public Relations Committee, Via Media USA, Via Media USA Affirms Windsor Report Call for ReconciliationThe Windsor Report of the Lambeth Commission is a very complex and rich document, which requires and deserves much prayerful study. We thank the Lambeth Commission members for their careful and lengthy work. We are encouraged that the report's ultimate goals are to reach reconciliation within the Anglican Communion through dialogue and to bring an end to the divisions that now plague both church and communion. We are pleased that The Episcopal Church, along with the Anglican Church in Canada, is invited to participate in serious theological reflection and discussion with the rest of the communion in order to share our understandings of God’s call. Via Media USA is committed to fostering that dialogue, reaching out to all Episcopalians to encourage mutual respect, with Christian charity and grace, in the process. Via Media USA, an organization of 13 groups in 12 dioceses across the United States, has members with a wide range of understandings of sexuality issues in the church. However, we stand firm in our goal of seeking unity within The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. We hope that the Windsor Report will serve as a means by which we can resolve our differences while remaining united in the love of Christ and committed to care for each other as sisters and brothers. It has indeed affirmed the 'via media' tradition of the Anglican Communion. We encourage everyone to read the 93-page report, as well as our Presiding Bishop’s thoughtful initial reflections on it, prayerfully and charitably. There is much wisdom here. Via Media USA also hopes that, in the wake of this report, efforts by extremists to foster schism and exacerbate tensions within The Episcopal Church will cease, as requested by the Commission. Rather than offering a new theology, the covenant proposed in the report reinforces the traditional Anglican essentials as found in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, and proposes a decision-making process and relationship to move us forward. As part of our baptismal covenant, we Episcopalians promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. May this report and our responses to it lead us into a deeper renewal of this promise, seeking common ground and strengthening the ties that bind us, joyfully and as one, in Christ. Additional references: The Episcopal Church: http://episcopalchurch.org Press Release Movement for Episcopal Unity and Moderation Grows(Pittsburgh, PA.) On Saturday, September 18, Via Media USA welcomed The Widening Circle (Rhode Island) and Tennessee Via Media to the Via Media USA alliance. Both new groups are dedicated to maintaining a broad center in the Episcopal Church and to being instruments for unity within this vibrant denomination. “With the addition of these autonomous organizations, our alliance has grown to thirteen organizations in twelve dioceses, including three in dioceses not associated with conservative networks. Via Media groups are now present in seven of the eight mainland U.S.A. provinces of the Episcopal Church. The Via Media USA movement is beginning to fulfill its promise as a truly national organization,” said Christopher Wilkins, the facilitator of the Via Media USA Steering Committee. “We have made amazing progress, given that the alliance was created less than six months ago.” After several months of planning and meeting, Rhode Island Episcopalians met September 13 to approve an inclusive mission statement committing members of The Widening Circle “to witness to the diversity and comprehensiveness of the Episcopal Church.” The group's name reflects its inclusive mission and, as their mission statement asserts, puts Christ at the center of their efforts. With about equal numbers of clergy and laity among its members, the organization is planning an October 18 open house for interested clergy and laity and is working on co-sponsorship of a diversity Eucharist later this year. Only a few days before The Widening Circle adopted its mission statement, Episcopalians in the south central part of the Diocese of Tennessee founded Tennessee Via Media. Tennessee Via Media has set as a goal to "support and encourage the Episcopal Church in the USA as the American _expression of Anglicanism." It also wants to encourage Episcopal forms of worship and to “promote an understanding of classical Anglicanism, especially as expressed in the writings of Richard Hooker.” Tennessee Via Media is hoping to spread across the state, serving as a catalyst for chapters in all three Episcopal dioceses in Tennessee. The group's web site http://www.tnviamedia.org/ includes a complete statement of their goals. The formation of grassroots organizations in Rhode Island and Tennessee is a sign that the vital center of the Episcopal Church is alive and well despite the polarizing events of the last year. Leaders of the new organizations share the concern of other Via Media groups about the sustained barrage of demands from ultraconservatives who insist that there is only one approach to scripture, and that the whole church must accept their theological position as the only correct one. Both The Widening Circle and Via Media Tennessee are located in dioceses that are being subjected to new recruiting pressure from the closely related organizations most associated with the ultraconservative position, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes and the American Anglican Council. Many faithful Episcopalians have been troubled by the recent schismatic actions of a handful of parishes that have chosen to leave the Episcopal Church. The formation of The Widening Circle and Tennessee Via Media and their alliance with Via Media USA gives concerned mainstream Episcopalians in Rhode Island and Tennessee a way to voice their concerns and take action to promote unity in the church. The independent organizations that make up the Via Media USA alliance all offer positive alternatives for Episcopalians who want to actively support their church. “We hope that other Episcopalians will also take up the work of unity and defense of the middle ground by forming groups like these, or by joining existing ones,” said Wilkins. “Our unique heritage is to be an inclusive church, not a confessional one. In an increasingly polarized world, it will take dedicated individuals to ensure that the Episcopal Church retains a vital center where all who welcome Christ are themselves welcomed, despite our differences in understanding what that means. The Widening Circle and Tennessee Via Media are welcome new voices in spreading this important message.” The Via Media USA alliance was formed in March 2004, when leaders from twelve independent, grassroots organizations met in Atlanta to explore closer cooperation. The groups that have joined the alliance are in the Episcopal dioceses of Albany, Central Florida, Dallas, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Rio Grande, San Joaquin, South Carolina, Southwest Florida, and Springfield. More about Via Media USA and the members of its alliance can be found at http://www.viamediausa.org/. If you are interested in information about forming a Via Media group in your area, please contact Diane Butler, Chair, Evangelism, E-mail: viamediarg@msn.com. Contacts: Leslie Poole, Press Relations Tennessee Via Media The Widening Circle FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 28, 2004 Contact: Dr. Christopher Wilkins at: 412/831-1737 or 412/760-8817 (cell); ciwilkins@juno.com or The Rev. Dr. John Sorensen at 518/569-1494 Episcopalians see hopeful signs amid loss of N.H. congregation, commend Albany and New Hampshire BishopsVia Media USA, an alliance of groups seeking Episcopal Church unity, mourns the loss of a New Hampshire congregation but lauds efforts by two bishops who tried to prevent it. Members of the Church of the Redeemer in Rochester, N.H., recently left The Episcopal Church because of their unhappiness that the Bishop of New Hampshire, V. Gene Robinson, is openly homosexual. A number of efforts were launched to keep the congregation together, including arrangements for oversight by the Bishop of Albany, Daniel Herzog, but to no avail. "In spite of what has happened, there are hopeful signs in this unfortunate story," said VMUSA Steering Committee Facilitator Christopher Wilkins. "In this case, two bishops worked together to try to help one parish stay united. We at Via Media USA are dedicated to efforts to maintain unity within the church during this difficult time in the full belief that there is room for everyone at God's table. These bishops' efforts are a sign that we can and should work together." Recognizing unrest in conservative parishes because of Robinson's election last year, the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops created a Designated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight [DEPO] plan to allow such parishes to be attended by like-minded bishops. In an effort to keep the Church of the Redeemer from splitting, Bishop Robinson made arrangements for Bishop Herzog to oversee the parish and offered to return a popular priest who had been removed by a previous bishop. The congregation apparently was advised to accept the arrangements by Dean William Murdoch of the Northeast Convocation of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, a group unhappy with sexuality issues in the national church. "We are pleased that there was Network support for using the very generous DEPO plan devised by the House of Bishops, and we hope that the Network will now let the disgruntled parishioners depart in peace to find a more compatible church home on their own," added Dr. Wilkins. Via Media USA is pleased that both Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the chair of his Lambeth Commission, Archbishop Robin Eames, were impressed with the generosity of Bishop Robinson's proposals. The alliance is particularly grateful for the role played by Bishop Herzog. The Albany diocese, home to two Via Media groups, recently joined the Network. Bishop Herzog argued that the move was designed to preserve, not to split, the Episcopal Church. "Bishop Herzog has shown grace and charity, seeking to use the network constructively to enable the House of Bishops' DEPO plan to provide episcopal pastoral oversight," said Fr. John Sorensen of Albany Via Media. Concerned Episcopalians of St. Lawrence Deanery likewise commended Bishop Herzog for his "effort and cooperation" shown in the attempt to resolve the New Hampshire conflict. "Via Media USA prays that, should a similar opportunity arise for a parish to utilize the DEPO plan, all parties involved will find a graceful way to remain within our beloved church," added Dr. Wilkins. -end- |