Father Wattley Resigns ECM Position
Episcopal News Service. June 26, 1980 [80232]
CHICAGO -- The Rev. James C. Wattley, executive secretary of the Council of the Evangelical and Catholic Mission, has resigned, effective May 31. His resignation was accepted "with regret and with a deep appreciation of the work of Father Wattley" by the steering committee of the Council.
At the meeting of the steering committee at the Church of the Ascension here May 28-29, the continuing leadership and work of the Mission were high on the agenda.
The Evangelical and Catholic Mission was organized in 1977 to call the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion to the evangelical and catholic order, with emphasis placed on the apostolic ministry of a male priesthood as traditionally received by the catholic church and upon New Testament and universal Christian tradition in the areas of behavior and morality.
In 1975 Father Wattley became the full-time executive secretary of the recently organized Coalition for the Apostolic Ministry, an organization committed to preserving the traditional male priesthood in the Episcopal Church. When the Coalition merged with the Evangelical and Catholic Mission in 1977, he became executive secretary of the combined group. He has traveled throughout the Episcopal Church on behalf of the Mission and coordinated that group's work at the 1976 and 1979 General Conventions, at the interim meetings of the House of Bishops, and at national Congresses and local conferences.
Father Wattley, a native of New Orleans, has served congregations in Louisiana and New York. He has also been chaplain at Northeast Louisiana State College. He has not announced his future plans.
The steering committee of the Council of the Evangelical and Catholic Mission has appointed a search committee for a successor to Father Wattley. Mail and pledge payments will continue to be received at the current address -- 133 W. 46th St., New York, N. Y. 10036 -- until a new secretary and office are located.