THE LIVING CHURCHNews judgment is, of course, subjective, and what is bad news to some may be good news to others. Nevertheless, no matter what one's opinion might be, 1996 was a year in which the Episcopal Church was frequently in the news.

From the hearing of the Court for the Trial of a Bishop early in 1996 to the allegations of homosexual behavior and cross dressing by clergy in Brooklyn churches late in the year, there was no shortage of news to report. A former treasurer of the national church began serving a prison term for embezzlement of church funds. A bishop resigned following admission of adultery. It all took place as the church prepared for its 72nd General Convention in July in Philadelphia.

Charges against the Rt. Rev. Walter C. Righter, retired Bishop of Iowa, that he had taught false doctrine and violated his ordination vows, were dismissed by the ecclesiastical court in May. The court, composed of nine bishops as judges, had held an extraordinary hearing in January at the Cathedral of St. John in Wilmington, Del. Ten bishops had brought presentment charges against Bishop Righter in 1995, claiming that his ordination of a non-celibate homosexual, the Rev. Barry Stopfel, to the diaconate in the Diocese of Newark in 1990 was not permitted by church doctrine.

More than three months after that hearing, on May 15, the court convened, again in Wilmington but with one less judge, because the Bishop of Los Angeles withdrew after being challenged for cause by the presenters, to announce the dismissal of charges. Judges voted 7-1 to drop charges, stating there is "no core doctrine prohibiting the ordination of a non-celibate homosexual person living in a faithful and committed sexual relationship with a person of the same sex." Bishop Andrew Fairfield of North Dakota was the only judge to vote against the majority opinion. The court stated its decision was limited in scope.

"We are not deciding whether life-long, committed, same-gender relationships are or are not a wholesome example with respect to ordination vows," it said. "We are not rendering an opinion on whether a bishop and diocese should or should not ordain persons living in same-gender sexual relationships. Rather, we are deciding the narrow issue of whether or not under Title IV a bishop is restrained from ordaining persons living in committed same-gender relationships."

The bishops who charged Bishop Righter rejected the opinion and called it "deeply flawed and erroneous," but did not appeal the decision. They said they would bring to the 1997 General Convention a canon that would require all clergy to abstain from sexual relations outside holy matrimony.

Following the decision, Bishop Righter, now living in New Hampshire, said he felt like a "guinea pig," and that the presentment process "certainly invaded my life and the life of my wife and kids."

Positive and negative reactions poured forth from all parts of the church for the next month, but most persons agreed that many of the issues raised in the presentment would be dealt with at another time, probably at the next General Convention.

Former national church treasurer Ellen F. Cooke entered a federal penitentiary in West Virginia in August to begin a five-year sentence for embezzling more than $2 million in church funds and for evading federal income tax on more than $310,000 she stole in 1993. The sentence was appealed by Plato Cacheris, Mrs. Cooke's attorney, and that appeal has not been acted upon.

On Jan. 24, Mrs. Cooke appeared in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J. and admitted she was guilty on both counts. She waived her right to indictment by grand jury, and said, "I accept responsibility for what I have done."

Two months later, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning announced an agreement to settle the church's civil suits against Mrs. Cooke and her husband, Nicholas. The agreement included transfer by the Cookes of substantially all of their liquid assets, valued at about $100,000, and delivery to the church of tangible personal property of the church of which Mrs. Cooke had been in possession.

The national Executive Council was told in November by treasurer Stephen Duggan that the church had recovered all but about $100,000 from the embezzlement.

Members of the Diocese of Maine were stunned to learn in April that their bishop, the Rt. Rev. Edward Chalfant, had disclosed he was involved in an extra-marital affair. "I have made grievous errors in judgment and behavior," Bishop Chalfant said in a statement. Following the disclosure, it was announced the bishop would take a voluntary one-year leave of absence, but a month later, he announced his resignation.

The aftermath of an article in Penthouse magazine continues to shake the Diocese of Long Island. As of mid-December, an independent investigation was being conducted under the leadership of the Rt. Rev. O'Kelley Whitaker, retired Bishop of Central New York.

The Bishop of Long Island, the Rt. Rev. Orris Walker, spoke of the investigation at Long Island's convention in November, and admitted he had been fighting a problem of alcohol abuse. The bishop said he would take a sabbatical leave following the consecration of the suffragan bishop-elect, the Rev. Rodney Michel.

Another suffragan bishop, the Rt. Rev. Jane Dixon of Washington, made news with visits to three congregations which had asked her not to appear. The Rt. Rev. Ronald Haines, Bishop of Washington, decided to send Bishop Dixon to the three congregations despite their objections of not being able to accept the ministry of women ordained as priests and bishops. When Bishop Dixon went to St. Luke's Church, Bladensburg, Md., and Ascension and St. Agnes, Washington, she found only a handful of parishioners at each church. A visit to St. Paul's, K Street, Washington, brought out a much larger congregation.

Like the rest of society, lawsuits seemed to be more common in the church. Among those in 1996, the Diocese of Hawaii was sued for more than $1 million by a family of investors in the failed Episcopal Homes of Hawaii project; the bishops and standing committee in the Diocese of Massachusetts were sued by the Rev. Jerome Hiles, a priest who had been accused of sexual misconduct; 10 current and former employees of Trinity Cathedral, Trenton, N.J., sued the former dean, the Rev. J. Chester Grey, charging him with sexual harassment; and a countersuit was filed by the Diocese of New Jersey, Trinity Cathedral and three other persons against David Evans, one of the men who had charged the former dean.

Gradually, the Concordat of Agreement, which would establish full communion between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was being introduced around the church. A major push for it occurred at the House of Bishops' meeting in October, which was held in Pennsylvania in conjunction with a meeting of ELCA bishops. Many of the participants of both churches returned home and spread the word about the document, which will go before the national legislative bodies of both churches next summer in Philadelphia.

In the spring meeting of the House of Bishops, the concordat was a principal topic of discussion, with ELCA professor Walter Bouman making a major presentation.

Many Lutheran bishops were speakers at diocesan conventions in the fall, and clergy conferences, parish forums and other settings featured presentations about the concordat.

Weather caused problems for a considerable number of congregations in the East. In January, a snowstorm dumped two to three feet of snow from Virginia to New England, forcing cancellation of Sunday services in many communities. In the spring, floods caused widespread damage, particularly in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and many congregations were involved either in relief efforts in their local towns or in repairing their own buildings.

Two dioceses concerned about such issues as ordination of non-celibate homosexuals and blessing of same-sex relationships took matters into their own hands. Central Florida redirected about $100,000 of its $164,000 national church apportionment following the decision of the Court for the Trial of a Bishop. Earlier, Central Florida's convention had voted to attach a "letter of conscience" to its pledge to the national church if it should "abandon its own teaching." At its convention, the Diocese of Fort Worth approved an amendment to its constitution declaring it can no longer unconditionally accept the authority of General Convention.

In other news events of 1996:

• The Rev. Michael Schnatterly, rector of Emmanuel Church, Opelika, Ala., was injured when a package bomb left on the trunk of his car exploded.
• The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. George Carey, visited the dioceses of Chicago and Los Angeles, and during the summer he returned to the U.S. to teach a course at Notre Dame University. In December, he formally met with Pope John Paul II in Rome.
• The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island, underwent surgery for breast cancer in June. She told her diocesan convention in November she had recently experienced her first day free of chemotherapy.
• The Commission on the Structure of the Church issued a report in which it recommended the discontinuance of several national church committees and the revision of others.
• The Rt. Rev. Bob Jones, Bishop of Wyoming, left his diocese to become dean of St. George's College in Jerusalem in September.
• The national Executive Council, meeting in Charleston, W.Va., learned that the office of planned giving would be reopened at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City.
• At its fall meeting in Toronto, Executive Council recommended Denver, Colo., as the site for the General Convention of 2000.
• An investigation was being held into the embezzlement of about $480,000 in funds at the Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, N.C.
• While some congregations left the Episcopal Church for the Charismatic Episcopal Church, a Korean Presbyterian Church in Hinesville, Ga., moved to the Episcopal Church.
• The Episcopal Women's Caucus celebrated its 25th anniversary at the site of its founding, Virginia Theological Seminary.
• The Ekklesia Society, a ministry to encourage pursuit of the Great Commission along with other Anglicans, was formed in Dallas.
• The American Anglican Council, conceived as a gathering place for "biblically orthodox Episcopalians," was organized in Chicago.

The following bishops were consecrated during 1996:

Robert Hibbs, West Texas suffragan; Catherine Roskam, New York suffragan; Geralyn Wolf, Rhode Island; John Lipscomb, Southwest Florida coadjutor; William Skilton, South Carolina suffragan; Edwin Leidel, Jr., Eastern Michigan; J. Gary Gloster, North Carolina suffragan; Clifton Daniel, III, East Carolina coadjutor; Robert Duncan, Pittsburgh coadjutor; Andrew D. Smith, Connecticut suffragan; Carolyn Tanner Irish, Utah; Henry Nutt Parsley, Jr., Alabama coadjutor; Neff Powell, Southwestern Virginia; Paul Marshall, Bethlehem; Gordon Scruton, Western Massachusetts.

The Rev. Richard S.O. Chang was elected Bishop of Hawaii and the Rev. Charles Bennison was elected Bishop Coadjutor of Pennsylvania, but neither has yet been consecrated. q