Washington congregations seek to form new Anglican Diocese of Cascadia
Episcopal News Service. March 19, 2009 [031909-02]
Pat McCaughan
At least seven congregations in western Washington state are seeking to form an Anglican diocese outside of the Episcopal Church but within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
The congregations, calling themselves the Diocese of Cascadia, have sent a formal application for membership as a diocese to the newly formed Anglican Church in North America, said the Rev. Kevin Allen, rector of the recently formed St. Brendan's Anglican Church in Bellingham.
"We have various Anglican churches in the region that want to continue in mission and support what we share in common," Allen said in a telephone interview from his office March 18. "It seems very natural to come together and explore how to do that together under the eventual jurisdiction of a bishop."
He called it "a very positive move ahead in what we feel we have to offer among all the choices of ecumenical churches in the region. Our hope is to grow successfully in our church and mission and to welcome other congregations so they feel part of a larger community -- and that's the Good News proposition as well," he added.
The congregations applied for diocesan status as a "response to the December 3 announcement, proposing moving forward to create an Anglican province in North America," according to Allen, who serves as president of the Cascadia diocesan council. "It enabled us to see how we might be part of that movement," he said.
On December 3, 2008 members of at least 11 self-identified Anglican organizations who form the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) announced plans to create a new North American entity for those who say the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada promote erroneous biblical interpretation and theology, particularly regarding the doctrine of salvation and acceptance of homosexuality.
Led by deposed Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh and CCP moderator Robert Duncan, who will become the proposed entity's first archbishop and primate, the group released a constitution and set of canons at a press conference in Wheaton, Illinois, in suburban Chicago.
But Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' office released a December 4 statement saying there are legislative processes to follow that may take years to complete in such instances.
"There are clear guidelines set out in the Anglican Consultative Council reports, notably ACC 10 in 1996 (resolution 12), detailing the steps necessary for the amendments of existing provincial constitutions and the creation of new provinces," the statement said. "Once begun, any of these processes will take years to complete."
The entity's attempt to create new dioceses within the Episcopal Church's jurisdiction flies in the face of the primates' recent call for "gracious restraint" and their recommendation for pastoral visitors to assist in healing and reconciliation given the current tensions in the Anglican Communion.
On March 2, Williams named an initial group of pastoral visitors who could be called upon in any dispute or situation of tension.
Despite this, the conservative entity intends to ratify its constitution and canons at a June 22-25 provincial gathering at St. Vincent's Cathedral in Bedford, Texas, located in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.
"The expectation is that many more will be present in Bedford than are actual members of the Provincial Assembly. We welcome this," Duncan wrote in a letter posted on the Anglican Communion Network website. The letter outlined details of the upcoming assembly to Common Cause Partners.
Allen said he hopes the proposed Diocese of Cascadia will be recognized at that assembly. It represents about 500 members and is made up of Reformed Episcopal churches, along with at least two disaffiliated Episcopal churches -- St. Charles, Poulsbo, and St. Stephen's, Oak Harbor. His own one-year-old congregation, St. Brendan's, Bellingham, is a new church start, said Allen, who had previously served St. Paul's, Bellingham in the Seattle-based Diocese of Olympia.
Other congregations in the proposed diocese include St. Peter's Reformed Episcopal Church, Tacoma; St. Barnabas Reformed Episcopal Church, Shoreline; and as yet unaffiliated churches St. Ursula's, Sultan, and St. Paul's, Shoreline.
Members of Trinity Episcopal Church in Mt. Vernon, Washington, will vote on Sunday, March 22, about joining the proposed diocese, Allen added.
The Reformed Episcopal Church dates to as early as 1873 in the United States, does not ordain women, has its own prayer book and claims more than 13,400 members in 137 congregations.
Another group of congregations in Jacksonville, Florida, is also seeking official status as the Diocese of the Southeast at the upcoming Bedford provincial assembly.
Allen said the proposed diocese, which derives its name from the nearby Cascade Mountain Range, aims to expand to nearby states. "Our hope is that we will be able to talk with other Anglican churches in the region which may be as far afield as Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
"We're very excited about the future, about working together, caring for one another, sharing ministry in common and reaching out to unchurched people of the Pacific Northwest," he said.
The Rev. Bishop R. Boyce, rector of St. Paul's Anglican Church in Shoreline, did not respond to ENS requests for an interview. Mark Cutshall and Al Lansdowne, listed as spokesmen for the group, declined to comment.
Allen said the group has elected a diocesan council, secretary, treasurer, provincial representatives and a task force for the oversight of the constitution and canons and has filed to receive nonprofit status.
Bruce Ross, junior warden at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Shoreline, said he was looking forward to participating in the new diocese. "It has to do with eventually going back under the continuing churches as it's always been," he said. "We will be theologically conservative and will reflect the attitude of most Anglicans, except in the United States, Canada and England."