CONNECTICUT: Priest-in-charge appointed for Groton parish
Episcopal News Service. April 14, 2008 [041408-03]
Mary Frances Schjonberg
Bishop Suffragan James E. Curry of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut announced April 14 that the Rev. Canon David Cannon has been appointed as priest-in-charge of Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church in Groton.
The appointment was necessitated, the diocese said in a news advisory, by the recent retirement of the Rev. Ronald Gauss, former rector of the parish and the decision by some members of the parish, including the vestry, to leave the Episcopal Church and join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). Cannon will assume his pastoral duties immediately.
"Of course, every member of this Church and our Nation enjoys the freedom to worship in the community of their choosing and we wish those who have departed well in their spiritual journey," the news advisory said. "Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church is named for the first Episcopal bishop in America. The parish has been a valued member of our Diocese for over a century and the departure of parishioners, while regretted, will not end that storied history. Rather, the Diocese will work with the congregation of the Parish and with Father Cannon to grow that community of faith so that it can continue to serve Christ in Groton and southeastern Connecticut."
Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church is one of the six Connecticut congregations in which the majority of members broke with the diocese and the Episcopal Church after Smith consented in 2003 to the ordination of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. Of those six, this is the third to have a priest-in-charge appointed. The other two congregations are Christ and the Epiphany in East Haven and Christ Church, Watertown.
The diocese filed suit against Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol after the former rector and wardens refused to turn over possession of the parish’s properties and assets. The remaining congregation, St. John's Episcopal Church, also in Bristol, is being led by a vicar.
The sixth congregation is St. Paul's Church in Darien.
Curry made the appointment in his role as ecclesiastical authority in the diocese while diocesan Bishop Andrew Smith is on sabbatical. Curry and Smith consulted on the appointment, according to Karin Hamilton, director for communication and media for the diocese.