In announcing its intention July 24 to withdraw from the Province 7 regional association of The Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Fort Worth was merely formalizing a deliberate practice that was first embraced some three years ago, according to the Very Rev. Ryan Reed, dean of St. Vincent’s Cathedral, Bedford, Texas, and president of the standing committee.

“We’ve been sideline participants for a long time,” Dean Reed told The Living Church “Whether we chose to be or were put there is a matter of debate.”

The Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, and the majority of the diocesan leadership do not believe that God has called women to ordained orders. The Diocese of Fort Worth is also a member of the Anglican Communion Network. After the election of Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as the 26th Presiding Bishop during General Convention, Bishop Iker and the standing committee appealed for alternative primatial oversight to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Panel of Reference. This is the first scheduled meeting of the standing committee since the June 21 conclusion of Convention.

“We wanted to send a clear message that we are not standing with those who have chosen to walk apart from the Anglican Communion,” Dean Reed said. “We also wanted to communicate the reality of broken communion that exists in this Church,” he said adding that the standing committee expects to put the question of withdrawal to a vote by the annual convention when it meets in November.

Province 7 is arguably the most traditionalist-minded of the nine provinces. It consists of the dioceses of Arkansas, Dallas, Kansas, Northwest Texas, Oklahoma, Texas, The Rio Grande, West Missouri, Western Kansas and Western Louisiana.

“We’re not breaking communion with our brothers and sisters in Province 7,” he said. “We are simply acknowledging reality, that there will not be business as usual.”

Dean Reed said the Fort Worth standing committee regarded the creation of an “orthodox” 10th province in The Episcopal Church as a matter for the rest of the communion to decide. In that respect its resolution differed from the one approved June 28 by the standing committee in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

“We want to leave the door open to return at some point in the future provided that repentance and amendment of life by The Episcopal Church occurs,” Dean Reed said. “This system is broken. You can pretend that Province 7 is going to reform The Episcopal Church, but it is not. General Convention is essentially an illegal body now. They have stepped outside the [apostolic] faith.”

Steve Waring

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