Along with ending its affiliation with The Episcopal Church during its annual synod last weekend, the Diocese of Quincy established a protocol for clergy and parishes that do not wish to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone.
 
The Rev. Canon Ed den Blaauwen, president of the diocesan standing committee, was named vicar general by Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone. Canon den Blaauwen announced that members of the clergy would receive a certificate indicating they are members in good standing of the South American province. Clergy who wish to remain with The Episcopal Church were asked to write the word “rejected” on the certificate, sign and date it, and return it to the diocesan office.
 
Canon den Blaauwen said the leadership of the diocese would work “diligently, in good faith, and with Christian charity with any member of the clergy who might wish to seek canonical transfer to another diocese of the person’s choice.” He added that parishes have a nine-month grace period in which they may withdraw from the synod, provided that such a move is approved by a two-thirds vote of eligible parish members.
 
With 21 congregations and fewer than 2,000 baptized members, the Diocese of Quincy was one of the smallest in The Episcopal Church. That will complicate efforts to reorganize an Episcopal presence in the region unless a substantial number of congregations choose to withdraw from the synod. The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Peoria has scheduled a parish meeting to discuss the topic next month.
 
In one of the final legislative acts of the synod, members approved a resolution submitted by the Rt. Rev. Donald Parsons, Bishop of Quincy from 1973-1987, requesting “that the leaders of The Episcopal Church seek with the Diocese of Quincy to find ways in which the two entities might carry out the mission of the Church as brothers and sisters in the Lord Christ rather than as hostile parties.”
 
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