Our much-loved Bishop Robert Duncan was deposed today by a vote of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church USA.
The news came around dinnertime.
Two weeks from now, it’s almost certain the vast majority of the Pittsburgh Diocese — both clergy and laity — will vote ourselves out from under the apostate leadership of the ECUSA and into the fellowship of the wider Anglican communion.
And beyond that… a future. At last.
But for today, it’s a day of sadness, of quietly mourning what might have been. It’s a time of letting go of identifying oneself as Episcopalian, of saying ‘goodbye’ to the familiar and the comfortable. It’s a time of knowing our beautiful parish homestead may not be ours much longer. Above all it’s a time of prayer — prayer for our Bishop and his wife, for the faithful leaders of our diocese and parishes, and for those we leave behind.
This morning in chapel at Trinity we sang a hymn whose text was written by St. Francis of Assisi around nine centuries ago. It was a majestic hymn of praise to God for all aspects of creation, even death (“you lead back home the child of God”) — and it left us offering heartfelt prayers of thanksgiving. God is good. God is faithful. As He was faithful to Francis, He will be faithful to us.
Reports and commentary:
- KDKA-TV News
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Pittsburgh Tribune Review
- Bishop Duncan’s Statement
- Living Church News Service
- Christianity Today
- Anglicans United
- Blog: Catholic and Reformed
Hi Peg,
I am very sorry it has come to this. For a long time I’ve seen the Pittsburgh diocese as a source of hope for the episcopal church… a hold out for the word of God. Have faith that God is still at work, even in this, and my prayers are with Pittsburgh.
JB
Thanks, JB! Our clergy and leaders gave it their best shot over the past 40 years — started the seminary, trained Bible-teaching pastors and sent them all across the country — and the struggle produced a lot of successful mission work but it was too little too late to turn the denomination around. What makes me the most sad is all opportunities for ministry that have been missed because people have been busy protecting themselves from their own church hierarchy.
I agree, God is at work here….. we can’t see clearly now where all the paths are leading, but I have a feeling He is preparing His people for tough times ahead (in the secular world, I mean — the recent banks failures are just the beginning) and what’s going on now is the jettisoning of all but the necessities so we can travel light and maneuver quickly.
Anyway, thanks for your prayers, and keep ’em coming! 🙂
Peg,
I really admire that so many of you are willing to stand so strong for the truth in the face of such strong opposition. I know that God will bless you all more than you can imagine.
Aaron G
Thanks Aaron — and good to see you again! Hope all’s going well with you.