Robert Munday Steps Down as Dean of Nashotah

The Right Reverend Edward L. Salmon, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and the Very Reverend Robert S. Munday, Dean and President of Nashotah House Theological Seminary, announce that Dean Munday has resigned as the Dean and President of Nashotah House, effective June 30, 2011.

As of July 1, 2011, Dean Munday will become the Research Professor of Theology and Mission at Nashotah House. Dean Munday will be relocating his family and residence from the Nashotah Deanery to Hobart House, a residence owned by the seminary on Upper Nashotah Lake.

Bishop Salmon stated, “Nashotah House has grown during Robert’s ten years as our Dean. The creation of the distance learning and DMin programs, the construction of new campus facilities, and the formation of a first class faculty mark Dean Munday’s successful tenure.”

The Nashotah House Board of Trustees will appoint a Search Committee to select a new Dean and President for consideration by the Board. Nashotah House is currently in the process of creating a strategic plan. It is contemplated that this plan will address the issues of the administrative structure for the seminary.

Diktat or Negotiating in Good Faith …. What Does It Mean?

In late January 2011 the Appellate Court of the Commonwealth of PA unanimously ruled against the appeal of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh on all four counts in the case of “Calvary Church of Pittsburgh vs. Robert Duncan et al”. A final appeal is now before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In mid February the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church (TEC) announced they were ready to negotiate about property issues with the parishes that had separated from the Episcopal Church through the majority vote of the lay and clergy deputies of the diocesan convention duly called and seated on October 4, 2008. The TEC Diocese, however, refuses to acknowledge the existence of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh or Bishop Duncan as its diocesan bishop. It appears they do recognize the Bishop as an Archbishop of an independent (though non-Anglican) denomination, known as the ACNA . In most TEC writings he is referred to as either “Robert Duncan” or just “Duncan” and occasionally as archbishop Duncan (usually lowercase “a” rarely “A”). The TEC Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jeffords Schori, in her recent visit to Pittsburgh referred to him in an interview with the press as “Bob Duncan”. Because the TEC Diocese refuses to acknowledge the existence of the Anglican Diocese, it therefore refuses to negotiate with it since in their view the parishes that realigned never realigned and still remain part of their diocese. So,one has to ask if this tactic of TEC represents “negotiating in good faith”?

On February 17, 2011, the TEC Diocese issued a document posted on their website and mailed to each Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh parish titled, “PASTORAL DIRECTION FOR PARISHES SEEKING TO RESOLVE PROPERTY ISSUES WITH THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH” with the subheading “PASTORAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PROCESS TO BE FOLLOWED BY PARISHES SEEKING RESOLUTION OF PROPERTY ISSUES” (link here) The “Guidelines” list eight apparent pre-conditions that all Anglican parishes must subscribe in order to negotiate. So, again, one has to ask if this tactic of TEC represents “negotiating in good faith”?

On April 26, 2011, Ken Price, the Bishop of the TEC Diocese wrote to each Anglican parish requesting financial information from each parish and informing each that property maven Dr. Joan Gunderson would be contacting the parish to schedule “tours” of each property both as further apparent pre-conditions prior to commencing negotiations. These so-called "tours" are nothing more than thinly veiled inventory incursions replete with cameras and video-cams. On May 11, 2001 Dr. Gunderson wrote and reminded each parish to send in the requested financial information . She also stated that no negotiations would occur until such information is received. So, once again one has to ask if this tactic of TEC represents “negotiating in good faith”?

Compare and Contrast: Somerset Presbyterians and TEC Diocese

Yesterday afternoon I attended the Anglican 4th Day(A4D)closing worship service in Greensburg. The contingent from Somerset Anglican Fellowship (SAF)shared with me about their new building which they are purchasing from the local Presbyterian Church. The Presbys couldn’t have been more generous – they left behind pianos, sound and projection equipment, office furnishings, kitchen equipment and all kinds of other things. What a blessing!

In their settlement with the TEC Diocese, the TEC litigation team insisted SAF “return” a chalice and paten and candlesticks which had been given to them prior to realignment by the Diocese. Upon their return a leader of TEC said this requirement was merely symbolic --- but necessary. What a contrast to the magnanimity of the Presbyterians.

The TEC Pee Bee, Katherine Jeffords Schori, in a recent visit to Pittsburgh spoke about legacy, and moral and fiduciary responsibility. She said, “The buildings and the bank accounts are the legacy of generations before us. I don't have the right to give those away for other purposes. My fiduciary responsibility, my moral responsibility, is to see that those gifts are used for the ministry to which God calls us in the Episcopal Church”.

For Somerset Anglican Fellowship the legacy they have been left is the ransom of a returned $400. chalice and paten and the moral responsibility of leaving a church that embraces theological innovation and the sexual revolution of the 1970s.

The Anglican Curmudgeon Tells It Like It Is -Unraveling the TEC Spin

Introducing - the Curmudgeon's Canon

The ersatz Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, through its bishop, the Rt. Rev. Kenneth Price, has circulated among its clergy a series of talking points, in question-and-answer format, which convey the official party line on the Diocese's dispute with Bishop Duncan's Anglican Diocese. The whole document calls out for fisking, so here we go -- the questions are in bold, the party-line answers are in green, my fisks are in blue, and I have added the italics for purposes of emphasizing the phrases I deem noteworthy [N.B.: for some unknown reason, Blogger's colored text is not reproducing, so I have temporarily put the official, party-line answers in italics, while my fisks are in regular type, and the previous simple italics are now all bold italics]:

Read it all here

Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts

Received today via email

As you open your pockets for the next natural disaster, keep these facts in mind:

1. The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses
2. The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits
3. UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year(100k per month)plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE. Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause
4. The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year(plus housing)for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause.

Tell Us How You Really Feel!

StandFirm blogger and extraordinary lay minister, Sarah Hey, from the TEC Diocese of Upper South Carolina writes this: [received from an Episcopal priest in another diocese in TEC via email and posted with permission]

Sarah,

Perhaps you have some folks closer to the story than I, but I believe that Christ Church Savannah will be appearing before the GA Supreme Court tomorrow, May 9. Not sure of the time, but I do hope that you all might be able to do a quick post bidding prayer and fasting for the rector, wardens, and vestry of Christ Church and the attorneys that will represent them. I’m certainly praying for Fr. Marc Robertson and the faithful Anglicans there.

I'm posting this because it represents a massive chunk of us in TEC -- and by us I mean those who believe the Gospel, not the revisionists -- who recognize who are the rightful owners of their property. Many thousands of us are all pulling for you in ACNA to win your property in the courts of law.

Courts can be wrong in their decisions, and of course that's happened in the past few years. But the courts of law represent a far more just, objective, and righteous venue than the courts of TEC, led by our church's current very corrupt and malevolent leaders.

Many many Episcopalians in TEC are rooting for you and rooting against our current leaders -- I receive their emails and talk with them by phone constantly.

The Annual District 10 Bishop's Dinner

Our parish, St.David's, hosted the Annual District 10 Bishop's Dinner on Monday evening May 2nd. Over ninety Anglican Christians from each of the eight parishes of the District joined in an evening of worship, fellowship, a scrumptious ham dinner and encouraging remarks from Archbishop Duncan. After his fielding of Q & As, the evening ended as the assembly gathered around the Archbishop, and with the laying on of hands and anointing of oil, agreed in prayer for him. In addition, from the proceeds (after expenses) District 10 was able to contribute $346 to the Bishop's Discretionary Account.

Holy Week Renewal of Vows in Pittsburgh .... TEC & ACNA

On Tuesday April 19 the clergy of both the Episcopal Diocese of the Episcopal Church of the Unites States of America and the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh simultaneously renewed their ordination vows. According to Ann Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette thirty-six clergy attended the TEC event held at St. Stephen's Church in Wilkinsburg PA and renewed their vows with their Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefforts Schori and diocesan bishop Ken Price. The Director of Communications of the ACNA diocese David Trautman reported on the diocesan website that over one hundred (actually 108)clergy renewed their vows at Trinity Cathedral Pittsburgh with Archbishop and Bishop Robert Duncan and with bishops John Rodgers and Bill Ilgenfritz present as well.