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OVER 800 PRIESTS HAVE SIGNED PETITION TO HOUSE OF BISHOPS
83 Episcopal dioceses represented
By Jill Kinsella
PLANO, TX (May 19, 2006)--In an effort to organize and amplify the voices of thousands of orthodox priests around the country in anticipation of the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA), to be held June 13-21, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio, the Rev. Canon David H. Roseberry, an Episcopal rector in Plano, Texas, has already collected over 800 signatures via a website called www.bcp526.org. Signatures continue to steadily stream in daily and will be collected through May 31.
The website's title is a reference to page number 526 of The Book of Common Prayer, from which every priest ordained by the Episcopal Church takes his/her vows. When the Bishop says to the ordinand:
"Will you be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them? And will you, in accordance with the canons of this Church, obey your bishop and other ministers who may have authority over you and your work?" the ordinand answers:
"I am willing and ready to do so; and I solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.
"Over 800 priests from 83 dioceses have signed the petition to remind our House of Bishops of their ordination vows," said Roseberry. "And if they remain true to their vows, they really have no choice but to uphold the recommendations of the Windsor Report." The petition at www.bcp526.org makes these four requests of the House of Bishops:
1) Refrain from approving any further consecrations of same sex partnered bishops; 2) Stop all actions that allow or promote the blessing of same sex unions of any kind;
3) Fully endorse the Windsor Report as their roadmap for maintaining full communion with the worldwide Anglican Church;
4) Turn the attention of the church to the mission of reaching the lost for the sake of the Gospel.
Roseberry plans to deliver a list of all the signatures to the Presiding Bishop and to each member of the House of Bishops in late May, just prior to the General Convention. "It is our hope to demonstrate to the House of Bishops with absolute clarify that the clergy of this Church want to return to our historical, Biblical roots. We are praying that they take the Windsor Report to heart and do the right thing this summer."
Signatures are being added daily until May 31 at www.bcp526.org. All ECUSA priests are invited to sign.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION. Since the General Convention in 2003, at which the Episcopal Church voted to consecrate its first openly homosexual bishop, orthodox clergy and lay leaders around the world have pressed for the Church's repentance and return to the orthodox Anglican faith. In October 2003, the American Anglican Council and Christ Church Episcopal in Plano, TX (at which the Rev. Canon David H. Roseberry is the rector) hosted the historic "A Place to Stand" conference in Dallas, TX which drew the over 2,000 orthodox Episcopalians, including 900 clergy.
--By Jill Kinsella is Director of Communications at Christ Church Episcopal in Plano, Texas.
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