SIX YEARS
Today is October 15, 2018. The schism occurred six years ago today, on October 15, 2012, at 12:00 p.m. to be exact. I suggest we all stop at noon today for a moment of prayer and meditation on what occurred then and what has happened since that fateful moment.
At noon on Monday, October 15, 2012, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, in New York City, telephoned Bishop Mark Lawrence, in Charleston. As far as we know, others on the line were Wade Logan, chancellor of the diocese, and the Disciplinary Board for Bishops. Jefferts Schori told Lawrence that she had received a certificate of abandonment from the DBB on 10 October. The DBB had certified that Lawrence had abandoned the Episcopal Church. This was akin to a grand jury indictment in which the constituted authorities would follow up with legal actions. The presiding bishop said that, per the canons, she was placing a restriction on Lawrence. He was not to exercise any ministry while the restriction was in effect pending the canonical settlement of the indictment. She asked for this to remain confidential until the two of them could meet in person on October 22. She hoped to make a quick and quiet resolution of this crisis before the news broke in public. Apparently, Lawrence agreed with the Presiding Bishop. Later that afternoon, Lawrence received the hard copies of the presiding bishop's actions via email.
Under the canons, Lawrence had two ways of removing the restriction. In one, clearly favored by Jefferts Schori, he could write a letter of explanation to the presiding bishop. She could then restore his full rights at her discretion. All of the evidence suggested this was her desire. The last thing she wanted was a fifth schism. The second way was to plead his case before his fellow bishops meeting as the House of Bishops (March 2013). The bishops would then vote on whether to restore his rights or depose him as a bishop. All signs indicated that, either way, the Church leaders were anxious to keep Lawrence in the Church. After all, they had been appeasing him for years.
As soon as Lawrence hung up the phone, he sprang into action. He had not informed Jefferts Schori that if she placed a restriction on him, the diocese would automatically declare a disassociation from the Episcopal Church. This had been a tightly held secret among a couple of dozen diocesan leaders since October 2 when the standing committee had adopted a resolution to remove the diocese from TEC if the Church took any action of any kind against Lawrence, something that everyone knew was likely in view of his issuance of the quit claims deeds in late 2011 in flagrant disregard of the Dennis Canon. Although I cannot document it, I believe it is most likely the decision to proceed to schism had been made in a secret conference of diocesan officials on August 21, 2012. At any rate, the schism was a premeditated event planned in secret by no more than two dozen people, the standing committee and a tight knit small circle around Lawrence. The later diocesan charge that the Church moved to cast out Lawrence while he was trying to make peace with the Church was not true. The truth is the other way around. It was the presiding bishop who was working hard to keep peace, ultimately to no avail. She tried several times after Oct. 3 to meet with Lawrence but he refused every offer. The idea that Lawrence was a victim of malevolent forces trying to flip the diocese from "orthodox" to liberal has no historical basis.
If it is true that Lawrence agreed with Jefferts Schori to keep the restriction private until their scheduled meeting on Oct. 22, something that cannot be documented since neither party issued a transcript of the conversation, he was not being honest with her. Immediately upon hanging up the phone, Lawrence called chancellor Wade Logan to discuss the call. Under the terms of the Oct. 2 resolution, the chancellor would have to certify that "any action of any kind" had been taken against Lawrence. Evidently, Logan did this. Immediately afterwards, Lawrence set up a conference call with the standing committee which began at 1:30. Upon Lawrence's news of the restriction, the committee agreed to enact its Oct. 2 resolution declaring the separation of the diocese from the Episcopal Church. They timed the break as the moment of Jeffert Schori's phone call, Oct. 15, 12:00 p.m. Immediately afterwards, Lawrence talked on the phone with Jeff Miller, Paul Fuener, and Kendall Harmon. Thus, within a couple of hours after Jefferts Schori's call, the two dozen people in the core establishment of the diocese were informed and agreed on the enactment of the schism they had been planning for weeks. An unknowing presiding bishop had played right into their hands.
In the next forty-eight hours, the leadership carried out a whirlwind preparation for the public announcement of the schism. The next day, Oct. 16, Lawrence met with the deans of the convocation and the standing committee apparently planning in detail the upcoming actions such as the special diocesan convention that would be necessary to vote on the changes to the diocesan constitution and canons. The standing committee declared that it had enacted the disaffiliation with TEC on Oct. 15, but the convention would have to validate it on the books. Meanwhile, certain people prepared a massive public relations campaign to be sprung at the moment of public disclosure of the schism. This came on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at noon when Lawrence called Jefferts Schori and informed her that he could not maintain confidentiality because the diocese had declared its disaffiliation from the Episcopal Church. He told her that the diocese, including himself as its bishop, had separated from the Episcopal Church and therefore would no longer respect the authority of the Church. One can only imagine the presiding bishop's shock at learning all of this out of the blue. She had assumed Lawrence was working with her in good faith and would meet with her soon to settle the crisis privately. Immediately after Lawrence's call, the diocesan office dumped a massive collection of documents onto its website. On the afternoon of the 17th., the diocese announced to the world that it had disassociated from the Episcopal Church. The purpose of the public relations tsunami was to cast all the blame for the break on the Episcopal Church and keep the laity in line behind the diocesan leadership. It worked, at least for the moment. The Church side was caught completely unawares and unprepared. This was a tremendous publicity coup for the diocesan leaders. The majority of the clergy and laity automatically followed their leadership out of the Episcopal Church.
So, who's to blame for the schism? The diocesan leaders who planned it in advance, kept it hidden, and dropped it on the Church at the first opportunity. The leaders then informed the clergy and the laity that the diocese had left the Episcopal Church. This gave the clergy and laity two options, follow the leaders out of the Episcopal Church or defy the leadership and remain in the Church. The majority followed their leaders. The schism was the self-declared work of a couple of dozen people. Everyone else could take it or leave it. This was a coup d'état rather than a revolution.
So, let's take a moment at noon today and reflect on what happened all those years ago and how different our lives have been since then. I think it is appropriate for us to grieve as well. Something grand died six years ago. We are all worse off for that.
For all the information on the history of the schism that anyone could want, see my 300,000 word book A History of the Episcopal Church Schism in South Carolina. It is readily available in hardback, paperback, and e-edition from the publisher, Wipf and Stock, of Eugene OR, Amazon, and numerous other outlets. One may get it in person at the Grace Cathedral bookstore. The reviewer in the professional historical journal Church History called it the definitive history of the schism.
If it is true that Lawrence agreed with Jefferts Schori to keep the restriction private until their scheduled meeting on Oct. 22, something that cannot be documented since neither party issued a transcript of the conversation, he was not being honest with her. Immediately upon hanging up the phone, Lawrence called chancellor Wade Logan to discuss the call. Under the terms of the Oct. 2 resolution, the chancellor would have to certify that "any action of any kind" had been taken against Lawrence. Evidently, Logan did this. Immediately afterwards, Lawrence set up a conference call with the standing committee which began at 1:30. Upon Lawrence's news of the restriction, the committee agreed to enact its Oct. 2 resolution declaring the separation of the diocese from the Episcopal Church. They timed the break as the moment of Jeffert Schori's phone call, Oct. 15, 12:00 p.m. Immediately afterwards, Lawrence talked on the phone with Jeff Miller, Paul Fuener, and Kendall Harmon. Thus, within a couple of hours after Jefferts Schori's call, the two dozen people in the core establishment of the diocese were informed and agreed on the enactment of the schism they had been planning for weeks. An unknowing presiding bishop had played right into their hands.
In the next forty-eight hours, the leadership carried out a whirlwind preparation for the public announcement of the schism. The next day, Oct. 16, Lawrence met with the deans of the convocation and the standing committee apparently planning in detail the upcoming actions such as the special diocesan convention that would be necessary to vote on the changes to the diocesan constitution and canons. The standing committee declared that it had enacted the disaffiliation with TEC on Oct. 15, but the convention would have to validate it on the books. Meanwhile, certain people prepared a massive public relations campaign to be sprung at the moment of public disclosure of the schism. This came on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at noon when Lawrence called Jefferts Schori and informed her that he could not maintain confidentiality because the diocese had declared its disaffiliation from the Episcopal Church. He told her that the diocese, including himself as its bishop, had separated from the Episcopal Church and therefore would no longer respect the authority of the Church. One can only imagine the presiding bishop's shock at learning all of this out of the blue. She had assumed Lawrence was working with her in good faith and would meet with her soon to settle the crisis privately. Immediately after Lawrence's call, the diocesan office dumped a massive collection of documents onto its website. On the afternoon of the 17th., the diocese announced to the world that it had disassociated from the Episcopal Church. The purpose of the public relations tsunami was to cast all the blame for the break on the Episcopal Church and keep the laity in line behind the diocesan leadership. It worked, at least for the moment. The Church side was caught completely unawares and unprepared. This was a tremendous publicity coup for the diocesan leaders. The majority of the clergy and laity automatically followed their leadership out of the Episcopal Church.
So, who's to blame for the schism? The diocesan leaders who planned it in advance, kept it hidden, and dropped it on the Church at the first opportunity. The leaders then informed the clergy and the laity that the diocese had left the Episcopal Church. This gave the clergy and laity two options, follow the leaders out of the Episcopal Church or defy the leadership and remain in the Church. The majority followed their leaders. The schism was the self-declared work of a couple of dozen people. Everyone else could take it or leave it. This was a coup d'état rather than a revolution.
So, let's take a moment at noon today and reflect on what happened all those years ago and how different our lives have been since then. I think it is appropriate for us to grieve as well. Something grand died six years ago. We are all worse off for that.
For all the information on the history of the schism that anyone could want, see my 300,000 word book A History of the Episcopal Church Schism in South Carolina. It is readily available in hardback, paperback, and e-edition from the publisher, Wipf and Stock, of Eugene OR, Amazon, and numerous other outlets. One may get it in person at the Grace Cathedral bookstore. The reviewer in the professional historical journal Church History called it the definitive history of the schism.
