2 Forward In Mission ~ Winter 2012

From the Bishop

Our cause is moving forwardin the courtsby the Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On the Feast of the Epiphany we received a great gift fromthe wise men and women of the Texas Supreme Court.They will hear our Direct Appeal in the litigation broughtagainst us by The Episcopal Church! This is good news forseveral reasons.

First and foremost, it will save us lots of time and money.By not having to go first to the Court of Appeals in Tar-rant County, it will save us as much as a full year or morein the legal process and a substantial amount of legal fees.

Second, it gives us encouragement about the eventual out-come the Supreme Court’s decision. While it is never wiseto try to predict what a court will do, it is a very good signthat they are taking our case at this time. It is rare for aDirect Appeal to be filed in the first place, and it is evenrarer for the Supreme Court to grant one! It is clear thatthe Court understands that key questions of the constitu-tionality of Texas statutes, trust codes, and property lawsare at issue in this litigation. It is our hope and expectationthat the Supreme Court, using neutral principles of law,will rule in our favor.

Third, the other side did everything they could to preventthis from happening. They vigorously opposed a DirectAppeal, yet now they “welcome the chance to reach an ex-pedited resolution of this matter.”

We were required to file a brief• with the Supreme Courtby February 6, with the other side having until February27 to file their reply. Then our attorneys will have untilMarch 13 to make our response. The Court will then set adate for oral arguments in Austin, perhaps as early as lateApril, with a final decision not expected until months later.

The Episcopal Church has sued departing parishes anddioceses all across the nation, and the local TEC folks arefond of quoting the favorable decisions reached in otherstate courts, while ignoring the fact that many of those

cases in other states were decided under laws that do notapply in Texas. Our suit is a matter of Texas law, not lawsas found in other states. While we pray for our Christianbrothers and sisters who are being penalized for their faith,let’s not become distracted by rhetorical tactics that simplychange the subject and prove nothing.

As a matter of fact, the outcome of our case either will up-hold or rewrite Texas law. If allowed to stand, the ruling inJudge Chupp’s court would permit (1) unaffiliated partiesto remove directors of a non-profit corporation, contrary tothe Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act; (2) an outsidersuch as TEC to file an action against a corporation withwhom it has no affiliation and alleging that the corpora-tion has acted contrary to its governing documents and haswrongly amended it articles of incorporation based on anecclesiastical decision made by TEC; and (3) a non-prop-erty owner to amend a trust contrary to the Texas TrustCode, which states (a) only the owner of property may im-pose a trust on the owner's property and (b) that a trust isrevocable unless it states otherwise.

Let us continue to undergird all of this with lots of prayer.In addition to praying for our legal team, let us pray forwisdom and right judgment for the honorable justices ofthe Texas Supreme Court.

Donations are still needed for our Legal Defense Fund,and your contribution at this time will help pay for thecosts of our Direct Appeal to the Supreme Court.

Editor’s note: Text of the brief and other litigation documents can befound at www.fwepiscopal.org.

The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, or BOSA, is acentury-old Anglican men’s organization withchartered chapters on every continent but Antarc-tica. Since 2009 Jim Blauvelt, a Mississippi Angli-can, has served as the Brotherhood’s liaison to theACNA. He received a warm welcome to ourDiocesan Convention in November; following areexcerpts from his remarks.

“I’ve been impressed with the fact that the Epis-copal Diocese of Fort Worth has the most BOSAchapters of any diocese or network within ACNA.I hope soon we can say that every church withinthis diocese and within ACNA has a Brotherhoodof St. Andrew chapter that is functioning as anevangelism outreach. Our sole purpose is to bringmen and boys into Christ’s kingdom.

“Our three disciplines are daily prayer, regularstudy of the scriptures, and making continuous ef-forts to bring others to our Lord Jesus. For severalyears I was the ambassador to the seminaries andwent around talking to many seminarians – someare here today – about what the Brotherhood is,and pointed out to them when they went intotheir first parish, that if they found a group ofmen who are praying daily, regularly studying thescriptures, and making efforts to bring others in,they have a winning situation. If they don’t findthat, the Brotherhood provides a way to help withthat.

“Last Sunday I was with Rancho Hills Church inSan Diego, Calif., where the priest is head of anAnglican Hispanic network ministry. After thefirst service, 20 guys stopped and heard about theBrotherhood. After the Spanish service, we hadabout 40 guys. From all indications, we will have asizable chapter in Rancho Hills Church withinthe next month.

“We minister to youth through Junior Brother-

hood chapters, where we have developed a popularprogram on Bible quizzing. We have three teamsof three members each on jump seats. The quiz-master reads a question, and the first person upgets to answer the question. It’sparticularly interesting when youget into quizzing over the Gospelsand the Book of Acts, becausethere are situation questions. Towhom was it said, who said it,what was the result? Biblequizzing has contributed very muchto young people finding vocations.My son Jeremy, who is now a priest, wasintroduced to Bible quizzing when he was in the6th grade by a Presbyterian pastor in Washington,Iowa. In that quizzing class, three people foundtheir vocation. It opened them up to the Word ofGod and let that Word seep into their being, andthey followed the call which our Lord gave them.

“Rancho Hills Church is looking at doing thequizzing, because although they do many things inSpanish, the children are learning English inschool. Bible quizzing in English will help themwith language skills, and it will help them to growin our Lord.”

During Jim’s November visit he met with localBOSA members to discuss the formation of amulti-chapter Assembly as a way to help theBrotherhood grow.

As a result, the first diocesan BOSA Assemblywill be held Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Church ofSt. Peter & St. Paul. For more about this, pleasesee page 5.

The Brotherhood’s national Web site is athttp://brothersandrew.org/.

3Forward In Mission ~ Winter 2012

Discipleship and Evangelism

Brotherhood of St. Andrew leaderaddresses diocesan convention

St. Matthias offers gift book to benefit orphansNicene Creed is a devotional and a fundraiser.

The slim, full-color picture bookgoes phrase by phrase through theNicene Creed, setting the wordswith beautiful full-color images. Thecost of a single copy is $24.99; mul-tiple copies can be obtained forparish bookstores or events. Seventy-five percent of the profit raised goes

to relief programs in Tanzania and Malawi. TheMalawi program feeds schoolchildren in Karonga,a remote and needy district in the northern part ofthe nation. Contact Heather Smith at abeauti-fulthing@att.net.

Diocesan Altar Guild meetingAll Altar Guild members (and trainees) are in-

vited to the diocesan Altar Guild meeting Satur-day, March 3, at St. John’s Church in Fort Worth.Bishop Iker will celebrate Eucharist at 10 a.m.,and Bishop Wantland will give a program titled“The Sacraments: Signs of Grace.” The gatheringconcludes with a lunch and business meeting. Toregister, please send $15 and your name and parishinformation to Trish Williamson, 4405 BirchmanAve., Fort Worth 76107 by Feb. 27.

Your tee time is 8:30 a.m.The annual Bishop’s Challenge Golf Tourna-

ment is scheduled for Friday, June 1, at the SquawValley Golf Courses in Glen Rose. The tourna-ment format is a four-personscramble. Play begins at 8:30a.m., and lunch will be waitingwhen you return to the club-house. Prizes are awarded forlongest drive, closest to the pin,and more. A Senior Flight willbe offered again this year for foursomes with allmembers aged 60 or over.Hole sponsorship opportunities are available,

too, for your business, ministry, or parish.Mark your calendar now and rally your four-

some for this fun and relaxing day on the links,

with all proceeds benefiting Camp Crucis. Parishcoordinators will begin taking sign-ups begin inMarch. Come out and “play a round for the kids.”

Lenten Quiet DayFr. Charles Erlandson will present a program

on Anglican Spirituality at the women’s LentenQuiet Day, Saturday, March 24, at St. John’sChurch in Fort Worth. Registration begins at 9a.m., with Eucharist at 9:30. Fr. Erlandson’s pres-entation begins at 10:30; a time of quiet reflectionwill be followed by lunch and a discussion periodwith Fr. Erlandson. The cost is $15. Download aregistration form at fwepiscopal.org.

Elder Care Committee formedAn Elder Care Committee has been formed in

the diocese to assist individuals and congregationswith issues affecting the wellbeing of older mem-bers. Topics already identified include housing,health care, finance, pastoral care, and legal direc-tives. Fr. Zeke Rogers, the rector of St. Gregory’sChurch in Mansfield, chairs the committee. Con-tact information is in the diocesan Directory oronline at http://fwepiscopal.org/elder/ecaremain.

Diocesan Convention election resultsThe 29th Annual Diocesan Convention elect-

ed Fr. Scott Wooten and Mr. Ron Turner to three-year terms on the Standing Committee. Fr. Timo-thy Matkin and Mr. Mack Wood were elected tothe Ecclesiastical Trial Court.In addition, a slate of delegates was elected to

represent the diocese at the 2012 ACNA Provin-cial Assembly, which takes place in Ridgecrest,N.C., this coming June.

Dreaming of Summer Camp?Early bird registration continues through

March 15 for Summer 2012 sessions at CampCrucis. There is something for every age, frompee-wees through senior high. Check the scheduleand sign up now at campcrucis.org for the bestprices of the season on Summer Camp and HorseCamp sessions. A $50 deposit secures your dis-count.

4 Forward In Mission ~ Winter 2012

Around the Diocese

Clergy MilestoneS

Forward In Mission ~ Winter 20126

In recent months, three priests of the diocese were married, two were ordained, and three more were instituted as parish rectors. Here are some photos from those happy events.

Gretchen & Fr. Sam Keyes

Fr. Mark Polleyat his ordination.

Fr. Gregory Crosthwaitprocesses out just ahead of the Bish-

op at his institution.

Fr. Alan Hortonat his ordination.

Fr. Jeff Stubbsat his institution.

Claire & Fr. Jon Jenkins

Liz & Fr. Chris Guptill

Fr. ChristopherCulpepper receivesthe church keys athis institution.