by Michael Barwell

(ENS) Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning has warned the bishops of the Episcopal Church about "an unauthorized and misleading effort in the name of the church," which "violates the church's right and need to protect its name from misleading and unfair use."

According to documents obtained by the presiding bishop's office, a group of conservative bishops created a non-profit organization in 1996, using a variation on the corporate name of the Episcopal Church. Bishops William Wantland of Eau Claire (Wisconsin), John Howe of Central Florida, and John-David Schofield of San Joaquin (California) are identified in documents as founding directors of a new, non-profit corporation registered in at least 24 states as PECUSA, Inc.--The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Incorporated.

The incorporation papers, first chartered in the state of Wisconsin in August 1996, stated that the corporation's purpose is "to engage in religious, educational and charitable activities and particularly the executive, administrative and financial administration of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, otherwise known as the Episcopal Church. It shall have charge of the church pension fund and the church's program ..."

`Unwise, inappropriate actions'

"I believe that the actions that have been taken are unwise and inappropriate because they seek to evade the traditional corporate discernment process that is so basic to the continued life and health of our church," Browning wrote. "I have been advised that these actions violate the church's right and need to protect its name from misleading and unfair use, creating confusion within our church community and for the public more generally."

The presiding bishop said that he had talked with Wantland before releasing his letter to the bishops, asking Wantland to "stop these divisive activities and dissolve the corporation using the Episcopal Church's official name." Wantland declined to change the name of the organization, "adding that in their [trustees] view the Episcopal Church has been moving away from use of the name `Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America' by amending the canons and Book of Common Prayer."

"I believe their response is most unfortunate," Browning said.

Howe resigns as trustee

In a statement sent to all clergy in Central Florida, Howe said he had "immediately resigned" when the presiding bishop "learned of the effort earlier this month."

Howe wrote that he had been approached by Wantland "about a year and a half ago." Wantland "suggested there might be a way of creating a structure within the church that would preserve its faithfulness to the scriptures, the Book of Common Prayer, and the faith we have received. It would not be a matter of creating a new organization, but simply incorporating who we are . . ."

"Bishop Wantland's thought was that if at some point the General Convention should take actions that were truly unacceptable, actions that represented a departure from `the faith once entrusted to the saints,' there would be a kind of safety zone within the church where orthodox believers could remain. . . . I agreed to be a part of that effort and to put my name on the board of trustees."

Saying "it was never our intention" to create confusion or engage in misleading and unfair use, Howe wrote, "I initially thought this was a prudent, protective step to take, but now I fear it will be the occasion for a contentious struggle."

Browning said he will consult with Presiding Bishop-elect Frank T. Griswold, Dr. Pamela Chinnis of Washington, D.C., president of the House of Deputies, and the members of Executive Council "to determine what may be the best course for the church to follow."

He urged every bishop to "inform your congregations and take counsel with your chancellor and other diocesan leaders regarding the potential impact of these matters upon your diocese."

Part of larger strategy?

The formation of PECUSA, Inc.is seen by some observers as part of a strategy by some conservatives to halt what they perceive as a liberal direction of the church. The organizers include members of the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA), a traditionalist group opposed to the ordination of women and homosexuals.

Existence of PECUSA, Inc. was disclosed by several sources in early December to Browning, who is preparing to retire at the end of December after 12 years as presiding bishop of the 2.4 million- member Episcopal Church.

Wantland is listed as president of PECUSA, Inc., with Howe registered as vice president, and Schofield as a director. Other members of the five-member board are the Rev. Canon Lawrence Rowe of All Saints, Altoona, Wisconsin, and Eunice Muenzberg of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The organization's offices are listed at 145 Marston Ave., Eau Claire, Wisconsin--Wantland's home address.

`Ecclesiastical coup d'etat'

Some observers characterized formation of the organization an "attempted ecclesiastical coup d'etat." PECUSA, Inc. was unearthed after Wantland mailed letters and sent notices to clergy in his diocese asking recipients for money to support the "orthodox Episcopal Church," with contributions to be sent to "The Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Church" at Wantland's home address in Eau Claire.

Legal experts said the name is very similar to the national Episcopal Church's corporate name, which was incorporated in 1846 in New York as The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The DFMS is viewed as identical to the unincorporated association, The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in the church's constitution adopted by General Convention in 1789.

Wantland co-founded the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA) in 1989, opposing the ordination of women as priests and bishops. This past July, the ESA issued a statement after General Convention in Philadelphia stating, "It has become clear to us that the Episcopal Synod of America must more fully and thoroughly continue in its mission to `be the Church,' proclaiming the gospel and shepherding the faithful. We see our faithful pursuit of this mission as an essential element in the emergence of an orthodox province of the Anglican Communion in America. ... We are not leaving anything or going anywhere," the statement said. "While praying and working for revival in the Episcopal Church, we have planned for a number of years for a new province, a structure which would proclaim true doctrine and allow us to go forward with the work God has given each of us."

The ESA said it would minister to those who agreed with its stance, without regard to diocesan bishops or diocesan boundaries.

Similar statements were issued by a group of clergy meeting on Pawley's Island, South Carolina, in early September. The statement, known as "The First Promise"--a reference to the pledge made by Episcopal priests in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer to "banish and drive away from the Church all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's word"--states it will disregard any canon or ecclesiastical action that contradicts scripture, will "not be bound" by geographic or diocesan boundaries if those boundaries are being invoked to prevent the preaching and teaching of "the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them," provide financial support for "only those mission agencies and ministries which directly further the Great Commission," and remain "under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of faithful bishops who uphold our heritage in the gospel, seeking alternative episcopal oversight if necessary."

Signatories of the First Promise document also stated that it is their belief that "the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, headquartered at 815 Second Avenue in New York City, and the present structures of the General Convention, have departed from `the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them,' and they declare their authority to be fundamentally impaired, and that they are not upholding the truth of the gospel."

Registered in many states

Since 1996, PECUSA, Inc. has filed incorporating papers in at least 22 other states, including Pennsylvania (November 20, 1996), Oklahoma (January 27, 1997), Tennessee (January 30, 1997), Michigan (February 12, 1997), Texas (February 24, 1997), Florida (March 19, 1997), California (March 28, 1997), Massachusetts (April 4, 1997), Illinois (April 17, 1997), Iowa (May 13, 1997), South Dakota, Rhode Island, Idaho, Mississippi, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Georgia, and Colorado (September 23, 1997); and Connecticut and North Carolina (September 24, 1997).

Other papers filed in New York State claim an original filing date of 1927, amended in 1927, 1951, 1973, 1975, on incorporating papers for the "Retiring Fund for Women Deaconesses of Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America," now part of the Church Pension Fund holdings.

One source said that many of the registration and legal fees were paid by grants from dissident congregations, one in South Carolina.

Discussion of the alleged conspiracy was active in several Internet meetings, including the ESA's web site. One writer speculated in a public meeting that the intent of PECUSA, Inc. could be to challenge property ownership of church buildings and "create a legal situation where DFMS must defend itself in literally hundreds of venues across the land, while local affiliates of PECUSA have only to press their property claims in a single district . . . at a staggering cost in terms of money, time, [and] legal talent. . . "

--Barwell is deputy director of news and information for the Episcopal Church

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