Contributions and membership appear to be on the decline in the ultra-conservative, chauvinistic Episcopal Synod of America after a nine-year run billing itself as the "church within the Episcopal Church," an investigation has determined.

Some Synod chapters have faded into inactivity. Others have withered and died out after organizers or supportive clergy moved on. Surprisingly, there appear to be only five parishes in the country which can truly be characterized as "Synod parishes." Not even the home parish of the Synod's president is a Synod parish.

Gifts, grants and contributions to the Synod have steadily declined since its very first year to less than half of the initial revenue, according to never before revealed financial information contained in Synod income tax returns.

An analysis of Synod tax documents for the last three years available, 1994 through 1996, together with some additional information going back to 1990 contained in the documents, show that total gifts, grants, contributions and other revenue appear to be steadily declining -- from a high of more than $581,000 in 1990 to less that $220,000 in 1996. At the same time, expenditures are increasing.

Lloyd F. Miles, of Tomball, near Houston, a Synod member who helped organize the Northwest Harris County Chapter of the ESA Missionary Society in the early 1990s, summed it up like this: "My theory all along was we haven't got anything going on here so who cares?"

Miles' home address is one of those linked to a separate ESA Missionary Society. He said it really never amounted to more than his obtaining an IRS employer ID number over the phone but "we never had any income or expenses and we haven't had a meeting in years."

In its heyday, Miles said his Synod chapter never had over a dozen members and only five or six ever showed up for occasional meetings, which were no more than coffee after church services. "I don't even have a mailing list now," he said. "We're essentially inactive."

Another separate ESA Missionary Society is listed at the address of All Saints Episcopal Church in Weatherford, Texas. But the rector there, the Rev. Owen Henderson, said the IRS number linked to the Synod group actually is the number used for his discretionary fund. He said neither he nor his parish is a part of the Synod, although the former rector was a member.

The Synod claims that since its founding it "has grown to be the strongest and largest voice for traditional Anglicanism in the Episcopal Church." It claims its membership is "steadily" growing and that it now has more than 200 chapters and parishes.

An investigation has determined that such claims, however, may be exaggerated. The only chapters which could be located which were formally incorproated, like the main Synod group, were in Colorado, Tennessee and Nebraska. All no longer exist.

In addition, the Synod's own website contains a long list of parishes listed simply as "conservative." But several aren't even Episcopal Church parishes and only five are identified as Synod parishes. They are St. John the Evangelist inS tockton, Calif.; Church of Our Savior in Atlanta; St. Stephens in Whitehall, Pa.; St. Francis in Dallas and St. Andrew's in Fort Worth, the home parish of the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, executive director of the Synod.

The Fort Worth-based Synod was first organized in June 1989 as an association of conservative, orthodox Episcopalians opposed to ordination of women, among other so-called liberal trends in the Church. It rigidly adheres to that principle even today and denies membership to anyone who won't pledge to follow a male-only clergy despite closing of the last canonical loophole allowing some bishops to flaunt the majority will.

The Synod was incorporated formally in Texas in January 1990 as The ESA Missionary Society by then Fort Worth Bishop Clarence C. Pope; Bishop William C. Wantland of Eau Clare, Wis., Bishop John-David Mercer Schofield of San Joaquin, Calif., then Bishop Edward H. McBurney of Quincy, Ill., and retired Bishop Donald Parsons, also of Quincy. Wantland, Schofield and Parsons still are trustees.

Later the same year, the Synod was approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization exempt from income taxes under its formal corporate name, making contributions to it exempt from taxes and allowing the Synod to operate without having to pay income taxes.

The Synod operates out of a suite of offices in the Ridglea Bank Building on the west side of Fort Worth under a lease originally signed in June 1989 by Pope and former Bishop A. Donald Davies, who retired as Bishop of Fort Worth then left the Episcopal Church in a huff over issues still fought by the Synod and other conservative compacts. At the time, they were representing the Synod's predecessor Evangelical and Catholic Mission.

Today, the Synod spends on an average more than $300,000 annually with a little over 10% for fund raising. More than half the Synod's spending is primarily to perpetuate itself: more than 38% for salary and benefits and nearly 15% for office space, supplies and related expenses. It also spends nearly 25% on printing and publications and nearly 18% on conferences and meetings.

The Synod puts out magazines, newsletters and slick publications such as "The Episcopal Church in Crisis" and distributes a video in its press kits. It also maintains a sophisticated website complete with bulletin boards, calendars, surveys and even a chat room.

In addition to the main tax exempt ESA Missionary Society at Synod headquarters, tax exemption materials and public philanthropy tracking organizations list 20 additional ESA Missionary Society groups, each with its own IRS-issued employee identification number and some at the residential addresses of individual Synod members, including William P. Murchison Jr., the 56-year-old conservative columnist for The Dallas Morning News who also is editor of the Synod's magazine, Foundations, and is a member of the Church of the Incarnation in Dallas.

The tax exempt documents were provided by DAvid W. Rawson, the Synod's lawyer in Bearwyn, Pa., but only after questioning an investigator's intentions and threatening retaliation. When Rawson was informed the research was for news articles to be offered for publication in the Integrity/Dallas newsletter, among other publications, he threatened to ask for similar public tax documents from Integrity and other church-related organizations he characterized as "left wing."

After obtaining some documents from Rawson, additional documents omitted from the initial disclosure were obtained from Synod headquarters in Fort Worth. Initially, . Edwards, the Synod's principal operating offear, refused to provide anything more to an investigator. However, the missing documents were produced during subsequent visits to Synod offices after Edwards was informed the documents are public records the disclosure of which is required by federal law.

The documents show that only Edwards among officers and trustees receives any salary. He is paid $35,000 annually and receives another $29,770 in benefits for a total of nearly $64,770.

That is more, for example, than is paid the Rev. Todd H. Wetzel, of Hudson, Ohio, the executive director of Episcopalians United, who makes $44,480 annually, but considerably less than the Rev. Bill H. Atwood III, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Carrollton, Txeas, who is paid $86,000 as general secretary of The Ekklesia Society, $59,000 in annual salary plus a $27,000 housing allowance, which, when combined with his salary, housing allowance and benefits as rector at Trinity, put him well over $100,000 annually.

The documents list among Synod trustees several lay and clergy members of the Church, including five bishops: Wantland of Eau Claire, Wis., who is president of his own corporation, The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America Inc. (PECUSA Inc.), which Synod members helped to organize and register in several states; Bishop Schofield, of Fresno, Calif., who is Synod vice president and is also vice president of PECUSA Inc.; retired Bishop Parsons of Quincy, Ill; the Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, of Peoria, Ill., the current bishop of the Diocese of Quincy, and the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, who replaced Pope as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth.

The documents show the Synod's president as Donald P. "Pete" Moriarty, of Orange, Calif., a 62-year-old aircraft company engineer and former senior warden at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Placentia, Calif. -- which is not a Synod parish. The Rev. Warren Tanghe of Atlanta, Ga., is secretary, and Karl O. Sharp, of Minneapolis, Minn., is treasurer.

According to one observer, none of the Synod's officers or trustees signed the so called "First Promise" document, although there appears to be a close connection. The First Promise document grew out of a meeting of 30 mainly southern, conservative priests who met in September 1997 at Pawley's Island, S.C., headquarters of PECUSA Inc. It alludes to the priest's ordination vow to "be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them."

Other trustees include the Rev. Lawrence Bausch, of San Diego, a General Convention deputy from the Diocese of San Diego; Rita Moyer, of Rosemont, Pa., wife of the Rev. David Moyer, rector of Good Shepherd Church in Rosemont, a wealthy parish which is part of the prestigious Main Line just outside Philadelphia where Rawson, the Synod's chancellor, is a parishioner, and David L. Mills, of Leetsdale, Pa., who is on the staff of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa., where he is director of publishing and editor of Trinity's newsletter, Mission and Ministry.

Executive Director:
Rev. Samuel L. Edwards
$35,000 Compensation
$20,950 Expense, Allowances
$ 8,820 Pension Plan Contrib.
___________
$ 64,770

Total Revenue:
1996 - $ 332,178
1995 - $ 274,667
1994 - $ 292,022
____________
$ 898,867

Total Expenses:

1996 - $ 320,199
1995 - $ 294,133
1994 - $ 311,190
____________
$ 925,522
_____________________________
Gifts, Grants, Contributions
_____________________________
1990 $ 581,092
1991 $ 525,710
1992 $ 459,775
1993 $ 274,460
1994 $ 303,332
1995 $ 285,756
1996 $ 219,862(*)

(*) Excludes Other Receipts
_____________________________________________________
ESA Gifts, Grants, Contributions and Other Receipts
_____________________________________________________

        Education     Missions      Meetings          Totals

1996    $ 77,932      $ 84,874      $  57,056         $ 219,862
1995    $ 70,340      $ 79,340      $  43,932         $ 193,612
1994    $ 74,760      $ 68,157      $  48,858         $ 191,775
        ________________________________________

Totals   $223,032     $232,371      $ 149,846         $ 605,249

Only five parishes in the United States and none elsewhere among parishes in the Episcopal, Anglican and Orthodox Churches characterized by The Episcopal Synod of America as "conservative parishes" in ESA's web site are actually noted as members of ESA. This despite the assertion in ESA literature claiming membership of more than 200 chapters and parishes. Even the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, in Placentia, California, the home parish of ESA's president, Donald P. "Pete" Moriarty, is not listed as an ESA member parish.

The only known ESA chapters or affiliates which incorporated were in Colorado, Tennessee and Nebraska and they are all defunct. Among the questions asked Moriarty and other ESA officials which they have refused to answer for more than a month are just how many parishes are members of ESA and where are they?

In ESA's web site there is a long list of parishes which appears simply under a heading "conservative parishes." Affiliations with Church-related groups, such as the American Anglican Council headed by Bishop James M. Stanton of Dallas, and ESA, are indicated. They are:

_______________________________________________________________________
Parish                                  City, State     Affiliations
________________________________________________________________________
Church of the Epiphany                  Phoenix, AZ             ACA
Blessed Sacrament Church                Little Rock, AR
St. Michael's-by-the-Sea                Carlsbad, CA
St. Mary of the Angels                  Los Angeles, CA         ACA
St. Anne's Episcopal Church             Oceanside, CA
Church of St. Mary Magdalene            Orange, CA
Holy Trinity Parish                     San Diego, CA
Church of the Blessed Sacrament(*)      Placentia, CA
St. John the Evangelist                 Stockton, CA            ESA
St. Adrian's Episcopal Church           Colorado Springs, CO    APCK
St. Mary's Church                       Denver, CO              ACC
Anglican Church of the Resurrection     Bridgeport, CT          APCK
Ascension and St. Agnes                 Washington, DC
All Souls Episcopal Church              Jacksonville, FL
Church of St. Michael and All Angels    Jacksonville, FL        ACA
Church of Our Savior                    Atlanta, GA             ESA
St. John's Episcopal Church             Moultrie, GA
St. John's Church                       Savannah, GA            ECUSA
St. Edmund's Episcopal Church           Elm Grove, IL
St. Andrew's                            Grayslake, IL           ECUSA
Good Shepherd                           East Chicago, IN        ECUSA
Holy Trinity                            Peru, IN                ACC
St. Cornelius Church                    Dodge City, KS
St. James'                              Baton Rouge, LA
Trinity Church                          Cheneyville, LA
Mount Calvary Church                    Baltimore, MD
St. Luke's Church                       Bladensburg, MD
St. Bartholomew's(+)                    Swartz Creek, MI
Christ Church in Woodbury               Woodbury, NJ
Holy Innocents Anglican Church          Scarborough, NY
Church of the Holy Cross                Warrensburg, NY
St. Peter's Anglican Orthodox Church    Statesville, NC         AOC
Nordonia Hills Reformed Episcopal       Northfield, OH
St. Michael's Reformed Episcopal        Broken Arrow, OK
St. Paul's Anglican Church              Bend, OR                ACA
St. Mary's Church                       Charleroi, PA
St. Clement's Church                    Philadelphia, PA
Church of the Transfiguration           Plymouth Meeting, PA    PCK
Church of the Good Shepherd             Rosemont, PA
St. Stephens Episcopal                  Whitehall, PA           ESA
St. John the Evangelist                 Newport, RI
Church of the Holy Apostles             Sioux Falls, SD
Christ Church-Monteagle, the
  Cathedral of the Episcopal
  Missionary Church                     Monteagle, TN
Church of the Resurrection              Austin, TX
Christ Church                           Dallas, TX
Incarnation                             Dallas, TX
St. Francis                             Dallas, TX          ECUSA, ESA
St. John's                              Dallas, TX
St. Andrew's                            Fort Worth, TX          ESA
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church           Grand Prairie, TX
St. Thomas the Apostle                  Jacksboro, TX
St. Thomas                              Houston, TX
St. Cuthbert Episcopal Church           Houston, TX
Trinity Church                          Houston, TX
St. Thomas of Canterbury                Houston, TX
St. Francis of Assisi                   Richardson, TX          EMC
St. Michael's                           Richland Hills, TX
St. Mark's Parish (Episcopal)           Rosenberg, TX
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church         San Antonio, TX
Providence Reformed Episcopal Church    Weatherford, TX
Church of the Apostles                  Fairfax, VA        ECUSA, AAC
___________________________________________________________________
St. John the Evangelist/Shrine Church
   of Our Lady of Walsingham            Calgary, Alberta
St. Mark's Anglican Church              Calgary, Alberta
  Church of the Holy Spirit Anglican    Victoria, BC
________________________________________________________
(*) Parish of Donald P. "Pete" Moriarty, president of ESA.
(+) Rector is Rev. Gene Geromel, an ESA trustee and also registered
agent for PECUSA Inc. in Michigan.
________________________________________________________
 Legend:  AAC   -       American Anglican Council
          ACA   -       Anglican CHurch of America (+)
          APCK  -       Anglican Province of Christ the King (+)
          ACC   -       Anglican Catholic Church (+)
          AOC   -       Anglican Orthodox Church (*)(+)
          ECUSA -       Episcopal Church in the USA
          ESA   -       Episcopal Synod of America
          PCK   -       [Anglican] Provicne of Christ the King (+)
          EMC   -       Episcopal Missionary Church (+)

        (*) associated with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
        (+) separate denomination from the Episcopal Church or ECUSA.

For those of you who don't know me, I am a journalist, currently free-lance and previously with newspapears in Oklahoma City, Denver, Dallas and Los Angeles, and a private investiagtor licensed in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. I am a member of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in the Diocese of Dallas, am a lay Eucharistic minister, member of the Evangelism Council and chair of the AIDS Outreach Ministry.

I am also chair of the Commission on Ministry to Persons With HIV/AIDS of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas; member of the baord of directors of the AIDS Interfaith Network Inc. of Dallas; managing director of the Dallas Area Needle-Syringe Exchange, and seacretary of the Dallas St. Aelred's Chapter of Integrity Inc.

Jack H. Taylor Jr., jhtj@swbell.net
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Taylor Researach and Investigations
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