The 213th Annual Council - Diocese of Virginia

Proceedings
Highlights of our life in 2007 include:
• The 400 th anniversary celebrations
• Consecration of our bishop coadjutor
• Expansion of overseas mission
• Largest number of priests ordained in my episcopate
• Election of a new dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary
• The loyalty and love evident in our churches and our people
• Continuing litigation required to secure churches occupied by individuals who have
abandoned the Episcopal Church
The shadow of that litigation is a present reality and I want to address it first so that we
can move on to the more important matters of the mission and ministry required by
God’s abundant love.
This litigation became necessary when 11 diocesan congregations chose to leave the
Episcopal Church but continue to use the Church’s property to the exclusion of those
members who chose to remain loyal to the Episcopal Church.
We have at this Council, for the second year, delegates from three of those continuing
Episcopal congregations: St. Margaret’s, Woodbridge; St. Stephen’s, Heathsville; and The
Falls Church, Falls Church. They are joined this year by delegates from Church of the
Epiphany, Herndon, which at this time last year had not yet fully reorganized.
Defending our heritage and securing our future is expensive. We have spent so far nearly
$2 million on litigation costs as a defendant. We are blessed with dedicated and very
effective lawyers, a number of whom are either working pro bono or at discounted rates
as a gift to the Church. Mike Kerr, our chief financial officer, with the authorization of
the Executive Board, has obtained a line of credit for the legal fees so we are current in
paying them. The interest on the line of credit is being paid by endowment income so that
no pledge money from churches or individuals is used for legal fees. At the conclusion
of this litigation, we expect to pay off the line of credit by selling undeveloped and
unconsecrated property, a process that is already under way. No one likes lawsuits but at
the same time, our generation has a stewardship responsibility to protect the property of
our churches for Episcopalians in the next 400 years.
This case involves Virginia’s historic tradition of religious liberty. Virginia is the home
of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, adopted by the General Assembly in 1786.
The recent motion of Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell to intervene in the
case represents an intrusion by the state into the freedom of the church. The Episcopal
Church and the Diocese of Virginia, as well as other faith communities from across the
Commonwealth, oppose this intrusion. Whether the Attorney General will be permitted
to intervene is the subject of a hearing today in Fairfax Circuit Court. If the Attorney
General’s view of the law prevails, it will mean that the Commonwealth of Virginia gives
preference to churches with congregational governance, discriminates against churches
that are hierarchical or connectional in their governance and intrudes into the doctrine
and discipline of communities of faith. We are involved in a legal case that has serious
consequences for religious liberty.
Our overseas mission initiatives, always in full partnership with the Church in the areas we
serve, continue to thrive, especially because of the leadership of Buck Blanchard, our fulltime
missioner for world mission. Buck’s position has been funded by an anonymous donor
who lives out of state, but that funding is on a decreasing basis and will eventually run out.
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