Okay, we get it. Churches like to accentuate the positive.
But there’s a point where things skid past the positive and into the realm of dishonesty. In fact, the word “gaslighting” comes to mind.
And so it is with claims on Advent’s social media that Dallas bishop George Sumner was warmly welcomed when he came to offer a Lenten presentation at the church.
Leaving aside the fact that Sumner’s presence is inherently suspicious, as remarkably few bishops hop a jet to deliver presentations during Lent, Sumner was definitely NOT warmly welcomed by everyone.
Indeed, the priest currently serving at Advent himself told police that protestors, who were peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights in front of the church, were “disturbing” parishioners.
For the record, parishioners should be disturbed, and on multiple levels.
Not only did Advent allegedly shell out almost a million dollars to cover Anderson’s legal fees in a recent Title IV case, but they did so to defend a priest accused of perjury in a previous ecclesiastical proceeding.
In addition, Anderson purportedly sexually harassed at least two adult women, engaged in extramarital sexual activity, and engaged in retaliation against clergy who reported his conduct.
Even worse, Sumner was a co-conspirator in the ugly cover-up and sandbagged a Title IV case against the rector of St. James Texarkana, David Halt. Not only was Halt a key player in the debacle, but St. James is fast imploding due to the multiple layers of corruption in the parish.
Anglican Watch calls on the Church of the Advent to retract its fabrications about George Sumner’s meeting, come clean about the real reasons for Sumner’s visit, and apologize for its lies.
As for Sumner and Halt, we ask both to resign before they do any further damage to the church.
And we hope that no church within the Anglican Communion will hire Anderson once he’s a free agent.
Sorry, but we have zero tolerance for perjurers and those who sexually harass others. And we have scant tolerance for church leaders who lie to church members.
It appears that Bishop Sumner is coming to St. James on March 24th. Not much has been advertised. Apparently, it seems that they don’t want to publicize it because the rector and vestry do not want a negative response to the visit, or any outsiders showing up. We still have not been told the truth behind Fr. Doug’s agreement. It is alleged that the parish does not need to know what happened.
Why can’t the church just be honest? I have not gone to church for quite awhile. We miss it, but we do not want to attend a church that is not honest. Additionally, there seems to be a small group that refuses to believe any of this is true. Without telling people the truth, people will believe what they hear and what makes sense. The only source of information we have we get from other places.
We are so very sorry. This sort of thing by the diocese just undercuts trust.