The two Pennsylvania-area dioceses that previously shared Bishop Sean Rowe as part of a partnership agreement voted on May 3 to end their six-year collaborative effort. The announcement spells bad news for both dioceses. It reflects an unwillingness to face the reality that both dioceses are facing an existential crisis that will only get worse…
On November 2, 2024, the Episcopal Church installed Bishop Sean Rowe for a nine-year term as the denomination’s presiding bishop. Shortly afterward, Rowe made a series of personnel and related announcements, which Anglican Watch believes portend good news for the church. This post discusses these announcements and several related topics, with an emphasis on clergy…
Anglican Watch has been watching the evolving conflict between the Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton and Julia Ayala Harris for some time. Additionally, we are monitoring Taber-Hamilton’s unprecedented effort to oust Ayala Harris as president of the House of Deputies (PHoD). Presently, Taber-Hamilton serves as vice president of the PHoD. We agree with Taber-Hamilton’s assessment of the managerial…
Reposted from October 2023. Some time ago, then canon to the ordinary for Virginia, Mary Thorpe, told members of St. Thomas’ McLean that the reason they were having trouble finding a rector is that, having had their previous rector removed in a Title IV case, they were “damaged goods.” That comment, none too compassionate, underscores the fact…
A friend of Anglican Watch previously served as canon to the ordinary in a prominent east coast diocese. We’ve had many good conversations with her. In the context of clergy discipline, her viewpoint has proved enlightening. Specifically, she reports that it’s hard for bishops to get a good feel for what’s happening inside a parish. And it’s…
Imagine the United States with a different form of government. There is an elected monarch, parliament, and supporting bureaucracy at the federal level. But no one is quite sure how much power the monarch has, so it’s never entirely clear what her role is. Constitutionally, there is a bill of rights. But enforcement at the…
Editor: I previously published the following in Episcopal Cafe in 2013. Conflict. Even the word itself makes us cringe a little. It has a hard, biting edge. In the back of our minds, the word conjures up unsettling images — of dentists’ drills, of that last really bad cold, of falling out of a tree…