August 31, 2003|By Frank Langfitt | Frank Langfitt,SUN STAFF
In one of the most tangible pieces of fallout from the Episcopal Church's confirmation of its first openly gay elected bishop, the rector of St. Timothy's Church in Catonsville is resigning and says he expects to take much of his congregation with him.
The Rev. Steven R. Randall, who announced this month that the parish would withhold its $5,000 monthly dues from the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland in protest, said he could no longer submit to the authority of the denomination and is resigning to end the turmoil in his congregation over how to proceed.
"I'm not called to fight the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church," said Randall, 52, whose letter of resignation arrived last week at the office of Maryland's bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert. W. Ihloff. "I've been called to the best of my ability to shepherd the flock of the Lord. This is the time to take the flock to another valley."
Randall also said in a statement: "From some of those who plan to stay at St. Timothy's: I have been asked to resign so they can get on with normalizing their church life. It seems clear to me that healing cannot occur ... as long as I remain here."
A church official said Friday that the diocese is looking for Randall's replacement and hopes to have one selected in the next couple of weeks, subject to the approval of the St. Timothy's vestry.
"We should be able to have somebody in place very quickly," said the Rev. Mark Gatza, who handles congregational development for the diocese. "The truth is, it seems like a very fair and honorable decision on his part if he feels he can no longer be a part of the Episcopal Church."
Randall, whose last day at St. Timothy's will be Sept. 15, said he and many parishioners will move temporarily to nearby Bishop Cummins Memorial Church, a part of the Reformed Episcopal Church, which split from the national church in the 1800s. The Rev. Paul Chaim Schenck, rector of Bishop Cummins, said his parish has offered Randall office space and use of a gym where he can hold Sunday morning services.
Randall's resignation concludes a tumultuous month for the Episcopal Church and the worldwide, 75 million-member Anglican Communion. Amid threats of a global schism, the church, which is the communion's branch in the United States, confirmed the election of the Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as the bishop of New Hampshire on Aug. 5.
Robinson's confirmation marked the first time an American church had approved the selection of an openly gay bishop. The move outraged traditionalists, who point to scriptural condemnation of homosexual acts.
Church conservatives are planning an international meeting in October in Plano, Texas, to plot strategy. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, first among equals in the Anglican Communion, is holding a meeting of international church leaders later that month to try to heal wounds.
Financial impact
In the wake of Robinson's confirmation, a few parishes around the country also announced they are withholding funds from their dioceses. They include Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ga., which is withholding $7,000 a month.
The Episcopal Diocese of Florida, which provides $200,000 annually, has put payments to the national church in escrow.
On a parish-by-parish basis, withholding funds is unlikely to make a big dent in the Episcopal Church's annual budget of $48 million - $30 million of which comes from the church's 116 dioceses. If several large dioceses were to stop paying, it could have an effect.
"It could have significant, severe impacts on programs and ministries that the national church supports," said the Rev. William M. Krulak, rector of St. David's Church in Roland Park, who opposed Robinson's confirmation.
It might be months before the church can gauge the financial fallout. Tom Hershkowitz, controller for the national church, said pledges for next year won't start coming in until January.
In Maryland, which is regarded as a fairly liberal diocese, Randall's response to Robinson's confirmation has been by far the strongest. While a small number of worshipers have left Maryland parishes, no priests have resigned. Nor have any other congregations withheld money.
During the national convention in Minneapolis, which confirmed Robinson, Gatza said he received just 15 calls - most of them negative.
"The volume of calls is way less than we expected," Gatza said. "I was expecting to be here on the phone day and night, and I wasn't."
In some Maryland churches, though, parishioners are struggling with Robinson's confirmation.
At the Church of the Ascension in Westminster, the head of the annual giving campaign resigned in protest. The Rev. Bill Shiflet, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicott City, said "a very few" members have left his parish.
At All Saints' Episcopal Church in Reisterstown, the Rev. David A. Stenner said that giving from the congregation is off by 5 percent to 10 percent.
