Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I would like to speak to each one of you personally today, but because this is not possible, I have asked your clergy to read this letter regarding a very important matter in the life of our Church. Many of you have been aware that the leadership of Christ Church, Overland Park, has developed serious differences with the Episcopal Church. These differences focus on matters of theology, the interpretation of scripture, and the doctrine and discipline of the Church. 

These differences have been most visible in the decision of the parish to withhold most of its financial commitment to the diocese in response to the vote by the 2003 General Convention to confirm the election of the Bishop of New Hampshire. The decision of the leaders of Christ Church to give their parishioners the option of withholding their commitment to the diocese was announced on the eve of my consecration to the episcopate. This decision served effectively to sever Christ Church from their responsibilities for the common ministry of this diocese.

It is important to note that, at any given time, a significant portion of the Church’s membership is in disagreement about any number of issues facing the Church. Yet only Christ Church refused to participate in their shared obligation to the mission of this diocese. It is important to remember that Christ Church itself was started with resources from the wider Church and would not exist without the significant investment made by the entire diocese in its founding and formation.

More than a year ago, I became engaged, along with representatives of the Council of Trustees, in an earnest effort to reconcile these differences and to restore Christ Church to full and joyful participation in the life and ministry of the diocese. Each of these conversations was conducted in a manner consistent with the principles of the Gospel modeled for us by our Lord.

After more than a year of pursuing all avenues to bring Christ Church into conformity with Episcopal tradition and diocesan canons, we have reluctantly and regretfully concluded that our differences have become irreconcilable. The leadership of Christ Church is adamant in their refusal to support the diocese financially, to walk together in mission and to recognize the authority of the Episcopal Bishop of Kansas.   

Given the conclusion that the relationship cannot be restored, the leadership of the parish and the diocese have now reached an agreement intended to allow Christ Church to separate itself from the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas and the Episcopal Church USA.  The terms of this tentative agreement, which was passed unanimously by the Vestry of Christ Church and by the Council of Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, will now be presented to the parishioners of Christ Church. Over the next several weeks, the parish will consider and discuss this agreement and its consequences.  Then the parish will vote on whether to accept this agreement. If it is accepted, I will communicate more specifically the components of how this separation will occur.

In the meantime, I can tell you that the proposal calls for the parish to officially remove itself from all association with the Episcopal Church and to compensate the diocese, over time, for the value of the building and the property.  That property will then be transferred to a new Christ Church entity. Provisions will be made for the pastoral care of those members of Christ Church who wish to remain loyal to the Episcopal Church. The clergy will be inhibited from functioning within the Episcopal Church and will be deposed for “Abandonment of the Communion.”

In spite of all of this, we are a Resurrection people. As the Book of Common Prayer reminds us, “things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made.”  In these transitional times, I am proud to be an Episcopalian.  In my grandfather’s day, this Church supported the rights of workers to organize to obtain a fair wage when that was an extremely unpopular notion.  In my father’s day, this Church opposed segregation and supported civil rights when that meant some would risk their lives for the sake of the gospel. In my lifetime, this Church has supported the ordination of women and encouraged their leadership in congregational life when that meant the disdain of many. And now, in my son’s lifetime, we are discerning God’s will regarding issues of human sexuality. One may disagree about where we are or what we are deciding, but I find our straight-forward approach to facing the issues of our day to be honest and responsible.

As a bishop of the Church, I am aware the Christian Church has reinterpreted an absolute scriptural prohibition regarding divorce, scriptural support for slavery, scriptural prohibition on women leaders in the Church and scriptural support for both corporal and capital punishment.  The Christian community made those reinterpretations because they were attempting to be faithful to the radical love of Christ for all people and believed they were being guided by the Holy Spirit in each of those issues. They were not guided by a narrow interpretation of an individual passage of scripture but by the whole grace-filled sweep of the New Testament. Now we, as a Christian community, must continue to discern the Holy Spirit in the issues before us.  Human sexuality is an important issue, but it is not, I would suggest, the only issue or even the most important issue currently confronting the Church, and there is plenty of room in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas for disagreement on this issue.

These are challenging times for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas and, indeed, for the Christian faith. We need to become more passionately committed to spreading the Good News of God in Christ than ever before. Some may say this agreement with Christ Church is too generous; others may say it is not generous enough. We may not know for some time what the best resolution to this situation may be, but we are trying to be faithful to Christ in our own day. As we prepare to walk in the way of the Cross through Holy Week, may we also prepare for that glorious Resurrection which is to come.    

Faithfully,

The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe

IX Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas