Tactics supported By Stand Firm

Surfing the blogs, I came across this at Stand Firm. Commentators on Stand Firm have castigated the Episcopal Church for engaging in litigation to retain property that exiting congregations would like to take with them. In all but the rarest of cases, individual parish property is held by the Episcopal Church. The litigation is to stop exiting parishes from taking property that does not belong to them. All of this is very unfortunate.

The same crowd, that cries foul at litigation, offers instructions to misrepresent parish income that it might be kept by them. I understand the tensions of the present time. I even share some of the concerns of the more conservative wing of the Church, and I am even sympathetic to some of the issues of those exiting. But, I am dismayed at offering instructions on ways to steal from the Episcopal Church. They may have their i's dotted and their t's crossed, but it seems like theft to me.

In the post following this one, I say that religious people have a responsibility to live up the tenets of their faith. Apparently,
The Stand Firm crowd knows every allusion (and there are very few) in the Bible about human sexuality, but doesn't know the Ten Commandments.



Sarah Hey
An Affirmation of Faithful Stewardship: Those in Central Florida [and others], This is Your Chance

[UPDATED: I put this note in the comments below, but it's so important that I'm adding it here. "Some of your comments above about how dioceses determine pledges are simply inaccurate. I find it frightening that after four years of explanations people still don't understand how the diocesan pledge works. It's been four years.

Here we go.

Let's suppose that your parish is small. It receives a mere 100,000 into the general operating fund. The diocese looks at that 100K and says "you owe us 10%" -- in the case of South Carolina, for instance.

10% is $10,000.

Now . . . let's suppose that 20 of your best friends in that parish go to your rector and say "I'm sorry -- but our diocese is threatening parishes with lawsuits should they withdraw. Furthermore, some of the money that our parish sends to the diocese goes on to the national church. We 20 here pledge a total amount of $40,000. We can no longer donate to the General Operating Fund of the parish. We will need you to set up an alternate fund, accounted differently on the books, that will be a "designated fund" from which "no percentage may be given to the diocese nor used to calculate the apportionment amount for the diocese".

Immediately, the money give to the General Operating Budget of the church is cut to 60K.

This means that the 10% is now 6K that goes to the diocese.

This is not about saying to the rector "hey -- we want our 40K to be applied to the salary." This is about two separate sets of books, covering two separate accounts -- a special designated account, and a general operating account.

I know -- this has been done in parish after parish after parish after parish after parish after parish, all over ECUSA.

Folks, there are some parishes that don't just have 20 parishioners doing this -- nearly all 100 parishioners do it.

The result -- the money in the General Operating Budget is very small -- and from that, 10% dutifully goes to the diocese.

Those who sign the petition and don't understand how to get this set up at a parish -- get your group together at your parish, and then give me a shout by private email. I will put you in touch with people who have done this very thing."]