Via Media Rio Grande
601 Montano Rd NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107
DATE: December 23, 2003
TO: All bishops with jurisdiction and all members of diocesan
Standing Committees
FROM: Via Media Rio Grande
RE: The request from the Diocese of the Rio Grande to hold
an election of a bishop coadjutor
You have received, or will soon be receiving, a request from the Diocese of
the Rio Grande to hold an election of a bishop coadjutor, in accordance with
canon III.25.1.b. A significant number of concerned clergy and laity of the
Diocese of the Rio Grande have recently joined together, and we request that
you withhold consent.
Our group, which we have named Via Media Rio Grande, is committed to pray together
and to work towards a healthy, balanced, and reconciling Episcopal Diocese of
the Rio Grande. We have held meetings across the diocese since October of 2003.
Our current goals are:
1 . To continue in full communion with and under the canonical authority of
the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
2 . To advocate respectful consideration of the variety of views in our diocese
as we make decisions affecting our life together.
3 . To promote a fair and open process leading to the election of our next bishop.
Our reasons for making this request come out of the current climate in the wider
church and our own diocese:
- Our church is in a time of great uncertainty regarding authority and structure
in the wider church, with no knowledge of how our polity will sort out.
- In our diocese, we are currently divided about very contentious issues, with
votes at the fall convocation reflecting a 2/3 to 1/3 split.
- There has been open discussion by Bishop Kelshaw and others about interpreting
canons and property law in a way that could result in loss of diocesan property
to congregations that might break away from the Episcopal Church.
- Our diocese has ended financial support for the wider church, disassociated
ourselves from one of our sister dioceses, and is being encouraged by our bishop
to remove the name Episcopal from our congregational literature.
There have been other recent actions that indicate we are headed down a path
that will not be a deliberate, fair and open process, and which could lead to
the election of a bishop not in communion with the Episcopal Church USA.
On October 18, 2003, when Bishop Kelshaw announced to the diocesan convention
in his intention to retire sometime after the election of a coadjutor, he did
not outline the specific duties expected of a coadjutor, as required by canon
III.25.1.c.
When Via Media Rio Grande formally requested a discussion with the Standing
Committee of our diocese at their February 17, 2004 meeting to express our concerns,
they turned us down.
For these reasons, again, we respectfully urge that you withhold your consent
to the election of a bishop coadjutor in the Diocese of the Rio Grande at this
time, and allow us a period with an interim bishop who would lead us in a time
of clarification of our polity, reconciliation with one another in the diocese,
and patient discernment of God's will for us.
In Christ,
Via Media Rio Grande Steering Committee
Diane Butler, St. Thomas of Canterbury
The Rev. Gary Meade, Associate, St. John's Cathedral
The Rev. Carole McGowan, Rector, St Thomas of Canterburys
Dr. Don Partridge, St. Thomas of Canterbury
Patricia Riggins, Senior Warden, St. Michael and All Angels
The Rev. Brian Taylor, Rector, St. Michael and All Angels
Dr. James Tryon, St. Michael and All Angels