Last month I reported that a group calling itself Lay Episcopalians for the Anglican Communion (LEAC) is working on a "presentment" (church indictment) of those bishops who participated in consecrating Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. Last week, the group issued a release announcing a list of proposed presentment defendants as well as a list of proposed presenters, i.e., signers of the indictments.
I was initially troubled that my own diocese's bishop, Don Wimberly of Texas, was included on the list of proposed presenters. But I quickly concluded that LEAC might well have put bishops' names on the list without their permission.
And sure enough, Bishop Wimberly is reported to have said that he had absolutely no intention of signing the proposed presentment. This came from a Texas lay delegate to General Convention, who posted an email, on the email list for the bishops and delegates, about his conversation with the bishop.
Bp. Wallace Ohl of Northwest Texas posted something similar to the House of Bishops and Deputies mailing list recently.
So yes, this LEAC group has been adding names to this outrageous document w/o permission...
Posted by: David Huff | May 16, 2006 at 09:57 AM
It looks to me like they simply added the names of those who voted "no" to consecrate Robinson, which is inaccurate to do. My former bishop, Herb Thompson, is on there. I know for a fact bringing presentments is not his style. I don't know how a group that operates like this can be taken seriously, and I have sympathies with their views.
Posted by: David Bennett | May 19, 2006 at 07:34 AM