Dixon Sets Thorny Terms
for Worship in Accokeek
Robert Stowe England |
5 December 2001
ACCOKEEK, Maryland -- Acting Bishop Jane Dixon told the vestry of St. John's Parish Christ Church last night that she had, in fact, accepted Fr. Stephen Arpee as "priest-in-charge" interim and was prepared for him to go forward with his ministry. However, she said she would continue as "rector ex officio."
At the same time she announced a host of thorny restrictions on Fr. Arpee's ministry and on urged changes to the worship service that were sharply criticized by the vestry.
In her biggest concession to the parish since Fr. Samuel Edwards was ousted from the parish as rector by a federal judge on October 28, Dixon said she had agreed to allow Fr. Arpee to preach and celebrate Eucharist every Sunday each month but one.
Once a month Dixon said she would send her own representative to preach so that "the parish can hear the Gospel from more than one perspective," she told the vestry.
Since November 4 Fr. Arpee has preached only one Sunday and has not been the celebrant for the mass at any service. Each Sunday Dixon has sent a representative to preach and celebrate the mass, which she has been able to do under the terms of a court order from Judge Peter J. Messitte of the U.S. District Court of Maryland in Greenbelt.
Judge Messitte's order expanded the powers of bishops and, according to critics, potentially turns church polity upside down and makes bishops unaccountable to anyone.
Dixon also set a series of goals for worship that including disallowing anyone but Fr. Arpee from reading announcements. She also wants to move the reading of annoucements from the middle to the end of the service. Usually, the announcements are made by Senior Warden Barbara Sturman.
Dixon also asked that the "peace" be moved "back" to its position just before the offertory. The peace currently comes after the break of the bread and before the Agnus Dei.
Dixon also asked that the parish cease official prayers that included Bishop Jack Iker of the Diocese of Forth Worth and the bishops for Forward in Faith, as well as a prayer for Fr. Sylvester Thomas Kambaya of the Sudan. "I don't think they are appropriate," sniffed Dixon. She ordered their names to be removed from the service leaflet.
Mrs. Sturman objected. "Once again you're selecting who we are going to pray for -- that's not part of bringing everyone altogether. Fr. Edwards and Fr. Arpee have not eliminated anyone from their prayers. They have prayed for you but you won't let them pray for Bishop Iker and the others."
Dixon replied that individuals could, during the prayers of the people offer up prayers for Bishop Iker and the bishops of Forward in Faith and Fr. Kambaya. "I'm not taking that away from you," Dixon said. Sturman retorted this would not satisfy her objections and that Dixon had no control over what they printed in the service leaflet.
Dixon said she planned to send a priest or bishop representing her to the parish once a month to preach, at which time Fr. Arpee could continue to celebrate mass, if he so chose. She wanted to set a regular schedule that would have her representative come at the same time each month -- the first, second, third, or fourth Sundays.
Next Sunday Fr. Arpee will both preach and celebrate mass for the first time since he was named interim rector by the vestry in late October.
This time Dixon was less combative in her role as chair of the vestry meeting than she was last week. She did not comment on most of the motions that were passed by the vestry, many of which were not what the diocese wanted to see, and did not vote on any of them. In stark contrast, last week, she attacked some proposals and pointedly voted against providing financial relief for Fr. Edwards and his family.
Further, Dixon, perhaps for the first time, publicly conceded that the parish was likely to chose as its next rector someone who would be "more conservative" than most priests in the diocese and that she was prepared to accept them.
"I will work for the timely selection of a rector as someone who both the vestry and parish can support, and is someone I can support," said Dixon, someone who would "agree to abide by the canons and constitution of the Episcopal Church, obey the ordination vows, someone to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ with compassion and equity, who will have a vision of the missionary congregation."
Dixon further said that Fr. Arpee had agreed to the terms she had described would apply to the next rector, implying that if the parish called someone like Fr. Arpee, she would be willing to approve that selection.
Dixon also riled the vestry with what she called her "goals for Christian nurture" in the worship services of the parish.
The goals were set, she says, after she met an Advisory Group on Worship. She also noted that she had misspoken last week when she referred to this group as the Worship Committee.
The vestry last week notified the diocese that the Worship Committee was illegal since all parish committees are appointed by the vestry, under the by-laws of the parish.
Over the strong objections of the vestry, Dixon last week appointed as a worship advisor George Hanssen, who had organized a pro-Dixon faction in the parish. She also appointed Mrs. Virginia Jameson, who she says she mistakenly assumed was a member of St. John's Chapel in Pomonkey, a tiny congregation under the pastoral and operational oversight of Christ Church Accokeek.
Although Dixon appointed Mrs. Sturman to be on the committee, Mrs. Sturman declined to attend a meeting of the group at the parish Tuesday, because she viewed the committee as illegal and one that would not promote reconciliation because it had Hanssen as a member.
Last night Dixon asked Mrs. Sturman to appoint another person from the parish to be on the Advisory Group on Worship to given the parish more voices that support the vestry and make out the membership evenly divided between supporters and opponents of Dixon.
Mrs. Sturman declined to participate in any future meetings of the Advisory Group. "I would not be able to support anything with Hanssen as a member," she said.
Mrs. Sturman also told Dixon that is was "premature" to be talking about the selection of the parish's next rector because of the lawsuit Dixon brought against the vestry and Fr. Edwards, which is now in the appeals court.
The appeals court, which rejected two separate motions for a stay on November 29 has set an expedited schedule for hearing the appeal. The legal brief for the parish is due December 17, according to Charles Nalls of DeKieffer & Horgan, the parish's attorney. Dixon's response is due January 2. After that, the parish has until January 11 to respond to Dixon's brief.
Dixon's decision to send a representative once a month was done partly to satisfy the group of about 35 people current and former members (and some who may have never attended) who support Dixon and who have refused to take communion from Fr. Arpee -- in spite of the fact Dixon has accepted him as the priest-in-charge.
When Fr. Arpee preached on November 11, this group stayed away, and they are expected to stay away all Sundays in the future when Fr. Arpee preaches and celebrates mass, according to vestry member Wes Courtney.
Courtney thinks the once-a-month strategy is simply a clever ploy to get the pro-Dixon faction to attend church and take communion often enough to qualify as voting members of the parish. "The bishop has set this up thinking that's all they need to come to be members of the church." But, he adds, "it doesn't necessarily make them a member."
The goal of this strategy is get them in as members and then elect enough new pro-Dixon vestry members to split the vestry, Courtney says.
Hanssen has talked openly of overthrowing the vestry, and the diocese has not disavowed any of his claims. Indeed, appointing him to the Advisory Group suggests they have no objections to his stated claims. Hanssen claims he printed up the 44 pledge cards that were dropped into the offering plates on November 4 as part of his strategy to oust the current vestry.
One group that attended alternative services at the community will take communion from Fr. Arpee -- the dozen or so people from St. John's Chapel. They have requested that Fr. Arpee come to their parish to resume services there. Services were discontinued by Fr. Edwards in September because no one was attending.
Last week the vestry asked St. John's Chapel to submit their "books" for review and have indicated that congregation owes funds for the contribution it would normally have made for a Fr. Edwards visits to their church.
Representatives from St. John's have indicated they would provide the financial information and are eager to resume services as early as Christmas Eve. Since the vestry is not now likely to meet until January, services at the chapel will likely not resume until sometime after that.
Dixon's goals for worship includes a list of people from the dissident congregation who she commanded be allowed to be lectors, to read the Scriptures every Sunday. She also said she wanted "a cadre of acolytes and torch bearers" be rotated and not to have the same acolytes every Sunday.
Sources on the vestry say they consider all of these "goals" and, as such, mere suggestions and they are likely to continue worship service order as presently structured, but would willingly add new people to the list of lectors.
After some discussion among the vestry about who can or can not be a member of the choir, Mrs. Sturman made it clear that anyone who wanted to join the choir would be welcome, but that Paul Onstad would continue as choir director.
Dixon brought an entourage with her to the meeting, including diocesan chancellor JoAnn MacBeth, diocesan spokesperson Carter Echols, Standing Committee Chairman David Andrews, rector of Holy Trinity Collington in Bowie, as well as David Maglott, moderate of the Executive Council and a member of its Executive Committee.There were also a scattering of parish members present, including some from the pro-Dixon faction, as well as a few people from St. John's Chapel. A reporter from the Washington Post covered the event.
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