September 6, 2010

 

GUEST SPEAKER FOR NINETEENTH SYNOD ANNOUNCED

It is our pleasure to announce that Bishop Walter Grundorf will be the guest speaker at our upcoming diocesan synod.

Bishop Grundorf is the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province in America. The APA was formed in 1995 during the formative years of the Anglican Continuum. Bishop Grundorf and the APA had, in fact, been part of the Anglican Church in America for several years after its founding.

The invitation to Bishop Grundorf was extended after our Bishop's successful and collegial work with the Church of the Holy Spirit in Pepperill, Massachusetts. Holy Spirit is an APA parish under the episcopal oversight of Bishop Grundorf. Because the parish is over five hundred miles distant from the next nearest APA parish, Holy Spirit had been faced with serious challenges with regard to clergy recruitment and episcopal care. Three years ago, Bishop Grundorf and Bishop Marsh, in consultation with the parish, developed a plan whereby we would jointly shepherd this parish. Accordingly, one of our priests, Father Ted Bolduc, serves as rector of the parish. Recently, our Bishop has made episcopal visits to the parish. Bishop Grundorf and Bishop Marsh maintain regular contact regarding the spiritual needs of this particular parish.  Since this experiment in intercommunion has worked so well from the perspective of both church bodies, Bishop Marsh has invited Bishop Grundorf to join us at synod and to speak to us immediately following our banquet on Friday evening.

Such extra-jurisdictional invitations have been extended previously by several jurisdictions.  They are commonly done and are entirely appropriate. The invitation of Bishop Grundorf to speak to us does not mean that we are in formal communion with the APA. Any such formal intercommunion arrangement would require the assent of synod.  Bishop Marsh in placing the invitation in context said "This does not affect our current discussions about the Apostolic Constitution and the Ordinariates nor have any of our episcopate or parishes joined the APA.  It is an opportunity for us to reach out to a fellow continuing Anglican church body in the hopes of finding unity among those of us who have the same faith and practices. Please join us in welcoming Bishop Walter Grundorf as our guest speaker at this, our Nineteenth diocesan synod."