Bishop Charles Bennison of the Pennsylvania Diocese is now in a compromised position. Any parish or council intent on doing anything that might heretofore have been opposed by the imperial Bishop is now in a good position.
Our minister on Sunday criticised Bennison for the right reason (not the media-driven sex scandal that the Inquirer would love to see) - his financial mismanagement of the diocese and his coldhearted re-direction of millions of dollars towards the Wapiti Center, destined to be an Episcopalian retreat for the rich and famous.
In addition Bennison paid a visitation to Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli - an active, dynamic Orthodox parish which he has mistreated over the years. It is painful to read the description of what took place there Sunday. Only 120 of the usual 750 people attended. Also, "At communion only 25 parishioners came forward to take communion from Bennison, 75 moved across in front of the altar and took it from Brewer. Brewer did not receive communion from the bishop. None of the other three parish priests or two deacons were present at the altar."
You can read the full description at Virtue On-Line: PENNSYLVANIA: Bennison Fails at Orthodox Parish, November 19, 2006.
To me the solidarity of the parishoners at Church of the Good Samaritan is exciting. To be sure the minister of our church is hostile to the orthodox position of Good Samaritan as well - and it is likely that any Bishop Katherine Schori appoints to head the Diocese of Pennsylvania will also be hostile to tradition, orthodoxy, and Episcopal Church history. The church is the people - not the principalities of power in the Episcopate. The people are speaking.
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