DECEMBER 4, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FORT WORTH VIA MEDIA

EPISCOPALIANS SHUN SCHISM TO REMAIN TOGETHER

Fort Worth Via Media is a coalition of Episcopalians, lay and ordained, committed to remaining within the Episcopal Church of the United States of America.

We are deeply concerned about steps taken by Fort Worth Bishop Jack Leo Iker and other diocesan leaders that appear to be leading toward schism.

We acknowledge that the actions of the 2003 General Convention in consenting to the election of an honestly gay man as bishop of New Hampshire and in acknowledging that same gender blessings take place in some dioceses of our church have resonated as strongly in our diocese as they have in the nation and the rest of the Anglican Communion. Some among us are deeply troubled and even angered by these actions of General Convention. Some among us celebrate them. We believe that such diversity expresses the range of faithful responses to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We believe that these actions do not warrant leaving the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. We believe that all of us bring unique gifts to the ministry of the church and all have a place at Christ’s table. We are committed to remaining together as sisters and brothers in Christ, holding our differences in love and respect, within the Episcopal Church USA.

We know this is possible to do, because since our diocese was founded in 1983, it has been “out of communion” or in “impaired “ communion with other parts of the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion over the issue of the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate. We also have survived intense internal disputes over the use of the “new” Book of Common Prayer. Through all this, we have remained together. We know from experience that there is a via media -- a middle way -- between complete agreement and schism.

We are loyal to the doctrine, worship and discipline of the Episcopal Church USA. We are nurtured by scripture, tradition and reason – the three-legged stool of traditional Anglicanism. We are Episcopalians striving for that via media of diversity and tolerance in the Diocese of Fort Worth. We invite all Episcopalians who share these views to join us.