The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Bishop of Chicago, writes about a decision to appeal a case involving the Diocese of Quincy:
Dear Friends,
In the two weeks since Judge [Thomas] Ortbal ruled against the Diocese of Chicago and The Episcopal Church, we have been working hard to understand the ruling, assess its implications, and determine our next steps. Last Friday, September 20, we filed a motion for a stay of judgment in the Quincy trial court stating our intention to appeal the judge’s ruling. We continue to maintain, despite that ruling, that the assets in dispute rightfully belong to the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, now reunited with the Diocese of Chicago. This will ultimately be decided by the appellate court.
These legal proceedings will continue to unfold and I will keep you updated as they do. But as we wait for the courts to act, I am resolved to devote my best energy to the work that God has called us to do together. Your faith in God’s abundance and your confidence in our common future, so much in evidence as I travel around the Peoria Deanery, is what most inspires me. You believe, as I do, that together we will thrive.
If you were one of the over 600 people who gathered at St. James Commons for Rock the Block on September 15, I hope you left renewed by the spirit and energy for ministry with which our entire diocese is blessed. I was very glad to see so many of you from the Peoria Deanery that day and I look forward to being together again at our first reunified convention in Lombard on November 22-23. You can learn more about that event on our website and by signing up for regular email newsletters.
My staff and I will be glad to talk with you if you have questions about the ongoing legal matters, the reunification process or the life of the Diocese of Chicago. You can find phone numbers and emails for all of us on the website. Thank you, as always, for your leadership.
Image: Justice, by Edward Onslow Ford [public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
