Episcopal Bishop Ready for Life in Pittsburgh

By: Ann Rodgers | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

People Mentioned in the Article
  • Archbishop Duncan
  • Betsy
  • Bishop Kenneth Price Jr.
  • Bishop-elect Dorsey McConnell
  • Mary Roehrich
  • Rev. Jonathan Millard
Quotes in the Article
  • McConnell:
    • "I had to get used to driving here because people are so polite,"
    • "I've been unnerved by the kindness of people in traffic. They let you turn left in front of them. I love this city."
    • "my brooding atheist poet phase,"
    • "so marvelous it leapt past my intellectual defenses and right into my heart,"
    • "I stumbled over the threshold into all that glory, and the grace of God hit me like a train. I had never seen anything so beautiful. I kept coming back."
    • "I needed more than a little help. I needed a savior,"
    • "There was this sense that God was really active and the Holy Spirit was serious about giving good gifts to his people,"
    • "From Orthodoxy, I retain the deep sense of beauty and the mystery of God, and the sense of continuity between the communion of saints in heaven and on Earth. From the Catholic side of Anglicanism I have a passion for the sacraments and for the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and through the liturgy,"
    • "From the evangelical side there is the priority and authority of the word of God in scripture and the vigorous sense of unlimited grace through the cross of Christ. The charismatic side was really the sense that God has power to do something about the things that afflict us, that he wants to and can be called on and counted on. From the progressive side ... there is engagement with contemporary society and passion for social justice."
    • "I also know the feeling ... of having colleagues who have looked at me as some kind of dinosaur,"
    • "I tried to join myself into diocesan affairs, and I have enjoyed working with people from several different perspectives,"
    • "like getting married by mail order. The amount of information they had about the candidates was pretty small for making such a huge decision. I think under those circumstances, it's very hard to be seen three-dimensionally."
    • "I'm a good cook,"
    • "There would be food and Bible study and an open discussion about anything they'd like to talk about."
    • "I want to resolve these outstanding property issues in as timely a manner as possible, as equitably as possible and with as little further conflict as possible. I think we all want to get beyond this so we can be focused on the mission of Christ in our respective jurisdictions,"
    • "I always said I wouldn't dictate from the top down,"
    • "The lively question is, what on Earth does God have to do with the ordinary yearnings and struggles of average human beings, with the questions that are deeply embedded in people's hearts? Are we articulating that in a way that people can understand and that attracts them and helps them out?"
    • "Everybody is looking, in my experience, for two things: mercy and hope. The role of this diocese is every chance we get, in every pulpit, in every parish and every conversation outside our walls, to do everything we can to connect the love and power of God to that basic human yearning."
    • "I got a warm note from Bob following my election,"
  • McConnell's Mother:
    • "They were the enemy. They're allies now. Darling, learn this: Life is long, and we need each other,"
  • Millard:
    • "I'm praying for God's blessing on him, and I want him to have a fruitful ministry here in Pittsburgh,"
    • "I hope there would be ways we could work collaboratively, even though there has been recent, difficult history."
  • Roehrich:
    • "fear is a very poor strategy for going forward, so I'm not worried particularly. One cannot change the past,"
    • "It hasn't been easy, but I think we are in a much better place and have shown a certain amount of resilience and love and compassion for each other."
Mentions of the Schism in the Article
  • secessionist diocese
  • parishes that seceded
  • secessionist church
  • diocese's centrally owned assets.
  • defendants now call themselves, they are not the Episcopal Diocese of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America."
  • seceding group voted to leave the Episcopal Church for what they considered failure to uphold biblical doctrine.
  • the diocese would be disappointed if the court had awarded the assets to the Episcopal Diocese
  • members of the seceding diocese are confident about their new life together
  • transfer buildings and land to the seceding parishes that want them.
  • Anyone who wants to come back to the Episcopal Church is welcome, and we hope to find a way to proceed with those who don't [want to return] in a spirit of reconciliation,
Parishes Mentioned in the Article
  • All Angels Episcopal Church
  • Calvary Episcopal Church
  • Church of the Ascension
  • Church of the Redeemer
  • St. Andrew's

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Summary

Bishop-elect Dorsey McConnell was chosen to the Episcopla Diocese of Pittsburgh have the schism. McConnell was a recent rector of the Church of the Redeemer which is located in Chesnut Hills, MA. He replans to rebuild the diocese to its former glory.
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