Irondequoit Episcopal Church Aligns With Church Of Uganda

(Irondequoit, NY) 12/16/05 - An Episcopal church in Irondequoit that split from the Rochester Diocese is apparently now aligning itself with the Church of Uganda.
All Saints Episcopal Church withheld money from its diocese to protest the ordination of gay priests.
According to a Rochester Diocesan spokesperson, the Church of Uganda is separate from the Episcopal Church but does have roots in the Church of England. Link Video


Letter sent to the Bishop of Rochester from the Attorney for All Saints

November 25, 2005

The Rt. Rev. Jack M. McKelvey
Episcopal Bishop of Rochester
935 East Avenue
Rochester, New York 14607

Re: All Saints Church in Rochester

Dear Bp. McKelvey:

I am writing to respond to your letter of November 21, 2005 wherein you repeat the demands which you made when you and I met in the parking lot of All Saints in Rochester. At that time your chancellor on your behalf asked for the keys to the parish. On behalf of the parish, I refused. Again, on behalf of All Saints, I refuse to give you possession of the buildings of the parish.

You and your convention have declared All Saints to be “extinct”, but it is alive and well in Christ. It did not deserve to be declared “extinct.” For you the parish is a building which you desire to take. But for the rector, wardens, vestry, and those who continue to worship there (as you saw when you attended, but did not participate in last Sunday’s worship service) it is not at all an “extinct” church. What is now extinct, however, is your authority over this parish and these people. They did not ask to be removed from the jurisdiction of the diocese of Rochester, but you have done this, and with that irrevocable step you extinguished any authority you had over that part of the body of Christ.

That which you declared extinct in the diocese of Rochester has been resurrected in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the province of the Church of Uganda. We have received formal notification from The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop and Primate of the Church of Uganda, that All Saints has been accepted in the province of Uganda and is now under their authority and protection.

You have chosen to walk apart from the rest of the Anglican Communion by your wholehearted support of the actions of the 2003 General Convention as it embraced a new gospel ignoring the authority of the Bible, and instead chose to rewrite the 2000 year tradition of Christian sexual morality. In this country of religious freedom that is your prerogative, but this parish cannot follow you. They will remain aligned with the vast majority of Christians around the world through their new bishop in Uganda. They have chosen the historic Christian faith of Paul, Augustine of Canterbury, Cranmer, and countless other saints in the Anglican Communion worldwide, rather than the new gospel of bishops such as Pike, Spong, and yourself. Time will tell whether the Church in the Province of the United States will embrace the Gospel as written, or as you proclaim it. However we will continue to proclaim the Gospel as it has been defined by the historic formularies of the faith.

Since you still have 52 congregations left in your jurisdiction, please leave All Saints alone and let us go our separate ways.


Very Truly Yours,

Raymond J. Dague
Attorney at Law
620 Empire Building
472 South Salina Street
Syracuse, New York 13202

(315) 422-2052 www.DagueLaw.com