Episcopal bishop Duncan stressing ministry

Sunday, November 09, 2008
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Now that his diocese is no longer torn by internal strife, Bishop Robert Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Anglican) called on parishes to engage in bold, new missions.

"Sometimes we have to stop and heal wounds, but that is not our corporate task now," he told several hundred people yesterday at the Anglican convention in Trinity Cathedral, Downtown. "Every one of our people is called to ministry."

On Oct. 4 the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh voted to secede from the Episcopal Church, which it believed no longer upheld classic Christianity. The majority of 74 parishes joined an Anglican province based in Argentina, amid hope that the global Anglican Communion -- of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. province -- will create a second North American province for theological conservatives.

About 20 churches have remained Episcopal and are recognized as a diocese by the Episcopal Church. Despite pending litigation over other property, the two dioceses share the historic cathedral. the rest