Saving St. James

Some names and events have been redacted to keep the focus on the actions and the harmful effect it had on St. James. Some members in the Diocese have reported similar stories suggesting a need for a heartfelt and transparent conversation about these issues.

 

CLAIM 1

 

The complainant and similar-situated persons of color and ethnicity at St. James’ have substantially suffered both disparate impact and disparate treatment as a result of the Bishop’s decision to declare St. James’ a mission church of the Diocese and subject to his direct control.  The subjection of the complainant and similar-situated persons of color and ethnicity to disparate treatment in whole or in part on the account of race and ethnicity violates TEC Canons I.17.5, IV.3.1, and IV.4.1(c).  As a result of the disparate treatment and disparate impact of similar-situated persons of color and ethnicity was disenfranchisement from participation in the governance and stewardship of St. James’ under the Canons and NYS Religious Corporation Law.  
 

1.  At the Diocese’s General Convention in 2016, the youth burst onto the convention floor holding extended paper chains, singing, and chanting.  They proceeded to march on to the dais where they symbolically chained the diocesan leadership.  The Bishop was joyfully pleased by the mock demonstration that reinforced one of the Diocesan’s core values—Racial Justice and Reconciliation.  Perhaps unknown to the Bishop, some in the audience could not overlook the irony that the dais was dominated by white males. 
 

2.  Shortly after the bishop declared St. James’ a mission church, the members of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Nassau County discovered their Rector had spent down a $1 million trust fund. Stories surfaced the Rector withheld financial records and concealed the church’s financial deterioration from the Vestry. Upon information and belief, bundles of cash were found after cleaning out parish rooms.  Upon information and belief, members were blocked from attending Diocesan General Conventions and Diocesan-wide events.  The financial situation was dire enough that the Diocese provided a financial grant to repair the parish hall roof.   
 

3.  Both St. James’ and Holy Trinity were led by rectors who adopted an autocratic leadership style to the detriment of both churches.[17]  Both withheld vital information from their Vestry impeding the vestry’s ability to act as stewards for their respective congregation and church.  Though Holy Trinity experienced a far greater financial loss than St. James (an estimated $550,000 more), Bishop Provenzano chose to declare St. James’ a mission church and not Holy Trinity. 
 

4.  Could the statistics collected by TEC explain the disparate treatment?  On examination, the statistics show St. James having a higher Average Sunday Attendance (“ASA”).  In fact, St. James experienced a continuous upward trend in attendance starting in 2013 and pledge/plate collection since 2011.  For the same time period, the statistics show Holy Trinity in a downward trend for ASA and plate/pledge collections.  See on the following page.  [Source: Study your Congregation and Community.  The Episcopal Church.  Retrieved from https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/research/study-your-congregation-and-community]


















































 

5  As mentioned on page 4, St. James’ experienced extraordinary growth and strength across all areas of church life from 2013 to 2016.  Laity demonstrated they could provide proper stewardship with dedicated pastoral leadership.  The key factor that contributed to this success was unity in purpose and unity in effort encouraged by Fr. Fred Vergara.  Under Fr. Fred’s guidance, laity took the lead to establish and expand ministry, reconnect with the community, and deepened fellowship at the church.  This spirit disintegrated after REDACTED started his tenure as Priest-in-Charge.   
 

6.  What else could explain the Bishop’s disparate treatment between the two churches?  
 

7.  Neither church maintained racial or ethnic breakdown of its membership; however, a view of the congregation will show stark differences.   St. James for the past decade has proudly boasted a diverse congregation.  Its diversity grew organically without special programs or initiatives.  The congregation reflected the diversity of Elmhurst, Queens. Holy Trinity, at the start of Fr. Fred’s tenure, had a predominately White-Euro ethnic composition.
 

8.  However, statistics are available for the surrounding communities of each church.  Below is selected data from the 2010 Census for Elmhurst and Hicksville. 

































 

9.  The table shows two unique communities. Elmhurst reflects an urban composition, while Hicksville more suburban.  Statistically, Hicksville has a higher median household income which is slightly more than 45% higher than Elmhurst.  In addition, a greater percentage of Hicksville residents have higher education or professional degrees.
 

10.  This contrasts sharply with Elmhurst where 48% of the population is below the official poverty line compared to 23% for Hicksville.  In addition, Elmhurst’s foreign-born population is more than twice that of Hicksville, as well as, Elmhurst’s Latino and Asian populations.
 

11.  What did Bishop Provenzano see at St. James’ and in the surrounding community for him to convert St. James’ to a mission?  Did he believe the congregants of St. James’ incapable or less capable of revitalizing the church?  The TEC’s own statistics show St. James’ experiencing a slight revival starting before Bishop Provenzano took action.  And as mentioned on page 4, the laity under Fr. Fred’s leadership took the reins to rejuvenate the church with extraordinary results.
 

12.  Did Bishop Provenzano and Canon Betit arrive at St. James with preconceived biases? If not, how could Bishop Provenzano explain the disparate treatment between St. James’ and Holy Trinity? 
 

13.  In 2013, Bishop Provenzano and Canon Betit met with a predominately Afro-Caribbean female Vestry.  The women are lovingly referred to as the matriarchs because they kept the church doors open, filled the choir, brought food for fellowship, maintained the altar, and welcomed newcomers when the church was at its lowest.   As would be expected, the Vestry had a negative reaction about the church’s new status as a mission.  They were stunned to learn the church had lost its $450,000 trust fund and believed the Diocese was punishing the church for the malfeasance of the Rector.
 

14.  In conversations between Canon John and the complainant, the Canon made disparaging remarks about the women and his perceived treatment at the meeting.  His remarks displayed animosity and hostility towards the women and the church.  
 

15.  Could Bishop Provenzano’s and Fr. John’s past experiences explain the disparate treatment? The table on the following page shows the demographics of the communities surrounding their current and past pastoral assignments. 
























 

16.  The communities Bishop Provenzano and Fr. John served resemble more like Hicksville than Elmhurst.  With the exception of North Adams, all have median incomes higher than Elmhurst from 32.57% to 262.73%.  And all have demographics that show highly predominate White-Euro centric communities.  For years both were immersed in communities strikingly different from Elmhurst.  Immersion largely in our own culture leads to overgeneralization of other cultures and the perpetuation of stereotypes. Their cultural framework was immersed in these communities before joining the Diocese.  Working in Garden City may have reinforced their cultural framework.
 

17.  How people in Elmhurst view life in Westport, CT and vice versa is framed by one’s own cultural references.  Perhaps more importantly, how people relate to each other and how they resolve difficulties in each of these communities.  For example, Fr. John’s experience with the Vestry.  What appeared to be normal to most sitting around the table seemed abnormal to others.  This experience is shaped by one’s cultural reference point.
 

18.  Could their cultural framework have biased their decision to declare St. James’ a mission?  Could the actions the Bishop is currently taking to turn St. James’ into a training center for the international Anglican community a response to a culture shock—to create an environment he is more accustomed to?  Does the training center resemble anything that could have originated in Elmhurst?  (Discussed in Claim 3).  Does it explain the Bishop’s apathy towards the reconciliation process and the local Title IV complaint?  Does it explain the Bishop’s paternalism and placation towards a predominately minority church?  Does it explain why the bishop conceived this project for St. James’ without consulting with the local church and would announce it when he thinks it is appropriate (See Appendix D)?
 

19.  This complaint has shown Bishop Provenzano treated the two churches differently in violation of TEC Canons. The disparate treatment had a severe and detrimental disparate impact on the complainant and similar-situated persons of color and ethnicity.  The Bishop has not offered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for his decision.  He and the Canon arrived with preconceived views based on the demographic composition of the church and the community. 
 

20.  In 2016, the Priest-in-Charge told the complainant and other similar-situated persons of color and ethnicity at St. James’ they could not seek office or membership on the Bishop’s Committee.  He canceled elections after it had been announced from the altar several Sundays proceeding the election.   
 

21.  The disparate impact disenfranchised the congregation from the participating in the governance and acting as stewards of their church.

 

 

NOTES

 

17. The claimant personally witnessed Fr. Peter’s autocratic style.  During a vestry meeting, the Rector aggressively shouted at Vestry members who dissented from his viewpoint.