If we succeed in capturing their churches, in most cases, the small remnant which remains will find the cost of operation and upkeep prohibitive. To sell the properties would be a public relations fiasco. I now believe it would be a better strategy to follow the policy of your predecessor, Frank Griswold, and let the property matters be merely a matter between the parish and the diocese.

My law firm and others are doubtless in a position to gain an enormous amount of business, which might raise a question of conflict of interest, and as a devout churchman, I am seriously concerned over the moral issue of spending this money in litigation. Even more importantly, is it wise to spend the time and energy for what, at best, will be a diversion from our Christian mission, the New Millennium Development Goals, and probably become an indelible black mark on our reputation as a Church?

I am also concerned that we are in an increasingly deficit financial position with our operating budget.

The huge publicity coming from the present suits, especially in Virginia, will not likely allow us to escape detection. The churches we are suing will have the right of discovery and our financial arrangements will be an open book.

The following example illustrates the destiny of the road we are now traveling. In a successful suit the Diocese of Massachusetts took over St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brockton, an exquisite Ralph Adam Cram building in which the Diocese had not put a penny. This imposing Gothic church is hardly suitable for any other use. Ninety-eight per cent of the former congregation of St. Paul's left and for some years met in a Seventh Day Adventist church building. They have subsequently built an even larger facility at a new location and are a thriving congregation. The Diocese did win its case in court but at the cost of over two million dollars. The old church is now virtually empty and the Diocese is asking neighboring parishes to help fund the utility costs.

This church, and others, will stand for a very long time as empty testimonies to litigation that local communities will overwhelmingly blame on the national church. This, in turn, will have a chilling effect on future giving. Even winning a long projected court case will become a pyrrhic victory. Katharine, I am seriously worried abut how we will manage if we win these suits in Virginia. The Falls Church spends a half-million dollars a year on utilities alone. The 30 remaining people could not afford to manage those buildings. The same would be true for Truro and the other parishes we are suing. The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion would sustain a great loss if we were to sell them.

We might learn from an incident that happened many years ago. Bishop Albert Stuart of Georgia was faced with the defection of St. John's Parish in Savannah, Georgia. Instead of going to court to take the property, as many pressed him to do, he insisted that if the diocese remained courteous and open they would, in time, return. They did indeed return and, I believe, the parish is now the largest in the Diocese of Georgia.

Could we not be as gracious and wise as Bishop Stuart? To keep congregations in TEC, by litigation or threat of litigation, makes us look as though we care more about property and control than about faith and the Anglican Communion. It's not too late to change course and my nightmares might cease. As your Chancellor and legal advisor I feel we are on a morally dubious road with both legal and ethical consequences, responsibility for which we might not want to bear.

Respectfully,

Bishop Allison notes that this is the letter that he had hoped David Booth Beers would send to Mrs. Schori.

--The Rt. Rev. Dr. C. FitzSimons Allison is the Bishop of South Carolina (ret.) He is the author of several books on theology and history.