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MICHIGAN: Bishop Wendell Gibbs Accused of Threats & Bullying by Priests and Parishioners
Attorney for National Church rejects disciplinary claims against Bishop Gibbs
By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
January 8, 2015
The Chancellor for the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, David Booth Beers, has written a letter to the Ad Hoc Committee of the Diocese of Michigan saying that charges against the Bishop of Michigan, the Rt. Rev. Wendell Gibbs, for conduct unbecoming a bishop lacks factual or legal basis. Disciplinary charges against the bishop, submitted by two priests under the Church's Title IV disciplinary process, have been dismissed.
The letter, dated December 30, 2014, from Beers was in response to a letter by Edward L. Haroutunian, a spokesperson for the Ad Hoc Committee that included two priests and more than 100 parishioners, accusing Bishop Gibbs of threats and bullying. It also included a tape of the bishop's threats, which can be heard here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s95IvVCL48&list=UUBj64-HI7y-jDcdaUVVxL9A
The three-page letter to Beers from Haroutunian documented repeated threats and bullying by Bishop Gibbs towards Fr. Fred Engdahl and Fr. Kenneth L. Erickson over a five-year period resulting in Fr. Engdahl being wrongfully terminated from his position as priest-in-charge at the Church of the Resurrection in Clarkson.
They are seeking an apology from Bishop Gibbs to the Engdahl family for having to endure five years of grief, emotional unrest, and disillusionment following his termination. They also want financial restitution and clearance to return to "active ministry" in January 2015 with opportunities for potential openings in the Diocese of Michigan in order that Engdahl's wife can receive medical care and treatment for cancer at the University of Michigan.
The Ad Hoc committee also wants Bishop Gibbs to be placed on a 6-month sabbatical in order for the National Church to conduct a full psychological review by an outside firm. It also wants the National Church to send a mutually agreed upon Episcopal Visitor for 18 months to explore the nature of the fractured relationships between the congregations in the Michigan diocese which the Ad Hoc committee says is in excess of 20 of the 75 congregations affected by the bishop's behavior.
Fr. Erickson also seeks restitution for resettlement from Michigan to California and a written apology from Bishop Gibbs to his family for the grief, emotional unrest, and disillusionment following his abrupt termination from St. James Episcopal Church in Birmingham.
The ad hoc committee also seeks a written apology from the bishop to Mindy Taylor, a former youth leader at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Waterford, Michigan, who was dismissed for unsupported and unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct.
THREATS AND BULLYING by the Rt. Rev. Wendell N. Gibbs Bishop of Michigan! Watch and listen here to the threats by this revisionist bishop to a godly orthodox priest in his diocese.
You can read the full story about why this bishop was accused of bullying and sociopathic behavior and how he operates in his diocese here:
http://www.virtueonline.org/michigan-diocesan-bishop-accused-bullying-sociopathic-behavior-and-clergy-betrayal
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