He stood shamelessly before the mostly missing evangelical congregation and said, "I know that I am in opposition with people in this parish who find me different or strange... but that is always true. Wherever I go I encounter difference."

The Scripture reading from Mark's gospel seemed to sum up the sentiment of many in the parish with respect to Bennison, "watch out for false prophets, be on your guard..."

Many nodded when the text from the Book of Hebrews was read, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God...do not throw away your confidence, persevere...the righteous will live by faith."

Parish priest Fr. Greg Brewer urged parishioners to honor their consciences and offered alternative services to the large congregation on Saturday night, with the result that on Sunday, only 18 turned up to the 7.30am service and about 100 appeared at the 9:00am service.

During his sermon Bennison reflected on the situation in the national church, and said that he had been talking with a United Church of Christ official following the investiture of Katherine Jefferts Schori in Washington DC, when the man told him that at one of his churches that was being repainted, the painter reading John 17, had painted out "That they all might be one" and instead painted "that they all might be done". Bennison laughed. The congregation did not react. Bennison tried again. "Another church paint job resulted in the painter painting over the sign, "the United Church of Christ" and painted instead, the "untied Church of Christ." Bennison laughed. No one in the congregation laughed.

Bennison said that [the gospel of] Mark was concerned about the unity of all human persons urging the congregation to "look, be aware see, watch...this is a primordial story that is true for all people. The story is about learning to respect differences." At the end of the sermon two ringers briefly clapped, the rest of the congregation sat stony faced.

At announcement time, Brewer addressed the congregation saying the bishop's visit was made "under duress". The vestry had not chosen to have the bishop come, he said. In correcting the bishop's sermon he said, "The foundation of the Church is Jesus Christ. The message of Mark's Gospel is not a call to respect differences, it is the call to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand."

Earlier in the week, Brewer had written a letter to the parish telling them that he had requested Bennison reconsider the wisdom of his decision to visit Good Samaritan this year.

"While the Bishop has no canonical obligation to visit, as he did so two years ago, he does have the right to visit when he so chooses, with or without our consent. We respectfully contend that to set aside his pastoral responsibilities in order to exercise his power of authority is both a sad commentary and pastorally insensitive. The Bishop, unfortunately, insisted on exercising his right to visit."

Brewer said he had received letters of support from the Diocesan Standing Committee as well as promises to pray for Good Samaritan from Archbishop John Chew of Southeast Asia, Peter Akinola Archbishop of Nigeria, Benjamin Nzimbi, Archbishop of Kenya, Dr. David Zac Niringiye, Bishop of Kampala and Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies. Brewer and these primates serve together on the board of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund. "Much love and grace surrounds us this morning," he said.

At communion only 25 parishioners came forward to take communion from Bennison, 75 moved across in front of the altar and took it from Brewer. Brewer did not receive communion from the bishop. None of the other three parish priests or two deacons were present at the altar.

On November 14, the vestry of the Church of the Good Samaritan wrote Bennison a letter saying that they were troubled by the timing of his scheduled episcopal visit and strenuously asked that he cancel his visitation in light of charges by the Standing Committee that he both violated the canons of the diocese and for "conduct unbecoming". They also pointed to recent media revelations that he hid his brother's statutory rape and sexual abuse of parishioners and that he knowingly remained silent about his behavior and misrepresented the facts in the public media.

"We, the vestry of the church ask you to lay aside your right to an episcopal visitation and cancel your visitation for November 19."

In words that will now come back to haunt him, Bennison wrote a book in 1999 called "In Praise of Congregations," and on page 192 writes: "Congregations that harbor secrets surrounding events in their collective lives--such as sexual or financial misconduct on the part of the clergy--experience cognitive dissonance between reality and what is said about it. Within the life of the congregation secrecy becomes toxic. When the memory of misconduct is repressed in this way, it results in the congregation's defensiveness about particular eras in its history, and selective amnesia about certain events." Bennison's actions over the past few weeks demonstrate fully the truth of his own words.

END