The British-born Barnes acknowledged the occasion with a wry grin saying that it was "10 years, four months and 6 days in the making." Barnes had begun his spiritual pilgrimage to the priesthood in the Diocese of Massachusetts under the late Bishop David Johnson who committed suicide and later under Tom Shaw where he did his clinical pastoral education at NYU at Tisch Hospital and fulfilled the other obligations including parish placement at St. John's parish in Sandwich, Cape Cod in the Diocese of Massachusetts.

Barnes jumped through all the hoops required by the Commission on Ministry of the Diocese and garnered their approval surprisingly for moving forward to candidacy, being the last hoop in the ordination process. It was then in the hands of the Standing Committee of the Diocese who decided to reject the recommendations of the COM and not to allow Barnes to proceed further. In the words of the administrator "after a number of years you are now dropped from the process."

Despite an appeal to the Standing Committee, spearheaded by the rector of Barnes' home parish, the Robert D. Edmund's parish in St. Andrews, Edgartown, MA and the Rev. John McGinn the rector of St. John's Sandwich, both of whom petitioned Shaw and the Standing Committee to reconsider their opposition, the Standing Committee would not budge. It was at that point, at the encouragement of a number of orthodox senior clergy and bishops that Barnes was asked to proceed through the AAC process.

Barnes was considered too orthodox on faith and morals. The new priest rejects same-sex marriages and openly homoerotic priests to the ordained ministry. "He is very opinionated...he's an evangelical what do you expect," said his parish priest at them time. The old time liberals who were horrified by the decisions, said Barnes. The process was now into its fifth years.

At TESM doing a January term, while he was Executive Director for FOCUS, he sought assistance from Canon Mary Hayes, Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Pittsburgh and asked to reconsider and go through the AAC process.

Barnes moved to the West Chester area of Pennsylvania where he became senior VP of Geneva Global a foundation involved in funding in the Third World. Barnes and his wife then became members of the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, PA, the largest parish in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Brewer agreed to take him to the diaconate.

Barnes was finally ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Pittsburgh and completed his
diaconate under the Rev. Brewer's supervision as part of the AAC program in
conjunction with the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

After 6 months when it became time for him to be priested Duncan wrote to Bishop Charles Bennison (PA) and asked him if he could ordain Barnes in the Diocese of PA in either a parish or in a tent on the property. Fr. David Moyer offered to have it at Rosemont. It was decided that the best option was to have the ordination at Duncan's old home parish in the Diocese of NJ. Bennison said no.

The bishop then turned to NJ Bishop George Councell who gave permission for Duncan to use the Anglo-Catholic parish of Christ Church in Bordentown, a parish close to Philadelphia where Duncan grew up in, and where he himself was baptized, confirmed married and ordained.

"I told Bishop Councell that this was not a political act, and that I was not trying to make any point other than to ordain a godly man to the priesthood," said Duncan to Virtuosity. Councell agreed.

The Anglo-Catholic rector of the parish Rev. Richard A.D. Benedict told Virtuosity that he did not agree with his bishop on many issues, but the bishop had been cordial to him and told him he had a place in the diocese.

Duncan publicly thanked Bishop Councell for his hospitality at the ordination service.

On Sunday Bishop Duncan performed a baptism of his grandson Patrick Robert Jakubik at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania following the liturgy. Bishop Bennison had consented to Bishop Duncan's officiating at the baptism. Bishop Duncan did not perform at the Mass but sat with his family. Fr. David Moyer preached, celebrated and Bishop Duncan received communion from him.

In an interview with Bishop Duncan following the service, the bishop said he and his team were well received at Kanuga where the Lambeth Commission is meeting this week. "I and the team of persons that included both ordained and non-ordained persons were treated with great respect by the commission and our views were clearly heard and recorded about the current state of the Episcopal Church."

Bishop Duncan also brought greetings from the Anglican Communion Network to the Anglo-Catholic congregation.

END