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WISCONSIN: Grace Rector To Quit In $236k Settlement

WISCONSIN: Grace Rector To Quit In $236k Settlement

By Pat Schneider
The Capital Times
January 26, 2007

The rector of Grace Episcopal Church, accused of breaking pastoral confidences and ridiculing parishioners, is resigning as part of a settlement that church leaders hope will preserve the financial and communal health of the congregation.

The Rev. Martha Ann Englert will resign effective Feb. 1, according to a letter from parish wardens to members of the congregation posted on the Web site of the church, 116 W. Washington Ave., on the Capitol Square.

Church leaders said they hope Englert's resignation will put an end to a long period of divisiveness and uncertainty about the congregation's future that resulted in a 2006 pledge drive grossing only $187,000 -- less than half of what was pledged the previous year.

Last April a rare "presentment" brought against Englert by the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee accused her of "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy." The complaint set off nine months of canonic law proceedings that disrupted relationships within the historic congregation.

The final hearing before an Ecclesiastical Trial Court was Jan. 13. Two days later the vestry, a committee that administers the church, approved a settlement negotiated with Englert by churchwardens Robert DeBroux and Margaret Sleeper.

Englert will receive a lump sum payout of approximately $236,000, according to the letter signed by DeBroux and Sleeper. That represents a year's salary and benefits plus $120,000 to pay off outstanding legal fees.

"The vestry's approval of the settlement indicates its conclusion that the overall risk of going forward with Martha's future at Grace still uncertain was too great not to act upon it," the churchwardens wrote.

The case against Englert in the Ecclesiastical Court of the Diocese will continue, according to DeBroux and Sleeper.

The action against Englert, based on complaints by current and former church members and employees, divided the community from the start.

In June, Englert supporters brought a complaint against Bishop Steve A. Miller, accusing him of abusing the authority of his office in bringing the charges against Englert.

At an October hearing on the charges against her before a panel of canonical judges, other Grace members prepared to testify against her.

Attorney Thomas Scriver, representing the diocese, told the judges that Englert had disclosed information about adultery, financial problems and mental illnesses of parishioners.

Scriver said Englert used profanity and mimicked delivering a "communion" of hemlock to irritating church members. He portrayed her as a manipulator who traded private information about parishioners for influence.

Englert's attorney, Michael Rehill, called the prosecution of Englert "a travesty."

"It is a compilation of unrelated incidents strung together to suggest she is unfit for the ministry," Rehill told judges.

He did not respond to a call seeking comment on Thursday, nor did Englert, DeBroux or Sleeper.

The depth of the schism in the congregation became apparent when the annual pledge drive showed a steep drop. Vestry members making follow-up calls to parishioners who did not pledge were told by many that they would not pledge, or had reduced their pledge, until the matter involving Englert was resolved.

Based on the pledge drive, the church was projected to face an operating deficit of at least $217,000 in 2007, much larger than any other over the past decade, the letter to parishioners said. The church would be forced to dip into its endowment to cover operating costs.

With a decision from the trial court months off and the possibility of appeal by either side, the parish endowment fund could be siphoned for operating expenses for another year or two, wardens reasoned, adding that the longer the cause of the rupture in the community went unresolved, the harder it would be to heal.

The past nine months had seen instances of discord among members, the letter said -- refusing to give each other the sign of peace or to take communion, threatening to leave the congregation, or reducing their donations of time or money in protest.

Those feelings factored into Englert's decision to reach out to wardens and seek a settlement, which will be paid from the parish endowment, not pledge income, according to the letter.

As the resignation of rectors often effectively terminate an associate's tenure, Associate Rector Roman Shemayev will be given some $27,550 in severance, the wardens said.

He will serve until discharged by the vestry, which will select interim clergy before launching a search for a new rector.

The Rev. Pat Size, Hispanic missioner, will continue in her ministry.

The churchwardens remarked on the trying circumstances under which the vestry had worked over the past months and acknowledged that the committee members disagreed at some points and on some terms of the settlement.

"The resolution does not guarantee the successful healing of Grace Church, " the churchwardens wrote to their fellow congregants. "That is up to us all."

END

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