I was confirmed in the Episcopal church by Bishop Jack Iker who currently leads the Diocese of Fort Worth. In 2008, the Diocese, by a clear majority of over 80%, chose to realign themselves with the General Assembly of the Southern Cone in South America rather than the liberal theological-leaning General Convention of New York City. Legally, the Diocese of Fort Worth had every right to take their churches, congregations, and properties into a different General Convention, but the New York City-led General Convention is trying to sue the Diocese and take away their places of worship and church properties so they can hold the empty churches over the Diocese's head and gloat.
However, the TEC Convention has no legal right to these properties since they never paid a dime to buy or maintain them, and no where in the Constitution of their General Convention does it say that a Diocese can't leave the Convention. Legally, if they were honest, the New York headquarters would have no case in court, but what they have done is set up these 'Potemkin villages' or fake churches to create a fake Diocese, so that their attorneys can claim that they are the real Diocese of Fort Worth and that they have had THEIR PROPERTIES taken from them!
Every Texas appellate court has ruled against this claim, but because of one stupid Texas trial judge, the real Diocese is having to appeal a ruling. Luckily, the Supreme Court of Texas has decided to let the Diocese advance their case to the highest level, forgoing all the lower courts. I am confident that the law is on the Diocese's side, but we must remember that courts are unpredictable places where the law (or justice for that matter) does not always apply. We need to keep the Diocese of Fort Worth and Bishop Iker in our prayers.
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