From the "I can't believe it, yet I can" category...

When we thought things were getting back to a new normal for the Diocese of Fort Worth, what happens? A misogynist and defrocked bishop formerly of Fort Worth raises his silly head against a man of character and imbued with the Spirit. Read on, the ridiculous reality that is Jack Iker, former bishop of the true Episcopal Church, in name only because he never obeyed canon law or resolutions about, among other things, the ordination and equal place of women in the Church...can you tell I feel strongly about this issue among many?

From Episcopal News Service:
FORT WORTH: Breakaway bishop seeks challenge to authority of Episcopal bishop, others

September 9 hearing set in breakaway dispute

By Pat McCaughan

[Episcopal News Service] Attorneys for Jack Iker have asked a Texas court for permission to
challenge the authority of Provisional Bishop Ted Gulick Jr. and the standing committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

Iker, who left The Episcopal Church in 2008 but refused to relinquish church property or assets, is responding to a pending lawsuit filed by The Episcopal Church and the continuing Diocese of Fort Worth in April to establish the authority of the new diocesan leadership and to recover diocesan assets, according to chancellor Kathleen Wells.

Full story can be found here.

If you would like to know more about the goings on in the New, Bright and Beautiful Diocese of Fort Worth, join Facebook and go here to follow the reports of Thomas Squiers+ who administers the page. Or go to their website by clicking here.

And here is an upside to the Episcopal Church...well, ANOTHER upside to being in the Episcopal Church, at least in my humble view:

Subject: Sandra Day O’Connor – Another Reason to Be Rather Fond of the Episcopal Church by Chris Yaw, administrator of the Facebook page by the same name, Another Reason to Be Rather Fond of the Episcopal Church. You will need to be a Facebook member to view the page, but believe me, it is worth it.

With all the attention this summer on the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court let’s turn the spotlight on the woman who paved the way - Sandra Day O’Connor.

O’Connor was raised on the family ranch in Arizona. She attended Stanford University for undergraduate and law school. Her gender prevented her from working in law upon graduation so she turned to public service in California then in the Arizona state legislature. In 1975 she was elected judge in Maricopa County. She would be appointed to the Supreme Court six years later by Ronald Reagan, becoming the first woman ever to serve on the high court.

A cradle Episcopalian, O’Connor was married at All Saint’s Episcopal Church in El Paso, Texas. Today she is an active member of the Cathedral Chapter of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Last month she received the presidential Medal of Freedom alongside another famous Anglican, Desmond Tutu.

O’Connor’s accomplishments are a legacy to her keen mind, hard work and tenacity. And they remind us of the gifts God has given you and me. And just like us Justice O’Connor has found something worthwhile in the Episcopal Church. Perhaps it’s a tradition of intellectual rigor in approaching ethical issues, perhaps it’s the beauty of the liturgy that acknowledges God as the supreme judge, or maybe it’s a place to feel comfortable presenting our gifts as we look for discernment.

Chances are none of us will ever serve on the Supreme Court, but we are called to use our gifts to their highest and best. In what ways has our church helped us discern? Has the Episcopal Church helped clarify a difficult issue in your life? Feel free to stop by the message board and post a comment.
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See? A happy ending to an otherwise groaning post.