Somewhere, buried in this rant from David Virtue:
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6167
is the following claim:
From the DIOCESE OF COLORADO comes the latest word from the Rev. Don Armstrong, rector of Grace Church & St. Stephen's in Colorado Springs.
The petty harassment by Diocesan attorney Martin Nussbaum continues of Grace Church & St. Stephen's.
Nussbaum has so far managed to freeze a scholarship trust fund that has benefited hundred's of parish college students, but now will only be collecting interest until the property issue is settled.
Also frozen at Grace Church is the parish's discretionary fund--which has most recently been used to help families of soldiers from Fort Carson serving in Iraq--little does the bishop care about those who defend his freedom of religious persecution.
The parish rector has been also been forced off the board of Ecumenical Social Ministries by board president and Roman Catholic priest Don Dunn--the diocesan attorney's own pastor.
Three points need to be made here:
1. The scholarship trust is actually an area where we were trying to make cooperative progress with Mr. Armstrong to the benefit of students in both congregations. The whining in this Virtue entry appears to be the best measure of his ability to cooperate at this time. Somehow I do not expect it to get better. Perhaps this shameful attempt to leverage this most generous program is a sign that the end is nearer that we thought.
2. The discretionary fund is the subject of Count 5 in the Presentment, on page ten:
http://www.graceepiscopalcolosprings.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/presentment.pdf
and perhaps best left frozen until this matter is settled, since there is a very public issue with how this fund has been handled in the past (i.e., not enough spent on families such as those from Fort Carson serving in Iraq and too much, um,...elsewhere).
3. The feedback I am hearing from the Grace Episcopal clergy is that these new members from Grace on the ESM board are welcome substitutes and that Mr. Armstrong had not been participating in the last few years, anyway. Perhaps such a claim as is seen in the Virtue entry would have some impact if the new members from Grace were not being welcomed so enthusiastically.
Such an attack on Mr. Nussbaum (whose preparation in response to the secessionist claims for property has been exemplary) for the consequences of Mr. Armstrong's own transgressions does not make sense.
Time to get a grip on reality...it is not necessarily being published in the conservative blogs.
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13 comments:
Thank you for bringing this to light. It is interesting that Don says this scholarship has benefitted hundreds in the past. He has been in the parish 20 years. I don't know how long the scholarship has been in existence. But, if it was around when he came 20 years ago, that would mean more than 5 students were granted scholarships every year. None of this was ever published. Maybe one or two students got this money per year. That doesn't equal hundreds of needy students.
And regarding ESM. Mr. Virtue has failed to mention that Don stopped going years ago and that he stopped paying the assessment for Grace and St. Stephens Episcopal Church about 6000+ dollars ago. Could that have anything to do with why he isn't welcome back?
What I really want to say about Don's latest abuse of the English language would send the blogmaster's wife running from the room while he broke the keyboard finding the delete button so I'll self-censure and stick to one topic. "Hundreds of Parish college students" have benefitted from the scholarship program? Name them, sir, name them I don't believe you. I estimate 250-300 kids have graduated from high school during your tenure. Name the ones (except your kids, of course) who have benefitted from the church's program. I suspect that one young man received a scholarship in 2000, I know of no others. Between both congregations there are barely a dozen graduates this year, who was told about the program and asked to apply? Who has applied and what is the status of the applications? How about from last year, or the year before? I don't believe you sir, and I take offense at your trying to make points on the backs of the very people you left out of the system. And then there's ESM.........
It's been quiet the past couple of weeks, so not surprised to see the recent whining from Armstrong - and true to form, he continues to play the role of the victim, while hundreds of Grace Episcopal faithful are moving on in a most holy and reverent way, confident that the truth will prevail. The constant negativity towards those who remain in the Episcopal Church from those following Armstrong is hardly what one would expect from such a self-professed and holy body of believers.
So now Armstrong says the scholarship fund has benefited "hundreds" of parish members.....hmmmm....wonder if he is willing to publish the list of those who benefited? As a member of Grace Episcopal for over 20 years - with college aged kids during these years - I never once heard of scholarships available to my kids. Guess there wasn't much left after Zach and Melissa (and family) used it all.
What an interesting tact for Don Armstrong to take. Since the ESM board has pastors or representatives from all the downtown churches, his removal from the board shows disapproval from a much wider group of colleagues than just Fr. Dunn. Don himself has told us that he no longer participates in the gatherings and discussions of the ecumenical downtown pastors' group. And when I talked to an office person at ESM in March, she said that Don had not been to a meeting in several years, and Grace Episcopal (then, Grace-CANA now) had not paid our assessment since September, 2006. Do you suppose that attending meetings and fulfilling your commitments is a reasonable requirement to staying on the board?
Attorney Martin Nussbaum is helping the Grace Episcopal folks find out what really happened to our offerings and funds held in trust for the benefit of the congregation. So, finding out the truth is termed petty harassment. Fr. Armstrong and the Tejon Street Vestry need to start cooperating with M. Nussbaum. Let's get to the bottom of what was done with all of that money.
If you go back through your Tidings, you will find that the Helen J. Smith Scholarship was announced every May and the applications (an application takes the form of a simple note to the Rector describing the nature of need) were due by June 1.
The only omission here is that the participants were never announced, which would have been prudent and fair.
A good number of parish children have made use of this program, and the only issue here is that we felt it would be a good forum for cooperation (like the transporation program and the Mothers' Day Out) so that college attendees from both congregations would benefit. Such cooperation still remains a hope.
Which brings us to his statement about helping families of soldiers serving in Iraq. You really really really want this to be true. But then you look at the other 2 examples- the hundreds of scholarships is stupid- the ESM situation is common knowledge and his statements are false- you really want the soldier statement to be true. But is this "third times the charm", or "three strikes you're out"? I can't blame anyone for being suspicious.
Dear Grace Concerns, Thank you for clarifying the announcement of the Smith Scholarship and the application process. I remember seeing it many times in Tidings and the Sunday Bulletin. However, I am not sure I agree that announcing the recipients would be wrong. Many scholarship funds proudly announce awards after they are made.
And the situation regarding ESM is shameful. That is the organization that helps families truly in need in this community and Grace Church certainly carries a black mark for turning our backs on them in the past under Armstrong's leadership.
Hundreds of young people have benefited from the Helen J. Smith Scholarship?? I would doubt that number. It would be interesting to see a list of who those students were each year. It also seems that the amount given to each student varied, perhaps depending on the whim of the administrator.
We were faithful and active members of Grace for years. When my child was a senior, we looked for information about the scholarship but did not see it posted. I do know that two young men did receive money from the scholarship that year which was great. Were there others that could have used the help from the church also? My daughter worked through college and each summer to pay half of her college cost. Any money that could have helped her would have been greatly appreciated.
Now I have another senior. She has had an interesting year of learning a lot about churches, faith, and people. She would like to apply for the scholarship and has worked hard to get into an excellent school. Now, the scholarship is in limbo.
I know that people have been trying to work with this scholarship fund to support students from Grace CANA and Grace Episcopal at this time. Isn't it sad that this may be one more "learning experience" for these college bound students?
To Episcopalian:
Let me clarify my statement of June 18:
I agree with you that announcing the recipients is desirable and, in fact, it is that practice which I would find prudent and fair, not keeping the recipient list a secret. My apologies for any confusion on this point.
I think it is sad - but usually the case - that out of town concerns such as Virtue Online want to comment and distort the facts for the purposes of their agenda. I seem to remember a time in the late 90s that we had enough money to step up our outreach giving mid-year. Fast forward to '05 and there was an extra appeal because we were behind budget significantly. That times out with the remodeling I suppose. Did the Habitat for Humanity pledge ever get paid? I understood that our pledge for the Episcopal / Lutheran house (five years ago or so) was very slow.
The Grace CANA Bulletin advertised the Helen Smith Scholarship last Sunday. I wonder what Don is thinking. Probably that he can use this as one more opportunity to play the victim when there are no funds to distribte because they are frozen.
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