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Episcopal Cleric To Join Catholics

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 22, 2007

Read Letter | Statement From Catholic Bishop

John Lipscomb, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Southwest Florida, has asked for a release from his vows from his church's presiding bishop and will become a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

"It's been a long journey for me, but I'm completely at peace with it," Lipscomb, 57, said in an interview with The Tampa Tribune on Wednesday. "It's a decision that came with a lot of prayer and reflection, and it didn't come lightly."

Lipscomb, who retired as bishop on Sept. 15, and his wife, Marcie, will be received into the Catholic Church in mid-December. They will be members of the Church of the Nativity in Brandon, where they've been attending for several months.

Bishop Robert Lynch of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg said in a statement released Wednesday that it's his "fervent hope and prayer that both he and his wife will find spiritual peace among us." The two bishops worked together closely when Lipscomb served the Episcopal diocese.

Lynch also extended his "continued expression of esteem" for the Episcopal Church in the United States and his prayers for their local diocese. He said he intended to renew the "close collaboration and mutual support" that he had with Lipscomb with his successor, Bishop Dabney Smith.

According to a report on the Southwest Florida diocesan Web site, Smith said he was informed of Lipscomb's decision on Tuesday. He said he was pleased that the retired bishop and his wife found their place of spiritual solace.

Lipscomb is among the growing number of Episcopalians divided by the church's stands on some hot-button issues, such as ordaining gay clergy. In 2003, he was one of 19 bishops who issued a "statement of sorrow" when New Hampshire priest V. Gene Robinson was confirmed as the denomination's first openly gay bishop.

A year later, Lipscomb helped draft a theological statement that served as the framework for a dissident group, the Network of Anglican Communion Diocese and Parishes. He later said he did not support creation of the network, which threatened schism within the troubled American Episcopal Church.

Although he has been labeled a conservative, Lipscomb is "on the left edge of the right wing," the Rev. Ed. Henley of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Tampa told the Tribune last spring.

Health problems led to Lipscomb's early retirement in his leadership role with the church. In 2002, he learned he had Parkinson's disease, and three years later, he contracted malaria on a mission trip to Africa. Both are chronic and degenerative and can worsen over time.

But Wednesday, he said his health is on the rebound, thanks to a correction in his medications and time off for rest.

"Just being away from the battle has made things a lot better," he said, referring to the discord at the national level.

He said he and his wife are very comfortable with their decision to part ways with the Episcopal Church, calling it a "leading of the Holy Spirit and God's call to us for the next chapter of our lives." He said, though, that they will miss all the friends they've made in his decade of serving the Southwest Florida diocese, which serves about 33,000 congregants in 78 parishes from Brooksville to Marco Island.

"We had a lot of support in my years here, especially when I had to take a medical leave," he said.

Lipscomb said he also was appreciative of his successor's "graciousness" regarding his announcement.

This will be Lipscomb's third denomination. He started life as a Southern Baptist, then became an Episcopalian after courting Marcie, who belonged to that church.

At this time, Lipscomb has no plans to assume any leadership roles in his new denomination.

"I'll just be a pew-sitting Catholic," he said with a laugh.

Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at mbearden@tampatrib

.com or at (813) 259-7613.

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