Episcopal priest's case goes to church court

Clergyman won't attend hearing on funds charges

Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 31, 2007 at midnight

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An Episcopal Church court meets in Denver today to weigh the case against the Rev. Don Armstrong, who has been accused by the diocese of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his Colorado Springs parish.

The public is invited, but Armstrong will be among the missing when the five-member judicial body of clergy and laity convenes at 9 a.m. in Dagwell Hall of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, 1350 Washington St.

"I think he's going mountain biking (today), which shows you what he thinks of it," said his spokesman, Alan Crippen.

Armstrong, the 20-year pastor of Grace and St. Stephen's parish, says the charges are bogus. He says he won't attend the hearing because he has left the Episcopal Church and it no longer has jurisdiction over him.

The hearing is expected to include testimony and documentary evidence collected during a yearlong investigation. The diocese hired the law firm of Denver attorney Hal Haddon to handle the case.

The diocese is also still considering civil and criminal charges against Armstrong, said Beckett Stokes, the diocese's communications director.

The allegations cover a 10-year period beginning in 1997, and accuse Armstrong of misusing nearly $400,000 in church funds to cover family expenses and his own children's education, among other things.

Armstrong has answered the charges in various parish forums, saying all of his actions were proper and approved by the appropriate church authorities.

He contends that the charges are really about a deepening schism that has accelerated since the Episcopal Church began openly accepting gay bishops and authorized same-sex blessings in 2003.

Armstrong, a conservative leader who has helped lead the rebellion against those trends, believes Colorado Bishop Rob O'Neill is pursuing a vendetta against him.

In March, Armstrong and a substantial portion of his parish split from the church and joined a national conservative movement, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, which says its base of ex-Episcopalians stands at about 50 clergy and 30 congregations.

The diocesan church court convening today could determine that Armstrong is not guilty, or it could recommend a reprimand, suspension, or that Armstrong be defrocked.

Neither side will discuss whether Armstrong's pension, amassed over four decades as an Episcopal priest, may also be in jeopardy.

A separate property lawsuit, stemming from the diocese's demand that Armstrong leave the Grace and St. Stephen's property, is moving forward in El Paso District Court. Oral arguments are scheduled for October.

As for the church trial, it's not known how long it may take before the panel sends its recommendations to O'Neill, who can either concur with the recommended penalty or lessen it. He cannot increase it.

Crippen said the diocese's case against Armstrong reflects the "mean-spiritedness" of O'Neill, whom he likened to a Captain Ahab who won't rest until he has skewered his white whale.

"He's monomaniacal in his pursuit of Don Armstrong," Crippen said.

Diocesan spokeswoman Beckett Stokes said the Moby Dick allusion didn't warrant a reply "except to say, as we've said all along, that one of the bishop's many responsibilities is to look into allegations of wrongdoing by clergy.

"He takes that very seriously and has followed it faithfully in this case."

Court members

The three clergy and two lay members of the ecclesiastical court that will be hearing evidence today against the Rev. Don Armstrong are:

• Presiding judge: The Rev. Peter Munson, St. Ambrose in Boulder

• The Rev. Martin Pearsal, of Colorado Springs, currently doing nonparish work

• The Rev. Marcia Stackhouse, Our Merciful Savior in Denver

• Zoe Cole, member, St. Luke's in Denver

• Nicholas Pijoan, member, St. Thomas in Denver

torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5055

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