📧 “Referred to you by Bp. Todd Ousley” (ignored)
Bishop Sumner,
I am contacting you as a communicant in good standing of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States at the referral of Bishop Todd Ousley, of the Presiding Bishop's staff, to request that, as a venue hosting the conference, you encourage Communion Partners and the Diocese of Dallas to have Stanley Hauerwas be removed from the speakers list for the September RADVO Conference. He is currently scheduled to speak Thursday, September 20th at 6pm.
On May 22, 2016 I reached out to Hauerwas “in the spirit of Matthew 18," following multiple public statements by him which dehumanized myself and other members of the military. On June 15 and July 25 he and I met on campus at Duke University, where we were both teaching at the time, with the stated goal of reconciliation. The fruit of these two meetings was an agreement to “co-teach” a course on the virtues of military formation. After developing the course together, on November 3, 2016, Hauerwas demanded an exchange of favors from me, which would have substantially reduced student enrollment and, consequently, the likelihood of that course being taught again. His demand was coercive, including an explicit condition which an ordinarily prudent person would have known carried substantial risk to my future employment as a whole. Another faculty member has told me I likely have been “blacklisted” from doctoral programs for reporting the abuse, which effectively has denied me the opportunity to pursue a career in my profession of choice.
In January, 2017 I involved my priest, the Reverend Karen Barfield, who convened several members of Saint Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Durham, NC to serve as a small discussion group to discern steps forward. As a result of that discernment process, I contacted Hauerwas’ priest, the Reverend Clarke French on July 29, 2017, asking for a mediated conversation in the continued hope of reconciliation. Rev. French relayed to me that Hauerwas was “unwilling” to meet. The week of August 5, 2017, I was referred to Bishop Suffragan Anne Hodges Copple via the pastoral response team, as she was the acting Diocesan Bishop at the time, who expressed similar concerns about Hauerwas’ behavior and indicated that others have had comparable complaints. The current Diocesan Bishop, Bishop Sam Rodman (CCed), was involved starting on February 20, 2018 and he continues to impress upon Hauerwas my request for a mediated conversation. The fruit of those efforts are unknown to me.
This is ecclesiastically significant because the requirements of the Eucharist, outlined explicitly in the Anglican Catechism, include self-examination, repentance, and living in love and charity with others, two of which Hauerwas has refused to display toward fellow Communicants. This is also significant because the exchange of favors that Hauerwas demanded is a secular crime. Because Hauerwas and I were each employed by a "program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” his actions also reflect the crime of intimidation as described by 18 USC § 245 (b)(4). Furthermore, as a disabled combat veteran, I am protected by other federal laws which this behavior violates, including, but not limited to, the following
Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment & Assistance Act of 1974
Sections 503 & 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Title I & II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Hauerwas' behavior has trivialized our tradition & doctrine time and time again, and has himself directly undermined the exclesiastical authority with which priests are divinely ordained; neither the Holy Orders of two parish priests nor two diocesan bishops have yet proven sufficient to compel him to reflect the qualities of membership in the Anglican communion by being reconciled to a person against whom he had abused his power and influence. Furthermore, this contrasts sharply with Archbishop Justin Welby’s stated priority of reconciliation.
There are plenty of platforms and events which he is uniquely qualified to address, especially within the academic arena, but a gathering to celebrate and inspire the next generation of priests is no such venue. I must insist on a response in writing, given the short amount of time left before the event.
I have laid out plainly how Hauerwas' actions were abusive here and NC Diocesan Bishop Sam Rodman can attest to my efforts to reach out to Hauerwas in the spirit of Matthew 18, which have been refused.
