Jump to content

Steve Breedlove

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by BattyBot (talk | contribs) at 06:22, 21 November 2022 (Removed Category:Year of birth missing (living people) and General fixes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Right Reverend

Steve Breedlove
Former Presider Bishop of PEARUSA; Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope
ChurchAnglican Church in North America
DiocesePEARUSA (former missionary district of Anglican Church of Rwanda); Christ Our Hope (Anglican Church in North America)
In office2012–present
PredecessorSee created
Orders
Ordination2005
Consecration29 October 2012
by Robert Duncan
Personal details
Born
Tyler, Texas, U.S.
SpouseSally Breedlove
Children5
EducationRobert E. Lee High School
Alma materWashington and Lee University
Dallas Theological Seminary

Steven Allen Breedlove (born 1950) is an American prelate of the Anglican Church in North America. He was elected as the first Presider Bishop of PEARUSA, a missionary district that was formerly part of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, in 2012. In 2016, Breedlove became the first diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope.

Biography

Breedlove was born in Tyler, Texas to First Lieutenant James Robby Breedlove and Paula Kent.[1][2] He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School and attended Washington and Lee University for undergraduate studies.[1] He then obtained Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary,[1] writing a dissertation based on case studies in team ministry at Bethany Chapel in Calgary, Alberta, where he was the senior pastor from 1990 to 1997.[3][4] He was a non-denominational Christian pastor for 29 years prior to converting to Anglicanism in 2001.[5]

In 2005, Breedlove was ordained as a priest of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and served as a pastor at the Church of the Apostles.[1] Later that year, he founded All Saints Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, serving as the church's rector.[5][6][1] He was also the founder and director of the Anglican Missional Pastor leadership program developed for men and women entering ordained ministry.[7]

After the withdrawal of the Anglican Mission in the Americas, Breedlove was unanimously elected the first Presider Bishop pro tem of PEARUSA, the new missionary district of the Anglican Church of Rwanda in the United States, a dual church body of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and the Anglican Church in North America, and was appointed by Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje.[1][8] He was installed on 11 June 2012. Bishop Breedlove's consecration took place on 29 October 2012, in Denver, Colorado, by Archbishop Robert Duncan.[8]

Breedlove became the first diocesan bishop of the newly constituted Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope on 21 June 2016 upon the dissolution of PEARUSA resulting from its transfer from the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda to the Anglican Church in North America.[9][10]

On Thursday June 17, 2021 the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America elected Alan Hawkins as Bishop Coadjutor of the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope.[11] Hawkins will serve alongside Breedlove until Breedlove transitions out of episcopal ministry.[11]

He has been married to Sally Breedlove, a writer, since 1972 and they have five children and fourteen grandchildren.[5][12][13] In 2009, Breedlove co-wrote the book The Shame Exchange - Trading Shame for God's Mercy and Freedom with his wife and Ralph and Jennifer Ennis.

Mishandling of Investigation into Dan Claire

In April 2022 allegations were made that Breedlove had mishandled allegations of clergy misconduct against Dan Claire, a priest in Washington, D.C.[14] At this time, the Diocese of Christ Our Hope made it known that it had hired an external firm, Grand River Solutions, to investigate Breedlove's handling of the matter.[15] In October 2022 Grand River Solutions released an executive report of its findings, concluding the following:[16]

  • In 2020 Breedlove received one complaint that was broad and unspecific and, citing 1 Timothy 5:19, told the complainant that other people would need to come forward before Breedlove could act.
  • Following his comment to a complainant about the need for more complainants, more complainants emerged in subsequent months. With one exception, the complaints were "broad claims" lacking enough specificity to be investigated.
  • Bishop Breedlove used these complaints as the basis for a canonical investigation, and selected Robert and Judy Pardon, self-made experts in cults,[17] to conduct the investigation.
  • Breedlove failed to provide Claire with a written notice of investigation, and never outlined the scope of the investigation, the specific canon(s) that were at issue in the investigation, or an overview of the investigative process.
  • Neither Breedlove nor the investigators informed Claire of his right to counsel in the matter, nor did they allow him the opportunity to call witnesses in the investigation.
  • The investigators did not create a timeline, engage in fact-gathering or fact-finding, or provide any sort of canonical analysis. Instead, they acted as a sounding board for complainants and, without having any psychological expertise, attempted to diagnose Claire.
  • The investigators produced a 93-page report which had the following content: a cover page (1 page), "Introduction" (8 pages), "Ten Characteristics of Spiritual Abuse and Abusers" (68 pages), "People Interviewed for this Investigation" (5 pages), "Overview of Two Specific Cases" (3 pages), "Conclusion" (5 pages), and "Recommendations" (3 pages).
  • Despite the fact that "[t]he Investigation Report lacked any of the components typically found in an investigative report", and despite the fact that Breedlove himself concluded there to be no basis for canonical charges of any sort, Breedlove attempted to force upon Claire various punitive measures, including an indefinite leave of absence for "personal reasons", through the mechanism of a "Godly Admonition".

Due to the protest of Claire's advocates, parish council, assisting clergy, and parishioners the Diocese of Christ Our Hope commissioned the Grand River Solutions investigation, paying $50,000 for the investigation and attendant costs.[18] Following release of this executive summary report, Breedlove addressed the Diocese of Christ Our Hope synod in November 2022, declaring "profound sorrow" and saying, "I failed". He did not, however, address Claire by name nor did he apologize specifically to him.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Affiliation - Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Chapel Hill)". Church of the Holy Trinity.
  2. ^ "James Breedlove Obituary (2014) - Tyler, TX - Tyler Morning Telegraph". obituaries.tylerpaper.com.
  3. ^ "5 May 2018 bulletin for worship at Bethany Chapel" (PDF). Bethany Chapel website. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Breedlove, Steven. ""Case studies in team ministry with implications for Bethany Chapel"". ProQuest. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Leadership | Christ the Redeemer". January 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "Our Bishops". Archived from the original on January 20, 2016.
  7. ^ "Blog – Page 12 – THE DIOCESE OF THE CAROLINAS".
  8. ^ a b Steve Breedlove Consecrated First Bishop of PEARUSA, San Francisco Anglicans, 21 November 2012
  9. ^ "Anglican Church in North America". anglicanchurch.net. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  10. ^ "Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope|HOME". Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  11. ^ a b "College of Bishops Approves Two New Members". June 17, 2021.
  12. ^ "Sally Breedlove - About". www.sallybreedlove.com.
  13. ^ "About JourneyMates".
  14. ^ Post, Kathryn (April 7, 2022). ""Anglicans say leaders botched response to allegations against DC priest"". Religion News Service. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Letter of Engagement with GRS" (PDF). Diocese of Christ Our Hope website. March 4, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Grand River Solution's "Executive Report: Review of Investigation of Rev. Dan Claire and Associated Action by the Diocese of Christ Our Hope"" (PDF). Diocese of Christ Our Hope website. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "MeadowHaven - Lakeville, MA". www.meadowhaven.org. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "2022 Treasurer's Report to Synod" (PDF). Diocese of Christ Our Hope website. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  19. ^ "The Holy Eucharist | Convocation & Synod 2022". Church of the Holy Spirit (Roanoke) YouTube channel. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.


Religious titles
New title Presider Bishop, PEARUSA
2012–2016 		Position abolished
I Bishop of Christ Our Hope
2016–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steve_Breedlove&oldid=1123009109"