July 2024
To: The Rev Barbara Kempf
From: , , (diocese of San Diego)
Re: Report of Misconduct under Title IV concerning The Rt. Rev. Susan Brown Snook
We, the undersigned members of , are requesting a Title IV inquiry into the conduct of Bishop Snook in her handling of the controversies at concerning our beloved Rector, We believe Canon 4; Standards of Conduct apply in this situation. Bishop Snook’s behavior includes negligence, misrepresentation, dishonesty and fraud. Her dereliction of duty to resulted in thousands of dollars spent without discovery. Her June 20, 2024 letter to revealed her action of ordering our Rector to Administrative Leave without pursuing or establishing merit for why legal intervention was required. Her counsel, lack of intervention and/or due process, has been material, substantial and of clear and weighty importance to the ministry of
Key elements of this action are delineated below
● On December 1, 2021, the Rector was informed of a sexual harassment complaint from an employee concerned about the behavior of the Senior Warden, . The Rector immediately notified the Office of the Bishop. informed Jeff Martinhauk who handled human resources, Canon to the Ordinary Gwenn Lynch and Bishop Susan Brown Snook of the complaint. The Rector told the Bishop thatknew the complaint to be true because was also the recipient of the inappropriate sexual behavior. The Bishop advised the Rector to handle the matter internally.
● On December 6, 2021, a meeting was held with . , the Rector, the CFO and the Vestry’s head of personnel .. was removed as senior warden, and resigned vestry appointment a few days later.moved church membership to another congregation, but remained an active member of the Bible Study Group.
● On December 13, 2021, Senior Warden wrote a letter to Bishop Snook informing her of the events. also left a phone message. No response was received from Bishop Snook.
● At the December 2021 Vestry meeting, the Vestry went into closed session and informed vestry members of the situation and actions taken. A member of the Vestry, visibly upset, asked to speak with the Rector and head of the personnel committee after the meeting, and became the third identified victim of the sexually harassing behavior.
● In early 2022, a number of individuals, who “were known to the Diocese,” began making complaints to the Bishop concerning . This pattern continued with former
employees complaining about the Rector. The attitude of the Diocese toward and then shifted dramatically. Our belief is that faced ongoing retaliation for bringing sexual harassment to light by select vestry members who colluded with The Bishop to subjugate and work to end not just tenure at but also career as a priest.
● In February 2022, Senior Warden was approached by two members of the Bible Study group in the narthex of the church and told that had made a grave mistake about. , and “would be sorry.”
● In March 2022, the Chaplain and Director of Children’s Ministries overheard a conversation taking place in the Bible Study Group. , a member of the group and a current vestry member was heard leading a conversation, the essence of which was had serious doubts that was the right fit for us, was out of probationary period and so they would have to ask theBishop to remove , and it might cost the church some money, maybe a million dollars, but it would allow them to get someone who was a better fit. The Chaplain was gravely concerned and visibly upset. met separately with and also with Senior Warden . filed a written report with the wardens, which forwarded to the Rector. also forwarded concerns to the Diocese.
● On March 8, 2022, a meeting was held at the Diocesan offices with Bishop Snook, Canon Gwenn Lynch, and vestry wardens and . The purpose of the meeting was to review the climateat Church. A written report was left for the Bishop requesting she speak/address vestry members as well as the entire congregation in a pastoral letter. Bishop Snook declined this request.
● On March 12, 2022, Canon Gwenn Lynch made an appearance at the vestry retreat, and she read scripture about “vipers tongues.” Prior to her addressing the meeting, wardens and had to intervene with Canon Lynch who was loudly berating . The wardens were shaken by this unprofessional behavior.
● In January 2023, was elected to the Vestry, and became Junior Warden. Within weeks of being named Junior Warden, began a campaign to discredit the Rector. dredged up complaints from former church members and employees. . alleged that multiple parishioners were leaving the church due to The Rector being unwilling to “reconcile” with them. This is not true. Senior Warden and the Rector attempted several times to come up with a means to resolve these “alleged” issues. . refused saying the complaints were made “anonymously” and the complainants did not wish to be named. Not one single Vestry meeting or Special Vestry meeting was held before . went to the Diocese without the knowledge of the Rector, Senior Warden, or the Vestry to initiate a complaint against the Rector. More recently, Bishop Snook’s Canon to the Ordinary helped guide . in action taken against the
Rector. No clear allegations were made, only unsubstantiated and partial truths. To date, . cannot clearly articulate any of the “alleged” complaints against the Rector, and refuses to work through or “reconcile” any of the issues. Our rector, has had no due process, and has not been offered any opportunity to hear the specific claims made against that led to this process, nor the chance to confirm or deny them. In essence, has been accused and convicted of wrongdoing without a trial.
● In December 2023, Bishop Snook recommended a mediator to the Vestry who was inexperienced in church group mediation. After spending $6000 for interviews and a retreat, the Vestry was left with no allegations to address. The mediator gathered information under the pretense that it would be confidential. However, the mediator released the comments and the Rector’s self-assessment to the wardens. The mediator submitted a rambling report full of grammatical errors and cut-and-paste commentary. The report is unusable and does not provide a way forward. The mediator did not address any of the “alleged” “anonymous complaints” that precipitated theinquiry by Junior Warden .
● A special meeting of the vestry was held on April 17, 2024. Senior Warden invited and to answer questions concerning accusations brought to the current Vestry against the rector that occurred during their tenure as wardens. After an hour and fifteen minutes the former wardens were excused. After discussion, the vestry voted that there was no indication of wrongdoing to substantiate the charges against the rector.
● In her letter to the congregation (June 20, 2024) Bishop Snook shared that was being placed on administrative leave because “has chosen to take action that places in an adversarial relationship with a congregation.” In her letter, Bishop Snook shared confidential legal information that was not only out of context, but in an inflammatory manner and took a public stand to our congregation against our rector. As the majority of the congregation had no knowledge of the events leading up to the Bishop’s letter, Bishop Snook left the congregation in a deep state of confusion and incredulity. Further, she identified . (the Junior Warden and chief antagonist against ) as the people’s warden the congregation should bring our concerns to, further undermining any possibility of justice within the current system. These combined actions have further highlighted the Bishop’s questionable leadership and created further division within the congregation and the vestry.
● Following Bishop Snook’s letter to the congregation, Bishop Snook assigned Canon Gwenn Lynch as an interim liaison and to help with day-to-day office work and assignment of clergy in the absence of the Rector. Canon Gwenn requested in writing via email to Senior Warden to remove public minutes from a Special Vestry Meeting from (the congregational newsletter where meeting minutes are posted). The Senior Warden contacted vestry member and Treasurer
immediately and notified of this request. Both the Senior Warden and the Treasurer agreed that it was best to inform the Church’s attorney Mr. of the request, who found the request extremely concerning. The request to scrub public Vestry meeting minutes from the record seems wildly out of line if not illegal, especially coming from the Diocesan level. Both the Senior Warden and the Treasurer agree this request if executed would be a violation of their fiduciary obligations as officers of a CA 501c3. This request is evermore concerning as the meeting minutes from the April 17, 2024 Special Vestry Meeting requested to be removed by Canon Gwenn was the meeting in which the former Senior Warden , and the former Junior were brought in to speak to the claims made against the Rector by. . and were the presiding warden’s during the time period in which . “alleged” complaints were made. . was not on Vestry and was not in a leadership role within the church during that period.
● Our substantiated claim is that our Rector, had no choice but to respond to a system orchestrated by the Bishop that had already taken an adversarial position against. Prior to this alleged legal action initiated by the rector, a was filed against her.A process against has also been initiated. The over 40 letters of support sent to the vestry from a congregation largely supporting remain unmentioned by Bishop Snook.
● The involvement of Bishop Snook and her Canon Gwenn Lynch has been adversarial and partisan. At every opportunity to aid in reconciliation we have found a Bishop and Diocesan leadership team focused on prosecuting vague accusations rather than following the appropriate process and supporting the Rector. The Diocese under the leadership of Bishop Snook has shown no interest in seeking any form of truth or justice in this matter.
Our hope would be that our beloved rector could be restored to a harmonious relationship with . However, because of the subjugation has experienced, this may not be desire. Our objective is that accountability and a return to integrity by our vestry and Diocese will lead to justice for and that career and well-being will be restored. We are happy to provide documentation and address questions This is a brief summary of our main concerns.
Respectfully submitted,
, (current vestry member, Treasurer)
, (current vestry member) (former vestry member)
., (44 year member of parish, former President of school board, parent of graduate,
former junior warden, former Senior Warden, 2024 Stewardship chair)
Ph.D., (44 year member of parish, parent of graduate, former vestry member, Chair of Coffee Committee, Personnel Committee)
, Col (USMC, Ret.) (20 year member of parish, former vestry member and junior warden, Verger, Chair of Property Committee)
, CAPT (USN, Ret.) (former vestry member)
, (38 year member of parish, former vestry member, former school board member, parent of two graduates.)
, (3rd generation parishioner, church musician)
, (parishioner) , (alumnae, 2nd generation parishioner)
, (parishioner)
, (4th generation Parishioner, () alumni, current parent, Altar Guild)
Joined by three additional persons who wish to remain anonymous.