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STArE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT CHIPPEWA COUNTYBRANCH 1In the Malter of:

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St. Simeon's Episcopal ChurchPetitonervs.

CASE NO. 20 II CYOOO I 13James R . ConnellRespondent

Admissions StatementComes now, James R. Connell to Admit onto Evidence, as per Wisconsin Rules of Evidence, one letterof response from Bishop Ed Leidel, regarding prior contact of James Connell hy letter dated 1-11-20 I Irequesting in writing, help from the Church in regards to Marital Discord, and Church Politics inregards to Fr. Hoeakstra, and Fr. Usher not adhering to Church Canon (also admitted on this date).

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~ ~ ~ (A J ~ U (t __ ~: de J4u,-e, tJ k '" '* ' W e4Me - 2 {!,to 5:12The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ed Leide/, Jr., Bishop ProvisionalTel: 717-835-3331 + Fax: 715-835-9212Email: edleidel@anqltcancoac;h.com+Web:httpl/dioec.com

~~c)~ :;>~I )~I(Mr. Jim Connellc/o St. Simeon's Episcopal Church19058190th ST. City Hwy JChippewa Falls, WI 54729

Dear Jim,, am in receipt of your letter to me dated 1-11-11.I am sorry to hear of your distress.If you are in need of counseling I suggest you seek the help of a professional counselor. Most of ourclergy are not trained to do professional counseling. Has your wife sought professional counseling?When there is marital discord, and when one of the parties is unwilling to seek counseling with theirpartner it is appropriate for each party to seek their own source of counseling. Are you in need offinancial assistance in seeking professional counseling? If so I may be able to help. Are you aware of thenames of any professional counselors in your area? Again, if not, I may be able to help.It is important for you to know that I do have the utmost confidence in the priestly competence of bothFr. Hoekstra and Fr Usher.For the record I have never received a report of any meetings that you have had with any of the clergy inthe diocese.As you may know I am contracted to work with the diocese for only one-third time. I am presently awayfrom the diocese and am not due to return until mid-March. You can however contact me by email, oryou can contact me through my administrative assistant, Archdeacon Jeanne Stout at the above address.I wish you all the best as you seek to wo through your present challenges.Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Edwin leidel, Jr.Bishop Provisional of the Diocese of Eau Claire

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AN OPEN I ,FITER TO THE CONGRE(iATION OF SAINT SIMEON'S CHlJRCl1The last few years around Saint Simeon's I 've heard a lo t of reference made to, "Goingb y th e h oo k". I began to wonder what B O OK? Webster's? The Rook of C om monP ra ye r? R o be rt's Rules? The B ook of C anon!')') I didn't knov . . .The first suggestion I recall that we an; going 10 go hy the book was Ron telling me thatRill II all w asn 't do ing a go od job as treasurer so we w ill disqualify h im from heing~elected according to the BOOK, I tho ught w hat BOOK? Eventually I learned about theC anon B ook and I obtained a copy , but in it, it said Ron could not hold Bill H all's o ldoffice because he is m arried to C lergy. I must have looked at the wrong BOOK.f-A new Priest arrived and I heard from Vestry members couple of times, now we aregoing to he going by th e BOOK. I didn 't concern m yself w ith C hurch business m uchthan, but I was becom ing curious about th is "1.300K".I thought maybe Robert's, b ut th ere were meeting s h eld without p ro pe r n otice , V estrym em bers not being provided copies of m inutes a.') requested, and it seem ed business wasbeing conducted after C h urch, as long as certain members w ere not present, not tom entio n business discussio ns outside of m eetings. The BOOK certainly couldn 't h avebeen R obert's R ules.W hen m y fam ily problem s started Iw aited patiently for m onths, w ondering ifsom c reliefwould come our way. Instead I heard of talk about our problem s and noticed thecelebrations of the marriages of clergy and the disregard for the marriages of the Laity . Iwent to the phone book I called Fr. Usher and asked why I wouldn 't expect my P riest (o ro thers for that m atter) to attempt to h elp us, without m y knowledge he called my Priest,when Iearned of this Isked Fr. Usher what the conversation between the Iwo of themconsisted o f. He said that it was privileged according to the B O OK. He also said th atsame BOOK did not pro vide me w ith that sam e privilege, Thank- You.M y words were m isinterpreted not long ago in th is C hurch in an attempt to discredit meby a person w ith far greater education than m yself. I verified that w hat I said wasaccurate and the meaning, of the words I spoke, were correct by checking W ebster's1300k.I have some Books with me today , but not a B ible. M ine is one that has come down to usfrom a tim e before Saint Sim eon's and it m eans a lo t to me. Unfortunately it is w itho ther th ings that could hring som e com fort now , barricaded in our house beh ind a LawBook .True countless good th ings happen at Saint Sim eon's hut they arc difficult to appreciatein th e presence of this backbiting and w hispering, no t to m ention acting as if they ar ebetter th an others. ~ 'J ,~Some r~p ~

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I liked Saint Simeon's it lot OCHerwhen theft' wasn't talk about going by the BOOK andmost of us just seemed to do what was right. and did i t at the proper t ime. I miss the.settling, unifying effects uf peo ple like my God parents, Eunice and Ed Smith, theMayberry's and others. If we arc going to individually tear pages out of the BOOK. tosuit our own interests there may soon he No BOOK kit. [don't know but maybe thatwould he just as well. To me it seems there is a tot of clawing going on around here for agood scat in Heaven, myself I'd he happy to sit on the ground if [ could just get there.We arc all equal according to the nOOK and we ALL know which HOOK that is, or dowe?

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St. Simeon's Episcopal ChurchPctuoncrvs .

CASE NO. 2011 CVOOO 113James R. ConnellRespondent

Admissions Statement

Comes now, James R. Connell to Admit onto Evidence, as per Wisconsin Rules of Evidence, One emailfrom Fr. Hoakstra of January 31, 20 II to the ongrcgations of St. Simeon's.

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Sent: Tuesday, February 01, ?011 21\5 PMSubject: SI Sirneon's Contested EjectionDear Friends,On MOnday, January 31, I contacted the President of the StandingCommittee for the Diocese of Eau Claire regarding the fact that our electionfor Vestry had been contested. After looking at the Diocesan Canons, Fr. GuyUsher, President of the Standing Committee informed me that I wasincorrect in my understanding of the Canons in this particular instance.Someone who has served a three year term on the Vestry may benominated for election to serve another three years. The limit is sixconsecutive years.He indicated that we have to set aside the Vestry and Warden election thattook place Sunday and have another election.On Sunday Iwill announce this in the 8:30 service. Iwill also announce aSpecial Congregational meeting for February 20th for the purpose of electingVestry members and Wardens ..The agenda will be as follows:1 . ca rl to Order2. Election of Vestry members3. Election of Wardens4. AdjournmentI truly apologize for any confusion caused by this and for any hurt that mayhave come by my mistake.1f you have any questions regarding what I have written, please let meknow.By His mercy,Fr. Bob Hoekstra, PriestSt. Simeon's Episcopal Church

N o virus found in th is message.C hecked by A VG - www.avg.comVersion: 10.0.1204/ Virus Database: 143513416 - Release Date: 02/01/ ) )

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, STArr 01; WISCONSIN CIRClJlT COURT ClIIPPEWA COl JNTYBRANCH I

1 i ; . .. 'JIn the Maller of:St. Simeon's Episcopal ChurchPetitonerVS.

CASE NO. 20 IICVOOO t 13James R. ConnellRespondent

Admissions StatementComes now, James R. Connell to Admit onto Evidence, as per Wisconsin Rules of Evidence, One letter10 Father H o a k s t r arom James c o n n f : : : ~ ;114

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Father Hoekstra,Normally I would not attempt to point out what should be obvious to a person in yourposition, but you have recently proved to me that someone should. You have corruptedSaint Simeon's annual Meeting and especially the elections. Someone has called for thenew election of the Vestry and that is a stan, but we should also select new Deputies andAlternates because your incorrect interpretation of the Canons likely changed the intentof at least one nominator or potential holder of one of these positions.It is unclear at this time who called for the new election or where it will be held or thetime. Please reexamine Canons J 1.1 ,.2,.3 and also consider your option to allow one ofthe Wardens to chair the upcoming meeting, because you knowingly disavowed yourcanons in an attempt to disfranchise members of Saint Simeon's Church.I will remind you at this time that according to Canon 3.3 the Deputies and Alternates canonly be elected at the Annual Meeting so we should allow the vestry to select them, nowthat the Annual Election has been tainted by your actions.I look forward to seeing a proper posting of the upcoming meeting. I would also think acopy of the aforementioned order would be included.I thank you for your consideration of this letter.I feci that with God's help we are well on our way to resolving these matters.James ConnellF eb ru ary 4 ,2 01 1