Integrity USA scandal in The Episcopal Church
The Integrity USA scandal in The Episcopal Church, also stylised as Integrity Americas, Integrity: the Episcopal Rainbow and Integrity, Inc concerns the actions within a nonprofit organization that claims to work with the Episcopal Church in the United States (TEC) for the full inclusion of Q members and their allies. Beginning in 2018, following a series of board resignations and controversy over allegations of mismanagement and financial misconduct, the nonprofit is a focus of scrutiny within the Christian press, nonprofit corporate law, and members of the LGBTQ community. At its zenith, Integrity USA  had been the leading grassroots voice for the full inclusion of LGBT persons in The Episcopal Church and for equal access to its rites, securing most of its goals in 2015. 2020–2021: Board Election "Plagued by Controversy". In early 2020, Episcopal News Service described Integrity USA's board election as "plagued by controversy." Integrity USA's board declined to name who would be voting in an election for the nonprofit's next president, and "did not include an opportunity to write in an alternative candidate, which is mandated by Integrity’s bylaws – an omission that further frustrated some members." According  to Episcopal News Service, Integrity USA's Secretary nominated a candidate for President with a documented press history of “a pattern of behavior that included personal attacks and a history of absences from monthly committee meetings” who had "no prior history of involvement with Integrity." No votes were cast for the candidate running for President of Integrity USA. Instead, multiple former Integrity USA presidents publicly called for the nonprofit's dissolution. As further appointments to the organization's board were made in contravention of Integrity USA's bylaws, the legitimacy of Integrity USA's leadership and future elections have been  placed in doubt by some remaining membership. 2018–2019: "Instability and Uncertainty". Integrity USA elected a board president to a three-year term in June 2018, but shortly thereafter she went on a leave-of-absence that lasted over a year. The president's leave of absence was not disclosed by Integrity's board for over a year, until September 2019. Later in 2018, the Illinois Secretary of State involuntarily dissolved Integrity USA's incorporation status, which Integrity's president claimed was due to the board's failure to file the nonprofit's annual financial report. A 2019 investigative report from  Episcopal News Service revealed that nearly $400,000 in lost Integrity USA net assets remain unaccounted over the course of two years. Between March 2019 and June 2019, three Integrity USA board members resigned, leaving only one elected board member. Following Integrity's receipt of a reported $30,000 bequest, Integrity announced via Twitter that two employees of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina had been appointed to the board, and Integrity USA's address changed to Kinston, NC, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina. By October 2019, Integrity USA was described by the Episcopal News Service  as "a shadow of its former self, beset by struggles with leadership, finances, and communication," and the board's term was reported to be defined by "instability and uncertainty." On November 15, 2019, Integrity published a statement from its president defending the homophobic and misogynistic slurs used by Integrity's leadership to describe their members disparagingly. On November 25, 2019, following her published statement defending the homophobic and misogynistic slurs of Integrity leadership, Integrity USA's president resigned, citing the need to spend more time with her family. Integrity USA Founder Louie Crew Clay died two days after the president 's resignation on November 27, 2019. 1974–2018: "Programs and Activities". Integrity has had official representation at every triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church since 1977. The organization's members have helped draft and gather support for the legislative resolutions by which the church's official stance has evolved from denial to tolerance to welcome. The Integrity Eucharist at General Convention, once held on the margins, became an event that at its zenith in 2012 drew nearly 2,000 worshipers. Some resolutions towards equality that Integrity had helped to achieve included: Section::::"Founding". Integrity was founded in 1974 by Louie Crew in  rural Georgia, US. Crew, who was on a teaching fellowship in San Francisco, telephoned the reportedly progressive Grace Episcopal Cathedral, asking if they could help him and his partner meet other gay Episcopalians. The derisive laughter he heard in response prompted him to start a newsletter to help LGBTQ members of the Episcopal Church support each other in a hostile ecclesiastical environment. Crew penned the lead editorial himself:Integrity derives from integer, Latin for 'entire.' All Christian wholeness demands affirmation of God ordained sexuality; and gays and straights alike are Charged with the responsibility of using their sexuality in healthy  human sharing rather than perversely trying to change or exchange the Gift of God.Across the country, people saw the newsletter advertised in both church and LGBTQ publications. They organized into a handful of chapters and gathered 200 Episcopalians the following year for a national convention. The newsletter grew into a magazine, which was published in print format until 2007. Often working in coalitions with both secular and other faith-based groups, Integrity had been instrumental in advancing the claim LGBTQ Episcopalians were making for equal protection and opportunity. Through its many ministries, Integrity stood at the forefront of LGBTQ  acceptance within The Episcopal Church.