the San Francisco Chronicle
written by Neela Banerjee, New York Times
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
One of the largest Episcopal parishes in Colorado has decided to leave the Episcopal Church, prompting the diocesan bishop to dissolve the leadership of the congregation and heightening tensions between theological traditionalists and liberals in the denomination.
The parish, Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish in Colorado Springs, is a largely conservative congregation that disagrees with the Episcopal Church's decision to consecrate gay bishops and sanction same-sex unions.
The parish decided to leave the denomination over the weekend, in large part because of a decision made last week by the denomination's House of Bishops, said Alan Crippen, a parishioner and spokesman for the congregation.
Answering an ultimatum from archbishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Episcopal bishops rejected a demand to create a parallel leadership structure for the minority of Episcopalians, like the members of Grace Church and St. Stephen's, who oppose the church's stand on homosexuality.
"Our read was that it is just curtains for theological conservatives in the Episcopal Church," Crippen said. "There was a lot of scrambling over the weekend. We thought that the House of Bishops would delay and obfuscate like they usually do. Everyone here was just shocked that they were so decisive in spurning the rest of the communion."
After Monday's announcement of the parish's action, Bishop Robert O'Neill of Colorado dissolved the parish's vestry, adding that he would appoint a temporary priest and officers and would offer an alternative worship site for those in the congregation who wanted to stay with the denomination.
"The fact is, people may leave the Episcopal Church, but parishes cannot," O'Neill said in a statement.
The congregation intends to hold on to its campus, which occupies a downtown city block and was recently appraised at $17 million, Crippen said. The diocese has argued, as others have elsewhere, that parishes hold property in trust for the Episcopal Church. Both sides said it is quite likely that the dispute over the property could lead to litigation.
The vestry, or lay leaders, of Grace Church and St. Stephen's said it will affiliate with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a missionary diocese of the Church of Nigeria with offices in Virginia.
This article appeared on page A - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle
