Posted on 02/14/2007 9:17:51 AM PST by madprof98
St. Andrews-in-the-Pines church in Peachtree City has bolted from the Episcopal Church in favor of a more “traditional” Anglican church.
The church is joining a nationwide movement of other churches who have separated from the Episcopal Church, which has come under fire since appointing Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as a bishop. But David Wardell, senior warden of St. Andrews, said the main issue is the “practice of reinterpreting scripture, especially being driven by social change.”
The move was ratified by a two-thirds vote of the church just over a week ago. The church has chosen to align with CANA, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.
Since Robinson was appointed bishop in 2003, St. Andrews began losing members at a significant rate as that issue and others stemming from it divided parishioners, Wardell said. Prior to that, the church had experienced a tremendous rate of growth, he added. “Some of them (who left the church) didn’t think we were traditional enough, and those on the revisionist side, well, they left,” Wardell said.
The church’s vestry, which is its chartered governing body, is elected by parishioners, although the Episcopal bishop made a last-ditch effort to remove members from the vestry to quell the vestry’s leanings, Wardell said.
But the vestry notified the bishop that it was too late, as Sunday’s vote severed all ties with the Episcopal Church. “We basically disagree with the philosophy of the Episcopal Church,” Wardell said.
There is an outstanding issue between the Episcopal Diocese and St. Andrews: what happens to St. Andrews’s church property. The Episcopal Diocese is listed on the deed of only one of three tracts on the church campus, which includes a preschool, Wardell said. The other three deeds list St. Andrews as the owner, he said. But there is a religious doctrine in play that the Episcopal Diocese holds the land in trust in perpetuity, Wardell added.
St. Andrews representatives met with the bishop Friday to work towards an amicable settlement of the property issues, Wardell said. The most recent expansion of the church is still being paid off in a mortgage by St. Andrews, not the Episcopal Diocese, Wardell said.
St. Andrews got its start in the 1970s when the diocese bankrolled the original construction loan on the facility, Wardell said. That loan has long since been paid off, he added.
The dispute is “unfortunate, really, because we agree on a lot of things but we disagree with some of them,” Wardell said.
One of the areas of disagreement lies at the very heart of what Christians say they believe, according to a news release from Wardell last week announcing the split.
“We simply want to continue to worship Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in the way that we always have,” one church member said after Sunday’s vote, according to the news release.
“The vast majority of us still have faith that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that Jesus is the one true Son of God, born of a virgin, crucified until dead, and then resurrected to life. All of that is contrary to what a majority of TEC leadership believes. The authority of Scripture and the issue of Jesus as THE Savior are important to us.”
Senior Warden Wardell said the parish intends to retain its property.
“Our decision to disaffiliate is a reflection of our commitment to the biblical faith, which is now in direct contrast with the belief and practice of the majority of TEC’s leadership,” Wardell said. “However, the vestry has a strong willingness to work together with the diocese and Bishop Alexander so that this separation can occur with Christian charity, not hard feelings or hostility.”
“The downward spiral of The Episcopal Church (TEC) came home to Peachtree City, Ga., [when the] local parish voted 145 to 67 (or 68 percent) on Sunday, Feb. 4, to separate from the national church and the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. The church’s vestry, or governing board, subsequently voted to honor the parish’s overwhelming desire to depart from TEC,” the news release said.
The vestry also voted to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) – the U.S. missionary branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria – in order to maintain the parish’s ties to the worldwide Anglican Communion.
According to the news release, “The Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, the Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander, tried to short-circuit the church’s internal voting process ... by sending a letter to all parishioners that was clearly intended to disrupt the church’s efforts and sway or prevent the vote. The letter attempted to discredit the church’s plan for a fair and impartial decision by stating that the vote would have ‘no official standing.’”
The release continued, “Bishop Alexander, who is well known for his embrace of theological revisionism, also threatened to remove the entire church vestry and replace it with a group that he would hand-pick.
“St. Andrew’s joins approximately 250 other Episcopal churches that have split from TEC since 2003 for similar reasons. More than two dozen of those churches have also joined CANA, which is experiencing rapid growth and emerging as a forerunner in the realignment of North American Anglicanism,” the release said.
Founded in 1975, St. Andrew’s has a current membership of 350 and is presently without a permanent priest since the recent retirement of Father Dan Brigham.
“The parish has a predominantly orthodox membership, unlike TEC, which has been pursuing a course of increasingly radical theological revisionism for over four decades, during which time the church has lost approximately 40 percent of its membership,” the release said.
“Like St. Andrew’s, a majority of the Anglican Communion’s other 37 provinces remain at odds with the direction and top leadership of TEC, which faces the possibility of being disciplined at the upcoming Primates’ Meeting ... in Tanzania,” the release said.
The church’s vestry voted to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) – the U.S. missionary branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria – in order to maintain the parish’s ties to the worldwide Anglican Communion, according to a blog post at The Living Church Foundation Web site.
The church is located at 316 North Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree City.
St. Andrews-in-the-Pines church in Peachtree City has bolted from the Episcopal Church in favor of a more “traditional” Anglican church.
The church is joining a nationwide movement of other churches who have separated from the Episcopal Church, which has come under fire since appointing Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as a bishop. But David Wardell, senior warden of St. Andrews, said the main issue is the “practice of reinterpreting scripture, especially being driven by social change.”
The move was ratified by a two-thirds vote of the church just over a week ago. The church has chosen to align with CANA, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.
Since Robinson was appointed bishop in 2003, St. Andrews began losing members at a significant rate as that issue and others stemming from it divided parishioners, Wardell said. Prior to that, the church had experienced a tremendous rate of growth, he added. “Some of them (who left the church) didn’t think we were traditional enough, and those on the revisionist side, well, they left,” Wardell said.
The church’s vestry, which is its chartered governing body, is elected by parishioners, although the Episcopal bishop made a last-ditch effort to remove members from the vestry to quell the vestry’s leanings, Wardell said.
But the vestry notified the bishop that it was too late, as Sunday’s vote severed all ties with the Episcopal Church. “We basically disagree with the philosophy of the Episcopal Church,” Wardell said.
There is an outstanding issue between the Episcopal Diocese and St. Andrews: what happens to St. Andrews’s church property. The Episcopal Diocese is listed on the deed of only one of three tracts on the church campus, which includes a preschool, Wardell said. The other three deeds list St. Andrews as the owner, he said. But there is a religious doctrine in play that the Episcopal Diocese holds the land in trust in perpetuity, Wardell added.
St. Andrews representatives met with the bishop Friday to work towards an amicable settlement of the property issues, Wardell said. The most recent expansion of the church is still being paid off in a mortgage by St. Andrews, not the Episcopal Diocese, Wardell said.
St. Andrews got its start in the 1970s when the diocese bankrolled the original construction loan on the facility, Wardell said. That loan has long since been paid off, he added.
The dispute is “unfortunate, really, because we agree on a lot of things but we disagree with some of them,” Wardell said.
One of the areas of disagreement lies at the very heart of what Christians say they believe, according to a news release from Wardell last week announcing the split.
“We simply want to continue to worship Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in the way that we always have,” one church member said after Sunday’s vote, according to the news release.
“The vast majority of us still have faith that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that Jesus is the one true Son of God, born of a virgin, crucified until dead, and then resurrected to life. All of that is contrary to what a majority of TEC leadership believes. The authority of Scripture and the issue of Jesus as THE Savior are important to us.”
Senior Warden Wardell said the parish intends to retain its property.
“Our decision to disaffiliate is a reflection of our commitment to the biblical faith, which is now in direct contrast with the belief and practice of the majority of TEC’s leadership,” Wardell said. “However, the vestry has a strong willingness to work together with the diocese and Bishop Alexander so that this separation can occur with Christian charity, not hard feelings or hostility.”
“The downward spiral of The Episcopal Church (TEC) came home to Peachtree City, Ga., [when the] local parish voted 145 to 67 (or 68 percent) on Sunday, Feb. 4, to separate from the national church and the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. The church’s vestry, or governing board, subsequently voted to honor the parish’s overwhelming desire to depart from TEC,” the news release said.
The vestry also voted to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) – the U.S. missionary branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria – in order to maintain the parish’s ties to the worldwide Anglican Communion.
According to the news release, “The Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, the Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander, tried to short-circuit the church’s internal voting process ... by sending a letter to all parishioners that was clearly intended to disrupt the church’s efforts and sway or prevent the vote. The letter attempted to discredit the church’s plan for a fair and impartial decision by stating that the vote would have ‘no official standing.’”
The release continued, “Bishop Alexander, who is well known for his embrace of theological revisionism, also threatened to remove the entire church vestry and replace it with a group that he would hand-pick.
“St. Andrew’s joins approximately 250 other Episcopal churches that have split from TEC since 2003 for similar reasons. More than two dozen of those churches have also joined CANA, which is experiencing rapid growth and emerging as a forerunner in the realignment of North American Anglicanism,” the release said.
Founded in 1975, St. Andrew’s has a current membership of 350 and is presently without a permanent priest since the recent retirement of Father Dan Brigham.
“The parish has a predominantly orthodox membership, unlike TEC, which has been pursuing a course of increasingly radical theological revisionism for over four decades, during which time the church has lost approximately 40 percent of its membership,” the release said.
“Like St. Andrew’s, a majority of the Anglican Communion’s other 37 provinces remain at odds with the direction and top leadership of TEC, which faces the possibility of being disciplined at the upcoming Primates’ Meeting ... in Tanzania,” the release said.
The church’s vestry voted to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) – the U.S. missionary branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria – in order to maintain the parish’s ties to the worldwide Anglican Communion, according to a blog post at The Living Church Foundation Web site.
The church is located at 316 North Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree City.
There wouldn't be a property dispute if the mother church hadn't abandoned its own teachings.
I cannot confirm this, but I can tell you a story from late 2003, when we were still in ECUSA but preparing to pull up stakes. We were visiting around, and I called the Anglo Catholic parish on the other side of town to see about when services, choir practice, etc. were scheduled. The receptionist gave her name when she answered the phone, and it sort of registered as familiar in a vague way. We chatted, and I asked some questions about the parish. I thought her answers were strange - when I asked about whether the parish was high or low, she responded, "Oh, everybody over here has about the same political opinion," in a really snarky tone. But I went with the flow and thanked her and went on my way.
The next Sunday, I'm lined up with the choir waiting to go in when I belatedly remembered where I'd heard the receptionist's name before -- she was one of our vestry members, and she was standing right there with the vicar (an ex-Jesuit priest who quit the RCs to get married). So I took the bull by the horns (I already knew we weren't staying), and said, "Didn't I see you over at Our Saviour?" She and the parochial vicar both started laughing, very loudly and inappropriately.
I'm pretty darned sure she was sent over there by our rector to spy on poor Fr. Tanghe, probably at the direction of the bishop.
I am SO glad I am out of that snake pit that calls itself a church . . .
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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