Posted on 05/05/2005 8:07:10 AM PDT by sionnsar
A large portion of the St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church parish dissatisfied with the direction of the national Episcopal Church was told this week by diocese officials to leave church property by June 1.
A parish vote taken in March indicated 89 percent of the congregation preferred to dissociate itself with the national Episcopal Church but remain a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The national Episcopal Church, or ECUSA, is one of 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion which originated as the Church of England and spread to 70 million members worldwide.
Dissenting members of St. Nicholas' object to decisions made by the 2003 ECUSA General Convention which elected Gene Robinson, a practicing homosexual man, as bishop of New Hampshire. Other points of contention include ECUSA's approval of same-sex marriage blessings and "refusal to adhere to traditional Christian teachings."
"As a culture, we're saying right and wrong is one person's definition against another. We've been captivated by the culture which is a moral free fall right now," said the Rev. Jon Stasney, St. Nicholas' rector or senior pastor.
"The battle in the Episcopal Church and other denominations is not just about homosexuality," Stasney said in a press release. "It's about whether or not we are going to remain true to the Biblical faith and 2000 years of apostolic teaching. The people of St. Nicholas' love all of God's people, no matter what their sexual preference. But the overwhelming majority at St. Nicholas' want to remain true to Biblical faith no matter what the cost -- even if means having to leave our church building"
The minority of the parish, 11 percent, wants St. Nicholas' to remain part of the Episcopal diocese and wishes to continue worshipping at the church's current location. They will have to find interim clergy because both Stasney and Hartzer are counted in the 89 percent. The rest of the congregation currently is seeking an alternative location for worship.
The decision came after several negotiations between both portions of the parish and Bishop Wallis Ohl of the Diocese of Northwest Texas. The Rev. Jonathan Hartzer, associate rector, said St. Nicholas' property was built and paid for four years ago without help of the diocese or ECUSA.
"St. Nicholas' leaders asked Ohl for help in March because the congregation was losing income and members, indicating that most members no longer desired to be affiliated with the ECUSA. At the March meeting, St. Nicholas' representatives asked the Bishop to help work out a mutual solution that would keep the St. Nicholas' congregation together in its church. The title to the property is vested in St. Nicholas' church, but, according to the denomination, is held in trust for the diocese and the national Episcopal Church," Hartzer said.
Ohl could not be reached for comment, but in a May 4 letter to the congregation, Ohl finalized his decision asking those leaving the Episcopal Church to depart no later than May 31.
"I believe that in the long run, delaying the decision would have been much more difficult for all involved. The animosity between the factions of what currently constitutes St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church was not ameliorating; in fact it was becoming more exacerbated with each passing week. I do not believe that is good for the souls of those wishing to remain or those who wish to depart the Episcopal Church to remain in the close proximity relationship that currently exists," Ohl wrote.
St. Nicholas' is the first church in the diocese to consider splitting from ECUSA, but Hartzer said other Texas Episcopal parishes have had similar objections. However, some Texas bishops have been more cooperative.
"At other churches, bishops have allowed congregations to obtain their property and worships according to their conscience," Hartzer said.
"Other bishops in Texas have done much more to stand against the unbiblical direction of the Episcopal Church, such as Bishop James Stanton of Dallas, who aligned the entire diocese with the Anglican Communion Network," Hartzer said. The Anglican Communion Network is an affinity group of orthodox Episcopalians.
Edna Hibbitts, a member of St. Nicholas' for 35 years, plans to stay at the church. She said she is saddened by the loss of her fellow members and wishes there could be a better resolution.
"I have not felt called to leave. I think whatever problems the church has should be solved within the church structure," she said. " I don't think the people who are staying are more liberal than others, but they just don't think it's necessary to leave the church."
Hibbitts pointed out the congregation grew significantly when the church relocated to Loop 250, but she said newer members may have less trouble leaving because they don't have "deep roots." Hibbitts said the diversity in opinions among the parish stems from different perspectives.
"Biblical interpretation varies from one individual to the other, but the foundation is faith in Christ. Perhaps some of us can live with the messiness and others find that very difficult. We all have a shared mission but not a shared vision," she said.
I am sorry to hear this. Will you be joining the ACN?
I believe our new name is Christ Church Anglican something.
Not sure if that is ACN or not. Suppose I will find out Sunday.
I just reposted this article with Bishop Ohl's contact information, in the event anyone cares to let him know how they feel.
I personally would like to throw a brick in his window, so this is a happy compromise.
When you find out Sunday, could you FReepmail me, please? I am interested. (I ask for FReepmail because, as I will announce to the list later, I leave tomorrow for a week-long trip and I may be incommunicado for the whole time.)
Great. I quit.
That would be fair, but there is no splitting. What these people have, unfortunately, done is raise the money, built the building, turned the title over to the Diocese, and are now being evicted.
I'm leaving the Episcopal Church. I'm not even writing an Opus.
I bet he had all his nice conciliatory (s/b concEALiatory) words about inclusion, and harmony, and discernment, and healing) before he said be out by the 31st.
Sorry to hear that. It's amazing how much power such a tiny minority of the population at large can wield. I hope you can get a judge who understands the equity of the situation and lets you keep your church.
My own church is also under attack. We are manning the battlements and awaiting more assaults. Incidentally, my church heavily sponsors the Boy Scouts, incorporating it as part of our youth program for all young men; however, should the Boy Scouts have to knuckle under and allow homosexuals to serve as scout leaders, my church is already prepared to drop its sponsorship completely. In the meantime, we individual members are heavily contributing directly to the Boy Scouts to enable it to keep fighting the same problems suffered by the Catholic Church.
This battle will continue. May I commend your integrity and hope for you God's blessings in this worthy battle. We may not agree on religious philosophy but we can certainly fight some battles side by side.
Regardless, blessings on your courage to stand for the truth. I have no deslusions that my congregants would have as much sense.
I am sorry to hear this -- even though I did the same, 22 years ago. But I found a wonderful church home in the APCK.
--
Ohl is all about power. I am beginning to doubt whether he is even a Christian.--
As an outsider looking in, and one who has suffered through a congregational level split in my pre-Catholic days, you have my sympathy and best wishes. It hurts, but I hope the dust settles soon.
I am beginning to wonder how many of the upper level ECUSA leaders are Christian anymore myself...What a testimony to how the dark side works.
To paraphrase something St. Augustine said, Evil isn't about the total abscence of good...it's about a deficit, a deficiency that really needs to be there.
My prayers for your congregation.
What is APCK?
You are so lucky to have Bishop Stanton.
Ohl is just such a weak, vindictive, little man.
The Anglican Province of Christ the King?
(mea culpa for being a compulsive googler)
http://anglicanpck.org/index.html
The Province of Christ the King represents Apostolic Christianity in the Anglican tradition. Our beliefs are stated on the pages of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.
The Province of Christ the King is an Anglican Church committed to traditional forms of doctrine and liturgy. The Province is a body composed of five dioceses with parishes and missions throughout the United States.
The Church's responsibility is to reveal Christ to the world. The Province of Christ the King holds the "faith once delivered to the saints" as handed down from the apostolic fathers.
Procession
T. S. Eliot expresses our understanding of contemporary culture from the Christian perspective:
The Universal Church is today, it seems to me, more definitely set against the World than at any time since Pagan Rome. I do not mean that our times are particularly corrupt; all times are corrupt. In spite of certain local appearances, Christianity is not and cannot be within measurable time, 'official'. The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide.
--- T. S. Eliot
If you check the webpage in my tagline you will see a number of Anglican provinces listed, along with links to parish directories. That was Arlin's idea, a couple of years or so ago, and the beginning of the Traditional Anglican Directory and Resource Page.
At this point I'd be a lot happier if they were using the 1662 BCP.
May you find a spiritual home where the Lord's words are valued and followed, even at the expense of political incorrectness. I don't believe Christians were promised an easy life but don't tell some of the so-called leaders of Christian denominations these days. ;o)
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