Free Republic

One down, five to go. At 9:30 a.m. on July 13 liberal Episcopal bishop Andrew Smith of Connecticut, several of his administrators, a pro-gay feminist priest, a locksmith, and a computer technician swooped into conservative, 200-congregant St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol, Conn. They pried open the locked pastor's office, confiscated pastoral and church records, took down the church's website and redirected traffic to the diocese's website, changed the locks on all the doors, and announced to protesting church leaders and members that the diocese had taken over St. John's. Bishop Smith said he had suspended Rev. Mark Hansen from...

Homosexuals have made a lot of progress on their agenda in 15 years. But progress has not come without a price for the rest of society. Given the small percentage of the population homosexuals represent, it appears to be a case of the tail wagging the dog. Unfortunately, some of that progress comes at the expense of unity among some Protestant religious congregations. This year, there was a distinct threat of a schism in the Episcopal Church in the United States because a homosexual priest, V. Gene Robinson, was elevated to bishop in New Hampshire. The action did not sit...

Everyone should know that we have done nothing wrong! Not Father Mark, not the vestry, not the parish! We did everything by the book. Applied for DEPO, informed Bishop Smith of Father Mark’s sabbatical, wrote numerous letters to Smith (so far as I am aware without a reply back). Over the past few months while Father Mark was on sabbatical, the congregation’s pastoral needs were well taken care of. God Bless Father Clay Knapp for supplying us with Sunday Eucharist. Also Father Thomas Beck provided for Tuesday weekday worship. And as if that wasn’t enough, the rest of the CT6...