Leaders of Grace vote to leave Episcopals
Leaders of one of Colorado’s largest Episcopal churches voted Monday to abandon the denomination over ideological differences, pledging loyalty instead to an Africa-based Anglican church led by a controversial archbishop.
The vestry of Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish, in Colorado Springs, voted for the church to join several dozen other churches nationally in parting ways with the 2.4 million-member denomination, accusing Episcopal leaders of losing their moral way.
The Colorado diocese responded Monday by claiming that the local parish is forbidden by Episcopal law from leaving the denomination, even if some members decide to. The diocese asserted its rights to the historic downtown church building, valued at $17 million. Even though the vestry no longer recognizes the authority of Colorado Bishop Robert O’Neill, he removed them from office and said he’d be in touch with parishioners about how to proceed with worship and protecting church assets after the disruption.
By disavowing the Episcopal Church, the vestry, or board of directors, reaffirmed Grace’s priest, the Rev. Donald Armstrong, who was suspended by O’Neill on allegations of misapplying funds. The vestry says those accusations appear unfounded and his suspension was politically motivated.
Armstrong has been a vocal opponent of the Episcopal Church’s perceived turn from orthodox beliefs
In a news release, the Grace leaders accused the bishop of trying Armstrong in a “kangaroo court.”
Although parishioners were not asked to vote on the switch, senior warden Jon Wroblewski said most support the move. The congregation has disagreed with the direction of the denomination for years, he said, and most parishioners already restrict a percentage of their tithes from going to the diocese.
Debbie Mack, an active Grace parishioner for nearly 20 years, disagreed with his assessment and was upset the congregation didn’t have a say in Monday’s vote.
“If they want to separate, they should leave,” she said about members who disagree with the denomination’s direction.
The church has an average Sunday attendance of about 800, with about 2,000 members registered in its database.
The vestry’s decision frames what will likely be a property dispute for the church building and other assets because Grace leaders dispute the diocese’s ownership claims. The diocese bases its authority and ownership on Episcopal canons, which the group no longer acknowledges.
Grace leaders, like others that have left the fold, say the U.S. Episcopal Church has lost its way on key fundamentals and moral issues, particularly human sexuality. That stems partly from a controversial 2003 decision to appoint a gay bishop in New Hampshire and talk about blessing same-sex unions.
"The leadership of the Episcopal Church has hijacked the faith," Wroblewski said.
The Episcopal Church dismisses such claims and argues that the roughly 45 congregations that have defected are a fraction of the 7,400 church bodies in the organization, said Episcopal Church spokesman Robert Williams.
“Human understanding is constantly increasing,” Williams said. “What is known about medicine at the present moment is far greater than what physicians knew even 50 years ago. To think that understanding of the Bible and the human experience does not continue is inconsistent with the constant unfolding of God’s creation.”
Regarding human sexuality, he added: “There are many lesbian and gay Episcopalians who live lives of great faithfulness and holiness, and they are most certainly welcome and valued members of the Episcopal Church.”
Grace’s new affiliation, the conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America, has absorbed several former Episcopalians who say the denomination is ignoring Scripture. The North American convocation is a missionary diocese of the Church of Nigeria, which has 15 million members worldwide and is led by Archbishop Peter J. Akinola.
The archbishop is an outspoken critic of homosexuality who supported Nigerian legislation to jail people who commit homosexual acts. In an interview with the New York Times, Akinola said he sprang backward when he realized he’d shaken a gay person’s hand.
Wroblewski said Africa’s situation is a “very different situation” from America’s and the church has not taken a position on that issue. He said the vestry is confident in the denomination’s bishop and archbishop.
Parishioners who showed up for prayer Monday applauded the vestry’s decision.
“I knew it was coming,” said member Wynne Smith, who supports the change and accuses the denomination of straying from the fundamentals.
Member Teri LaTulippe agreed. “We didn’t leave our faith. The Episcopal Church left our faith,” she said. “We’re not willing to give up the faith of our fathers.”
Even though Grace will be under the authority of a Nigerian church, its members will still be spiritual brothers and sisters with Christians worldwide, said Teri’s husband, Philip LaTulippe.
“We are still in the same church. We are still Anglicans,” he said.
Williams, spokesman for the Episcopal Church, said the denomination is dealing with the first rift in a centuries-long history that’s included the American Revolution, the Civil War and the civil rights movement.
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