The path ahead

As he promised, the Rev Donald Armstrong returned.

Dressed in flaming crimson church vestments that denote martyrdom and the suffering of Christ, he marched down the aisle with the processional at Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish during three Palm Sunday services that attracted more than 600 people to the venerable stone church.

Standing in front of the altar and dwarfed by a soaring stained glass window where edifices of ancient Christian saints gazed down — he led his congregation in the somber liturgy that precedes Easter week.

It was the first time in months that he has officiated.

Looking out at the sea of fa- miliar faces in the pews, “My spirit was lifted,” Armstrong said later.

The breakaway rector — who has served the 132-yearold Colorado Springs congregation for 20 years — was there without permission of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado.

He was placed on leave in December amid allegations of financial mismanagement and theft. No criminal charges have been filed, and Armstrong and the vestry — or church board of directors — deny the accusations.

Vestry members voted March 26 to break with the Episcopal Church and affiliate with a Nigerian-based Anglican church that they say is closer to their conservative beliefs.

The vestry has laid legal claim to the church. So, too, has the diocese, which instead of forcing the issue during Holy Week organized a separate service at Colorado College’s Shove Chapel for those wishing to remain with the Episcopal denomination.

Members of the group ensconced at Grace Church have taken down the Episcopal banner with the St. George cross. They await the arrival of the Anglican Compass Rose flag.

The choir was missing, too, most of its members having left with the choir leader and choir robes to the Episcopal service at Colorado College. But several members of the teen choir sang.

Church officials said attendance at the three services was about normal for a Palm Sunday. At the 10 a.m. service, congregants sat elbow to elbow in the pews.

Many said they came especially to show support for Armstrong, who some said is being railroaded because of his outspoken conservative views in a liberal diocese.

The Episcopal Church of the U.S. has been given an ultimatum from the Anglican Communion to stop deviating from centuries-old tenets by ordaining gays and performing same-sex blessings. On March 20, the governing Episcopal bishops refused.

Armstrong gave no sermon because it is not part of the liturgy for Palm Sunday. But afterwards, hundreds stood in long lines to greet him. There were tears, hugs and pats on the back.

Parishioners said it has been a soul-searching but theologically necessary decision to break with the Episcopal church, which many had attended since childhood. They also felt a deep allegiance to their longtime rector. They used words like “truthful,” “integrity,” “compassion” and “traditional” to describe him.

“He is not wishy-washy. What you see is what you get,” said Brock Bordelon. “He doesn’t mess around with nuance, he teaches what the Gospel actually says.”

Bert Bergland was upset that the choir robe he had purchased was gone. But he was happy to now be in an Anglican church affiliated with a more evangelical viewpoint. His decision was grounded in more than theology.

“How could I leave a pastor who supported me when I had cancer? I won’t abandon Father Armstrong,” he said.

The Rev. Eric Zolner stayed, too. A third pastor, Michael O’Donnell went with the Episcopalians.

Zolner, 33, said it was an agonizing decision made after praying and “listening to my wife, Lisa.” He added, “I couldn’t leave these people who I had been called to minister.”

By leaving the Episcopal church he is officially unemployed. But he has sent an application to become a priest under the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

Saturday night, Zolner and his wife met with Armstrong and Armstrong’s wife, Jesse, to tell them their decision. They prayed together and cried.

It was the first time Armstrong had broken down and cried during his long ordeal, another church official said.