Conservatives flee after consecration of gay, female bishops
Grace Church & St. Stephen's of Colorado
Springs is one of 55 parishes nationwide in which "a significant
number" of the congregation has voted to leave the Episcopal Church, according
to Neva Rae Fox, spokeswoman for the U.S. church.
The 2.2 million-strong body has lost many conservative members
since its consecration of a gay bishop in 2003 and the first woman presiding U.S. bishop a
few years later.
In the past year, the church has lost 200,000 members, the
steepest drop among Christian denominations, according to the National Council
of Churches.
The U.S.
church denies it's coming apart.
"Less than 10 percent of parishioners are actively disturbed
about what's going on," national spokeswoman Jan Nunley said.
When a breakaway occurs, leaders of the U.S. church
claim canonical and legal right of the church property occupied by dissidents.
The church is also cracking down on priests and bishops threatening secession.
Just Wednesday,Bishop John-David Schofield of the San Joaquin Diocese in California was deposed
by the church after being slapped in January with a suspension for his
secessionist activities.
