Interesting analysis of conservative Episcopal churches

[kwassa]

from yesterday's Washington Post. It shows the influence of charismatics and megachurches on these few conservative Episcopal churches, and how far away they are from the rest of the Episcopal church. Very worth reading.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010301952_pf.html

Episcopal Churches' Breakaway in Va. Evolved Over 30 Years

By Alan Cooperman and Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 4, 2007; A01

excerpt:

Shortly before Christmas, The Falls Church and neighboring Truro Church -- which in Colonial times belonged to a single parish -- vented those feelings by voting overwhelmingly to break away from the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church.

The vote reverberated across the country because Truro and The Falls Church are two of the Washington area's most wealthy, historic and prestigious congregations. Their pews are studded on Sunday mornings with such regulars as Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and former CIA director Porter J. Goss.

(jump)

But the votes appear less sudden or surprising when one realizes that for more than 30 years, Truro and The Falls Church have been part of a "charismatic revival" within mainline Protestantism, said the Rev. Robert W. Prichard, professor of Christianity in America at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria.

Charismatic, in this case, refers to an ecstatic style of worship that includes speaking in tongues, a stream of unintelligible syllables signifying that the Holy Spirit has entered the worshiper. It is a hallmark of the fast-growing Pentecostal movement but unusual for Episcopalians, who are so thoroughly associated with solemnity and tradition that they are sometimes referred to teasingly as "the frozen chosen."

(jump)

Prichard contends that charismatic worship is vital to understanding these congregations because it paved the way for them to join the broader evangelical movement, which emphasizes being "born again," having a personal relationship with Jesus and reading the Bible as the wholly true word of God.

Unlike many Episcopal churches nationally, neither Truro nor The Falls Church was active in supporting the civil rights movement or in protesting the Vietnam War.

"I don't remember any political sermons at all," said Al Long, 80, who has been a member of The Falls Church since 1959. "We go there to find out what the Bible says and how we're supposed to live and relate to each other and the Lord. . . . And that's it."

Beginning in the 1970s, though, Truro embraced the antiabortion movement. It also started a program to help those who wanted to leave what it calls the "homosexual lifestyle."

(much more in the article)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. That's what I had heard about those churches, too

There is a small but emphatic charismatic movement within the Episcopal church. The parish my cousin used to attend had a priest who went charismatic, but the bishop had him removed after he started preaching that anyone who disagreed with his approach was "committing the unforgiveable sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit."

Scary people.

[BurtWorm]

2. It would be interesting to watch an old-money WASP speak in tongues.

"I say, old boy, hubba bubba bubba ubba. And so forth."

[JerseygirlCT]

4. LOL. I know. We didn't earn the nickname

"frozen chosen" for nothing!

[JerseygirlCT]

3. I have a question

Maybe someone knows...

Or maybe I just missed this. But it sounds as though the people in these churches who have never become Episcopalians are among those who voted to leave TEC.

I know that wouldn't be allowed here in our diocese. I wonder if that's just our rule, or TEC rules? Voting privileges are tied to being 16 or older, Episcopalian, and a member in good faith.

Wouldn't it be something if these two churches left because they already weren't Episcopal? Just slide enough fundamentalists in there as ringers, hold a bogus election, and run off with a shot at some pretty important property, not to mention lots of publicity good for your fundy cause.

[kwassa]

6. I think they have become actual Episcopal church members

but relatively few of them are cradle Episcopalians, with the majority refugees from Methodist, Presbyterian, and some other mainline denominations. I believe the article said that less than 40% of the members were born Episcopal in these two churches.

I think this also points up the general decrease in the importance of denominations. The biggest rise has been in so-called non-denominational Christian churches, and worshipers in general are much less caught up in small points of doctrine that separate the different Protestant denominations historically. The larger split these days, in all denominations, is between liberal and conservative, with liberals and conservatives of even different faiths banding together in alliance. At least the Episcopals are dominated by liberals.

The property thing is by no means certain, either. In California, the courts allowed breakaway churches to keep the property in several instances, based on the idea that those churches had voluntarily entered into the property trust, and could also voluntarily leave the trust.

[JerseygirlCT]

7. I wasn't clear from the article just what they were talking about

If it was cradle vs. other Episcopalians, that's not a very useful distinction, I'd say. Heck, look in any pew on Sunday morning at my church, and you'll find plenty of former RCC.

So if we're talking about people who've never been received into the Episcopal church, then the question is what are the rules in the diocese of VA about voting? I know ours says received or confirmed Epsicopalians have voting rights in the parish, and can serve on the Vestry. I wonder if it's different in VA?

And if it is, doesn't that just leave things open to the sort of "take-over" by hostile forces that it seems has happened here?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. This is the relevant passage:

"At least two-thirds of the worshipers are Methodists, Presbyterians or Baptists, and there is no pressure on them to be confirmed as Episcopalians, said the Rev. Rick Wright, associate rector."

While the Episcopal church practices open Communion and is generally welcoming to people from other traditions, it does have its rules.

I was an official Lutheran for many years before being confirmed as an Episcopalian, but I wasn't allowed to vote or serve on the vestry until I was.

These breakaway churches are not standard, everyday Episcopalians. It looks as if these parishes have been hijacked by fundies.

[JerseygirlCT]

12. Ok, that's what I was thinking...

are the rules different in VA diocese?

Same for me, no voting or vestry until received.

[Danger Mouse]

5. Looking for a new place to bring their brand of 'Christian Love', eh?

Seems more like hate to me.

[JerseygirlCT]

8. I'm guessing at bottom it;'s fear.

And that's so sad. And so unnecessary.

Fear of letting go of a system that puts them on top. Fear of homosexuals (ooo, scary!). Fear of change. Fear of losing the strict, strong-sided box they think they've placed God in.

[jody]

9. It will interesting too discover what part of the Episcopal Church’s “An Outline of Faith” the

break away group rejects.

”An Outline of Faith”

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

[kwassa]

11. here is an OpEd from the conservatives, yesterday's Washington Post

and they don't mention a single thing about charismatics, abortion, or homosexuality! Imagine!

Pretty weak arguments that deserve a good reply.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010700982_pf.html

Why We Left the Episcopal Church

By The Rev. John Yates and Os Guinness
Monday, January 8, 2007; A15

brief excerpt:

It would be easy to parody the "Alice in Wonderland" surrealism of Episcopal leaders openly denying what their faith once believed, celebrating what Christians have gone to the stake to resist -- and still staying on as leaders. But this is a serious matter.

First, Episcopal revisionism abandons the fidelity of faith. The Hebrew scriptures link matters of truth to a relationship with God. They speak of apostasy as adultery -- a form of betrayal as treacherous as a husband cheating on his wife.

(blah, blah, blah, etc.)

[JerseygirlCT]

13. How does he use so many words to say absolutely nothing?

Truly. Maybe I'm just exhausted tonight, but there was nothing of substance there.

He doesn't like Bishop Spong. Tough cookies. And Spong certainly doesn't speak for the entire church, does he?

He makes a bunch of assertions, but never backs them up with anything. Just wild-eyed and broad accusations.

Am I missing something here?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. Biiig-time factual error there

The Lutherans have been sola scriptura, but the Anglicans have traditionally based their theology on the "three-legged stool" of Scripture, tradition, and reason.

[kwassa]

15. Diocese Won't Extend Pledge Not to Sue

The next step of this process.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901460.html

Diocese Won't Extend Pledge Not to Sue
Announcement Dims Hopes for Amicable Deal Over Property in Breakaway Parishes

By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 10, 2007; Page B02

Hopes for a peaceful settlement between the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and nine breakaway congregations suffered a blow yesterday when the diocese announced it would not renew a mutual promise to avoid litigation over property.

Attorneys for the two sides have met once since the majority of members at the nine congregations voted last month to leave the Episcopal Church, which they think has strayed seriously from Scripture on such issues as homosexuality and the role of Jesus in salvation. Both sides had also agreed after the votes to honor a 30-day "standstill" period for discussions, during which no one would initiate a lawsuit.

(jump)

Although hopes to stay out of court have been shaky from the start -- with both sides stating publicly that they believe the church property to be theirs -- tensions were exacerbated when some breakaway leaders decreed that people who had voted against splitting could not hold services and meetings in the churches.

(jump)

It wasn't immediately clear how many churches had established that rule. Among them was St. Stephen's Church in Heathsville, where congregants voted 99 to 32 to join the Nigerian church. Since then, congregants who opposed the split have been holding worship services at a nearby church.

It would be inappropriate for the minority group to meet in the church, said a letter from Margaret Radcliffe, senior warden of St. Stephen's, because the property dispute is ongoing. The letter was sent to minority leadership hoping to share the church.