Speaking to a group of parishioners before Sunday’s service, Duncan likened the split to the Reformation, when Protestant churches split from a wealthy and powerful Catholic church that had “lost its way.”
“We’re in the midst of another Reformation,” Duncan said. “Protestantism has gotten off track, and God is doing what he always does, and that is to reform it.”
Without mentioning gay priests, Duncan said the established church has strayed from its adherence to Scripture. As an example, Duncan cited the refusal of a head bishop to say that the Christian faith is the only path to salvation in the afterlife.
In an interview after his sermon, Duncan called it “unfortunate” that the consecration of a gay bishop prompted the split. He said church members were already alienated by a church that diluted biblical teachings, but they were forced to leave because the consecration directly contradicted scripture.
This is a typical News and Observer propaganda piece. Note the undercurrent that it is really all about the gays. Geez.
will any ECUSA Diocese have the courage to invite +Duncan? Symbolism is not everything, but it’s nonetheless important…..
“A Raleigh congregation that broke with the Episcopal church…”
It is my understanding that Holy Trinity was never part of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Further, I don’t know that this apparently healthy and thriving Anglican parish has ever come under anyone’s authority – CANA, Uganda, AMiA, etc. See here:
http://www.htc-r.org/history.htm
Can a member of Holy Trinity tell us about their plans for getting a bishop to provide oversight? Surely that is a priority.
I would add that I really wish I still lived in the area (UNC ’02) because I would certainly consider Holy Trinity (among a number of good Anglican options) as a home church.
Calvin, I’m not a member of Holy Trinity Church (I am still a parishioner in about the only parish left in the Diocese of North Carolina that has a conservative rector, Church of the Holy Family in Chapel Hill), but you’re correct: Holy Trinity was never part of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Holy Trinity was created by a number of folks who left Christ Church, Raleigh and St Michael’s Church, Raleigh after General Convention 2003 and its aftermath. From a group of concerned and committed parishioners who started meeting in one another’s homes for Sunday evening prayer services, they have grown into a vibrant and growing parish. I was privileged to have visited them yesterday, with my three young daughters, for Bishop Duncan’s visit (I wanted my daughters to hear and to meet a faithful bishop – finally!). I was also privileged to have been involved with several of the founding members and leaders as well, back in late 2003 when we created the North Carolina Council of Concerned Laity, an organization that became defunct within a couple of years due to a lack of interest at the diocesan level – but that council bore fruit, in Raleigh at least, in this vibrant and faithful congregation.
The odd thing about the N&O;’s characterization of Holy Trinity as a “breakaway church” is that it is the converse of what 815 and the Dr Jefferts Schori keep droning on about: that only individuals, and not dioceses or parishes, can leave The Episcopal Church (a faulty ecclesiologial conclusion, if ever there were one). In this case it truly was individuals (and families) who did leave, and formed a new church that has never borne the Episcopal denominational label.
Calvin, during Sunday School, Bishop Duncan said that our vestry would make a selection of a bishop soon. With no inside info, I’d say it will be Duncan, who has been providing Holy Trinity with advice for several years. Bishop Duncan also said that this would be only an initial selection, as he anticipated many churches, including Holy Trinity, changing bishops over the next 5 years. I assume the hope is, eventually, we’ll have one closer to home.
I hope also that the new ACNA will bring Raleigh-Durham-area Anglican parishes closer to each other. We need to be a new Church both nationally and locally.
Holy Trinity is a stronger, and possibly more formidable model of a growing Anglican presence in part because it does NOT have a bishop.
The common cause challenge will be dealing with all its bishops.
But why does the church need a bishop? It seems to be doing well without one.
Er, John Wilkins, Anglican churches are lead by bishops. This is a tradition rooted in the earliest years of the Christian era. These people at Holy Trinity are very nice deeply committed Christians. The idea of the new ACNA is to connect all of the Anglican fragments into one Church.
Without formal oversight, we run the risk of HTC becoming a monument to a powerful and opinionated lay individual or likeminded small group. The Church has known about this aspect of human nature for its entire history. Let’s not through the Bishop out with the bathwater!
Oops! I mean, let’s not throw the Bishop out with the bathwater.