Like more than 100 churches nationwide, Christ Church broke with TEC over its well-documented liberalized faith (“Other Abrahamic faiths have access to God the Father without consciously going through Jesus,” presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has said). The church’s vestry voted unanimously to disaffiliate over “departure from doctrine” and to place the church under the Anglican Province of Uganda. The congregation approved, with 87 percent voting in favor out of over 300 ballots cast.
Division “happened over time,” rector Marc Robertson told me, and 30-40 disaffected members set up a congregation downriver calling itself “Christ Church Episcopal.” Last May TEC filed legal action against Robertson and the vestry, seeking to acquire the property on Johnson Square in Savannah’s historic district. TEC has filed similar actions against churches in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Texas. This case turns on state trust laws and laws of incorporation, and is complex given that Christ Church predates the existence of the state of Georgia. TEC asserts that church property should be subject to denominational “discipline,” which Christ Church forfeited when it quit the denomination, it says.
Funny things happen when a church takes a stand for the gospel. Sunday attendance at Christ Church is up and it accepted 28 new families””a record””for membership this past year. “We have a corporate sense of galvanization,” said Robertson, “and are doing well spiritually. Our biblical literacy has increased because we are driven back to understanding why we believe what we believe.”
Still. If TEC ends up with Christ Church, the building I mean, they will use it to entice and mislead the unwary who enter therein into thinking they are worshipping in a Christian Church, when in fact, they will not be. If Christ Church loses the lawsuits, I would rather see lightening strike that gorgeous building and burn it to the ground, than for it to be defiled in such a manner.
That’s understandable, evan (#1).
But I thought it was a wonderful, totally sympathetic write up. Nor surprising in that World Magazine is an evangelical publication.
However, I thought it was encouraging how rector Marc Robertson could testify that memership was up (28 new families in one year), along with the level of energy, enthusiasm, and not least, the level of biblical literacy. These sorts of intense conflicts do indeed force us to go back and search the Scritpures to see why we believe what we say we believe and why it’s important enough to suffer for.
The orthodox are willing to follow John Wesley out the door, if forced out, and preach in the open air. But I’d certainly prefer that they win the court fight. As they surely ought to do, if any real justice prevails.
David Handy+
Fr. Handy,
I agree completely with all you say, as usual. When our parish was faced with the actions of CG2003 and ultimately departed TEC, losing our beloved church buildings, I was certainly driven to the Scriptures to a degree I’d never experienced before. However, I see that lovely old edifice being used by one of the most revisionist Dioceses in TEC to sell a counterfiet version of Christianity (they hosted KJS two weeks ago) and it breaks my heart.
It’s indeed wonderful though that Christ Church Savannah is experiencing such marvelous growth, both in numbers and in discipleship. They, and all parishes and dioceses that either have departed or are departing TEC are in my prayers daily.
If DGA gets the historic building, visitors will assume that they are worshipping the spiritual descendants of Wesley and in my day, Bland Tucker. Much will be lost. I am a member of a TEC church in DSC which averages two new families a week. I see nothing good about leaving the historic property.