A scorched earth policy. That’s how Anglicans who have left The Episcopal Church (TEC) and its endorsement of unbiblical beliefs and actions often describe TEC’s response. From depressed Binghamton, N.Y., to affluent Newport Beach, Calif., TEC leaders have fought dozens of court battles to force congregations leaving the denomination to forfeit the buildings they, their parents, and their grandparents paid for.
[This policy]… is evident…at St. James Anglican Church, which for more than half a century owned property in Newport Beach: The 300-member congregation now meets in a fluorescent-lit room with exposed pipes and concrete walls. It’s a humble setting for an affluent congregation accustomed to soft lighting and stained glass, but a fitting one this month for celebrating the birth of a Savior in a barnyard stable””and that’s one of the providential results of the scorched earth policy.
St. James lost its building even though the church had a written agreement with its diocese that seemed to ensure the congregation’s ownership of the building””but when it was time to part, the diocese and TEC sued the congregation, and a judge cited an Episcopal Church canon declaring that all church property belongs to the diocese and the denomination.
The lawyer said to Jesus, “I have done all these things. What else must I do to be saved? Jesus said “go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor.” The lawyer went away with sadness because he had many possessions.
TEC’s means-spirited vindictiveness in its lawsuits continues, and doesn’t appear to be letting up. The silence of the TEC “conservatives” is thunderous. No one, it appears, is willing to point out that for an organization that considers itself “Christian”, its behavior is anything but.
In its own way this is a very encouraging story, mostly because of churches that are able to continue on despite TEC’s attempts to repress them.
What is even more encouraging is the work many of them have done to establish new churches since breaking ties with liberal bishops.