Those on both sides expect the Episcopal Diocese to vote today to secede from the U.S. denomination and join an Anglican province in South America — but with at least 17 of approximately 73 parishes choosing to remain in the Episcopal Church.
In the first of two required votes, last year the laity voted 118-58 and clergy voted 109-24 to secede. While some think a reversal is possible, no one is predicting it.
Opponents were more optimistic earlier, when some church leaders who admired Pittsburgh’s then-Bishop Robert Duncan were nevertheless wary of secession, said Rich Creehan, spokesman for Across the Aisle, a group for those who intend to remain Episcopal. But the Sept. 18 vote of the Episcopal House of Bishops to remove Bishop Duncan changed that.
“They saw that action by the House of Bishops as an insult and said they didn’t want to be part of people who acted like that,” Mr. Creehan said.