From the Florida Times-Union:
They concluded Sunday’s service in the auditorium of Mandarin Middle School, where they will gather until they can find a permanent home.
“Today is not about grieving a building and a piece of property,” said the Rev. Gene Strickland, the church’s rector. “Today, even though a chapter ends for All Souls, the book is still open.”
Frank Griffin stood in the breezeway, smiling. A printed tag clipped to his shirt offered words of encouragement: “It’s Just a Building!”
The easier route, Griffin said, would have been to stay and simply conform.
But All Souls Anglican formally split from the Episcopal Church early in 2006, joining those nationwide who left after an openly gay priest was elected bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
The Rev. Jim McCaslin, a former All Souls rector and a regional Anglican leader, said Sunday he was afraid the Episcopal Church is headed for a slow, meaningless death, and that’s why leaving is the best thing for All Souls.
“This church, I am certain, will hold fast to the unchanging word of God,” McCaslin said.
A courageous group. I hope they got the local TV to cover their march. Acts like these need to be shown over and over and over.
It would have been a nice touch to have an Anglican bishop de consecrate the building on the way out.
God bless the people of All Souls’ Church! What a model of integrity for us all.
More great publicity for TEC… I hope every congregation evicted from its own church can get this kind of coverage!
These folks can take heart and look around the country to parishes with similar experience before them. Christ Church, Midland, Texas (Anglican) walked away from their new facilities 2 years ago and conducted services in the cafeteria of a local christian school for two years. A few weeks ago they consecrated their new church and facilities with great joy at being free from the divisive issues of TEC. Their rector, Jon Stasney, is available for consultation concerning the process they’ve undergone.
For the record, the quotes attributed to Fr. McCaslin were taken from different portions of his remarks. He said at one point that “this church [All Souls] will hold fast to the unchanging Word of God – the same yesterday, today, and forever – no matter how many moves we might have to make.” At another point, he said: “Refusing to make a deep change when it’s required leads to a slow death, a meaningless and frustrating existence. That’s where the Episcopal Church now finds itself.”