An Elm Grove congregation is the first in Wisconsin to announce it will split from the Episcopal Church in the United States to align with a more conservative, rival province being formed in North America.<\/p>\n
Wednesday’s announcement by St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church comes less than a month after a group of breakaway dioceses and parishes announced that they were forming a new, more theologically conservative North American province. Those churches have been angered by the liberal views of the U.S. Episcopalian and Canadian Anglican churches.<\/p>\n
“We are not leaving the Episcopal Church; they have left us,” said Marsha Ohlgart, a board member and spokeswoman for the 125-member parish at 14625 Watertown Plank Road.<\/p>\n
“This is a lateral move. We’re just joining with the traditional, conservative Anglican Church in the world,” she said.<\/p>\n