The rector, wardens and vestry of Holy Trinity Church, Marlborough, Mass., have taken a firm stand in opposition to the Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, Bishop of Massachusetts.

In the wake of the "sexuality resolution" passed at the Lambeth Conference, the leadership at Holy Trinity said in a letter mailed to Bishop Shaw Sept. 18, "we have been in a state of broken communion with you, and have not been able to recognize your ministry as a bishop ... for almost two years now."

The Rev. Judith Gentle-Hardy, rector, said the parish is taking a stand against Bishop Shaw's "failure ... to teach and preach the truth of the gospel," specifically as it relates to practicing homosexuals ministering in the church and the blessing of same-sex unions.

Ms. Gentle-Hardy emphasized "we ... must show care to all our brothers and sisters who are in sexual bondage, be that heterosexual or homosexual bondage. We don't want to mock them, we want them to repent."

At the same time, Ms. Gentle-Hardy said, we "want to get the word out that parishes are taking tough stands" when bishops fail to "preach and teach the Good News of the Lord's transforming power which can heal our brothers and sisters who struggle with homosexual desires and lifestyles."

The tough stand taken by Holy Trinity states, "If there is no movement toward repentance on your part by the end of this calendar year, we will give the monies set aside for our diocesan assessment to ministries of the larger Anglican Communion which are faithful to the Lord, his truth, and his redeeming work."

Bishop Shaw, through a spokesperson, said he would make no comment on personal correspondence.

Ms. Gentle-Hardy also has resigned from the American Anglican Council's board because, "... it will not stand against the bishops who signed the Koinonia Statement." She said, in her letter of resignation, that "orthodox Christians in ECUSA, especially priests and bishops, must declare and live into the broken communion that exists between orthodox Christians and those bishops and other clergy who have stepped outside the bounds of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Faith ... (including) the primate of ECUSA, Frank Griswold, until and unless he sincerely repents and undergoes conversion."