Conservative Virginia Parish Opts to Stay in the Episcopal Church
Episcopal News Service. December 12, 2001 [2001-349]
Nancy Jenkins, Editor of the Virginia Episcopalian
(ENS) The theologically conservative Church of the Apostles in Fairfax, Virginia, has decided to remain a part of the Episcopal Church after a long and careful discernment process. The need for a decisive stand was forced by the imminent construction of an expansive new campus for the congregation, which is located in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.
Canon 15.3 of the diocesan Constitution and Canons states that a congregation holds its property in trust for the diocese and that, if the congregation were to sever its ties with the diocese, the property would be in the custody of the diocese.
For some congregations, the canon may simple be legal words in a dusty book, but to the vestry of Church of the Apostles, it had potentially serious implications. Began as a church plant of Truro Church in 1968, Apostles is now preparing for a $9 million capital campaign to build a new campus.
Because the congregation stands at the far conservative end of the Episcopal theological spectrum, some decisions made by General Convention over the past 10 years led them to question the congregation's ability to remain a part of the Episcopal Church. Knowing that they would forfeit their church property if they ever did leave the diocese, the congregation became increasingly concerned as the time drew near to launch the campaign.
Should we stay or should we go?
The vestry decided it was time to take a serious, prayerful look its place in the Episcopal Church. The church's clergy, David Harper and Neal Brown, firmly believe that Apostles' place is within the Episcopal Church. The vestry was determined to follow their clergy's leadership, but wanted to find peace about an issue which had haunted them for many years.
About a year ago, the vestry began meeting more frequently to pray, study the Bible, and consider its position. Did the vestry believe that Apostles belonged in the Episcopal Church, or belong elsewhere, perhaps in a breakaway group like the Anglican Mission in America?
The vestry tackled the issue on both a spiritual and intellectual level, even studying the history of other religious controversies. "We took a look at the history of the Protestant Reformation and the fact that there are subsequently 20,000 or more denominations, and we thought how that must grieve the Lord," said senior warden Richard Nelson. "All of these [denominations] were made with good intent but they were fractionalizing nonetheless. We just felt that we didn't want to do that." After months of prayer and study, the members of the vestry came to an unanimous decision. In the end, it was not an intellectual decision, says Nelson, but rather "a powerful impression ... that the Holy Spirit was calling us to stay."
'Stay and stand for righteousness'
The first action of the unified vestry was to write a letter to the rector reporting unanimous support for his conviction to stay in the Episcopal Church. Then, during Sunday services on September 2, the vestry distributed to the entire congregation a proclamation titled "Staying and Standing for Righteousness." In the third paragraph, the letter states, "We joyously report to you that God has done a mighty miracle in the vestry to bring us into a place of unity and agreement to stay and stand for righteousness within our denomination."
The vestry described many of the factors which convinced it that staying was the right thing to do. "As we examined scripture, most references were exhortations to stand up to and to expose false teachers," the letter said. They listed several examples: "David submitted to King Saul even after David had been promised the kingdom; Elijah and Jeremiah remained faithful to God despite abuse by their evil kings and church leaders; Jesus submitted to the Pharisees, and Jewish leaders even to accept death at their hands; and Matthew 10 describes the suffering believers can expect when they stand for righteousness and endure persecution."
The vestry was also moved by clergy accounts of many positive experiences working on diocesan and international committees. With regard to diocesan leadership, the vestry member stated, "We are reassured that there are still many faithful bishops and priests in ECUSA, whose dioceses and churches are generally the ones experiencing growth. The Diocese of Virginia, the second-largest in the country, is one of these."
A cloud removed
But does a letter from the vestry really change anything in the minds of hundreds of individuals in the congregation? Apparently so. Nelson says it has "removed a cloud" that had been hanging over the congregation for many years and the result has been "an incredible surge in community.... We had a congregational picnic in our new property in October and the turnout was amazing--probably 400 or so... After September 11, we participated in the Wash America car wash event. We had a phenomenal turnout and raised $8,000 in one day."
The extent to which the letter cleared the air was perhaps most evident on Sunday, November 4 when Apostles had its annual bishop's visitation. When it came time for Bishop Suffragan David Jones to confirm and receive members, he spontaneously opened the service up to anyone who wished to come forward. The result was that 22 were confirmed, 88 reaffirmed, 54 received and 164 asked the bishop to pray over them. In this moment, it seemed clear that the congregation had enthusiastically answered the vestry's call to "join with us in trusting God to pour out his blessings from heaven as we give obediently, being neither worried nor anxious about ECUSA--or anything else."