Episcopalians in Colorado Plan to Leave Denomination

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/ZNYT02/703280801

[Sarasota Herald Tribune] 28 Mar 2007--One of the largest Episcopal parishes in Colorado has decided to leave the Episcopal Church, prompting the diocesan bishop to dissolve the leadership of the congregation and heightening tensions between theological traditionalists and liberals in the denomination.

The parish, Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish in Colorado Springs, is a largely conservative congregation that disagrees with the Episcopal Church’s decision to consecrate gay bishops and sanction same-sex unions.

The parish decided to leave the denomination over the weekend, in large part because of a decision made last week by the denomination’s House of Bishops, said Alan Crippen, a parishioner and spokesman for the congregation. Answering an ultimatum from archbishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Episcopal bishops rejected a demand to create a parallel leadership structure for the minority of Episcopalians, like the members of Grace Church and St. Stephen’s, who oppose the church’s stand on homosexuality.

“Our read was that it is just curtains for theological conservatives in the Episcopal Church,” Mr. Crippen said. “There was a lot of scrambling over the weekend. We thought that the House of Bishops would delay and obfuscate like they usually do. Everyone here was just shocked that they were so decisive in spurning the rest of the communion.”