Episcopalians unsure about church's future

http://www.islandpacket.com/features/story/6430581p-5730765c.html

[islandpacket.com] 24 Mar 2007--Two major developments in the Episcopal church have left Lowcountry Episcopalians wondering about the future of their diocesan leadership and the future of their church.

On March 15, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori invalidated the election of the Very Rev. Mark Lawrence as the next bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, saying that some of the 56 necessary consents for his election were given electronically, which is against church law.
Less than a week later, Episcopal bishops released a letter that reiterated the church's support for gays and rejected a call from Anglican leaders to allow dissident conservative congregations in the U.S. to be overseen by a separate body. The Diocese of South Carolina, which includes Beaufort County, is among those conservative dioceses that have asked for alternate Anglican leadership.

The Episcopal Church, with 2.3 million members, is the American branch of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion.

The Rev. Greg Kronz of St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island said he was "disappointed" with both actions and sees this week's letter from the House of Bishops as a step toward the end of the Episcopal church as he has always known it.