It's not the end, but a new beginning for church

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/071607/met_184610408.shtml

[The Florida-Times Union] 18 July 2007--Their voices rang out from the pews Sunday morning, the refrains of well-known hymns laden with unfamiliar emotions.

The final notes of Lift High the Cross and This is the Day died out, there was both laughter and tears at the All Souls Anglican Church in Mandarin.

After a quarter-century of worshiping at the Old St. Augustine Road sanctuary, All Souls members locked the heavy front door, circled the campus and walked away from a place many called home.

Alluding to the biblical tale of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, congregants called their 2-mile procession the symbolic closure to a difficult journey that led to their split with the Episcopal Church.

They concluded Sunday's service in the auditorium of Mandarin Middle School, where they will gather until they can find a permanent home.

"Today is not about grieving a building and a piece of property," said the Rev. Gene Strickland, the church's rector. "Today, even though a chapter ends for All Souls, the book is still open."

Frank Griffin stood in the breezeway, smiling. A printed tag clipped to his shirt offered words of encouragement: "It's Just a Building!"

The easier route, Griffin said, would have been to stay and simply conform.