Leaving the Episcopal Church

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

It's not about lifestyles; it's about believing that Christ is God

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

By Wendy Scott Paff

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh will vote Oct. 4 on whether to secede from the Episcopal Church -- the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion -- and realign with a more theologically conservative Anglican province in South America. Robert Duncan, the bishop of the Pittsburgh diocese until he was removed last week by the Episcopal House of Bishops, has led this movement in Pittsburgh and nationally.

For centuries, all Christian denominations shared core beliefs, of which the most central is that Jesus Christ is God and is a member of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Wendy Scott Paff is an adjunct faculty member in the English departments of the University of Pittsburgh and La Roche College and a communicant member of the Church of the Ascension in Oakland (wsp1+@pitt.edu). She lives in Aspinwall.

Over several decades, many self-titled "progressive" Episcopalians have abandoned as superstition the faith as written and agreed to by the worldwide Anglican Church, of which the U.S. Episcopal Church is a fraction. They have rejected beliefs unquestioned in mainstream Christianity; for example, that Jesus is both man and God, as evidenced by his historical resurrection.

The core of our differences does not lie in the high-profile issues of lifestyle, such as gay marriage or ordination, but in our understanding of who Jesus is. Their departure from all that is Christian is now so great that most members of our worldwide Anglican Church cannot in good conscience celebrate the Lord's Supper with these progressive Episcopalians.

Many bishops and priests in the Episcopal Church today believe God is an impersonal spirit like "the force" in Star Wars, and that Jesus represents only a good example and teacher, but not God. That is not Christianity.

These leaders claim they represent a majority. They do not. The majority of Anglicans still believe in the tenets of Christianity, as do the majority of Christians worldwide.

The notes, phone calls and letters of support sent to former Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan following his deposition last week (and some in anticipation of it) from every corner of the globe, from "nonprogressive" Episcopal bishops and from leaders of other denominations indicate that any majority claimed by those who voted to depose him is a lie. The kangaroo court of the deposition itself broke every Episcopal rule for such proceedings and reported as a majority vote numbers which are questionable given the number of bishops eligible to vote who were not present.

A difference in beliefs within the Episcopal Church is distressing, but is not necessarily reason to leave. Unfortunately, many of those who hold "progressive" beliefs have gone further than disagreeing with Christian tenets. They have hijacked the denomination into which I was confirmed more than 30 years ago.

These leaders have become intolerant of the traditional Christians in their midst and have sought systemically to suppress those whose beliefs remain Christian by refusing to ordain or appoint them as priests or bishops. Faced with the inability to worship and witness as our faith dictates, we have sought to leave and maintain our membership in the worldwide church from which the Episcopal Church has alienated itself.

In response, we have been harassed by those who call themselves tolerant, as the deposition of Bishop Duncan illustrates. Remember, he was deposed in anticipation of an act not yet taken and with the intent to intimidate those in the Pittsburgh Diocese who soon will be voting on whether to leave the Episcopal Church. We have even been asked to heed his deposition as a warning.

As a good (and agnostic) friend of mine exclaimed, "If they don't believe in what the church teaches, let them leave and create their own group." Since they haven't, and since they have sought to silence us, we must leave.

I seek to leave the Episcopal Church because it no longer teaches or represents that which I believe as a member of the worldwide Anglican Church--that Jesus Christ is God and that He died for my sins and rose again.

Let me add a final note on the assets held by the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. We traditional Christians have been accused of attempting to "abscond" with that which belongs to the Episcopal Church.

I am leaving the Episcopal Church regardless of the eventual disposition of those assets. I am leaving as a matter of conscience and belief. However, those assets were entrusted to an institution which held fast to the beliefs I now hold by people who shared those beliefs. Those people would not recognize or validate the Episcopal Church as it now exists. That church now desires to use those assets in ways they would not agree to. Who is violating their trust?

First published on September 24, 2008 at 12:00 am