Via TitusOneNine:
By Andrew Weeks
Times-News writer
Some people believe the Bible is a figurative book with multiple meanings. Others believe there is only one interpretation - that it is the word of God and should be taken literally.
For Twin Falls resident Dean Hodges, the Bible is infallible. But his former church isn't.
Two reasons why he left the Episcopal Church a little more than five years ago.
Though not an official member of any church today - he's not on any church rolls - Hodges considers himself an Anglican and, at least once a month, travels more than 200 miles round trip to attend a one-year-old Boise parish because it feels a lot like going home again.
"I attend the parish proudly - and thankfully," he said.
Hodges is one of thousands of former Episcopalians across the country standing up for traditional Christian beliefs, including stances against abortion, gay marriage and demeaning the divinity of Jesus Christ.
The Episcopal Church in 2003, for instance, appointed an openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, to lead a New Hampshire congregation. Hodges - who says he is not prejudice against gays themselves but against attacks aimed at traditional marriage and the priesthood - doesn't like the message the church is sending by that appointment.
"The Episcopal Church has taken a fork in the road to the left, while we continue on the one to the right," he said. "We (Anglicans) believe the Bible contains the inspired word of God, whereas Episcopalians believe the scriptures are secondary to the Holy Spirit." Because holy writ is treated secondary, he said, the church has taken positions on issues not in harmony with the Bible.
"Gays are welcome into our church. That's between them and their God. But when you start to change the leadership of the church, that's when a split is going to happen," he said, referring to the number of diocese that have already split from the 2.2-million-member U.S. Episcopal Church.
But the gay topic is only one issue. He said the Episcopal Church has also lessened the value of Jesus Christ, portraying him more like a fallible man than the infallible Son of God.
"I couldn't in good conscious be a member anymore," Hodges said.
In early December the Common Cause Partnership, a federation of more than 100,000 Anglican Christians, released a draft constitution of an emerging Anglican Church in North America. It in turn began forming the new church movement in response to a request from leading archbishops of the Global Anglican Future Conference held last June in Jerusalem.
By the end of the conference, Anglican leaders had released the Jerusalem Declaration and GAFCON Statement, which outlines their Christian beliefs and goals to reform.
The Jerusalem Declaration, which lists 13 of 39 articles of faith for the traditional church and the new movement, says in part: "We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God's Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today."
The 77-million-member Anglican Communion, which includes the U.S. Episcopal Church, has roots in the missionary work of the Church of England.
Anglicans believe the doctrine of the church is grounded in the Bible, teachings of the ancient fathers and councils, the Book of Common Prayer and other doctrines listed in the Jerusalem Declaration, according to GAFCON.
So far at least three conservative diocese - in Fresno, Calif., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Quincy, Ill. - have split from the liberal Episcopal Church because they believe the church has not remained true to traditional beliefs.
Rev. David Baker, pastor of the Boise Anglican parish that Hodges attends, said the parish is not now nor has it ever been a part of the Episcopal Church, so it cannot split from it. It does, however, seek to become a member of the Anglican Church in North America. To do that, it needs first to become part of a diocese.
But the parish, which is only a year old, has only about 35 members, so it will likely be a while before even that happens. A parish must have at least 50 members to be considered for a diocese; a diocese is comprised of 12 or more parishes, Baker said.
Hodges joined Trinity Episcopal Church in Rupert in 1967 and, because of various moves that followed, attended congregations in Twin Falls, Boise and Topeka, Kansas.
But in August 2003 he received a letter from then-bishop of Boise Harry Bainbridge, informing church members that although the Episcopal Church - first by the House of Deputies, then by the House of Bishops - had appointed a gay clergyman, it did not affect the church in Idaho.
The letter was an eye-opener for Hodges.
"As our discussions went forward (about Robinson's appointment)," Bainbridge's letter explained about the voting process, "the most persuasive argument offered was that 'it is time we quit living a lie.' What this meant to me was that we already have clergy, even bishops, who are gay or lesbian �- Why then do we find ourselves offended when Canon Robinson is public about who he is? ...
"Those who opposed Canon Robinson's ordination as bishop, do so because they love the Lord and his church. While at the same time, those who support the ministry of this man do so for the very same reason," Bainbridge's letter continued.
Bainbridge had voted for Robinson's ordination. But, he explained in his letter, no matter the stance taken by church members or its clergy, "the church in Idaho will continue its mission of being the hands and heart of Jesus in the world."
Hodges is not trying to demean the faith of others, he said, but is taking a stand for what he believes is right. He doesn't believe the Episcopal Church, for the most part, in Idaho or elsewhere, is the "hands and heart of Jesus" anymore. Not in the long-standing traditional sense, anyway.
But Rich Demarest, Dean of St. Michaels Cathedral in Boise, a church Hodges used to attend, said he has not seen any shift in church doctrine - Christ is acknowledged as "all human" and "all divine," just as the church has labeled him since AD 325 when the Nicene Creed was accepted, he said - and the controversy caused by Robinson's appointment in New Hampshire has little affected the Boise church.
"We're fine, healthy and growing," Demarest said.
Controversy, in fact, is nothing new to the church, he said. He's seen it happen in the 1970s over changes with the church's prayer book and with discussions about appointing women to the clergy. But he thinks the best way to deal with issues is by staying involved with the church, not by leaving it.
"Quitting is a very bad way about making your voice heard," Demarest said. "When people leave, they are no longer a part; their voice is not heard. We're a very democratic church, where people's voices do make a difference."
In fall 2003, Hodges and his wife wrote their own letter, asking that their names be removed from church membership rolls.
"We're not a bunch of goonies taking off on a wild-goose chase, but we're trying to defend the faith," he said about members splitting from the Episcopal Church and parishes joining the new Anglican movement.
Hodges doesn't want to offend, belittle or hurt anyone, he said, especially since he has family members who still attend the Episcopal Church. But he says he has found his own peace by following the prompting of his heart.
And yes, he noted, leaving a church for something better is making his voice heard. He's not quitting - "I didn't leave the church, it left me," he said - he's just defending his faith.
"I love the Anglican liturgy," he wrote in a statement to the Times-News. "I have found a church where I feel at home - Grace Orthodox Anglican Church in Boise, Idaho."
He will likely ask for his name to be included on its membership rolls, he said, but hopes to one day see a mission church built in the Magic Valley.
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