The writer's bias is clear in this article. While the congregation worshiping in the church is by far the largest portion of the old Grace & St. Stephen's, the writer has chosen to write this article from the perspective of the smaller group. The breakdown according to this article is about 1,200 to about 450. Don Armstrong and 1,200 others left pecusa, 450 stayed in pecusa. ed.
Posted by David Virtue at VirtueOnline on 2009/2/8 19:30:00:
by MARK BARNA
THE GAZETTE
http://www.gazette.com/articles/church_47691___article.html/episcopal_group.html
February 7, 2009
The church building on North Tejon Street is, inarguably, an architectural treasure. Its stone-on-stone Gothic construction, highlighted by an iconic tower crowned with turrets, is "a marvelous display of ecclesiastic architecture," said Colorado Springs project manager Tim Scanlon.
But the beautiful church is at the center of an ugly fight over who owns it - the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado or a group that broke away from the U.S. Episcopal Church but has continued to worship in the building. The winner of the fight will likely be determined in a trial that begins Tuesday in El Paso County District Court and is expected to last six weeks. Ownership of the $17 million property has been in dispute ever since a group led by the Rev.
Donald Armstrong broke away from the 2,500-member congregation because of theological differences with the Episcopal Church. The group aligned itself with the conservative Anglican Communion province in Nigeria and renamed itself Grace Church & St. Stephen's.
The other group, Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, rents space in another church downtown and claims the Tejon Street property rightly belongs to the diocese. While the two factions disagree on who should have legal claim to the property, they do agree on one thing: It's something special, and not just from the outside.
Tall stained-glass windows, vaulted ceilings, a marble altar and a decades-old pipe organ modeled on the great organs in Anglican churches in England enhance the visual and sonic experience of services.
"The church was designed to be a place of uplifting music, uplifting art and uplifting architecture," said Armstrong. "When you come in here, the distractions of the world dissipate."
An illustrious past Although the property dispute developed from a parish coming apart, the church started with two congregations coming together. In 1894, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church started worshiping in a building it erected on the Tejon Street site. Three decades later, the church was having financial problems and agreed in 1923 to merge with another Springs parish, Grace Episcopal.
The marriage of the two congregations required a larger worship center on the Tejon Street lot. It was to be a building "of simple stately beauty, with something of aspiration, something of mystery, something suggestive of the higher reaches of life," according to St. Stephen's rector at the time.
The gothic-style church was built as an addition to St. Stephen's original building, which became its parish hall. Completed in 1926, the newly named Grace Church & St. Stephen's Episcopal Church cost $300,000, which included $8,000 raised through a citywide funding drive to build the tower.
"There was an appreciation in Colorado Springs of the civilizing influence of religion," Scanlon said. "There was a sense of ecumenicalism and a binding together."
Grace & St. Stephen's was not only an architectural wonder; its leaders also contributed enormously to the community. Beckett Stokes, spokeswoman for the Colorado Episcopal diocese, said that among the organizations the church helped start are the Red Cross of the Pikes Peak Region, the United Fund (which became United Way) and the Thrift House.
Object of their desire With such a prized possession at stake, emotions are running high as the trial date nears. Armstrong, rector of Grace since 1987, said that under his leadership, $6 million of improvements have been made to the church. Most of the money for upkeep is donated by the Anglican members, whose number he puts at 1,200.
Armstrong said he worries that if the exiled parish, Grace Church & St. Stephen's Episcopal, wins the lawsuit, its 450 members won't be able to afford the church's upkeep and the diocese may have to sell the property.
He also said he's heard rumors that the diocese plans to sell the property to a hotel company. But Stokes said there is no plan to sell the property should the diocese prevail in the trial.
"The bishop and diocese are confident in the health and financial well-being of the Grace Episcopal congregation," she said. That would please church historian Spot Holmes.
The 87-year-old woman attended the Tejon Street church for 22 years until the parish split. She remained within the Episcopal national body and worships with fellow Episcopalians elsewhere. As the trial date nears, Armstrong says he's not worried about the outcome.
"If we lose the property suit," Armstrong said, "we'll find another property and we'll come together and have the same ministries and fellowship and love and care for others.
END
2 comments:
It seems to me that the article, if it slants in any direction, favors the majority CANA congregation. Their rector, Don Armstrong is quoted repeatedly.
Corrected grammar and a double posting was deleted:
Euphorbia, thanks for your comment. Just because the article quotes Armstrong does not mean that they cast him in a good light. For example, there's this paragraph:
"Donald Armstrong broke away from the 2,500-member congregation because of theological differences with the Episcopal Church. The group aligned itself with the conservative Anglican Communion province in Nigeria and renamed itself Grace Church & St. Stephen's."
Armstrong did not break away from the congregation. The truth is that the majority went with him, a minority left, and a number left both groups. So, there are two identifiable groups and roughly 900 who are unaccounted for based on the numbers cited in this article.
Toward the end of this story is this:
"The bishop and diocese are confident in the health and financial well-being of the Grace Episcopal congregation," she said. That would please church historian Spot Holmes.
The 87-year-old woman attended the Tejon Street church for 22 years until the parish split. She remained within the Episcopal national body and worships with fellow Episcopalians elsewhere. As the trial date nears, Armstrong says he's not worried about the outcome.
Now, how is this favorable to Armstrong? In this anecdote he is portrayed as casting this 87 y.o. out of her beloved church building.
No, I think that on the whole this is not an article that "favors the majority CANA congregation."
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