"We are saddened by the current state of The Episcopal Church in the US which we believe has strayed from the orthodox, scriptural beliefs of the worldwide Anglican Communion," said Reeder. "Many church members have demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the Episcopal Church's actions and words through the withholding of contributions. This has led us to examine the best possible future for Holy Comforter and our desire to remain part of the worldwide Anglican Communion."

Bosio told VirtueOnline that the parish faced a 40 percent drop in revenue. "We are on the point of insolvency and we cannot pay our bills especially the interest and principal on a $1.6 million mortgage."

"No one has left the church; the people are withholding their financial support because of national church issues. We can no longer support the diocese and the national Episcopal Church with our monies."

Bosio said he did not think they could make the September mortgage payment. "The Vestry told the bishop that following the House of Bishops' rejection of the Dar es Salaam communique a large number of parishioners had chosen to forego their intent to give with the result that the parish was in financial difficulty. We lost these peoples' income for good. They stayed but closed their check books."

The parish has handed the church and its $1.6 million mortgage over to the bishop, whose initial reaction was to say he could not handle the mortgage.

The resignation of the rector, other church staff and vestry en mass then precipitated the loss of revenue, he said. The church has no endowment.

Bosio said he has met with Bishop Rob O'Neil. They are working amicably to find a resolution to the problem. "The bishop wanted to know how many wanted to remain in TEC and how he could pay for it, and asked if the parish is viable once the majority (some 85 percent) leave."

"We have no intention of litigating for the property, the bishop must dispose of it," said Bosio.

"The market value of the property is about $3.5 million with a $1.6 million mortgage. The diocese is running a deficit and I don't see how they can continue to operate it. The Bank of Denver holds the note. If the mortgage goes into default, the diocese has to meet the default or the bank will take it over and try and sell it to recover their loan," said Bosio.

"It will be a difficult property to move. The new additions to the church have been made in the last seven years and it serves our ministry programs. We would like to retain the property. It is the bishop's call. Whatever happens, another church will form outside of The Episcopal Church."

An active layman in the parish told VOL that he has been traveling along with Holy Comforter, but had refrained from becoming a member so long as it remained in TEC. "I had no intention of being under an apostate bishop in an apostate church. The situation here has developed very slowly, agonizingly slowly for me because I had hoped for a quick separation from TEC. In January 2007 at the annual meeting, it was announced that the parish would use the Truro Church, Virginia forty-day discernment process. This intent was not carried out because the bishop expressed disfavor with it. Several weeks ago, it was announced again that the parish would have a go at the forty-day process again."

A source told VOL that the new reorganized parish will come under the Pawleys Island, SC based Anglican Mission in America (AMiA).

While the situation is different from the Rev. Don Armstrong, at Grace and St. Stephens in Colorado Springs, losing two of the top three or four parishes in Colorado has certain common ramifications. "O'Neill is in need of an intervention and the diocese is in need of leadership who will stand up to him," says Armstrong.

Another source told VOL that Grace Church Colorado Springs, where the bishop is spending over a million dollars to possess, would come itself with a 2.6 million dollar called note.

In other news from the Colorado Laity and Clergy, VOL has learned that St. Andrew's in Fort Collins has begun a forty-day discernment period. VOL was told that the membership has met with the bishop and informed him that they are facing a similar loss of revenue.

Holy Comforter is the third largest parish in the Diocese of Colorado.

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