NASHVILLE: EPISCOPAL GAY DECISION SPLITS CHURCH

By Bill Harless From Nashville (TN) City Paper July 1, 2004

Last November, the Episcopal Church U.S.A. approved the consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, the first openly homosexual bishop in the Church. That decision has now had repercussions in Nashville.

St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church on Belmont Park Terrace is splitting, some members leaving to found a new non-Episcopalian church.

The split is amicable. St. Bartholomew's unanimously opposes Robinson's consecration and the recognition of same-sex blessings in the Church.

But some members, according to Senior Warden Scott Kammerer, want to "stay and fight for orthodoxy within the Episcopal Church," while others "cannot tolerate what they see as apostasy" and feel they must leave.

"They can no longer with good conscience remain affiliated with the Episcopal Church," said Kammerer.

Kammerer will stay at Saint Bartholomew's: "We want to wait and see what happens" within the Episcopal Church. Now is "not yet the time for us to leave."

"Even though this is a division, there really are no hard feelings...We all have tremendous love for one another."

The new church, The Church of the Redeemer, will still remain within the World Wide Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion consists of Anglican churches in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The new church will begin holding formal worship services Sunday evenings on August 8 at Otter Creek Church of Christ.

Thomas McKenzie will be its priest – Wednesday was his last day as interim rector of Saint Bartholomew's.

"It's been emotionally difficult because we do love each other so much," he said. "Saint Bartholomew's and the Church of the Redeemer have nothing but love and respect for one another."

Saint Bartholomew's will not share any money with the Church of the Redeemer to help establish it.

"An Episcopal church cannot plant or start a non-Episcopal church," McKenzie said. "If we were to take anything from St. Bartholomew's, that would be inappropriate."

"We have not asked anyone for money yet, but we will be receiving tithes, donations, offerings – and can now – though we haven't asked for any money yet. People who are starting the church have already pledged funds."

McKenzie believes the Episcopal Church has "distorted" the Bible and that contemporary Christians are facing a "new Reformation."

"Part of the reason for the decay of the Episcopal Church is the same reason that the Roman Catholic Church [decayed] in the time of Martin Luther," he said.

"For instance, the church decided that salvation was for sale, so they sold it. And in our time, the Episcopal Church has decided that human sexuality is expressed however you want to express it rather than how God expresses it."

McKenzie believes Christian denominationalism is a "dying entity" and that new "networks of churches" are forming, "related to each other through bonds of the spirit and bonds of affinity rather than relations of power, prestige, and wealth, which is how the mainline [establishment] has related to its churches."

And Otter Creek's temporary sharing of its building is "a blessed example of that."

"The people of Otter Creek have been incredibly gracious and welcoming to us and have shown us nothing but love...", he said.

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