VIRGINIAREV. "BO" BOWS OUT: NEW AMIA CONGREGATION FORMED IN NEWPORT NEWS

By David W. Virtue — Newport News, VA (8/11/2004)

The Rev. R. Rolling "Bo" Bryant had received a "prophetic word" from the Lord that it was time to leave. He had asked the question many times, "Lord what do you want me to do?" There had been several different prophecies from his people and now he had "received" a deadline.

"The Lord spoke to me before the end of last year. We had a parish retreat before December of 2003 and we prayed as a church all day; and the next day at a vestry meeting the decision to leave was unanimous. The vestry concluded at the meeting that the Episcopal Church was apostate and unreformable. At a congregational meeting the people unanimously agreed."

And so the end came for the rector, wardens, vestry and the whole congregation of the 100-year old Grace Episcopal Church on June 14, 2004, "Bo" told Virtuosity.

"We didn't leave right away, we wanted to be sure, but the voice of the people was unanimous they voted with their feet to go."

"We would not let property, buildings, and possessions weigh us down if we truly wanted to follow the Lord. We clearly understood that we were to walk away from everything that belonged in any legal way to the national church and start anew," he said.

And so on June 14 the Rev. R. Bolling "Bo" Bryant, Rector, and the Wardens of Grace Episcopal Church, Newport News, personally delivered a letter to Bishop David Bane indicating their decision to "be under the authority of the Anglican Mission in America" and so they became the Mission of Grace Anglican Church.

"There was no rancor, no personal animosity with the bishop. We simply could no longer walk with him and the ECUSA," he told Virtuosity.

"Therefore, with a heavy heart we the Rector and Vestry of Grace Church do resign as the official governing body of this parish and sever our connections with the Episcopal Church USA," he wrote in a letter to the bishop.

In a prepared statement, the Rev. "Bo" said the past year had been a time of turmoil and major self-reflection for us at Mission of Grace as is true for all Episcopal churches who want to follow the Lord and abide by His word. They had their time of grieving and justification of the rightness of their beliefs as many churches have. They considered joining the fight to take back their church from those who have taken over.

"But in the end these are all empty words and really cast an unflattering image on us as being more concerned with the 'rightness' of our arguments than spreading the gospel message. Upon deeper reflection into ourselves and what the Lord is calling us to do and be 'In His Name,' we understood that we must come before His throne and ask Him what we are to do. We spent much individual and corporate time and set a day aside for a congregational day of fasting and prayer seeking the hand of the Lord in what we are to do."

The Rev. "Bo" had joined the Episcopal Church in 1972 and had been ordained for more than 20 years. He was walking away from a church he had served and loved with his whole heart. "I am basically Evangelical and Catholic Rite II," he told Virtuosity.

"I bear no animosity towards Bishop Bane. He voted on the right side of the issues at General Convention and he voted against V. Gene Robinson's consecration and against same sex blessings, but it is about more than that. It is about the direction the Episcopal Church is going and I can't go there."

"After much prayer and study of the Word of God, we all understood that as faithful Christians who want to stay under a proper Biblical spiritual umbrella, that place is not in the national church as it now exists. The leadership of the church have strayed so far from the truth of the word of God that we cannot continue under their worldly authority and remain faithful stewards of the gifts and calling He has placed on our little church."

The Rev. "Bo" has been inhibited and the deposition process is under way.

"The bishop was very pastoral to me. Our parting was very amicable. He followed the 815 play book. He did what he had to do...it was a good meeting and he gave us his blessing. He said nice words, our departure was very gracious," he told Virtuosity.

"We did not contest anything. We walked away from property, we had no real endowment; we left the keys at the front door."

Their new bishop is now the Rt. Rev. Thad Barnum.

"We have joined the Anglican Mission in America as our spiritual umbrella. Through their encouragement, we have partnered with the 'Mosaic' of several other churches from very different denominational expressions - Baptists, Nazarene, and Pentecostal. Each one of our churches brings in part of the whole church, and we all are learning from each other who we are in Christ and how He wants us to work together to do His work."

The bishop will be forced to close down the church. He will probably sell it to a Black church, said the Rev. "Bo."

In other news Virtuosity has learned that the Diocese of Southern Virginia is down 24% in contributions for 2004 and they have now lost a historic church as well. According to a source, more churches are expected to follow later this year.