FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Two of the most historically significant parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia are moving toward breaking with the national church because of differences over the Bible and sexuality.
The vestries, or boards of directors, of Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church have voted independently to recommend the parishes split from The Episcopal Church, according to spokesmen for each parish. Congregants in both parishes will vote between Dec. 10 and 16 whether to approve a break.
Truro Church and The Falls Church both grew from Truro Parish, which was created in 1732. George Washington served as a lay leader in both congregations.
The Episcopal Church is at the center of a fight within the global Anglican fellowship over whether Anglicans should stick to the traditional view that gay sex violates Scripture.
In 2003, Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, causing an uproar throughout the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. Robinson's supporters believe the Bible's social justice teachings allow committed gay relationships.
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. wing of the communion, which is now at risk of splitting apart. While conservatives are a minority in the U.S. church, their protests have had an impact.
Between 2003 and 2005, The Episcopal Church lost nearly 115,000 members nationally and nearly half those losses stem from parish conflicts over Robinson's consecration, according to Kirk Hadaway, the denomination's director of research. Membership in the church is now about 2.21 million, said Hadaway, who was quoted by The Christian Century magazine.
Meanwhile, the conservative Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno., Calif., will vote at its convention Dec. 1-2 whether to fully break from the national denomination and align directly with an Anglican branch overseas. If the convention votes yes, it will be the first Episcopal diocese in the United States to completely split from the U.S. church.
The San Joaquin diocese rejects ordination of gays and women. On Nov. 4, The Episcopal Church installed its first woman presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori.
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