New church in Temecula underlines Anglican divide

From a North County Times article by James Curran this Sunday:

. . . Those prayers were recited at the debut service for Temecula Valley Anglican Fellowship, which was held less than a half-mile away from St. Thomas Episcopal Church, the home of their former comrades in faith.

The service was the latest salvo in a chaotic battle for the souls -- if not the hearts and minds -- of believers after a series of ideological decisions, including the ordination of an openly gay bishop, inspired some parishes to split from the national Episcopal Church.

About 75 people attended the first service of Temecula Valley Anglican, which is called an outreach ministry of St. John's Anglican Church in Fallbrook. St. John's has been at the forefront of the struggle. It split from the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego due to theological disagreements.

The diocese and St. John's are currently arguing in the courts to determine who actually owns the land and sanctuary where St. John's currently meets. But instead of consolidating resources for a protracted legal battle, St. John's decided to expand into Southwest County, offering what officials call a traditional option for churchseekers.

. . . Murrieta resident Rick Powell said his family had left the Episcopal Church several years before [2003] due to other decisions he thought ran contrary to Anglican belief. He went to the Temecula Valley Anglican service and plans to continue attending.

"It's been said throughout the centuries, the Anglican Church is built like a stool with three legs," Powell said. "We take the Scripture to be primary. If Scripture's not clear, we take tradition to be our guide. Where tradition is not clear, we take reason.

"In my opinion, the Episcopal Church has changed that paradigm to where it's reason, followed by tradition, followed by Scripture. The demotion of Scripture is the reason (we left)."

[Fr. Don] Kroeger [of St. John's Anglican] said a series of decisions that go against Scripture, not simply the Robinson vote, led to St. John's leaving the diocese.

"I've never even preached against homosexuality," Kroeger said. "I've preached against sin. The church is reinterpreting Scripture. We could not abide by that. I believe what we believe is consistent with 90 percent of Christian churches."

. . .Despite the new congregation nearby, [the Rev. Robert A.] Nagy [of St. Thomas Episcopal in Temecula] doesn't believe his flock will abandon St. Thomas en masse. He cited a survey that asserted first-time churchgoers attend a house of worship based on proximity rather than core belief. . .

Love that last sentence -- nice to know I've selected my church based on convenience and proximity rather than closely held beliefs in Scripture and the Word of God. . . but wait a minute -- I pass several other churches on the way to my church. Huummmmmm. . .

Read it all. Also, see here for everything you ever wanted to know about what's happening in San Diego. And don't forget to check here for more info on the new Temecula Valley Anglican Fellowship.