By COLLEEN CREAMER
ccreamer@dnj.com
SMYRNA — Remnant members of what is now a small All Saints Church were led in service Sunday by Bishop Bertram Herlong of the Diocese of Tennessee just as members of the newly formed St. Patrick's Anglican Church met there early and then packed a room at Bob Parks Realty deliberating over a new place to worship.
The two congregations, once one but now divided over theology, had to pass each other between services as they shared the 10-year-old church on Lee Victory Parkway for the first and last time.
"There was no authority or power given to anybody other than the Diocese of Tennessee to close All Saints," said Herlong to a group of about 35 after the service. "All Saints has not been closed. Only the diocese can do that."
A month previous, the Rev. Ray Kasch, current minister of St. Patrick's and the former minister to All Saints, issued a statement that he was closing All Saints because of the liberal direction Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori was taking the national church in allowing gay bishops.
Kasch announced his church would now be St. Patrick's, no longer an Episcopal Church, but would operate under the auspices of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, after which confusion ensued as to who held rights to the church.
Doug Atkin, new member of the St. Patrick's vestry, said the mood at the Bob Parks office was "jubilant." He said St. Patrick's would temporarily share a facility with Smyrna Assembly at 14119 Old Nashville Highway. The early service on Sunday at the Lee Victory Parkway church "went well" he said.
"I went to the 8 o'clock service," Atkin said. "There were 54 people there. My wife went to the 9 o'clock, and I understand they had to bring in extra chairs to seat everybody. It was completely packed. Of course, when we left there, we're done with the building forever. We are not going back."
Herlong said he wished St. Patrick's well but urged the remaining members of Kasch's former congregation to tell their friends and neighbors to attend All Saints.
"All Saints has a wonderful reputation. We've done a lot of great thing and that is not over. ... We'll need some structure and so if you've got some suggestions," Herlong said.
All Saints congregation member, Landra Orr, who was previously a member of Kasch's church, said that the schism within the Episcopal Church was hijacking the message of Jesus Christ. The break, she said, was now the focus, not the mission of the church.
"I'm an Episcopalian, but I am still very much a Christian who believes in the Bible, and I don't want this congregation to be characterized because we choose to continue in the Episcopal Church tradition to be seen in some ways as heretics, because we are not," Orr said. "The focus of the ministry may be much more about the love and service of Christ in the world rather than what people's personal behavior may be like or what their lifestyles are."
Herlong said he would perform duties when or if needed.
"If it is your wish, I will be here each Sunday at the same time, and we'll try this again, and we'll just keep doing that until we get it right," Herlong said to applause.
The Rev. Tom Hutson, an Episcopalian priest who also attends All Saints as a congregation member, said sadness over the split went both ways.
"We can't run from them, and they can't run from us," said Hutson. "We still love them and they still love us."
The URL for this story is:
http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612110312
Maintainer: Ted McMichael
Send Comments or Questions to:
Administrator.ChurchOfTheWord@verizon.net