January 22, 2006
TO THE FALLS CHURCH FAMILY FROM JOHN YATES:
Earlier this fall the vestry of our church sent the accompanying letter to the Bishop of Virginia, Peter Lee. Not long afterward, Bishop Lee came and spent an evening with our vestry during which he not only explained to us his views on the current crisis in our church, the confirmation of a bishop living in a relationship condemned by scripture, and the future of the Episcopal Church, but he also responded to many of our questions on these matters, including his views on the authority of scripture.
Also, this fall we have seen three other major developments within our diocese of Virginia. Our parish leaders have been heavily involved in establishing an informal coalition of churches committed to faithfulness to the historic teaching of the church in these matters, and also I, our parish chancellor Hugo Blankingship, and another Northern Virginia church leader, have been involved in a series of quiet meetings with three representatives of our bishop, seeking to do a couple of things: find ways we can better cooperate in missions together and also at the same time discuss frankly what the future might be for churches considering leaving the denomination. The third development has been the decision of the Rev. Phil Ashey and his church in South Riding to leave the denomination and affiliate with the Anglican Church in Uganda, and the disappointing handling of this by our bishop.
While it is wise not to put in writing any details of these matters, we do want church members to be fully informed as to these developments. Therefore we intend to hold regular parish meetings and offer a weekly Sunday class in which we can provide an opportunity to better understand all that is happening.
John Yates
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