Anglican church is formed in Yuma

February 3, 2007

A group from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Yuma, Ariz., has left to form an Anglican congregation, becoming the ninth church in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego to be affected by a national split.

Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church will hold its first service tomorrow at a cultural center that used to be the home of St. Paul's, according to Motty Durham, a member of the breakaway congregation. As it turns out, San Diego Episcopal Bishop James Mathes will be at St. Paul's tomorrow as part of his regularly scheduled visits to the diocese's 51 congregations.

The new Anglican church will be under the oversight of Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia, a conservative who is overseeing several other congregations that have left the U.S. church for alignment elsewhere in the global Anglican Communion.

Unlike other breakups in the diocese, the rector, the Rev. Tom Phillips, is not leaving. “I've been in the Episcopal Church for 31 years,” said Phillips, who plans to retire in April.

He and Durham each described the breakup as amicable. Though no official vote was taken, the decision came about at a congregational meeting last Sunday. “We want to maintain the bonds of fellowship,” Phillips said.

This article comes from The SanDiego Union-Tribune
http://www.signonsandiego.com/

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