Members must vacate church after court ruling

Updated: 01/09/2009
By: Karen Lee

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- It could be one of the last times a hymn is played by members of Church of the Good Shepherd.

"It feels very empty here already. I don't know something feels like it's gone," said parishioner Micah Towery.

Parishioners have been packing and moving out of the Conklin Avenue church since Thursday night. Good Shepherd severed ties with the Episcopal Diocese when the Diocese began to condone gay marriage. The Episcopal Church then sued to get Good Shepherd off their property, which was backed by a recent Supreme Court decision.

"Say you know that a relative is going to die. You might know that and come to terms with that. But when it actually happens, it's still very sad. And I think that's where everyone is at this point," said Father Matthew Kennedy, Senior Pastor at Good Shepherd.

Though they may be churchless, there are no regrets when it comes to their stance on gay marriage.

"Our mission is to proclaim the word of God. And we're willing to stand on it and to die on it and lose our property if necessary. And I guess it's necessary," Father Kennedy said.

Though they've admitted to shedding tears, the congregation says they're ready to move on.

"We've really strived not to become Church of the Good Lawsuit. We've really been trying to stay focused on our mission and I think we've done a pretty good job of that but now, in one sense, it frees us up," Towery said.

"We're still a body of believers that are extremely attached to each other. And the building is not going to make the difference," said parishioner Carmen Swoffer-Penna.

Members of the Good Shepherd Church say they aren't even sure if they'll be able to have service here this coming Sunday. They'll find the answer to that soon enough. But should there be locks on the door, they say they may temporarily share a building with another church. But in the long run, they're looking for their own place of worship.

This article comes from the Syracuse, NY, News 10 Now
http://news10now.com/

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