Blueweeds

One For Falls Church, Two For The Lawyers

The Falls Church News-Press has a strong article and editorial on the recent move of the Falls Church - CANA leadership to use ministry dollars to pay legal costs associated with its lawsuit against the Episcopal Church and Diocese ofVirginia. 

The letter Falls Church -CANA sent to its donors can be found here:  Download Southgate Letter011.  Previous Blueweeds posts on the ongoing church property dispute between the continuing congregation of Falls Church Episcopal Church and the conservative breakaway conservative Falls Church-CANA can be found here.

My reaction to the article is dismay.  The historic Falls Church Episcopal, and the role of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, is part of the foundation of our nation and the government of Virginia.  That role has ebbed and changed over the generations, but until very recently the historic Falls Church remained essentially a local parish church. 

The historic church let go of its roots in the 1980s when it recruited the Rev. John Yates as an agent to change and rebuild the congregation.  I have had occasion to talk to many members of the Falls Church Episcopal Church who were part of the congregation at the time and, indeed, some of whom were instrumental in recruiting Yates into leadership.  The stories will be told someday.  They are fascinating.

The essence of the change was the ambition to grow the congregation.  Building initiatives.  Recruiting drives.  Subtle and not so subtle modifications made over time in services, liturgy, the focus of ministries, and church management.

The Southgate development is part, albeit the end part, of an ambitious vision to transform the historic Falls Church Episcopal Church into a more corporate church.  The corporate church was formed with deep connections to conservative politics and an orthodox religious worldview.  Stories in Time about the congregations connections to the Bush Administration.  Its members associated with global commentary on social, political, and religious matters on Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and in recruiting Republican superstars like Sarah Palin.

The trade-off for the Falls Church community has been things like Southgate.  Local Falls Church ethnic haberdasheries which provided some flair to our community, but had the unlucky coincidence of having an emerging mega church as a landlord.  As the changes swept through the historic church, those local businesses got swept away.  Buildings unused.  Plan abandoned. 

What is left behind is the parish church and the role the historic church has played in the Falls Church community since the colonial times.  There are other local parish churches in Falls Church, of course, but the continuity of a local Episcopal Church in Falls Church has been severly challenged. 

The continuing congregation of the Falls Church Episcopal (of which frequent readers know I am a member) still meets across the street from the historic church in a loft at the Presbyterian Church.  The congregation thrives and has begun to re-focus an Episcopal ministry focused our community, but the challenges of rebuilding in our parish without a home and with great uncertainty about the eventual outcome of the legal dispute over the historic property, is daunting. 

So that is my reaction.  The request from the conservative Falls Church - CANA leadership to use money which an Episcopal congregation had given in hopes of developing a church-based community center in Falls Church is now being used to pay lawyers which are suing the church organization which is its progenitor.   

Our old historic parish church which was an anchor for our community since the 1720s is gone ... and the in vogue conservative leadership of today, which operates among the graves of generations of Falls Church Episcopalians, is asking to use the money it was given to invest in rebuilding our community to sue the church which was the foundation (and namesake) of our community. 

Which is ... dismaying. 

Jessie Thackery Selected As 2009 Memorial Day Grand Marshal

Jessie Thackery has been selected as the Grand Marshal for the 2009 Falls Church City Memorial Day Parade. 

Jessie is a longtime city resident and community activist who just celebrated her ninety-fifth birthday.  Her selection honors her community service, particularly to our public schools, on the sixtieth anniversary of our school system.  Among many other things, Jessie was a member of the Falls Church School Board and a member of the Falls Church Episcopal Church vestry. 

Break Away Conservatives Still Using Episcopal Brand

Maybe someone can explain why conservatives who so dramatically broke away from The Episcopal Church continue to use the Episcopal brand? 

In December 2006 a handful of conservative congregations in the Diocese of Virginia voted to leave The Episcopal Church over strict interpretation of scripture and disagreement with TEC decision to recognize the ordination of women and gays.  The historic Falls Church was among the break away congregations.  Conservatives voted to leave TEC, affiliate themselves with the CANA Convocation - Church of Nigeria, and to stay in possession of the historic Falls Church Episcopal property.  Some of the members of the historic Falls Church Episcopal continued to worship faithfully with TEC, and the so-called continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal has been worshiping in a loft at the The Falls Church Presbyterian Church while the legal dispute over ownership of the historic church property is being resolved.   The continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal is now the only official Episcopal congregation in the City of Falls Church.  Its members and ministries have been growing rapidly. 

Branding has become an interesting side issue in the dispute.  The break away conservatives have branded themselves as "The Falls Church."  This brand is at odds with the existence of several other churches in Falls Church - most of whom have struck a more conciliatory branding stance by clarifying which denomination they are affiliated with (e.g., The Falls Church Presbyterian Church).  The branding issue between the break away conservative congregation and the continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal has been a sore subject.  Immediately after the vote, the Falls Church News Press referred to the conservative church as "The Falls Church Nigeria."  Members of the conservative congregations either sought to deny there was a continuing group of worshipers who remained faithful to TEC, or referred to the continuing congregation as "the gay church across the street" or "the shadow congregation."  Conservatives at the historic Falls Church also have sought to brand themselves the "Anglican Church."  But this also seems to belittle the fact that The Episcopal Church is still a member of the global Anglican Communion. 

As a historical footnote, I will say I believe I coined the term "continuing congregation" when referring to The Falls Church Episcopal.  In early 2007 I was asked to prepare the first ad for a meeting of the congregation.  I was stuck on how to distinguish the Episcopalian congregation from the break away conservatives, and finally came up with the moniker "the continuing congregation" of The Falls Church Episcopal Church for an ad which ran in The Falls Church News Press.   

Anyway.  Hopefully the branding issues will calm down a bit.  I desire to respect the brand the conservative congregation wishes to use, balanced by accuracy of course, and will refer to the break away church as The Falls Church - CANA.  The continuing congregation will be The Falls Church Episcopal.  I sincerely hope that works for everyone.   

Back to the subject of the instant post. 

Why do the conservatives who broke from The Episcopal Church continue to use the Episcopal brand?  The historic church had used the www.fallschurchepiscopal.com web site for years.  On December 11, 2006, the week before the historic vote, conservatives re-registered the URL under a hidden name.  Visitors to the site, which clearly contains the Episcopal brand, are currently directed to the conservative's non-Episcopalian web site.  Sources indicate the continuing congregation has requested the conservatives remedy this ongoing branding issue, but so far have been met with flat refusal. 

I really cannot think of a rational reason why the break away conservative congregation would want to continue to own the Episcopal brand or why they would use their ownership to direct online traffic to their own site.  It seems awkward, unnecessary, and more than a little deceptive. 

Perhaps someone with better insight could clarify the issue.  Or better yet, seek to resolve the brand ownership in a way which is more equitable and more in keeping with a go-forward calmer tone of the two churches.    

Guest Post: "New American Province Of The Anglican Communion"

Attention dear readers.  We have another honored guest author.  Bob McCan is a resident of Falls Church City, a graduate of Yale Divinity School, and a member of the continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal Church.   

Bob is here to provide perspective on how and why political conservatives have attacked The US Episcopal Church.  His post details the major players in the dispute, and frames the global significance of the dispute over ownership of our historic Falls Church property.  

Falls Church City has quietly become ground zero in a global cold holy war.  The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, and our historic Falls Church property, were the pre-Revolutionary government of the United States.  Our Founding Fathers, many of whom were members of and vestrymen in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, laid the first foundations of American democracy in how they structured The US Episcopal Church and its relationship to Anglicanism and the Church of England. 

At issue in the current dispute is nothing less than a struggle between progressives and conservatives to redefine the foundation of American democracy and export the new American province to a global community confronted by the rise of Islam.

Our small community has largely been a bystander in the struggle.  The post begins to examine the structure of The US Episcopal Church and how it is connected to different Episcopal dioceses and the Anglican Communion.  It describes how conservative African dioceses became affiliated with the churches in Virginia, how conservative political operatives associated with Reagan Era Iran-Contra controversies are leveraging the dispute to execute a conservative political strategy, and begins to examine what is really at stake for women, gays, Christians, Muslims, and other people of faith.  

My apologies in advance for the sudden burst of substance.  We will return to our regularly scheduled posts covering odd guinea pig behavior, lost dogs, and the idiosyncrasies of local small town politicians shortly. 

 

NEW AMERICAN PROVINCE OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

By Robert L. McCan, Ph.D.

OVERVIEW

 

The Episcopal Church is back in the news. Recent articles in The New York Times and The Washington Post tell the partial story of the formation of a new American Province of the Anglican Communion in North America.  These articles and countless others published in lesser newspapers across the country describe what seems to be a major split in The Episcopal Church as it is challenged by a significant revolt from conservatives within its ranks. 

It is necessary to begin with some recent history.  A secret document prepared by David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council, enlarged and confirmed by a group of inside leaders, and discovered on December 28, 2003 on a website, outlined the strategy and ultimate goals of these who left The Episcopal Church.  Briefly, their ultimate goal is to replace The Episcopal Church in the United States with a conservative alternative Church that will become the recognized official American branch of the Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church is to be officially relegated to the position of a liberal and apostate church that no longer represents orthodox Christianity.

 

All that has transpired since December 2003 is an account of how closely this group has adhered to their carefully crafted vision and strategy.  Nevertheless, history has a way of intruding on best-laid plans.  Much less has been achieved than had been hoped and the plan has been modified while parts have been placed on hold.  Those that have joined the dissenting ranks are smaller in number than expected.  They are not easily led and factions have emerged, but still the plan unfolds before us.

 

Promoting Local Travel Blog

Deb Miller, a longtime Falls Church City resident and an active member of the continuing congregation of the Falls Church Episcopal Church, is on a medical mission in Cambodia. 

She is keeping a travel blog, Shirley, Goodness and Mercy, which is a beautiful chronicle of her adventures traveling and teaching nurses overseas.  I very much recommend a visit and maybe a encouraging comment for a one of our own while she is out in the world serving others.  She represents the very best of our community.  Safe travels. 

Bishop Lee To Visit Displaced Falls Church Episcopal Congregation

Virginia Bishop Peter Lee will make a historic visit to the continuing congregation of the Falls Church Episcopal Church on Sunday January 18, 2009.  The bishop will teach a special Sunday school class, participate in scheduled Baptisms and Confirmations and attend a luncheon in his honor following services. 

Service begins at 11:15 a.m. in the loft of the Falls Church Presbyterian Church located at 225 E. Broad Street in Falls Church.   

UPDATE Sunday 2:53 pm:  Bishop Lee's visit was a success.  A packed room greeted him and my children did not actually ask any of the questions I planted for Sunday school.  Pictured below are the Rev. Cathy Tibbets, Rev. Michael Pipkin, Bishop Lee, and Senior Warden Bill Fetsch (photo courtesy Aly Calandar).   

The Falls Church Episcopal congregation was ousted in 2007 from the historic Falls Church property when conservatives opposed to the diocese's tolerance of the ordination of women and gays voted to break away from Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and affiliate itself with the conservative Nigerian CANA denomination.  The conservatives who left the Episcopal Diocese have, however, continued to occupy the historic Falls Church Episcopal property.   See Blueweeds posts on The Falls Church Episcopal Church.   

Loyal parishioners continued to meet and have been welcomed to worship in a loft across the street in the Falls Church Presbyterian Church.  The continuing local Episcopal congregation has grown rapidly.  It now has nearly 200 members, two priests, an experienced vestry, a choir and a nationally recognized choir director, a youth ministry and several outreach ministries focused on meeting needs in the greater Falls Church community. 

The loyal congregation of the Falls Church Episcopal Church has been honored by several special visits from leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Virgina and the US Episcopal Church.  Last week church services were conducted by Bonnie Anderson, who is the president of the House of Deputies of the General Convention of the US Episcopal Church (sort of the Nancy Pelosi of the denomination).  The Falls Church News-Press has an excellent write up on her visit as does the Falls Church Episcopal Church web site.   (Bill Fetsch, Bonnie Anderson, and Nick Benton in photo). 

Makeup Prayers For Obama

You know how in sports when officials sometimes blow a call and then do a makeup call to even things out?    

That is what this looks like to me.  

California May Help Virginia Iron Out Its Wrinkle In The Falls Church Property Dispute

The California Supreme Court yesterday ruled in favor of the general Episcopal Church in a church property dispute very similar to the litigation going on in the Diocese of Virginia over the historic Falls Church property.  More from Reuters.  

Click for the actual ruling in the Episcopal Church Cases or download the ruling here:   Download CA Sp Ct

There has been what the Court called "near unanimity" (p. 26) in similar church property disputes between hierarchal churches and breakaway congregations across the nation, with state high courts holding breakaway congregations are not entitled to keep the property which is held in trust for the general church when they vote to leave and form a new church. 

As the California Supreme Court put it:

" ... Applying the neutral principles of law approach, we conclude that the general church, not the local church, owns the property in question.  Although the deeds to the property have long been in the name of the local church, that church agreed from the beginning of its existence to be part of the greater church and to be bound by its governing documents.  These governing documents make clear that church property is held in trust for the general church and may be controlled by the local church only so long as that local church remains a part of the general church.  When it disaffiliated from the general church, the local church did not have the right to take the church property with it. ..."

The wrinkle in Virginia is the so-called Division Statute.  The Division Statute is a Civil War era statute enacted by the Virginia Assembly after the end of the war to protect church property from being moved out of the rebellious Commonwealth as part of Northern war reparations.  The Virginia Division Statute permits church congregations to vote to keep church property.  

The Fairfax County trial court applied the Division Statute in the Virginia litigation, and ruled the conservative local churches which broke away from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia could keep the property.  The Diocese of Virginia has said it intends to appeal the trial court ruling.  Interestingly, in the California case and in several other church property cases referenced in its opinion, the trial court ruled in favor of the breakaway local churches. 

The Virginia Diocese has a compelling argument which should resonate with all hierarchical churches (i.e., churches which are not single independent churches but churches affiliated with a larger religious organization - e.g., Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, etc.).  That is, that a state cannot pass a law which disregards the hierarchical canonical governance structure under which the church chooses to organize itself.  Simply put, if the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia supports member churches under the condition that its property is held in trust for the benefit of the larger church and not for the benefit of a specific congregation which exists only during a particular moment in time, then the state cannot pass a law (the Division Statute) which says "no you cannot hold property in trust for a general church." 

Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell's conduct in this case has been ridiculous.  It deserves its own post, but suffice it to say his insistence on intervening on behalf of the breakaway conservative CANA congregations (and not on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia) in the Falls Church case should make every person of faith sit up and take notice.  His reputation as a giddy overreaching operative has never been more apparent.  The fact the Falls Church CANA leadership has openly lauded McDonnell from the pulpit for his interference should horrify people.      

I digress.  So what this means for non-Episcopalians, is that conservatives have a simple way to stealbecome owners of your church, synagogue, temple, or mosque.  They show up in mass one day, express disagreement with your beliefs ("what do you mean you do not believe Jesus was the Messiah?!"), and vote your butt out.

Suddenly you are in a loft across the street while the orthodox breakaway dudes who took it upon themselves to make fun of your beliefs and divide your entire church / synagogue/ temple / mosque are trying to figure out how to work the lights in your former digs. 

The Virgina Division Statute allows this to happen (really).  And Bob McDonnell wants it to happen (so we can all pray a little more like Pat Robinson).  And the US Episcopal Church is going to challenge the wrinkle in Virginia law (thank God). 

Trial Court Applies Virginia Division Statute To Falls Church Property Dispute

Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows has issued his final ruling on real property and endowment fund issues in the multi-phased litigation over ownership of the historic Falls Church property. 

Judge Bellows has has consistently upheld the applicability of Virginia's so-called division statute.  As expected, the court did the same in today's ruling in which it held the Virginia Division Statute applied to all disputed parcels of land.  In the only portion of the dispute not involving the applicability of real property law to the Virginia Division Statute, the court ruled in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (in addition to its ownership claims over the real property of the historic church, the breakaway conservative CANA congregation had sued to obtain ownership over the endowment fund held in trust for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia). 

Most observers believe the property dispute is destined to be resolved in the US Supreme Court.  The Episcopal Church USA had said even before today's ruling it plans to appeal to determine the constitutionality of the Virginia statute.  Legal experts were not surprised by the trail court's affirmation of an existing state statute - state statutes have a very strong presumption of applicability at the trial court level and, if they are unconstitutional, are almost always ruled unconstitutional at the appellate court level. 

I will have more analysis later.  The entire pleading history of the dispute is available at Falls Church Property Dispute.  The ruling issued today is there and uploaded here:  Download December Letter Opinion  

Rev. Michael Pipkin, the Presiding Priest of the The Falls Church Episcopal Church, issued the following statement to his congregation in response to the latest court ruling:

FCNP On The Falls Church Property Dispute

The Falls Church News-Press has another interesting post on the church property dispute  bewteen the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and the breakaway conservative CANA congregations.  The FCNP covered statements made this week by the Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferets Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA. 

Blueweeds has several previous posts on the Falls Church property dispute.  

A ruling on the property issues is expected from Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows tomorrow (Friday, December 19, 2008).  During the October trial for the first time the court heard testimony from members of the continuing Falls Church Episcopal Church congregation.  Church property disputes across the country have been determined exclusively on the merits of real property law.  The Episcopal Church made several arguments, but one of the most interesting was evidence of deed ownership related to plats on which the historic church is located.  It is possible Judge Bellows may "split the baby" and rule the Falls Church Episcopal Church is entitled to the historic church and the CANA congregation has title to the other portions platted in the church property deeds.

Which would be interesting to say the least.  Sort of like a family court granting a divorce and then ordering the couple to live together.  

We shall see ... 

A Long And Sloppy Episcopal Good-Bye

God speed on your journey my friends.  We would throw you a party but all the hardworking women and best decorators are, well, unavailable.  Thank you for raising awarenesss of the parasitic aggressiveness of orthodoxy, evangelism and the politics of religion.  Your antagonism has forced many of us to remember God is truth ... and grace.  John 1:14.

Please leave the keys to the historic Falls Church built by ten generations of US Episcopalians under the mat when you leave. 

      

Preparing Falls Church Conservatives For Obama

Funny election day message from John Yates, rector of the conservative Falls Church - CANA congregation.

Our jobs depend on McCain winning this election.  But voters are pretty fallible and may elect Obama, in which case we should ignore government and wait patiently for the end of the world.

Or maybe I read it wrong.  See for yourself (Download 11-1-08WeeklyBulletin.pdf).

 

Falls Church And The Recruitment Of Sarah Palin

The Falls Church News-Press has an important article on the role the defecting conservative congregation of the Falls Church CANA played in the selection of Sarah Palin (see FCNP Falls Church Defectors ... ).  The FCNP article picks up on a thread published in The New Yorker which describes how a group of conservative Falls Church CANA congregation members (including Bush speech writer Michael Gerson and Fox commentator Fred Barnes) took a helicopter ride from a conservative cruise ship junket to recruit Sarah Palin for John McCain.

I have written several posts on the implications of the property dispute between defecting conservatives and continuing progressives over the historic Falls Church property.

The FCNP article is wide ranging and a difficult topic for lay politicos to follow.  But it is worth the read and Nick Benton gets much credit for his initial effort to knit together a truly fascinating (and to me frightening) story which reluctantly stars little old Falls Church City. 

A quick point to add to the discussion:  The Falls Church CANA is what it is. 

What I mean is, the congregation of the historic Falls Church Episcopal Church was taken over and ousted by conservatives who disagreed with the US Episcopal Church over the ordination of gays and women.  The priest and members of the vestry recruited evangelicals and orthodox Anglicans (mostly from outside the Falls Church community), built a mega-church sanctuary, developed a reputation as a politically active and conservative congregation with deep ties to Bush Administration neocons, overthrew the Episcopal congregation, and took legal action to keep the historic Falls Church Episcopal church property.  The ousted members of the Falls Church Episcopal congregation continue to meet across the street in a loft while the church property dispute is decided by the court system (readers note I am an active member of The Falls Church Episcopal congregation ousted by the conservatives). 

Your comfort with the role church plays in politics is pretty much a Rorschach test on your political beliefs.  The fact the conservative Falls Church CANA congregation helped recruit Sarah Palin does not surprise me, or even particularly offend me, because I have come to realize conservative churches like the Falls Church CANA  believe God uses their church and their congregation members to carry out the political will of God. 

An interesting church politics self-assessment tool can be found at the link (I came out a middle of the road Quiet Critic). 

Now, since I have carefully not trashed my conservative members of faith, I will also tell you I disagree with the conservative view (I will spare you the citation of verse).  I am uncomfortable with the notion God uses church as a political precinct operation, or ordains political operatives to carry out his electioneering will, or wants his word in any way to be confused with present day conservative or progressive political terminology.  

And part of the reason is remarkably self apparent.  See, the political conservatives  came into my community and stole my church.  They did this because they believe they have a right to, in part because they believe God wants them to carry out what they know to be His will.  From my front row seat in the bleachers in the loft, however, I see Michaell Gerson, Fred Barnes, and others of their political ilk, drive into Falls Church and step carefully over the tombs of Falls Church Episcopalians who for generations worshiped and gave their faith and property to build the historic Falls Church and the progressive community of Falls Church.

They sit, almost literally, in the seats given to our community by our country's Founding Fathers.  From those seats they self-rightously oppose the ordination of women and gays, create political opposition to Islam, and promote the conservative political agenda of the Bush administration.  The type of political and religious anathema based on immutable human characteristics which I believe our country and the US Episcopal Church was founded to overcome.

So Falls Church CANA is what it is.  And I am what I am ... God help us both. 

George Will Punting

In his Sunday column, noted writer George Will offered a token assessment of the dissention in the Anglican Communion between conservative orthodox and progressive congregations.  The issues raised by the dissention are enormous; touching on a global crisis with roots all the way down to the foundation of our country and to the existence of the Falls Church community.  But Will made no serious effort at insight or context.  His observations were merely repetitious of conservative bromides justifying conservative's own reasons for orthodox faith by denigrating the progressive faith of others. 

The column makes a single point (hidden among long words and bolstered by the singular experience of Bob The Preacher):  The progressive policies of the US Episcopal Church have led to a decline in its membership. 

Well ... thank you very much George.  That was, uh, helpful.  Particularly for those who judge the validity of faith by how many warm bodies show up on Sunday.

The central question never asked, much less answered, by George Will is - what is the state of the relationship between the US Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion? 

The Anglican Communion is a loose confederation (a global theological "big tent") of Anglicans.  The emergence of the African Anglican churches, who are in a ideological death match with young African Muslims and dealing with a unique realities of intense poverty and disease, has challenged the big tent Anglican community.  African Anglicans are demanding a seat at the big kids table.  Leveling charges of racism and colonialism, raising the specter of the Muslim boogeyman, and ignoring the rampant corruption in their own churches, the African Anglicans have insisted the historically openminded  Anglican Community close its doors to women, to gays, and to western progressives.  Or else the Muslims will win. 

Which, as it turns out, is a particularly effective argument for western religious orthodox true believers and for political conservatives who have long pined for a global political war against Islam (flashback to the same groups leveraging the Catholic Church in Europe against Eastern Block Communism and the Catholic Church against the duly-elected Communist government in Nicaragua)

:: Paging Solidarity, the Iran-Contra affair, Ollie North, Lech Walesa, and the ghosts of Ronnie Reagan, John Paul.  To the Blueweeds wayback room.  Bring your own parachute pants and Flock of Seagulls album.  Stat. ::  N.B.:  To the kids on The Weed, "albums" were these wax or viynl disks we used to make go round and round to listen to music when we could not log onto the victrola.  - Mike at Blueweeds.

So another way of viewing all the things Will left unsaid is this:  the US Episcopal Church has always been an odd fit in the Anglican Communion.  Heck, our country was founded on its rejection of a remote "pope-lite" head of church and formed a hierarchal congregational church, not only as a way to avoid the religious wars from which we had fled, but as a model which was consistent with our particular notion of democracy. 

We play nicely with the Anglican Communion in spite of our differences ... not because we are so much in agreement.  A sort of kindly notion that if they can tolerate us giving women power in the church, well, then, by golly in the name of our faith we can listen to their concerns about gays and Muslims.

But what is the relationship between number of adherents and the validity of faith?  Is it possible the decline in adherents is a sign of maturation in Protestantism generally, or the sign of a particular church undergoing a dramatic change in its internal belief system (which churches tend to do on a church-timeline).  Is that bad?  Should you take an assessment of the relative health of an organization in the middle of a transformation?  Should the US Episcopal Church not change because it so values its friends in the Anglican Communion?   Should orthodox African Anglicans be able to stop the transformation of the US Episcopal Church?  Is the blatant manipulation of the US Episcopal Church by conservative political forces whose wet dream is to fight a holy war with Islam in order to rush in the apocalypse and whatever comes next ... is that an appropriate purpose of the church?  If God wants to end Islam, does He really need the historic Falls Church property and help from the congregation of the Falls Church Anglican? 

Anyway.  George Will and his friend Bob The Preacher just think the US Episcopal Church is in decline because it has 1960s liberal views.

Well fine then.  Ignore the hard questions and just blame it on 1960s liberalism.  I was probably overthinking it anyway. 

Go Nixon. 

Christ Church Alexandria Overwhelmingly Approves Quitclaim To Disputed Historic Falls Church Property

Members of the congregation of the historic Episcopal Christ Church Alexandria  overwhelmingly agreed Sunday to quitclaim any interest they may have in the historic Falls Church property to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. 

If Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows determines Christ Church Alexandria has an interest in the disputed historic Falls Church property, the quitclaim procedure would allow The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia to step in and protect the property interest of The Episcopal Church from any attempts to effect title to the disputed property while ownership of the plats is being administered by the Episcopal congregations and the Diocese of Virginia.   

See more at Real Anglicans and at The Living Church.  See also previous Blueweeds posts at The Falls Church Episcopal Thread. 

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows is expected to rule Monday on who owns title to the various plats of the historic Falls Church property.  The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia claim ownership to two of the six plats disputed based on discovery of documents, and two turn of the 19th Century US Supreme Court Cases, which purport to have actually given title of the land to Christ Church Alexandria prior to the Civil War.  The historic Falls Church building and the so-called Nelson Addition rest completely on the two disputed plats. 

If Judge Bellows agrees title to the two plats is owned by Christ Church Alexandria, then those lots would not be subject to the so-called Virginia division statute. 

It is possible Judge Bellows could determine through an application of pure property law that the breakaway conservative CANA congregation owns title to some of the historic Falls Church plats (including the modern buildings) and the continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal (through the quitclaim from Christ Church to the Diocese of Virginia) owns the historic portion of the Falls Church.  This creates the possibility the conservative CANA congregation and the progressive Episcopal congregation may share title to the worship space at the historic Falls Church. 

See also Falls Church News-Press.   See all documents filed in the property dispute at VA Diocese Property Dispute Documents.   

In addition to claiming ownership of the historic Falls Church property, the conservative congregation which voted to break away from The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is claiming it owns the church endowment fund created by The Falls Church Episcopal.  Judge Bellows is expected to rule on a motion for summary judgement to determine if the endowment fund is owned by Episcopal interests. 

Falls Church Episcopalians Are Still Here

Just a brief comment on the trial court ruling yesterday allowing the conservative congregation of the breakaway CANA Churches to retain ownership of some historic Truro Parish property.  I will have more thoughtful comments on the ruling and its implications in the next few days. 

The ruling was not unexpected.  The underlying property issue was pre-determined by the trial court's earlier ruling on the applicability of the Virginia division statute.  A trial court is very unlikely to rule an existing state statute unconstitutional.  Overturning a state statute on constitutional grounds is almost always done at the appellate level.

Of more concern is the recent focus on the validity of the continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal Church itself - of which I am a member.  Our very existence as a displace but growing group of people local to Falls Church area and faithful to the Diocese of Virginia and to The Episcopal Church is crucial to the eventual outcome of the dispute and to the ability of two distinct Anglican Church cultures (one conservative and one progressive) to exist side by side.  In my view our existence as a progressive congregation representing a overwhelmingly progressive community is also key to the survival of Falls Church City.

The conservatives wish we were not here and have yet to fully accept the continued presence of a progressive Anglican congregation.  It is a very odd feeling to have your church stolen, to be displaced, and for your very existence to be denied.  Right here in good old metropolitan Washington DC.  Whether factually accurate or not, that is the way at least some of the members of the continuing congregation feel at the moment.

So just a quick point about the front page Washington Post article today.  The whole painful issue is summed up in this one line from the article: 

"... A lot of people's willingness to take a step away from the Episcopal Church depends on the existence of a place to go," said Steffen Johnson, an attorney who attends The Falls Church and is also co-counsel for the breakaway churches...." [emphasis added]

Did you see how neatly that was done?  Did you see how the Washington Post unblinkingly referred to the new breakaway Falls Church CANA Church as "THE" Falls Church?  Like The Falls Church Episcopal Church no longer exists?  The distinction should have been made by the WaPo that Mr. Johnson is a member and legal counsel for The Falls Church CANA congregation.  Not "THE" Falls Church. 

For nearly three hundred years the Falls Church Episcopal existed in our community as a founding church in our country.  Last year conservatives filled the church with evangelical Christians and left the Episcopal Diocese but retained the historic church property.  The breakaway congregation allied themselves with the right wing theocrat Archbishop Akinola and the Anglican Church of Nigeria.  The breakaway conservative congregation has reformed itself as the Falls Church CANA congreation.

But the loyal Episcopalians and the Falls Church Episcopal are still here.  We are the continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal Church.  Thank you very much.      

The Fallen Falls Church

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams discussing the importance of public debate between religious and secular authorities, and also describing the importance of each authority respecting (by not usurping) the role of the other.

Ironic how clergy in a country with a state church actually have a grasp on the fundamentals of separation of church and state, no?

My reason for posting this is to underscore the bare crass rightwing partisan politics of the Pulpit Free Sunday effort.  An initiative enthusiastically supported by conservatives who orchastrated the separation of the historic Falls Church Episcopal Church property from the Virginia Diocese and gave the pews paid for by generations of Northern Virginian families dating back to the era of Jamestown to a mad man from Nigeria who now uses the property of our Founding Fathers to subjugate women, imprison gays, and kill Muslims in the name of Christ.

Rev. Yates Advocates ...

See, the problem with conservatives rejecting the gift of tax exemption in order to turn the church into a Republican Precinct Office, is that by intervening in late September on behalf of the McCain Campaign they diminish the authority of the church in order to become political operatives.  Which is great if you happen to be a local progressive political blogger with a *tiny* mean streak and a few *very minor* character flaws.  Lots of good posts and the church people become fair political targets.  But it sucks if you care about religion, believe faith has an authority which is not secular, and have empathy for people of faith in your community who are being robbed of their property, heritage, and sense of community by a global cabal of political operatives working in concert with conservative Theocrats.

A direct link to the video is also here. 

Rev. Yates Advocates For Conservative Churches To Directly Intervene In Political Campaigns

Dr. John Yates, the rector of the conservative Falls Church Anglican, which broke from the US Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia last year over the decision of The Episcopal Church to recognize the ordination of women and gay clergy, now wants to overturn federal laws which restrict churches with tax exempt status from intervening directly in political campaigns. 

In an an online article by the conservative Citizen-Times, in which the publication applauds the "Pulpit Free Sunday" effort last month by a group of pastors supported by the Alliance Defense Fund to risk their tax exempt status by actively intervening in partisan political campaigns, Yates is quoted as saying:

"... This ban on pastors “has always troubled me” said Rev. John W. Yates, a clergyman in the shadows of Washington from nearby Falls Church VA. “I’m skeptical about the government’s authority to dictate to the church in this way,” he said. “There is a cultural elitism in America that would like to keep religion privately comforting but publicly irrelevant! But if our biblical faith does not inform and shape our thinking on public policy and guide us in whom to vote for, we are simply failing in our responsibility as followers of Christ. We won’t always agree with one another, but it is unthinkable that followers of Christ wouldn’t evaluate candidates’ policies in light of the Word of God.” ....

All pastors participating in Pulpit Free Sunday have endorsed John McCain and condemned parishioners who would vote for Barack Obama.  The ADF is associated with James Dobson's conservative Focus on the Family organization.   See The Minnesota Independent.  See also NPR on Pulpit Free Sunday.  More from KXAN ("30 Pastors Endorse McCain on Pulpit Freedom Sunday.")

Yates led the separation of the historic Falls Church Episcopal Church, a parish which pre-dates the Revolutionary War and the property after which Falls Church City is named, from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.  In a controversial vote, the conservative Falls Church congregation voted to align itself with the Church of Nigeria - CANA led by Anglican Bishop Akinola and become the Falls Church Anglican.  Although the Falls Church Anglican left the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, it continues to claim title to the historic church property and occupies the space.  The continuing congregation of the Falls Church Episcopal, which did not support the movement of the conservatives to disassociate themselves from the Episcopal Church, was ousted by the conservative congregation and has been forced to worship in borrowed space across the street from the historic church.  Despite the takeover of the historic Falls Church Episcopal property by the conservative Anglican congregation, Falls Church City remains one of the most politically progressive jurisdictions in Virginia.  The church property dispute is the subject of litigation in Fairfax County with a trial beginning this week.  See previous Blueweeds posts on the controversy at Blueweeds - The Falls Church Episcopal. 

The decision of Yates to now openly endorse preachers using their tax exempt pulpit to, as he put it, "...guide [parishioners] in whom to vote for ..." is no surprise to those on ground zero here in Falls Church.  We have had a front row seat on the global orthodox cabal, loosely aimed at women and gays, but really targeted at using the unique structure of the US Episcopal Church as a conservative theological think tank against Muslim extremists and perceived progressive enemies.  The connections to ADF and James Dobson, and the good solider endorsement of the McCain Campaign under the election-eve First Amendment antagonism pretense is just more of what we have seen for years.  A disgusting pollution of the church and an unabashed abuse of the faithful.

                  +++++++++++++++++++++++++   

For purposes of full disclosure, readers will please note my family and I are active members of the continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal Church. - Mike at Blueweeds.

Episcopal Diocese Of Virginia Focuses On Core Church Property Dispute

The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia have reached a legal settlement with two breakaway conservative congregations, and have agreed to drop their challenge to the legitimacy of the votes taken by nine other breakaway congregations in Virginia.  See Anglican Journal. 

For purposes of full disclosure, readers will please note my family and I are active members of the continuing congregation of The Falls Church Episcopal Church. - Mike at Blueweeds.  See previous Blueweeds posts on the property dispute and related issues here: Blueweeds Index on The Falls Church Episcopal. 

A trial to determine ownership of church real property in Virginia, including the historic Falls Church property, is scheduled to begin October 6, 2008, in Fairfax County court before Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows. 

All filings related to the lawsuit can be found at VA Church Property Dispute.

A settlement was reached with the Potomac Falls Church in Potomac Falls and Christ the Redeemer Church in Chantilly.  The two congregations are missionary churches which do not hold any real property.  Under terms of the settlement, the two congregations have agreed make a payment to the Diocese in return for being released from future claims or liability arising from the litigation. 

"We are grateful to the leadership of Potomac Falls and Christ the Redeemer for their courage and willingness to resolve this dispute in a mutually satisfactory manner," said the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, Bishop of Virginia.  "The Diocese's main concern has always been to safeguard the legacy of Episcopal faith and worship in Virginia.  This litigation is unfortunate and we are grateful to have found an agreement that allows Potomac Falls Church and Christ the Redeemer to return to what matters most:  knowing and serving God through Jesus Christ." 

The Virginia Diocese also agreed to drop its challenge to the voting procedures taken by the breakaway congregations, and instead focus on testing the constitutionality of the so-called Virginia Division Statute (Va Code 57-9).  The decision to fore go challenging the vote was particularly difficult for members of the continuing congregation of the Falls Church Episcopal Church, who have been forced out of the historic church property and compelled to worship in a borrowed loft across the street at the Falls Church Presbyterian Church. 

The continuing congregation has been thriving, with an active vestry, annual meetings, a new priest in charge, Sunday school classes, a choir and choir director, and various outreach ministries.  But many members of the continuing congregation who were part of the extraordinary vote to split from the Diocese continue to have grave concerns about the conduct of the vote.  Several conservative evangelical Christians, who were not members of the Episcopal Church, were recruited by the newly conservative church in advance of the vote.   Further, many people who had been members of the historic Falls Church for multiple generations, with ancestors buried in the pre-Revolutionary cemetery on the historic grounds, were prevented from voting.  As were key parishioners who had run Sunday School and outreach activities at the historic church for many years. 

Many such parishioners at the Falls Church Episcopal wanted the opportunity to testify about what happened at the church that led to the split from the Diocese.  Church leaders held painful meetings and conference calls with many of the members.  The Diocese explained its decision to fore go the challenges to the vote as a concession to legal reality. The expense of taking multiple depositions, proffering the evidence at trial, and the knowledge that findings of fact made at the trial level are almost never reviewed on appeal, were strongly considered.   

The Church and the Diocese instead have focused on the merits of the underlying real property dispute and hope to clarify title to the historic church properties and determine the constitutionality of the Virginia Division Statute in a higher court. 

In a statement issued by the Virginia Diocese, it explained:

Though loyal Episcopalians have expressed grave concerns about the validity and fairness of the voting procedures used by the CANA congregations, the Diocese will fore go judicial review of that process to focus on those issues that will most effectively and quickly return Episcopalians to their church homes and result in the overturning of the 57-9 "Division Statute."   

The Diocese is preparing to mount a vigorous appeal that addresses the serious legal and religious questions and implications that have arisen from this unfortunate situation. The Diocese will explore fully every option available to restore constitutional and legal protections for all churches in Virginia.

In a trial beginning on October 6, the Court will examine precisely which property is subject to the Division Statute petitions filed by CANA congregations.  The Court will determine several issues either before or during trial, including whether the congregation attempting to take the property actually owns the property they seek under its 57-9 petition, whether deed restrictions require the property to remain with the Episcopal Church, and, in one instance, whether a last-minute transfer of property was valid.  Once these issues are decided, the Diocese will appeal the Court's rulings on the applicability and validity of the Division Statute.

"In the Episcopal Church, congregations exist because they are in communion with the bishop of a diocese, through recognition by diocesan governing bodies," said the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, Bishop of Virginia. "They cannot unilaterally disestablish themselves or remove themselves from a diocese, and take Episcopal property with them, using the secular court system to validate their actions."

Folha De. S. Paulo Article On Local Falls Church Property Dispute

An article concerning the Falls Church historic church property dispute, written by noted Brazilian author and reporter Bernardo Carvalho, was recently published in Folha de S. Paulo, Brazil's largest daily newspaper. 

A link to the translated article is here.  Please note the article was auto-translated into English by Google technology and it has some obvious translation errors. 

Mr. Carvalho contacted me several weeks ago as a result of posts on Blueweeds on the church property dispute between the progressive Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and the conservative Anglican dissenting congregations.  Mr. Carvalho was writing a special series of articles for Folha on religion in America in context of the 2008 presidential elections.  He had a chance to meet with members of the Falls Church Episcopal Church, including Rev. Michael Pipkin and Robin Fetsch, and the Falls Church Anglican during a swing through the area.

It was a pleasure meeting Mr. Carvalho, and his international context for the global dispute which underscores our local church property dispute is much appreciated.