Many are Members, but Few are Episcopalians

The Washington Post today has posted a most intriguing story with more information about the two leading breakaway parishes in Virginia that voted last month (along with several of their missions) to leave the Episcopal Church.

As the Post observes, one reason the parishes' vote received such attention is that they "are two of the Washington area's most wealthy, historic and prestigious congregations. Their pews are studded on Sunday mornings with such regulars as Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and former CIA director Porter J. Goss." The story explains that the two parishes are charismatic and have been drifting away from the Episcopal mainstream for some 30 years. Episcopalian bloggers have also observed that many of the leaders of the Institute on Religion and Democracy and American Anglican Council also call these parishes home.

Most amazing is this section of the article:

At least two-thirds of the worshipers are Methodists, Presbyterians or Baptists, and there is no pressure on them to be confirmed as Episcopalians, said the Rev. Rick Wright, associate rector.

I am shocked, but not surprised, by this revelation. I am, however, incensed that these people who are not even Episcopalians are daring to tell faithful, committed, and confirmed Episcopalians what it means to be Anglican. What a travesty!

Several bloggers have weighed-in on this revelation.

Jim Naughton (at the Daily Episcopalian) says: "[M]any of the folks in these congregations are not Episcopalians. I don't have a problem with that, but it seems to me that it relieves us of the responsibility of listening to these folks when they start lecturing us about what it means to be truly Anglican."

Over at Father Jake's, "Dennis" gave voice to the view that surely most regular Episcopalians share:

I am deeply troubled by the thought that a congregation could hold a vote to leave (even though congregations can't leave - only individuals) where the majority of voters were not Episcopalians. There has been wide play given in the press that these were breakaway Episcopalians - now it turns out that they weren't Episcopalians, just people who regularly attended these parishes. This really and truly bothers me.

On a related note, several people have asked whether the votes in the dissident Virginia parishes were canonical. That is, were the votes cast by actual Episcopalians? Or were they cast by Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians who like to dress up in brightly colored vestments?

The Admiral of Morality has a couple of snappy comments, too.

The Post also reports:

As Truro and The Falls Church adopted a conservative approach, dissenting members retreated to more liberal Episcopal churches in the area, such as Christ Church Alexandria. New worshipers, many of them born-again Christians who had grown disillusioned with their denominations, streamed in.

This helps to explain why these parishes' vote to leave the Episcopal Church was so lop-sided. They had already chased out mainstream Episcopalians.

The Post article continues:

"I tend to feel very comfortable rubbing shoulders with folks at McLean Bible or Columbia Baptist . . . that are real orthodox, evangelical, biblical churches," said Truro's chief warden, or lay leader, Jim Oakes, referring to two Northern Virginia megachurches. "We share core beliefs. I think I would be more comfortable with them than with anyone I might run into at an Episcopal Diocesan Council meeting."

I find it difficult to respond. The senior warden of a nominally Episcopal parish is more comfortable with the fundamentalist megachurches in his area than with other Episcopalians? I would humbly suggest he should have gone and joined one of those churches rather than seeking to steal the assets of a venerable old Episcopal parish.

Do read the entire article. Here are a few other snippets worth noting:

Unlike many Episcopal churches nationally, neither Truro nor The Falls Church was active in supporting the civil rights movement or in protesting the Vietnam War.

Beginning in the 1970s, though, Truro embraced the antiabortion movement. It also started a program to help those who wanted to leave what it calls the "homosexual lifestyle."