Church Schism Unaided by Archbishop's Plan

The Reverend Jason Wells is the rector of Grace Episcopal in East Concord.
He’s a calm man, but when talking about the Archbishop’s proposal, he’s also blunt.

“I think that that will work as well for the Anglican Communion as the doctrine of separate but equal served our school boards.”

Kathy Lewis attends St. Michael’s.
Her church formed after its members left the Episcopal Diocese following Robinson’s consecration.
She’s also got strong views on the Archbishop’s plan, and believes they’re widely shared.

"He’s gonna have some pressure put on him to actually excommunicate the Episcopal Church from the greater Anglican body worldwide. When that will exactly happen, I don’t know, but I feel strongly that it will."

Since Robinson became NH’s bishop, almost all of the state’s 50 parishes have seen families walk away.
Some, like Rochester’s Church of the Redeemer, lost so many members they were forced to close.
In the past year, another four parishes have sprung up in their place.
But they’re not Episcopalian.
They’re with the new, more conservative Anglican Church of North America, known as the ACNA.
The Archbishop’s plan would allow both branches to stay within the global church, as what he calls two separate “styles” of being an Anglican.
There could be potential benefits to the model.

Susan Langle: “Our job is to pay less attention to church politics and focus more on the gospel work at hand from day to day.”
Susan Langle is the rector of Claremont’s Episcopal Church.
Like clergy of both churches, she says their biggest challenge isn’t in the headlines.
It’s in creating a growing and effective church community.
Susan Langle: “The congregation kind of came to a crossroads about how were they going to live in a changing world, and what were they going to do with a smaller congregation that was getting older?
The recession, a national decline in church attendance, and an aging population have impacted many of NH’s religious communities.
But Episcopal and ACNA churches have to walk an especially thin line.
Both churches have to keep making big decisions without losing any more members.
The ACNA, which does not allow women to be bishops, must decide what role women can play.
And each Episcopal parish must decide if it will bless same sex unions.
For Members like Ralph Herzog of Christ Episcopal in Exeter, a lot’s riding on these choices.
Ralph Herzog: "I objected quite strenuously to Gene Robinson becoming our bishop because of his lifestyle. And I’ve considered leaving the Episcopal Church off and on over the last six years. But I’ve got a lot of ties to Grace Church, and good ones, and I just hate to leave it."

But Bishop Robinson says diversity of opinion is just a fact of life in this church.

Gene Robinson: "I have clergy serving in this diocese who do not believe that I should have been elected. I can also tell you that I have terrific relationships with them. We have so much more in common than that one issue that separates us, and so when I talk about the big tent that the Episcopal Church is, I really do believe it."

Still, even he feels that the answer doesn’t lie in the Archbishop’s current plan.

Gene Robinson: "I was very disappointed in that statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury. I think that idea of a two tier church would be something that Jesus would shake his head over and wonder, ‘Oh my goodness, where did we go wrong here?’"

As of yet, neither branch has released an official comment on the plan.
For NHPR news, I’m Kathryn Wells.