Leaving the Episcopal Church

from Agape Press
by AP

...A Virginia congregation says it has withdrawn from the Episcopal Church USA. South Riding Church is the first congregation to leave the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia after two years of conflict over the consecration of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire.

Rev. Phil Ashey says his church is now under the authority of the Anglican bishop of Uganda. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican church. But Episcopal Bishop Peter Lee of Virginia says he does not recognize South Riding's withdrawal. Lee says the bishop in Uganda has no authority in the Diocese of Virginia.

[Bishop Lee is going to FORCE this church to STAY when they believe that the Episcopal Diocese has sinned against God by their consecration of a gay bishop! Force NEVER works. I expect we are going to see a fight ensue from here in the courts.]



...The South Carolina Baptist Convention has endorsed a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex "marriage." State law already prohibits homosexual marriage, but a constitutional amendment would prevent changes to the law in the future.

And just across the state's northern border, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has voted to expel any church that "knowingly affirms, approves or endorses homosexual behavior." The vote was not unanimous.

Some delegates opposed the idea because they felt it showed a lack of respect for Baptist heritage, which values the autonomy of local churches. Others felt the decision focused too much attention on a single issue.

But the convention's outgoing president said Baptists must deal with homosexuality because "everything in our culture has pushed it to the forefront."

The nation's largest homosexual-rights group, the Human Rights Campaign, denounced the vote, declaring that churches "should focus on love and compassion, not finding ways to demean" their homosexual members.

[These Baptist Conventions are NOT demeaning homosexuals. They are standing up for their beliefs~~that God's Holy word is true and homosexuality is a sin. The church will accept a repentant homosexual but not one who is still a practicing homosexual. If you are a Bible believing church, you cannot do otherwise.

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