DUIN: Church remnant regroups

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By Julia Duin

The atmosphere was as icy as the air-conditioning last Sunday as a group of 40 Episcopalians gathered in the basement of a Presbyterian church.

The Rev. Michael Pipkin, the priest in charge, minced no words.

"Many of you are angry, sad and disappointed," he said. "Our shared anger, sadness and dismay are real."

They had been members of Falls Church Episcopal in the city of Falls Church before the parish split from the denomination on Dec. 17, 2006, and voted to join a new Anglican body.

The church voted 1,228 to 127 to leave, as did majorities of 10 other Episcopal churches in Northern Virginia.

The majority - who remained at the $24.7 million church, its historic cemetery and chapel on 5.5 acres of valuable real estate - say they offered the services of one of their priests to those who wanted to stay in the denomination, but the diocese said no. The minority say they requested the services of this priest and asked to worship in the chapel but were turned down by the church's clergy. They hired Mr. Pipkin instead and moved across the street to a Presbyterian church.

Meanwhile, the national Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia are suing the Anglicans to get the 11 properties back. Last Friday, Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows ruled that the Anglicans had left the denomination on constitutional grounds - a huge blow to the Episcopalians.

I dropped by the Presbyterian church, hoping to pick up reactions.

Mr. Pipkin was urging the congregants to hang in there so Virginians and the 10,800 residents of the city of Falls Church can see "what religious manipulation of the legal system looks like."

After the service, everyone congregated in a parlor to munch on refreshments and to vent.

David Jones, one of three diocesan bishops, was also there. He told them that Virginia Bishop Peter Lee was distraught over the ruling. An April 3 decision by Judge Bellows, which also favored the Anglicans, had been bad enough. This most recent ruling was a body blow.

Frustration and anger poured out of people wanting to be back in the church in which they'd grown up, where their children were still part of the youth group - people who used the words "going home" over and over again.

"I do not want to accept the idea that we are not there," said one.

"I want to tell what it's like to be exiled from that church across the street," said another.

People hashed over what to do. All of them wanted reconciliation, but some wanted to hold an impromptu sit-in on the Falls Church grounds. Others vowed to use church e-mail lists to contact the friends they left behind. Few wanted to wait for October, when Judge Bellows holds hearings to determine who gets the property.

That's when it really gets down and dirty. Folks at Sunday's gathering were talking of "voting irregularities" on that fateful December day when half the 3,000 or so people who attended the church did not vote. Look for lawyers for the Episcopal Church and diocese to bring this up.

Still, the Anglicans allowed those at the "new" Falls Church Episcopal to hold two funerals in the historic church's 1732 cemetery. The Episcopalians have 175 people on their mailing list and mean to grow.

"We've decided this thing is going to be a marathon, not a sprint," Bill Fetsch, the senior warden, told me. "We may get back in the building or we may not, but we've moved on."

Julia Duin's column runs Thursdays and Sundays. She can be reached at jduin@washingtontimes.com