Citing theological differences with the group's national leaders, more than 100 congregations have left the Episcopal Church USA in the last six months. St. Anne's left the Episcopal Church USA and its local diocese in January and St. John's in Fallbrook left last month.

Unlike St. Anne's and St. John's, where congregations own their buildings and simply changed the names of their churches from Episcopal to Anglican, Rees said there is some question about who owns the Vista building.

Rather than fight the diocese over ownership of the building, Rees said he preferred to leave and start a church with any congregation members willing to join him.

"We're not willing to have lawsuits over this," Rees said.

The fate of the 1951 Vista church building is uncertain, but Rees said he expects the diocese to appoint an interim priest to serve the congregation. But just how much of a congregation will be waiting for the new priest also is unknown. Of the 230-member congregation, Rees expects at least half to join him.

Raising money and building a Vista church could take three to five years, he said. In the meantime, Rees will hold occasional gatherings in a Vista store owned by a former congregation member and will officiate at St. Anne's, where services will be expanded to accommodate members expected to leave the Vista congregation.

"We will help out in any way we possibly can, spiritually and financially," said the Rev. Anthony Baron of St. Anne's.

The Episcopal Church USA is one of 37 autonomous arms of the global Anglican Communion, which has 73 million members. The church's American leaders in recent years have made several decisions unpopular with more conservative congregates, including many who have left the Episcopal Church but remain within the Anglican Communion through alignments with foreign dioceses.

St. Anne's is aligned with the Diocese of Bolivia, and St. John's is aligned with the Diocese in Uganda.

Membership in the Episcopal Church has declined from about 6 million in the 1960s to about 2.2 million today.

Among the more controversial actions by national House of Bishops was the 2003 consecration of an openly gay man, the Rev. Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire. Another decision that caused dissent in the church came earlier this year when Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected as the first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

But it is a shift in fundamental theological views that has created much of the unease in the church today, Baron and Rees said.

"It really is a stand on the authority of scripture and the divinity of Christ," Baron said.

By adopting different attitudes about sin, Rees said the church has eroded the need of Christ as a redeemer of sin, and Baron said that an Episcopal bishop recently called Christ a sinner while other church leaders have even denied the physical resurrection.

Rees, 53, has been a priest for 12 years and was at All Saints in Vista for five years. A lifelong Episcopalian, he entered seminary school while serving in the Air Force, where he was a mission commander aboard an AWAC ---- Airborne Warning and Control ---- aircraft.

"I was told by God in the middle of the night to leave the Air Force, and it was my last chance to go to the seminary," he said.

Rees said he did, and he received a phone call at the seminary three months later, telling him an AWAC had crashed in Alaska, killing his former crew and the mission commander who had replaced him.

While leaving the church was a difficult decision, Rees said he is full of energy at the prospect of planting a new church. Speaking to the Oceanside congregation Sunday, he said he would not decry others or be vindictive, and said he would rather be with people who have the church in their hearts than among actual stained glass and walls.

"As I look and I see my friends from Vista and my friends from Oceanside, I'm so thankful that the body of Christ is standing strong today," he said. "We will do his will in building up his church."

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/07/31/news/coastal/73006220731.txt

ANNOUNCEMENT: St. Anne's Anglican Church, Oceanside Opens New Anglican Church in Vista

Oceanside, Calif. - July 31, 2006 - The Rev. Joe Rees, former rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Vista, California, announced Sunday that he will be starting a new Anglican church in Vista. Beginning August 1, Fr. Rees will join St. Anne's Anglican Church, Oceanside, as Executive Pastor and lead the effort to plant the new church.

Fr. Rees remarked, "I am answering God's call to form a new church with the support of St. Anne's Anglican Church. I am delighted to be joining St. Anne's, which has always been a welcoming fellowship. I look forward to nourishing and strengthening them in the task God has called them to do."

St. Anne's Anglican Church ended its affiliation with the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. and the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego in January citing theological differences and a desire to remain faithful to historic Christianity. "Since St. Anne's left the Episcopal Church to remain faithful to the Gospel and the Anglican Communion, the parish has grown in numbers, ministries, peace and joy. We look forward to the same kinds of growth in Vista," said the Rev. Tony Baron, Rector, St. Anne's.

Explaining the rationale for his decision to leave the Episcopal Church after many years of devoted ministry, Fr. Rees said, "Despite years of efforts to reconcile their differences, orthodox believers within the Episcopal Church have grown increasingly disenchanted with the theological direction of the Episcopal Church, which has caused it to be in broken or impaired communion with most of the Anglican Communion worldwide. While leaders of the Episcopal Church would like to convince the general public that the issue is sexuality and downplay the Church's unraveling, the real issues are the divinity of Christ, the authority of Scripture, and salvation through Christ alone."

Rees commented, "The widely reported General Convention of the Episcopal Church held in late June was unwilling to comply with the dictates of the worldwide Anglican Communion in the Windsor Report. Seven dioceses within the Episcopal Church have recently applied for bishop oversight outside of the United States, and some of the largest Episcopal churches in the country have either left or have announced their intention to leave." Said Fr. Rees, "While it grieves me that the Episcopal Church I once loved has turned away from historic Christianity and the mainstream faith of most of the Anglican world, I am very excited about the opportunity to plant a new church and help people in the very best of the Anglican tradition."

END