The single biggest cause in dropping attendance occurred when the largest Episcopal Church in Western New York with 1,000 members, St. Bartholomew's in Tonawanda, voted to leave the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Western New York in order to affiliate with the Province of the Southern Cone, citing that the National Church has strayed from the authority of Scripture and the Lordship of Christ as the besetting issues.

The parish ranked as the 111th largest in the Episcopal Church out of some 6,800 TEC parishes.

Then Bishop Michael Garrison vowed to keep the church going (it had 16 members), but later announced that he could not afford to support a church plant meeting in the vacated St. Bartholomew's property. Last year, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church ceased to exist.

"The gay issue has been central to our departing," said the Rev. Arthur W. Ward Jr. "The Episcopal Church has turned its back on the Lord, it's turned its back on scripture and the word of God."

The congregation later purchased an old synagogue that became St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church.

"The future never looked better. Where we are going is three times the size of the present property. We will have room for growth that we would not have had if we had stayed where we are. God is good. Now we can grow and expand free of a denomination that no longer believes in the uniqueness of Christ and His saving message," said Ward.

"I am glad that we can now put the conflict and division of the Episcopal Church behind us. God's Word is clear - truth is more important than unity and principle trumps property. We now look forward to exchanging the negative energy of division with the positive energy of building a new church and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ unhindered by the revisionist constraints of the Episcopal Church."

Their departure was a major blow to the Diocese of Western New York and Bishop Garrison's weakening grip on the diocese. St. Bartholomew's was fully 10 percent of church going Episcopalians in the diocese. Their departure represented a major financial loss to the diocese.

Of course, Garrison could have cut a deal with the departing parish but chose not to. They left the property and now he has to sell it.

The community of St. Peter's in Forestville under the Rev. John Mears also announced that they were leaving The Episcopal Church denuding the diocese of much needed income. St. Peter's Episcopal became St. Peter's Anglican Church and is now a member of the International Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America under Archbishop Robert Duncan. They, like St. Bartholomew's, are thriving.

Garrison then had to admit that many parishes are in financial difficulty and that the diocese will need to reduce the number of church buildings in the next few years.

Many viewed his retirement as a blessing as he had neither the theology nor the evangelical will to sustain the churches he had or to open more. At one point, the highly unpopular Garrison was asked to resign by the Standing committee, but he steadfastly refused to do so.

VOL wrote at the time that his successor will have the "joy" of closing more parishes.

Commented Garrison, "In the last few months I have met with vestries and leaders of a number of our parishes who are experiencing financial difficulties. The financial crisis we experience in our nation and world exacerbates and highlights this difficulty. In many parishes the trouble has been brought on by an over dependence on endowments. The leadership of our congregations needs to be wise and prudent in these matters. All of us are called upon to live within our means. "We also need to ask ourselves over the next few years, if we can any longer support the number of church buildings in which our community worships."

Bishop Franklin has inherited the whirlwind. Last weekend he was consecrated the Eleventh Bishop of Western New York. He has a family history in this area though his last post was St. Mark's Church in Philadelphia. In his "homecoming", he will face a diocese in free fall. Unless he has a clear fix on the gospel and proclaims the Good News, he will face an inevitable situation of having to juncture his diocese with another.

Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, has repeatedly said that the theological division and the theme of conflict represent a "relatively small part of this church."

END