Good Shepherd parishioners and vestry recently voted to leave The Episcopal Church with more than two-thirds saying they wanted out.

Bishop Wallis Ohl met with those who wanted to remain, and then wrote a letter to those who wanted to leave Good Shepherd saying they had to vacate the church property by January 6, 2007.

"We are united theologically that Scripture is relevant to today and Scripture tells us to interpret the times rather than the times telling us how to interpret scripture," said Fr. Keith Adams, rector of Good Shepherd.

"We had asked for a moratorium at our recent diocesan convention on forwarding money to the national church and it was rejected, and because of that a lot of folks now believe we (conservatives) have no input into the diocese and so the question is, why stay." A resolution allowing individuals to re-direct funds away from the national church was defeated. Bishop Ohl took no position.

Bishop Ohl is repeating to the remnant of Good Shepherd what he told parishioners at St. Nicholas', Midland in May of 2005. After a final worship service at St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church on Sunday, May 29 at 7:00 pm, almost the entire congregation left their prominent church building and started a new church called Christ Church Midland.

Today, renamed Christ Church Midland," the Rev. Jon Stasney, rector (senior pastor) of St. Nicholas' now has more than 350 members.

Earlier that month, Bishop Ohl told the vast majority of the St. Nicholas' congregation to leave their church property by June 1 even though the congregation built and paid for their building only four years earlier.

Undaunted Stasney said at that time, "We are standing with the majority of Christians throughout the world and throughout time." He doesn't negotiate, he gives orders and they are obeyed, a source told VOL.

Good Shepherd has about 140 members (average Sunday Attendance). Ohl is described as moderately orthodox but a company man. He jokingly calls himself a genetic Episcopalian not a cradle Episcopalian.

ANOTHER Church, Holy Trinity in Midland, is an Anglo-Catholic congregation and is one of the largest and wealthiest parishes in the diocese with a budget of $864,000. Holy Trinity is also confronting TEC over the authority of Holy Scripture.

The Rev. Mark Cannaday told VOL that their budget, once just over a million dollars,

has been steadily decreasing since 2003 and the decision to consecrate V. Gene Robinson to the episcopacy. "When that was about to happen, I told the bishop that if it was approved it is going to be bad news." Ohl did not agree even though he did not vote for Robinson. "Since then things have been in constant turmoil. Sexuality lived outside of the bonds of marriage is sinful. The Church has always taught this ethic; sexual intercourse is for procreativity if it is God's will and for the community it builds in marriag between a man and a woman.. This is the church's teaching," he said.

Fr. Cannady said parishes around the country are cautiously evaluating the whole scene. "We are a Network parish and we are evaluating everything that is happening in the wider church. We told the bishop that 85 pledging families who don't want to send money to NY - this was denied at diocesan Convention - are going to be honored. This is about $2000 a month."

"Our monthly payment is $17,000 plus. We are not confronting the bishop. The diocesan mandatory assessment is 21 percent, one of the highest in the Episcopal Church. The parish's present apportion to the diocese is $202,000. Next year it will be $195,000. We are doing this not as a protest, but to honor people who cannot pay the national church because of their conscience. When this was being debated Bishop Ohl did not speak up." He said Holy Trinity is the largest giver in the diocese by about $70,000, to $80,000 more than the next church.

Fr. Cannady said his parish had been affected by the national debate and that he had lost key members to other churches. "We have lost liberals to the old St. Nicholas' and we have lost orthodox folk to Christ Church, the new Anglican congregation under Uganda. "We have lost members at both ends of the ecclesiastical spectrum."

Fr. Cannady said his congregation had shrunk considerably from over 1,000 members and a $1 million budget in 2004. "People have gone away with sadness not with malice."

The Diocese of Northwest Texas has 34 parishes.

When Good Shepherd departs, and should Holy Trinity follow, it will affect the diocesan budget, a source told VOL.

The diocese has a budget of $1.1 million and it will be difficult time to balance the budget.

Holy Trinity gives the diocese $202,000, but next year it will be $195,000. Good Shepherd gives $55,000 together they make up more than 20 percent of the total diocesan budget."

"Were that to stop because parishes left, the diocese would go into deficit. Fifty percent goes to support the diocesan staff and camp and 50 per cent goes to mission and smaller parishes that are not self supporting. The National Church receives the largest amount of $160,000" he said.

The parishes hold their own deeds, VOL was told, but Bishop Ohl believes the diocese holds true title to the property.

When VirtueOnline phoned Bishop Ohl he said; "I do not have any comment."

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