A Windsor Bishop, (an ecclesiastically neutered group that promised much and delivered little), Bauerschmidt joins the ranks of institutional team players who are watching, with apprehension, his diocese and church wither under the glare of biblical orthodoxy, primatial opprobrium and fleeing Episcopalians.

This week two more churches in the Diocese of Tennessee, (now six in all, but more will follow) announced they were leaving The Episcopal Church for warmer theological, ecclesiastical and spiritual climes, abandoning property in obedience to the call of God, and declaring, in no uncertain terms, that the cheap, all inclusive generic Eucharistic wine of TEC cannot be consumed without doing permanent damage to one's soul.

The leaders of Holy Cross Church, a Murfreesboro, Tennessee Episcopal/Anglican congregation with approximately 90 members, announced they are leaving The Episcopal Church and will affiliate with the Anglican Communion through the Anglican Communion Network and the Common Cause Partnership of North America, as a part of the Church of Uganda under Bishop John Guernsey.

"This move is necessary for the health of our congregation," The Rev. Frederick Richardson told VOL. "There has been a strong outcry from our members because of the clear direction of The Episcopal Church, which is the opposite direction of where we are going. We feel our future lies in the traditional faith, order and practice of the Bible, followed by the Anglican Church since its beginning, rooted in the teachings of the apostles."

Richardson and his congregation will leave their current building, move to a new location and begin worshipping Sunday, January 13, 2008 as Faith Anglican Fellowship. "We are meeting in a building that houses a counseling recovery ministry called INTEGRITY HOUSE," he told VOL with a chuckle.

"We are excited about the opportunities Faith Anglican Fellowship has in this growing community. We will continue to work hard at creating a caring community of love and support for all age groups, and we believe we are meeting a vital need for traditional Christian values here in middle Tennessee."

Richardson describes Faith Anglican Fellowship as a blend of the great traditions of the Church with contemporary music that make it all very relevant to contemporary Christian life.

The vicar, 54, said he never talked about the possibility of leaving with Bauerschmidt. "We had our reasons. This bishop had made it clear he would inhibit priests who left. I was a vicar and worked at his discretion. He told me not to come to him with anything that would bring me in conflict with his interpretation of the canons of TEC unless I was ready to receive his discipline. For the welfare of my family and my congregation, if he inhibited me before we were ready, I did not feel that I could bring him into my confidence.

"Before he was elected, I talked with the bishop about the issues and the way he would handle clergy and congregations leaving. I asked him what his approach was; we were not contemplating anything at that time, but I knew that some of my friends were. He said then that he admired Bishop Steenson's approach. I thought, when we elected him, that he would follow that model, but he has not."

Richardson said he sat down with his senior warden and a small group in the church. Together they decided that action was needed. "I was heartbroken that it had come to this but I am resolute that this was the right thing to do. We did not do it with joy, it was very painful. I hated [doing] it."

He announced the decision of the church leaders to the entire congregation. 98% of the church said they would leave with him. "I only know of four people who are likely to stay, but I am not sure that even they will."

"I was hoping that Bishop Bauerschmidt, who is a Windsor bishop, would have some words of encouragement for us following the last House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans, but nothing happened. That pushed our group over the edge, our bishop made no protest. We no longer had hope of our diocese distinguishing itself from TEC."

Richardson said he believes the Episcopal Church is committed to a complete reinterpretation of Scripture. "Mrs. Jefferts Schori said she does not believe in the uniqueness of Christ as being the son of God and the savior of the world."

While the diocese has said it is opposes same sex rites and would not support an openly homosexual bishop, Richardson said he had hoped, as a Windsor bishop, something positive and constructive would emerge. Nothing happened. "I had hoped he would become more like a Network bishop. I longed for a Network bishop. In the end, though I asked for a letter dimissory to the Church of Uganda, I was informed that I will be inhibited. The bishop left a message on my phone. That was it."

For Fr. William Midgett, 53, and members of Trinity Episcopal Church in Winchester, TN who walked away from the historical building on First Avenue, N.W. in order to form Christ the King Anglican Church, a new Anglican congregation, the story was much the same.

Following the annual congregational meeting on January 6, the rector, staff, lay leadership, and most of the members of the parish submitted their resignations and announced their disaffiliation from the Episcopal Church. The eight-member vestry followed suit. Christ the King will worship and have offices at the former V.R. Williams Insurance office building in Winchester.

"The present conflict in the Episcopal Church boils down to choosing between two gospels. These two gospels, one true and one false, are not allowed to co-exist within the body of Christ," said the Rev. Midgett. Such is the conviction of the former rector and members that they have walked away from the property and financial assets of Trinity Church and begun anew.

Trinity's congregation was founded in 1859. "The decision to leave the Episcopal Church and the property was extremely difficult," said the Rev. Midgett. "Many members of our congregation have been Episcopalians all of their lives. Some of our parishioners have worshiped at Trinity for over 50 years. Yet they have chosen to follow the traditional teachings of Christ. It has become impossible to remain true to both the gospel and to the Episcopal Church as it is presently constituted."

Trinity will affiliate with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) under the ecclesiastical authority of the Province of Nigeria. CANA claims about 60 congregations and over 100 clergy in twenty states, with a total average Sunday attendance of approximately 8,600.

There are two previously existing CANA congregations in middle Tennessee: St. Patrick's in Smyrna and the Anglican Fellowship of Middle Tennessee in Tullahoma. A fifth congregation, Redeemer in Nashville, a split from St. Bartholomew's, is under the spiritual authority of the Anglican Mission in America. There is a Spanish-speaking mission in Nashville, led by the Rev. Susan Crane, now affiliated with the province of Kenya.

The total numbers of those leaving is not inconsequential. According to the Rev. Richardson, St. Patrick's in Smyrna has 175, Christ the King has 125 members and Holy Cross, now Faith Anglican, has 90. Redeemer has some 250 members, a split from the 800-member St. Bartholomew's congregation.

The drop of nearly 650 members from Episcopal rolls will be significant for the diocese, Fr. Richardson told VOL. "The financial loss will be in the vicinity of $50,000-60,000 a year, the equivalent of a full time diocesan staff person. The diocese sees only about 5,000 average Sunday attendance out of 14,000 baptized members in 51 congregations.

Bishop John Bauerschmidt said he was saddened by news of the departing priest and parish. "It's a terrible thing when people separate themselves from the church.

"I wish they had talked to me before they did this. Some prior notification would have been welcome," said Bauerschmidt. "The ministry and work of the Holy Cross Church for over seven years was made possible by the Diocese of Tennessee. We have stood with them, helped to support them and helped them along the way."

Fr. Richardson offered a somewhat different interpretation of events saying the bishop was aware of their differences and had been approached earlier about his theological positions and how they could affect his congregation.

The bishop said that while he had not ordained partnered gay and lesbian people in the ministry in the Diocese of Tennessee, gays and lesbians should be welcome in Episcopal churches. "To practice Christianity, we want people to show up. We want to make sure we welcome them," the bishop explained.

Richardson said that the diocese is not viewed as having a strong enough commitment to "stand against the tide" of the national Episcopal Church.

According to statistics released by The Episcopal Church itself, it is losing members at the rate of one whole congregation every one and a half days since 2004. The figure of 1,000 a week was recently elevated when some 8,000 parishioners from the Diocese of San Joaquin decided en masse to leave the Episcopal Church.

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