"To date, the diocese has refused to supply any supporting facts whatsoever. That's not just odd - it reeks to high heaven!" said parishioner Ed Montgomery, urging the crowd to support a petition accusing O'Neill of "an unconscionable and cruel act against our parish and its principal priest."

The reek could also be coming from the meltdown of the venerable, 218-year-old Episcopal Church USA, now a sickly brew of liberals and conservatives stewing over a menu of irreconcilable differences.

Armstrong is a nationally prominent conservative leader who wants the denomination to return to its orthodox Christian heritage. O'Neill is the boyish bishop (he began his tenure touring parishes on his road bike) who believes with the hierarchy that the church must grow with the times by supporting gay rights and a more liberal interpretation of Scripture.

Armstrong supporters believe politics is behind his banishment. In other states, lawsuits and schisms are mounting, and fights are under way over church property.

At the meeting Sunday was Armstrong's wife, Jessie, who came with their daughter Melissa. Both were touched by the shows of support. (Armstrong himself is banned from the parish during the diocese's investigation. The diocese refuses all comment.)

Later, Jessie Armstrong cited politics as the culprit behind the crisis. If chaos triumphs in the parish, "the bishop comes down and dissolves the vestry and puts in his own person," she said.

As for the vestry, the church's governing board which ran the meeting, it didn't take a stand on the strongly worded petition. They were there to answer questions about the parish's financial state. For example, to date, 40 percent of parishioners have withheld their tithe pledges during the controversy. The parish is current on paying its bills - including on its $2.4 million debt - and its credit is good. Some financial details aren't known, however, because the diocese held the records for nine months.

"We wanted to give details, though the bishop won't give us details, so it's a bit of a Catch- 22 for us," said vestry member Jon Wroblewski afterward.

But not all in the crowd were sympathetic. From the crowded balcony, a woman shouted, "We also are the church - and we want more transparency, OK?"

"We think we are being transparent," said Wroblewski, citing the financial complexities. "You want me to flip that in five minutes?"

More financial meetings are being planned, but that doesn't begin to assuage Jack and Becky Gloriod. Don Armstrong was their longtime buddy on ski trips and at Broncos games. Now both priest and friend have vanished.

"My mother died last week," said Becky Gloriod, "and he couldn't even come."

torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5055

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