In the 1980s, Protestant denominations experienced considerable distress because, as one Methodist put it, the "ministers are Mondale Democrats and the parishioners are Reagan Republicans." It was close to the truth then and may be close to the truth now in the Episcopal Church.

The Episcopalian prelude to Fort Sumter was the 2003 election of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. Robinson had been married and was a father. By 2003, he was divorced and living a homosexual life with another man -- and proud of it.

His election was condemned by many Episcopal leaders and viewed with outright hostility by Anglican clergy in Third World nations that have suffered thousands of deaths and illnesses from the scourge of AIDS.

Three years later, the liberals completed their conquest of the American church with Schori's election. Within minutes of her victory at the general convention in Columbus, Ohio, Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker called for a new grouping with the conservatives opposed to her leadership organized with the archbishop of Canterbury as their immediate leader. Iker says he is not leaving the church but rather remaining a true Episcopalian.

After the Revolutionary War, American Anglicans decided it was not a good idea to be the Church of England. So they changed their name to Episcopalian. But they adhered to Anglican principles: Salvation comes through Christ alone; the Bible is the supreme authority of the church; all sermons are based on Scripture.

Iker, refusing to be led by a female bishop favoring gay marriage, was joined by seven other bishops bringing along their geographical dioceses. There are 104 dioceses in the Episcopal Church.

Dozens of parishes have split from their dioceses because of philosophical differences. Some have abandoned their church buildings, owned by the national church, to meet in community centers and school buildings. Several have appealed to African bishops for leadership, pledging fealty to the Church of England rather than the U.S. church.

Many believe that the bishops are being poor sports. Schori was elected to a nine-year term at a legally constituted convention by a significant majority of bishops and laypersons attending.

In September, one month after Schori's election, the archbishop of Canterbury sent a representative to mediate the schism. Schori, Iker and others met across a table and talked. After three days, neither side had blinked.

Iker declared, "The church is broken." Schori said there had to be chaos before creation.

But the liberals are going off on a tangent. They are forcing recognition of homosexual practices on their members. It is becoming a litmus test for membership in the Episcopal Church.

An Episcopal priest, retired from Texas and now living in Oklahoma, is barred from helping administer Communion because he differs with the liberals on gay marriage. Before Schori's election, he often was asked to take the pulpit for priests who were absent.

Conservatives are not without fault.

The "Prayers of the People" is a part of every service, usually read by a layperson. Part of it asks God's blessing of all clergy, including the archbishop of Canterbury, the nation's presiding bishop, the diocesan bishop and the local priests. At an All Saints Day service on Nov. 1 in Fort Worth, the phrase "presiding bishop" was not mentioned. This came just minutes after a reading from Matthew Chapter 28, in which Jesus said: "But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."

Refusing to follow this passage makes us appear to be the same as Sunnis and Shiites.

Most practicing Episcopalians wish this problem did not exist. We do not go to church for these reasons, nor do we enjoy hearing about it from the pulpit or in informal classes.

Two weeks ago, after a class taught by our priest about the Episcopal disputes, one member hypothesized about what might have happened had Robinson not been living with a gay man but instead with a woman whom he had no intention of marrying. Would Robinson have been elected? Would he even have been nominated?

The church indeed is broken. The liberals are practicing revisionist theology, changing God to accommodate man. Like the rest of our society, they are pushing political correctness in an area that heretofore has known only absolutes. Scripture is to be read and obeyed, not adapted to current trends.

Episcopal membership has fallen in 30 years from 6 million nationwide to just over 2 million today. A typical service has 80 people in the pews. During the past few years, membership has decreased in many of the liberal dioceses and increased in the eight conservative ones, most of which are in growing Sun Belt areas. The losses most likely will continue because most people do not attend church to hear political sermons.

As the decline grows, we look forward to Schori's performing the same penitental rites as King Henry II.

In 1162, the English monarch appointed royal Chancellor Thomas Becket as the archbishop of Canterbury. Becket began acting as a real archbishop should act, and he quarreled openly with the king over money.

When Henry cried in 1170, "Who will free me from this turbulent priest?," four of his knights did, killing Becket in his own cathedral. The king sought dispensation for his sins in 1174 by donning sackcloth and kneeling in the snow outside Becket's tomb.

Abraham Lincoln fought the Civil War to preserve the Union. Bishop Jack Iker believes he has to save the Anglican union. We may not agree with all his tactics, but his beliefs and goals are closer to Anglican principles than are those of the other side.

---Tracey Smith is a member of the Episcopal Church. He is a real estate broker in Ft. Worth