A CONGREGATION which began as a church-plant of the conservative Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is to break away to join the Episcopal Church, owing to different approaches to faith, including the part played by women, it has announced.
The co-Rector of The Table church, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Revd Ben Sternke, said that the congregation had been in a process of discernment over its future for more than a year.
In a statement, he said that the congregation believed that there was “better alignment” between their church and the Episcopal Church. The Table was created as a church-plant by ACNA in 2015, as part of the ACNA diocese known as Churches for the Sake of Others (also known as C4SO), which was created in 2009.
Mr Stern referred to four reasons for the move, including “resisting patriarchy and empowering women to fully lead in the Church”, and the congregation’s commitment to “practising a generous ‘big tent’ spirituality rooted in the deep well of the Anglican tradition”.
ACNA does not allow women to become bishops, and some ACNA dioceses prevent women from being ordained.
A commitment to social and racial justice and to cultivating a “non-anxious Christianity” were the other reasons given for the move.
In the vote of members of the church this month, 44 voted for and four voted against disaffiliation with ACNA .
Mr Stern said that the move to full membership of the diocese of Indianapolis would take some time. “We have begun the process of applying to be an affiliated ministry of the Episcopal Church, which is a designation that provides time and space for us to move toward full membership as a parish of the diocese of Indianapolis.
“What does this mean for daily life and worship at The Table? In truth, not much will change at all in terms of how we worship and pray and practice being a community together. We are being welcomed as the church we are, which is already well-aligned with the values of the diocese. We are also excited and hopeful for the fruit that this new affiliation will bring, both in and through our community.”
The Bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Indianapolis, the Rt Revd Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, said that over the past year she had met with The Table’s three co-Rectors to pray.
In a letter to her diocese, she wrote: “In them, we encounter a strong and faithful call to the Episcopal Church, and a hunger for deep formation and enculturation in our traditions and practices. They have told us that our diocesan mission pillars, especially our call to stand with all the vulnerable and marginalized, have helped them discern their path forward to us.
“They are committed to being a safe place for LGBTQ people and to joining with us in our work to dismantle systemic racism and discrimination. I give thanks for their willingness to set out on this journey and for their care for The Table’s congregation in the midst of this change.”
She said that she had spoken to Bishop Todd Hunter, of ACNA, and “am assured that he intends for their transition to be peaceful and free of conflict”, and also to Episcopal bishops who had “endured the pain and hardship of schism and property lawsuits with ACNA”.
The diocese of C4SO experienced fast growth up to 2019. Its membership and attendance doubled between 2013 and 2019, and it is now the second largest diocese in ACNA, with more than 10,000 members.