Historic Falls Church releases letter calling on bishop to repent The Layman Online Monday, January 23, 2006 The vestry of The Falls Church, a historic Episcopal congregation in downtown Falls Church, Va., today released a copy of its 8-page letter that called on Bishop Peter James Lee of the Diocese of Virginia to repent of his vote in 2004 in favor of electing a practicing homosexual as a bishop in the Episcopal Church (USA). The letter was dated Oct. 4, 2005, but was not immediately released to the public, the vestry said, so that reconciliation might be achieved in a Biblical manner. But Lee, who met with the vestry and did not respond in writing, has not changed his mind about his action in 2004. The Falls Church has 2,200 members and is the largest congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. The church has $17 million in assets and historic property and a $4.26-million annual budget compared to the diocese's $4.21-million budget. The vestry's letter was accompanied by a one-page letter to The Falls Church congregation by John Yates, the church's rector. Yates raised the possibility that several congregations might leave the denomination. He said, "Our parish leaders have been heavily involved in establishing an informal coalition of churches committed to faithfulness to the historic teaching of the church in these matters, and also I, our parish chancellor Hugo Blankingship, and another Northern Virginia church leader, have been involved in a series of quiet meetings with three representatives of our bishop, seeking to do a couple of things: find ways we can better cooperate in missions together and also at the same time discuss frankly what the future might be for churches considering leaving the denomination." Yates also mentioned "the decision of the Rev. Phil Ashey and his church in South Riding to leave the denomination and affiliate with the Anglican Church in Uganda, and the disappointing handling of this" by Bishop Lee. The vestry's letter urged Lee "to reconsider your position" and assured him of the vestry's continued support if "you will repent and return to the truth." Lee is the bishop of the largest Episcopal diocese (87,000 members) in the Episcopal Church (USA). Established in 1732, The Falls Church is one of the oldest congregations in the diocese. The vestry letter cited the global Anglican Communion's "unambiguous disapproval" of the 2004 General Conference's vote to elect to the episcopacy V. Gene Robinson, who left his wife and family to live with his homosexual partner. But the vestry's major argument against the vote was Scriptural. "Our most earnest prayer is that the Scriptures themselves, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit to your heart through them, will bring you back to the standard that God has always called His people to uphold." Citing several Bible passages about sexual morality, the vestry's letter said, "[W]e … quote the Bible without apology, because Anglicans believe that right doctrine can be 'proved' from the Bible (Articles of Religion, Art. VI ((BCP 8680))." The letter reminded Lee, once considered an evangelical, that upon taking his oath of office he swore he "'solemnly declare(d) that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God" (BCP 513),' and we call on you now to be true to that solemn declaration." The letter questions Lee on a number of statements about ordination of homosexuals and services to bless same-gender couples.

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