EL PASO: Episcopal Pro-Cathedral may break national ties

By María Cortes González
El Paso Times
http://tinyurl.com/ytvcab
9/15/2007

Following a national trend of exodus, members of the Pro Cathedral Church of St. Clement in Downtown El Paso plan to meet Sunday to vote on whether to leave the Episcopal Church of the United States.

"The Episcopal Church has been gradually moving away from the historic Christian faith for decades, and in recent years has questioned such foundational doctrines as salvation through Christ alone and the authority of the Bible," the Rev. Bill Cobb said.

"We are a very vibrant, dedicated church that is extremely active in carrying out Christ's mission, and we feel that the Episcopal Church is going in a very different direction than we are," he said.

Cobb said more than 200 congregations have left the Episcopal church since 2003 because they believe the church has moved away from tradition and Scripture and because a new prayer book was adopted.

Also highly controversial was the 2003 ordination in New Hampshire of the first openly gay bishop, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson.

Cobb said the vast majority of Anglican bishops agreed that Anglican churches should not ordain those who are in same-gender unions.

"This is the official teaching for the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, and the Episcopal Church has rejected this position. I believe that the Bible teaches that Christians should should either be married or abstain from sex, and that leaders should be an example to the church," he said.

The representative for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque could not be reached for comment.

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