Sounding Off: Church dispute is about property, not sexuality

I am writing to respond to the column written by Brady Rhoades (“Faith and ongoing debates,” July 24).

I am rector — senior pastor — of St. James Anglican Church in Newport Beach. It was with great interest that I read Rhoades’ column, as he did not contact me, our attorney or anyone on our staff to understand our story. He wrote that St. James parted ways with the Episcopal Church due to theological differences and because of the consecration of a gay bishop in 2003. In truth, our members overwhelmingly elected to leave the Episcopal Church in August 2004 due solely to long-standing theological differences, specifically regarding the authority of Holy Scripture and the Lordship of Christ.

What do those two phrases mean? Authority of Holy Scripture asks, “Does the Bible say what it means and mean what it says?” At St. James we believe that the Holy Bible is God’s word. We take to heart its teachings and do our best to live by its tenets. The lordship of Jesus Christ asks, “Is Jesus who the Bible says he is — the son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, who died for our sins, was resurrected, and is with God in heaven?” The Bible teaches this and we believe it to be true.

Over the course of several decades, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church stepped further away from the Bible’s traditional teachings — to the point that many Episcopal leaders now deny Christ’s virgin birth and his resurrection from the dead. Just this month, the presiding bishop of the national Episcopal Church, Katherine Jefferts-Schori, proclaimed that having a personal relationship with Christ — a core tenet of evangelical Christian belief — is the “great Western heresy.”

Rhoades also opined that “the Episcopalians want their Newport Beach property back, but St. James is digging in.” Our legal battle is about religious freedom and property rights. Americans hold dear the right to free speech and freedom of religion. People should not have their property confiscated for exercising their religion even if others do not agree with their beliefs. But that is exactly what is happening to St. James. The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church have never held title to the St. James property. The people of St. James bought and paid for every square inch of this property with their tithes and offerings. They alone purchased the pews, the hymnals and the Sunday School booklets. The Episcopalians never paid a penny toward the purchase of the St. James’ property or toward building construction.

Rhoades called the people of St. James intolerant toward gays and lesbians. His claim is simply not true. For many years St. James has provided support for members of the LGBT community who have struggled with their sexual orientation. Such people have even served on the staff of St. James. We have provided meeting space for an HIV support group. The attorney we retained wrote a law review article arguing against AIDS discrimination. We have always reached out in love and with compassion to members of the gay community and we welcome them to worship with us.

I invite everyone to come worship with us on a Sunday morning. I believe with all my heart you will like what you find. You can find more about our church at www.stjamesnb.org.

THE REV. RICHARD CROCKER lives in Newport Beach.