Colorado Parish Leaves Episcopal Church

One of Colorado’s biggest Episcopal parishes is leaving the national church, possibly setting up a court fight over church property.

The mostly conservative congregation at Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish in Colorado Springs, Colo., disagrees with the national church’s stance on gay bishops and same-sex unions, The New York Times reported.

The decision to leave followed the denomination’s rejection of a demand from the worldwide Anglican Communion to create a parallel structure for conservative Episcopalians who oppose the church’s stance on homosexuality, congregation spokesman Alan Crippen told the Times.

Colorado Bishop Robert O’Neill dissolved the parish’s vestry of lay leaders after the congregation announcement.

Crippen told the Times the congregation plans to retain its campus. The diocese has argued that the parish was holding the property in trust for the Episcopal Church.

Both sides told the newspaper the property dispute could end up in court.

The Rev. Donald Armstrong III, Grace’s rector, has been on administrative leave since January while alleged financial improprieties are investigated, the Times reported.