Church fights for building
Lawsuit unsteadies St. Luke's fate
By Marshall Allen Staff Writer

LA CRESCENTA - The conflict between St. Luke's of the Mountains Anglican Church and the Episcopal denomination now enters a legal phase, as the two sides battle in court over the parish's stone church.

In 1924, the congregation laid the cornerstone of the church, located in the 2500 block of Foothill Boulevard. It was built and maintained with contributions from church members, and is owned by a nonprofit organization established by the parish.

In 1940, the church joined the Episcopal Church USA, where it remained until February, when members voted to leave the 2.3 million-member denomination to join the Anglican Church of the Province of Uganda.

The ECUSA, the American branch of the Anglican church, has been in turmoil since its liberal members elected an openly gay bishop in 2003. Traditionally, the Episcopal and Anglican churches have professed that the Bible defines homosexual behavior as sin. Hundreds of congregations that cling to the traditional interpretations of the Bible have left the denomination or stand opposed to its liberal direction. the rest