Episcopalians pondering leaving fold
By Gary Emerling
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 11, 2006

The Rev. John Yates runs his hand over a pockmarked tombstone in the courtyard of Falls Church Episcopal, touching just a portion of the history embedded on the grounds of the nearly 275-year-old church.

"See these notches?" said Mr. Yates, the church's rector. "During the Civil War, soldiers used this as target practice. There are a lot of little stories like that around here."

The historic church and its congregation soon could be parted, as church leaders weigh joining scores of parishes across the country that have left the Episcopal denomination because of the 2003 ordination of Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the church's first openly homosexual bishop.

According to canon law, a church leaving a diocese must forfeit its property to the diocese, meaning the congregation would lose its $17 million in property and assets -- including its treasured landmarks. The Virginia Senate last year tabled a bill that would have allowed churches to split and retain their property. the rest