ANALYSIS: A church divided cannot stand -- can it?
By Frank E. Lockwood
June 30, 2006

I am saddened to my very soul that the church I came to Jesus Christ in, when I was 19 years old, no longer exists within this (Episcopal) structure.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, the newly elected leader of the Episcopal Church, compared the conservative and liberal wings of her denomination to conjoined twins and expressed doubts that they can survive and flourish without each other.

But instead of conjoined twins, they increasingly resemble unhappy spouses. They've grown apart over the years. After three years of marriage counseling, they're barely able to speak to each other. The differences appear irreconcilable.

The kids caught in the crossfire -- members of the 'Can't we all just get along?' majority -- are desperately trying to hold onto both parents, devastated that their family is disintegrating and willing to do almost whatever it takes to keep everybody under the same roof.

A divorce would be costly and take years -- they'd be fighting over thousands of houses of worship, 2.2 million U.S. members and a $3.7 billion endowment.

The Episcopal Church, one of 38 provinces (churches) that trace their roots to the Church of England, is already plotting its legal strategy and bracing for big legal bills. Pity the judge who must sort it all out.

Meanwhile, the exodus has started. This week, one of the largest Episcopal churches in the United States announced that it plans to 'disassociate' itself from the denomination. As of Thursday, five conservative dioceses are appealing for alternative oversight from overseas church leaders. the rest