Fracture in the church
Heathsville body divided as many shift to Anglicans
BY ALBERTA LINDSEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jan 8, 2007

Heathsville now has two St. Stephen's churches. One is Anglican, the other Episcopal.

The two were one church until last month, when 75 percent of St. Stephen's congregation voted to leave the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia to affiliate with Nigeria's Anglican Church. That group has changed its name to St. Stephen's Church (Anglican).

Those who wanted to remain Episcopalians have reorganized as St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.
In the past year, 13 churches have severed ties with the Episcopal Church and the Virginia diocese. The remaining Episcopalians at St. Stephen's are the first to reorganize as a congregation and elect a vestry.

Differences over the role of gays and lesbians in church leadership and the authority of the Bible have prompted some congregations to pull out of the denomination.

"It's beyond belief when the Episcopal Church cannot confirm that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven," said Ward LeHardy, a member of the vestry of St. Stephen's Church (Anglican). the rest