Tiny church perseveres
A breakaway group is conservative about everything but growth.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
Published August 15, 2007

Ten years ago, a small group of disenchanted Episcopalians decided to leave their St. Petersburg church to join a conservative breakaway group.

This month, their St. Philip's Anglican Church marked its 10th anniversary with a cruise and religious service on Tampa Bay and dinner at the Pier. For the tiny parish, where Sunday attendance hovers around 28, it was a celebration of survival despite sluggish growth and an aging membership.

It has also been a time to look forward. Congregation leaders think growth will be found north of St. Petersburg and are searching for new quarters in Pinellas Park or beyond.

Global issues also are in play. The Episcopal Church, which many St. Philip's members left, is in turmoil over the recognition and inclusion of openly gay people. Entire congregations have left the denomination, which also is facing a showdown over the issue with the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part. the rest