'Redoing church'
Congregations find new way to connect to God
By Jean Gordon
October 13, 2007

RAYMOND — A framed document hangs in a dining room-turned sanctuary on the outskirts of this tiny central Mississippi city that reads, "Diocese of Thika, the Anglican Church of Kenya."
The certificate shows who has authority over the two-month-old congregation, called St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church.

"We gave them what I call 'the kiss of peace goodbye,' " said St. Michael's priest the Rev. Linda Berry about her break from the Episcopal Church U.S.A. "Our main focus is on what we're doing now, which is redoing church."

Berry is part of a national movement of former Episcopalians and other believers aligning their congregations with conservative Anglican churches in Africa. Those seeking African oversight say they've become disillusioned with what they consider to be an increasingly secular drift in the Episcopal Church U.S.A.

And while church leaders battle over theological issues, many worshippers are seeking the African-affiliated Anglican churches for wholly different reasons.

"I grew up with a blend of Methodist and Catholic," said Katie Emory, a Crystal Springs homemaker who attends St. Michael's. "To me this is a blend of the two." the rest