Congregations try to heal after trauma of breakup

Political disagreement drove most of the members of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Westerville to follow their pastor out of the church they had known for decades.
Friday, June 13, 2008
By Meredith Heagney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Judy Carlos donated the cross that sits at the altar of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in memory of her mother.

Jan Zacharias, a 21-year member, had her son baptized at the Westerville church. It's also where she watched her daughter walk down the aisle on her wedding day. And on March 30, her mother-in-law's funeral was held there.

The church was important to Carlos and Zacharias. It wasn't easy to admit they no longer belonged there.

Late last year, more than two-thirds of the church's 500-plus members followed their pastor, the Rev. Ron Baird, and seceded from the Episcopal Church. the rest