Dio. of PA: Good Shepherd: Fighting For Orthodox Anglicanism

By Arthur Waldron, For The Bulletin
Friday, March 13, 2009

In what will be a heartbreak for its parishioners and clergy alike, the landmark Church of the Good Shepherd, which has stood since 1894 just south of Lancaster Pike and now across from Rosemont Plaza shopping center, could be closed within the next few months as the result of a lawsuit brought by the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Good Shepherd attempted to negotiate the differences between itself and the Diocese, but the Diocese and the national Church would prefer to see an empty building, i.e. St. James the Less in East Falls. Indeed, Mrs. Katherine Schori, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, has testified that she would prefer to see an Episcopal church converted to a saloon rather than be used as an orthodox Anglican church. With other Episcopal churches in the Diocese losing members, the Diocese knows that an empty building will result from their “successes” in the litigation.

The saga of Good Shepherd is both deep Main Line and part of a drama now being played out in the worldwide Anglican Communion, which looks to the Archbishop of Canterbury as its head. the rest