Priest leaving Episcopal Church in New Haven to follow evangelical calling

Sunday, June 27, 2010
By Ed Stannard, Register Metro Editor

NEW HAVEN — For the Rev. Geoffrey Little and his wife, Blanca, it’s time to leave one spiritual home and build a new one.

Today will be the Littles’ last day at St. James Episcopal Church on East Grand Avenue, but they’ll continue to serve the Latino community in Fair Haven and Fair Haven Heights.

This week, they’ll open a new evangelical parish, worshiping in a banquet hall at 229 Grand Ave.

Blanca Little, who has run St. James Christian Academy, will open a new school in the fall, running it out of their home on Lenox Street.

“We’re going to open a new church in Fair Haven,” Geoff Little said. “It’s going to be called All Nations Christian Church and it’s going to be associated with the new Anglican Church of North America.”
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Letter from Bp Ian Douglas to Connecticut Diocese:

Dear sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Connecticut:

On June 24th I received a letter from the Rev. Geoffrey A. Little
resigning as Priest-in-Charge of St. James' Church and Church of
the Ascension in New Haven. Geoff has also resigned his orders
in The Episcopal Church.

I have met and talked with Geoff about his decision to leave
The Episcopal Church. Linked here is a statement that Geoff
and I have jointly authored giving further details about his
departure.

While I respect Geoff's decision and accept his resignation, I am
deeply saddened by this turn of events. Geoff has been a good
and faithful priest in the Diocese of Connecticut for close to two
decades. His departure will leave us diminished in our witness
to the Gospel and service to God's mission, particularly among
Spanish-speaking people in New Haven. Geoff is a man of great
integrity who has a profound commitment to discipling all
people, and a passion for mission. I will miss him as a priest of
this Diocese.

There are no immediate plans to change the witness of the
Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut at St. James' and Ascension in
New Haven. The future of these churches will be part of a
larger discernment, led by Bishop Ahrens, about how The
Episcopal Church will continue to serve God's mission in New
Haven. Please keep Geoff, his wife Blanca, the people of St.
James' and Ascension, and the Diocese of Connecticut in your
prayers during this transition.

Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut