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Press Release: Anglican Church Finds “No Room at the Inn” in Baltimore
December 30, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Cynthia P. Brust
202-412-8721

Church of the Resurrection, an Anglican start-up church in Baltimore, Md., has found that there may be “no room at the inn” for them this Christmas season. In November, the congregation entered a “gentleman’s agreement” with Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church to rent worship space for a two-month “trial period” beginning on Christmas Eve. On December 22, the Rev. Eliot Winks, rector of Resurrection, and Patrick Cunningham, a lay leader in the church, were informed that the congregation could only use the facility for three weeks. In addition, they learned that bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland had pressured their Presbyterian counterpart, Executive Presbyter the Rev. Peter Nord, to deny use of the church. Nord instructed the Brown leadership to cancel the agreement.

Church of the Resurrection leaders informed their members of the decision in a December 26 newsletter, which detailed the chain of events: “In further conversation, it was revealed that all of this runaround resulted from a conversation or conversations between their Executive Presbyter Peter Nord and the Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland, John Rabb. We firmly believe that Brown Memorial Woodbrook acted in good faith and are saddened that they were pushed into this untenable position. We thank them for doing their best to take us in.”

Organized last spring, Church of the Resurrection is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Rt. Rev. Frank Lyons, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bolivia, ordained Fr. Winks on behalf of the Bishop of Chile at a service in Pittsburgh, Pa., November 12, 2005. Fr. Winks is a priest in good standing in that Anglican diocese.

The Rt. Rev. Robert Ilhoff, Bishop of Maryland, has dismissed Fr. Winks and the new Anglican congregation in denigrating terms in a letter to diocesan clergy: “He [Fr. Winks] will serve a small group of former-Episcopalians who have left St. John's Church, Glyndon, now meeting in a private home and calling themselves The Church of the Resurrection, Baltimore County. Since this may be in newspapers, you should be aware that Church of the Resurrection is not an Episcopal congregation (nor even a proper Anglican one) and has no relationship with this Diocese.”

Church of the Resurrection’s newsletter expresses sadness and frustration at the loss of their worship space, but the leadership remains focused on future mission and ministry. “This new roadblock will only make Church of the Resurrection stronger. As long as we remain faithful to our Lord, he will never desert us and we will continue to grow through His grace,” the article states.

The newsletter also highlights the apparent intent of the Episcopal bishops of Maryland to undermine a Christian Church that is equally a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion through the diocese of Chile and the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone: “We ask that all of you pray for the misguided men in power who for some reason see us as a threat. Why would they attempt to bring the full weight of their temporal power, authority, and influence to hurt us? We left ECUSA in peace. We have never spoken ill of our former parishes, the Diocese of Maryland, or ECUSA. They are in our past and when we have looked back, it has only been to pray for those that we left behind. We have no interest in tearing anything down, but rather building something new,” the newsletter reads.

The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, President and CEO of the American Anglican Council (AAC), noted that similar hostile actions by revisionist bishops are occurring across the nation.

“Does it not seem inconsistent and hypocritical that those in ECUSA who champion diversity and inclusivity are the very individuals who aggressively attack Biblically faithful congregations?” said Canon Anderson. “Apparently, Bishop Ilhoff has interfered with a verbal agreement between Brown Church and Church of the Resurrection – an Anglican congregation that simply sought to worship and proclaim Christ in Baltimore. He has not only deliberately harmed the people of Resurrection Church in a mean-spirited way, but he has also challenged the authority of the Bishop of Chile. Left unanswered in all of this is, what are the Episcopal bishops of Maryland afraid of?”

Church of the Resurrection is currently searching for another facility for their worship services. Church leadership remains confident that the church will continue to grow and thrive as the congregation seeks to serve Christ as Anglicans committed to the apostolic faith. For more information on Church of the Resurrection, see their website at http://www.resurrectionbaltimore.org/.

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ATTACHMENTS: (view here on the AAC website)
(1) Church of the Resurrection Newsletter
(2) Letter from Bishop Ilhoff to Diocesan Clergy