More on Chuck Collins- From ELO-
The Rev. Charles Collins, rector of Christ Church in San Antonio in the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, has announced his intention to retire Sept. 1, 2010.
Collins, who had served nine years as rector of the 2,700-member congregation, said in a May 19 letter to parishioners that he made the decision "to take early retirement … because of a crisis of conscience."
He cited disagreement with the direction of "the Episcopal Church [which] … has moved further and further away from the Gospel to which I committed my life and I have concluded that there is no future for me in this spiritual environment."
Collins said his ministry at Christ Church has been the most spiritually demanding and fulfilling years of his 29 years as an Episcopal priest. "This is the most difficult decision I have faced in [my] ministry."
He will begin a sabbatical June 1 and not return to the parish, he said during a May 26 telephone interview from his San Antonio office.
He said that the church has been in a two-and-a-half year process to "discern our future in the Episcopal Church" and has recognized that the congregation is divided among those who wish to remain in the Episcopal Church and those who intend to leave.
In an April 2010 note posted on the parish website, vestry members acknowledged that division and said they assume "those who stay in the Episcopal Church will continue as Christ Episcopal Church at the current property." It is uncertain where those who wish to leave will worship, the note concluded.
More here-
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_122501_ENG_HTM.htm
