From Episcopal Life Online-
Some 700 members of a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina have voted to leave the Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Steve Wood, rector of St. Andrew's Church in Mount Pleasant, said in a letter to the congregation, titled "The Time Has Come for Our Departure," that members of the vestry decided early on the morning of March 28 "to withdraw from and sever all ties with the Episcopal Church in the United States and to transfer its canonical residence to the Anglican Church in North America or another province of the worldwide Anglican Communion…"
The parish held a special meeting later that day during which 703 members, a majority of the 722 who cast ballots, voted to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church. Those voting also passed two related resolutions by similarly wide margins.
South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence said in a March 30 letter to the diocese that he was "saddened" but "not surprised" by the news.
"As bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, I receive almost daily letters and emails from people across this church suggesting that our stance gives them encouragement to remain and persevere within the Episcopal Church," Lawrence wrote. "Yet here at home we could not hold one of our strongest congregations. The departure of the Episcopal Church from the way of Christ and the biblically rooted teachings of the church has become too discordant for them to tolerate any longer."
Lawrence said he hoped "many among us will look for ways to continue our mutual ministry and relationships" and added that he would be discussing "the arrangements to be made for those within the congregation who wish to remain within the Diocese of South Carolina and the Episcopal Church" with Wood and the St. Andrew's and diocesan leadership.
More here-
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_121208_ENG_HTM.htm
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