From ENS-
Two Episcopal Church dioceses, Virginia and Pittsburgh, continue to make progress in settling disputes over property.
The Diocese of Virginia announced a settlement with Church of Our Saviour, Oatlands, following a Feb. 20 congregational vote in favor of the move. Our Saviour is one of nine congregations in which the majority of members and leaders left the Episcopal Church in 2006 and then sought to retain Episcopal church property.
According to the announcement the congregation will discontinue its efforts to keep the Oatlands church and immediately conclude all litigation regarding it. Our Saviour will lease the Oatlands church from the diocese for up to five years, and retain the parish funds it has on hand. It will use "a significant portion of those funds" for maintenance and much-needed repairs of the Oatlands church, the announcement said. The congregation will also retain several memorial items.
Church of Our Saviour will also "voluntarily disaffiliate" from any connection to the Convocation of Anglican Churches in North America (CANA), the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). In addition, Our Saviour has agreed that no bishop will visit the congregation without the permission of Virginia Bishop Shannon S. Johnston, the announcement said.
"It is truly heartening for us to come to an agreement," Johnston said in the announcement. "This settlement ensures that the legacy entrusted to the Episcopal Church continues, while providing a clear way forward for the Oatlands congregation."
Johnston added that the diocese is "grateful to the leadership of the Church of Our Saviour for engaging in these good-faith negotiations. It is my hope that other congregations in this litigation will consider the benefits of a similar approach."
Our Saviour's members were among those of 11 congregations of the Virginia diocese who broke away from the diocese and the Episcopal Church. In September 2008 the diocese and the Episcopal Church reached a legal settlement with two of the congregations, Potomac Falls Church in Potomac Falls and Christ the Redeemer Church in Chantilly, neither of which held any real property.
More here-
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80263_127221_ENG_HTM.htm
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