Frank Limehouse, former rector of Parish Church of St. Helena, speaks out against changes in Episcopal Church
Episcopal church rectors take stand against modernism
Frank Limehouse, former rector of the Parish Church of St. Helena, Beaufort, and now the dean of The Cathedral Church of the Advent, Birmingham, Alabama, has joined a rising chorus of Episcopal clergy members who are angling away from the denomination’s increasingly liberal trends.
In a letter to the editor of the Birmingham newspaper on July 21, Limehouse and Richmond Webster, a fellow rector of another Episcopal church in Birmingham, St. Luke’s, spoke out. Their letter reflects a growing trend in the Episcopal Church by clergy members to take leadership positions against the church’s recent General Convention.
Limehouse’s successor at St. Helena in Beaufort, Jeffrey Miller, wrote a similar statement on July 24 that was joined by entire clergy staff and vestries of St. Helena and two other Episcopal churches in Beaufort county, The Church of the Cross, Bluffton, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island.
Here is Frank Limehouse’s letter:
We believe the Episcopal Church, at its most recent General Convention concluded on July 17, has departed from the teachings of historic Christianity and the consistent teaching of Holy Scripture by redefining marriage as a covenant between two committed persons regardless of gender and by opening its ordained ministry to practicing homosexuals. These actions will “tear the fabric of the Anglican Communion at its deepest level” and distance Episcopal congregations from the larger body of Christ.
Though we deeply sympathize with those who may wrestle with issues of human sexuality, and though we sincerely believe we are all equally sinful before God, we must disavow the General Convention’s actions. We remain convinced the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman as defined in Holy Scripture is the standard set forth by God. Likewise, we believe the ordained ministry is to be confined to those who submit and adhere to this standard.
As Christian ministers in Birmingham, we pledge to do our part in sharing the word of God and the Christian hope to the world around us. We promise to continually repent of our own sins and invite any and all, regardless of sexual orientation, to join us in the worship of God the Father, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit who lifts us from our human condition and sets us free.
We can be better people, in and through Christ. This is our mission, and we will not be distracted.
Frank Limehouse III
Dean, The Cathedral
Church of the AdventRichmond Webster
Rector, Saint Luke’s
Episcopal Church
Birmingham
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