“We are a parish. We are self-sustaining. We won’t ever quit.” So said Bill Fetsch, senior warden of Falls Church’s “Continuing Episcopalians,” a group of more than 100 who have been banned since December 2006 by defectors from access to their historic church property. Fetsch, in these comments to the News-Press Tuesday, was responding to the ruling last week by Judge Randy Bellows of the Fairfax Circuit Court declaring the 1867 Virginia “division statute,” allowing breakaway groups
within a congregation to claim church property, to be constitutional. While the ruling is not the final word on which group will ultimately get rights to the historic property, the defectors led by Rector John Yates who have occupied the property while realigning with the archconservative Bishop Akinola of Nigeria, or those in the congregation who voted not to defect and remain aligned with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. In October, Judge Bellows will review the third of three steps in the case, concerning the applicability of any language in deeds, or the local
congregation’s acceptance of the so-called Davies Canon in the Episcopal Church’s contractual laws which states that all church property shall be owned by the larger denomination. In that phase, the “Continuing Episcopalians” will also present evidence concerning alleged irregularities in the conduct of the December 2006 vote, when a large majority of the Falls Church congregation followed Yates’ lead and voted to defect. There are reportedly questions, among other things, about who was and who was not allowed Continued on Page 4
There were smiles all the way around among the over 60 in attendance during a City Hall reception and during formal swearing in ceremonies, but they quickly dissipated when the newly-configured Falls Church City Council cast its first vote Tuesday, and dissent arose in the re-election of Mayor Robin Gardner and election of Vice Mayor Hal Lippman. Newcomers Nader Baroukh and Lawrence Webb were joined by Incumbent Mayor Gardner, all winners in May’s municipal election in Falls Church, to pledge their oath to office, led by City Clerk Kathleen Buschow at the outset of Tuesday’s specially-convened Council meeting, launching for all new four-year terms. Once seated among their four existing Council colleagues, they undertook their first order of business at the brief meeting, the election of a new mayor and vice mayor. Gardner’s name was placed in nomination by Webb, and seconded by Lippman. There were no other nominations. When Clerk Buschow proceeded with the roll call vote on the nomination of Gardner, and being that Baroukh was seated at the end of the dais closest to her, his name was called first. “Present,” Baroukh said. Buschow thought he’d misunderstood and clarified that he was being asked to vote for Gardner as mayor. “Present,” he said again. As it became clear he intended to withhold his vote, the festive mood in the full house noticeably shifted to Continued on Page 8