Not as magnificent as some of the works we see, but lovely nevertheless:
Douglas A. Kerr:
Sign at All Saints' Episcopal Church, Weatherford, Texas, USA, 2009
Now, the irony is that this is not an Episcopal church (with a capital "E"); that is, it is not part of The Episcopal Church, which is of course the manifestation of The Anglican Church in the United States.
Why? Because in 2008 this parish church, with many of the other parish churches in The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Texas), detached from The Episcopal Church and affiliated instead with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, the manifestation of The Anglican Communion in the southern part of South America.
The "reasons" for this are beyond the scope of this note, but essentially this action was propelled by a camp that believed that the Episcopal Church overall had "broken away from the guidance of the Bible." As just one example, The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire had elected as their bishop an open homosexual, which, as was required by the national church "bylaws", had been ratified by the requisite number of Episcopal dioceses across the U.S. Is nothing sacred (we might add, "for God's sake")?
So how does The Episcopal Church allow this parish church to advertise itself as "All Saints'
Episcopal Church"? Well, as justification, the camp that led the secession points out that this church is still part of an organization led by a bishop (not a bishop of The Episcopal Church, of course, but a bishop nevertheless), and that "episcopal" means "led by a bishop". And of course The Episcopal Church had never, for example, applied for trademark registration for the name "Episcopal Church". (I mean, "who would have ever thought. . .") And the matter is still in litigation.
But it's a helluva nice sign (for God's sake).
Best regards,
Doug