It's a bright, bold message and full of hope for the future from a congregation that three years ago was uncertain it could keep the doors open in the aftermath of the 2003 General Convention.
Like dioceses across the Episcopal Church, Southern Ohio had people on both sides of the issue, some who lauded the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as bishop of New Hampshire, while others derided the decision. But for two of Southern Ohio's 83 congregations, the 2003 General Convention prompted a significant rupture, and at times, the faithful remnants wondered about the future of their struggling churches.

Today, both of the congregations – St. Christopher's, Fairborn, and St. Paul's, Chillicothe – are moving forward, launching new ministries and attracting new members.

"The problems we had made us a stronger church," said Judy Brainard, who stepped up to serve as junior warden at St. Christopher's after about a third of her congregation left. "It made a lot of us think about what it meant to stay in the church, about what it meant to be an Episcopalian. We had to really figure out what we thought about the issues – for ourselves and not what everyone was trying to tell us. It's caused many of us to have a deeper, stronger faith."

Dreams delayed

The people of St. Christopher's were talking with architects and dreaming of a new building in the spring of 2003. Located in a military community near Wright Patterson Air Force Base, St. Christopher's was looking to grow and to reach out into the community. In the months after General Convention, fractious groups held secret meetings at the church. Vestry members and other church leaders left keys on the pews or in Sunday School rooms as a sign of their resignation.

"It was horribly, horribly destructive," said the Rev. Ruth Paulus, who became priest-in-charge of the congregation in 2005. "People here feel it's OK to disagree. That's fine. We're not all cookie cutters of each other, but it's how they disagreed. It was not done with Christian love here."
Longtime friends parted ways. Godparents stayed at St. Christopher's, while godchildren left, and vice versa.

Brainard had served on the vestry before but didn't plan on serving again – until the split.
"My very good friend, Debbie Snavely, and I got angry about this, and we got motivated. We decided that we were not going to let this church fail. We were going to pitch in and make it work," Brainard said. "It got us off our pews and got us moving."

Brainard and others credit the rector at the time, the Rev. Joanne Stearns, for navigating the congregation through the storm with grace and compassion. When Stearns retired in January 2005, the Rev. Gerald Collins served as interim and further helped the healing process.
Paulus became priest-in-charge after her ordination last summer.

"The people here are resilient," she said. "They love one another. They love the church. They really love the diversity of what the church offers – that we're a place that allows people to disagree and still come together in unity for worship … We have the healthy of the healthy. The faithful remnant here really wants this church to succeed."

Attendance today is about 70 people and edging toward its 2003 average of 90. Participation was high in a Lenten study and during a recent series on what it means to be an Episcopalian, and they're holding a Vacation Bible School this summer for the first time in several years. 
"A lot of good things are happening here," said Buckley, who came to the church as a newcomer in 2004. "I think the spirit's really here. Despite some of the other people leaving, St. Christopher's is a growing, exciting place to be."

St. Paul's: a new spirit

A year after General Convention, the rector of St. Paul's, Chillicothe, all but one member of the vestry, and about half of the church membership left to form a splinter congregation in the same community.

"It was a terrible time for us," said Dr. Joe McKell, the only member of the vestry to stay at St. Paul's. He became senior warden. "We had longtime friends who left … but with the help of the diocese, we're coming back very nicely."

After the split, Southern Ohio's bishop at the time, Bishop Herbert Thompson Jr., called upon the diocese to attend a special service of support and unity at St. Paul's. More than 300 packed the historic church building, and a new spirit rose from the rafters.

"That service gave us a tremendous boost and spirit that we really needed," McKell said. "We realized that there was a lot of support for us."

The diocese called upon the Rev. Jack Bowers, a retired priest, and the Rev. Canon Walt Mycoff, canon for ministry, to share supply clergy and pastoral duties at St. Paul's. In the past two years, the church has re-established a Sunday School program, increased membership in the choir and launched a new website. They held a Vacation Bible School last summer – for the first time anyone could remember – and one family joined the church as a result.

They're not quite back to their 2003 attendance of 70, but attendance is about 45 on Sundays, up from 15 or so right after the split. In July, a newly ordained priest, the Rev. Kiah Webster, will begin serving at St. Paul's. Webster is in her 20s and a new mom.
The congregation is excited about having a young priest with lots of enthusiasm.
"From being really discouraged, there's a spirit of encouragement and looking toward the future," said Mycoff. "They're ready to move forward instead of just looking back."

There's a bit of anxiety about this year's General Convention, but six people from St. Paul's have signed up to volunteer.

In the small county seat of Chillicothe, McKell still runs into many of the former parishioners of St. Paul's. Some were – and still are – good friends. Others are patients at his medical practice.

 "They felt very strongly about things that were going on in the Episcopal Church. And I have to say that I don't like some of it myself," McKell said. "But St. Paul's is my church, and I wasn't willing to leave it, even if I disapproved of some of the actions of the national church. Some people at St. Paul's feel the way I do, and for others, the issue isn't a big deal. But that (issue) is not the focus of our church. I think we've made a significant turnaround, and I think we'll be alright … We really have seen some miracles here. It's amazing what has happened."