St
Matthews Newsletter - March 2004
A History of St. Matthew's Anglican Church
This history of St. Matthew's
Anglican Church, authored by its rector, is being presented in The
Messenger at a time when our parish
stands on the brink of a major expansion, both in membership and
property.
It is hoped that the story of our past will give all parishioners,
old and new, a more complete knowledge and appreciation of the
hopes, dreams and sacrifices that brought us to this point in
time. And
with this realization, may we be inspired to add our hopes and
dreams, and yes, sacrifices if necessary, to those of our predecessors
who
have given us a firm foundation for the future.
St. Matthew's Anglican Parish was established in Riverview, Florida
on September 20, 1998, the date that services were first held
at its present location. However, that was by no means the actual
date of
its origin, since the parish evolved over a long period of time
under several different names. To fully appreciate our heritage,
we must
go back to the mid-1970's when the Episcopal Church began to formalize
various liturgical and doctrinal practices heretofore unknown
in
Anglicanism.
If you were an Episcopalian in those days, you no doubt remember
the series of trial liturgies which were introduced in parishes
throughout
the country, finally culminating in the Revised Book of Common
Prayer (1979).
If anyone wishes to explore in depth the alterations
to the Faith inherent in the Episcopal Church's revised prayer
book, he is invited to read
A Form of Godliness issued in 1978 by The Reverend Jerome F. Politzer,
an Episcopal priest. In this work, Fr. Politzer presents "An Analysis of the Changes in Doctrine and Discipline in the Proposed Book of
Common Prayer." Copies may be obtained upon request from the Church office.
Because of its length, the history of our parish will be presented
in two or more installments, the first of which begins below.
In 1976 the Triennial Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church
of the United States of America (PECUSA) adopted a series of radical
changes which altered the nature and the fundamental beliefs of that
church. Changes were made to the Book of Common Prayer and to the
requirements for admission to Holy Orders. The Book of Common Prayer,
rather than being revised as is permissible, was totally changed to
a new format which departed from the traditional practices of the
church. The Convention also allowed for women to be admitted to Holy
Orders for the first time in spite of there being no precedent for
this in Scripture or Tradition. The changes, while meant to modernize
the church and make it politically correct, alienated many of the
church's more conservative members.
In 1977 a group of Episcopalians known as the Fellowship of Concerned
Churchmen met in St. Louis to discuss the changes in PECUSA. Out of
this meeting a document known as the Affirmation of St. Louis was
drawn up to state their determination to affirm and to "continue" the
beliefs and practices promoted by traditional Anglican theology and
PECUSA prior to the 1970's. This document and the concerns of Episcopalians
who rejected the changes in PECUSA had little effect on the College
of Bishops who were determined to follow their course of modernization.
As a result of this, in 1978 traditional clergy and lay people met
in Denver to witness the consecration of four traditional Bishops
who would lead the way to form an alternative Anglican church for
those who could no longer remain in PECUSA. Later that year there
was a meeting in Dallas, Texas where the Anglican Catholic Church
was formed.
In December 1979 General E. J. McMullen, a resident of the Tampa area,
submitted his resignation to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Tampa.
He took this course of action in response to the actions of the 1979
PECUSA Convention which refused to bar homosexuals from the clergy.
He began to look for a way to continue the beliefs and practices of
PECUSA prior to the changes that had altered the church.
In 1980 General McMullen read an article in The Christian Challenge
about the formation of an Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) in Charleston,
South Carolina. He contacted Fr. Harvey, the Priest in charge of the
church in Charleston, and expressed his interest in such a church
as this. Fr. Harvey referred him to Bishop William J. Knutti in West
Palm Beach who made him aware of a traditional church developing in
Tarpon Springs known as St. Edward the Confessor. In the spring of
1980 General McMullen, his wife Margaret and his brother Bill began
to attend St. Edward's.
In February of 1981 Fr. R. G. Melli, the Deacon
in charge of St. Edward's, and General McMullen began to consider
the possibility
of establishing an ACC church in the Tampa area. An ad was placed
in the newspaper advertising a meeting at the Holiday Inn in downtown
Tampa for people interested in forming an ACC mission. On February
22, 1981 the first service of All Saints Anglican Mission was held
in the Board of Directors Room of the Family Service Assocation. (Parker
and Brorein Streets - opposite the present Tampa Tribune Building).
Deacon Melli officiated at the Deacon's Mass using consecrated elements
received from a church in Bradenton. Some of those present at this
meeting were Albert and Florence Thornton, William R. McMullen, Ernie
Morton, and General E. J. McMullen and his wife Margaret. Deacon Melli
was ordained to the priesthood in August 1981 and became the first
Rector of All Saints Anglican Mission.
All Saints Anglican Mission continued in Tampa at the Family Services
Building until the spring of 1982, when it moved to Stowers Funeral
Chapel, 12301 N. Florida Ave. In the late spring of 1982 the Mission
was incorporated and All Saints Anglican Church (Traditional Episcopal)
Inc. was chartered by the State of Florida. By that time, it had increased
in membership to 17.
In 1983 Fr. John Kress became the second Rector of All Saint's. Fr
Kress arrived in June, 1983 and went to work. Under his direction
the church soon grew to 30 members and started the process to buy
its own building. The first attempt to purchase a place to worship
failed due to opposition to the re-zoning of the property desired
on Cherokee Avenue which faced I-275.
In the summer of 1984 the church found a piece of property at the
corner of North Boulevard and West River Heights Avenue that was being
developed into a two-bedroom home. The church was able to get the
property re-zoned for a church and purchased it for $66,000. The building
was re-modeled into a church and by November of 1984 the construction
was complete and All Saints Church held its first service in the new
location.
In August of 1985 Fr. Kress resigned his position as the Rector of
the church to assist Bishop Williams in the work of the diocese. Bishop
Williams assigned Bishop Herman Nelson as Fr. Kress's successor. Bishop
Nelson's tenure was unsuccessful due to his "high
church" emphasis and his lack of control of the two teenage boys he had brought to the
church. By December of 1985 he was censured at the parish membership
meeting and departed from the church within 48 hours.
All Saints suffered a parish split in December of 1985 due to conflict
between "high" and "low" church
members. The "high"church faction kept the church's name and incorporation, while the "low" church faction kept the church building and re-incorporated as the Church of
the Advent on December 31, 1985.
By August of 1987 the church had changed its membership from the Anglican
Catholic Church to the American Episcopal Church (AEC). The people
who formed the AEC had left the Episcopal Church in 1970 as a result
of the way PECUSA handled the Bishop Pike Trials. Foreseeing the changes
coming to the Episcopal Church, they decided to form a separate church
to continue traditional Anglican beliefs and practices. The AEC had
a dynamic leadership and was more reasonable about differences in
churchmanship. (history to be continued in next month's newsletter)
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