Irreconcilable differences

Episcopal split remains bitter
By MARK BARNA
THE GAZETTE
March 15, 2008

It's said that time heals all wounds. But a year after a nasty divorce between two factions of Grace Church in Colorado Springs, the wounds remain tender.

And questions that cropped up around the split remain unanswered:

Who has legal rights to the towering Gothic building at 601 N. Tejon St.? Is it the parish that stayed with the U.S. Episcopal Church and is now meeting at another worship center downtown?

Or is it the breakaway group that joined the Anglican Church of Nigeria and remains in the building?

Did the Rev. Donald Armstrong, leader of the breakaway group, misapply church money, as the state Episcopal Diocese alleges? Or is he - as he says - a victim of a "witch hunt" launched by the diocese because of his outspoken opposition to the national church's decisions?

Answers seem to lie in pending lawsuits and a police investigation, which means they could be months, if not years, away.

Yet one thing is clear: With both parishes saying they're thriving, a reconciliation is unlikely.

It’s all here …