It’s been a long time since I stepped into The Falls Church, a historic edifice in the middle of the northern Virginia city of Falls Church, where I lived for 12 years. It’s a spacious, lovely place, with a circular seating arrangement for a large congregation.
Next door is what they call the “historic church,” a much smaller brick building that dates back to 1769. At one time, George Washington was on the vestry. In Beltway culture, this is really important.
It was a major center for the conservative wing of the Diocese of Virginia, the nation’s largest Episcopal diocese back in the first decade of this century,. Then, in December 2006, 11 parishes or missions announced they were leaving for for orthodox theological pastures. The 2003 election of the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson as the denomination’s first gay bishop was the beginning of the end for these folks, after decades of tensions on other doctrinal issues.
The legal battle over these historic properties lasted for years and the conservatives basically lost everything, including the crown jewel of them all — The Falls Church building. That is the background for Robinson’s recent visit to the church, which is kingdoms apart from what it once was. Whereas it was crowded to the gills on Sundays, the sanctuary is barely one-quarter full and rector (senior pastor) is a gay man, a possibility that would have horrified its former parishioners.
Robinson’s visit was covered by a conservative mainline Protestant website and by a Washington Post reporter. Guess which report had the most information and insights into the status of the current congregation? Juicy Ecumenism posted a piece by Jeffrey Walton, headlined “Gene Robinson Takes Victory Lap at Falls Church Episcopal” — filled with insider knowledge. I’ll begin with Robinson’s reactions.
He also highlighted gratitude for an invitation to speak at a parish that had prominently opposed his election and consecration.
“Words fail me when I try to describe to you what an honor it is to be here,” Robinson exclaimed. “When I got this invitation from [TFCE Rector] Burl [Salmon] I could hardly believe my ears and all day yesterday. When I was here, I just kept pinching myself: ‘you’re actually at the Falls Church in Virginia, oh my God.’”
Robinson would have never been allowed inside the doors of the former parish, which had 2,000 members at that time. But that was then. Back the alternative website report:
Robinson processed on Sunday morning past rows of empty pews in a sanctuary built to seat 800 for what was once among the most-attended parishes in the Episcopal Church. …
Robinson additionally spoke at a forum the morning of Saturday, October 29, recounting his experience as the first openly partnered gay man elected to be a bishop in the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. A Washington Post reporter dutifully provided coverage of the Saturday forum but struggled to find a newsworthy angle as “Bishop Gene Robinson stood before dozens” recounting events now nearly two decades past.
Robinson and his husband divorced in 2014. The denomination has shrunk from a high of 3.6 million adherents in the mid-1960s to 1.5 million today, with attendance having plummeted to 458,179 in 2020. In Robinson’s New Hampshire diocese alone, he witnessed a nearly 20 percent drop in membership during his nine-year tenure — outpacing the church’s national decline.
Turning to this Post piece, one first notices there are no photos of Robinson’s visit. Everything used is from the files.
Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson stood before dozens of captivated listeners Saturday in a Falls Church worship space to share his personal history as the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop. It marked the first time Robinson had visited the 300-year-old church after his consecration led to the Falls Church institution splitting in two over it…
On Saturday, the Rev. Burl Salmon of The Falls Church, 51, who is openly gay, introduced Robinson.
“Your presence among us on this day is history,” he said. “It’s remarkable.”
Basically Robinson told his life story; the reporter interviewed one college student who attended and Salmon himself. It’s basically your typical quick-and-dirty Saturday assignment: Cover the speaker, throw in some bio, interview a bystander and the organizer, drive to one of several Starbucks near the church, type up the story, send it to an editor and call it a day.
But she didn’t get a quote from anyone originally associated with the church, which would have been easy to do, as the bulk of the parish has moved up the street and established itself as The Falls Church Anglican, which is huge and thriving. Instead we read:
Robinson isn’t as top of mind as he was among congregants nearly 20 years ago, though many know who he is, Salmon said in an interview. Most of the members of the church now are not the same members who made the choice to split in 2006, he said.
For the small number of original members, Robinson’s return offered a sense of closure for those who still carry the pain of the split many years later.
But we don’t really know that, do we? Most of the original members lost everything and had to rebuild a new church from scratch, as I wrote about back in 2019. Glancing at one of their annual report, I see they still have a $23.4 million debt to pay off.
According to Walton’s report, the new leaders of their former church seem to have taken a perverse pleasure in destroying everything The Falls Church once stood for.
The congregation hosted the first ordination service of an openly gay priest by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in 2012 and in 2014 the blessing of a same-sex union. In 2020, the congregation welcomed its first priest in a same-sex marriage to serve as an associate rector, and in 2021 called its first rector in a same-sex marriage. All current clergy at TFCE identify as gay, and Salmon has sought to form an LGBTQ outreach called the Queer Faithful. Progress flags (a variation of the pride flag) have been placed on the parish signage alongside the Black Lives Matter logo. Salmon serves as chair of the Clergy Advocacy Board of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
I think the Post reporter could have gotten some really salty quotes from former parishioners about Robinson’s visit. It would have taken some digging, because the reconstituted Falls Church/Anglican is doing well and probably isn’t looking back much. By the way, how is the smaller parish the won the giant complex doing in terms of attendance and finances? Do they plan to sell off some of the super-valuable property?
When you’ve got what feels like a boring Saturday assignment, it’s tempting not to look too far below the surface. But then you only get half of the story and sometimes, what appears in print isn’t always the half that counts.
FIRST IMAGE: Photo of Bishop Gene Robinson courtesy of Episcopal News Service.