St Silas Church in the West End of Glasgow voted in June to discontinue its status as a licensed private chapel within the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC).
After a process of consultation and prayer, a members’ vote was held and an emphatic majority of 86% (132 people) voted to leave.
The Rector, Martin Ayers, said: ‘We welcome anyone and everyone to spend time with us and discover how Jesus answers the big questions of life.’ The church has a congregation of 225 on average each Sunday, making it one of the largest churches in the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway.
The church made the following statement: ‘Recent decisions of the SEC have made clear to us that the denomination does not regard the Bible as the authoritative word of God. With deep sadness, we have therefore decided that for reasons of integrity we can no longer continue as part of the SEC. We want to leave with goodwill towards those with whom we are parting company, and sincerely pray for God’s blessing and renewal for the SEC in the future.’
St Silas Church now says it will accept the offer of alternative oversight and fellowship from evangelical Anglican archbishops who lead GAFCON.
