New Mexico parish leaves Episcopal diocese, their assets in gay debate

A former pastor and his congregation, who personally paid for land, the building of their church in Cloudcroft and its furnishings, have lost it all to the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, based in Albuquerque. While the former congregation of the Church of the Ascension feels they were somewhat wronged by the diocese, the canon, or church law, is written to legally retain all tangible assets with the national Episcopal Church. Under the church law, the national church allows each individual church to hold property as stewards of its diocese.