Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the five western counties of Massachusetts. Formed from a division of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, it was officially recognized at the organizing convention of November 10, 1901. At a special meeting on January 22, 1902, Alexander Hamilton Vinton, Rector of All Saints Church in Worcester, Massachusetts. was elected first diocesan bishop. The first two Anglican parishes in what would become the diocese were started in Great Barrington in 1762 and Lanesborough in 1767 on
United Episcopal Church of North America Common Prayer is permitted. The changes in the mainline denominations that it and other continuing churches object to include the acceptance of lax policies on the authority of Scripture, divorce, abortion, the ordination of women, and changes to the theology of the Book of Common Prayer. They also object to more recent innovations such as the ordination of openly homosexual clergy, but these were not at issue when they broke with the Episcopal Church. The origins of the United Episcopal Church of North America lie with the Congress of St. Louis in September 1977, and with Charles D. D. Doren,