A leading Anglican parish in suburban Washington, D.C. is under new leadership for the second time in a year. The latest change follows an investigation into allegations of sexual impropriety.
Truro Anglican Church interim Rector Tim Mayfield was asked to resign by the Senior Warden of the historic Fairfax, Virginia church in what was presented as the best way forward for the parish. The resignation follows the results of an investigation which concluded that two allegations of past misconduct were “credible” but did not render a verdict on the veracity of those claims. Two women within the Truro congregation first reported one year ago unwanted, inappropriate touching that occurred four years prior. That information only became known recently to the congregation, which knew Mayfield was under investigation but not for what cause.
The women did not pursue legal or civil action and did not ask for or receive financial compensation from the church.
“What Truro has experienced has been heartbreaking for everyone,” Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic Bishop John Guernsey wrote in a statement made available to IRD. “The Vestry held a lengthy congregational meeting on Sunday [August 8] and responded thoughtfully to every question. Canon Mary Hays has been appointed by the Vestry to be priest-in-charge and I am delighted by that call. She is a wise and experienced priest with a deep love for Truro, having served on staff there in the 1980s. She has been helpful to many churches going through significant transitions and I know she will be a blessing to Truro in this role.”
Mayfield strongly contested the allegations. As interim rector, he served on an at-will basis in a clergy leadership position that he assumed not long after former Truro Rector Tory Baucum departed the parish in November 2020. Baucum stated that he was to be received into the Roman Catholic Church.
Baucum himself had been subject to an investigation of tension with staff. Multiple church personnel charged that the former rector was “abusive,” “intimidating,” “coarse,” “vulgar” and “unpredictable.” The sudden departure was high profile enough that it drew coverage from The Washington Post.
A parish “Recovery and Transition Team” was active in 2020 with the goal of helping Truro “become a more godly, healthier congregation” as a church that had experienced crisis. In an end-of-year update at the conclusion of 2020, the team wrote that through meetings and interactions, Truro parishioners “shared both their griefs and their hope-filled perspectives about how they understood God to be leading us.”
In contrast with Baucum, Mayfield was more widely regarded positively. Three vestry members took issue with the decision to seek his resignation, stepping down from the parish leadership.
Truro is the second-largest congregation by membership and attendance in the ACNA Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic, and was prominent in the Anglican realignment of the mid-2000s. Data provided by the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic reports Truro Church’s total Average Principle Sunday Attendance in 2019 to be 793 persons. Total membership at the conclusion of 2019 was 910.
I reached out to Truro staff earlier this week and spoke with a communications volunteer designated by the Truro vestry to field inquiries. Truro laity confirm that a verbal announcement was read aloud to the congregation during a lengthy parish meeting but that no written or public statement was released.
Comment by Jeff on August 12, 2021 at 9:32 am
This stinks to high heaven! It’s so typical of today’s #metoo movement and cancel culture.
“…an investigation which concluded that two allegations of past misconduct were “credible” but did not render a verdict on the veracity of those claims”
Oh yes it DID render a verdict! It deprived a man of his job and tainted his reputation forever.
“Mayfield strongly contested the allegations. …Mayfield was more widely regarded positively. Three vestry members took issue with the decision to seek his resignation”
Why is that important information buried so deeply in your article, Mr. Walton? In particular, the fact that Mayfield strongly denies the accusations should be in paragraph 1! Does the accused not have a voice in your court of public opinion?
Comment by Southern Rican on August 12, 2021 at 9:42 am
Why aren’t I surprised that this was part of the Anglican Church in North America. They are simply the Episcopal Church lite
Comment by Ralph Davis on August 12, 2021 at 4:05 pm
If I were Rev. Mayfield I’d definitely demand justice from the bishop. For a parish to fire a priest on the basis of unverified, many-years-old allegations–(from a divided Vestry, no less) just is not right.
Comment by Katherine on August 12, 2021 at 8:44 pm
There certainly doesn’t seem to be much “due process” in this. The Rev. Mayfield disputes the charges, and an investigation found no solid proof, as three Vestry members seemed to feel, since they supported him. Who will want to become the rector of this parish if this is how they treat clergy?
This parish was sort of half-in TEC and half-out for years, so if it’s “TEC Lite” that may be to some degree intentional.
Comment by Jeffrey Walton on August 13, 2021 at 10:19 am
Katherine, no person I’ve spoken with at Truro across the years has indicated any interest in being “half-in TEC”. There seems to be a widespread impression outside of our diocese that Truro was one step back into TEC, and nothing I’ve encountered supports that. Truro has had more than its share of challenges in the past decade, but there was no discussion of re-joining TEC (and if you’re thinking of Tory Baucum’s friendship with now-retired Bishop Shannon Johnston, remember that Baucum departed for Rome, not for 815 Second Ave).
Comment by Eric B on August 13, 2021 at 11:25 am
What I find interesting is that the church has never responded to the allegations of sexually predatory behavior by a former priest via persons being served at the Lamb Center. And yes, those concerns have been sent directly to the vestry.
Comment by Katherine on August 13, 2021 at 12:42 pm
Thank you for the correction, Jeffrey Walton. Perhaps I was thinking of the early years when Virginia churches left TEC, were sued for their properties, and lost, while Truro managed some sort of accommodation which allowed it to keep the church buildings.
Comment by Chip on August 13, 2021 at 5:08 pm
I’ll just affirm what Jeff said as a 25-year-plus parishioner at Truro, and as someone who has been involved in Truro leadership at times: There never has been consideration of Truro returning to TEC. In fact, while some people (particularly outside of the congregation) feared that the Rev. Dr. Tory Baucum would lead Truro back into TEC, others feared that he would lead Truro into the Roman Catholic Church. Neither fear should have been of serious concern. Baucum instead was very ecumenical in a missional sense, partnering with Baptists and Roman Catholics in particular on issues such as marriage and the family. Truro, for example, adopted a small-group model from Roman Catholics in Italy, and that partnership led to Baucum being invited to speak at the Roman Catholic Church’s 2015 World Council on Families (and a considerable number of Truro parishioners accompanied him that day). But Truro never had “one foot in TEC” after departing it, nor did it have one foot in the Roman Catholic Church.
Comment by Earl H Foote on August 16, 2021 at 11:32 pm
Perhaps this is unfair (oh, well, life is unfair!), but the ACNA is going to need to be ultra-squeaky clean in clergy conduct. Of course, every church orchard, so to speak, has some bad apples, and we have all sinned. Moreover, I am not in a position to say if the charges are valid or not. What is important to emphasize is that the whole reason for the split-off Anglican movement was to counter the “permissive” Episcopal Church. So, rightly or wrongly, the vestries and bishops need to ensure a VERY high standard of conduct for clergy. Otherwise, the logical question comes up, “Why did we bother leaving the Episcopal Church?”