Va. church faces deadline to separate services

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A Virginia Beach church faces a Feb. 28 deadline to separate its blended Roman Catholic and Episcopal services.

The Diocese of Richmond says Roman Catholic Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo told the Church of the Holy Apostles congregation to bring its liturgical celebrations into conformity with the Roman Catholic Church.

Dilorenzo suggested other forms of worship, without the Eucharist, that would allow Catholic and Episcopal parishioners to worship together.

Parish leaders were told last November that allowing Catholics and non-Catholics to participate in a combined communion liturgy violated Roman Catholic norms.

The Rev. Michael Ferguson, the church's Episcopal priest, tells media outlets that there are issues that have to be worked out because some people have been worshipping together for years.