More than 3,000 Episcopalians came together in Woodbridge, Va., on Jan. 9-10 for praise, worship and to hear a plea to stay and work for reform and renewal from within the church. Named “Plano East” after a mass meeting of clergy and church leaders held in Dallas last October, the meeting at the Hylton Memorial Chapel was organized by the Washington and Virginia chapters of the American Anglican Council (AAC).

Some participants described the meeting with its emphasis on biblically centered praise and worship as an old-fashioned tent revival meeting. Bruce Mason, an AAC spokesperson, said participants came from 47 dioceses located in 25 states and exceeded the October meeting.

“We are here for solid biblical teaching, for fellowship and mutual encouragement,” said the Rev. John Guernsey, rector of All Saints’, Woodbridge, Va., in his opening address. “We are not here because of what we are against, but of what we are for — the transforming love of Jesus Christ.”