Posted on 01/02/2008 7:55:42 PM PST by PAR35
-snip-
Except for eight parishes that were incorporated separately or existed before the diocese was formed, Bishop John-David Schofield, who led the schism, holds legal title to about 40 churches in the Central Valley diocese.
“We hold that there is no legal ownership of the property beyond the bishop (Schofield),” said Bill Gandenberger of the Fresno-based Diocese of San Joaquin. “The question about property will have to be solved by the courts if, and when, the Episcopal Church (USA) initiates actions.”
-snip-
The remaining churches that voted against the decision were St. Anne in Stockton and St. John the Baptist in Lodi.
St. John’s and St. Anne’s churches will continue to operate in practice under the authority of the national denomination, said Father Mark Hall of St. Anne.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at tracypress.com ...
A ‘shoe on the other foot’ ping as the liberals start to squirm.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15
I’m not really following the situation that closely, but apparently +Schofield is letting dissenting parishes go, in sharp contrast to the dioceses that toe 815’s line. This is confirmed in one of the comments to the article.
In the spirit of its founding nearly 500 years ago, when King Henry VIII cut ties with the Roman Catholic Church to annul a marriage he deemed inconvenient, Anglicans from 14 Central Valley counties that make up the Diocese of San Joaquin voted for the separation from Episcopal Church USA to protest the appointment of gay clergy and women in church leadership.
However, when we note which party is touting a loosening of marital/sexual norms in the present case, this comparison gets turned on it's head.
Schofield, who has isolated himself from the main Episcopal body, has a history of rallying against gay clergy and what he holds to be “non-literal” interpretations of the Bible.
Nice use of "scare quotes" there.
In the months leading up to the secession, Schofield’s archbishop, Katherine Jeffers Schori, wrote him letters urging him to communicate with other diocese and voice his dissent formally instead of marginalizing himself and rallying his own congregations against church higher-ups.
Oh, she's an ARCH-bishop now, is she? And oh how benevolent were her veiled threats of litigation!
“We’re in a vacuum right now. Schofield is claiming powers that were never intended him to have,” Hall said. “(Separation) is an illegal action because you can’t disassociate from a body that created you.”
I've said it before and I'll say it again: It's dishonest for them to keep calling themselves an "Episcopal" church, since they regard their "bishops" as no more than glorified administrators.
Hall said he believes the contentions about gay clergy Schofield raises are signs of “a slight bit of mental illness” and the decision to secede puts congregations like Hall’s in a “questionable legal status.”
Classy!
“It’s a classic schismatic action of someone who’s unstable, completely out of line (and) doomed for failure.”
With an attitude like this, you'd think this guy would be rushing to swim the Tiber. But I guess he's too busy "living into the tension" of his own cognitive dissonance.
Local parishes are teaching what Episcopalians have always taught, said Ganderberger — Biblical Christianity.
On a final note, I'm surprised that the author didn't put "Biblical" in scare quotes, too.
Sorry for going on like that, but articles like this are what one might call "target-rich environments".
All of his arguments are specious arguments because he can’t speak for people like me. We read the scriptures every Sunday and take the Bible seriously, not literally.
Great logic! "I disagree, therefore you are wrong. My opinion is proof enough."
>> (Separation) is an illegal action because you can’t disassociate from a body that created you.
Huh? And what happened when we got promoted out of the Garden? The freedom to disassociate from Him. Now we’ve got both a nation and TEC telling the Lord to quit bothering us.
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