California Diocese Splits From U.S. Episcopal Church
FRESNO, Calif. _ In a historic decision that highlights deep divisions over core issues such as homosexuality, the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin pulled out Saturday from the U.S. Episcopal Church.
It’s the first time a diocese has left the U.S. church since the Civil War, although individual churches have done so. Delegates made the decision during the diocese’s annual convention at St. James’ Cathedral in Fresno.
“This is the start of a rebirth of faithful Anglicanism within this part of the country,” said the Rev. William Gandenberger, assistant to Bishop John-David Schofield of the Diocese of San Joaquin. “It will be a reunification of churches who have felt alienated.”
The U.S. Episcopal Church has confronted growing division in recent years amid debate over same-sex blessings, the ordination of gay bishops, and how to interpret the Bible when addressing such issues.
Those divisions grew wider in 2003, when the Episcopal Church consecrated V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as its first openly gay bishop. The worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the U.S. church is a member, condemned the act.
San Joaquin delegates voted Saturday to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of South America, which is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The alignment is a temporary, emergency solution, officials said. It was unclear how long the alignment would last.
Saturday’s unprecedented votes set the stage for possible further disintegration of the U.S. church, which is now left with 109 dioceses. The dioceses in Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, Texas, are scheduled to vote next year on whether they also will leave.
Earlier in the week, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori sent a letter to Schofield saying that if the Diocese of San Joaquin or other dioceses went forward with plans to withdraw, the bishops could be seen as having abandoned their posts.
That means the posts could be declared vacant, and new bishops could be appointed, setting the stage for a possible shadow diocese.
“We deeply regret their unwillingness or inability to live within the historical Anglican understanding of comprehensiveness,” Jefferts Schori said in a written statement Saturday. “We wish them to know of our prayers for them and their journey. The Episcopal Church will continue in the Diocese of San Joaquin, albeit with new leadership.”
Jefferts Schori also said a lawsuit could be filed against the departing leadership and representatives of departing congregations if they attempted to retain Episcopal Church property.
Schofield said it wouldn’t matter if the U.S. church tried to keep control of the diocese, because the departure was irrevocable. The diocese has 48 congregations from Stockton to Bakersfield and more than 9,000 members.
It was the first time in more than a century that a diocese voted to leave the Episcopal Church. The last time was in 1860, when the Dioceses of the Southern States left. The membership returned at the conclusion of the Civil War without punitive damages.
Not everyone is happy with Saturday’s decisions. Three congregations _ including Holy Family Episcopal Church in northeast Fresno _ have said they would stay affiliated with the U.S. church.
Cindy Smith, president of Remain Episcopal, a Fresno-based organization that had fought the split, declined to comment Saturday. She said the group would meet to plan its next step.
Alan Rizard, a lay delegate representing St. Michael of Sonora, Calif., said he opposed withdrawal and now plans to move to another diocese.
“O’ ye of little faith,” Rizard told other delegates, quoting Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew 6:30.
Saturday’s vote confirmed a preliminary vote taken last year.
Organizers decided on an unusual method for taking the vote in Eden Hall. They sent delegates who favored the split to one side of the room, and opponents to the other side.
Delegates were asked not to make “war whoops” when the results were read. So a hush fell over the hall when the Rev. James Snell announced the vote: 70-12 by clergy members and 103-10 by laity. Two-thirds approval was needed in both orders.
People cheered, however, when delegates voted to align with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of South America. That vote was conducted the traditional way, with delegates raising yellow or white placards.
Gandenberger sent an e-mail to Archbishop Greg Venables of the Southern Cone _ and got a quick response of congratulations.
“Now we can truly proclaim the Gospel to the rest of the world _ and not be ashamed,” said the Rev. Som Vongsanit, pastor of St. Martin of Tours Mission Church in southeast Fresno. “Some were hesitant to say, `I’m Episcopal.’”
Delegates also approved constitutional amendments, including an expansion of the diocese’s 14-county boundaries to enable other parishes on the fringes to join in the split. Precise boundaries were not set. Officials said they have received some inquiries.
Suzy Gazlay, a member of St. James’ Cathedral in Fresno who helped count the votes, said it’s time to move on.
“We have to continue to pray to see what God would have us to do,” Gazlay said. “There’s much to be done. We have that commission from Jesus.”
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(c) 2007, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).
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