Episcopal Church fires 61 Central Valley priests

STOCKTON
May 27, 2009 10:45am

The Episcopal Church has fired, or in its words “deposed,” 61 priests and deacons in the Central Valley who followed former Bishop John David Schofield when he rebuked the national church and aligned with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, a conservative group based in South America.

“I find the actions I was forced to take last Friday and Tuesday to be heartbreaking,” says the Rt. Rev. Jerry Lamb, Episcopal Bishop of San Joaquin in written comments Wednesday. “I have known a few of these clergy personally and others by the stories I have heard about their ministry. But, the fact is, they chose to abandon their relationship with the Episcopal Church.”

Mr. Schofield was deposed in March 2008.

He and the various priests and deacons objected to the Episcopal Church’s ordination of gays to the priesthood among other things, "refusing to recognize the authority of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and of the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church," as the church puts it.

The clergy who have been fired had six months to deny their abandonment, recant, or renounce their ministry in the Episcopal Church, according to the diocese.

“They declined to ask for a release from their ordination vows, and I had no option but to bring the charges of ‘Abandonment of the Communion’ to the Standing Committee last year and take these final steps today,” says Mr. Lamb. “It is a sad day.”

Comments on this story

John 5/27/09 1:41 PM
Headline is wrong. The 61 clergy didn't work for the Episcopal diocese located in Stockton or Bp. Lamb...never have. All Lamb did was go through the process to remove 61 individuals from their records as Episcopal clergy. It has the same 'news' impact as McDonald's sending out a news leader that 61 burger cooks, currently employed by Burger King are no longer recognized as McDonald's cooks and therefore are not allowed to be in any McDonald's kitchen. It has just taken the Stockton office to recognize what the Diocese of San Joaquin publicly stated almost 18 months ago [Dec. '07]...'we are no longer part of the Episcopal church'. The people who bought & built the buildings decided [by democratic vote of 90+%] that the congregations, clergy, and buildings are dedicated to the Glory of God in the Anglican Communion, but not to the Episcopal church. They have been in the Province of the Southern Cone for a season. Now it appears a new Anglican Church North America Province is being established and these 61 with their congregations, people and buildings will be allowed to join. No one got 'fired'.

Tom C 5/27/09 9:39 PM
"But, the fact is, they chose to abandon their relationship with the Episcopal Church.” As opposed to their relationship with God? It sounds like a tough choice, but it really isn't.

Will 5/28/09 1:13 AM
It is, indeed, a sad day when Christian clergy are deposed because of believing in, and adhering to, the Word of God upon which their faith is founded. If any "abandoning" has been done it is the Episcopal Church that has abandoned God and His Word. Jerry Lamb and his like-thinking frauds should depose themselves.

Bob 5/28/09 4:56 AM
It is the Episcopal church that is guilty of abandonment. It has abandoned God and the authority of his Word.

Angela 5/28/09 7:08 AM
It is truly sad to discover that this church cares more about following the rules of man and the world rather than the laws of God. For this man to stand up and say how sad it is for him is so ironic - it truly is sad for him, and not for the reasons he thinks. The sadness is from abandoning the God of the Bible and His ways. I have no doubt that those who have disagreed with this worldly path the church is on and gone the way of the Lord, will be blessed.

ken colson 5/28/09 7:11 AM
And the Episcopal Church cried out to God "Send us a Sign". And God replyed "I sent unto you a self proclaimed, unrepented sinner and you elected him to be a vicar of your church". And the Church replyed "Oh, that was a sign, I guess we just missed it, could you send us another?".

Dave N. 5/28/09 7:59 AM
This controversy plus these comments make me happy I don't live in the Central Valley.

Lawrence 5/28/09 8:14 AM
But is Lamb legally in a position to do this? http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2009/05/bishop-lamb-confirms-lack-of-quorum-to.html

David Pressey 5/28/09 10:06 AM (presseyd@roadrunner.com)
The Episcopal Church's central doctrine has replaced Godly doctrine and biblical truths with a doctrine of self gratification and self importance. They crucify Christ again as surely as the religious establishment crucified Christ in the New Testament. Their evil and corruption goes beyond a single issue. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Words of Jesus Christ are subverted by the new doctrine of self destruction and moral anarchy. The Episcopal Church now sees good as evil and evil as good. That church is now a temple of Satan as surely as in the days when the Ten Tribes of Israel were destroyed for the worship of Baal Molech.

Siegmund 5/28/09 10:38 AM
"...refusing to recognize the authority of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and of the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori? Now there's a theological thesis, if I ever heard one. Power politics wearing a bishop's robe and whining, "Kiss the ring." Though I am not a Christian, I have followed this story over the years, and am always entertained by how little of their precious scripture manages to find its way into their debate. What a religion and what a church; what a gospel of being trendy. Love the "most reverend" stuff; but doesn't that violate truth in advertising principles?

Steve 5/28/09 4:05 PM
Technically, this newstory is completely accurate. These ultra-conservative clergy thumbed their noses at their employer, walked away from their assigned posts, and didn't have the decency to actually resign. In so doing they forced their employer to fire them. Whatever their theological differences with the Episcopal Church, have they no personal integrity? No courage? There is no honor -- for themselves or for God -- in this kind of cowardly behavior.

Tim 5/28/09 5:00 PM
Long ago the Episcopal church died. They gave up the gospel. They rejected God and his Word by not calling sin what God calls sin. They are apostate. They have been ever since the founding of the Anglican slurring and lack of distinct clarification of religious truths in their 31 Articles. Differing beliefs can not reside in a 'communion' when it comes to key teachings. Long ago they lost the battle when they gave up salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, informed by scripture alone which proclaims salvation in Christ alone.

Debbie 5/28/09 9:42 PM
I applaud those 61 who stayed steadfast to God's Word, and the Episcopal Church should hang their heads in shame, condoning something God makes perfectly clear is an abomination in His eyes. Especially shameful is the fact that they are "gay clergy" who have read the Bible and know it's wrong, but continue to disobey God anyway. I guess they don't believe God's Word, but it will be a sorrowful day when they stand before God, and the only erternity they will see is hell.

James Hackney 5/29/09 5:10 AM
I am an ex-episcopalian who left the church because satan has taken over. This is another example of the evil, anti-Bible stance taken by this so called church. Jim

Americangran 5/29/09 7:18 AM
Those 61 "fired" priests stood up to the perversion that the Episcopal Church now represents.. It is no longer a church of God and his teachings..That is why I and many others fired" them..God Bless those who suffer for their beliefs.

RCA 5/29/09 8:47 AM
It is obvious that the unity of this "Church" is coming apart at the seems. That seems to be the case among a lot of denominations lately. It was always a cause of doctrine in the past. In our time it is a question of morality. The 60 priest will find a place in the Anglican Conservative movements around the country. I presume there must be some still. The time has come to stand up and be counted. It reminds me of the 10 Commandments when the line was drawn between those who accepted and those who did not. Bravo 61!

Bruce 5/29/09 9:22 AM
More accurately, the local episcopal diocese and the national church are the ones who abandonned the historical Anglican Communion and the Christian tradition, in favor of the politically correct church of the 21st century. Those who were fired NOW better represent that history and that tradition. Since all PC churches have declining memberships, time will tell which body survives.

Jay Spuper 5/29/09 6:02 PM
Oh, if only Henry VIII were still alive to see what he spawned!

Bobd45 6/1/09 9:48 AM
Hey, didn't this church come into existence in revolt of a central power (i.e., the Pope)? Why now making such rules for it fellow churchmen? What would Henry think of this?