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Loading ...Episcopal Church ousts 61 clergy in gay dispute
05.28.2009 9:08am EDT
(Fresno, California) National leaders of the Episcopal Church have ousted 61 clergy who aligned with a former bishop in California when he broke with the national church in a dispute over the Bible and homosexuality.
Former Bishop John-David Schofield led the Diocese of San Joaquin to become the first full diocese to secede from the U.S. denomination in 2007. Four years earlier, Episcopalians consecrated their first openly gay bishop, setting off a wide-ranging debate within the church and upsetting conservative congregations.Schofield ultimately was removed as head of the diocese and barred from performing any religious rites. He maintains he is an Anglican bishop under the worldwide church.
Episcopal leaders said Wednesday they were deposing all clergy who severed their ties and joined Schofield in affiliating with an Anglican archdiocese in Argentina.
Jerry Lamb, the new Episcopal Bishop of San Joaquin, called the decision to oust the clergy “heartbreaking.”
“But, the fact is, they chose to abandon their relationship with the Episcopal Church,” he said.
Schofield said in a statement Wednesday that Anglican leaders across the globe recognized the deposed clergy as priests and deacons in good standing.
“Clearly, the traditional understanding of what it means to be a member of this historic Communion has been tragically altered by this action,” he said. “The Episcopal Church needlessly isolates itself from their brothers and sisters around the world.”
In December, the breakaway diocese joined with three others and dozens of individual parishes in the U.S. and Canada to announce that they were forming a North American Anglican province to rival the Episcopal Church. Schofield said Wednesday that 23 dioceses now plan to affiliate with the new province.
Its future status in the worldwide Anglican Communion is unclear. It’s unprecedented for an Anglican national province to be created where a national church already exists.
Good for Bishop Lamb.
I ususally am very unsympathetic to “religious” arguments, but I have to say, in this instance, I am glad to see a “church” with balls.
At least the Episcopal leaders in the U.S. have balls – unlike the Rowan-whats-his-name the supposed leader of the Anglican church – who has vitrually no leadership skills. I am loathe to care about the tedious details of organized religions, but it is nice to know that some religious leaders in this country have the courage of their convictions.
Rowan Williams. The man is an idiot.
Desmond Tutu should’ve been made leader of the Anglican Communion. It would’ve been a bold departure from the “boring white males” who’ve occupied that office for centurues. Tutu has the stature, grace, and authority to stand up to bullies like Akinola and Schofield. But, of course, the British government would never allow such a man into Lambeth Palace. He is too liberal, too radical, too embracing of “liberation theology.”
Williams has zero effect on my own church. We advocate for caring for those who have less than we middle-class parishioners do. We feed the hungry and the homeless, some of us hope for marriage equality and believe in human rights, civil rights, equal rights for all and are pay no heed to Williams. To me he is in his own world on another planet.
Let the liberals in our church have their own church and the conservatives run off to Akinola, etc. I don’t believe in what they believe and their departure is no loss at all to us liberal Episcopalians.
Akinola should be tending to the ills of his native Nigeria he has more than enough in Nigeria to concern himself with there. He is wasting his time coming here and interfering in the internal affairs of our Episcopal church which is none of his business. Clergy from one diocese are not permitted to oome over and interfere in the affairs of another. That is forbidden but aggressor Akinola doesn’t mind trampling on canon law to achieve his nefarious and meddling ends.
Akinola doesn’t get about anyone else but Akinola. A pseudo-intellectual, if ever there was one, though “idiot” seems a more precise term.
As a former Roman Catholic and present Episcopalian I am so proud of my church for standing up for justice and reminding the rest of the communion that Jesus invites all to the table not just a few. His Grace the ABC is not a diplomat or an administrator he’s a theologian, an intellect and a such a poor choice for pastor of the Anglican Communion. I like what John said..Dr. Tutu would have been a phenomenal choice for ABC on sooooooo many levels.
As a former Anglican, I encourage people to examine why they belong to any church, and I encourage them to pursue reason and rationality over faith. These are the best tools we have to guide us on path to the truth.
Years ago, when the Episcopalians had their cassocks in a knot over the ordination of women to the priesthood, a number of leaders who were against women’s ordination were tres gay. Wonder how many of those clergy opposed to consecrating gay bishops are actually gay/bisexual themselves?
Don’t let the screen door hit ‘ya where the dog ought’a bit ‘ya
Once we get past the myth that organized religion is necessary for a well functioning society, humanity will be able to once again move in great strides.
Ya and the gay tooth fairy with Tinker bell will come visit me tonight and leave millions of dollars under my pillow!
Amazing, king henry (aka king hemroid) couldn’t create male heirs (or any to survive to adulthood) so he creates his own church (anglicans and such) as he blames the biatches, cut off their heads…. blah blah all over wanting more and blaming the pussy.
look at the mormons and ole joe smith and all their menz with the pussy.
blame it on the hetero broads and their dumb menz.
so many crazy stories, so many crazy people using this shit to treat me and people like me bad…
give your time and money to better causes people. if “jesus” and “god” are what you “Believe” they are then you will be just fine. I think Buddha is pretty kewl guy too. i love the easter bunny lots as well.
Thank God for the courage of Anglican, Episcopalian and other Christian leaders who welcome LGBT people and recognize the fact that we are also God’s children and loved by Him for who we are. True Christians are not bigots.
There is both a “national” province of the Church of England and the Church of Wales, both part of the Anglican Communion, in the United Kingdom. I don’t see why the Anglicans can’t have a “Church of California”, “Church of Iowa”, and so forth – the precedent’s already been established, in the UK no less!