Pseudo-church fires priests who quit last year

From Central Valley Business Times…

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….

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.”

The very first comment sums up the real 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'.

Posted by Danny Carlton at May 28, 2009 7:57 AM