Back and Forth in San Joaquin

From VirtueOnline:

The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin Issues Notice of Abandonment to Former Clergy

The Rt. Rev. Jerry A. Lamb, Bishop
The Rev. Canon Mark H. Hall, Canon to the Ordinary

* The Rt. Rev. Jerry Lamb, Bishop; jerrylamb@diosanjoaquin.org; 209.952.0006
* The Rev. Canon Mark Hall, Canon to the Ordinary; markhall@diosanjoaquin.org; 209.952.0006
* Michael Glass, Esq., Chancellor; mglass@diosanjoaquin.org; 415.454.8485
* Nancy Key, Communications Director; communications@diosanjoaquin.org; 559.269.9013
* Diocesan Website: www.diosanjoaquin.org

OCTOBER 17, 2008

Episcopal Diocese charges clergy with abandonment of communion

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin today determined that sixteen deacons and thirty-six priests had abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church. Findings against each of the fifty-two clergy were based on specific violations of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church related to their support of attempts to remove the diocese from the Episcopal Church, and their repudiation of the ecclesiastical authority of the Episcopal Church and the diocese.

Should the bishop concur with these findings, the clergy will be inhibited and not allowed to function as an Episcopal priest or deacon, or be employed by an Episcopal congregation. Episcopal Church law provides clergy six months to recant and return to the Episcopal Church. Clergy who do not recant will be removed from the ministry of the Episcopal Church.

"This action," explained the Rt. Rev. Jerry Lamb, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, "does not imply a moral judgment of an individual clergy person. It speaks only about the person's relationship to the Episcopal Church. I recognize that these people may have many wonderful gifts for ministry, and perhaps these talents could be used in another Christian denomination."

The Episcopal Church asserts that only individuals may voluntarily leave the church. Parishes and diocese are integral parts of the church, and may not leave without the express consent of the governing bodies of the church. All clergy who are ordained in the church take a vow to "conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church," and to obey their bishop and other ministers who may have authority over them and their work.

Clergy charged with Abandonment of the Communion are listed on the page following.

Clergy Charged with Abandonment of Communion of the Episcopal Church

October 17, 2008

The Rev. Judith Battershell, Ridgecrest
The Rev. David Brown, Woodlake
The Rev. Madeline Burton Ahwahnee
The Rev. Wes Clare, Tehachapi
The Rev. Donald Cleave, San Diego
The Rev. John Combs, Los Banos
The Rev. Dale Cox, Springville
The Rev. Karl Dietze, Bakersfield
The Rev. William R. Eastman, Modesto
The Rev. Jack Estes, Bakersfield
The Rev. Jack Faucett, Bakersfield
The Rev. Canon David M. Foster, Stockton
The Rev. Thomas Foster, Modesto
The Rev. William Gandenberger, Clovis
The Rev. Erin Giles, Manteca
The Rev. Howard Giles, Manteca
The Rev. Laurel Greene, Fresno
The Rev. Woodrow Gubuan, Stockton
The Rev. Robert Hilliard, Livingston
The Rev. Richard L. James, Visalia
The Rev. Buck Jones, Atwater
The Rev. Michael Jun, Bakersfield
The Rev. Gordon Kamai, Oakhurst
The Rev. Linda Klug, Bishop
The Rev. Wolfgang Krismanits, Sonora
The Rev. Robert Latour, Porterville
The Rev. Cathy Leach, Three Rivers
The Rev. Frances Levy, Visalia
The Rev. Tom Maggitti, Modesto
The Rev. Jeannee Marker, Avenal
The Rev. Van McCalister, Tulare
The Rev. Michael McClenaghan, Modesto
The Rev. Arlen Neckels, Valley Springs
The Rev. Stephen G. Nicholls, Delano
The Rev. Ronald Parry, Merced
The Rev. Tancredo Pastores, Jr., Visalia
The Rev. Carlos Raines, Clovis
The Rev. John Reibe, Bakersfield
The Rev. Robert R. Richard, Bakersfield
The Rev. Kenneth Richards, Clovis
The Rev. Roger Riggsby, Sutter Creek
The Rev. Jerry Roberts, Copperopolis
The Rev. Donald Seeks, Reedley
The Rev. James L. Snell, Fresno
The Rev. Kay Sprague, Bishop
The Rev. James Stout, Copperopolis
The Rev. Mary Swann, Sonora
The Rev. Charles Threewit, Palmdale
The Rev. Robert Tobias, Oakdale
The Rev. John Paul Wadlin, Ridgecrest
The Rev. Andrew Watson, Reedley
The Rev. Jane Williams, Sanger

*****

Diocese of San Joaquin (Anglican) Issues Response to Lamb

Fresno, California

October 17, 2008

Anglican Holy Orders Valid in California and World Wide

On December 8, 2007, the Diocese of San Joaquin, by overwhelming majority vote (90%), became affiliated with the Province of the Southern Cone, a constituent national church in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The vast majority of the priests and deacons serving in the Diocese of San Joaquin, representing over 40 churches, chose to remain with Bishop John-David Schofield and the Diocese of San Joaquin and their Holy Orders were officially recognized by the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Province of the Southern Cone. Accordingly, those priests and deacons have been accepted as ordained Anglican Clergy across the world wide Anglican Communion.

The Episcopal Church no longer has any jurisdiction over the Anglican Clergy of the Diocese of San Joaquin, and any actions taken by The Episcopal Church concerning their ecclesiastical status within the worldwide Anglican Communion is of no force or effect.

Bishop Jerry Lamb publically acknowledges this fact in his October 10th Friday Reflection by stating that his purported inhibition of Anglican Clergy in San Joaquin “implies no moral judgment of an individual clergy person. It speaks only about the person’s relationship to the Episcopal Church.

The person can of course function in another church that may recognize their ordination.”

+John-David Schofield
Anglican Bishop of San Joaquin



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