A New Celebration

TIMELINE FOR THE DIOCESE OF SAN JOAQUIN

Nov. 20, 2006

Bishop Katharine warns Schofield of the consequences of his actions in leading the diocese away from TEC. Concerning the changes to the diocesan constitution and cannons, she writes:

…“If true, you must be aware that such action would likely be seen as a violation of your ordination vows to “uphold the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them.” I must strongly urge you to consider the consequences of such action, not only for yourself but especially for all of the Episcopalians under your pastoral charge and care.”….

Dec 1-2, 2006

The convention of the Diocese of San Joaquin is asked by Bp. Schofield to consider constitutional amendments that would supposedly remove the diocese from the authority of the Episcopal Church. It passes these amendments on first reading.

December 3, 2007

Bishop Katharine again warns Bp. Schofield prior to the 2007 convention:
…“I do not need to remind you as well of the potential consequences of the direction in which you appear to be leading the Diocese of San Joaquin. In this connection I have in mind, among other things, your support of amendments to that diocese’s Constitution that would be plainly inconsistent with the Constitution of the Episcopal Church and that would implicitly reject the Church’s property and other canons, as well as your support for the transfer of the membership of your Diocese to the Province of the Southern Cone. If you continue along this path, I believe it will be necessary to ascertain whether you have in fact abandoned the communion of this Church, and violated your vows to uphold the doctrine, discipline, and worship of this Church.” ….

Dec. 8, 2007

Convention of the Diocese of San Joaquin passes on second reading the amendments to its constitution and cannons removing it from TEC and votes to join Southern Cone.

Dec. 10, 2007

Archbishop of Canterbury disavows any support of Venables, southern Cone/San Joaquin link:

…”Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has not in any way endorsed the actions of the Primate of the Southern Cone, Bishop Gregory Venables, in his welcoming of dioceses, such as San Joaquin in the Episcopal Church, to become part of his province in South America,” a spokesman for the Anglican Communion said….

(Via email from The Rev. Canon Dr. James M. Rosenthal, Anglican Communion Office, Director of Communications.– from Fr. Jake Stops the World.)

December 14, 2007

Bp. Katharine again writes Bp. Schofield

The Rt. Rev. John-David M. Schofield, SSC
Diocese of San Joaquin
4159 E. Dakota Avenue
Fresno, CA 93726

My dear brother,

I was deeply saddened to hear of the actions of the Diocesan Convention of the Diocese of San Joaquin this past weekend, particularly the declaration that you are no longer part of The Episcopal Church, but are now under the authority of the Province of the Southern Cone. I assume that this means you understand yourself to have departed the Episcopal Church and are no longer functioning as a member of the clergy in this Church.

I would like to have confirmation from you of this understanding of your status. Many interrelated matters depend on that status – for example, your membership in the House of Bishops and the acceptability of pension contributions on your behalf.

You continue in my prayers.

Yours in Christ,
Katharine Jefferts Schori

Dec. 31, 2007

Title IV committee begins reviewing the actions of Bp. Schofield.

Late December, 2007

Rev. Canon Robert Moore appointed by the PB as interim pastoral presence in San Joaquin.

January 11, 2008

Bp. Katharine inhibits Bp. Schofield.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori

Presiding Bishop and Primate

INHIBITION

The Title IV Review Committee having certified to me on January 9, 2008 pursuant to Canon IV. 1(1) of the Episcopal Church that the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, has abandoned the Communion of this Church, and the three senior bishops with jurisdiction, the Rt. Rev. Leopold Frade, Bishop of Southeast Florida, the Rt, Rev. Peter J. Lee, Bishop of Virginia, and the Rt. Rev. Donald A. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas, having consented to this Inhibition on January 11, 2008, I hereby inhibit the said Bishop Schofield and order that from and after 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, January 11, 2008, he cease from exercising the gifts of ordination in the ordained ministry of this Church; and pursuant to Canon IV.15, I order him from and after that time to cease all “episcopal, ministerial, and canonical acts, except as relate to the administration of the temporal affairs of the Diocese of San Joaquin,” until this Inhibition is terminated pursuant to Canon IV.9(2) or superseded by decision of the House of Bishops.

I hereby direct that notice of this Inhibition be given to Bishop Schofield forthwith and that copies thereof be expeditiously sent to the President and Secretary of the Standing Committee and the Secretary of the Convention of the Diocese of San Joaquin, every Bishop of this Church with jurisdiction, and the Secretary of the House of Bishops.

Katharine Jefferts Schori 11 January, 2008

XXVI Presiding Bishop

January 26, 2008

Recognition of the Standing Committee of San Joaquin is withdrawn by the Presiding Bishop.

Feb. 11, 2008

Rev. Canon Brian Cox appointed interim pastoral presence for San Joaquin to serve with Moore.

February 14, 2008

TEC Executive Council declares continuing support for San Joaquin and other dioceses affected by dissident bishops.

“We are deeply concerned for those who are members of The Episcopal Church but now find themselves in parishes or dioceses attempting to depart. To the members of The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, know we stand with you. Your struggles and needs inform our prayers, deliberations, and plans. This is a new and unfamiliar landscape for all of us. We stand with you and commit ourselves to provide pastoral care, to aid in reorganization, and to support legal actions necessary to retain the assets of the diocese for ministry. We will hold clergy leaders accountable to their vows to uphold the doctrine, discipline and worship of this Church, and lay leadership accountable to the fiduciary responsibilities of the offices they hold. Up to $500,000 of income from trust funds will be made available in the calendar year 2008 to support the mission work of the Diocese of San Joaquin and similarly situated dioceses.”

March 12, 2008

House of Bishops’ consents to the deposition of San Joaquin’s previous bishop, John-David Schofield, who is confirmed by the church-wide Title IV Review Committee to have abandoned communion of The Episcopal Church.

March 12, 2008

Bishop Jerry A. Lamb — retired bishop of Northern California and most recently interim bishop of Nevada — has been is recommended by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to serve as provisional bishop of the Central California Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin.

Lamb can begin work in this capacity after ratification by the diocese’s convention, set to meet March 29 in Lodi, California.

March 29, 2008

Diocese of San Joaquin meets in convention to ratify new Constitution and Cannons and select provisional bishop.

++KSJ sent the Bishop of Fort Worth a lovely Epiphany card. You can see this card below.

What is truly amazing is that the chowderheads at the Bp. Iker’s shop felt they had to take issue with it. We received the following email from Susanne Gill, the Bishop’s spokesperson, transmitting the displeasure of the standing committee with Arch-Bishop Schori:

To the Clergy and 2007 Convention Delegates,

The members of your Standing Committee thought you should be aware of this.

The Presiding Bishop has done something which defies explanation. This is the “Christmas” card she sent to Bishop Iker and presumably other TEC bishops. Given the increasing polarization in TEC (and the Anglican Communion) today, the only reason we can see for her to make this choice is that she is only interested in pushing the polarization just that much further.

The Presiding Bishop is an intelligent woman, so this re-interpretation of Scripture to exclude masculine images must be intentional. This card illustrates in many ways the core problem of the General Convention Church. Scripture cannot be made to conform to us, we must conform our lives and our faith to Scripture. We will continue to stand for the traditional expression of the Faith.

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth

Aside from the error of labeling it a Christmas card when it is clearly an Epiphany card, both from the title and the season, why should these people who have turned their backs on the Episcopal Church and its leadership even care to notice it? Actions like these only serve to emphasize their fundamental unease with masculine/feminine roles. It’s ART, not theology!

I am sure most have heard that the diocese of San Joaquin passed on second reading all those amendments that supposedly take it out of the Episcopal Church. They also claim to have associated themselves with Archbishop Gregory Venables and the Province of the Southern Cone. One of the notable statements by Venables and his man in America, Bishop Frank Lyons, is that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has approved this unnatural and disruptive oversight arrangement. That claim has been repeated by the leadership in our own diocese (Fort Worth) as well.

Well, that claim turns out to be false. While Bishop Rowan is sometimes hard to understand, it is hard to accept that these learned gentlemen misunderstood him so thoroughly. I suppose in their desperation to obtain some shred of legitimization for their unworthy cause they were grasping at anything. Surely bishops don’t just lie.

Below is a synopsis of the statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury and a link to the full article. ml

Archbishop did not endorse Southern Cone’s invitation to San Joaquin, Anglican Communion spokesman says

By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service] Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had not endorsed an invitation by Southern Cone Primate Gregory Venables to offer oversight to dioceses outside that province, a spokesman for the Anglican Communion said December 10.

“Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has not in any way endorsed the actions of the Primate of the Southern Cone, Bishop Gregory Venables, in his welcoming of dioceses, such as San Joaquin in the Episcopal Church, to become part of his province in South America,” the spokesman said in an email to media outlets, including the Episcopal News Service.

Delegates attending the 48th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin on December 8 overwhelmingly voted to leave the Episcopal Church and to align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_92587_ENG_HTM.htm

Archbishop Gregory Venables has extended an invitation to the dioceses of Ft. Worth, Pittsburg and San Joaquin to join his province, the Province of the Southern Cone. A representative of the Southern Cone, Bishop Frank Lyons, was featured prominently at the diocesan convention last weekend; we heard that Bp. Iker and the Standing Committee of the diocese are planning to accept the offer, taking the parishes of the diocese with them. This action is sure to provoke the equivalent of civil war with the Episcopal Church USA, which created the diocese in the first place and ultimately owns everything.

It is worthwhile to know something about who and what the Province of the Southern Cone is, because these people will play an important and possibly unhealthy role in our parish life this coming year. Two bishops, Archbishop Gregory Venables and Bishop Frank Lyons have gained notoriety since the issuance of the Windsor report by defying its call to refrain from interfering in other provinces. They have adopted disaffected parishes in the US and have reinstated the bishop of Recife, Brazil, who with some 40 of his priests was deposed by the Archbishop of Brazil. None of these actions have been sanctioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

British immigrants brought Anglicanism to South America during the nineteenth century. The province of the southern Cone was formed as a province out of dioceses under the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1981 and includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The province has roughly 27,000 members compared to the diocese of Ft. Worth’s roughly 22,000. It is among the smallest provinces in terms of numbers but covers a huge territory.

A huge amount of information on the activities of Venables and Lyons in the US is available on the blog, “Fr. Jake Stops the World.” Follow the link below for insight into how these people operate.

http://frjakestopstheworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/southern-cones-operative-in-north.html

Behind The Red Door

David Leedy 11/02

When the Editor asked me to investigate why churches have red doors I immediately thought that it was a warning: SERMONS RED, NOT PREACHED!

“Episcopal Life,” a publication of the Episcopal Church received the following responses to a survey:

One explanation was that red indicated the mortgage was paid. I take this with a grain of salt since I also was told the starred verses in the hymnal indicated the theologically questionable verses! It wasn’t until a seminary liturgy class when I discovered it was meant to be a joke and that the starred verses in the hymnal represent optional verses.

Doors of mainline Protestant churches, especially Lutheran churches, are red because the doors of Wittenburg Cathedral in Wittenburg, Germany, where Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses were red. The red doors simply symbolize that we are a church of the Reformation.

Red doors told of holy ground behind them, protecting people from both physical and spiritual evil. Many Episcopal and Lutheran churches proclaim with their red doors that our churches are a haven for emotional and spiritual healing, and are a place of refuge and safety, forgiveness and reconciliation Red doors invite the passers-by into a space filled with the Holy Spirit.

In response to “Why is the door red,” I always thought it was because of Passover. Then, I read: Red doors traditionally mean “sanctuary” –the ground beyond the doors is holy, and anyone who goes through them is safe from harm. Red signifies the blood of Christ that has been shed so that all who come to God’s care may be saved. In ancient times, no one could pursue an enemy past red doors into a church, and no one could be harmed or captured inside a church.

The red door tradition goes back to the beginnings of cathedral architecture in the Middle Ages. The color red, signifying the Blood of Christ, was painted on the north, south and east doors of a church. Such symbolism represented making the sign of the cross — Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Thus the edifice was marked as a sanctuary, identified as a refuge and safety zone from physical or spiritual dangers. The red doors shut out evil. Supposedly an enemy could not pursue his victim across the sacred threshold. The red-door tradition continues even today in our Episcopal church (and some Roman Catholic and Methodist churches as well). Now the color red shines forth with the warmth of welcome. Now the color red gleams like fire, showing the light and presence of the Holy Spirit for all who enter in.

The most complete answer was written by The Rev. Bob Furniss of the Church of the Good Samaritan in Sauk Centre, Minnesota (from the Sauk Centre Herald, 10/28/97):

In the earlier days of the church it was understood that a soldier could not pursue an enemy that had entered through the red doors of a church. The red doors were a symbol of refuge and sanctuary for all people who entered. To all concerned the red on the doors signified the blood of Christ that had been shed so that all who came to him could be saved. Anyone who passed through those doors was safe as long as they stayed behind them.

Over time, Christian people began to see the red doors of the church as symbolizing not only physical refuge and safety, but spiritual refuge as well. The blood of Jesus, and of the Church’s martyrs, that the red doors of the church symbolized, would protect you from evil, both physical and spiritual. The red doors spoke to the world of holy ground that existed inside those doors, space that had been purged and made clean by God’s Holy Spirit. Today people choose to paint their church doors red for many of the same reasons that churches did centuries ago.

In a world where change seems to happen at a pace that leaves us wondering and uncertain, we hope that our churches proclaim through Word, Sacrament, and Ministry the unchanging truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In a world where our own sins, and the sinfulness of our human condition, leave us feeling broken, and separated from one another and from our loving God, we hope that our churches can be a place of forgiveness and reconciliation.

In a world where illness and disease abound, where relationships often seem broken beyond repair, where people feel that the cultural values of the day leave them spiritually wanting, we hope that our churches can be a place for physical, emotional and spiritual healing. In a world where domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and physical, emotional, and sexual abuses of all kinds abound, we hope that our churches can be places of safety, where every person’s worth and dignity can be affirmed and protected.

It is our hope and prayer that the red doors of The Episcopal Church are a regular reminder to all people who pass by, and every other church, is meant to be a place of refuge and safety from the physical and spiritual evils that we encounter each day.

Here are some links to information about our church. You can spend a lot of time here, but you will know stuff like what an ‘Anglican’ is and where ‘Canterbury’ is. One of the neatest parts is the Glossary at the bottom. It takes you to a book that seems to have everything in it. Enjoy.–ML

Fast Facts

The Episcopal Church has more than 2.4 million members in 7,679 congregations in 110 dioceses (and one similar geographic convocation) situated in 15 countries plus the United States.

Source: most recent parochial data, 2005 <http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/Episcopal_Overview_FACT_2005.pdf>

Note on Dioceses, Congregations and Church Structure:

* Dioceses and congregations remain part of the Episcopal Church even when local leaders and/or a number of parishioners opt to leave the denomination as a matter of personal choice.

* Dioceses are created by the General Convention and cannot be dissolved without action of the General Convention in accordance with the provisions of the churchwide constitution and canons. Congregations, likewise, are created by a local diocese and continue within that structure unless otherwise decided by the local bishop in consultation with other elected diocesan leaders.

* Since 2003, some 45 congregations are known to the Episcopal News Service to have experienced the vote of a majority of members to consider affiliating with part of an overseas Anglican Province. In many of these cases, an ongoing – albeit smaller – congregation continues within the Episcopal Church, the local diocese, and with a newly elected vestry.

Following are links to questions and answers about the 2.4-million member Episcopal Church, part of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion that spans 164 countries worldwide. Principal source: An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church by Donald Armentrout.

Who are Anglicans? Who are Episcopalians?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81629_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is Anglicanism?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81628_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is the Anglican Communion?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81627_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is a province? <http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81626_ENG_HTM.htm>

Where is Canterbury? What is its significance?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81625_ENG_HTM.htm>

Who is the Archbishop of Canterbury?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81624_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is the Anglican Consultative Council?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81623_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is the Lambeth Conference?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81622_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is the Lambeth Commission, and what is its mandate?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81621_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is the Church of England, and how does it relate to the Episcopal Church? <http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81620_ENG_HTM.htm>

What is the Episcopal Church (USA)?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81619_ENG_HTM.htm>

Who is the Presiding Bishop?

<http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_81618_ENG_HTM.htm>

Glossary of terms. <http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_19610_ENG_HTM.htm>

The Celebration

Like the Phoenix of legend and Harry Potter fame, A New Celebration rises from its ashes to help the parishioners of Christ the King, Fort Worth Texas, sort out what is going on in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Look here for straightforward information about who the players and what the issues are in the struggle to realign the diocese of Fort Worth.