Episcopal Diocese May Abandon US Fag Church

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/1/28/211249.shtml?s=ic

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007 9:02 p.m. EST

Episcopal Diocese May Abandon U.S. Church

The splintering of the Episcopal Church in America continues, with the

decision of a California diocese to abandon the U.S. Episcopal Church and

affiliate with with more conservative branches of the Anglican Communion

overseas.

The members of the Diocese of San Joaquin has voted to seek union with a

diocese under the jurisdiction of a conservative prelate, possibly one in

South America or Africa. Although individual churches such as Truro Church

in Fairfax, Va., and The Falls Church in Falls Church, Va., are preparing to

put themselves under the leadership of Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of

Nigeria, San Joaquin is the first entire diocese to divorce itself front he

U.S. Episcopal Church

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bishop John-David Schofield is

questioning whether the American Episcopal Church believes the Scriptures

are the revealed word of God.

Wrote the Times, a majority of his flock answered that question with a

resounding "no," which is why Schofield is leading his San Joaquin Diocese

in an unprecedented effort to pull away from the Episcopal Church.

The diocese of about 47 churches in 14 counties voted in December to leave

the church, the Times reported, adding that a second vote at the

9,500-member diocese's October convention would finalize the split.

"When you hear that we're some little Fresno fringe group, think of this,"

Schofield told the Times. "We identify with the worldwide Anglican Communion

of 77 million members. Compared to that religious body, the American

Episcopal Church of about 780,000 members is a tiny drop in the bucket."

Schofield is seen by his flock as what the Times called their chief defense

against what one diocese priest called "the plague of heresy infecting our

churches and homes."

In a message to his congregations in December, Schofield said the Episcopal

Church's departure from doctrine began in 2003 when, for the first time, it

consented to allow an openly gay man to be elected bishop, the Times wrote.

The Rev. Van McCalister, a diocesan spokesman, told the Times "To paint us

as homophobic is a lie," he said. "This is not about homosexuality. It's

about the core principles of what it means to be Christian, the authority of

Scripture, and the willingness to deal with sin and not pretend that it

doesn't exist."

Later, church leaders failed to challenge a retired Episcopal bishop who

published a book denying the virgin birth and questioning the divinity of

Jesus. Then in November, Jefferts Schori, a supporter of same-sex unions,

became the first woman to lead a national church in the Anglican Communion's

roughly 500-year history.

"Something had to give," McCalister said. "A growing number of priests,

including myself, were saying enough is enough. It got to the point where

people would see me wearing a collar someplace, then walk up and ask, 'What

religion are you?' I'd say Episcopalian and they'd roll their eyes and

sarcastically respond, 'Oh. A real believer.' "

"It's the Wild West out there," Jan Nunley, spokeswoman for the Episcopal

Church headquarters in New York, said of California. "If the leadership of

the [san Joaquin] diocese declares it is no longer part of the national

organization, the question is this: Does that leadership stay or have its

positions replaced by others?"

"It is my goal," Schofield told the Times "to remain true to the church as

it has always been through the ages. It is the radical fringe that has

seized control and driven a wedge into the Anglican church."