Surrounded

Dear Bishop Schori,

Thank you for your letter of December 14, 2007 asking for clarification of my status. Much has happened in the past few weeks that have a bearing on that status.

I am proud of the people of the Diocese of San Joaquin. Last year when the vote was taken to change the Constitution, that first vote was not only required by Canons but, in essence, was a “straw vote”. Little was at stake, for truly no action had –or could– be taken. This year the delegates to the Annual Convention came fully cognizant of what has taken place in Virginia and Southern California where litigation has been pursued vigorously against those who oppose the innovations of The Episcopal Church and who, consequently, have stood up for their faith and remain protective of the property they have built, purchased and maintained with no help either from The Episcopal Church on a national level nor –in most instances– from the local diocese either.

The people of The Diocese of San Joaquin came to the Convention fully aware that years of meetings with the leaders of The Episcopal Church have accomplished little or nothing. They came fully aware, too, that at the meeting of the House of Bishops in New Orleans this past September a last minute attempt to provide some semblance of oversight was proposed. The sad thing was that those most affected by the innovations of The Episcopal Church had no part in this proposal and to this very day have never seen what such a plan involves. It is true that the vote on Saturday December 8th, 2007, was a protest, but it was much more than this.

To understand December 8th’s vote as a protest only would be to misunderstand the courage of the people within the Diocese of San Joaquin. They were saying that no matter what the consequences, they take a stand for a clear reading of Scripture, the faith that The Episcopal Church first received - but from which it has departed - and for Catholic Order within the Anglican Communion. Truly, the vote was for their bishop and diocese to remain in the Anglican Communion with the fullness of the heritage we have received as a part of that worldwide body. Once again, it was much more than this. It was an expression of profound gratitude to the Global South who have expressed support in many ways and more specifically to the Primate of the Southern Cone, his House of Bishops and their Provincial Synod for their understanding of our plight - along with that of many others within The Episcopal Church - and their willingness to offer a place of refuge. Their offer, as you know, was conditional until such time as The Episcopal Church repents of those decisions and actions that have caused a rift in the wider Anglican Communion. Furthermore, I took the Convention’s actions as a request that I provide episcopal oversight of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin under the Province of the Southern Cone of South America. Accepting such an invitation to be a part of the Southern Cone’s House of Bishops may not necessarily define my relationship with The Episcopal Church particularly since this may only be a temporary arrangement. This is true in light of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Advent Letter in which he proposes facilitated conversations not only between us but among others in the Anglican Communion.

The purpose of December 8th’s vote, then, was not to change anything within the Diocese but quite to the contrary. With the status of The Episcopal Church’s membership in the Anglican Communion looking more and more precarious, the people of San Joaquin simply wanted to remain what we have always been, namely Anglican.

On the very day your letter arrived asking for clarification, the Advent Letter of the Archbishop of Canterbury was received. In it he pointed out clearly the distress in many parts of the Anglican Communion caused by the unilateral actions of The Episcopal Church. In his own words he fully understands that “A scheme has been outlined for the pastoral care of those who do not accept the majority view in TEC, but the detail of any consultation or involvement with other provinces as to how this might best work remains to be filled out and what has been proposed does not so far seem to have commanded the full confidence of those most affected.” He continues: “Furthermore, serious concerns remain about the risks of spiralling disputes before the secular courts, although the Dar-es-Salaam communiqué expressed profound disquietude on this matter, addressed to all parties.” Giving thought to the future, the Archbishop makes reference to the upcoming Lambeth Conference during which he trusts: “Whatever happens, we are bound to seek the fruitful ways of carrying forward liaison with provinces whose policies cause scandal or difficulty to others.”

Ultimately, then, it is the Archbishop’s proposal for a course of action in the months ahead that may affect my status. Since everything that the Diocese of San Joaquin has done, it has done with an eye toward remaining Anglican and in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury, his proposal should naturally take precedence. As he says, “I wish to pursue some professionally facilitated conversations between the leadership of The Episcopal Church and those with whom they are most in dispute, internally and externally, to see if we can generate any better level of mutual understanding. Such meetings will not seek any predetermined outcome but will attempt to ease tensions and clarify options. They may also clarify ideas about the future pattern of liaison between TEC and other parts of the Communion. I have already identified resources and people who will assist in this.”

Despite the dismal failure of meetings with the leadership of The Episcopal Church over the past two decades, I will remain open to the Archbishop’s proposal and not close the door on anything that the Holy Spirit may accomplish through these efforts. It may well be that in these facilitated conversations my own status and even that of The Episcopal Church vis-à-vis its membership in the Anglican Communion will be clarified. This, then, is both my hope and my prayer.

Sincerely,

+John-David Schofield,
Bishop

I love John-David. Although he can blow hot air as much as anyone else, I’ve heard him preach when there was so much Holy Spirit anointing, you hardly had to breath to stay alive. He presided at the marriage of my second son. He’s a sponsor of The Word Shop. Once, after he heard my confession, my heart was aflame for hours– a burning in the center of my chest. That night when I prayed for various people, I put my palm on their chests and tears splashed onto my hand. It was nothing I did. It was nothing he did. It was something God did. Himself.

I’m not much of a denominationalist. In the last month I’ve worshiped at Anglican, Lutheran, Roman and Episcopalian Churches. I’ve done a quiet day with Evangelicals. (Yes, they CAN be quiet for a day.) OK, I couldn’t eat the bread at the Episcopal Church, but that was a thing of the moment. I’ve eaten it before, I’ll eat it again. I’ve choked on it before, I will undoubtedly choke on it again. Siblings always get the least slack. Still, there remains a weight in my stomach, a pain in my heart. The churches didn’t care much when individuals left. The dioceses didn’t care much when churches left. Don’t see why a province would give a damn when a diocese leaves. Except about the property. Of course.

My eldest son once asked, “why aren’t there more guys like the Bishop and Fr. George?” I don’t know. When we were looking for a new Pastor I wanted four things: Someone who knew Jesus was Lord, who granted the authority of the scripture, who was conversant with the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, who liked me. Needless to say I didn’t get it. That last one can be a real doozey.

People talk as if this denominational re-alignment is over priestesses and sexual sin. It’s not. It’s about those four things: the Lordship of Jesus, the authority of scripture, the moves of the Spirit, unfeigned love. I’m grieved that we’ve been so appallingly inept at evangelizing our own church–not to even mention the world. I’m grieved because the response of those left behind is so often self-righteous justification when it should be a rending of clothes and covering of the head with ashes. I’m grieved because those whom I love are misunderstood and maligned.

I suppose in the long run it doesn’t matter much. Jesus knows his own. But in the short run–in this particular sprint on a cold December morn–I wish that the church, some day to be presented without spot or wrinkle, wasn’t once again back at the Laundromat.

St. Vincent of Lerins, in 434 A.D., devised a method for evaluating truth claims in the Christian church.

He believed truth begins and ends with holy Scripture. Even in the fifth century, everyone didn’t agree on what holy writ said or meant.

He wrote about what is taught everywhere, what has always been taught and what everyone teaches.

By everywhere, he meant what’s claimed or practiced by the church in every region.

By always, he meant what’s claimed by the apostles and through succeeding generations.

By everyone, he meant what’s claimed by teachers of great note.

It’s called the Canon of St. Vincent, and it’s good for today’s church leaders to remember it. It might be considered a vision statement for traditionalist-conservatives and can help explain difference between them and progressive-liberals in mainline Christianity.

Mainline churches, including the Episcopal church, are splitting into traditional and progressive camps over universal claims of Jesus Christ, the authority of holy Scripture and sexual morality.

Along with today’s traditionalists, St. Vincent taught truth is universal and constant, and doesn’t change according to time or place.

posted by Fr. Rob Eaton 

On behalf of the Dept of Communication for the Diocese of San Joaquin, I’d like to thank all those willing to pray and intercede for the duration of the Diocesan Convention held Dec 7 and 8, including the 24 hours prior to, and the few hours after as folks traveled home.

AnglicanTV.org has already posted recordings of some of the speakers to the convention, and is going to be posting more, including the Opening Eucharist and some of the convention proceedings.  During these events you will be looking at - even if it is not obvious - individuals who were given permission by convention to be intercessors (no vote, silent voice, if you will) on during these events, and on the floor of convention.  We thank these particular individuals for their ministry, as well as those who recruited and organized them, especially Sister Phoebe of the Little Sisters of Sacrifice. Overall coordination of this ministry, as directed by the Dept. and given permission by the bishop, was under the care of Dept members Deacon Erin Giles, and Pam Stout, LSS.   We presume they will carry on this ministry again, and again, providing the “prayer covering” necessary for such important gatherings.

The Department also thanks Ms Kelly Ferrari who brought her solo minstry of song and encouragement, with words of prophecy and knowledge, to the diocesan convention.   Kelly, who also performed at one point during the Denver General Convention, was the primary for the Thursday evening prayer gathering.  During that time of ministry the Holy Spirit moved in many ways, including healings, praise, passionate intercession, words of wisdom, encouragement, exhortation, knowledge and prophecy.   Kelly also sang at the close of the convention banquet after the address by Bp Duncan.   She sang a communion hymn of her own composition, and then sang “It is well with my soul” at the early Friday morning mass, and also toward the end of the convention on Saturday.   She has her own website here.

Along the line of music, I would personally like to recognize the work of Royce Nickel, the cathedral organist, Art Huff, who directed the combined choir, folded in the brass quintet (led by Alicia and “booked” by Josh McDonald), and prepared the necessary arrangement for both voices and brass and organ, and Kathy Reibe, who rehearsed the “southern diocese” portion of the combined choir; also to John Downing and Pat Fellancy, and to Ron Hunt, who prepared the cathedral and Eden Hall for the multiple spots of sound collection and projection.  Good work to all (I know AnglicanTV also appreciates the hard work provided by these 3 guys, especially).

May the Lord’s Name be praised.

UPdate 12/9/07):

We will leave this post for a few more days in the hopes of having more people who actually prayed.

Please leave a comment with your “name” and time you will pray, and we’ll insert it into the schedule.  Please be sure to note what time zone you are indicating; everything will be converted to Pacific time to better visualize the intercessory coverage.

Please note the map in the left sidebar (if it is not showing, click the “refresh” button).  The convention takes place at the cathedral which is at the NW corner of the Cedar and Dakota intersection.  What looks like a circular disk is the plaza area in front of the cathedral entrance.  The building to the north of the cathedral is the parish hall where the banquet and Saturday proceedings take place.  Double click on those areas of the map to zoom in incrementally.

Guidelines for Prayers over the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin
Pray from the depths of your spirits unceasingly for God’s will to be done. Pray also that the spirits of confusion, distraction, and busyness be banned from the hall, the convention floor, the delegates, the clergy, the cathedral, the grounds, and the intercessors. Know that you are entering an intense period of battle. Souls are literally in danger should the wrong decision be made. Distractions will abound. Do not allow your prayers to waver. Pray for the delegates, clergy, intercessors, visitors, and the grounds of the Cathedral both in preparation for the convention and during the convention. Be of good courage, sing, pray, rejoice. The battle belongs to God. Remember Jehoshaphat. Be strong, be faithful, and walk in peace.

Thursday Night Prayer Vigil

Thursday, December 6th

A local company by the name of unWired Broad Band, Inc., has graciously agreed to a temporary direct feed setup which will allow Kevin Kallsen of AnglicanTV.org to do videostreaming of each of the convention venues, starting with the convention Opening Eucharist at 11am (Pacific) in St. James Cathedral, Fresno.   The opening session of convention will also take place in the cathedral nave, allowing the cathedral’s “Zoe Eden Hall” to be prepared for the diocesan banquet.   Bishop Lyons of Bolivia is the scheduled preacher at the Holy Eucharist; Bishop Duncan of Pittsburgh is the scheduled banquet speaker; he is also the scheduled preacher for the 7am Eucharist Saturday morning.  Saturday’s convention space will be in Zoe Eden Hall.  It is our intention to have all recorded and/or videostreamed through the ministry of AnglicanTV.

It is our hope that some of the diocesan Prayer Gathering on Thursday night from 7 to 9 pm will be recorded.  The all-night prayer vigil will then commence, and conclude with a Taize-style service at 9am Friday morning in the cathedral chapel.  However, if not recorded, you will still be able to hear the ministry of vocalist Kelly Ferrari (of “Whitestone” fame from Colorado) as she sings at the Friday night banquet.

We will attempt to have the Opening Eucharist service booklet available as a download for those who want to follow along, or are just curious.

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is our backup weblog for the Diocese of San Joaquin.  The rules have not changed - all comments are moderated.  With some sense of trust in prior comments that are not abusive, some commenters will be allowed to bypass the moderation and see their comments posted immediately.

Thank you.

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