A lot has been happening in Anglican-land, and perhaps an update is warranted. You may have heard in the news that Bishop Schofield and the Diocese of San Joaquin voted last December to leave the Episcopal Church and join the province of the Southern Cone (Latin America). That action, which is illegal under the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church led to Bishop Schofield’s deposition (removal) from the House of Bishops this week. In the meantime, the National Church is working hard to reconstitute the Diocese of San Joaquin with a new bishop. A diocesan convention will be held on March 29 to do the work of rebuilding the structures of the diocese.
Although lay and clergy delegates to the diocesan convention in December voted overwhelmingly in support of the action, surprisingly it seems that many parishes and more than 1/4 of the diocesan lay membership will remain Episcopal and participate in some form in this new convention and the new diocese.
The issue is the same as the issue with parishes. Individuals, lay and clergy, may leave the Episcopal Church, but neither parishes nor dioceses can. Parishes are created by dioceses, and dioceses are created by the General Convention.
There was also considerable discussion at the House of Bishops meeting concerning the Lambeth Conference coming up this summer.
For complete coverage of these stories in the blogsphere, check out
Preaching Grace on the Square 