St. Paul’s Church of Visalia has chosen to fight attempts by the Episcopal Church to seize its property including the stately 60-year-old brick church complex at Hall and Main Streets.
The Rev. Richard James, pastor of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, said the Fresno law firm of Penner, Bradley and Simonian has been hired to represent the St. Paul’s congregation in court.
“This move was necessitated by legal action taken against St. Paul’s by the Episcopal Church and the Rev. Jerry Lamb Bishop of the newly formed Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. .Lamb is seeking claim to St. Paul’s property for a small group which broke away from the congregation after it voted by a large majority to remain a part of the original Diocese of the San Joaquin, said James.
I wonder what the good people in the synagogue will think of their renters when Jerry Lamb forces same sex blessings on their Holy ground. St. Paul’s also runs a very sucessful school whose attendants probably will not want their children educated by ultra-liberal Lambites.
After all they pay top dollar for their children to receive a christian education.
Intercessor
I’m confused (frequently). Who stayed and who left? How many voted to leave the Episcopal Church and join ACNA? How many voted to remain Episcopal?
Dear Bill C:
Over two-thirds of the congregation of St. Paul’s Church in Visalia, CA voted to REMAIN in the Diocese of San Joaquin, under Bishop John-David Schofield, and that congregation is now part of ACNA. The minority one-third are part of a faux Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin under Bishop Jerry Lamb, and that group meets at Congregation B’Nai David also in Visalia.
BillC….to go further on what Deacon Francie wrote…. The Episcopal Church left the Faith once delivered for all. Membership in TECis voluntary, thus one can dis-associate voluntarily as well…but KJS nd DBB see it in a twisted vision. TEc left the Gospel and the wider church when they decided to ordain an openly gay man to the Episcopate after being told not to by the wider church [b]family[/b] in the WWAC. So they left…then we decided to dis-associate with TEc and align ourselves with the Southern Cone we are still in the WWAC just not with TEc. Those who have decide that the Authority of God’s Word is not relevant to the Social Culture and is just a bunch of nice stories and that Jesus Christ is not the only way to God left the Church…WE DID NOT!
By the way…the the Remain Episcopal’s decided to leave the church that decided to stay with God and His Holy Word…they left and moved on now want to come a take ownership of a building they not only cannot afford but will never fill up and thus it will be sold just like all the others….Good example of that is Good Shepherd in Binghamton NY which KJS sold to a Muslim Group. But funny that she has been touting that it is her job to ]i]”protect the buildings and assets for future Episcopal Generations as her fiduciary responsibility'[/i] Funny that a Muslim group has no resemblance to an Episcopal generation…..or maybe…..it does. ;>)
Hence Schoria Law….
Intercessor
I agree with TLDillon. KJS talks about ‘fiduciary responsibility’ in protecting those properties for ‘future generations of Episcopalians’ while selling off these seized properties to anyone able to come up with the cash……faithful Anglican Christians being the exception, of course. All the while, of course, knowing very well that these properties will never again be occupied by large Episcopal congregations, who are becoming as scarce as hen’s teeth. TEC and Bishop Lamb and his rump ‘diocese’ …..which isn’t footing the bill for this lawsuit, by the way (TEC is) may win the battle, but they’re losing the war.
Bill,
It is a poorly written article, including spelling, and lends itself to some confusion. Don’t feel too bad.
Intercessor,
Since the school got spun off previously as a separate entity, I don’t believe it will be an object of litigation for the time being. I may be wrong about that, of course, but there’s no doubt in any case that the downtown property and church facilities are the prime objective. Bless them.
Why is this situation different than others in California where people leave the church and the courts have refused to support their efforts to take things when they go? Is the difference here the “Diocesan Departure” argument?
Since a diocese is different than a single church I would say in that sense it is different but in the eyes of TEc and the leaders of TEc they see no difference and who knows what the courts will do…and I have to ask the questions what does it matter? Seriously, if what the people vote on can be over litigated into financial oblivion (i.e. Prop 8) why not something like this until the liberal left and those in TEc get what they want and to Hades with anyone or anything else. Doing anything morally correct or Christianly is not the path they walk not a part of their thinking. If they win and they can not maintain any of these properties in the diocese then look out…the developers for apartment complexes, strip malls, or shoot how about a Mosque, or a Muslim Awareness Group.