It’s been a year since more than 90 percent of St. Paul’s congregation walked away from its $2.3 million property in northeast Modesto to begin Wellspring Anglican Church downtown. The move forestalled a lawsuit by Episcopal Bishop Jerry Lamb to claim the property in the ongoing national dispute between the theologically liberal Episcopal Church and the conservative Anglicans.
Members and leaders of each congregation said they are happy — Wellspring with its stable congregation and ministries, despite not owning a physical structure, and the small but slowly growing congregation at St. Paul’s.
Recent visits to both churches found the congregations using the identical liturgy, from prayers to reponses, and even the same order of worship.
The differences are in the numbers — about 30 adults attended the main service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, while nearly five times that number gathered at Wellsping — and in the Scriptural passages and sermons.
Color coded liberal rag that tiptoes around the real issues. Nice sound bites without addressing all the destruction caused by the Schori/ Lamb braintrust and its antiChrist agenda. But hey…that is the Bee’s motto too and it has been for several decades. All is well…..
Intercessor
I think it is interesting that those who left St. Paul’s and gave the huge church back to Jerry Lamb and the faux diocese are larger, and last I heard about a month ago, are bigger than this story represents. Yet the Remain Episcopals only had 30 people in church….how in the world are they truly maintaining that huge building? I think sooner rather than later it will be up for sale. I know they are hurting for cash.
So the word of Christ does not maintain this “church” but interest bearing loans from 815 does… not only for this crowd but for Lamb’s entire diocese. 815 is banking on the lawsuit and the $5 million endowment kitty with this underwriting. Win or lose this diocese will be history. If I know this why does not the all powerful Modesto Bee?
I doubt that TEC will pour much more money into the operation of this faux diocese without having to make some adjustments in other areas. It appears that the so-called ‘parishes’ are unsustainable without outside support, and frankly, I think they will be forced to merge by closing most of them.
Hmmm
DavidH…I read this somewhere else on a different thread not related to this one…..How does your post relate to this thread topic?
Oh yes just dawned on me ….this is what the revisionist clergy at St. Paul’s said that Sunday morning….no wonder they only have 30 people showing up ….Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life is not being preached…..The power of His transforming love and grace that takes out of our sinful living into a righteous way of living is not being taught. Yes…now I remember. ;>)
I was talking with a highly placed TEC official the other day and we both agreed that these Potemkin Dioceses like the one in the San Joaquin Valley will in the medium term (let’s say five years) have to fold their few remaining congregations into neighboring dioceses. I would think that the best thing for the SJV groups is a division between Northern California and Los Angeles.
And there is also El Camino Real just over the mountains to the west; they’re losing people, too, and they could use what little money they’d be likely to get from the refugees in the SJV.