Posted on 02/03/2007 5:27:21 PM PST by sionnsar
...and sometimes the bear gets you:
The San Diego Superior Court, Judge Jacqueline M. Stern presiding, rejected an effort by the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego to revive its lawsuit against St. John’s Anglican Church, Fallbrook, after the Court ruled in November 2006 that a small group of dissenters, orchestrated by the diocese, were not directors of St. John’s. The Court ruled yesterday that the diocese could not amend its lawsuit to bring new claims against St. John’s, thus ending the case and barring an effort by the national Episcopal Church to also sue the church and its volunteer directors.
Last year, the diocese had filed suit against Father Donald Kroeger, nine church volunteers, and St. John’s Church, Fallbrook, in an attempt to wrestle away control of the corporation and its property, on the theory that Bishop Mathes had determined they were disloyal Episcopalians. The Court rejected this claim in November. Subsequently, the diocese filed a motion asking the Court’s permission to amend its complaint to bring additional claims, arguing that the Court had not really issued a final ruling in November. In rejecting this move, the Court ruled that the case was terminated.
Father Donald Kroeger, head priest and rector of St. John’s Anglican Church, said: “We are obviously very pleased with the court’s decision, and look forward to continuing our ministries without the distraction of a lawsuit. Since the court has now ruled against the diocese on two separate occasions, we certainly hope that the Episcopal Church could see clear to move on and devote their limited resources to helping their church and the community.”
In July 2006, an overwhelming majority of members of St. John’s voted to end their spiritual affiliation with the Episcopal Church due to its forty year drift away from historic Christian belief, and to align with the Anglican Church of Uganda. St. John’s is among hundreds of churches and thousands of individuals that have left the Episcopal Church in the past few years over issues of church doctrine.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. What does this mean, exactly? What's going on?
That's one...
The three-second summary:
At some point -- exactly when varies, some say the 1930s acceptance of contraception, some say the inability to bring apostate Bishop Pike to heel, some say the ordination of women, some say the revised 1979 prayer book, some say the ordination and consecration of practicing gays -- many members of The Episcopal Church said it's gone off the rails into apostasy and heresy. (A cradle Episcopalian, I left almost 24 years ago.)
A few other CofE church plants (Anglican church of Canada for example) have done the same. The vast majority of world-wide Anglicanism, now centered in Africa, South America and Asia, have not.
The actions of the American church have been causing great turmoil in the world-wide Anglican Communion, and a major rift is underway. Sadly the tear lines are not just separating the apostate from the faithful, but side tears are separating the various wings of the church from each other -- Anglo-catholic, Evangelical and Charismatic (as somebody put it).
And in the American church there is the big issue of who really owns the property. Until about 1980 the parish did. But when a number of churches left in 1977, property and all, to become conservative Continuing Anglican churches (I am a member of same), the Episcopal church enacted a new canon that said that the diocese actually owns the property, even if they didn't put so much as a dime into it.
And that's the fight going on here.
(By contrast, our province's canons explicitly prohibit the diocese and province from any ownership of the property beyond the dollar amount of a loan to a mission. When my church paid off the last of the loan from our Archbishop a couple years back, we then owned the property free and clear.)
Thanks, that helps.
I mentioned on another thread that I'm attending the Falls Church while I'm out here on detail, which split from the Episcopal diocese awhile back.
Being a good Baptist I wasn't paying much attention to the split until I got out here. It's worse than a very public, messy divorce.
On the plus side, I am learning all about the Book of Common Prayer while I'm out here. :-)
Wow! I'm planning on being in the area late April/early May, and hope to visit (conflict with my province's national HQ on O Street, D.C.).
Being a good Baptist I wasn't paying much attention to the split until I got out here. It's worse than a very public, messy divorce.
You are SO correct on that! But heresy has that effect...
On the plus side, I am learning all about the Book of Common Prayer while I'm out here. :-)
Are they using the 1928 BCP (and not the horrible 1979)? If you want to know about Anglicanism, it's all there -- as somebody said, our "magisterium" is bound up in that book. I'm very interested in hearing your reactions, back-channel or otherwise...
It's a lovely church. Lots of history, going back to George Washington's day. And Rector Yates is wonderful. He's a very calming personality, even with all the turmoil going on with the diocese.
As to which version, I'll check tomorrow and let you know. :-)
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