Contact info

Blessings to all at Epiphany. If you should need to talk with me, or set up an appointment call me@ 661 392-1281, (Home) 661 325 -1063 (Bakersfield Office) or 661-331-4611 (cell)
Don't forget I'll be in the church office on Friday's and Saturdays.
By Him, With Him, In Him. Fr. Jack+

CLERGY TRANSITIONS

From the December 16th Tuesday Night Flyer -

It is our pleasure to announce the following deployment transitions within our Diocese.

The Very Rev. Van McCalister has responded to the call to be the Assistant to the Dean of St. James’ Cathedral beginning January 1st. We are very pleased for him and Jacqui as they are remaining with us here, and Fr. Van will remain as Dean of the San Joaquin School for Ministries. Dean Raines and the Chapter are thrilled to have such a qualified Assistant, especially as attendance at the Cathedral has been growing noticeably.

The Rev. Jack Faucett has been called to be the Vicar of Epiphany, Corcoran, as of January 1st. Fr. Jack and Joan are planning to move to Corcoran, although he will continue on with the prison ministries in Kern County as well. This will be a great leap in faith for the people of Epiphany, building on the great work accomplished by Fr. Van at quarter-time availability, as Fr. Jack will be there at least half-time and resident in the neighborhood.

Congratulations to both Epiphany Church and St. James’ Cathedral.

We also wish to recognize that Fr. Lee Nelson has arrived at St. John’s in Stockton and attendance has jumped considerably. Bishop Jack Iker has agreed to be the preacher at Fr. Nelson’s installation as Rector on Saturday, February 7th, 10:AM.

- Fr Bill Gandenberger

Baptisms

There is one Body and one Spirit;

There is one hope in God's call to us;

One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism;

One God and Father of all.

Anglican Coalition in Canada Welcomes New Province

Written by aciccom

Saturday, 06 December 2008 18:06

Dec 6^th 2008- Vancouver, Canada

The Anglican Coalition in Canada is pleased to announce its full participation in the emerging Province called the Anglican Church in North America. This new province was called into existence by the GAFCON Primates, representing the vast majority of the Anglican Church worldwide.

The Rev Barclay Mayo, National ACiC Network Leader, commented: “Who would have believed 10 years ago when we were in the midst of painful challenges that we would see the day when faithful Anglicans would be working together in unity? We were told repeatedly that it couldn't be done, that we were too divided, that our differences were too great. God has shown the impossible to be possible.”

Peter Turner, a Canadian member of the Provincial ACiNA Council which just met in Chicago, said that “we are excited to be full founding partners with our other Canadian Anglican jurisdictions, including ANiC, CANA, and the Reformed Episcopal Church. We are committed to working together in unity for the sake of blessing Canada and North America.”

Over 700 congregations representing around 100,000 faithful Canadian and American Anglicans have come together in the birthing of a new Anglican Province for North America. We are uniting across theological, ethnic, and cultural lines that many thought would not be possible. Bishop Bob Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is functioning as the leader of this new province. A unique feature of the new Provincial constitutions and canons is that they are driven by mission rather than structure.

This new province is bringing order out of the recent Anglican chaos, and ensuring a vibrant united Anglican voice in North America. Eleven founding Anglican partners are coming together, some of which have been in existence for over 130 years. The gracious Provincial leadership is allowing for greater unity in essentials, while respecting appropriate diversity in non-essentials.

Provisional Canons http://www.united-anglicans.org/about/provisional-canons.html

Provisional Constitution http://www.united-anglicans.org/about/provisional-constitution.html

The original article is here.

The Third Sunday of Advent

December 14th, 2008 - "Gaudete Sunday"

LESSONS -- “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Isaiah 65:17-25
1 Thessalonians 5:(12-15)16-28
John 1:6-8,19-28
or John 3:23-30
Psalm 126 or Canticle 3 or 15

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Advent Colors

By Greg Dues

"The traditional color of Advent is purple or violet. It symbolizes a penitential spirit that has been associated with this season. Liturgists and other church leaders have begun clarifying the theme of Advent, emphasizing that it has its own distinct theme and is not a "little Lent." Some liturgists have promoted a new, or renewed, Advent color: a dark blue. While at first a little shocking to parishioners, this color has foundation in the evolution of Advent. In northern European countries and England there was a tradition to use for Advent a shade of violet different from that used for Lent. It tended more toward dark blue because of the kind of dye used. This color seems proper also because of the role of Mary in the mystery of the Christmas event.

Traditionally on the third Sunday of Advent, rose-colored vestments have been used. This color anticipates and is symbolic of the Christmas joy announced in the first word of the Entrance Antiphon: "Rejoice" (Latin, Gaudete)."

-- Quoted from "Catholic Customs and Traditions"


ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday, December 14th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: Uganda Missionary Support
• Annual Meeting: This Sunday
  
• Christmas Eve Mass at 7PM
• Bishop Schofield’s annual visit: March 15, 2009
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Advent 4

2 Samuel 7:4,8-16
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38
Psalm 132 or 132:8-15

WHEATON, IL: North American Anglican Province Formed As Rival To The Episcopal Church

Provisional Constitution and Nine Canons Approved

By David W. Virtue in Wheaton, Illinois
www.virtueonline.org
12/3/2008

A new Province of the Anglican Church in North America, a rival province to The Episcopal Church USA complete with a provisional constitution and nine canons was birthed today with 700 churches and 100,000 church-going members. A formal ratification of the constitution and canons will take place in a provincial assembly in six months in Bedford, Texas at St. Vincent's cathedral in the diocese of Ft. Worth.

It is historic and unprecedented, said Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan moderator of the Anglican Communion Network. "It is an extraordinary day for us. We have reversed 40 years of Anglican history and years of division among The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada. Today we bring together 11 jurisdictions in Canada and across the US. Today marks 5 years of labor and attempts to come together."

Duncan said the Provisional Constitution is a response to what 7 Primates of the Anglican Communion asked us to do. "They (archbishops) represent the majority of the worlds' who met recently in Jerusalem recently. They asked us to form a provisional province that would be recognized by the bulk of the Anglican world. Today we have done that."

Duncan said the new province was a work in the spirit of unity and mutual submission and was as fine and as great as "I have ever known." The nine canons put in place were unanimously adopted by all the partners of Common cause, he said.

The article continues here on Virtue Online

First Sunday of Advent

Sunday, November 30th 2008

LESSONS

Isaiah 64:1-9a
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Mark 13:(24-32)33-37
Psalm 80 or 80:1-7

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Sunday, November 30th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM
• Loose Plate offering: Laotian Missionary Support
• Baptisms: Sunday, December 7th
• Annual Meeting: December 14th
• Bishop Schofield’s annual visit: March 15, 2009
  

Next Sunday's Lessons - Advent 2

Isaiah 40:1-11
2 Peter 3:8-15a,18
Mark 1:1-8
Psalm 85 or 85:7-13

Christ the King

Christ the King Sunday - November 23rd

LESSONS - Proper 29

Ezekiel 34:11-17
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Matthew 25:31-46
Psalm 95:1-7

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday, November 23rd – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: Family Outreach Fund
• Welcome to Fr Jack & Joan Faucett!
• Parish Meeting: Monday evening at 6:30PM
• Advent begins next Sunday – Year B
• Baptisms: Sunday, December 7th

Next Sunday: First Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 64:1-9a
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Mark 13:(24-32)33-37
Psalm 80 or 80:1-7

Twenty Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Lessons

Zephaniah 1:7,12-18
1 Thessalonians 5:1-10
Matthew 25:14-15,19-29
Psalm 90 or 90:1-8,12

Collect

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next Sunday's Lessons are Christ the King/Proper 29:

Ezekiel 34:11-17
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Matthew 25:31-46
Psalm 95:1-7

Fr Jack Faucett will be preaching Sunday, November 23rd
Advent begins on Sunday, November 30th
Baptisms: Sunday, December 7th

Aria Jade

Congratulations to Alex and Erica who gave birth to this beautiful little girl - Aria Jade!

She was born October 21st at 6:15 PM weighing 9 lbs 14 oz and 18 1/2 inches long.

All Saints Sunday

All Saints Sunday

November 2, 2008

Ecclesiasticus 44:1-10,13-14
Revelation 7:2-4,9-17
Matthew 5:1-12
Psalm 149

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

The Compass Rose of the Anglican Communion

The Compass Rose is a symbol identifying those who belong to the worldwide Anglican Communion. This emblem was originally designed by the late Canon Edward West of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. The Compass Rose is set in the nave of the Cathedral Church of Christ in Canterbury, England, and it was dedicated by Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie at the final Eucharist of the Lambeth Conference in 1988. He also dedicated a similar Compass Rose in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (National Cathedral) in Washington, D.C. in 1990.

The center of the Compass Rose contains the cross of St. George and is surrounded by the inscription in Greek, "The truth shall set you free." The points of a compass reflect the spread of Anglican Christianity throughout the world. The mitre at the top indicates the role of Episcopacy and Anglican Order that is at the heart of the traditions of the Churches of the Communion.

This article is from the Compass Rose Society

Not Inhibited

Recently, a dear friend asked me why I would not simply answer Bishop Lamb’s inhibition letter once it arrives, since I no longer want to remain in The Episcopal Church? In other words, if Bishop Lamb is simply taking action to remove clergy from the roles and we no longer want to serve as Episcopal clergy, what’s the problem?

What follows is my response to that question – it is strictly my own opinion.

If Bishop Lamb were merely tidying up his records, I doubt if anyone would be the least bit bothered. However, that is not the situation. Bishop Lamb is using a disciplinary canon (law) to respond to an administrative issue. The administrative procedure would be to identify which clergy belong to which bishop, and then everyone goes on about their business. Since we are all still members of the same denomination, it should be that simple.

However, Bishop Lamb has used a disciplinary procedure, which has severe implications. This particular canon is based on the charge of abandoning “the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Church” which would be appropriately applied to (1) someone who has either left the Anglican Communion or who is teaching/preaching in a manner contrary to Holy Scripture and the Creeds, or (2) someone who is not submitting to their ecclesiastical authority, or defying canon law, or other notorious misconduct, or (3) someone who is deviating from the practices of worship as outlined in the approved liturgies and/or unworthy administration of the sacraments. The purpose of the abandonment canon is to provide the means for a bishop to remove a priest or deacon who is no longer serving faithfully as a priest or deacon within the Anglican Communion. In other words, they have either abandoned their calling as clergy, or they have abandoned the Faith as received through the Anglican Church.

The preamble of The Episcopal Church states that it is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion. Until recently, it was common practice for priests to move about from diocese to diocese and province to province within the Anglican Communion without punitive action. A simple notice from one bishop to another was sufficient. Please note that there is no canonical (legal) restriction prohibiting Episcopal/Anglican clergy from moving about within the Anglican Communion, apart from their bishop’s permission and the receiving bishop’s acceptance. In effect, this inhibition is proposing to say that all Anglicans and Episcopalians may move about the Anglican Communion, with the exception of San Joaquin's clergy (and others who have made similar decisions).

Therefore, cooperating with the charge of inhibition is inappropriate for two reasons: (1) Bishop Lamb is not our diocesan bishop, and has no ecclesiastical authority to bring disciplinary charges against another bishop’s clergy, (2) we have not abandoned the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Church. Actually, we have stood against a number of bishops who have abandoned the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Church, because they were unwilling to discipline one another, nor were they willing to heed the discipline from Anglican bishops outside of North America.

It is because we have resolved to be faithful to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Church that we are being accused of abandonment.

Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost

Proper 24 - Year A

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm 96 or 96:1-9
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

Sunday, October 19th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Bishop’s Committee meets this Sunday
• Bible Study: Thursday at 10AM
• Diocesan Convention: October 24-25
  
• Diocese of San Joaquin Festive Eucharist: 2:30PM – Saturday, Oct 25th at St James’ Cathedral
• The memorial service for The Rev Watson Bartholome will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2008. The time of the service is tentatively set for 3:00 pm. Questions can be directed to St. John's Episcopal Church at (559) 686-8048 or stjohnstulare[at]yahoo.com.
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 25
Exodus 22:21-27
Psalm 1
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46

Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Proper 21, Year A

Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80 or 80:7-14
Philippians 3:14-21
Matthew 21:33-43

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

Sunday, October 5th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: General Operating Fund
• Pre-Convention Deanery Meeting at Saint Paul's, Visalia: Sunday Oct. 5th at 3PM
  
• Bible Study: Thursday at 10AM
• Bishop’s Committee Meets October 19, 2008
• Diocesan Convention at St James Cathedral, Fresno - October 24-25
  
• The memorial service for The Rev Watson Bartholome will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Tulare.

Next Sunday's lessons - Proper 22A

Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:4-13
Matthew 22:1-14

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday - September 28, 2008

Proper 21, Year A

Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:28-32
Psalm 25:1-14 or 25:3-9

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

Sunday, September 28th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: Family Outreach Fund
• Bible Study: Thursday at 10AM
• Bishop’s Committee Meets October 19, 2008
• The memorial service for The Rev Watson Bartholome will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Tulare.
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 22
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80 or 80:7-14
Philippians 3:14-21
Matthew 21:33-43

The Rev. Watson "Fr. Bart" Bartholome

The Rev. Watson "Fr. Bart" Bartholome died this morning, September 19, at approximately 3 am, on the feast day of Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury. Fr. Bart was the Rector Emeritus of St. John's, Tulare, having served as Vicar from 1977 to 1987, coming to the Diocese of San Joaquin from ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles. He served in retirement in the Diocese of San Joaquin as a supply priest and priest-in-charge for several congregations, the most notable being his ministry to Epiphany, Corcoran, for many years.

The time and date of the Burial Office is yet to be scheduled. It will be held at St. John's, Tulare.

Please pray for his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed; and for God's gracious strength and comfort for his widow, Vivian, and for their children, Dave and Susan, and their families.

Condolences may be sent to the family via St. John's, 1701 E. Prosperity Ave., Tulare, CA, 93274, or by email to stjohnstulare[at]yahoo.com .

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, September 21st - Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

Proper 20 - Year A

Jonah 3:10-4:11
Philippians 1:21-27
Matthew 20:1-16
Psalm 145 or 145:1-8

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday, September 21st – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: Vicar's Discretionary Fund
  
• Bishop’s Committee Meets Sunday (9-21-08)
• Bible Study - Hebrews: Thursday at 10AM
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 21A

Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:28-32
Psalm 25:1-14 or 25:3-9

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday - September 14, 2008

Holy Eucharist 9:00AM

LESSONS - Proper 19A

Ecclesiasticus 27:30-28:7
Romans 14:5-12
Matthew 18:21-35
Psalm 103 or 103:8-13

O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday, September 14th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: Uganda Missionary Support
• Next Bishop’s Committee Meeting: 9-21-08
• Bible Study - Hebrews: Thursday at 10AM
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 20A
Jonah 3:10-4:11
Philippians 1:21-27
Matthew 20:1-16
Psalm 145 or 145:1-8

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday - September 7th, 2008

Holy Eucharist, Rite 2 at 9:00AM

Proper 18 - Year A

Ezekiel 33:(1-6)7-11
Psalm 119:33-48 or 119:33-40
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 18:15-20

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 16:11-21

INTRO
“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”

• Why does Jesus say this?
• The warning against false teaching is followed by the revealing of Christ by God to Peter under the shadow of pagan worship at the mouth of Hades.
  

JESUS & DISCIPLES AT CAESARIA-PHILIPPI

Location of the Temple of Pan and the “Gates of Hades” which is a large rock.

• Being surprised by Pan in the dark created panic
• Peter = rock
  

1. Who do people say that I am (”the Son of man”)?

• John the Baptist – a great preacher
• Elijah – a great miracle worker
• Jeremiah – a great prophet
  

2. But who do you say that I am?

This is the most important question that we must answer:

• To God
• For ourselves
• To others
  

Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you . . . [1 Peter 3:14b-15]

3. The right answer/person:

• Is revealed by God
• Brings blessing
• Provides . . .
  
• Jesus as the architect – “I will build”
• Safety and power – “the gates of hades shall not prevail”
• Access to God’s kingdom – “the keys of the kingdom”
• Our commissioning to act on His behalf – “whatever you bind/loose”
  

CONCLUSION
“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things . . .”

Sandwiched between “false” teaching and the Cross is a question:
1. Beware of false teaching
“But who do you say that I am?” [See Isaiah 51:1]
2. The Cross

Fifteenth Day after Pentecost

August 24, 2008 - Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:00AM

Lessons - Proper 16

Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

Sunday, August 24th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: Family Outreach Fund
• Next Bishop’s Committee Meeting: 9-21-08
• Bible Study Thursdays at 10AM (Hebrews)
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 17
Jeremiah 15:15-21
Psalm 26:1-8
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:21-27

Fourteenth Day after Pentecost

Sunday - August 17, 2008

Lessons -Proper 15A

Isaiah 56:1(2-5)6-7
Psalm 67
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Announcements for Sunday - August 17, 2008

• Instructed Eucharist
• Bishop’s Committee Meeting
• Bible Study Thursdays at 10AM (Hebrews)
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 16
Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20

Scriptural Foundations for the Nicene Creed

Note: Some of the Scripture passages copied below are only excerpts of the complete text listed.

GOD THE FATHER

Genesis 1:26a
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Deuteronomy 5:6-7
" 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. " 'You shall have no other gods before me.

Deuteronomy 6:4
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Deuteronomy 32:6
Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

GOD THE SON

John 1:1-18 [excerpt]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. . . . From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. [see also 1 John 1:1-5]

Philippians 2:6-11 [excerpt]
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers--all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Hebrews 1:1-13 [excerpt]
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. [Reference: Deut 32:43a; Psalm 45:6-7; Psalm 102:25-27]

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Psalm 2:7
I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

2 Samuel 7:14
I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalm 104:29-30
When you hide your face, they [creatures] are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The passages listed above are just a small sampling of the many more texts that could be listed in defense of the Creeds and the Trinity -- Van+

Saint Athanasius and Nicene Creed

Saint Athanasius and the Arian Heresies

BEFORE THE COUNCIL

• Athanasius AD 293-373; Greek parents of Alexandria, Northern Africa
• Constantine AD 306-337
• Edict of Milan AD 313, authorizing Christianity
• AD 321 the Patriarch Alexander called a Synod to deal with the teachings of the presbyter Arius of Antioch
• Athanasius in his mid-20s was a deacon serving Bishop Alexander during the synod.
  

ARIUS TAUGHT

1. “There was a time when he [the Son] was not”
2. The Son is not begotten of the same essence of the Father
3. The Son is a creature
4. The Son is the first and most exalted creature
5. The Son may only be called “God” as an extension of God (modalism)
6. His will is created and fallible. Therefore, the Son could commit sin.*
   

COUNCIL OF NICEA – AD 325

• 318 bishops at the council (“318” in Greek = TIH symbolizing “the Cross & Jesus”)
• Emperor Constantine presided (voice without vote)
• Bishop Ossius of Cordoba was the advisor to the emperor
• Nicene Creed adopted after much debate
  

AFTER THE COUNCIL

• Arius exiled – AD 326
• Alexander, the Patriarch died AD 328
• Athanasius became bishop Alexandria AD 328
• Arius returned from exile AD 334
• Athanasius exiled AD 335
• Definition of Chalcedon AD 451 affirmed and further clarified the Son’s full humanity and full divinity
  

*Regarding impeccability & immutability of Christ: Jn 8:29; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 Jn 3:5; 2 Cor 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26; 13:8. Also: Constantinople II, AD 553

SOURCES
The Greek Fathers – Adrian Fortescue
The First Seven Ecumenical Councils – Leo D Davis
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma – Ludwig Ott
Ye Are the Body – Bonnel Spencer

The 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:00AM

Lessons - Proper 14A

Jonah 2:1-9
Psalm 29
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

• Loose Plate offering: Uganda Missionary Support
• Instructed Eucharist: Today & August 17th
• Bible Study Thursdays at 10AM (Hebrews)
• Next Bishop’s Committee Meeting: August 17, 2008
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 15A
Isaiah 56:1-7
Psalm 67
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

Kyrie Eleison - Orthodox Chant

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday - August 3rd, 2008

Proper 13 - Year A

Nehemiah 9:16-20
Psalm 78:1-29 or 78:14-20, 23-2
Romans 8:35-39
Matthew 14:13-21

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS for Sunday - August 3rd, 2008

• Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9AM
• This morning we begin a teaching series on the liturgy of Holy Eucharist
• Bible Study: the Letter to the Hebrews - Thursday mornings at 10:00
• Teaching notes for sermons, instructed Eucharist and Bible study are available by request. Most sermons are also available as mp3 audio files. You may e-mail requests to van[at]sjoaquin.net
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 14
Jonah 2:1-9
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33
Psalm 29

Common Cause Partnership Welcomes Jerusalem Declaration

The Common Cause Partnership leaders issued a statement today welcoming the Jerusalem Declaration and the statement on the Global Anglican Future and pledging to move forward with the work of Anglican unity in North America.

Read more about it at Soundings

Recent Scenes from Epiphany

Matthew and Lisa renewed their wedding vows on July 3rd.










Matthew became an acolyte on Sunday, June 1st and joined the "ranks" with Austin and Cabriea.
















Mim - our faithful organist - keeps us singing.

The 11th Sunday after Pentecost

July 27, 2008 - Proper 12A

1 Kings 3:5-12
Romans 8:26-34
Matthew 13:31-33,44-49a
Psalm 119:121-136 or 119:129-136

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

• Sunday, July 27th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM
• Loose Plate offering: Family Outreach Fund
• Instructed Eucharist: Sunday August 3rd & August 10th
• Bible Study Thursdays at 10AM (Hebrews)
• Next Bishop’s Committee Meeting: August 17, 2008

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 13
Nehemiah 9:16-20
Romans 8:35-39
Matthew 14:13-21
Psalm 78:14-20, 23-25

Sermon Notes from Sunday, July 20th

Proper 11A – Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

[37-38] Jesus is sowing good seed in the field

• Here the “good seed” is what the word has produced rather than the word itself.
• He has placed his children in the world but not of the world
• John 17:16-19 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17] Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. [18] As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. [19] And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
• Field = the world not the church
  

[38] The “weeds” are probably darnel, a poisonous plant related to wheat & virtually indistinguishable from it until it matures.

[38] Children of the Kingdom vs. Sons of the evil one

• Both are sown in the field together
• They cannot be distinguished from one another until they begin to bear fruit [29]
• Satan’s powers of deception are so great that only the angels of God are entrusted to separate the good from the evil [30/41]
  

Jude 1:4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

[25/39] What is Satan’s goal in planting the “weeds”? [See: 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1-3]

1 Peter 5:8-9 [8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

[42] The fiery furnace – compare: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednago [Daniel 3:23-27] Who else was with them?

1 Cor. 15:24-26 [24] Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. [25] For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. [26] The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Rev. 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Rev. 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

Note: Bible quotations are from the ESV. Commentaries referenced for the Gospel of Matthew by R.T. France and Craig Keener

Parables

Sermon notes from Sunday, July 13, 2008

Why are stories so compelling?

• Eustace: dragon scales removed at baptism.
• Aslan: Christological sacrifice.
  

Greek vs. Jewish response

• Greeks loved argument for argument’s sake.
• Jews wanted to reach a conclusion and apply it to their lives. [Barclay, p. 12]
  

Luke 16:15 “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Parable: “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”

• God uses the visible to make known the invisible.
• Jesus used parables as a way to force people to be objective about issues to which they were blind and then to compel them to see themselves in the parable. This is what Nathan did to David with the parable of the ewe lamb. [Barclay, P.13]
• Parables were produced spontaneously by Jesus to apply to the current situation.
  
• “parables are not carefully composed works of art, but sudden, lovely improvisations in the dust and heat of conflict.” [Barclay, p. 15]
  

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Matthew emphasized the “kingdom of heaven” a euphamism for the “kingdom of G0d” because he was writing to Jews. Kingdom of God = the reign of God.

Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children"

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

These parables continue to answer the questions of why some rejected God, as in chapters 11 and 12: Cities around Galilee and “who are my brothers and sisters?”

Summer Sermons

Even in an age when men know less and less of the Bible, and care less for it, it remains true that the stories that Jesus told are the best known stories in the world.

- Wm Barclay, "The Parables of Jesus" (1970), page 9

On Sunday, July 13th we begin a series of three lessons from Matthew chapter 13 that relate to sowing seed:

• The Parable of the Sower, Sunday July 13th
  
• The Parable of the Weeds, Sunday, July 20th
  
• The Parable of the Mustard Seed (and others), Sunday July 27th

Beginning Sunday August 3rd, we will start a two part* Instructed Eucharist:

• The Liturgy of the Word, Sunday August 3rd
• The Liturgy of the Table, Sunday August 1oth

*We may stretch this out longer than two weeks, if there is a lot of discussion.

Sermon notes for July 6, 2008

Matthew 11:25-30

[25] “Jesus declared” is literally “Jesus answered”

What then is the question? Jesus is answering the age-old problem of people rejecting God’s word by example of John the Baptist and cities around Galilee.

(Recall Jonah 3:5-10) Matthew 12:41 -- The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Trajectory:
1. John the Baptist is the prophet like Elijah [Malachi 4:5] preaching judgement and redemption.
2. John calls for repentance and points the way to Jesus.

• Ignoring the plea for repentance will bring judgement.
• Heeding the plea will bring redemption, safety, rest, mercy.
  

3. Jesus denounces unrepentant cities, as did OT prophets.
4. Jesus declares rest for those who come to him.

“John came leading disciples to fast over Israel’s sin [11.18] but Jesus came celebrating the kingdom like a wedding feast [11.19]” – Keener p 219

[25] Why are these things hidden from the wise?

• As pharoah’s heart was hardened? [Ex 7:13-14] “he would not listen”
• 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 -- For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. [19] For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." [20] Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21] For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
• 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 – Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. [13] And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. [14] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
  

[25] “little children” = “infants” – applied figuratively in the Greek, referred to the “helpless” in general. – Keener p 220

[27] It is not the wise who reveal God – It is His Son.

[28] “Rest” could also be understood as “relief”

• The discipleship demands of following Jesus are a relief compared with the insatiable demands of the Law.
• We are completely crushed under the Law, while our knees are merely bloodied by following Christ.
  

Matthew 23:4 -- They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

Matthew 5:20 -- For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

What does Jesus mean by “righteousness”?

[28 - 30] Jesus modeled his words after Ben Sira – Sirach/Ecclesiasticus, with which Jesus’ hearers would be very familiar. [Sirach 51:23-27]

Come to me, you who need instruction…bend your neck to the yoke, be ready to accept discipline; you need not go far to find it. See how little were my labors compared with the great peace I have found. [NEB]

• Yoke symbolizes: Oppression, Service and Obedience to the Law – France 201
• My yoke is “easy” = My yoke is “good” or “kind” -- France p 201
• – not due to lighter demands but because it is based on a relationship with one who is “gentle and lowly in heart”
• “Jesus’ yoke is not lighter because he demands less but because he bears more of the load with us” -- Keener p 222

GAFCON Final Statement

Sunday, June 29, 2008

STATEMENT ON THE GLOBAL ANGLICAN FUTURE

Praise the LORD!
It is good to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. (Psalm 147:1-2)

Brothers and Sisters in Christ: We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, send you greetings from Jerusalem!

Introduction

The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which was held in Jerusalem from 22-29 June 2008, is a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it. The movement is global: it has mobilised Anglicans from around the world. We are Anglican: 1148 lay and clergy participants, including 291 bishops representing millions of faithful Anglican Christians. We cherish our Anglican heritage and the Anglican Communion and have no intention of departing from it. And we believe that, in God’s providence, Anglicanism has a bright future in obedience to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to build up the church on the foundation of biblical truth (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:20). [the statement continues]

Read it all at GAFCON.org

More NEWS . . .

More news about the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), et cetera is on the Diocese of San Joaquin blog: Soundings

Conservative Anglicans form breakaway church in revolution led from the south

[Note: The title of this post, which was the Guardian's headline, is very misleading. Conservative Anglicans are not forming a "breakaway Church". As the article describes below, they are working to preserve Anglicanism and establish reform within the Anglican Communion.]

"All around the world the sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism and orthodox Anglicanism has been aroused by what happened in Canada and the United States of America. It was an act of folly." - Archbishop Jensen (Sydney)

Conservative evangelicals representing half of the world's Anglicans launched a new global church yesterday, challenging the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury and vowing to rescue people from the forces of "militant secularism and pluralism" created by a "spiritual decline" in developing economies.

The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, Foca, will sever ties with the main churches in the US and Canada, whose leaders they accuse of betraying biblical teaching. Foca architects will tomorrow go to the conservative evangelical church of All Souls, in central London, to discuss global Anglicanism and English orthodoxy.

Hundreds of disgruntled clergy, representing many Church of England parishes, will be in the audience and the speakers will include the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, and the Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi.

Great swaths of Anglican provinces, including Africa, South America and Asia, are furious with their counterparts in the northern hemisphere, accusing them of being in thrall to contemporary culture, with the ordination and consecration of gay New Hampshire bishop Gene Robinson acting as a turning point. The creation of Foca is a schism in all but name.

Outraged over the "false gospel" being promoted in the west, Foca pledges a return to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, ignoring 21st-century additions and interpretations. It will train its own priests by sending them to hardline theological colleges such as Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and Oak Hill, London, and will insist on more orthodox practices in its churches.

There will also be a primates' council, comprising senior bishops and archbishops who attended the Jerusalem summit that led to Foca's inception.

At a press conference Jensen said they would bring "order to a situation of turmoil" and help to deal with "the chaos caused in the Anglican church through revisionist activities". [the article continues]

Read it all at The Guardian

JERUSALEM: ANGLICAN COMMUNION FACES SPLIT

North American Province Will Become a Reality

By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
June 28, 2008

Believing that God has called them to a "new work", Primates at the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) announced tonight that they have launched a movement of Confessing Anglicans that will, in effect, be a rival Anglican Communion.

Tomorrow, when orthodox Anglicans meet for their final day of pilgrimage, 1,200 representatives including 303 bishops of the Anglican Communion representing more than 70% of the Communion, will announce the formation of a new Anglican body that will affirm "'the faith once for all delivered to the saints"' as a bulwark against the growing and rampant liberalism in the mostly Western church.

While the word "schism" is not found in the text, it is, to all intents and purposes, a formal split from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the four Instruments of Unity.

The new global Anglican fellowship will act, for a time, within the present organization, but many see fragmenting synodical boundaries of the Church of England. In North America, a new North American Anglican Province will be set up to draw together members of Common Cause Partnership and various Anglican evangelical and Anglo-Catholics jurisdictions, setting it on a collision course with the liberal (some believe revisionist) Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada.

Coming as it does, just two weeks before some 600 bishops representing only 30% of the Anglican Communion meet in Canterbury, this fellowship meeting in the land of Jesus' birth, poses a direct challenge to the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, as well as to the Primate of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori and to Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church in Canada. Most of the Anglican bishops here will not attend Lambeth.

This momentous decision, the likes of which we have not seen in 500 years of Anglican history, made by representatives from all 38 provinces, will directly affect nearly half the total number of provinces in the communion including, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, India, Sydney, and the Southern Cone, which makes up two-thirds of all worshipping Anglicans. [The article continues, concluding with the GAFCON Statement.]

Read it all at Virtue Online

Sermon Notes for Sunday June 29, 2008

The following are sermon notes for Sunday June 29, 2008

PROPER 8, YEAR A

Isaiah 2:22

Whom will we follow? Man/creature or God/Creator

Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"

BAPTISM

Baptism is an act that not only symbolizes but also propels one into the reality of the thing symbolized.

Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.

1 Cor. 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Col. 2:12 . . . having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

What Jesus began in the wilderness, he guaranteed at the cross. Christ’s Reign of LIFE overpowered Satan’s reign of DEATH.

Why would we give back to Satan what Christ has delivered us from?

NEW CREATION

“Crucify” the old self [Romans 6.6] can also mean to “fence off” the old self.

Galatians 2:20 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 6:14-15 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. [15] For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

If the old self has been crucified and buried, why do we exhume it and try to keep it going?

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Col. 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Ephes. 4:22-25 . . . to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, [23] and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, [24] and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. [25] Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

SUBMIT TO GOD

Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

James 4:7-10 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

This no game of ‘let’s pretend’; believers should consider themselves to be what God in fact has made them. It is no vain exercise but one which is morally fruitful: the Spirit has come to make effective in them what Christ has done for them, and to enable them to become in daily experience . . . what they already are ‘in Christ Jesus’ and what they will be fully in the resurrection life.

- F.F. Bruce “Romans”, p. 132, regarding 6:11

The Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin has fully complied with California State Law

The Diocese of San Joaquin: June 4, 2008
Fresno, California

The following facts are given to correct and clarify recently published misunderstandings and misstatements regarding legal claims against the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.

All actions taken by the Diocese of San Joaquin were authorized by its governing bodies, namely, its Standing Committee and its Diocesan Council, along with Bishop Schofield. These actions were done in complete compliance with California law and were done to secure the property until a California court can rule on the issue of ownership. One of these actions was to retitle accounts held at Merrill Lynch; assets were not moved from Merrill Lynch. The property in question is owned by the Diocese and its parishes and not the Episcopal Church. The Diocese expects a favorable ruling by the California court on the issues of property ownership.

The Diocese of San Joaquin is a California unincorporated association that is governed by the California Corporations Code and its own internal Constitution and Canons (akin to bylaws). The Diocese is a corporate person; a legal entity recognized by the civil courts. In California, an unincorporated association is governed by majority vote of its members. There is nothing in the governing documents of the Episcopal Church which forbade or limited the right of the Diocese of San Joaquin from withdrawing and taking its property with it.

On December 8, 2007, the people of the Diocese of San Joaquin exercised their democratic right reserved to them under their Constitution to withdraw from membership in the Episcopal Church and to realign with another province of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Province of the Southern Cone. The vote of the people of the Diocese of San Joaquin at a duly noticed and convened Annual Convention was overwhelming; nearly 90 percent were in favor of the realignment. Special provision was made for those who disagreed with the majority’s decision: each parish in the Diocese was given the option of staying with the Episcopal Church and those who did were permitted to keep all of their real and personal property with the blessings of the Diocese and its bishop, The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield. Ultimately, some seven parishes decided to stay with the Episcopal Church.

Unwilling to abide by the decision of the majority, the seven stay-behind parishes, in concert with the Episcopal Church, purported to hold their own “re-vote” to reverse the 90 percent majority decision of the Diocese and have filed papers proclaiming themselves to be the “true” or “real” Diocese of San Joaquin and seeking all of the diocese’s real and personal property. These assertions are not legally tenable.

Bishop Schofield remains a fully ordained bishop and is a member in good standing of the House of Bishops of the Province of the Southern Cone, a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Furthermore, at least five dioceses within The Episcopal Church have rejected or questioned the legality of the Presiding Bishop’s actions in deposing Bishops Schofield and Cox.

Anglican Province in legal moves to admit others

Monday, 19th May 2008. 10:21am By: George Conger. The Province of the Southern Cone has begun work to amend its Constitution and Canons to permit parishes and dioceses outside of South America to affiliate with the church.

In an address to the Diocese of Fort Worth on May 3, Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables of Argentina said his province had agreed to accept the diocese of San Joaquin into the South American church as a “pastoral” and interim response to the divisions within the US Episcopal Church. Work was now underway to alter the church’s constitution, removing language that limited membership to dioceses located in South America.

The “Anglican Communion in the United States has been hijacked,” Bishop Venables said, by a liberal clique that is less concerned with theological integrity than with power. They do not “mind what happens as long as they control it,” he said according to a report prepared by the diocese’s communications officer. Bishop Venables told Fort Worth that the question before them was “whether or not you can stand with a group of people who have denied that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Bible is the Word of God.”

He conceded that the invitation to the Diocese of San Joaquin made following its December decision to quit the Church and affiliate with the Southern Cone was irregular. However, “if we don’t do something,” he said, we would be “complicit” in their oppression.

Please read the rest of the article at Religious Intelligence

Bishop James Adams: Why some may say that the Episcopal Church is no longer a member of the Anglican Communion

Note: Bp Adams provides a clear explanation of how the recent misuse of canon law is indicative of the growing disconnect between TEC and the rest of the Anglican Communion.

June 2, 2008

A very interesting and disturbing phenomenon has occurred due to a reinterpretation of the Canons of the Episcopal Church. The decision was made to use a Canon formed to ease the transition for a priest to leave the Anglican Church (of which The Episcopal Church is a part) and go to another Apostolic faith community without trial or expenses, non-necessary paperwork and meetings, which a regular renunciation would have required.

A good Canon constructed to work as Christians together in one faith: when spiritual disciplines change and new callings and discernment lead us apart. But now that same Canon has been reinterpreted to mean that a bishop may depose a priest when they disagree or when that clergyperson sees that they can no longer remain in the Episcopal Church, but she/he may be called to another Anglican entity (Province, Church, Ministry) which shares, supposedly, the same faith and Holy Orders.

It has been used nearly 300 times in the past six years. The words have been reinterpreted to speak to a Bishop and his/her clergy instead of a Holy Order within the whole of the Anglican Communion. The interpretation now leans to saying that people are ordained to this Church (TEC) and not to the worldwide Communion.

This has been extended to bishops for the first time and now all pretence of investigation, trial, evidence and Anglican identity can be ignored to solve problems that should be dealt with pastorally.

Please read the rest of the article at VirtueOnline

Third Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, June 1st - Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 9:00AM

LESSONS

Proper 4

Deuteronomy 11:18-21,26-28
Romans 3:21-25a,28
Matthew 7:21-27
Psalm 31 or 31:1-5,19-24

O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Trinity Sunday

Sunday - May 18, 2008
Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:00AM

LESSONS

Genesis 1:1-2:3
2 Corinthians 13:(5-10)11-14
Matthew 28:16-20
Psalm 150 or
Canticle 2 or 13

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

NEXT SUNDAY'S LESSONS

2 Pentecost

Isaiah 49:8-18
1 Corinthians 4:1-5(6-7)8-13
Matthew 6:24-34
Psalm 62 or Psalm 62:6-14 Page 669, BCP

The Day of Pentecost - Whitsunday

Whitsunday - May 11, 2008
Holy Eucharist: 9:00AM

THE LESSONS

Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:4-13
Acts 2:1-11
John 20:19-23
Psalm 104:25-32

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday, May 11th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Happy Mothers Day!
• Plate offering: Uganda Missionary Support
• Bible Study – Thursday evenings at 6:30PM
• Archbishop Gregory Venables’ remarks and sermon can be viewed and heard on our website, below.
• Bishop’s Committee meets: May 18th
• Acolyte Training: May 25th
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Trinity Sunday
Genesis 1:1-2:3
2 Corinthians 13:(5-10)11-14
Matthew 28:16-20
Psalm 150 or
Canticle 2 or 13

Venables' Sermon at St James' Cathedral

Archbishop Venables' Sermon

The audio for Archbishop Venables' sermon from the Festal Eucharist at Saint James' Cathedral on Tuesday, April 29th can be found on the home page of the Diocese of San Joaquin website.

Abp Venables Speaks in Fresno, CA

Seventh Sunday of Easter

The Sunday after Ascension Day

May 4, 2008 - Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:00AM

LESSONS

Acts 1:(1-7)8-14
1 Peter 4:12-19
John 17:1-11
Psalm 68:1-20 or 47

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday, May 4th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering goes general operating fund - Please use envelopes to note specific offerings.
• Bible Study – Thursday evenings at 6:30PM
• Archbishop Gregory Venables’ remarks and sermon can be viewed and heard at www.sjoaquin.net
• Pentecost Sunday/Mother’s Day is May 11th
• Please consider volunteering to help in Sunday School
• Bishop’s Committee meets: May 18th
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Pentecost
Acts 2:1-11
Ezekiel 11:17-20
1 Corinthians 12:4-13
Acts 2:1-11
John 20:19-23
John 14:8-17
Psalm 104:25-37 or 104:25-32 or 33:12-15, 18-22

Table Fellowship with Greg & Sylvia Venables

May 1, 2008

What a joy it was to have Archbishop Gregory and Sylvia Venables, and Bishop Bill Atwood with us this past Tuesday. The contrast between the pastoral approach of Archbishop Venables and that of Presiding Bishop Jefferts-Schori was unmistakable. In fact, the contrast was so striking that it reaffirmed to me – and I know to many others – that we are moving in the right direction. The doctrinal and theological differences between the two primates are obvious but seeing them worked out “in person” this week was fascinating and encouraging.

My particular reaction to all of this was shaped somewhat by a book that I have been reading by Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament, in which he emphasized the biblical norm of making decisions in community, and recognizing how our actions are a witness of the Body of Christ to the World.

While North Americans tend to think in terms of a one-on-one relationship with God, early Christians responded to the Gospel not just as individuals but as families and communities. And, because their faith in Christ created a stronger bond than family, racial and national identities, their Christian family became their primary identity.

Hays’s words were echoing in my mind while listening to Archbishop Venables on Tuesday as he was talking about us coming together as a family. As Saint Paul emphasized the value of table fellowship during the Antioch controversy in Galatians [2.11f], so did Venables in his conversations with us in San Joaquin.

Thankfully, we are experiencing a dramatic shift in worldviews. We are moving from a litigious Western institutional mindset toward a more wholesome and biblical family interaction.

A perfect example of this, is the way in which the bishops of the Southern Cone responded to the plight of churches in North America. While some were debating over canon law, in order to find “permission” to be faithful to Christ, the bishops of the Southern Cone simply offered us their home. Sadly, there have been a number of people who have had the effrontery to suggest that the bishops of the Southern Cone did not have the right to offer that hospitality because their own constitutional documents did not provide for it. But those critics are responding out of a completely different worldview than the bishops of the Southern Cone. Venables’ critics are thinking from a litigious Western view, while the bishops of the Southern Cone are thinking like family.

Isn’t that refreshing?

Which would you prefer to receive if you were in crisis, a summons to court, or an invitation to dinner?

From Bishop Schofield

To the clergy and parishioners of San Joaquin -

We recognize that the news of a lawsuit from the Presiding Bishop and the representatives of Remain Episcopal in Stockton, may be unsettling. However, please be assured that we have been expecting this litigation and the contents contain no surprises. Please know that our legal team has been at work for some time. They are optimistic and remain unperturbed by The Episcopal Church's most recent action. What our legal counsel has accomplished on our behalf is already proving most helpful in defense of property and assets despite the fact that this preparatory work had to be done without the benefit of seeing what the Episcopal Church intended to do.

Furthermore, I want to remind you that in spite of the claims by The Episcopal Church, nothing in their current Constitution and Canons prohibits a diocese from leaving one province and moving to another. Also, just as we stood together for the sake of our witness to the Gospel at our Convention in December, so now will we continue to stand together for that same witness. I will continue to respond to those who disagree with us in a Christian and charitable manner and I trust that you will, as well.

Thank you for the trust that you have placed in me as your bishop and senior pastor, and know that I will continue to honor that trust with God's help.

Faithfully, yours in Christ,

+John-David