Bishop Sees San Joaquin Vote as Referendum on Separation
11/13/2006

In September, San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield was absolved of charges brought by four other California bishops that he had left The Episcopal Church. But his legal reprieve might not last, with delegates to next month’s diocesan convention scheduled to consider even more changes to distance the diocese from The Episcopal Church.

In an interview with AnglicanTV, Bishop Schofield accepted responsibility for previous constitutional changes that have drawn the attention of the Presiding Bishop’s chancellor, as well as those proposed this year which would remove any language tying the diocese to The Episcopal Church. Bishop Schofield described the proposed changes as a referendum on the nature of the diocese’s relationship with the national church.

“We are saying that if there is a test going on here, it’s not a test for the national church. It’s a test for this diocese,” he said. “Are the members and parishes of this diocese serious enough about the gospel of Jesus Christ that they want to remain apart from a church that no longer holds to those tenets?” the rest