Deposed Bishop Calls it Quits?

Well, the virtueless are at it again. As with most things spiritual, Mr. V has announced that Mr. John David Mercer Schofield has decided to retire! That is correct, you all heard it and you do not need to wash your ears out -- according to the blogster Mr. Schofield announced during the second convention of the Anglican Diocese of Something that he is going to retire in 2011.

Let's see now, many years ago Mr. Schofield (with Mr. Wantland) announced the formation of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. About 6 or 7 years ago Mr. Schofield announced, in a pastoral letter to all the parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin that he would never leave the Episcopal Church. A couple of years ago he announced that he had gone nowhere but that the Episcopal Church had left him. And then two years ago, he announced that it was not he who left but the Episcopal Church, rather he was forced to leave because his Standing Committee and all the people of the diocese made him do it. Then he announced that he was still a part of the Anglican Church. Then he announced that nothing had changed. Then he announced he was going to Lambeth. Then he announced he was not deposed but rather he had resigned from the House of Bishops. Then he announced that the entire diocese belonged to him and the Province of the Southern Cone. Then he announced that the entire diocese belonged to the "new" Anglican Church of North America. So what we have had from Mr. Schofield are lies and lies and damn lies! Should we believe him when he says he is retiring? Well, 70 has come and gone and he has not retired yet. I believe what he wants, what he craves, is for everyone in the diocese to tell him, "Oh no, John David, we love you so much we do not want you to retire. We want you to stay in office forever! We cannot go on without you. Who will protect us from the big bad TEC?" His ego craves it and let's face it, he has not had much good news. his court cases are about to come completely unravelled, his parishioners refuse to financially support his folly any longer, his parishes are returning to the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin at an alarmingly faster rate each month, the diocese is broke and cannot get to any of the frozen assets and quite frankly, he needs someone to stroke his ego.

Ultimately the gambit is if I win the court cases then I stay on and I am more powerful than ever. The more likely scenario is that he is going to lose the entire diocese (facilities wise) and all will return to TEC leaving him and his cohorts with bupkis. He will then retire and blame all the mishaps on Bill Gandenberger and Van Mcalister.

Actually, I betting he will retire when hell freezes over. Think about that analogy in relation to JDS, gives one chills!

Sunday: Resurrection Day

Sunday was a day of worship in the Episcopal Dioceses of San Joaquin. What you will see are images from that day. A word of caution, the camera is a cell phone and a slow lens at best. I could not always get the celebrant, the associate celebrants, the readers, the deacon, the seminarian and the choir to stand still. Conversely, I was able to generally stand still my self.

Bishop Lamb's sermon today was about wrecked ships, repaired bows, calmer waters and Resurrection. The pictures you see are from the resurrected group from San Joaquin. I think a good motto for us would be:

To Know Us Is To Love Us

This time I will ask you to pick the captions and I will allow the images to speak for themselves.

Images From the 50th Episcopal Diocesan Convention In San Joaquin

The evening was capped by an excellent banquet. These are delegates from Christ the King Community Epsicopal Church.









Not every convention goer gets this kind of a welcome from the staff!





A table representative provides input into the visioning process for the diocese. San Joaquin is moving forward into a new future.






A deputy to General Convention provides some detailed narrative on what transpired at GC 2009.





Clergy are still permitted to cast votes in our diocese. ;-)






The Chancellor provides expert Parlimentarian advice for the convention.





Bishop Lamb directs the order of business for the meeting.




Our typical convention goer. As you may recall he was once held by the Presiding Bishop. Now big enough to "motor on his own" he is prepared to meet any contingency. Notice the badges as well as pins.

White Fang, Black Tooth and Soupy Sales

Yes, I am old enough to not only remember Soupy Sales but I watched him regularly. Rarely did I "get it" until much later, after he had gone off the air. I thorughly enjoyed this program and I will, when my son returns from "olver there" get him a complete set.

Do you think St. Peter met Soupy with the proverbial pie in the face?





A legend has passed!

A Sing-Along For A Sunday In October

I believe Lynn would approve. A great tenor and a truly magnificent song. October has been known to be the month of the Rosary and there is not a better way to celebrate than with this song. Crank it up and sing along!

The Uniqueness of The Episcopal Church

The definition (at least one) of unique is: Being the only one of its kind:
Without an equal or equivalent; unparalleled.

The Episcopal Church in the United States of America "without an equal", it is unparalleled. Why can we say this? Well, if you look at our church, as opposed to any other of the "biggies" we are all hierarchical, much to the chagrin of the ACNA crowd. So it is not that. We are apostolic, I am still not sure what the heck that means in this day and age but we are Apostolic. If there is some question just ask good Ole Uncle Bobby over in Quitsburgh. But what really drives the rest of the world crazy is our bicameral legislature -- and not just that but the fact that laity have a large say in what goes on. William White, when formulating the organization and structure of our great church had much to ponder with regard to bishops and were it not for Connecticut we may have had none (fat chance) but from the start William White included the laity. Why do you suppose that is? Well, I think it is because ministry, holiness, closeness to God all come in flavors that do not necessarily look like turned around collars. That White trusted in the laity so much that he made us a part, a significant part of what happens each and every day in missions, parishes, diocese, and the National Church throughout America.

It seems in recent years we have lost ourselves. That no one in the ranks of the laity wants to really stand up and say wait just a minute! We all want to follow those with purple shirts and funny hats. And, much to the purple shirted crowd's delight, they have gratefully accepted the nod.

In the last few years we have seen a huge shift to the House of Bishops. Everything and everyone seems to focus on what the next bishop is going to say or do. Does it matter what the statement or action is, we are, for the most part, held in awe and amazement with each succeeding proclamation. Bishops want us to approve or disapprove the covenant. Bishops want us to be a part of TEC or not be a part of TEC. Some want us to be a part of the good part of TEC and not the bad part of TEC. Others want us to have nothing to do with TEC because it is or is not a part of the Anglican Communion. Bishops want us to approve or disapprove the Prayerbook or the inclusivity or exclusivity or the real or the fake bible. Hey, William White trusted the laity so much he made the House of Deputies first and then, after much prodding, did the House of Bishops came to pass.

How about this. The uniqueness of TEC rests with the laity and the trust put in the laity to discern and follow God's will. I trust William White. I hope you trust William White and I would like to see the Bishops of TEC trust the laity! How about it Bishops, can you share a little of that power? Can you trust the laity?

CANY - St. Francis - Cat Stevens

Our friend and fellow blogger has been buried in animal rescue work for several weeks now. She gives many of us great hope that the world really is sane and that animals somehow hold the key. So, for this Sunday, a week after St. Francis, we salute our fellow blogger with Cat Stevens. I wanted Cat Stevens for All things Bright and Beautiful but could not find it so Cany -- it is Moonshadow -- hope this helps!