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Episcopal Diocese Secedes From Church. Pastors Stand Firm.
The Diocese of San Joaquin voted Saturday to split from the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church.
The Associated Press is reporting that the Diocese of San Joaquin voted 173 to 22 to remove all references to the national church from the diocese's constitution, making it the first full diocese to secede from the denomination.
As you might suspect the issue was the debate over the Bible and homosexuality.
The Episcopal Church has been moving more and more toward so-called tolerance, which as now becomes affirmation, and social justice. They have departed from traditional Biblical teaching on the subject of homosexuality, consecrating v. Gene Robinson as their first openly gay bishop in 2003.
The traditionalists believe that gay relationships violate the teaching of scripture on the subject and that the Bible condemns homosexual relations.
A spokesman for the seceding group of pastors and churches said, "We have leadership in the Episcopal Church that has drastically changed directions -- it's impossible for us to follow a leadership that has drastically reinvented itself."
The local pastors may lose their ministerial credentials and their retirement pensions.
Their reasoning?
In their own words. "It's about freedom to remain who we are in Christ. It is freedom to honor the authority of Scripture."
This is an example of the challenges that lie ahead for those who are unwilling to bend or bow to the march of secularism that is re-engineering the family, marriage and Scripture itself as it applies to homosexuality.
It is costly to have and to act on Biblical convictions.
God bless those courageous pastors.
_______________
Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom
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7 Comments:
Amen! Bless these pastors, who are making a stand! Obviously losing a lot, their pension and all. Goes to show their faith and that they realize their riches will be in heaven, and not here on earth! They obviously have the peace that God will take care of them, especially now that they have taken this important stand and an example for all of us to do, if need be! Bless them~
Thanks Gary.
There has always been a price to pay for taking a stand. I appreciate the stand that you are taking. I pray god's blessing on you.
Faith and Freedom. You all do a wonderful job of keeping us up to date on what is happening. I am forwarding all your blogs to my friends. I hope others will do that also. God bless all of you.
I am Episcopal. I wish my pastor would stand with these in California. He is among the liberal leaning and I am rady to leave the church after four generations of family membership.
Keep up the good work. Blessings.
It takes a lot to make a firm stand on what your heart believes in! I salute the church for taking a deep stand and for what they believe in.
This is an example of the church following ICor5:12, 13 - and it is appropriate since it solely based within the church rather than affecting people in the world (who are subject to God's judgement alone).
Human
I agree that the Episcopal clergy who are leaving the communion over this are exactly right, but as a Papist, I can't help but chuckle over the irony of it. The Church of England was founded mainly as a rebellion against a sexual code Henry found too restrictive, and it apppears that the church now is finding itself faced with "too much of a goood thing."
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