New provisional bishop takes over Episcopal diocese at Lodi convention

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, left, hands new provisional Bishop Jerry Lamb his crosier as a symbol of his leadership of the San Joaquin Diocese. The crosier symbolizes the bishop's role as shepherd of his flock. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

New provisional bishop takes over Episcopal diocese at Lodi convention

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Monday, March 31, 2008 6:34 AM PDT

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Pledging unity and inclusiveness to all of God's people, the Episcopal Church's San Joaquin Diocese elected retired bishop Jerry Lamb as provisional bishop at a special convention Saturday before a crowd of about 300 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Lodi.

Lamb replaces John-David Schofield, the controversial conservative bishop who was deposed on March 12 after national church leaders said he had "abandoned" his post as bishop. Due to a disagreement on the Biblical interpretation of homosexuality, Schofield took the diocese out of Episcopal Church USA and moved to the more conservative Southern Cone province of the Anglican Church, based in Argentina.

The Episcopal Church and the Southern Cone are both branches of the Anglican Church, based in England.

The change in leadership locally means that St. John's, which is looking for a priest to replace Father Rick Matters, who left the Lodi parish in May 2007 for a church in Carmel, has the flexibility for the first time to appoint a woman as its priest, which Schofield forbids but Lamb supports.

As for the role gays and lesbians will have in the diocese, it will be a conversation that clergy and church members throughout the diocese will need to have before a decision is made, Lamb said.

"At least for these people in the diocese, we can talk about it," said John Ledbetter, senior warden at St. John's. "At least we can have an intelligent adult conversation."

Ledbetter said that under Schofield's leadership, discussion about woman priests and homosexuality weren't allowed.

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St. John's members say their parish has a mixture of liberal, moderate and conservative members, but they agree that they didn't want to leave the Episcopal Church and follow Schofield to the Southern Cone, which shares Schofield's views about ordaining gay priests.

Priests and members from 18 parishes from Lodi to Bakersfield and east to Ridgecrest came to Lodi on Saturday for several hours that was part business meeting and part celebration. Lamb, who was elected Saturday by convention delegates, was installed during a special Eucharist in the afternoon.

"The work ahead of this diocese in the coming months is going to be about identity, reconciliation and mission," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in her opening remarks at the convention. "There is pain and hurt here to be reconciled, and searching for the image of God in those we have offended and who have offended us is a central part of our reconciling vocation."

St. John's parishioner Beth Ellwood said that Saturday's convention to reorganize the diocese will allow clergy and congregations to recognize the realities of today's society, including the equality of men and women, and the equality of sexual preferences.

"I'm absolutely thrilled this is happening," Ellwood said. "I think it's God's will."

How the Episcopal Church is governed

Episcopal Church USA is governed by two houses, much like Congress. The House of Deputies has four priests or deacons, plus four lay people from each diocese. The House of Bishops is a separate body of current and retired bishops. The presiding bishop is the chief pastor who initiates and develops church policy and strategy. The office is in New York City.

Source: Episcopal Church USA

Jerry Lamb at a glance

Born: Sept. 4, 1940 in Denver.

Ordained: 1965 by the Catholic Church.

Became Episcopalian: Received in 1977.

Bishop of Northern California: 1991 until his retirement at the beginning of 2007.

Provisional bishop: Served in Nevada diocese in 2007 to replace Katharine Jefferts Schori when she was named presiding bishop of Episcopal Church USA.

Family: Wife, Jane Onstad Lamb; daughter, Katherine, who lives in Pasadena. Jerry and Jane Lamb live in Las Cruces, N.M., but will spend considerable time in the Stockton diocese office.

New office: 6702 Inglewood Ave. Suite A, Stockton. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7606, Stockton, CA 95267. Phone (209) 952-0009.

Source: San Joaquin Diocese

While most of those attending the special convention support remaining in the Episcopal Church, Rev. Robert Eaton of St. John's Episcopal Parish in Tulare lodged a protest over Saturday's convention, claiming that Jefferts Schori violated the church's canons by calling the convention.

Without a bishop (Schofield), Jefferts Schori had no authority to call the convention, Eaton said. That falls in the hands of the diocese's "standing committee."

Although Eaton said he shares many of Schofield's conservative social values, his parish in Tulare voted on Feb. 17 to not leave the Episcopal Church.

Additionally, the South Carolina Diocese has accused the House of Bishops of illegally deposing Schofield.

In addition to Lamb being installed as bishop, three new mission churches were established Saturday, in Sonora, Madera and Bakersfield. An enthusiastic group from Grace Episcopal Church in Bakersfield waved white T-shirts with their mission church's name and Saturday's date when they were introduced.

One parish also sold T-shirts with the inscription, "I'm one of those crazy Episcopalians."

Now that Lamb has been appointed provisional bishop, legal challenges to ownership of diocese property are likely, said Michael Glass, a San Rafael attorney who represents St. John's and other parishes that oppose Schofield.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Metric Time System wrote on Apr 7, 2008 10:16 AM:

" The Shepard has a supreme responsibility and accountability to his flock, and ultimately to God, to accurately teach and council his flock, according to God's Word. My question to Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Jerry Lamb is; what will be God's response to you when one day you stand before His throne and you must explain to Him how you fed your flock an eternally damning mixture of His Word with contradicting (AKA sinful) cultural dogma? "

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