Further turmoil and sanity in the Episcopal Church

I make no secret of: #1) - having grown up in the Episcopal Church and #2) - deploring the current state of it from the top down (read here, here, here and here) Fortunately, other people are seeing the light - several dioceses has seceded from the Church of England and allied themselves with more rigorous churches around the world. A biggie just happened in California - from AOL/AP:

Episcopal Diocese Secedes From Church
The conservative Diocese of San Joaquin voted Saturday to split from the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church, becoming the first full diocese to secede from the denomination in the debate over the Bible and homosexuality.

Clergy and lay members of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin voted 173-22 at their annual convention to remove all references to the national church from the diocese's constitution, said the Rev. Van McCalister, a diocesan spokesman.

The diocese, based in Fresno, plans to align with the like-minded Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in South America.

The decision is almost certain to spark a court fight over control of the diocese's multimillion-dollar real estate holdings and other assets.

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. member of the global Anglican Communion, a 77 million-member fellowship that traces its roots to the Church of England.

Anglicans have been moving toward a worldwide schism since 2003, when the Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. San Joaquin is also one of the three Episcopal dioceses that will not ordain women.

The Episcopal rift over theology began decades ago and is now focused on whether the Bible condemns gay relationships.

"We have leadership in the Episcopal Church that has drastically and radically changed directions," McCalister said. "They have pulled the rug out from under us. They've started teaching something very different, something very new and novel, and it's impossible for us to follow a leadership that has so drastically reinvented itself."

It's not just gays, that is only the barest tip of the iceberg. As I said in an earlier post:

My Dad gravitated from the Episcopal church to the United Churches in Christ. I do not agree with them but I support his decision to do so. I consider groups like the UCC to lack a sense of moral definition. The idea that everyone can be accepted is a mental dishonesty and a spiritual weakness. There is evil out there and to try to �accept it� and hope that it will turn out good is at best, ineffective and at worst, only serves to encourage that very evil that you are trying to turn good. It is nothing more than mental masturbation.

It will be interesting to attend a service the next time we visit Jen's parents in Fresno -- that 173-22 vote is definitely sending a clear message... Big tip 'o the hat to Maggie's Farm for the link...