Church property ruling expected soon

Valley Anglicans who left the Episcopal Church to reject homosexual clergy are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Will they lose the churches where they worship as a result of their split with the national church and Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin? The answer could come any day over the next two months.

The stakes are high after more than 40 churches from Lodi to Bakersfield and from the coast to the Nevada border left the Fresno-based diocese. They joined the Anglicans because of differences with the national Episcopal body over same-sex blessings, the ordination of a gay bishop and the authority of Scripture.

The local court case involving church property doesn't look good for the Anglicans after a Fresno judge's tentative ruling in early May favored the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, which remains with 19 Episcopal congregations. The final ruling must be made within 90 days or by Aug. 3.

"I was obviously disappointed in the tentative ruling," says Bill Atwood, of Bass Lake, an Anglican parishioner at Christ Church in Oakhurst. "I'm hopeful and prayerful the judge would give it some thought and be fair and correct -- and that he would rule in favor of the Anglicans who have departed."

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