Saturday, February 13, 2010

St. Francis named in lawsuit to claim church, property


From Turlock CA-

A banner hanging outside St. Francis Anglican Church proudly declares “Lives Change Here.” Rev. Gerry Grossman is quick to point out the present tense of the declaration and is even quicker to point out that his parish has no plans of letting it slip into the past.

That goal was recently put into question by a lawsuit filed Monday in Stanislaus County by the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. The lawsuit, which names Grossman and nine members of the church’s leadership as defendants, seeks “to return control of the parish premises and other parish assets to the plaintiffs in the matter.”

The lawsuit was spurred by a separation among the Episcopal Church. Differences over interpretations of Scripture caused some churches to leave the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the Anglican Church.

In 2007, about 40 parishes, including St. Francis, decided to leave the original Episcopal diocese in Fresno and align with the Anglican Church. Another seven opted to stay. About 20 parishioners left St. Francis prior to the separation, Grossman said.

More here-

http://www.turlockjournal.com/news/article/2954/

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The law suit isn’t the breakaways only problem. Earlier in February the breakaways in the Americas requested the Church of England General Synod include them in the Anglican Communion. They were refused inclusion. They then asked that the ordination of their clergy be considered valid in the communion and again they were refused. The Clergy are not recognized in the Anglican Communion. The future for the breakaways doesn’t look very good.