Turlock Episcopal congregation walks to new church after closing service

From The Diocese of San Joaquin

The sign outside St. Francis Anglican Church reads “think FORGIVE act.” Action and forgiveness were the themes of the day, as the parishioners gathered Sunday for one last time at their church on Main Street before walking several blocks away to begin a new church in rented facilities.

The congregation opened its closing service with "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," which includes the words, "Thou art giving and forgiving ... teach us how to love each other."

It was especially poignant because the St. Francis facility has been in a tug-of-war since 2007, when 40 of the 47 parishes in the San Joaquin Diocese voted to leave the national Episcopal church over theological differences. The departing parishes, including St. Francis, and the diocese were sued by the Episcopal church in 2008 and 2009 in a bid to regain those properties.


After several years of litigation and a ruling earlier this year that favored the Episcopal church against two independently incorporated parishes in Kern County, the decision was made to return St. Francis and the historic Red Church (St. James) in Sonora, which were similarly incorporated. Lawsuits against the diocese and other parishes are still in the courts.

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