Wolves in shepherds' clothing

Motto of the "Anglican" Diocese of San Joaquin /
verse from Matthew

I am borrowing the following wholesale from Fr. Jake. Many of the people who visit here follow his posts also. I trust they will know why I want to help get this out into the public consciousness.

Southern Cone Attempts to Remove Episcopal Vicar
You can read about the recent events at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Atwater, California on December 23 here and here.

The following email was received by St. Nicholas Episcopal Church on Christmas morning:

Dear Jo and Deacon Buck,

The attached document is the letter notifying Fr. Risard that his deployment at St. Nicholas is now over. We wish you to know that the Bishop and the Diocese are fully behind the continuation of your church in Atwater and will do all that we are able to support you during this transition.

There are many details to take care of, and many questions which you probably have for the Bishop or me.

The most important Directions from the Bishop to accomplish immediately include:

Change the exterior locks immediately, including the interior lock to the priest's offices and any file cabinets.

Retrieve the bank statements of any accounts that Fr. Risard had signature authority to: the discretionary account, and any other accounts.

Notify me of any minutes from past Bishop's Committee meetings for the past three months and forward them to me. This is especially important if there are commitments made to Mr. Michael Glass, an attorney referenced in the letter of Fr. Risard to the Bishop.

We will assume that the Deacon will be able to lead worship for a short period of time, especially this next Sunday. Reserved sacrament will be provided by the Rural Dean, Fr. Ron Parry, or by me if necessary.

Our prayers are with you during this time of transition.

Yours faithfully,
The Rev. Canon Bill Gandenberger
559-907-7122

Mark has provided us with some additional information:

Fr. Fred has removed himself from the church building, but is reorganizing the mission to meet in another location. This will match what is happening in Turlock, Bakersfield, and other places. We who are loyal to the Episcopal Church will continue to support Fr. Fred and his congregation.

On Christmas morning. They are using the season of "Peace on Earth" as a cover for their most nefarious actions.

What are the stories of events in Turlock, Bakersfield and Tracy? We need those reports. And we need a team in there now to stop this blatant pillaging by the Southern Cone.

J.

From Ezekiel 34:

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

7 " 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

I should like to note that even soldiers are legally required to disobey unlawful orders.

The thing I wish to say most forcefully about this is that an appropriate model here is abuse. The first goal--after breaking through denial that abuse is happening--is to stop the abuse and prevent it from recurring. Until you put an end to the abuse, by one means or another, talking about it and trying to help the abuser see the error of such behavior and still allowing abuse to happen is hardly effective. You stop the abuse. Then you can talk. You may understand how the abuse arose (most abusers are themselves victims of abuse) but you don't excuse it. And if one hopes for healing, one does not rush to forgiveness because doing so minimizes what has happened and may preclude full acknowledgment and thus be counterproductive to true healing.
--the BB