August 24, 2010
The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin is suing the members of St. Paul's, Bakersfield. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of suits stemming from the original diocese splitting from the national Episcopal Church and aligning itself with a more conservative Anglican order.
The congregations being sued occupy what the Episcopal Diocese contends is church property that it owns. The Anglicans dispute that argument. There was no immediate comment from the Bakersfield church about the lawsuit.
Similar cases are pending against the former members of St. Francis, Turlock; St. Michael's, Ridgecrest; St. John's, Porterville; St. James, Sonora; Redeemer & Hope, Delano; St. Columba, Fresno and St. Paul's, Visalia.
"It is particularly disappointing given the recent and unequivocal decisions of the California Supreme Court and Court of Appeals' rulings that the properties and assets are held for the Episcopal Church and its dioceses," says Diocesan Chancellor Michael Glass. . .
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