The small group of more than 350 remaining members celebrated on Saturday a time of "moving forward" and "welcoming all" as they reaffirmed their status as the official Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin.
"I am an Episcopalian," the crowd said at the encouragement of Bonnie Anderson, president of the Episcopal House of Deputies.
"You are the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin," she assured them.
The event, held at Church of the Savior in Hanford, California, comes after 42 of 47 congregations in the diocese voted in December to sever ties with the Episcopal Church.
The Diocese of San Joaquin's departure, led by Bishop John-David Schofield, marked the first time in the Church's history that a full diocese chose to secede. Bishop Schofield contends that the national Church has departed from Scripture over such issues as homosexuality.
Since the December 8 vote, letters of support have flooded in to Episcopalians who chose to remain in the Episcopal Church. Some clergy from across the nation had made offers to serve temporarily and some permanently to help rebuild the diocese with the remaining Episcopalians, president of Remain Episcopal, Cindy Smith, said on Saturday.
The remaining members, however, are not without differing viewpoints on the controversial issues wracking the Church.
Even among the few hundred that have chosen to stay "there is a large complexity with regards to the differing groups in this diocese", said Anderson.
There are some who want to pursue litigation to keep church property and there are others who are reluctant to move forward with litigation, Anderson explained. Then there are some who voted to leave but are now willing to stay with the Episcopal Church and those who vowed to stay but now no longer consider themselves Episcopalian.
