[Episcopal News Service] The House of Bishops on March 12 officially consented to the deposition of Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin, sparking a range of emotions and long-awaited relief and a renewed commitment to rebuilding a strong and vital Episcopal Church in California's Central Valley.

"I am very pleased that the House of Bishops has acted with integrity, following the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church (TEC)," said the Rev. Mark Hall, rector of St. Anne's Church in Stockton, where a new diocesan headquarters has been established. "We recognize that we've had some people not following the Constitution and Canons and that's not been helpful for the diocese and the church," he added.

For Nancy Key, co-founder of Remain Episcopal, an organization of continuing Episcopalians, the news, though expected, brought both relief and sadness."Now we can get back to the business of being church, we can move forward in rebuilding our diocese," said Key, a member of the steering committee appointed by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to help organize the March 29 convention to elect a provisional bishop.

"I have mixed feelings," she added. "It was a responsible decision to be made. It had to be made. The entire situation which precipitated it over many years is very, very sad. Now, we have a lot of healing to be done, a lot of pieces to be picked up."

The Presiding Bishop, during a telephone press conference after the conclusion of the March 7-12 Camp Allen meeting in Navasota, Texas, said she will personally convene the special convention in San Joaquin. She declined to identify a nominee for provisional bishop.

"As of today he is no longer a bishop in the Episcopal Church," she said of Schofield. "Matters down the road will include clarifying the status of Corp Sole, which is how property is held in that diocese."

The bishops also issued a statement expressing regrets about the deposition of Schofield and of Bishop Suffragan William Jackson Cox of Maryland, who had also sought episcopal oversight outside TEC: "This outcome was the painful culmination of a lengthy process of conciliation and review led by two presiding bishops," according to the statement.

"While earnest voices were raised asking if there were other alternatives at this time, the conclusion of the House of Bishops is that this action is based on the facts presented to us and is necessary for the ongoing integrity of The Episcopal Church. We seek also to respond to the needs of the people of the Diocese of San Joaquin. We are saddened by what we believe to be this necessary action and we have taken it only after deep prayer and serious conversation. We also wish to express our continuing commitment to work for reconciliation with our brothers and the People of God who have been the recipients of their pastoral leadership and care through the years"

Schofield, who had resigned his membership in the House of Bishops in a March 1 letter said he was disappointed but not surprised by the deposition.

"It is a shame that the disciplinary process of The Episcopal Church has been misused in this way," he said in a statement posted on the breakaway Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin's website. That process, he said, was intended for those who had "abandoned the faith and are leading others away from orthodox Christianity, as held in trust by bishops in the Anglican Communion -- and which The Episcopal Church had previously upheld also."

The Presiding Bishop said Schofield's resignation did not affect his status as a bishop with jurisdiction so it was still necessary to act to consider his abandonment of the communion. A Title IV Review Committee concluded he abandoned the communion of TEC after a December 8 vote during which 42 of 47 congregations in the diocese approved his plan to realign with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.

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Hall said preparations are rapidly underway for the March 29 special convention, including accommodations for 500 and a couple of pre-convention get-acquainted meetings with Bishop Jerry Lamb of Northern California, the provisional bishop nominee. He will meet with continuing Episcopalians at 6.30 p.m. Thursday, March 13 at Christ the King Church in Riverbank, and at 6.30 p.m. on Friday, March 14, at Holy Family Church in Fresno.

He said 17, possibly more, churches are expected to participate at the convention, including three new congregations. All attendees will be asked to sign a letter of conformity acknowledging the authority of General Convention, the Presiding Bishop and the Constitution and Canons of TEC.

"We invited everyone to the convention. Everybody got notified, we have not tried to eliminate anybody by our process," added Hall.

Meanwhile, the continuing Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin has a new website, a new diocesan newspaper, and lots of excitement for future possibilities, he said.

-- The Rev. Pat McCaughan is Episcopal Life Media correspondent in the dioceses of Province VIII (the Province of the Pacific). She is based in Los Angeles.