L.A. bishop fires leaders of churches

Deepa Bharath

An Episcopal bishop on Friday sent out individual letters to the

clergy and board of directors of three churches -- including one on

Via Lido -- that seceded from his diocese, saying that they are all

fired from the church. Newly appointed priests will continue the work

of his church in the respective communities, Bishop J. Jon Bruno said

in the letter.

Three Southern California churches -- St. James in Newport Beach,

All Saints’ in Long Beach and St. David’s in North Hollywood -- broke

away from the Episcopal Church of the United States because of its

liberal views relating to the Bible, the divinity of Jesus Christ and

homosexuality, church administrators said. The churches then placed

themselves under the Diocese of Luwero in the Anglican province of

Uganda, Africa.

The secession has set off a heated debate over who owns the

churches and the surrounding properties. Bruno maintains that the

Episcopal Church still owns the churches and their properties, but

St. James administrators say the property is owned by a nonprofit

organization that was formed in the late 1940s, not by the diocese.

On Friday, Bruno, who heads the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles,

opened a new chapter in the debate by sending out letters to each

priest and member of the vestry, which is the church’s board of

directors. He informed the churches that he has appointed the Rt.

Rev. Robert M. Anderson and the Rt. Rev. Sergio Carranza as

“priests-in-charge” to form a new board of directors and new

ministries in those communities.

The letter is not a threat to disrupt services or operations in

any of the churches, said Janet Kawamoto, media director for the

diocese. The bishop last week deposed the deacons and ministers of

the church, she said.

“This means that the diocese will work with those who wish to

remain faithful to the Episcopal Church,” Kawamoto said.

The bishop’s letter does not state how, when or where these

Episcopal ministries will operate.

But at St. James, the bishop’s letter certainly appears

threatening, said the church’s Pastor Praveen Bunyan.

“We have no problems or issues if they want to continue the

Episcopal ministries in Newport or Balboa or wherever they want,” he

said. “They have the right to do that. The problem arises when they

interfere with our operations here in St. James.”

The bishop sent out letters to each priest and each board member

of the church on Friday informing them that they have been fired,

Bunyan said.

Eric Sohlgren, attorney for the seceded churches, responded to the

bishop’s letter with a statement saying that Bruno is curtailing the

churches’ freedom of religious choice. Bruno had also sent out a

letter of warning last week to each of the churches saying that they

should cease services, business operations and even using the prayer

book and submit all financial statements and documents to the

diocese. The churches declined to do so.

Kawamoto said the diocese plans to send no one to Sunday services

in Newport Beach, Long Beach or North Hollywood.

But Bunyan said he has reason to believe that the bishop is going

to send his priests and new directors to disrupt church services on

Sunday, Bunyan said.

“Sending out letters to each one of our board of directors, to me,

is interfering in our business,” he said. “We are under the Anglican

Communion now. The bishop has no authority over us. All we’re asking

is, you go your way and let us go our way.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

deepa.bharath@latimes.com.