FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The nominee to replace a breakaway bishop ousted by Episcopal leaders is meeting with San Joaquin Valley congregations ahead of an upcoming vote.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the head of national church, has recommended Jerry A. Lamb to serve as the new bishop for the Diocese of San Joaquin.
National church leaders on Wednesday removed Bishop John-David Schofield as the head of the Fresno-based diocese.
Divisions erupted in 2003 when the Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop.
Schofield and other conservatives believe Scripture bars same-sex relationships.
Last December, the diocese became the first full Episcopal diocese to break from the U.S. wing of the worldwide Anglican family when they voted to secede.
Lamb, a past bishop of the Sacramento-based Diocese of Northern California, met with church members in Fresno on Friday and in Stockton on Saturday.
Members of the Diocese of San Joaquin are slated to meet at the end of the month to confirm Lamb's nomination.
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