Jerry Lamb, Episcopal bishop of diocese that split over LGBT debate, dies at 85
Episcopal Church Bishop Jerry Alban Lamb, who oversaw a California diocese that experienced schism over the denomination's increased acceptance of homosexuality, has died. He was 85.
His daughter, Kate Lamb, announced on Instagram Monday that the bishop had “died peacefully” on Sunday morning, following multiple health problems.
“He meant a great deal to so many of us and his impact on the world is unmeasurable,” she wrote. “To me, he was my dad who loved me, challenged me and believed in me.”
“I will miss him forever and give thanks for his lifetime of service to others. Services in Upland and Sacramento are being planned and details will be shared soon.”
Megan Traquair, the bishop of the Diocese of Northern California, also paid tribute to Lamb in a message to the diocese. "We offer prayers of gratitude for his long life of faithful service," she wrote. "Please keep his family and friends in your prayers."
Lamb was born in Denver, Colorado, on Sept. 4, 1940. He earned a bachelor’s in philosophy in 1964 and then a master’s in theology in 1966 from St. Thomas Seminary. In 1973, he earned another master’s degree, this time in counseling, from the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Originally a Catholic priest until 1971, Lamb joined The Episcopal Church in 1977, then was ordained later that year in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, the Episcopal News Service reported.
Lamb served as bishop coadjutor of the Sacramento, California-based Diocese of Northern California in 1991, then became diocesan bishop in 1992, serving in that role for 14 years, until 2006. He then served as assisting bishop of the Diocese of Nevada following the election of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as the Episcopal Church's presiding bishop.
In 2003, The Episcopal Church stirred controversy and experienced schism when its leadership decided to ordain the Rev. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop.
The decision set off years of tension within the Diocese of San Joaquin, culminating in December 2007, when a majority of the diocese's convention delegates voted to leave The Episcopal Church altogether.
Bishop John-David Schofield, who led the diocese's departure, and the disaffected clergy and congregations that followed him eventually affiliated with the more theologically conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America.
In 2008, Lamb was appointed provisional bishop of the San Joaquin Diocese by Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, serving in the role until 2011.
In 2009, with Lamb’s support, the national denomination opted to depose from ministry dozens of clergy within the diocese who had supported breaking away from The Episcopal Church.
"[T]he fact is, they chose to abandon their relationship with the Episcopal Church," said Lamb in a statement at the time defending the deposing, with him calling it a “heartbreaking” decision.
“They declined to ask for a release from their ordination vows, and I had no option but to bring the charges of Abandonment of the Communion to the Standing Committee last year and take these final steps today. It is a sad day.”
In July 2012, Lamb was hospitalized during the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, having suffered what a spokesperson called “two small strokes.”
Lamb was preceded in death by his wife, Jane Mary Onstad Lamb, who died in 2023 at the age of 82 and was herself the daughter of an Episcopal Church priest.
