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The Diocese of the West is dedicated to making Jesus Christ known to a hurting world through the ministries of Word and Sacrament. Our parishes worship using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican or American Missals, the 1940 Hymnal and other traditional texts. The best way to discover who we are and what we believe is to attend a service at one of our parishes or missions.
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Home > NewsNews OF the DioceseArchived newsThis is the index to articles of interest to the Diocese of the West. They are arranged in order by date. The information has been collected from a number of sources and arranged in order by date. St. Stephen's Anglican ChurchFillmore, CA - January 3, 2010
Fr. Hammond also serves as rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church in Hollister, California. You may reach that site by clicking here. 2009 Christmas MessageThe imagery connected with the celebration of Christmas is so vast and diverse that everyone is confused. We have the colors: red and green which first appear in the stores just before or after Thanksgiving; there’s the image of Santa and toys and Christmas trees; then there’s the shopping in over-crowded stores to find “just the right gift” for “just the right person”; and there is the weather – let it snow, let it snow, let it snow – I’m dreaming of a white Christmas – Chestnuts roasting... And candy canes, and parades, and snowmen. And for those who are more “religious” there are Stars and Manger scenes (which some of us call “crèches”) and wise men (incorrectly, of course, because WE know they don’t come until the Epiphany). A child came home from school the other day proclaiming that Quanza celebration is “just like Christmas”. Looking for a greeting card is especially confusing, too. Hallmark and most others say things like: “May the spirit of the season bring you happiness”. Or: “Seasons Greetings”. Let’s get back to basics and remove all this stuff to second and third place and beyond. In first place, we must again declare the more appropriate greeting: “May the spirit of Christ bring you happiness”, or “I greet you in the Name of the Newborn King”. C. S. Lewis talks about the real meaning of Christmas; a Christmas that isn’t confined to December, or snow, or Chestnuts or any of these other things. He writes: “God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. God is a “host” who deliberately creates His own parasites; causes us to be, that we may exploit and “take advantage of” Him. Herein is love. This is a diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves.” Now this is to say; God created everything that IS, except Himself. He always was. And, according to C. S. Lewis, God made us “parasites”…. And so we are… A parasite holds on to something (or someone) in order to live; he “clings” to survive! WE were created to “cling” to God so as to have life. Until the Birth of Jesus / the Incarnation, the world didn’t understand this. Humankind just “didn’t get it”. They thought they could do everything on their own…create their own universe…their own ethic… their own moral code. But then, God became man, in order to tell us that we don’t have to work at it so hard; that He WAS, and IS and always HAS been with us, ready to help us, ready and eager to be our Saviour! The sad thing about all this, is that it wasn’t understood even when He showed Himself in the person of Jesus!….. And we humans still go around trying to control everything ourselves. The fact of the matter is that it simply won't work. We need to go to the source of things. This is the “reason for the season”. God has loved us into existence, so that we would be “parasites” (in the good sense); recognizing that to live is to live in Him, and especially as He revealed Himself in human ways – by the Incarnation. Madeleine L’Engle wrote: “When we take ourselves too seriously, as the chief or only object of God’s interest, then we fail to understand the magnitude of His love and concern for us. Artist and saint alike grope in awe to comprehend the incomprehensible disproportion of the glory of God and the humility of the Incarnation: the Master of the Universe, become of the earth, earthy, in order to be one with His creatures, so that we may be one with Him.” So it doesn’t matter who was the emperor, or who was governor of Syria, or who was engaged to whom, or how many angels or sheep were around when it happened. What does matter is that it did happen – in the flesh. God loved us so much that He gave His only Son for us… born in our likeness but by a miraculous conception. And why not? For He was and is who He is; the King we were expecting… the One who turned the world around to discover the true meaning of love and relationship. Come to His Altar at Christmas and take in the fragrance of Him who loves you. Then take with you the sweet taste of Salvation and restore Him to first place in your hearts and of your homes. Merry Christmas! + Daren K. Williams, Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of the West DNE Tour of Holy LandNOTE: This trip has been cancelled. DNE-13 August 2009 Bishop Brian Marsh, the Ordinary of the Diocese of the Northeast, will be leading a 10 day tour to the Holy Land in 2010. It will leave Tuesday, April 13th, 2010. The basic cost is $2,498 (includes roundtrip airfare from NYC, first class hotels, guided sightseeing, entrance fees to sites, and daily breakfast and dinner) plus gratuities, taxes, and administrative fees. This is a trip of a lifetime and will give participants opportunities to literally walk where the prophets, apostles, and Jesus walked. The coordinator for this tour is Archdeacon Alan Koller,
(845) 496-2804 or akoller@frontiernet.net who has brochures for
distribution. Since final payment is due to the tour operator
(Educational Tours) by December 15th, it is important to register
with a $300 deposit as soon as possible. Small discounts are
available for early registrations. Logos House
credits will be given to postulants who sign up and complete an
academic paper. ACA Message on MarriageHouse of Bishops, Monserrat Retreat at Lake Dallas, TX - 21 April 2009 Follow the ACA House of Bishops Statement on Gay Marriage and the Freedom of Choice Act link for the official statements. Treasurer's New Address—CORRECTIONTigard, OR - 22 April 2009, Gil Miller The DOW Treasurer has a new address for all correspondence and remittances.
Mr. Gil Miller DOW Canons Available On-LinePortland, OR - 6 April 2009 A PDF version of the
DOW Canons last revised at the 2008 Synod are now available by
taking the above link.
Fountain Valley, CA - November 24, 2008
Bishop Daren K. Williams has appointed Bishop Hudson
as
Bishop-in-Charge at All Archbishop Falk's Letter to All the Faithful22 November 2009 - The Sunday Next Before AdventTo all the Faithful of the Anglican Church in America Greeting: The great Orthodox theologian John Meyendorff has been quoted as remarking that genuine Christian unity would require humility on the part of many, and charity on the part of all. I suggest that to those two paramount Christian virtues we must add the more workaday quality of patience. It took 450 years to raise all the questions posed by the possibility of real and corporate unity between Roman Catholics and Anglicans. We will not have all the answers in 450 minutes. Yet with the publication of Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus we do now have the possibility of addressing those issues directly and in cooperation with each other. As most everyone knows by now, the Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion, meeting in October of 2007 in Portsmouth, England, addressed a petition to the Holy See seeking to explore what would need to be done to achieve full, visible unity while maintaining the best characteristics of our beloved Anglican heritage. The Apostolic Constitution is meant to provide an approach to just that question. It is an extremely generous and pastoral document. Indeed, it explicitly addresses the desirability of preserving our Anglican “… spiritual and liturgical patrimony …” intact and undamaged after the ravages of such as Jenkins, Spong, Robinson and Schori. An initial set of Complementary Norms has been issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which will be discussed in detail by representatives of that body and of the TAC College of Bishops within the near future. We are now asking members of the ACA (and other TAC provinces) to study the Norms and then pose such question as may occur. (Some already have, such as: Question: Will we be able to continue to have married priests indefinitely? Answer: Yes. Question: Will those of us who were formerly Roman Catholics be excluded from the Anglican Ordinariates? Answer: No. Question: Will we loose control over our Church finances and property? Answer: No.) There will be more. These can be sent to your own , and he will see that they get to the appropriate TAC representatives. Your concerns, as well as your thoughts and prayers, are an essential element and a vital part of this process. Bishop Langberg has remarked that library shelves around the world are packed with books and papers on the topic of ‘ecumenism.’ Up to now it’s all been theory; but with respect to the world’s largest Communion of Christians, there has been no “test case” or anything like it, trying to work out “how it will work” on the ground. That opportunity has now been presented to us. In view of our Lord’s prayer (John 17) that all his followers might be one, that fact places upon us, and upon our Roman Catholic counterparts, a very great responsibility along with the opportunity. The real-world answer to that practical question will be worked out in real life and in real time as we move forward. This will require genuine good faith on all sides. That we come in good faith can be seen from the “Portsmouth Letter.” That our Roman Catholic counterparts come likewise can be seen from Pope Benedict’s unprecedented offer of a parallel structure for Anglican Catholics, a “House of our own” (as it were) within the “compound of Catholicity.” Ecclesiastical life within the colony will evolve over time as adjustments are made. We trusted each other enough to begin our ecclesiastical journey together in the ACA with an original canonical structure based on what we had known in the past. We have adjusted that structure more than once as circumstances have shown the wisdom of doing so. Christians of good will can and must continue that process together in unity as Jesus commanded us to do. He promised us the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and his promise remains true. Yours in Christ Jesus, Synod 2009Phoenix, Arizona - 30 October 2009 The 2009 Synod of the Diocese of the West was hosted by Church of the Epiphany and held at the Hilton Garden Inn in mid-town Phoenix. Wednesday Clergy MeetingsThe Board of Examining Chaplains met in the morning of Wednesday following Morning Prayer and Mass and the Standing Committee met in the afternoon followed by Evensong using St. Dunstan's Plainsong Psalter and dinner at the Archdeacons. Thursday Meeting by HouseThe day began with morning prayer. The House of Clergy met in the morning and the House of Laity met in the afternoon. Mr. Thomas R. Gossen, Executive Director TENS (Training + Encouraging + Nurturing + Supporting) gave a short presentation on stewardship at both meetings in preparation to the fuller presentation at the plenary session on Friday. The Chancellor presented the proposed changes to the Canons in each house. The Opening Synod Solemn High Pontifical Mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated at The Brophy Preparatory Student Chapel in the late afternoon. Dinner followed at Epiphany. Friday Plenary SessionThe Plenary Session of the 2009 Synod began following Morning Prayer, Mass and breakfast. Mr. Thomas Gossen gave a presentation on stewardship which included some short group sessions. After quorum was confirmed the business of Synod was conducted. St. Anslem in Sequim, Washington was admitted as a mission and St. Francis in Portland, Oregon was admitted as a Parish. The session ended with the Bishop telling the delegates what he knew about the TAC petition to the Vatican. The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) has not responded in writing to the Traditional Anglican Church's petition to Rome seeking what could be done to achieve intercommunion between the two long separated bodies. The CDF has given a press conference but it did not address the TAC petition. More will be known when the Apostolic Constitution is published and made available to the TAC Bishops. No decisions have been made nor will be made until that document is in hand and has been discussed. Until then, the Bishop encouraged the delegates to bring back to their congregations the message that so little is known and that speculation does not constitute truth and that the press, largely uneducated about religious matters, is mostly misrepresenting what facts are actually known. The Bishop repeated that the TAC is seeking communion not absorption. A continuation of all things Anglican while remaining within the larger tradition of the church catholic. The Synod ended with a banquet at the Hotel. Souvenir BooksHardcover bound books of the services are available though Lulu Press. The following links lead to the Lulu web page where you can order any of the Liturgy booklets prepared for Synod. Downloads are available free of charge.
DVDs of the Plenary Session and Opening MassDVD's of the Synod Opening Solemn High Pontifical Mass and of the Plenary Session will be available in late November. Check back for availability and purchasing information. Clergy Brethren and People of the Diocese of the WestThursday 22 October 2009 - Fountain Valley, CA
Undoubtedly you have read and or heard of the news from the
Vatican regarding our petition to be in full communion with the
Roman Catholic Church. The House of Bishops of the ACA held a
meeting via teleconference soon after the announcement was made and
a statement was issued which appears on our Diocesan and ACA
Websites. This was our initial public response. There is much more
work in dialogue and other communication necessary before any action
will be taken by the ACA. We first need to receive the complete
document "Apostolic Constitution" in order to study its requirements
to determine whether it is something the ACA wishes to accept. Until
that document is in the hands of the House of Bishops, anything you
hear is mere conjecture (which turns into unnecessary and hurtful
gossip!). At the Clericus which precedes Synod next week, I will
share with you all the information I will have received by that time
and we can discuss the matter together. I believe there will be an
extraordinary ACA Synod scheduled to discuss the issue and determine
the course of action our body will take. This special Synod has not
yet been announced, because the date has not been set, but I
understand it will take place sometime within the next three months. Bishops Respond to Vatican AnnouncementTuesday 20 October 2009 - House of Bishops
The House of Bishops of the Anglican
Church in America joins our Primate, Archbishop John
Hepworth, in welcoming with deep joy the announcement of the
preparation of an Apostolic Constitution to provide for full,
visible communion between orthodox Anglicans and the Holy See. The
House of Bishops wishes to express its appreciation to the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for its painstaking work
with respect to appropriate ecclesial structures to enable this
historic step towards unity in Christ in accordance with Our Lord's
high priestly prayer. We pledge our most serious, prayerful
reflection upon the cooperation and fervent prayers in working to
bring about this landmark and long-desired outcome. Web Links to the Official Statements
Fr. Ronald Ryan appointed Vicar of St. GeorgeFountain Valley, CA − August, 2009 Bishop Daren K. Williams is pleased to announce the appointment of Fr. Ronald Ryan as Vicar of St. George Anglican Church in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fr. Ryan has written a Pastoral Newsletter to the congregation explaing the transition plans and a bit about himself and is available at the link above. William Albro Ordained 23 August 2009Olympia, WA - 23 August 2009 - by Steve Carmick
Deacon William A Albro of Olympia, WA was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Daren K. Williams of the Anglican Church in America's Diocese of the West on August 22, 2009, at The Salvation Army's Worship Center, Olympia, WA. The ceremony was attended by over 50 members of St. James Anglican Church of Olympia, WA and St. Erasmus Mission of Burley, WA. Also attending the ceremony was Albro's wife of 48 years, Judy, together with their two sons Tom and Todd and their families.
Fr. Albro was ordained to the Diaconate on August 20,
2006 and successfully completed the Canonical examinations for the
Priesthood during May and June 2009. Prior to being called to the
ministry, he completed a military career, retiring as a colonel in
the United States Air Force, followed by 10 years as a senior
corporate manager that included seven years in the Middle East. Mr.
Albro completed undergraduate studies at Hobart College and earned
graduate degrees at Texas A&M and Auburn Universities. More
recently, he took theology courses through the Nashotah House
Seminary Distance Learning Program and engaged in mentored study
supervised by the Diocesan Board of Chaplains.
A reception following the ceremony was held during
which Fr. Bill was presented with sets of stoles. Fr. Albro summed
his feelings up by saying, "The Holy Spirit has worked on me real
hard for years, nagging me to answer the call. My wife Judy is the
real heroine. She never said anything, but she let me know she was
behind me all the way. Even though shes in a wheelchair, she never
complained about me leaving to go back to Wisconsin for classes." Daniel E. Squires Ordained 15 AugustPortland, OR - 16 August 2009 - Rob Perry
The Bishop will travel to St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Mission in Hamilton, MT to set aside a sub-deacon, The Church of the Resurrection in Spokane, WA.; the Ordination of Deacon William Albro at St. James, Olympia, WA.; and St. Anselm of Canterbury in Sequim, WA.
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The
Rev. Robert Hammond, inaugurated a new mission in
Fillmore, California, named St. Stephen's Anglican Church
and composed of the old Dayspring Anglican Church congregation.
Saints' Anglican Church, Green Valley/Sahuarita, Arizona, while the search
continues for a new vicar.
On
Sunday, February 22 at 10:00 am, The Rt. Rev'd Daren K. Williams,
Bishop of the Diocese of the West, ACA, did ordain to the Sacred
Order of Deacons, The Rev'd Mr. Edward T. Wright in St.
Mark's Anglican Church, Loomis, California. The Ordination
was followed by a celebration of the Mass by Bishop Williams,
assisted by Deacon Wright and Fr. James Wilson, Rector
of the Parish. Fr. Ed Wolf was the Litanist. The Church was
nearly full and all who attended offered greeting and best wishes to
the new Deacon. The parish offered gifts to the new Deacon and a
reception and meal were provided by members of the Parish. May God
bless the ministry of this new Deacon and may the Church grow in
spirit and in truth by his ministry among us.