Diocese of the West - 2020 Synod

The Synod of the Diocese of the West will meet via video conference in September, 2020.

Statement from Presiding Bishop Juan Garcia

June 5, 2020

Following the horrific death of George Floyd over a week ago in Minnesota, there have been many protests and riots all around the country. As Anglican Christians, we are reminded once again of several truths in our faith and in our country.

“Thou shalt do no murder.” The killing of Mr. George, the video of which we have seen many times, reminds us that the Lord has forbidden us to murder our fellow man. The people who killed him must be judged by our society. They will also be judged by God. He is our ultimate Judge and demands of each of us that we turn away from our sinful behaviors and turn to Him.
Racism and racist behaviors are antithetical to the Christian faith. Jesus died on the hard wood of the Cross that all of us might become one. As St. Paul said, in Christ there is neither slave or free, Greek or Jew, male or female, but we are all one. With God as our Father, we are all sisters and brothers. St. John told us that, if we do not love our brothers who we have seen, we cannot be loving God who we have not seen. It is our great responsibility to love. Even when we are enemies for some reason, we are told that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. These truths are fact, no matter what race, color, gender we are.
The right of peaceful protesting is enshrined in our Constitution. If we have any concerns about the way that our government (local, state, or federal) is working, it is our absolute right to be able to let them know how we feel. It is our absolute right to petition the government and to engage in peaceful protests against the activities we see them performing.
It is NOT a right for us to riot and destroy others’ property or to attack or harm their person. Countering a sin with another sin is not part of our belief system. We must work against racism whenever we see it, but this must be done in a peaceful manner. Martin Luther King, Jr., led a very powerful movement that changed our country forever. He did this based upon his (and our) Christian faith. He demanded change. He demanded that that change come about in a peaceful way. He did not carry guns, knives, or bricks. He carried a Bible. We can do no less.

My Christian friends, we must always confront evil whenever we see it. Racism is evil. We must not allow racism to occur in our Churches. We must not allow racism to occur in our communities. We must confront it. But we must do so with the “peace of God, which passeth understanding”. We are Warriors for Peace in Christ. Let us wield “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” as our great and only weapon against the sin that is confronting us. Let us be God’s messengers in this world of woe.

May God bless you all.
+Juan Garcia
Presiding Bishop, Anglican Church in America

Communio in sacris

Atlanta, GA, October 6, 2017

We acknowledge each other to be orthodox and catholic Anglicans in virtue of our common adherence to the authorities accepted by and summarized in The Affirmation of St. Louis in the faith of the Holy Tradition of the Undivided catholic church and of the seven Ecumenical Councils.

We recognize in each other in all essentials the same faith; the same sacraments; the same moral teaching; and the same worship; likewise, we recognize in each other the same Holy Orders of bishops, priests, and deacons in the same Apostolic Succession, insofar as we all share the episcopate conveyed to the Continuing Churches in Denver in January 1978 in response to the call of the congress of Saint Louis; therefore,

We welcome members of all of our Churches to Holy Communion and parochial life in any and all of the congregations of our Churches; and,

We pledge to pursue full, institutional, and organic union with each other, in a manner that respects tender consciences, builds consensus and harmony, and fulfills increasingly our Lord's will that His Church be united; and,

We pledge also to seek unity with other Christians, including those who understand themselves to be Anglican, insofar as such unity is consistent with the essentials of Catholic faith, order, and moral teaching.

The Most Rev. Brian R. Marsh
The Most Rev. Mark Haverland
The Most Rev. Walter Grundorff
The Rt. Rev. Paul C. Hewett

The four Churches and their episcopal leaders are the Anglican Church in American (Brian Marsh), the Anglican Catholic Church (Mark Haverland), the Anglican Province of America (Walter Grundorf), and the Diocese of the Holy Cross (Paul Hewett).

Mission Statement

The Diocese of the West is a group of churches seeking to spread the Christian Gospel through traditional worship, fellowship, family values and service.

Vision Statement

To bring people into a loving relationship with God by creating a Gospel-focused fellowship through worship, practice and service to meet the needs of our communities.

Last edited on 28 August 2020 at 1611 PDT