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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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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