Bishop Mathes: Nothing Happened This Week

From the new religion correspondent at the Union Tribune, Jeff McDonald.   My unchurched neighbor brought this article to my attention before I saw it.  For what it's worth, my neighbor said he appreciated Jeff's balanced, informative approach to the story.  I have to agree.  Thanks for covering this, Jeff.

Read whole article for quotes from famous San Diego Anglicans such as Fr Lawrence Bausch of Holy Trinity, Ocean Beach and Jane Rost of St. Annes Oceanside.

Opinions locally are mixed on church rift

One way of looking at it:

But the Right Rev. James R. Mathes, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, said there is no official recognition of the new province, or governing unit, and therefore no real change.

“You can say you're a province, but that doesn't make it so,” Mathes said. “It doesn't affect us.”

Facts:

In Wheaton, Ill., on Wednesday, leaders of the Common Cause Partnership, a group that has grown disillusioned with the direction of the Episcopal Church in the United States, announced they had completed a draft constitution.

The document will govern the newly forming Anglican Church in North America, which includes about 700 congregations in the U.S. and Canada with a membership of about 100,000, church officials said.

More Perspective:

“It's absolutely wonderful,” said Jane Rost of Oceanside, who worships at St. Anne's Anglican Church in Oceanside, which left the Episcopal Church in 2006. “It's a wonderful thing for those of us who want to go back to the orthodox Anglican Church.”

Call it whatever you want. It's happening....

The Rev. Lawrence Bausch of Holy Trinity Parish in Ocean Beach, which has been aligned with the Anglican province in Argentina since it broke from the Episcopal Church in 2006, said a North American province would streamline operations and save resources for their missionary work.

“There are things we can do together to address these global problems,” said Bausch, whose congregation has about 120 people.