Oct 15, 2024 | #BishopStatements
October 15, 2024
Dear Siblings in the Diocese of California,
I am writing today with some difficult news. Late last week, I learned that Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, acting in her role as presiding bishop-designate, has issued a restriction on the ministry of Bishop Marc Andrus due to a credible allegation that he had an inappropriate relationship with an adult while he was bishop of California.
This restriction was issued on October 9 and is in keeping with the church’s Title IV clergy disciplinary canons. It means that Bishop Marc is not permitted to function as a bishop or conduct any ordained ministry while the disciplinary case against him is pending, and he will not be able to be in contact with anyone in our diocese. Allegations of misconduct against bishops are handled by the presiding bishop’s office and the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, and so this case will not unfold here in California, but rather at the churchwide level.
This was difficult news for me to learn, and I know it will be hard for many people in our gathered community to hear. I have asked the Rev. Canon. J. Sierra Reyes and the Ven. Miguel Bustos to be available to talk and pray with you if you need pastoral care during this time, and I will be meeting with the clergy of the diocese in the next few days to support them as they care for you. If you have information about this or any related matter that you would like to share, please be in touch with the Rev. Barbara Kempf, intake officer for disciplinary complaints against bishops, at [email protected]
When I became your pastor, I wrote to you about the work we have to do, the trust we have to build, and the wounds we need to entrust to Christ’s healing power. I did not anticipate that this kind of painful situation would be among our first challenges together. But I believe that by loving God and one another and following the wisdom of Jesus, we will emerge from this difficulty more connected and more committed to the mission of God in our context.
I do not know when I will have more news to share with you about this matter, but when I do, I will write to you again. Until then, please join me in praying for the person who has made this allegation, for Bishop Marc, and for all those who are affected.
Yours in Christ,
+Austin
Pastoral care team contact information:
The Rev. J. Sierra Reyes: [email protected]
The Ven. Miguel Bustos: [email protected]
15 de Octubre de 2024
Queridos Hermanos de la Diócesis de California:
Les escribo hoy con noticias difíciles. A finales de la semana pasada, me enteré de que la Obispa Mary Gray-Reeves, actuando en su papel de obispa presidente designada, ha emitido una restricción del ministerio del Obispo Marc Andrus debido a una acusación creíble de que él tuvo una relación inapropiada con una persona mayor de edad mientras era el obispo de California.
Esta restricción fue emitida el 9 de Octubre y está de acuerdo con los cánones disciplinarios del clero del Título IV de la Iglesia. La restricción significa que al Obispo Marc no se le permite ni funcionar como obispo ni llevar a cabo ningúna actividad del ministerio del clero mientras el caso disciplinario en su contra esté pendiente, y no podrá estar en contacto con nadie de nuestra diócesis. Las respuestas a acusaciones de mala conducta contra los obispos son manejadas por la oficina del Obispo Presidente y la Junta Disciplinaria de Obispos, entonces este caso no se desarrollará aquí en California, sino a nivel de toda la Iglesia.
Esta fue para mí una noticia difícil de recibir, y sé que será difícil de escuchar para muchas personas de nuestra comunidad diocesana. Le he pedido a la Reverenda Canóniga J. Sierra Reyes y al Venerable Miguel Bustos que estén disponibles para hablar y orar con ustedes si necesitan atención pastoral durante este tiempo, y me reuniré con el clero de la diócesis en los próximos días para apoyarlos mientras cuidan de ustedes. Si alguien tiene información sobre este o cualquier asunto relacionado que les gustaría compartir, por favor póngase en contacto con la Reverenda Barbara Kempf, oficial para quejas disciplinarias contra obispos, en [email protected].
Cuando me convertí en su pastor, a ustedes les escribí sobre el trabajo que tenemos que hacer, la confianza que tenemos que construir y las heridas que debemos confiar al poder sanador de Cristo. No anticipé que este tipo de situación dolorosa sería uno de nuestros primeros desafíos juntos. Pero creo que amando a Dios y a los demás y siguiendo la sabiduría de Jesús, saldremos de esta dificultad más conectados y comprometidos con la misión de Dios en nuestro contexto.
No sé cuándo tendré más noticias que compartir con ustedes sobre este asunto, pero cuando las tenga, les escribiré de nuevo. Hasta entonces, por favor, únanse a mí para orar por la persona que ha hecho esta acusación, por el Obispo Marc y por todos los afectados por este asunto.
Suyo en Cristo,
+Austin
Información de contacto del equipo de atención pastoral:
La Reverenda J. Sierra Reyes: [email protected]
El Venerable Miguel Bustos: [email protected]
Aug 13, 2024 | #BishopStatements
The Rev. Cn. J. Sierra Reyes is Canon for Ministry in the Diocese of Chicago
The Rev. Cn. J. Sierra Reyes
To my beloved siblings in DioCal:
It is my great honor to introduce our new Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of California, the Reverend Canon J. Sierra Reyes. Sierra comes to us from the Diocese of Chicago, and I could not be more thankful and excited to have her join us in this new chapter of our diocese’s life!
Besides having served as a rector and a canon on a diocesan staff, Sierra brings her rooted faith and joyful presence to this new appointment as our Canon to the Ordinary. My sincerest hope and prayer is that her skillset and deep love of Jesus and The Episcopal Church will allow her to resource our congregations, institutions, and ministries from her well of experience while serving as Chief of Staff for our DioHouse team. I have the utmost confidence that she will serve among us with grace, curiosity, and joy.
Please join in welcoming Canon Sierra, her husband, Rudy, and their daughter, Julia, to the Bay Area with all the warmth and love that DioCal has shown to me and my family in these past months of transition!
Yours in Christ,
Bishop Austin
…
Read the press release
Aug 13, 2024 | #BishopStatements
“For you are all one in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:28b
Dear Siblings in the Diocese of California,
In my first letter as your new pastor, it is my tremendous joy and honor to address you today and to share one of my great hopes for this next chapter of our common life. Over the past several months, I’ve enjoyed meeting you, joining you in celebrations and solemnities, and appreciating all the many gifts that God has already blessed us with in this portion of the vineyard called the Diocese of California. I give thanks for these many blessings (including the person reading this to you now), and my deepest prayer is that we can faithfully build upon these gifts and experiences in the years ahead to be part of a church that helps transform the wider world into God’s beloved community.
Such transformation will neither be quick nor easy. Besides the predominant cultural storms that rage in the political and social spheres, we simultaneously face headwinds within our Diocese. We have trust to build with each other. We have wounds to heal. We have relationships to develop. We have shared values to discover. I deeply trust that God is longing for our wholeness as a Diocese. I believe that getting honest with one another about these headwinds and difficulties, entrusting their healing to Christ, and sharing our best practices for ministry are faithful ways for us to discern a path forward as one whole and joyful body.
Amidst these gifts and challenges, the best way I know to be a faithful leader with you is to listen to you wholeheartedly. I want to hear how God has already been at work among you. I want to hear about the many successes in ministry you have built over generations in this place. I also want to hear about your pain and frustration, your fear and uncertainty. I want to be with you in the ways we’ve fallen short of the glory of God in our dealings with one another.
During the bishop search process, I heard your call—a call to discern a shared strategic vision for the Diocese of California. And I am convinced that doing this visioning work together is an essential first step in building trust with one another and ensuring the many diverse and wonderful members of our diocese are common stakeholders in our shared future.
Consequently, the first thing I ask of you as your new diocesan bishop is to pray for this process and, specifically, that we might discern God’s will together and gain the strength to pursue it.
The second thing I ask is that you engage this process with integrity and hopeful intention.
The Executive Council and I are beginning this process by scheduling five Listening Sessions around our Diocese. These sessions are an important first step in the overall effort to map a strategic plan for our Diocese; a path that we pray will mimic the path God has laid for us. Please receive my heartfelt invitation to participate in one of these listening sessions. I hope you will make every effort to join us and encourage the widest participation possible from your siblings in our Diocese:
- Thursday, September 5, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Orinda
- Tuesday, September 10, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Online Zoom Meeting
- Saturday, September 14, Noon – 2:00 pm, Church of the Nativity, San Rafael
- Monday, September 16, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Foster City
- Thursday, September 25 – 27, Clergy Retreat, The Bishop’s Ranch
Spanish interpretation will be available at all meetings, and we will translate the written materials for each session into Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, and Tongan. We will present initial learnings from our Listening Sessions at this year’s Diocesan Convention on October 25th and 26th.
My hope is that, as we begin discerning together, we will begin growing together—into the united body God calls us to be.
And that the vision we pursue will be ours—not mine, not our diocesan staff’s, not one congregation’s, nor one parishioner’s vision—but our vision, to live out with God’s help.
I don’t yet know where the process will lead, which is part of the joy, actually! I am excited and look forward to being surprised at how and where God will lead us, even as I hope to build upon the profound legacy of ministry and faithfulness that has come before my call to serve as your bishop. But even as I remain open to that uncertain future of “treasures old and new[1]” I do know something about what will lead us there.
As we listen, discern, and dream together, the way to greater life and a shared and faithful vision for this next chapter of our common life passes through the truth and the mystery of the Cross of Christ. And we must follow Jesus’ wisdom to get where our hearts long to go.
That means loving God and each other in thought, word, and deed.
It means being willing to serve one another as Christ served his disciples and those beyond.
It means loving our neighbors, seeing them clearly, and attending to them.
And it means letting go of the limitations of “I” “me” and “mine” and “us vs. them” and moving toward the resurrected life of “we” and “our.”
The more we do that, the more we can follow Jesus’ path of transformation from one single grain of wheat into an abundant harvest of bread for the world[2]—
the more our hearts will burn within us,
the more our congregations will thrive and be shapers of meaning and hope for a starving and thirsting world,
the more our diocese will be a connecting and resourcing force for good in the Bay Area,
and the more the contours of our shared vision will come to shape and shift the wider world around us.
I am here among you as bishop because I believe this work is worth doing, and it is worth doing together. I look forward to hearing from you, walking with you, and serving alongside you in the months and years to come.
Yours in Christ,
+Austin
Una carta al pueblo de la Diócesis de California, del obispo Austin
“Porque todos ustedes son uno en Cristo Jesús”. Gálatas 3:28
Queridos Hermanas, Hermanos, y Hermanes en la diócesis de California,
En mi primera carta como su nuevo pastor, es para mí un gran gozo y un honor dirigirme a ustedes hoy para compartir una de mis grandes esperanzas para este próximo capítulo de nuestra vida común. Durante los últimos meses, he disfrutado conocerlos, unirme a ustedes en celebraciones y solemnidades, y apreciar todos los dones con los que Dios ya nos ha bendecido en esta porción del viñedo llamada Diócesis de California. Doy gracias por estas muchas bendiciones (incluida la persona que le lee esto ahora), y mi oración más profunda es que podamos aprovechar fielmente estos dones y experiencias en los años venideros para ser parte de una iglesia que ayuda a transformar todo el mundo en la amada comunidad de Dios.
Esta transformación no será ni rápida ni fácil. Además de las tormentas culturales predominantes que azotan las esferas política y social, simultáneamente enfrentamos vientos en contra dentro de nuestra diócesis. Tenemos confianza que generar unos con otros. Tenemos heridas que sanar. Tenemos relaciones que desarrollar. Tenemos valores comparidos quedescubrir. Confío profundamente en que Dios anhela nuestra integridad como diócesis. Creo ser honestos unos con otros sobre estos vientos en contra y dificultades, confiar su curación a Cristo y compartir nuestras mejores prácticas para el ministerio son formas fieles de discernir un camino a seguir como un cuerpo íntegro y gozoso.
En medio de estos dones y desafíos, la mejor manera que conozco de ser un líder fiel con ustedes es escucharlos de todo corazón. Quiero escuchar cómo Dios está entre ustedes. Quiero escuchar acerca de los muchos éxitos en el ministerio que ustedes han construido a lo largo de generaciones en este lugar. También quiero escuchar sobre su dolor y su frustración, su miedo e incertidumbre. Quiero estar con ustedes en las formas en que hemos estado destituidos de la gloria de Dios en nuestro trato unos con otros.
Durante el proceso de búsqueda de obispo, escuché su llamado: un llamado a discernir una visión estratégica compartida para la Diócesis de California. Y estoy convencido de que entrar en el proceso de crear una visión juntos es un primer paso esencial para generar confianza unos con otros y garantizar que los diversos y maravillosos miembros de nuestra diócesis sean partes interesadas comunes en nuestro futuro compartido.
En consecuencia, lo primero que les pido como yo, como nuevo obispo diocesano, es que oren por este proceso de visión y específicamente para que juntos podamos discernir la voluntad de Dios y obtener la fuerza para llevarla a cabo.
Lo segundo que les pido es que participen en este proceso de visión con integridad y con intencionesesperanzadoras.
El Consejo Ejecutivo y yo estamos comenzando el proceso de visión con cinco sesiones interactivas, sesiones de escucha,en nuestra diócesis. Estas sesiones son un primer paso importante en el esfuerzo general para trazar un plan estratégico para nuestra diócesis; oramos que este reflejará el camino que Dios ha trazado para nosotros. Reciben mi más sincera invitación a participar en una de estas sesiones de escucha. Espero que ustedes hagan todo lo posible para unirse a nosotros y fomentar la más amplia participación posible de sus hermanos en nuestra diócesis:
- Thursday, September 5, 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Orinda
- Tuesday, September 10, 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
Online Zoom Meeting
- Saturday, September 14, Noon–2:00 pm
Church of the Nativity, San Rafael
- Monday, September 16, 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Foster City
- Thursday, September 25–27
Clergy Retreat, The Bishop’s Ranch
Habrá interpretación en español disponible en todas las reuniones y traduciremos los materiales escritos de cada sesión al español, mandarín, tagalo y tongano. Presentaremos los aprendizajes iniciales de nuestras sesiones de escucha en la convención diocesana de este año los días 25 y 26 de octubre.
Mi esperanza es que, a medida que comencemos a discernir juntos, comencemos a crecer juntos, hasta convertirnos en el cuerpo unido que Dios nos llama a ser.
Y que la visión que persigamos sea la nuestra, no la mía, ni la de nuestro personal diocesano, ni la de una congregación, ni la visión de un feligrés, sino nuestra visión, vivirla con la ayuda de Dios.
Todavía no sé a dónde nos llevará el proceso ¡y eso, en realidad es parte de la alegría! Estoy entusiasmado y espero sorprenderme de cómo y hacia dónde nos llevará Dios, al mismo tiempo que espero aprovechar el profundo legado de ministerio y fidelidad que precedió a mi llamado a servir como su obispo. Pero, aunque sigo abierto a un futuro incierto de “tesoros viejos y nuevos[1]”, ya sé algo sobre lo que nos llevará allí.
Mientras escuchamos, discernimos, y soñamos juntos, el camino hacia una vida mayor y una visión compartida y fiel paraeste próximo capítulo de nuestra vida común será sujeto a la verdad y el misterio de la Cruz de Cristo. Y debemos seguir la sabiduría de Jesús para llegar a donde nuestro corazón anhela ir.
Eso significa amar a Dios y a los demás en pensamiento, palabra y obra.
Significa estar dispuestos a servirnos unos a otros como Cristo sirvió a sus discípulos y a los demás.
Significa amar a nuestro prójimo, verlo con claridad y atenderlo.
Y significa dejar de lado las limitaciones del “yo”, “mí”, “mío” y “nosotros contra ellos” para avanzar hacia la vida resucitada del “nosotros” y “nuestro”.
Cuanto más hagamos eso, más podremos seguir el camino de transformación de Jesús de un solo grano de trigo en una cosecha abundante de pan para el mundo[2] y:
cuanto más arderá nuestro corazón dentro de nosotros;
cuanto más prosperen nuestras congregaciones y forjen significado y esperanza para un mundo hambriento y sediento;
cuanto más nuestra diócesis sea una fuerza de conexión y suministro de recursos para el bien en el Área de la Bahía,
y más los contornos de nuestra visión compartida moldearán y cambiarán el mundo que nos rodea.
Estoy aquí entre ustedes como obispo porque creo que vale la pena hacer este trabajo y vale la pena hacerlo juntos. Espero tener noticias suyas, caminar con ustedes y servir junto a ustedes en los meses y años venideros.
Suyo en Cristo,
+Austin
Jul 13, 2024 | #BishopStatements
Dear beloved friends in Christ,
While it is unclear exactly what happened at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, we are relieved that former President Trump is reported to be safe. However, we are deeply saddened to learn that a member of the audience was killed. As more information emerges, we decry all violence that threatens human life, and certainly the lives of those who put themselves forward in our democratic, political processes. These processes must be safe, and the people who run for election, and those who surround them with their support, must be able to do so without fear. Please join me in praying for the soul of the life that was lost, former President Trump, and our country.
Join us in praying:
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
-BCP p. 815
In faith,
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Marc Handley Andrus, Eighth Bishop of the Diocese of California
The Rt. Rev. Austin Keith Rios, Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of California
Apr 23, 2024 | #BishopStatements, #Press&BishopStatements
Today we mourn the passing of one of the Bay Area’s brightest lights, the Rev. Cecil Williams. As the co-founder and longtime pastor of Glide Memorial Church, San Francisco, Williams fervently embraced Christ’s call to feed, clothe, and shelter his neighbors in need. From the pulpit and on the streets of San Francisco, he used his powerful voice to demand justice and dignity for people facing homelessness, poverty, abuse, and discrimination.
Although we have lost a great leader, Rev. Williams’s legacy lives on in so many ways, including in films, books, documentaries, and, most importantly, in the lives of the countless souls he helped and healed. May his Spirit-inspired work continue to bless all of us for years to come.
O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of your servant Cecil, and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
