Well, it’s finally happened. The other shoe has dropped. The balloon has gone up. Call it what you will, things are different today than they were yesterday.
When I woke up yesterday morning, I was a reluctant Episcopalian. As of approximately 9 PM yesterday evening I became, along with virtually everyone else in my congregation, a member of the Anglican Church of Uganda.
Uganda?
The View from the Foothills 
Welcome to Uganda from another Ugandan! I think you’ll find that nothing has changed–and that everything has changed.
In the 18 months since we at All Saints’ became Ugandan Anglicans, we’ve had the freedom to carry out the Gospel mission. We’ve had the support of a godly Bishop and Archbishop, and it’s such a joy! We’re growing, too, and have become not only Ugandan, but pan-African, as well–we who once were typical white, middle-class Episcopalians now have a Nigerian priest on our staff. We’ve sent some of our men and our teens to Uganda and had a visit from Bishop Kisekka. Our clergy have attended the Luweero Diocesan Synod. St. James’ and St. David’s experiences are similar.
At the Hope and a Future Conference in Pittsburgh, the 14 congregations under Archbishop Henry’s protection met with him. He assured us that this was a temporary arrangement, much like an airport “where planes land and take off,” but I wouldn’t mind if it became permanent. It’s such a joy to be a part of a church you don’t have to apologize for. Our rector said that it wasn’t until it it was lifted did he realize what a burden he had been carrying. “We can plant new churches,” he exclaimed, “without applying to the diocese or asking anyone’s permission.” And we’re doing just that, because in the Los Angeles area, there are vast distances without a biblically orthodox haven.
I can’t say that I didn’t grieve. I was a “cradle Episcopalian,” and it was odd to have to change my thinking to “them” instead of “us.” “Us” is now world-wide instead of national. If I grieve now, it’s for the denomination that once was something I was proud to be a member of and is now a laughable shell of itself. There will be some unpleasantness directed your way from the Diocese of Los Angeles–probably a lawsuit and the usual clergy inhibitions and depositions “for abandonment of the Communtion” (what could be more untrue!) It’s all bluster and not to be taken seriously. You’re safe. God rules.
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Sue, thanks for the warm welcome!
We’ve actually been pan-African up here for some time, as we’ve had a number of assisting clergy from Kenya as well, and Ron and various parishioners have been on short term missions to a variety of African nations over the last ten years or so. And I gather that in Boone Sadler’s day there were lots and lots of African clergy studying at Fuller and visiting St. Luke’s. (My wife vaguely remembers that our archbishop might have been one of them.)
In any event, it makes me very happy to once more be in the same diocese as All Saints, St. James, and St. David’s–better late than never. 🙂
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I’m not surprised at the connections between St. Luke’s and Africa. I first met Fr. Ron at an Episcopal Renewal Ministries-sponsored seminar on house churches in the late ’80’s and at another one a few years later at St. James, Newport Beach. He may still have been in Bath, Ohio then. I remember that he had been to Africa (maybe Uganda) and taught us African songs. He had also formed a relationship with ++Henry, as did Fr. Bill and Fr. Jose, when he visited L.A. and spoke to an AAC/LA meeting just before his enthronement. I think it was Dec. of ’03. When we left ECUSA, it was a puzzle to me why St. Luke’s didn’t, but I suspected that either the congregation wasn’t 100% behind leaving or that there was an issue with the property. One of Fr. Bill’s activities as ACN Dean is to counsel parishes who are considering leaving, and he’s quite busy doing so, but I wouldn’t ask him about specific parishes. However, it looks like you may need a good lawyer, so I recommend ours. She was the one whose SLAPP defense persuaded the judge to throw out the diocese’s suit against us.
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