Report from Bishop Phil: Bishop Keith, ACNA Bishops and Synod
Thank you for your response to the call for prayer that I sent you on Monday, September 21. I promised then that I would report back to you and here is my report.
Prayers for Bishop +Keith and Gail
Bishop Keith continues to recover from his thyroid surgery. He and Gail are grateful for your prayers! His radiation treatments 5x a week for the prostate cancer continue and will end in December. In January 2027 he is scheduled for surgery to repair the voice box with likely speech therapy to follow. There will also be further consults with his oncologist and radio oncologist to work up a treatment approach for 2027. He wrote me, “We are in good spirits. Not a lot of energy yet, so we are preparing for the slog through the next 4+ months or so.” Please let’s continue to keep +Keith and Gail in our prayers for complete healing from the cancers, clear margins and complete healing of his voice box.
ACNA Bishop’s Meeting Sep 21-25 in Plano TX
You can find the official ACNA Report from that meeting here, or, in a somewhat easier to read copy, here. I am grateful for the conversations we were able to have around our differences on the question of whether women can serve in Holy Orders. It was a positive step that we were able to hear directly from Archbishop Duncan how we agreed to “settle” the issue of women in Holy Orders in order to keep our focus on mission. This was followed by a discussion of the Holy Orders Task force led by two of our Bishops from opposite ends of view on the issue, and to ask ourselves in light of the 2017 Bishops Victoria Statement what we work we have left undone—especially among the over 50% of the bishops in the College who have been consecrated after 2017.
I commend our Dean, Bishop Julian Dobbs, for his servant leadership throughout this discussion. We have much work to do, and his recommendation for the formation of a Faith and Order Commission of the College of Bishops—Custodia Fide—to address this and other issues is a welcome step I have recommended for many years!
I am also grateful for the reports from ACNA staff on new resources for Catechism, Diocesan health, church health, clergy health, campus ministry and church planting. I will share more about these resources at Synod 2026 and how we are joining in as a Diocese with these “capacity-building” resources!
I am also grateful for the “Ten-Takeaways from the ACNA Bishops Meeting in Plano” that Rev. David Roseberry suggested in his article which you can find here (note: You do not actually have to download the Substack app to read the full article; it should come to your inbox when/if you register). I commend this article to you. It begins to address some of the questions I am hearing from you: “Is there something fundamentally wrong with ACNA and the College of Bishops? What does the future of our Province look like? Bishop Phil, what would it mean for the Bishops to “walk in the light” (I John 1:7-9) following their statement about the sentencing of Derek Jones?”
You know, there has never been a time in the history of the church where it has been spotless and pure, without conflict. There have always been crises of doctrine and discipline within the church—hence all the Councils even in the undivided Early Church. We have never experienced a time without some “bishops behaving badly.” Why? Because all (including Bishops) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). That is not an excuse—it is a fact. Yes, the Bishops admitted their failure to discipline Derek Jones earlier. Yes, there will be much soul searching for how and why this abuse was allowed to continue for so long. Yes, there is a need for meaningful repentance that is public, personal, institutional and accompanied by action.
As Bishops, we have to do better. As a new bishop, I am acutely aware of my own shortcomings that drive me back to confession, repentance and amendment of life every day! How can any of us—bishops, clergy and laity-- expect not-yet-followers of Jesus Christ to adopt that same posture of faith that we invite them to adopt if in following Jesus if we ourselves do not model it? Isn’t it time for us to shift our focus away from the metrics of church growth and “success” to Jesus Christ and his example in Philippians 2:5-11—by following HIM, to empty ourselves, to consider our “rights” not something to be grasped but to empty ourselves in humility for the sake of God’s mission??
May I encourage you therefore to take the time you might otherwise spend on social media, and to pray with humility and hope the prayer below from BCP 2019, Prayer 7, at pages 647-648.
One of the things I will be sharing at Synod is our commitment to form a Diocesan Faith and Order Commission that includes me as your Bishop, clergy and laity—a Diocesan Commission that will address the challenges to our faith and order here on the mission fields of Southern California, Arizona and the Yellowstone Missionary District. We will address not only the challenges to our mission (immigration, differences on human sexuality, etc.) but also the theological issues that divide our Province (holy orders) by Biblically faithful robust research, writing and discussions that help us clarify what we believe and practice within this Diocese. At Synod 2026 upcoming, I will share what that will look like, some first steps, our commitment to do this work within the boundaries of the Fundamental Declarations, Constitution and Canons of the ACNA, and how this work can contribute to the new Custodia Fide and the health of ACNA.
One of the vivid pictures I received from the LORD in discerning our call to walk together as Bishop and Diocese is of a back-yard water faucet dripping, but not flowing. I took that as the LORD inviting us to turn the handle of that faucet so that the living water of the Holy Spirit will flow into our lives and that rivers of grace and life will flow through us to bring others to Christ! That is why the theme of this Synod 2026 is from Jesus’ own words in Luke 24:49 “But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” If you haven’t yet registered for Synod, you can register here. We need the capacity-building person and power of the Holy Spirit now more than ever.
Don’t miss the opportunity to come and receive!
#7 FOR A PROVINCIAL OR DIOCESAN CONVENTION OR SYNOD
Almighty and everlasting God, by your Holy Spirit you presided in the council of the blessed Apostles, and you promised, through your Son Jesus Christ, to be with your Church to the end of the world: Be with the council of your Church assembled in Plano, Texas, with the College of Bishops, in your Name and presence. Save us from all error, ignorance, prejudice, and pride; and of your great mercy direct, sanctify, and govern us in our work, by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit; that the order and discipline of your Church may be maintained, and that the Gospel of Christ may be truly preached, truly received, and truly followed in all places, breaking down the kingdom of sin, Satan, and death; till all your scattered sheep, being gathered into one fold, become partakers of everlasting life; through the merits and death of Jesus Christ
our Savior. Amen.
