After devoting nearly four decades of his life to his role as rector of All Saints’ Anglican Church in Long Beach, Calif., the Rt. Rev. William A. Thompson will focus his full attention on being bishop of the Diocese of Western Anglicans.
The Diocese was formed in April of 2009 and includes 28 parishes and church plants stretching from southern California to Washington state and as far east as Wyoming. In addition to his work to support the growing Diocese, Bishop Thompson serves the Anglican Church in North America in numerous ways, including leading the Prayer Book and Common Liturgy Task Force.
Our families have been friends for the past three generations, and I’ve known Bill since he took over at All Saints. He’s always shown himself to be a good man and a very fine priest and bishop. A true Christian gentleman in every respect with a heart for the Gospel. Even Jon Bruno likes him.
Encouraging to see that ACNA is moving from a part-time diocesan to full-time in this diocese. Time is required to build new provincial and diocesan organisations with a firm foundation.
I’m a little confused. I am a member of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Portland, OR which is, in turn, a member of the Diocese of Cascadia, a diocese that includes churches in Washington and Oregon. Will this change?
drjoan, I am not in ACNA or even in USA, but I think the explanation is this:
When the press release was done for the formation of the diocese Western Anglicans in May 2009, it listed about 20 parishes in California and Arizona, and one parish in Kennewick Washington. I think this was a church plant from one of the California parishes, and at that stage Dio Cascadia had not been formed, so it was included in Dio Western Anglicans. Someone with more knowledge than me of these things can confirm whether this is correct.