News & Commentary

18 November 2008

St. Anne’s celebrates Walk of Honor at Veteran’s Day Memorial Service

On November 11th, St. Anne’s, Oceanside, celebrated the third anniversary of its Walk of Honor, which consist of individual tiles with the names, rank, war and date of death of its fallen heroes. The walk has fallen heroes from WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq and Afganistan. This year they sadly added eight new names to the walk. The service began with the reading of “The Last Sunday” one of the parish member’s memory of her last Sunday with her father prior to his going off to war and never returning. Following opening prayers, St Anne’s youth laid a red rose and placed a flag at each tile as the names were read. As part of the memorial service veterans from the parish were recognized. St. Anne’s has a close relationship with their neighbors at Camp Pendleton and this recognition of fallen heroes is an important part of their ministry.

24 February 2008

Yuma's Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church
has a new place of worship

At 9:00 AM on January 6th, 2008, on the First Sunday of Epiphany in Yuma, Arizona, the parishioners of Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church found themselves in a new place of worship. They have been blessed for Sunday use by this beautiful Seventh Day Adventist Church facility located at 1681 S. 6th Avenue in Yuma (Seventh Day Adventists worship on Saturdays). The new church has a beautiful sanctuary, chapel, Sunday school rooms, nursery, huge fellowship hall and a kitchen. Also included are a fabulous sound system including closed circuit TV in each of the rooms. Stop by and greet the good folks at Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church in Yuma. Fr. Josh Acton is the Rector.

The photos show: The beautiful sanctuary and Fr. Josh greeting parishioners.

M.Div. in Anglican Studies for Western Anglicans

Azusa Pacific University's Haggard Graduate School of Theology announces faculty approval for a new graduate concentration in Anglican studies. This six course concentration will provide aspiring Anglican lay leaders, as well as those seeking Holy Orders, with a rigorous course of studies in Anglican liturgy and theology, integrated within the university's respected Master of Divinity degree.

The first course is The History of Worship and Liturgy, being offered on Monday evening, starting on February 4th for nine weeks. Five other courses will be offered in the future. They are: Anglican Church History, Ascetical Spirituality, Preaching and Liturgy in the Anglican Tradition, Anglican Ethics and Moral Theology, and Anglican Parish Ministry.

"Azusa Pacific University's Wesleyan heritage gives us historic ties to the global Anglican communion. Our heritage forms a large ecclesiastical umbrella that allows us to welcome members from many different communions who share a common love for Christ and commitment to orthodox Christian faith," said David Wright, Ph.D., dean of the School of Theology. "We are privileged to provide a theological resource to those within the Anglican Communion who find themselves in doctrinal affinity with us."

Leaders in the Southern California Anglican community approached Azusa Pacific University about the possibility of this offering because the university honors Christian orthodoxy, provides seven convenient locations, and models openness to other traditions. Along with the Anglican community support of Trinity School of Ministry and Nashotah House, the Western Anglicans wanted to provide an opportunity for students to experience Anglican studies closer to home and to their faith community. This concentration will address that need.

Fr. Tony Baron, Ph.D, rector of St. Anne's Anglican Church in Oceanside, California and a dean with the Anglican Communion under Bishop Frank Lyons, stated: "The richness of the Anglican tradition combined with the Wesleyan fervor of evangelicalism offers the right combination in making servant-leaders for Jesus Christ in our contemporary culture. We have been blessed to work with APU's president, provost, dean, and faculty to make our vision of providing a quality graduate theological education for those seeking Holy Orders one that is Christ-centered, biblically focused, and Kingdom-minded."

With the debut of this concentration, Haggard Graduate School of Theology foresees an opportunity to extend the expression of its mission to a new community, broaden its library holdings, and enrich the academic studies of faculty and students. "This concentration will engender conversations that may not have otherwise transpired. And from these important dialogs, we expect enriched learning and mutual respect to emerge," said Dr. Wright.

For more information on the Anglican Studies concentration, see APU's website http://apu.edu/theology/graduate/mdiv/ or contact the Haggard Graduate School of Theology at (626) 815-5439. You may also contact Fr. Jose` Poch at St. David's or Fr. Tony Baron at St. Anne's. Fr. Baron serves on the adjunct faculty at the School of Theology.