Anglican District of Virginia Welcomes News of John Guernsey's Election as Bishop

FAIRFAX, Va. (June 22, 2007) – The Anglican District of Virginia (ADV), an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia, announced today its strong enthusiasm for the forthcoming consecration of Bishop-elect John Guernsey. The Reverend Guernsey, rector of All Saints Anglican Church in Woodbridge, Va., was elected by the Anglican Church of Uganda to serve as Suffragan Bishop to its orthodox parishes in the United States.

According to Jim Oakes, Vice-Chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia, “We eagerly anticipate the formal consecration of Bishop-elect John Guernsey. The new role John Guernsey has been called to fill underscores the growing movement towards maintaining orthodox Anglican beliefs here in the U.S. We praise the Church of Uganda for electing such a strong candidate to oversee its congregations in the States. John is a bold man of Christ who has been integral in providing support for parishes that wish to uphold the sacred authority of Scripture and practice orthodox Anglicanism. The ADV looks forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with him.”

The Anglican District of Virginia is comprised of 19 churches, four of which are associate members under the authority of the Anglican Church of Uganda. These parishes which include All Saints Anglican Church in Woodbridge, Christ Our Lord in Woodbridge, Church of the Holy Spirit in Ashburn and South Riding Anglican Church in Fairfax will receive pastoral oversight from Bishop-elect Guernsey. In total, Rev’d Guernsey will oversee 26 orthodox congregations in the U.S. that are connected to the worldwide Anglican Communion through the Church of Uganda.

In other news in the Anglican District of Virginia: The Reverend Mark Sholander, who will be installed as Rector of Christ the Redeemer Church, Centreville, Va., this coming Sunday, June 24. Christ the Redeemer Church is a member of ADV, an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia and a part of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA).

CANA Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns will formally install Mr. Sholander.

The installation ceremony will take place at Christ the Redeemer Church at 10:15 am on Sunday at Centreville Elementary School, 14330 Green Trails Blvd., Centreville, Va., 20121.

“Mark is an esteemed brother in the Lord and we look forward to working with him to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. He joins a growing network of Anglicans in Virginia who are excited to be moving forward while providing orthodox places for our community to worship and be transformed into active followers of Christ,” said CANA Suffragan Bishop David Bena.

“I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to serve at Christ the Redeemer Church and within the Anglican Communion at large. My hope and prayer is that we will reach countless numbers of people with the life-transforming news of the Gospel. Sunday will be a joyous celebration of a parish that unanimously voted in December to remain steadfast in their orthodox faith and affiliate with ADV and CANA,” said Mr. Sholander.

On January 1, 2007, Mr. Sholander was called to Christ the Redeemer Church, a church plant of Truro Church established in the mid-1990s. He received a call to ordained ministry during a 22-year career as Vice President of the American Arbitration Association. With his wife, Cindi, and three children, Joshua, Anthea and Samuel, he left his home and work in Orlando, Fl., to attend Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (TESM) in Ambridge, Pa., from 1997-2000. He was ordained in May 2000 by the Right Reverend John W. Howe, Bishop of Central Florida, TEC, (note: and former rector of Truro Church) and was called by All Saints’ Church, Winter Park, Fl., to be Assistant Rector to the Rev. H. David Wilson. He served there for two years before accepting a call in June 2002 to become rector of St. Alban’s Church, Auburndale, Fl., until last December.

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CANA Supports New Pastoral Initiative by Uganda

CANA’s Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns said on June 22, “I have just read of the proposed consecration of the Rev’d John Guernsey as a bishop in the Church of Uganda (Anglican Communion) to serve Uganda-related priests and churches in North America. This follows a similar action by the Anglican Church of Kenya in its proposed consecration of Canon Bill Atwood.

Both these announcements are welcome news.

They demonstrate the willingness of various provinces in the Anglican Communion to support the mission and ministry of Anglicans in North America who can no longer be part of The Episcopal Church.”

Bishop-elect Guernsey, rector of All Saints Church (Dale City, Virginia) and dean for Anglican Communion Network-member congregations in the mid-Atlantic region, is a long-time friend and ministry colleague of Bishop Minns.

Bishop Minns also said, “I look forward to continuing to work with John in his new role. We have worked together on numerous projects and enjoy a personal relationship of more than 20 years. We are already working closely together in the Anglican District of Virginia and I anticipate that this development will result in more new creative initiatives with CANA and the wider Common Cause partnership.”

Common Cause is a cooperative fellowship of Anglican groups in North America. “As others have noted, there are now more than 250 congregations in North America related to the Global South in the Anglican Communion, and this number continues to grow,” Bishop Minns added.