Reflection from Rev. Jane

Dear Friends in Christ,

I know many of you will have received the October 15th letter from Bp. Austin Rios about the restriction issued on the ministry of Bishop Marc Andrus due to a credible allegation that he had an inappropriate relationship with an adult while he was bishop of California. If you didn’t receive the letter it can be found here. A restriction on ministry is the Church equivalent of being placed on administrative leave and is in keeping with the church’s Title IV clergy disciplinary canons. A Canon is loosely defined as the rules and standards by which our Church is governed. Title IV governs disciplinary process and actions when complaints are made against bishops, priests, and deacons. It encourages accountability, justice, reconciliation, restoration, and pastoral responses.

I imagine that this news may have evoked a variety of feelings in you as it has in me. Over the last few days, I have experienced shock, horror, betrayal, anxiety, and sadness. The Church is made up of fully human, fully imperfect people. At its best it reflects a small piece of the glory of God, and at its worst it reveals the deeply flawed nature of humankind. People contain within them the potential for great good and great evil and our scriptures are full of this paradox. From Adam and Eve, through Abraham, to David and beyond, God has always done God’s work through imperfect people.

While complaints against priests are handled at the diocesan level, complaints against bishops are handled by the national church. All complaints are deeply confidential in nature. We do not and we may never know the details of this case. It does not serve us to speculate or to wonder about the nature of the complaint or whether it is true or not. We should rest assured that the investigation is in the hands of responsible people given those positions because they have the confidence of the Church. What we can do is pray for everyone involved; for Marc and Sheila Andrus, for the unnamed complainant; and for all those doing their best to establish the truth and decide how to handle the situation.

As Bp. Austin said in a zoom meeting with clergy this afternoon, we should not make this the focus of our common life together but keep doing the work God has given us to do. This does not define us as a people or as a Church. Augustine declared that the validity of the sacraments does not depend on the moral character of the one performing them but on God. Even though Bishop Marc Andrus is under investigation, we are still the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement in the Bay Area. Now more than ever it is important for us to live our lives manifesting that into a world that deeply needs accountability, justice, reconciliation, restoration, and pastoral responses.

If this triggers something for you, or you need to talk through your feelings, Rev. Mees and I are available to help you process this.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jane+