On Sunday August 18, the ACNA Diocese of Western Anglicans announced that Canon Phil Ashey is one of two finalists in their search for a new bishop. The diocese will hold “walkabouts” in three of its deaneries (Arizona, San Diego and Los Angeles/Orange County) on September 13-15. Their next bishop will be elected at their diocesan synod on Saturday October 19. Whomever is elected will then have to be approved by the ACNA College of Bishops at their meeting in January 2025. A date in March 2025 was reserved for the consecration of the bishop-elect in California.
It has been a whirlwind for the Ashey family, but they firmly believe this may be God’s call. They have deep roots in California, including Canon Phil’s home parish in Newport Beach, his wife Julie’s home in the SF Bay Area, their education from elementary to post-graduate in California schools, and the very first congregations they pastored. For some time now, Canon Phil has been preaching, teaching, and proclaiming that the Church is closer to Babylon than it is to Jerusalem. He has been sharing through the Daniel Declaration and our Formed Conferences that we must engage our culture as Daniel did when he was in exile—with biblical truth, with grace and respect, and with the resolve to speak truth and be the church at its best! There may be no place closer to Babylon in our culture today than some metropolitan areas of the West Coast. The Diocese of Western Anglicans includes Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming—including all of the major metropolitan cities in those states that are shaping our post-Christian culture.
Whether Canon Phil is elected or not, he considers it an honor to have been selected as a finalist. “I am committed to help lead the American Anglican Council into this new season of serving our Archbishop and the Anglican Church in North America,” he stated. “With our new archbishop, the Most Rev. Stephen Wood at the helm of the province, the AAC will be given increased opportunity to provide important ministry to the ACNA.” The AAC’s church revitalization workshops, Holy Spirit weekends, lay and clergy leadership coaching, clergy care groups, and more will continue with an increased focus on our domestic work.
The Ashey family asks for your prayers as they go through these final weeks of discernment. Please pray for The Very Rev. Eric Zolner, Rector of Christ the King Anglican in Poway CA, and Dean of the San Diego Deanery, and his wife Lisa. Please pray for discernment for all during the “walkabouts” of the deaneries September 13-15. Please pray that the October 19 electing Synod will choose the one whom God wants to be the next bishop of Western Anglicans. Please pray that the Lord will open those doors that no one else can open, and close those doors that need be closed.
To read more about the Diocese of Western Anglicans, the history and ministries of the two candidates, and continued updates on the election process, you can visit their website here.
