2020 Diocesan Assembly Recap Press Release

2020 Diocesan Assembly
October 14th, 2020
San Francisco, CA (and across the Diocese on the World Wide Web!)

The Diocese of the West held its annual Diocesan Assembly via Zoom this year, and with well over 100 participants, it was a success (Glory to God!). The 2019 assembly minutes were accepted, the 2021 budget was passed, and a new Diocesan Council elected, all from the comfort of the delegates’ homes. While we were all sorry not to have had the chance to travel to and enjoy the hospitality of St Paul Church in Las Vegas, NV, the original host parish for 2020, nonetheless we were grateful to God for the capability of taking care of the necessary business aspects of Diocesan life despite living in the middle of a pandemic.

Archbishop BENJAMIN stated in his address that, “Without a doubt our Church, our diocese and our parishes have never faced such unprecedented challenges before: a pandemic of global significance, devastating wildfires, economic hardship, and extreme political division,” but remarked in closing that, “I would like to thank everyone for their stewardship on every level of Church life even during these challenging times. You will see in the financial report of the treasurer, we are right on target in terms of both income and expenses. I expect the same will be true for next year. And I think, for the most part, the parishes of the diocese and its missions have weathered the COVID storm fairly well. This is an indication to me of the spiritual maturity and dedication that are to be found among our faithful.”

Bishop DANIEL, in his Chancellor’s address, noted that despite the changes and challenges of the pandemic, “The Gospel has continued to be preached. Praise of the Most Holy Trinity has continued in the life of the Church. The proclamation of the Paschal Mystery has continued to be celebrated in the Divine Liturgy. Priests and parishes have continued to minister to the faithful and to bear witness to Christ…. And this has all been done while making greater demands upon our clergy and faithful, with great sacrifice, and with dedication and fidelity to the ministry which has been entrusted to each one of us.”
All who have not yet done so are encouraged to peruse the material that has been posted related to this assembly, including the full texts of the addresses quoted above, by clicking here.

Thank you to everyone who made this (hopefully) unique assembly possible. Glory to God for All Things!