On January 5, Bishop Stephens sent the following letter to Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines, Companion Diocese to the Diocese of New Westminster. The former bishop, the Right Reverend Brent Alawas was elected Prime Bishop (Primate) of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines on April 9, 2021. EDNP have not been able to stage an Electoral Synod due to the many restrictions caused by the pandemic.
Bishop Stephens asks that the parishes of the Diocese of New Westminster reach out to their companion parishes on and around January 20 with prayers and good wishes commemorating the EDNP's 50th Anniversary.
Here is a link to the EDNP Facebook Page
To our sisters and brothers in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines,
It is my great honour and privilege to write to you to congratulate you and to give thanks to God for your ministry as you mark your golden jubilee on January 20. On behalf of the entire Diocese of New Westminster please know that we celebrate with you 50 years of excellent ministry, evangelism, growth and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You have chosen the theme of “Keeping the Faith Alive and Aflame,” and this seems so fitting as you look to the next 50 years as a diocese. Jesus promised to send us an Advocate and the Holy Spirit came at the first Pentecost with great wind and flame. That same Holy Spirit brought new vision and new life to the first disciples and to all that would follow. That same Holy Spirit continues to be known by you and will guide you with that same fire into the future.
Please know that I am delighted by the relationship of our two dioceses. We have learned so much from you and I hope that you have learned a few things from us. You have taught us about how to live our faith in the context in which we live. You have taught us the importance of relationships. You have taught us how to trust more in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
If we were not in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, I would have been delighted to have been with you in person on January 20th. It would have been so important to me to share in worship and the sacraments with you as we prayed for your diocese and ours and the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead all of us into the future God has planned for us. Alas, I am not able to be there in person but on January 20th, please know of the prayers of the entire Diocese of New Westminster as we give thanks for the good work that has taken place in the Diocese of Northern Philippines over the last 50 years.
May God bless, hold and keep all of you into the new future that God has in store for your Diocese. I hope and pray that it will be very soon that I will be able to visit so that we can meet in person to share time in friendship, fellowship and faith.
In faith,
The Right Reverend John R. Stephens, Bishop