A Letter from Bishop Chris (May 2023B)

Dear friends,

One of the many remarkable things I experienced during my time at GAFCON in Kigali Rwanda was the beauty and diversity of the people gathered there. Anglican Christians from across the globe joined together to form a rich tapestry of colors, accents, experiences, cultures, histories, sorrows, and successes. Though diverse in so many ways, we were united by our worship of and our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a realtime snapshot of the body of Christ, and the great cloud of witnesses, even now gathered together around the throne of God as pictured in the book of Revelation:

And they sang a new song, saying,“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 4:9-12).

Likewise, Revelation 7:9-10 shows the incredible diversity and unity of God’s people worshipping him together: 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

On this Ascension Day, may your heart be drawn upward in worship of our Ascended Lord. In leaving this earth to enter heaven, he is now King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Lamb of God and Lion of Judah. He lives ever to make intercession for us before God and his blood guarantees our access to the throne of grace. And, thanks be to God, He has not left us orphaned or comfortless. He has sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and to empower us as his witnesses.

Blessings,
+Chris

p.s. Since it is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month, I want to encourage you to learn more about our brothers and sisters in Christ from these varying people groups. If DOMA is to continue growing into a multi-ethnic representation of the people of God like what we will experience in heaven, it’s important that we celebrate and learn from and about one another. As such, I’ve been reading the following books which might benefit you also:

“Learning Our Names: Asian American Christians on Identity, Relationships, and Vocation” by Chan, Daniel, de Leon, and Thao

And “Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents” by Yep, Cha, Cho Van Riesen, Jao, and Tokunaga

Or you might consider participating in the next Mosaic Formation Intercultural Intelligence workshop hosted by my friend David Wu and his wife Cindy.

I’m also excited to share a story (below) from our own DOMA parish: Korean Anglican Church and its pastor, the Reverend Paul Kim.

Blessings,
The Rt. Rev. Chris Warner