Hear the bishop's sermon, in which he reads this letter, the letter from the College of Bishops, and offers pastoral direction here.

Dear Fellow Followers of Jesus in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast,

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal.  But the Word of God is not bound!  2 Timothy 2.8-9

This Pastoral Letter comes to you to encourage you as brothers and sisters in our Lord.

With my brother bishops and our archbishop I have been here in the College of Bishops developing a response to the Supreme Court decision.

Please see the link below Statement produced by the College of Bishops in light of the Supreme Court decision. Please read it!

[Read the full text of the COB statement here.]

By the Grace of God, our College is absolutely clear about this issue.  The sense of solidarity in the Gospel has been clear and profound amongst us.  We are hopeful because of the Gospel, sobered by the trials to come, and have greater clarity than ever in the rescue mission our Lord Jesus permits us to be part of every day.

For such a time as this. We have been given a vision to live into the calling placed on all of us to disciple into a personal relationship all whom we know, and we start by sharing the transforming love of Jesus Christ with North America.

You hear me preach often that we as western Christians have wrongly expected government (any government) to be the salt and light of truth and grace which we the Church, His Bride, are solely called to be. And I beg you, join me in praying that we would Be the Church He has called us to BE! Now in this time. As you gather this Sunday in the freedom we are afforded in this our nation, pray for the protection of that freedom.

We have been given a Provincial Church that is utterly committed to and clear about the Gospel and will provide the support and direction we will need.  We have a diocesan church of like minded Western Gulf Coast Anglicans who have been prepared for this day with a deeply shared history and a resolute vision for the future.  And we have  kingdom outpost parishes that are zealous about the transformation of persons and the planting of churches.

And we have Jesus!  We have His Word! We have the Holy Spirit!  We have everything we need.

Yes, it is painful to see a country we love so dearly be led astray by five of our Supreme Court Justices.  And I am personally sobered by what this decision may mean--especially for our children's generation.

But I am also ready.  And I know you are too.  We are ready for our revival work. We are ready to follow our Lord to the gates of hell if it means even just one more soul brought to His Throne of Grace.

The Kingdom of our Lord Jesus is NEVER threatened or in peril. Never. Keep that in mind...in heart...in spirit...Believe it. And have peace.

With my love and prayers,