MAY 25, 2024, Orange, CA

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! Greetings to the community of Saint Matthew.

As we thread unchartered roads in our Missionary Endeavour as a new Region for the Ecumenical Catholic Movement in the United States, as the “Ecumenical Catholic Servants of the Good Shepherd”, we are assured by the Lord who commissioned us to “go out to all the world and tell the good news (Mk 16, 15-16) with the promise, and lo, I am with you always until the end of age”. (Mt.28,20b). This promise comes as an assurance, because in this new adventure, the inner depths of our being will be put to the test; our comforts, our false sense of security and our dependence on our imagined reliability will all be shaken by the tasks of mission. And so, we must bravely follow where the Holy Spirit leads us.

This weekend is the Feast of the Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity. A clear reminder for all of us, sisters and brothers of the Communion, that the mission is not a task only of one individual, but always in communion with others, a communion of communities. And so I invite you all, to walk together, hand in hand, trusting the same Spirit of the Lord who guides us and leads us to clear paths.

The National ECC has spoken this weekend, through their spirit-led Bishop’s Council, represented by our beloved Bishop Paul Burson, as their presiding Bishop. We have all agreed that a change was necessary in our relationship with one another. Mixed emotions were triggered, as I carry with me twenty years of a sense of belonging, and spiritual refuge, since I left the Roman Catholic Church, in a very high and good standing, just like my fellow Sister and Brother clergy. This is where I found new comfort, new welcome and new identity into the arms of all of you in the ECC.

I read the communication of their Presiding Bishop not as a rejection nor an expulsion from the Communion but as an Official Endorsement to Saint Mathew, ECC and the rest of the thirteen other ECC Communities, specialized ministry and foreign missions, aligning themselves to the Good Shepherd Region, to go out and do the things globally that the National ECC is, as per their Constitution, severely limited in doing. Proof of this is in their “expressed” gratitude, as they offer us their friendship, their blessings and their continued support as we go and create something new. They have also expressed a heartfelt desire to continue to journey side by side with us in a relationship of love, “building the Body of Christ alongside each other.”

And so my beloved brothers and sisters, in order for us to continue to be at the forefront of the global Ecumenical Catholic movement, we must change our relationship with the ECC. While we will no longer be an official voting member of the ECC, we will remain in full communion with them, meaning we may attend their events and their Synods (but will have no voting rights), our Clergy will be welcome to celebrate Mass in their churches and theirs in ours, as well as con-celebrate with Ordinations and Consecrations, but we are not bound by their constitution or rules/regulations, and will no longer be required to tithe to the ECC.

We are free to establish intercommunion relationships with other Communions as well as to pursue Bishop Peter’s original vision of a global “Communion of Communities”. We believe, as does the National ECC, that this new relationship will allow both of us to continue to flourish as “kindred spirits” as we spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations.

It has been said that a church without a mission is not a real church, and a Religious Missionary Priest without insecurities is not a real missionary. Let us trust in the Lord for He will not forsake us! And so, let us continue to follow where the Holy Spirit leads us We see this change not as bittersweet, but as a necessary transformation, the fruits of which will result in a brighter future for the marginalized of all nations.

Please don’t hesitate to talk to me or Bishop Peter or Deacon Tony if you have any questions about any of this.

Peace be with you all!

Cor Unum Et Anima Una,
(One Heart, One Soul)
BISHOP ELECT
REV. FR. ARTURO QUERIJERO FERRERAS