Thursday, February 5, 2015

Hey, What's Happened To The Rt Rev Owen Rhys Williams?

I was browsing the ACA Diocese of the West home page, and lo and behold, The Rt Rev Owen Rhys Williams is an unperson! The page was updated on January 31, 2015. Prior to that date, there was a photo of The Rt Rev prominently displayed on the home page, celebrating his arrival as episcopal visitor, with a pretty comprehensive bio. Now, he's nowhere to be found. Nor is he to be found on the Information page, wheron all other diocesan prebendaries and assorted ACA-TAC grand poobahs continue to be listed.

Only two weeks ago, of course, I noted here that the same ACA-DOW home page still contained a Christmas message very generously provided to the ACA DOW by Presiding Bishop Grundorf of the APA. However, this message has since been deleted, perhaps in the same January 31 update to the page, and part of an Epiphany message from Bl John Henry Newman has been substituted.

Perhaps Bishop Grundorf's Christmas message to the ACA DOW came as a surprise to Bishop Grundorf himself, and he read about it first here after someone sent him a heads-up. If I were Grundorf, I'd have been pretty ticked. Did he get on the horn to Brian Marsh, and did Marsh have to offer up a sacrifice to make amends? Cardinal Newman is in less of a position to complain.

The Rt Rev Owen is still listed on the St Mary of the Angels clergy page as that parish's Bishop-Pastor, though. Well, he disappeared from Trinity Anglican without ceremony. As I speculated in 2014, maybe they were happy to see him go. Is the same process under way in California?

UPDATE: Not only has Williams disappeared as episcopal visitor to the Diocese of the West, but he is no longer listed in the Diocese of the Northeast as a suffragan, which he had been since his 2013 consecration. Other than as "Pastor" of the illegal St Mary of the Angels group, he has completely disappeared from the ACA. (Since he is not the Rector, never hired by either the elected or appointed vestries, he serves at the pleasure of Frederick Rivers and Mrs Bush. How long until this shoe drops?)