Forward in Faith North America is pleased to announce the election of the Rev. Canon Lawrence D. Bausch as its new President.
Forward in Faith North America (FiFNA) is pleased to announce the election of the Rev. Canon Lawrence D. Bausch as its new President. Father Bausch succeeds the Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, who had been FiFNA President since 2005.
“At our beginning in 1989 as the Episcopal Synod of America, our mission as catholic Anglicans centered on preserving our catholicity within existing church structures” Fr. Bausch said.
“As evidenced by our role in planning and preparing for last month’s glorious International Catholic Congress of Anglicans, FIFNA now discerns our vocation as both embodying and sharing our commitment to “Evangelical Faith, Catholic Truth, Apostolic Order and Godly Life” throughout the Anglican world, across jurisdictional and national boundaries, and also in supporting missions, church planting, personal witness and evangelism.”
Father Bausch served as an assistant priest at two churches before becoming Rector at Holy Trinity Parish in Ocean Beach (CA), in 1979. He has conducted many Retreats and Quiet Days including several based on the writings of St. Patrick. He has served on the FiFNA National Council since 1994. In 2001, he took a sabbatical in Ireland and the results of his study have been published in his book : The Conversion of the Irish from St. Patrick to 700 AD: A Study in the Relationship between Gospel and Culture. (Ekklesia Publications, 2007) He resigned from the ministry of The Episcopal Church (TEC) in September 2006, and was received as a priest in good standing in the Diocese of Argentina, in the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. Holy Trinity Parish also elected to leave TEC in September, 2006, and Fr. Bausch accepted the call to continue to serve as their Rector. The church aligned with the Anglican Church in North America at its formation in 2009. Father Bausch is an honorary Canon of the Diocese of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania under Bishop Valentino Mokiwa. Father Bausch was raised in Los Angeles and graduated from San Diego State University. He is a graduate of Seabury Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He married in 1973, and he and his wife, Carol, have four grown children. “
Fr. Bausch is an exemplary Christian, with a distinguished record of evangelism and leadership,” FiFNA Executive Director, Dr. Michael Howell said. “I look forward to working with him as we work to proclaim the gospel of Christ and uphold the faith of the undivided church.” Bishop Keith Ackerman will continue to play an important role in FiFNA, serving as FiFNA Ambassador for Anglican and Ecumenical Affairs.