"If we are going to start a new Anglican Church in North America, we can't wait until everything is perfect… it will never get done. Let us unite now and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in working together." - Bishop Richard Boyce, 2007 |
From Bishop Kevin AllenThe Rt. Rev. Kevin Bond Allen serves as Bishop of Cascadia, Dean of the College of Bishops, and Chairman of the Orthodox Anglican Dialogue for the ACNA. |
A gentle and important hero of our Anglican Movement, co-founder of the ACNA and the Diocese of Cascadia, passed away on April 20, of natural causes. At a time of rising divisions throughout the greater church, it seemed impossible to invite a few disparate Anglican groups together to form a biblically faithful Anglican province. Despite the first name of these gatherings, Common Cause, the temptation for each group was to try and make the new province in their image. It was Bishop Richard Boyce who consistently called for unity and encouraged the bishops to keep pressing on. He was well-loved and respected for his quiet manner, kind smile, and insightful observations during these meetings. |
|  | | | Bishop Richard Boyce, at the Common Cause meeting in 2007, who later founded the Anglican Church in North America. | |
While Bishop Richard was a co-founding member of the College of Bishops and the new Anglican Church in North America, he also took part in the Pacific Northwest Common Cause meetings. It was there we came to know him as he supported the formation of what has become the Diocese of Cascadia. |
| Planning for Cascadia meeting in 2008 |  | |
He led the way in reaching out to both local continuing churches, and newly planted churches, to consider unifying into a new missionary diocese. Every time we came up against seemly insurmountable odds and someone would say, "We have never created a diocese before… it's not going to work!" he would smile warmly and say, "Well, let's do it anyway and see if the Holy Spirit can do what we can't do without him." It was clear that when it came time to form Cascadia and to apply to the Province-in-Formation in 2008, we asked Bishop Richard to be our Vicar General. |
|  | | | Officiating at the celebration of the new Diocese of Cascadia | |
Early on in the formation of Diocese of Cascadia, It was my joy to serve alongside him as the President of the Diocesan Council. When it came to my consecration as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Cascadia, in September 2011, I was personally honored and humbled that Bishop Richard would present me and be my co-consecrator. |
|  | | | Bp. Richard preparing Fr. Kevin to be consecrated | |
There was no better mentor nor friend I could have had to guide and encourage me as a new bishop. He was both a man of prayer and a humble servant of our Lord. Bishop Richard retired quietly, only after he laid the spiritual cornerstone upon which Cascadia was founded and established. He will be greatly missed and honored in our hearts, minds, and memories. |
There will be a memorial service on September 26, 2020, when we can join the Boyce family in giving thanks to God for His servant +Richard. Yours in Christ, +Kevin
Since many who joined Cascadia since late 2011 may not have known our friend, Bishop Richard, I asked Al Lansdowne to share his memories and invite Bishop Win Mott, and the Rev. Haley Crane to do so as well which you will find below. |
In 2003-4, a group of us, five congregations, and half a dozen priests in my episcopal oversight approached Bishop Boyce to join the Diocese of the West, as it became, in the Anglican Province of America (APA). He accepted us with his characteristic pastoral graciousness. His leadership in the next few years was invaluable as we transitioned to be a diocese within the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) so that we might be a part of the new ACNA that was forming, as APA chose not to enter into that structure. He was convinced of the importance of being within the larger Anglican world, both in the U.S. and globally, and therefore the need to be part of the emerging ACNA. With the transition completed, and being in his eighties, he retired on his birthday in 2011. As a committed Anglo-Catholic, he was an active part of, Forward in Faith, and served as its Vice-President for several years. Finally, he also served as Vicar-General during Cascadia's formation into a diocese. At that point, his wife, Cathy, had been diagnosed with cancer, and for the next several years, he became her caregiver. As his Suffragan and Coadjutor for many years, I observed at close hand his unfailing pastoral grace, and quiet, solid, loving orthodoxy. He was my mentor and role model for the episcopacy. From the ravens in his backyard to the clergy under his pastoral oversight, he cared well for his flock and was a good and faithful servant of his Lord. |
From The Very Reverend Canon Harley A. CrainFr. Harley Crain is the Rector of St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Seattle. He was a founding priest in the formation of the Diocese of Cascadia. His church was formerly a member of the Anglican Province of America of the Continuing Anglican Movement, where Bishop Boyce was the Ordinary. |
It is with sadness and fond memories that St. Barnabas Anglican Church of Seattle recognizes the passing of The Right Reverend Richard John Boyce. Bishop (+Bp.) Boyce was a tireless and unwavering advocate for orthodox belief and practice in the Anglican Way of Christian Faith. A native of Seattle, he was born on 11/29/1929. He majored in science and economics at Seattle University. He graduated from American Bible College and Trinity College of the Bible. Bishop Boyce pursued additional studies at Cranmer Seminary and Trinity Theological Seminary. He also continued with faithfulness in the orders of Jesuit, Third Order Franciscans, and as a discalced Carmelite*. He worked for a time at Pacific Northwest Bell telephone as an engineer. For many years he maintained an active practice as a pastoral and mental health counselor and was mainly involved in hospice care in a Christian context. *denoting or belonging to one of several strict orders of Catholic friars or nuns who go barefoot or wear only sandals. Bishop Boyce always wore sandals.
Bishop Boyce was an active and steady guiding hand in the "Continuing Anglican Movement." Most notably, he served in many like-minded bodies such as Forward in Faith in North America, and a priest to St. Paul's Anglican Church in Bellevue, WA. In 1984 he was the secretary of the Anglican Orthodox Church General Convention. On June 26, 1986, he was consecrated a bishop in the Orthodox Anglican Church, by Bishop James Parker Dees. This priest is not alone in recalling Bishop Boyce to be an ever-accessible mentor, friend, and encourager. We will always remember him for his steady resolve to coax and inspire. He showed unflagging strength in serving his parishes. He rescued not only chihuahuas but also many persons and parishes, weary in the faith. Bishop Richard was the epitome of a consummate bishop. Both empathetic and compassionate, he expressed these qualities in steadfast humility. He was unparalleled as pastor to the pastors and shepherd to all. It was my great honor and privilege to have his trust and serve as his chaplain and priest at times of significant joys and sorrows. Always a man of few words, Bishop Richard was decisive, discreet, wise, and loving. We are comforted by the words of his favorite hymn, Abide with me: Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies; Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee: In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. Amen.
Bishop Richard Boyce - God rest your soul. Submitted in love, Fr. Harley A. Crain+ |
From Al LansdowneAl Lansdowne was a co-founding lay leader of the Diocese of Cascadia and a friend of Bishop Richard. |
A truly great bishop and dear friend, I met Bishop Richard at an Anglican Communion Network (ACN) meeting in Bedford, TX, in 2005. I was a member of the ACN Steering Committee and a delegate from the Western Convocation. A friendship developed as I continued to see him at ACN events. After the decision was made to form the Anglican Church in North America, two churches, St Charles and St. Stephen's (now Grace by the Sea) who had departed the Episcopal Church, responded to a meeting called by Fr. Kevin Allen, founder of St. Brendan's in Bellingham. This meeting was to discuss the formation of an ACNA diocese in the Northwest. We met at the Olive Garden in Lynwood, and the first question was, where could we find a welcoming bishop to give a new diocese in formation episcopal oversite? I offered the name of Bishop Richard, as I knew he lived in nearby Shoreline. The rest is history. He and his wife Cathy were guests at our home twice during this time. Solving complex issues over high-end single malt Scotch or Irish Whiskey was one of his delights. The tradition continues. When he passed, I toasted him with 18-year-old Glenmorangie. Cascadia owes this man much gratitude and admiration. |
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