The Rev. Canon Anthony Guillén
Priest. Mentor. Missioner. Friend. Yours is a journey of faith, community, perseverance, and love.
A member of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest class of 1990, your studies have taken you to Seminario San Andres in Guadalajara and the National Institute for Lay Training. You have been among the strongest allies and proponents of Seminary of the Southwest’s long-standing Latinx Studies Program.
The earliest expressions of your ministry found you as a youth minister, a calling you held for 12 years. Your missionary work in the Diocese of Western Mexico saw you establish two new missions and served as diocesan youth coordinator. You served on the staff of St. Clement’s by-the-sea in San Clemente, and in 1993, became rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Oxnard, California. Under your leadership, All Saints/Todos los Santos grew from a shrinking English-only congregation into a vibrant bilingual community that continues to provide services in both English and Spanish every Sunday.
In the Diocese of Los Angeles, you were a member of the Standing Committee, the Program Group on Hispanic ministries and the Commission on Ministry, which you chaired. As a deputy to General Convention in 2000 and 2003, you were an organizer of the Celebration of Diversity which brought together deputies of color for the first time. These gatherings continue to this day.
In 2005, you answered the call to serve a broader community – the entire Episcopal Church – when you became Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries and later Director of Ethnic Ministries as part of the Presiding Bishop’s staff. In 2009, you developed The Episcopal Church’s Strategic Vision for Reaching Latinos/Hispanics which was adopted at that year’s General Convention. Projects like the diocesan seminars of New Camino and the Episcopal Latino Competency Course have helped to challenge and change the dynamics of how the church ministers to modern Latinx communities in our country.
You were ahead of many in the church in your calls to embrace digital evangelism and use technology and social media to create a network of “digital disciples,” as you know the power of those platforms in Latinx communities. Your “missioner’s heart” remains visible in your work and support of the many Latinx gatherings and organizations across The Episcopal Church. At the center of all your work is your vision for an Episcopal Church that Latinx communities can look toward and see a spiritual home.
Said your friend and ours, the Rev. Nancy Frausto, “Anthony Guillén has had an incredible impact on the Episcopal Church, his commitment to raising up Latinx ordained and lay leaders has placed Latinx voices in roles of leadership that will continue to impact the future of the church. Myself and many others now serve in seminaries, diocesan staff, communication departments, boards, and as Deans of cathedrals because of Anthony’s dedication and vision for a church that honors the beauty of diversity in God’s people.”
Above all your greatest gift has been the ability to recognize the strength and talents of young Latinx people in The Episcopal church. Your ability to see their potential and the love and time you have put in mentoring so many of them has created an exceptional community of ordained and lay Latinx leaders serving and moving The Episcopal Church towards a brighter future.
Because of your enduring commitment to Latinx communities worldwide, Seminary of the Southwest is pleased to bestow on you the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa.
