Evangelical pastor Rick Warren has offered to open the campus of his California megachurch to conservative Anglicans who have broken with the Episcopal Church.
Warren, a best-selling author and prominent preacher, wrote to 30 Anglican leaders on Jan. 9, days after California's Supreme Court ruled that Episcopal churches that break with their denomination are not entitled to keep church property.
“We stand in solidarity with them,” Warren wrote in an email posted online by Christianity Today, “and with all orthodox, evangelical Anglicans. I offer the campus of Saddleback Church to any Anglican congregation who needs a place to meet, or if you want to plant a new congregation in south Orange County.”
Warren's letter was intended to be private, said spokeswoman Kristin Cole. She said she did not know if any Anglicans have taken Warren up on his offer.
Warren, a Southern Baptist, has built ties to conservative Anglican leaders, including prominent archbishops in Africa, over the last several years. In 2005, he spoke at a conference for conservative Anglicans in Pittsburgh.
The Episcopal Church is embroiled in church property disputes with dozens of congregations that have left the denomination to join African and South American branches of the Anglican Communion.
Warren said the Episcopal Church “already considered me an adversary after partnering on projects” with conservative bishops from Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya. He advocated for the passage of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.