The Remnant approach to mission, as it has been developed in the Diocese of the Holy Trinity, borrows heavily from a perspective called Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). BFST was established in the mid-twentieth century by a Psychiatrist named Murray Bowen. He developed the theory while conducting research on families with a schizophrenia member. BFST became well known in faith communities through the influence of one of his students, a rabbi and family therapist named Edwin Friedman.

St. Thomas Church is a vibrant Mission in Fullerton, CA, led by Fr. Kevin Craik, and is a church plant of St. Matthew’s Church, under the direction of Bp. Stephen Scarlett. What began as a group of three people meeting faithfully to pray for mission in North Orange County every Wednesday has grown into a Mission church that now has over 100 people who call it their church home. Here’s some background about our mission and how we got to where we are.

The theology of the Remnant is an alternative to the marketing/consumer approach that has characterized contemporary mission. However, it is easy to misunderstand it and to embrace it in ways that actually work against mission. The main error is to view the Remnant as a special and separate “holy” group. It becomes concerned mostly with its own spirituality and becomes callous to the needs of the larger Body of Christ and the world.