After some 37 years, the Rev. Canon Lawrence Bausch, of Holy Trinity Anglican Church of on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, is passing the baton to colleague Father Paul Gibbons, whom he’s known since seminary.
“I’m 68, and, as much as I love still being involved, the church is at the point where, in its future, there needs to be someone able to have a vision and strategy to see us into the next phase in our congregation’s life,” said Bausch, adding, of his successor Gibbons, “Mostly, I’m hoping I can get out of his way so he can build his own pastoral relationship.”
Bausch has presided over Holy Trinity since 1979. All four of his children, now young adults, attended Point Loma High School.
 Located four blocks from the ocean, Holy Trinity Parish has been a continuous Anglo-Catholic denomination for 95 years. In 2006, with virtually unanimous concurrence of its members, Holy Trinity separated from the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Diocese immediately filed suit; and in 2010 the parish was ordered by the court to surrender all its church buildings and personal property. The church has soldiered on, leasing space at Bethany Lutheran Church across the street to continue to host its weekly church services. Meanwhile, Holy Trinity’s active search for a new permanent home continues.
Among other things, the parish is widely known for hosting four to six Celtic music concerts annually. 
On its website, www.holytrinityob.com, the congregation notes two significant challenges face the next rector: an aging, shrinking population and lack of adequate physical facilities, which hampers both activities and membership growth. 
In 2010, the parish had approximately 200 members and its average Sunday attendance (with two services) was approximately 99 people. In the intervening five years, parish membership had dropped to approximately 142; and (with only a single, early service) Sunday attendance has declined to approximately 52.
Bausch, an SDSU grad, noted Holy Trinity has only had two rectors in the last 63 years. Interestingly enough, Bausch was familiar with OB before he became a minister there.
“I started surfing before I started praying,” he quipped.
Among the community-based things Holy Trinity has been doing during the Bausch administration, is cooperating with Loaves and Fishes, a local food bank that distributes food three mornings a week from the Episcopal Ministry Center.
“Since the late ’90s we’ve also done community outreach, which is to host Celtic concerts,” Bausch added.
Of his legacy, Bausch commented, “We’ve left what I would call a theologically orthodox, yet socially open-minded community, to help people to come to a deeper knowledge of God, if they wish, and to support them in that wherever they are.”
Bausch believes the old days of “you build a church and they will come,” are done.
For Holy Trinity to continue to remain viable, Bausch said, “We need to go to wherever the people are, instead of them coming to us. We have to make ourselves increasingly available.”