Philip Lance (born 1959) is an American psychoanalyst and former community organizer who began his career as an Episcopalian priest.

[4] Lance was ordained on January 16, 1988[5] at the Parish Church of St. Athanasius & St. Paul in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

[citation needed] Ultimately, the Episcopal Church gave their approval for Lance to receive the sacrament of holy orders.

From 1987 to 1991, Lance served as the Curate at St. Athanasius Church where he introduced Spanish language services and established a congregation of Latino residents of Echo Park.

The "mass in the grass" led to the formation of a series of community based entrepreneurial projects including a worker-owned janitorial company.

[6] In 1994, The Archbishop of Canterbury visited Pueblo Nuevo and learned that Lance was a gay man causing discussion by the media.