To the People of the Diocese of Western Michigan,
At their diocesan convention today, the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan voted to ask the people of Western Michigan for our consent to the nomination and election of me to serve as Bishop Provisional in our neighboring diocese.
This Spring at our Bishop’s Workshops, we will take up this question - do we wish to enter this period of mutual discernment with the Diocese of Eastern Michigan around shared resources and ministries? How might we imagine the Episcopal Church to be in 5, 10, 20 years and how might we see our relationships across the state in that? And how might the sharing of a bishop help us be more intentional in those conversations?
The three Bishop Workshop days will take place:
- February 23 - Southern Region – St. Luke’s, Kalamazoo
- March 2 - Central Region – St. Andrew’s, GR
- March 30 - Northern Region – Grace, Traverse City
Registration information will be available later this Winter. Please save the date and plan to attend and add your voice to the discussion.
We continue to be grateful for our relationships with our neighboring dioceses. We do very great work together already and will continue to do so no matter the direction we choose. I am excitedly looking forward to working together to help Michigan see that the grace, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God is indeed near.
I continue to be honored to be your bishop as we take on the important work of finding what it means to be a disciple in our little cul-de-sac of the Lower Peninsula.
May the blessing of God Almighty be with us now and always,
