Convening Convention

On Saturday, a group of 90+ delegates and other congregational representatives gathered at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, IL to sign the proposed Constitution and Cannons of our Diocese in Formation, the Diocese of the Upper Midwest.

Bp. Nathan Gasatura of the diocese of Butare, Rwanda delivered a message to from Nehemiah, chapter 1. Bp. Nathan emphasized that when our walls are broken down, we are driven to our knees in prayer.  Nehemiah prayed first a prayer of repentance and from there found the strength to go before the King allowing that contrition to show through, knowing it could mean his death. He found the power in prayer to risk his life–and in turn, gained the blessing of the king to set back in place what had been torn down.

Bp. Nathan prayed and spoke throughout the service, speaking a word of encouragement that as the midwest is the breadbasket to the country, so we would be again for the bread of life in the Gospel.

After the service, each “Deanery” was introduced again and brought greetings. Deanerys are the natural church affiliations that have sprung up in our area outside of a formal church structure. These will continue to be a part of our diocese, with four deaneries being present right now–the Minnesota Deanery headed by Fr. Christian Ruch, of Church of the Cross in Minneapolis, MN, the Wisconsin Deanery, headed by Dean Robert Monday, the Greenhouse Movement, headed by Cannon William Beasley, and the Midwest Anglican Mission, headed by Fr. Stewart Ruch.

Fr. William announced that with the number of congregants within our parishes, we are over 2000 people on a Sunday morning and well on our way to 2500! (You must have 2000 people to be a diocese.)

After these greetings and announcements, the rectors and delegates of each parish that will become a part of the diocese verbally affirmed the Constitution and Cannons and then signed them.

We have now declared our intention to become a diocese. At this point, we are praying and discerning who our bishop should be. Two names are in contention right now:  Fr. Stewart Ruch and Dean Robert Monday. Both Fr. William and Fr. Christian have withdrawn their names from the running.

If you are interested in suggesting another name for our bishop, please talk to Fr. Eirik.

Outside Links:

To read the proposed Constitution and Cannons, click here.

To view the signed document, click here.

To view a glossary of Anglican terms, click here.

To read more about the deans or past Midwest Diocese events, click here.