When I became an Episcopalian in 1992, I had little knowledge of the history and culture of the Episcopal Church. I was already familiar with the Book of Common Prayer, I had had several classmates in Divinity School who were preparing for the priesthood, and of course I knew a great deal about the emergence of the Church of England during the sixteenth century. But I had only the vaguest conception of the denomination, how dioceses were formed, the culture of the denomination, or the significant differences in the church in different regions of the country. 

That all changed when we began teaching at the University of the South (Sewanee), which is owned by the southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, includes a School of Theology where I taught for a year, and has a distinctive theological and liturgical ethos. Eventually, we would move to South Carolina where the Episcopal Church has its own idiosyncrasies. Over the years, I would hear priests joke about the “biretta belt”—by which they were referring to unspecified dioceses in the Midwest that included Northern Indiana, Chicago, and the dioceses of Wisconsin. By then I also knew about Nashotah House, the seminary in Wisconsin but my impression of it was shaped by the long battles over the ordination of women and the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the church. I had a vague sense of the Anglo-Catholic culture of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. The bishop who ordained me, Dorsey Henderson, had been Dean of the Cathedral of Fond du Lac and was very Anglo-Catholic, and at some point I had heard something about the. Fond du Lac Circus (google it if you’re curious). 

Surprisingly, none of that really changed when I became Rector of Grace in 2009. I’ve only ever been on the campus of Nashotah House once in my fifteen years in Wisconsin. I don’t think I had met any clergy from either the diocese of Fond du Lac or Eau Claire except Bishop Gunther who was on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Council of Churches when I began serving. I did know about the failed attempt at the reunification of the Dioceses of Eau Claire and Fond du Lac in 2011 and there were comments from time to time from clergy and Bishop about the future of the Diocese of Eau Claire. 

When the Trialogue was announced in 2021, I was surprised at the initiative and somewhat excited about the project. I volunteered to help with the Trialogue and was assigned to the Task Force on Parish and Regional Engagement. We were assigned to hear from congregations, laypeople, and clergy across the state but it was also an opportunity to develop relationships with clergy and lay leaders from the other two dioceses. Two joint clergy conferences in 2022 and 2024 have also helped deepen those relationships. 

It’s easy to forget that we are part of a larger church, a diocese, the Episcopal Church USA, and the Anglican Communion. Many of us come to the Episcopal Church as adults. We are drawn to the liturgy, looking for a Christian community that shares our values and where we can experience the presence of God in Christ. The larger church rarely enters our consciousness except at times of conflict.  Few of us have participated in diocesan work. Even if we have heard of the Trialogue and of the upcoming vote on reunification, we may not care about it. It seems not to affect our parish life or our own spiritual lives. In addition, the Diocese of Milwaukee hasn’t had a permanent bishop since 2020 and Bishop Lee, who served as our Bishop Provisional, retired (again) last year. Our primary experience of the church is the local congregation and that’s not likely to change.

There is another important matter to consider. We have heard a great deal about the decline of mainline Christianity in the US and then more recently about the decline of Christianity across the board. Increasing percentages of Americans claim no religious affiliation at all and all denominations are reporting declines in attendance and membership. These trends were accelerated by the pandemic. In such an environment, what does the future of the Episcopal Church look like?

Unlike nondenominational churches that have no structural connection to other congregations or churches that have a polity (structure) based on congregational autonomy, we belong to the Episcopal Church. We are not independent. When I was ordained, I vowed obedience to the Bishop who was ordaining me and when I was installed as Rector of Grace Church, I reiterated those vows. We believe that our bishops are in the apostolic succession, an unbroken line of women and men ordained by the laying on of hands going back to St. Peter and to Christ. Bishops are a visible symbol of our participation in the church universal, the Body of Christ that consists of all Christians, living and dead, united by one common faith and baptism.

Still, does it matter whether there are one, or two, or three dioceses in the State of Wisconsin? Perhaps not in the larger scheme of things. At the same time, it’s important to remember that dioceses are required to do certain things canonically—to oversee the ordination process, to have and pay for a bishop. And there are also programmatic things: communications, outreach, congregational development. With limited financial and human resources, the three dioceses of Wisconsin are stretched thin as they try to conduct the business of the church. Reunification might free up some of those resources for new ministries and programs. We might be able to offer stronger support to small congregations that feel isolated. The proposal to have ministry regions and for the bishop to be in residence in each of those regions for several weeks each year might create opportunities for collaboration and connection on a local level that could spark new ideas and programs.

Christianity is undergoing a historical transformation in this country and the Episcopal Church is experiencing that transformation. What the Episcopal Church will look like in fifty years is anyone’s guess. Whether dioceses will even exist or whether the denominational structure that currently exists will survive in any recognizable form are open questions. What we can be certain of is that Christians will continue to gather in community to read and study scripture and to celebrate the Eucharist. Most of all, we can be certain that Jesus Christ will be present in those communities and that people will continue to experience the grace, love, and power of the Risen Christ. Those local communities are and will be a part of a larger reality, the Body of Christ, that unites us across space and time with all faithful Christians living and dead and strengthens us with the love of Christ that binds us all together as one.