News & Messages

An Update from the Way Forward Task Force

June 18, 2020

To all the beloved in Christ in the Diocese of Milwaukee:

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am writing today to inform you of my decision to allow some of the churches in the Diocese of Milwaukee to re-gather for public worship on or after Sunday, July 12, 2020. All in-person gatherings in the diocese will comply with the current version of the Way Forward Guidelines, an updated copy is linked below in this letter. Please keep in mind that this permission is not encouragement and may be rescinded if a significant spike in cases occurs.

Due to the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision to overturn the statewide Badger Bounce Back plan and to the length of time which has already elapsed while we wait for the state to move into the first phase of that plan, the Way Forward Task Force has developed a Regathering Risk Assessment Dashboard to quantify data about the virus on a county-by-county basis. As we prepare to re-gather for public worship, this tool will provide the parishes and the diocese with a reasonably objective way to help decide collaboratively which parishes may re-gather safely, and which parishes may be best served to continue to meet virtually for the time being for the safety of all. The tool is based on active, state-reported cases to provide the best data available for evaluation of the current, fluid situation.

Any parish whose county has 50 or fewer active cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents is permitted to gather for in-person worship beginning July 12. These counties are indicated by the color green appearing in the active cases/100,000 field on the Dashboard tab of the spreadsheet. If your county has a color other than green, you may only begin re-gathering for worship or other gatherings once that cell has turned green and you have notified the diocese. Similarly, if your county is green now but changes to a different color, you, in collaboration with the Bishop, will most likely be required to cease in-person worship gatherings until that cell is green again.

Also, you should evaluate any meeting or event based on the probabilities in the tool based on the size of the event before conducting it. Any event with a probability of greater than 1% of a person with COVID-19 attending should be held online, restricted to a size that meets the desired probability of 1%, postponed, or canceled.

As of this writing, parishes in the following counties are currently eligible to meet for worship on or after July 12: Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Ozaukee, Richland, Sauk, Washington, and Waukesha. Please monitor the dashboard as case data is updated daily, and your county’s situation may change between now and July 12. The Way Forward Task Force will be monitoring this data and will attempt to provide you with updates if your county’s status changes, but please pay attention to this on your own as well.

Regardless of whether a particular county’s parishes are able to re-gather for public worship at this time, all churches of the Diocese of Milwaukee may begin offering home communion visits beginning July 12. These visits must be done in accordance with the Way Forward Guidelines. Any parish which needs to have a celebration of the Holy Eucharist to consecrate sufficient elements for these visits may do so in any county on or after July 12. Parishes in counties that are not yet “green” should only hold these celebrations if they need to do so, must limit attendance to no more than five persons, and must observe all of the Way Forward Guidelines for in-person worship.

Please be reminded that no parish may gather for public in-person worship indoors or outdoors, or hold any other in-person gatherings, before they have a plan for regathering that has been approved by the Way Forward Task Force. Online services that consecrate the Eucharist in accordance with the rubrics of the Prayer Book for home distribution may be conducted.

Please carefully familiarize yourself with the latest version of the Way Forward Guidelines.

Highlights of the changes in this version include:

• Changed capacity limits. All inside gatherings will be limited to 10 persons for the month of July. We will make a subsequent announcement about capacities for August and going forward.

• Specific guidelines for outdoor worship gatherings. While the first two meetings outdoors must have no more than 10 people, subsequent gatherings may have as many persons as the local public health authority and the size of the space allow (so somewhat larger gatherings may be possible depending on your context).

• Specific guidelines for non-worship gatherings outdoors, and for 12-step groups and congregations renting Diocese of Milwaukee facilities indoors.

We have also created a Frequently Asked Questions document to assist you.

As always, if you have questions about these guidelines, please feel free to contact us. Questions specifically pertaining to the Regathering Risk Assessment Dashboard, its methodology, or its underlying data may be sent directly to the Rev. Dave Mowers ( ). All other questions and plan submittal should be sent to me ( ) with a copy to Rev. Bill Dunlop ( ) and Patty Jaffke ( ).

Yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Steven Andrew Miller
Bishop of Milwaukee

Message from the Bishop: Dismantling Systemic Racism

Dear Friends in Christ,

The great theologian Karl Barth is said to have admonished preachers to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other — a call to view the world around us through the lens of faith. As I prepared to write to you this week, the headline of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was, "Will protest lead to lasting change in Milwaukee," and the verse of Scripture that came to me were these words of the Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, "one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13).

In some ways, this is a dangerous passage to quote. The truth is that forgetting the past is part of our problem. As Americans we need to not only remember our past - namely, that our nation was founded on the backs of enslaved persons and the genocide of native peoples — but also to repent of it and bear fruit that befits repentance. That fruit is the dismantled racism and the end of white privilege — the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream that a person is judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

The other verse of Scripture that comes to me is this, "No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). This passage from Luke's Gospel is one of my favorite verses of Scripture. It is a verse I believe we need to hear in so many ways today. This verse was the basis of the spiritual that later become the song, "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize," a song which also alludes to the passage from Philippians quoted earlier.

Will protest lead to change in Milwaukee? And in Madison, Racine, Kenosha, Fort Atkinson, Waukesha, Delafield, Mequon, Wisconsin Dells, Prairie du Chien, Richland Center and Platteville? Only if we keep our hand to the plow and keep working at it. Protesting and the naming of ills is easy. Working to dismantle the structures and systems that brought about the need to protest is the hard part.

And for those of us who have been privileged, the first step is humility. Last Sunday in our worship, we heard a beautiful rendition of the hymn "Come Down, O Love Divine." I still weep just thinking of it. Unfortunately, American hymnals have always omitted the third verse of the original hymn text. It reads,

Let holy charity mine outward vesture be
and lowliness become mine inner clothing
True lowliness of heart which takes the humbler part
and o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

I mention this because the work of being an ally in this quest has to begin with listening to and following the lead of those who have been its victims. It means being willing to hear the hard truths that our sisters and brothers whose skin color is different from ours have to tell us and believing and accepting their experience. The task for us is to let persons of color lead and pledge our help and support. I have made a commitment to sit down with African American pastors in Madison and am willing to do the same everywhere in our diocese and follow their lead in the work of dismantling racism. I support and encourage all members of our diocese, especially the ordained, to do the same.

Will protest lead to change? I pray it will, just I pray that each mass shooting or senseless act of gun violence will be the last. But remember, we need to keep our hand on the plow. "No one who puts their hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Steven Andrew Miller
Bishop of Milwaukee

Love thy neighbor . . . in other words, wear a mask!

Dear Friends in Christ,

Yesterday as I was making my way into the grocery store during senior hours, I found myself on a collision course with another couple, so I backed off to ensure social distancing. The husband of the couple turned to me, smiled, and gave me a thumbs up. Then he turned back to me and said, "Sir, the Bible or Jesus says nothing will harm you; that mask you are wearing won't keep you safe." I replied, "Sir, I'm a bishop of the Episcopal Church and I am well aware of what the Bible says. I don't wear this mask to keep myself safe, I wear it to keep others safe because if I am infected, this mask helps prevent spread of the virus. It's one way I love my neighbor." He looked at me and said, "Wow, that is something to think about."

I share this story with you for two reasons. One, it is a reminder to always be ready to share the hope that is in us. Secondly, when we do go back to in-person worship, the wearing of masks will be required. New studies show that if 80% of Americans had started wearing masks early in the pandemic the number of infections would have been significantly reduced. This still holds true.

 I share with you the words one rector, the Rev. Greg Brown of Holy Comforter, Charlotte, North Carolina, wrote to his parishioners. He titled it 1 Covidians 12:1-11:

Now concerning the wearing of masks, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that in the time before COVID, we were enticed and led astray thinking that we were not responsible for one another's health. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the spirit of love ever says 'masks be cursed!'; and no one can say 'masks are a really good idea for everybody!' except through a spirit of love.

Now there are varieties of masks, but the same spirit of wearing them; and there are varieties of mask wearers, but the same virus; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same precautions that must be shown to everyone.

To each is given a manifestation of a mask for the common good. To one a mask is given through our mask makers, and to another a purchased one online, or in a store according to the same spirit of protection. Some fashion one after watching a video on YouTube, to another... they already had some. The knowledge of needing to wear one according to the same spirit, to another faith that the same spirit will improve health and save lives.

Another receives the gifts of healing by this generous spirit, to another this seems no less than the working of a miracle, another prophecies that we'll get through all of this sooner by observing these loving precautions, to another the discernment of figuring out how all can get one, to another the knowledge that a mask hides all kinds of mouths and tongues, to another the understanding that those mouths and tongues are still there, behind those masks.

All these are activated by one and the same spirit, and we hope to allot to each one individually just as they choose.

In other words, wear a mask! 

We are called at all times to love our neighbor. Jesus states this plainly when he tells us that loving our neighbor is like to the first and great commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength.

We are Christians for times such as these. God will continue to give us all we need to fulfill this call. Ask and you shall receive.

In Christ's service,

The Rt. Rev. Steven A. Miller
Bishop of Milwaukee