News & Messages

A Message from Bishop Miller on the Status of Public Worship

To the Clergy and People of the Diocese of Milwaukee
 
Dear Friends in Christ,
 
Grace to you and peace in this week when we draw near to the holiest days of our Christian faith. This year we will recall the events of Holy Week through a lens we could not have imagined. Like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, we wish and long for something different – take this cup from us. And yet like Jesus, our prayer must be not my will but thine be done.
 
I write you again today as your bishop, chief pastor and canonical overseer, as promised. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of my decision to extend the pastoral direction that clergy and churches of the Diocese of Milwaukee suspend public worship until at least May 1. On April 27, I will reassess this situation in light of developments and give directions for the future. This directive applies to all our congregations, clergy and licensed lay ministers.
 
What I wrote to you last month remains true, it pains me to make this decision but I believe it is for the best of all. Loving our neighbor requires giving up for the sake of others.” I wish we would have been able to open our churches for Holy Week and Easter. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It is even possible that it might be necessary to extend this directive into June and perhaps even longer.
 
Like many of you, my days are now spent in Zoom conferences, webinars, and phone calls. It is a very different way to do ministry. What has not changed is the comfort I find in the daily offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, which has been the anchor of my prayer life for over forty years. I am pleased to see so many of our congregations gathering for the Daily Office through the internet. Many of my colleagues have remarked that the Office is said with more frequency than at any time we can remember. Just as important are the ways that we are reaching out to one another in both new and familiar ways. We are staying connected in new ways — online Bible studies, coffee hours, book studies, prayer groups — while continuing to use tried and true methods such as phone trees and personal phone calls. I dare say we are more connected to one another in real-time than ever before. Theologically, we are never unconnected because we have been joined to one another in Christ through baptism. These gatherings manifest that truth at a time we need to remember it the most.
 
Please know of my prayers for you all as this pandemic continues to unfold. If you would like me to pray for friends and loved ones who are working on the front lines of this pandemic, please send their names to me at  , and I will add their name to my list. I ask you to pray for me as I seek to minister faithfully at this time. Pray for all our clergy and people.
 
Grace to you and peace.
 
+Steven


The Rt. Rev. Steven Andrew Miller
Bishop

PDF of this message

A Message from Bishop Miller: The Annunciation, March 25, 2020

March 25, 2020

Dear Friends in Christ,

Grace and Peace to you on this most holy day when we remember the Good News, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” That word showed us the way to walk in love by giving ourselves to and for one other as the heart of our way and love.

Out of love and compassion for each other, we have ceased worshipping together in our parishes for the duration of the Safer at Home order. Out of that same love, compassion and care, we are gathering to worship as one diocese so that our clergy and lay leaders can focus on essential ministries of care and compassion.

We invite you to come together as a diocese to worship with us on Sunday mornings. At 10 am, we will livestream a Liturgy of the Word service through YouTube and Facebook Live. These services will feature officiants, preachers, readers, and musicians from throughout the diocese. We will also have bulletins available for you to follow along at home.

We look forward to coming together as a diocese to worship and pray with you. Please join us.

+Steven

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

 

A Statement from Bishop Miller Regarding 12-Step Groups

March 21, 2020

A Statement from Bishop Miller Regarding 12-Step Groups

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
The diocese has been participating in statewide calls with Lt. Governor Barnes and clergy. You may have been hearing from other clergy different information concerning the number of people allowed in gatherings and interpretations of the governor’s restrictions. 
 
I have reviewed my letter from March 17, 2020, and the guidance restricting meetings to no more than 5 people exceeds the state-mandated requirements at this time, with one exception. This 5-person restriction remains in place within the diocese.
 
I had exempted 12-Step programs from the gathering size requirement. The state, however, specifically has not exempted 12-Step programs from their meeting size restriction. Therefore, 12-Step programs like AA meeting in facilities in the diocese will be required to meet the state requirement of not more than 9 people in a meeting. 
 
Since the development and implementation of actions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus is fluid and changing, we will occasionally have to make changes based on the events around us.
 
I ask for your continued prayers for all those affected by the virus and especially those in need, the elderly and those who have contracted the virus worldwide.
 
Deacon Bill Dunlop is monitoring the statewide calls on our behalf. Thank you, Bill, for volunteering to manage this.
 
+Steven
 
The Rt. Rev. Steven A. Miller
Bishop of Milwaukee

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