It was March 16, 2020 in response to the directives from the CDC and governmental agencies that  Bishop Matthew Gunter suspended in-person public worship in the Diocese of Fond du Lac. Today, together with the diocesan Covid Task Force, he has released Celebrating Eucharist During the Covid Pandemic to provide direction during the current pandemic situation. The document provides direction by which the Eucharist may be celebrated in a congregation. Offering the Eucharist in this fashion is optional.

"The intent is to allow for the Eucharist, with a small community gathering in-person to represent the congregation as a whole" Bishop Gunter commented. "It is not a return to our regular worship, but the Church providing the opportunity to have Eucharist given our current circumstance." Conditions for the Eucharist include only 3 or 4 persons present for the service who maintain social distance. The directions are within Wisconsin's Stay Safe at Home order and are at least as safe as going to the grocery store.

It is expected that congregations who exercise this option may livestream or record it for online distribution. Those participating online may be using a form of spiritual communion in the Christian tradition: when one is unable — because of some unavoidable exigency — to participate in the Eucharist and/or to physically receive the Sacrament. St Thomas Aquinas once defined Spiritual Communion as “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and in lovingly embracing him as if we had actually received him.” St Teresa of Avila wrote: “When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you.” St Jean Vianney, the Curé d’Ars, wrote “A spiritual communion acts on the soul as blowing does on a cinder-covered fire which was about to go out. Whenever you feel your love of God growing cold, quickly make a spiritual communion.”

"We know God is present in the Sacrament. These directions allow the people of Fond du Lac to worship in a different way, but one recognizing the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world." Bishop Matt added. "This is not what we are used to, and it may be comfortable. However, we know the sacrifice and offering of the Eucharist, and with it “ourselves, our souls, and bodies” to God by the Church, even in a small assembly, is a spiritual good in itself."

Read Bishop Matt Gunter's Pastoral Address to the Diocesan Convention assembled in Appleton, Wisconsin on Friday, October 25, 2019.

“Lightning on the horizon.” That’s what the man said.
 
In 2005 I traveled to the Diocese of Renk of the Episcopal Church in South Sudan leading a delegation from the Diocese of Chicago. We had a companion relationship like the we have with the Diocese of Masvingo. There, we heard a story told by one of the pastors. During the civil war, this pastor was talking to a man who was not a Christian. When the man learned that the pastor belonged to the Episcopal Church, he said, “I know your church. Your church is like lightning on the horizon in a time of drought signaling the promise of rain.”

Bishop Matt Gunter will be the guest preacher at Nashotah House on Thursday, March 28, 2019. The Solemn Eucharist will be held in St. Mary Chapel on the Nashotah House campus at 4:30 p.m. 

Nashotah House was founded in 1842. It exists to form persons for ministry in the breadth of the Catholic Tradition, for the Episcopal Church, Churches in the Anglican Tradition, the wider Anglican Communion, and Ecumenical Partners, thus continuing to serve the historic role as “The Mission,” empowering the Church for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Diocesan Postulant (a person approved to pursue ordination) Julia Hendrix is a seminarian at Nashotah House.

On Prayer Book Revision
 
One question before General Convention this summer was whether it is time to revise our Book of Common Prayer. The bigger question was, if we revised it, how extensive or comprehensive should revision be? The answer coming out of convention was a cautious “yes” to a process for some revision, but “no” to comprehensive or substantive revision. Since there seems to be some confusion, I offer a few thoughts about what this means.
 
Prayer book revision is not unusual. The Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer, first ratified in 1789, has been revised may times – in 1892, 1928, and 1979. The 1892 and 1928 revisions were relatively minor. The 1979 revision was quite comprehensive and substantive. Each generation, it seems, takes a fresh look at whether the current version conveys the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ and enables the church to articulate its worship of the one, holy, and undivided Trinity, as clearly and fully as possible in contemporary language.
 
The resolution passed at General Convention (A068 Plan for the Revision of the Book of Common Prayer) “memorialized” the current 1979 Book of Common Prayer which I take to mean that it is the standard prayer book going forward and we will not be replacing it soon. If at some point we produce a new prayer book, it will look and feel very much like the one we are using.
 
Even so, there is need to find ways in our common worship to be more inclusive. That means avoiding using “man” and masculine pronouns when we are referring to people - men and women. Though many of us grew up with this literary convention, that understanding is increasingly not the case. For many, the language has become jarring and distracting to worship.
 
What is theologically trickier is determining more “expansive” language for our common worship. That means finding ways to speak of and to God in language that does not always imply God is somehow “male”. “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is a fundamental Christian name for God we will continue to use, and we will not do away with all masculine language for God we have received from the Bible. But both the Bible and the Christian tradition provides a rich variety of names and images for God - some inanimate, some feminine. There are theologically responsible ways to incorporate some of these names and images to enrich our common worship. We have already experienced this inclusivity in recent years without revising the prayer book. General Convention authorized resources like Enriching Our Worship, containing inclusive and expansive Eucharistic liturgies, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Some diocesan congregations have been using these liturgies on occasion.
 
I share the sentiment of the first Bishop of Fond du Lac, John Henry Hobart Brown, who said this about revision of the Book of Common Prayer:

200 people gathered on Saturday, October 21, 2017 to celebrate the diocesan family of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. The 143rd Convention was held on the Oneida Reservation just outside of Green Bay. Wondering if “we aren’t being called to cast into the deep,” the Rt. Rev. Matthew Gunter established a focus during the Eucharist held at Church of the Holy Apostles, the oldest Episcopal congregation in the diocese and the State of Wisconsin.

The day started with fellowship and a delightful continental breakfast provided at the Holy Apostles Parish Hall. Attendees then came together for worship in the stone church building, where they heard Bishop Matt preach about the challenges the Church faces today, and encouraging each of us to go deeper, so “we are more likely to experience the awesome, beautiful, goodness of God that transforms” as he reminded the congregation of the original diocesan motto [Duc] In Altum. (Read the Address here . . . )

Following a short drive from Holy Apostles to the Radisson Conference Center, the business of the day was hearing reports from a variety of ministries, electing those to serve on diocesan committees, discuss and adopt resolutions modifying the constitution and canons of the diocese, and approving the budget for 2018. The Seventh Sunday after Easter (May 13 in 2018) was designated as Companion Diocese Sunday. Last year’s convention established a relationship with the Diocese of Masvingo in Zimbabwe and Bishop Matt announced an invitation has been extended for its representatives to attend the 2018 Convention.

Greetings were received from the Rev. Dr. Brad Hauff, who serves as the Episcopal Church Indigenous Missioner. Attendees browsed over a dozen display tables from diocesan ministries and vendors of liturgical vestments and maple syrup! Giving was encouraged to support the United Thank Offering and the Church Periodical Club. A deficit budget was approved, but with plans in place for funding the deficit.

As one delegate noted in their evaluation “the convention was not what I expected. It was efficiently run, informative and helped me to see how my congregation fits into the work of the church at the diocesan level.” While the purpose of the day was taking care of business, the effect of the day was one that left many with the question “What will you do to go into the deep?”

For more details of the convention, visit diofdl.org/convention.

The bishops of the Episcopal Church, who have been meeting in Alaska for the past week, have issued a 'Word to the Church' providing a summary of the meeting and what they learned. Bishop Matt Gunter posted his experience on his Facebook page with pictures and video. He also delivered gifts of a book and strawberry basket to the people of Beaver, Alaska by the people of Holy Apostles, Oneida. Read the full document and link to Stewardship of Creation resources at  episcopalchurch.org.

Bishop Gunter encourages you to donate to the Hurricane Harvey Response Fund of Episcopal Relief and Development to provide emergency assistance to people recovering from the impact of flooding after this major storm. Your generous support will supply critical necessities for communities immediately and for the long-term as they recover and rebuild. Give online here.