Bishop Stewart’s Return to Active Ministry

Dear Church of the Resurrection, 

We are pleased to announce that Bishop Stewart’s voluntary leave of absence is ending after consultation with Archbishop Foley Beach. You can read the announcement from the Province here.

As leaders of Church of the Resurrection, the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of the Upper Midwest, we warmly welcome Bishop Stewart back into active ministry in the Diocese and here at the Cathedral.

We commit our assistance to Bishop Stewart and Mama Katherine during their transition back into church life over the coming weeks, and we stand ready to partner with +Stewart in the work that lies before us as a church and a Diocese. We fully support our bishop’s return to ministry and look forward to serving alongside him.

We also join in Bishop Stewart’s commitment, from his letter to the Diocese, “to partner with…the Upper Midwest Diocese to mature our ministries to children and youth, to care well for victims of abuse, and to further develop our governance structures to serve our mission of planting a revival of Word and Sacrament infused by the Holy Spirit.” We continue to pray for healing and restoration for all victims of abuse and are committed to our church’s ongoing growth in caring for the most vulnerable.

This has been a long and challenging season. Our Diocese has been without our spiritual leader for the sixteen months of the investigative process, as +Stewart stepped aside for the sake of transparency. That sacrifice has left a mark on Bishop Stewart, Katherine, their family, and all of us. And yet, we trust that the Lord intends to use this entire experience for his glory and for the building up of his Church. In Jesus, we look forward in hope towards days of healing, restoration, and renewed mission as our bishop returns.

Bishop Stewart will return to active ministry on October 30. We will let you know when he and Mama Katherine will be back at Resurrection for Sunday services very soon. We are already making plans for reconnection in the coming weeks. Those plans will include time for +Stewart and other leaders to share extensively about the events of the past sixteen months, as well as address important questions that have gone unanswered during this process. These will be essential steps in our journey together after a long season of waiting.

We are also hopeful the Province will release additional information regarding their process, in order to bring more clarity. We hope that will include a summary of the Telios investigation.

More information from our pastors will be coming soon. In the meantime, please continue to join us in prayer for the days ahead.

In Christ,