The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan is the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

(TEC) with canonical jurisdiction in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

History

Initially part of the

Episcopal Diocese of Michigan The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan is the Episcopal diocese comprising more than 70 congregations in the southeast part of Michigan. The diocese traces its roots to the founding of St. Paul's, Detroit in 1824. It became a diocese of the Episcop ...

, it was designated a

Missionary District A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a M ...

in 1892, and became a separate diocese in 1895 as the Episcopal Diocese of Marquette. The diocese was renamed the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan on June 2, 1937. The diocese is one of the smallest, in number of congregants, in the Episcopal Church. It is headquartered in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marquett ...

. there were 22 churches in the diocese. In 2020 average Sunday attendance was 233. Bishop Jim Kelsey, the bishop of the diocese, died in June 2007 in a car crash. At a diocesan convention in February 2009, Kevin Thew Forrester was elected the next bishop of the diocese. Any bishop's election requires the consent of the church's bishops along with the standing committees of the 110 dioceses and jurisdictions. A majority of the dioceses' standing committees and a majority of the church's bishops rejected his election because of Forrester's practice of Zen Buddhist meditation, revisions that he made to the baptismal liturgy, and his beliefs about

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

. After the deadline for consent passed, in July 2009, Presiding Bishop

Katharine Jefferts Schori Katharine Jefferts Schori (born March 26, 1954) is the former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States. Previously elected as the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, she was the first woman elected ...

announced that Forrester had become the first bishop-elect in 77 years to have his election declared "null and void" by the church. The last candidate rejected on strictly theological grounds was

James DeKoven James DeKoven (September 19, 1831 – March 19, 1879) was a priest, an educator and a leader of Anglican Ritualism in the Episcopal Church. Life DeKoven was born in Middletown, Connecticut and educated at Columbia College. In 1851 he was admit ...

in 1875 for his

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

practices. In December 2010, a diocesan convention elected Rayford Ray as bishop. His election was confirmed by the Episcopal Church, and after his consecration in May 2011 he became the 11th diocesan bishop of the diocese.

Bishops

# 1896-1919: Gershom Mott Williams ''(elected November 14, 1895, ordained May 1, 1896; resigned October 1919)'' # 1918-1929: Robert LeRoy Harris ''(February 1918 Coadjutor, October 1919 Bishop; resigned 1929)'' # 1930-1939: Hayward S. Ablewhite ''(elected December 1929; resigned when indicted in a defalcation and embezzlement case in October 1939, served nine months in state prison)'' # 1939-1942: Herman Riddle Page Sr. ''(† April 1942)'' # 1942-1964: Herman Riddle Page Jr. ''(* May 3, 1892, † 1977)'' # 1964-1972: George R. Selway # 1972-1974: Samuel J. Wylie ''(† 1974)'' # 1975-1981: William A. Dimmick # 1982-1999: Thomas K. Ray # 1999-2007: Jim Kelsey
2007-2011: vacant # 2011–present: Rayford Jeffrey Ray

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Michigan 1895 establishments in Michigan Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century Northern Michigan, Episcopal Diocese of Diocese of Northern Michigan Province 5 of the Episcopal Church (United States) Religious organizations established in 1895