Provincial Council 2026 – KEY DECISIONS AND ACTIONS

The Provincial Council is the governing body of the Church, with authority to establish the program and budget of the Church, and to approve amendments to the Church’s canons. It is composed of bishops, clergy, and laity from each diocese.

This year, the Provincial Council considered several important matters and made the following decisions. 

• The Council approved the FY27 provincial budget by voice vote. 
• The Council elected the following members to serve on the Council’s Executive Committee, which exercises the authority of the Council when the Council is not in session:
  • Mr. Ben Sturgeon (Anglican Diocese of the Living Word) and Dr. Jerald Walz (Diocese of Christ our Hope) to serve as lay members for three-year terms.
  • Mr. John E. Benson (Anglican Diocese of South Carolina) to serve as a lay member for the remaining two years of a vacant lay position.
  • The Rev. Canon Howard Edwards (Anglican Diocese of Canada) and Chaplain (Col.) Will Harrison, US Army (Special Jurisdiction for the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy) were elected to serve a three-year term for clergy.

Please join us in welcoming these new members! We are grateful for their willingness to serve. 

If you are interested in serving on the Executive Committee, please contact your bishop to express interest. Only delegates to the Provincial Council are eligible to be nominated, so please make your interest known early to ensure your eligibility and involvement. Contact Kate Harris at kharris@acna.org with questions or to learn more.

• The Council unanimously approved the application by a diocese in formation to be admitted as The Anglican Diocese of the Mid-South,. Please join us in celebrating and praying for the good work God has ordained for this new effort. 
• The Provincial Council unanimously approved the Proposed changes to Title IV of  the provincial canons, which  govern disciplinary matters within the church. This action is the culmination of three years of intensive discernment and an historic action by Council that will significantly improve the conduct of disciplinary matters within the church. 

 

• The Council approved Proposed Changes to Title 1  of the Church’s canons to ensure smooth transfers of Archiepiscopal authority when the Archbishop is temporarily unable to exercise his duties. These revisions had an abbreviated review period and, therefore, include a sunset provision to ensure they do not become permanent without adequate review and action by next year’s Provincial Council.

The amendments to Title I and Title IV approved by the Council will go to Provincial Assembly for consideration and ratification next week. Provincial Assembly will be held as a virtual gathering on Thursday, June 25 at 2:00pm EST. Observers are welcome to attend. 

• The Provincial Council was prepared to consider two Resolutions submitted by the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina and the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic calling for the release of the transcript of the proceedings of the Court for the Trial of a Bishop in the trial of Bp. Stuart Ruch as well as the report commissioned by the Executive Committee into the Province’s handling of the Ruch matter. However, the two dioceses withdrew these resolutions and instead agreed to participate in a dialogue with the Court, mediated by four diocesan chancellors, including the chancellors of the Anglican Dioceses of South Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic, intended to address questions raised by both the two dioceses and the court regarding the appropriateness of the actions of all parties involved. 

Canon Andrew Rowell, Chair of the Governance Task Force, will also participate in this dialogue. The participants agreed that a report on the proceedings will be made available to the Standing Committees of all the dioceses. The Province also acknowledged that the findings and recommendations of the Lathrop Review will be made available to any diocesan Standing Committee upon request. The dioceses and the Province also acknowledged that these resolutions may be reintroduced at a subsequent Provincial Council.  The original resolutions are included below for reference.

• Resolution #1 “calling upon the Court for the Trial of a Bishop to release a full transcript of all of its actions in the Ruch matter” and
• Resolution #2 calling upon the Executive Committee to release the final written report of the investigation of the Ruch matter.”

Finally, an additional agenda item was brought to the floor for consideration, having attained the requisite signatures of ten delegates in accordance with the Rules of Order adopted for the meeting.

This additional agenda item proposed to replace the revised text of Title IV, as previously approved by the Council,  with an amended version that included a provision for the appointment of an advocate for any clergy member accused of misconduct. This was intended to mirror the provision in the previously approved revisions of Title IV that allows for an advocate to be appointed for those making reports of misconduct. 

This agenda item generated valuable discussion, but ultimately failed. 

We express our gratitude and appreciation to all parties for their thoughtful engagement and exercise of appropriate channels to advance this discussion.  The Chair of the Governance Task Force (GTF), Rev. Canon Andrew Rowell, noted that the GTF will make consideration of the appointment of an advocate or counsel for the accused a priority for the coming year. 

 You can read the official Press Release here. 

About Provincial Council: The Provincial Council is structured to ensure that every diocese has an equal stake in provincial governance, regardless of its size.

• Each diocese typically elects and sends four delegates to the Council. This delegation is explicitly balanced to represent the entire body of the church:
  • The Diocesan Bishop
  • One member of the Clergy
  • Two Lay representatives in good standing
• Council members are elected to serve staggered five-year terms and are limited to a maximum of two consecutive terms.
• The Council is constitutionally mandated to meet at least once per calendar year.

Registration for Provincial Council delegates is now closed. All exhibitor spaces have been filled*. For more information about exhibitor space at next year’s Council, please contact Marta LeTourneau at mletourneau@acna.org and she can be sure you receive an invitation to reserve a table.

To learn more about Provincial Council and the ACNA’s Governance, click here.