The process of considering a reunified Diocese of Wisconsin has been a prayerful one from the beginning, thanks to the work of the Prayer and Discernment Task Force. Facilitated by Deacon Marlene Hogue of the Diocese of Eau Claire and Sister BJ Brown of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, the group has taken its mandate seriously and provided a range of resources to members of the three current dioceses, while serving as a central hub of prayer.

The Task Force has written litanies and produced prayer cards for individual and congregational use, and convened regular Zoom sessions offering individuals the opportunity to pray with Episcopalians from across the state. Videos of these sessions are available to watch on the Trialogue YouTube channel. New resources will be made available for use as the process continues.

In a new video, members of the Prayer and Discernment Task Force pray the Litany for Discernment together over Zoom.

April 21, 2023
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Dear People of God in the Episcopal Church in Wisconsin:
 
On Saturday, April 15, members of the Trialogue Steering Committee met at Beloved Community in Stevens Point to continue discerning the possibilities of reunion for our Wisconsin dioceses. Our day was infused with prayer, and we felt the Holy Spirit moving among us as we worked. At the end of our time together, we took a significant step toward the reunion of our dioceses, and we want to share that with you.
 
The Steering Committee has agreed to present a proposal for reunion to the appropriate governing bodies of each diocese—the Executive Councils in Milwaukee and Eau Claire, the Board of Trustees in Fond du Lac—in early June. This proposal will draw heavily on the work of the Structure, Finance, Culture and Mission, and Parish and Regional Engagement Task Forces of the Trialogue, which recently submitted their final reports to us and concluded their work. We are grateful to all of the people who have contributed their wisdom and hard work to those task forces over the last year.

When the people of Christ Church, La Crosse, in the Diocese of Eau Claire, held a parish meeting recently to discuss the possibility of their diocese reuniting with the Dioceses of Fond du Lac and Milwaukee, among the most urgent questions that came up was not about the future, but about the past.
 
“Someone said, ‘Well, didn’t we do this before and the result wasn’t positive? So why are we doing it again?” said Carla Corbin, who has served several terms as the parish’s senior warden.
 
Not everyone present understood the question, and as long-time members attempted to explain the diocese’s recent history to those who had arrived more recently, Corbin noticed that not everyone remembered the same story about the vexatious events of 2011, when the Dioceses of Eau Claire and Fond du Lac had almost, but not quite, decided to unite. (“Junction” is the ecclesiastical word for the merger of two dioceses when one was not originally part of the other.)

Is God calling the Dioceses of Eau Claire, Fond du Lac and Milwaukee to reunite?
 
Leaders of the Trialogue steering committee say that the next several months will be pivotal in the discernment process that began in the fall of 2021 and involves 58 leaders from across all three dioceses.
 
“We’re seeing the fruits of the labor of so many faithful Wisconsinites,” Bishop Matt Gunter of Fond du Lac and Eau Claire said. “With God’s grace, we are finding our way toward better being the church that God is calling us to be.”
 
This spring, the Steering Committee of the Trialogue is receiving reports from several of its seven task forces that were formed last spring. Their work will help the Steering Committee decide whether to recommend reunion to the standing committees of all three dioceses. If they do, and the standing committees agree, a vote on reunion will be placed on the agendas of the three diocesan conventions that will meet on October 21.
 
Some of the task forces are working to address the structural and financial questions raised by the prospect of reunion, while other groups are assessing readiness to form closer relationships and collaborations.
 
The Culture and Mission Task Force has reviewed and analyzed feedback provided by hundreds of participants at last fall’s diocesan conventions. It also used feedback from congregations across the state that have held conversations using materials developed by the Parish and Regional Engagement Task Force.
 
“We dream of a multi-generational church in Wisconsin,” the Rev. Jane Johnson of Fond du Lac, a co-facilitator of the Culture and Mission Task Force, said. “A bigger diocese means more perspectives. People are longing to listen to different collective voices, hear their experiences and bring them to our life together and our work to create a more embracing and inclusive culture.”
 
For its part, the Finance Task Force, facilitated by Caroline Senn, chief financial officer in the Diocese of Milwaukee, has produced several models of a diocesan revenue plan for the Steering Committee to consider. Along the way, the Finance Task Force and Structure Task Force have collaborated so that the staffing plan for a possible new diocese can be aligned with various revenue options.
 
An interim report from the Structure Task Force, published last fall, explored what infrastructure a new diocese would need to accomplish its mission. “[A] diocesan community exists to encourage and assist congregations in their development of local Christian ministry and community,” it reads, going on to say that congregations thrive when they are “incarnational, discipleship-oriented, and apostolic.” The Structure Task Force recently presented its final report to the Steering Committee.
 
At a day-long, in-person meeting on April 15, the Steering Committee will review the work of the Finance, Structure, and Culture and Mission Task Forces. The meeting will take place at Beloved Community in Stevens Point, the Fond du Lac parish that is closest to the geographic center of the state. Based on the outcome of that meeting, the Constitution and Canons Task Force may be asked to develop draft canons for a reunified diocese.
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“As we talk about the structure and finances of a new diocese, we’re learning about the cultures and histories of each diocese and the expectations that we have for our dioceses and our bishops,” Tim Donahue, a Steering Committee member from the Diocese of Eau Claire, said. “The relationships we are forming will help us continue working together in the future, whether we decide to reunify or not.”
 
“The future of God’s mission in the Episcopal Church in Wisconsin is strong,” the Rev. Jana Troutman-Miller, president of the Diocese of Milwaukee’s standing committee and a member of the Steering Committee. “The Trialogue is showing us new possibilities for shared ministry and a common vision, and I am grateful to be on the journey.”
 
Trialogue news updates compiled by the Communication Task Force and resources from the Prayer and Discernment Task Force are available on the Trialogue website and Facebook page.