[Episcopal News Service] The House of Bishops gathered March 19-24 at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama, for its annual spring retreat, which centered on discussions of witnessing to the Gospel amid today’s contentious political climate and The Episcopal Church’s future in a secular society.
The spring meeting is one of two biannual in-person House of Bishops gatherings. Traditionally, the spring meetings are more retreat-like and tend to occur at church camps. The second meeting occurs in the fall during non-General Convention years, and have typically included participation from the bishops’ spouses.
Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe preaches during a prayer service at the 2025 House of Bishops gathering at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama. Photo: Frank Logue
“It’s always an opportunity for bishops to gather, be in prayer together, to reconnect and to consider how we best participate in God’s mission,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said during a virtual media briefing. “We were sure to find our grounding in prayer and also to consider the world around us, what’s happening and how we can most effectively both speak to the world around us and to our own diocese in our own context.”
This was the first in-person House of Bishops gathering Rowe led as presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church and president of the house.
Each day, the bishops – 116 in person and three virtually – engaged in discussions on various topics ranging from using church property for mission to declining membership. The latest parochial report data shows that The Episcopal Church has decreased from about 2.3 million members to fewer than 1.6 million over the past two decades.
“We really looked hard at the statistics – the current reality – what’s happening and where in the church and how we might think about how to address those issues both together as a House of Bishops, but also in our dioceses,” Rowe said. “We don’t have the same number of resources, but we all have enough gifts to share, and so those conversations are just getting started.”
Like last year, the bishops also reviewed and discussed Title IV disciplinary canons and churchwide calls for greater oversight and transparency in disciplinary cases involving bishops. In February 2024, The Episcopal Church, under then-Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s direction, updated its website with a series of informational resources, including chronologies of active cases involving bishops under Title IV.
The bishops heard other presentations from leaders on issues concerning the wider church, including theological reflections from fellow bishops. Notably, Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright earned a standing ovation for his reflection on Christian nationalism, which has been growing throughout the United States in recent years.
“Christian nationalism is not an imperfect or evolving rendering of Jesus’ life and teachings, nor should it be characterized as simply a difference of theological or political interpretation or emphasis,” Wright said in his reflection, per his notes provided to Episcopal News Service. “This is a deeply embedded, well-funded, strategic and compellingly argued appeal.”
During the 81st General Convention in 2024, the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies adopted Resolution A081, “Combat Rising Religious Nationalism,” which requires General Convention to acknowledge and urge The Episcopal Church and its mission-related entities to partner with the Anglican Communion to combat rising religious nationalism. The resolution encourages individuals, congregations, dioceses and other Episcopal affiliates to educate themselves on how religious nationalism harms marginalized groups.
“The ‘Christian’ in Christian nationalism is not so much about a religious faith as an ideologically driven identity, even though religious beliefs are cleverly deployed to support its ideological stance on certain political and social issues,” Wright said, in his notes provided to ENS. “Therefore, Christian nationalism is theologically illegitimate and must be called by its proper names: idolatry, blasphemy and heresy.”
South Carolina Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley addresses the House of Bishops during the spring 2025 gathering at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama. Photo: Frank Logue
Rebecca Blachly, The Episcopal Church’s chief of public policy and witness, presented the latest updates on immigration legislation in the United States since President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders in January 2025, including restrictions on the asylum process. She shared what could happen to immigration policies in the coming months and highlighted how the church is responding to the legislative changes through litigation, advocacy, education and prayer. More information is available on the Episcopal Public Policy Network’s and Episcopal Migration Ministries’ websites.
The Episcopal Church’s immigration action toolkit can be viewed here.
Blachly also invited the bishops to consider the different ways they can individually respond as church leaders, including making public statements and engaging with local and state government officials.
The bishops gathered both in small table conversations and as a large group to discuss each presentation.
Alabama Bishop Glenda Curry said during the media briefing that the bishops also informally shared how they’ve been able to successfully make the Gospel’s message “more relevant or obvious to the world” in their dioceses.
“Sharing programs and different ways that they’re trying to address their own context sometimes applies to everybody,” Curry said. “We’re looking for those places where the sharing of the Gospel is growing – the attraction to the church is positive. We’re looking for ways that we can build on each other’s experience.”
Scott Bader-Saye, dean and president of the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, presented a theological reflection on faith in institutions. Bader-Saye, who is also a professor of Christian ethics and moral theology, described institutions, like churches, as nests that serve as containers holding the practices of people trying to accomplish a goal. Those “nests” can be adjusted and enlarged over time to accommodate new challenges and paradigms.
During the spring 2025 House of Bishops gathering at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama, Indianapolis Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, left, and Northern Indiana Bishop Douglas Sparks, right, speak virtually with the Rev. Jennifer Adams, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Holland, Michigan. Adams is facilitating the Indiana dioceses’ reunification discernment process. Photo: Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows/Facebook
During the media briefing, Indianapolis Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, vice chair of the House of Bishops, described Bader-Saye’s reflection as “sitting in a seminary classroom.”
“There was so much depth to his presentation,” she said. “The way I might encapsulate it is that institutions are living, breathing things.”
Each morning and at various times throughout the day, the bishops took time to worship together, meditate and reflect quietly. Some bishops expressed themselves through art, including pottery.
Baskerville-Burrows said those times of shared spiritual expression throughout the gathering helped bring the bishops “closer to Jesus” in ways that feel “fresh and new.”
“There’s this expertise and richness within the House [of Bishops] that allows us to share our gifts, and we were able to do some of that, both in the terms of our theological thinking and thinking about the moment that we’re in as a world, in a church,” Baskerville-Burrows said. “I think that’s the thing that will help us meet the challenges of the day. …These relationships are so important across all our diversities, and there was definitely a deepening of them during the course of this week.”
Glenda Curry said that collaborating at House of Bishops gatherings serves as reminders that, amid today’s polarizing social climate, it’s crucial for the bishops to know that they’re not alone in the challenges they’re facing in their dioceses.
“It’s important to remember you’re not out there by yourself, and to not feel and act as though you’re isolated,” Curry said. “You’re connected to a power much greater than yourself.”
The House of Bishops is expected to next gather in person in September in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic, for its fall meeting.
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.