• A bishop is the spiritual head of a network of churches (a diocese) who leads by casting and implementing vision and overseeing many churches from his home church, the cathedral. The bishop has the responsibility of hiring the cathedral dean.
• A dean is a spiritual father of a cathedral, raised up by the bishop to hold and implement his vision by leading both organizationally and spiritually; in our case, Fr. Steve will lead primarily at Resurrection by taking over many of the day-to-day responsibilities previously held by Bp. Stewart.
• A vicar is a spiritual father raised up to partner with his leader to shepherd and pastor in a local context. In our case, Fr. Matt and Fr. Brett will partner with Fr. Steve and help him fulfill his responsibilities, primarily through providing pastoral care, preaching, and leading their respective areas of ministry.

The short answer is: not much! Bp. Stewart will continue to give 25% of his time to Resurrection and 75% of his time to the Diocese, as he has for the past year; his shift out of regular organizational leadership at Resurrection is already complete. However, he feels it is important for his ministry to be based out of Resurrection, where he will focus on preaching and leading regularly on Sunday mornings, discipling next generation leaders, and providing oversight to Fr. Steve and his team. However, if you ask him about his job, he will tell you that he is the leader of a whole movement, not just Resurrection!

Fr. Steve will partner with Bp. Stewart in both diocesan and cathedral (i.e. Resurrection) leadership, but his emphasis will be on shepherding at Resurrection, where he will provide spiritual, vision, and organizational leadership.

Fr. Matt and Fr. Brett will partner with Fr. Steve in shepherding Resurrection. Fr. Matt will continue to lead our Missions ministries and Fr. Brett will continue to focus on our Discipleship ministries. They both will also maintain their preaching and pastoral care roles at the church.

Bp. Stewart:

• • Give me his fancy Anglican title: The Right Reverend Stewart E. Ruch III
  • What do I call him on Sunday: Bishop Stewart
  • What is his official role: Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest

Fr. Steve:

• Give me his fancy Anglican title: The Very Reverend Stephen C. Williamson
• What do I call him on Sunday: Father Steve 
• What is his “official role”: Cathedral Dean

Fr. Brett:

• Give me his fancy Anglican title: The Reverend Brett A. Crull
• What do I call him on Sunday: Father Brett
• What is his “official role”: Cathedral Vicar

Fr. Matt: 

• Give me his fancy Anglican title: The Reverend Mathew G. Woodley
• What do I call him on Sunday: Father Matt
• What is his “official role”: Cathedral Vicar

This is an exciting moment in the history of Resurrection and a beautiful example of healthy leadership as Bp. Stewart passes the baton to a new generation of spiritual fathers while staying available to resource and bless them. While his spiritual leadership of Resurrection has not changed, Bp. Stewart is raising up Fr. Steve, Fr. Brett, and Fr. Matt to lead Resurrection with him and for him. There is therefore no direct equivalent to the “senior pastor” or “Rector” role, as all four of these men have some of the responsibilities that a senior pastor would usually hold.

Spiritual motherhood is integral to the health of the church, and this continues to be true at Resurrection. Practically speaking, Fr. Steve is including Deacon Margie Fawcett, Deacon Val McIntyre, and Mama Katherine Ruch in his “Dean’s Council,” a small leadership team which will meet regularly to help him discern next steps for Resurrection.

Deacon Val and Deacon Margie are also on Resurrection’s staff as members of the senior team of pastors who cast vision and lead ministries alongside Fr. Steve, and there are many other women on staff who lead various ministries. Amy Patton is also providing leadership for Gregory House as the Executive Director.

Resurrection’s staff structure focuses heavily on raising up the next generation of Anglican leadership. This can be seen in the way that our pastoral staff structure includes younger pastors like Kevin Sheehan, Will Chester, and Meghan Robins. The Resurrection staff also includes many “ministry residents,” young students from our Gregory House School who get hands-on ministry experience by working on staff alongside receiving theological training.