Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri

The Diocese of West Missouri is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and a member of Province VII. It has jurisdiction over sixty counties in western Missouri running from the cities Fairfax in the north to Branson in the south and from Kansas City in the west to Fayette in the east. Its Cathedral and diocesan offices are located in downtown Kansas City. As of 2020 the diocese was made up of 47 parishes and congregations divided into 3 deaneries.

Diocese of West Missouri

Diœcesis Missouriensis Occidentalis
Location
CountryUnited States
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince VII
Coordinates39°05′53″N 94°35′22″W
Statistics
Area36,720 sq mi (95,100 km2)
Congregations47 (2021)
Members8,807 (2021)
Information
DenominationEpiscopal Church
Established1889
CathedralGrace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
Current leadership
BishopDiane Jardine Bruce
Map
Location of The Diocese of West Missouri
Location of The Diocese of West Missouri
Website
diowestmo.org

History

The diocese traces its roots to the missionary work of Bishop Jackson Kemper who founded churches in the area between 1836 and 1845.[1] In 1841 the churches in the state of Missouri were joined together in the newly founded Diocese of Missouri. Over time the diocese grew to over 90 congregations throughout the state and in 1886 the 50th diocesan convention of the Diocese of Missouri approved a plan to split the diocese in two. On October 15, 1889, The 36th General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved the motion presented by the Diocese of Missouri and the Diocese of West Missouri was born.[2]

The new diocese, originally known as the diocese of Kansas City, was given jurisdiction over 60 counties in the western part of the state covering 36,720 square miles.[2] On June 3, 1890, the new diocese elected its first bishop, The Rt. Rev. Edward Robert Atwill. [3] Under Atwill the diocese continued to grow and 9 new churches were founded. Bishop Atwill served the Diocese of West Missouri until his death on January 24, 1911.

Following Atwill's death, the diocese elected the Rt. Rev. Sidney Catlin Partridge, the first bishop of Kyoto, as their second bishop. He was translated to the see of West Missouri and served as its bishop until his death on June 22, 1930, from lobar pneumonia. It was under Partridge's episcopate that Harry S. Truman married his wife Bess at Trinity Episcopal Church in Independence.[4]

In 1930 the diocese elected The Rev. Robert Nelson Spencer to succeed Partridge. Spencer was consecrated a bishop on October 28, 1930. From Bishop Atwill's time the diocese had continued to grow and it was under Bishop Spencer in 1935 that Grace and Holy Trinity Church at 13th and Broadway was designated as the diocese's Cathedral Church.[5] Spencer resigned his ministry as Bishop of West Missouri in 1949.

Spencer was followed as bishop by Edward Randolph Welles II who was elected as bishop on December 6, 1949, and consecrated for that role on April 19, 1950.[6] Under Bishop Spencer the diocese continued to grow and 11 churches were founded between 1953 and 1972. Bishop Spencer resigned in 1972 and two years later took part in the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven.[7]

After Welles retirement the diocese elected Arthur Anton Vogel, a professor at Nashotah House theological seminary, to be its fifth bishop.[8] Vogel authored two books during his tenure as Bishop and delivered the invocation at the 1976 Republican National Convention which met in Kansas City. Vogel retired in 1989 and was succeeded by his Coadjutor, The Rt. Rev. John Clark Buchanan who served the diocese for ten years retiring in 1999.[9] Under Buchanan two more churches were admitted to the diocese.[7]

Buchanan was followed on the diocesan seat by Barry Robert Howe who served as diocesan bishop until his retirement in 2011.[10] Following Howe's retirement the diocesan convention elected the Rev. Martin Scott Field to serve as the 8th Bishop of West Missouri. Field was consecrated on March 6, 2011, by the Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori.[11] On April 8, 2021, following a mediation process outlined by the canons of the Episcopal Church it was announced that Bishop Field would resign his ministry as Bishop on Holy Cross Day, 2021 and that the diocese would begin the process of calling a Bishop Provisional.[12]

On August 3, 2021, the Standing Committee of the diocese announced that their candidate for Bishop Provisional was the Rt. Rev. Diane Jardine Bruce, the 7th Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Los Angeles. On Saturday, November 6, 2021, the Convention of the Diocese meeting at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City elected Diane Jardine Bruce as Bishop Provisional. She took up residence in the Diocese and began her ministry on December 1, 2021.[13] Bruce is the first woman to lead the diocese as its bishop. She was formally welcomed and seated in the diocesan Cathedra on the Feast of the Epiphany, 2022.[14]

Bishops of West Missouri
Name Dates
1st Edward Robert Atwill 1890–1911
2nd Sidney Catlin Partridge 1911–1930
3rd Robert Nelson Spencer 1930–1949
4th Edward Randolph Welles II 1950–1972
5th Arthur Anton Vogel 1973–1989
6th John Clark Buchanan 1989-1999 (Coadjutor Bishop, 1989)
7th Barry Robert Howe 1999-2011
8th Martin Scott Field 2011-2021
Diane Jardine Bruce (provisional) 2021-

Suffragan and Assisting Bishops
  • Robert R. Spears, Jr., Suffragan Bishop 1967-1970 (subsequently Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, 1970–1984)

Churches
Central Deanery Northwest-Metro Deanery Southern Deanery
St. Mary Magdalene, Belton St. Oswald’s, Fairfax St. Alban’s in the Ozarks, Bolivar
Resurrection, Blue Springs Good Shepherd, Kansas City Shepherd of the Hills, Branson
Christ Church, Boonville Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City St. George, Camdenton
Grace Church, Chillicothe Redeemer, Kansas City Grace Church, Carthage
St. Paul’s, Clinton St. Andrew’s, Kansas City St. Thomas a Becket, Cassville
St. Luke’s, Excelsior Springs St. Augustine’s, Kansas City St. Phillip's, Joplin
St. Mary’s, Fayette St. Mary’s, Kansas City St. Mark’s, Kimberling City
St. Peter’s, Harrisonville St. Paul’s, Kansas City Trinity, Lebanon
St. Michael’s, Independence St. Peter & All Saints, Kansas City St. Stephen’s, Monett
Trinity, Independence Grace Church, Liberty Church of the Transfiguration, Mountain Grove
St. Anne’s, Lee's Summit Christ Church, St. Joseph St. John's, Neosho
St. Paul’s, Lee's Summit St. Mary’s, Savannah All Saints', Nevada
Christ Church, Lexington St. Nicholas, Noel
St. Matthew’s, Raytown St. Matthew's, Ozark
Calvary, Sedalia Christ Church, Springfield
St. Philip’s, Trenton St. James, Springfield
Christ Church, Warrensburg St. John's, Springfield
All Saints', West Plains[15]

Ministries

The diocese sponsors and supports a number of ministries throughout its geographical boundaries. They include:[16]

  • Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City
  • Bishop Spencer Place, Kansas City
  • Nourish KC
  • St. Luke's Nursing Center, Carthage
  • Bishop Kemper School for Ministry
  • Council of Churches of the Ozarks
  • St. Luke's Home Care and Hospice

See also

References
  1. "The Diocese of West Missouri". The Diocese of West Missouri. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  2. Staff (1889-10-15). "General Convention of The Episcopal Church approves the splitting of the Diocese of Missouri". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  3. Staff (1890-06-03). "The Rt. Rev. Edward Robert Atwill". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  4. Orth, Rachael (1919-06-28). "Wedding of Harry S. Truman and Bess Wallace". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  5. Orth, Rachael (1935-10-29). "Grace and Holy Trinity Church becomes the Cathedral". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  6. Orth, Rachael (1950-01-01). "The Rt. Rev. Edward Randolph Welles". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  7. "Timeline Archives". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  8. Orth, Rachael (1973-01-01). "The Rt. Rev. Arthur Anton Vogel". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  9. Orth, Rachael (1989-01-01). "The Rt. Rev. John Clark Buchanan". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  10. Orth, Rachael (1999-01-01). "The Rt. Rev. Barry Robert Howe". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  11. Orth, Rachael (2011-03-05). "The Rt. Rev. Martin Scott Field". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  12. Staff (2021-04-08). "Bishop Marty announces last day as Bishop of West Missouri". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  13. "The Rt. Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce appointed Bishop Provisional of West Missouri". New Spirit. 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  14. Staff (2022-01-13). "Welcome and Seating of Bishop Bruce". New Spirit. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  15. "Deaneries of The Diocese of West Missouri". DWMO Admin. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  16. "Committees, commissions, ministries, etc". DWMO Admin. Retrieved 2022-08-02.


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