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Episcopal Church General Convention approves reunion of Texas dioceses

July 11, 2022
Office of Public Affairs

On its final day in Baltimore, the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church approved the reunification of the Episcopal Church in North Texas with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

The House of Bishops and House of Deputies both voted unanimously to approve Resolution D050, formalizing the reunion of the Fort Worth-based North Texas diocese with the Diocese of Texas, one of the largest in The Episcopal Church.

Approval in the House of Deputies on July 9 followed moving testimony by North Texas Deputy Katie Sherrod and Texas Deputy Christine Faulstich and applause for all Texas deputies, who were called to the front by House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings.

The House of Bishops voted its approval on July 11, marking the occasion with a standing ovation.

The reunification comes after a long period of litigation following a 2008 schism involving the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, during which a majority of clergy and lay leaders voted to leave The Episcopal Church over disagreements about the ordination of women and LGBTQ+ people.

The diocese lost its name in the process, becoming instead the Episcopal Church in North Texas, and the remaining 14 congregations with fewer than 4,000 members sought new places to worship even while continuing to serve their communities through outreach and ministries.

“We rejoice with the good people of both dioceses at this reunion, even while we acknowledge the painful history of the past years for our friends in North Texas,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said. “I look forward to what will be accomplished in service to Jesus of Nazareth as the resilient North Texans rejoin the Texas diocese.”

In a joint statement issued in the spring, Bishop Andrew Doyle of the Diocese of Texas and Bishop Scott Mayer, provisional bishop of the North Texas diocese, announced a reunification exploration process that was voted on by both dioceses in June.

The General Convention action marks the final part of the process to make the reunification official.

“Today is a great day in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas; and now the work we have been called to do begins, and that is for us to reunite and do what God expects us to do,” Doyle said. “What an opportunity for us to engage our people in a much bigger, deeper way. We will become even more involved in sharing the Good News with so many more people, helping our neighbors, reaching the unchurched, and so much more. We know that we are better and stronger together and we are so excited.” 

Mayer remarked, “Today marks a new beginning for the resilient, faithful people of North Texas. They already have been and are carrying out the work of bringing the Good News of our loving, liberating God to this rapidly growing part of our country. We rejoice at this reunion with Texas, which brings new resources and new energies to our mutual work.”

The Episcopal Church in North Texas was born out of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas in 1849, becoming part of the Missionary District of Northern Texas in 1874, then part of the new Diocese of Dallas in 1895, before becoming the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in 1982.

Prior to the July 11 vote, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas had 167 congregations and 72,000 members.