Diocese of Florida issues statement affirming marriage equality during new bishop search

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Florida Standing Committee released a statement Nov. 19 seeking to provide greater clarity on the diocese’s prohibitions against discrimination and its accommodations for all couples seeking to marry, “regardless of sex or gender.”

The lengthy statement, issued during an ongoing bishop search, says the standing committee intends to prepare the way for its next leader by “filling in the valleys and smoothing out the roughness where we can.” The statement includes a general acknowledgement of past instances of discrimination while offering one of the Diocese of Florida’s most robust endorsements of marriage equality since the 2023 retirement of former Bishop John Howard, who had been accused of a pattern of discrimination against LGBTQ+ clergy and their supporters.

Under Howard, one of the church’s most theologically conservative bishops, congregations interested in marrying same-sex couples needed to consult with him first and then were matched with another bishop if needed by the couple or for the marriage ceremony.

That process is no longer required, the standing committee said. Clergy have discretion over performing marriages in their churches, with no need for the bishop’s approval. “If a couple meets the canonical requirements for marriage in The Episcopal Church, they may not be denied access to the sacrament of Holy Matrimony in the Diocese of Florida solely because of the sex or gender of the partners,” the standing committee said.

It called the statement a “clarification” and “not a change in policy as it has been lived into the past few years.”

Some congregational leaders who have longed for more welcoming policies toward LGBTQ+ Episcopalians in the Jacksonville-based diocese have welcomed the statement.

The Rev. Wiley Ammons, rector of Church of the Redeemer in Jacksonville, told Episcopal News Service that some same-sex couples were reluctant to celebrate their weddings in diocesan churches because of the hoops Howard previously had made congregations jump through. Ammons also thinks that clearly moving away from that old process will put the diocese “in much better position to elect a bishop who will be able to keep the canons of the church without their fingers crossed behind their back.”

The Diocese of Florida’s Camp Weed & Cerveny Conference Center in Live Oak, Florida. Photo: Camp Weed

In addition, the standing committee’s statement upheld churchwide canons that forbid discrimination and abuse of power regarding the rights of laity, diocesan employment and the appointment and licensing of priests. It added, “we realize this commitment to non-discrimination has not always been honored in this diocese.”

“We recognize that our diocese encompasses a rich theological diversity, and we give thanks for the faithful witness of clergy across the theological spectrum,” the standing committee said. “These canonical clarifications are not meant to diminish that diversity but to ensure that we live within the constitutional and canonical framework of The Episcopal Church while honoring the conscience of individual clergy.”

In recent years, clergy, lay leaders and other members of the diocese across the theological spectrum have participated in a facilitated process of healing to address underlying tensions that flared publicly when the diocese twice attempted to elect Howard’s successor in 2022. The diocese was blocked from consecrating its bishop-elect over churchwide concerns about the election and Howard’s leadership.

After Howard’s retirement, he faced two disciplinary complaints under the church’s Title IV canons governing clergy conduct, one accusing him of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and the other of financial improprieties.

Then in late September, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, with the backing of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, chose to resolve those complaints against Howard without proceeding to a hearing. Rowe negotiated an accord that did not require Howard to admit wrongdoing or submit to any disciplinary action. Rowe said Howard, after agreeing to the accord, asked to be released from ordained ministry.

The standing committee, in its statement this week, said healing and reconciliation remains “one of our top priorities” as the diocese move toward a new bishop election in September 2026. “Over the next few months, expect to hear about opportunities for you to participate in this healing work.”

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.