The Rt. Rev. Brian N. Prior, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, writes to his diocese about accusations brought against the Rev. Canon Michael Pipkin:
I write this day asking for your prayers.
Every person in discernment for a possible call to the episcopate encounters a deep vulnerability — not only for the potential candidate, but for their family as well.
The Episcopal Church in Colorado has removed your Missioner for Missional Management, Michael Pipkin, from consideration in their bishop search.
As such, I ask for your prayers for the entire Pipkin family, as well as the Episcopal Church in Colorado, as they continue to discern whom God is calling to be their next bishop.
Once I became aware that concerns were raised about Michael, which led to his removal, I gathered together the President of the Standing Committee, Tom Cook, the Chair of the Personnel Committee, Judy Shoulak and the Chancellor for ECMN, Doug Franzen. This group counseled that we seek to gather all relevant material regarding these concerns in order to conduct our own independent inquiry.
I want to be clear that presently, these are allegations. Our intention is to determine if they can be substantiated or not.
Living fully into our Baptismal Covenant, we’re seeking to respect the dignity of every human being. Our unwavering commitment is to live into the fullness of the mission that God has called us to, and to become reconciled to God through Christ and with each other.
I continue to ask your prayers for all those involved with this situation.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
