The Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and Diocese of Bethlehem voted on October 19 to reunify, a significant step toward a planned merger that would take effect in 2026.
The dioceses each voted in favor of reunification during their joint conventions, held October 18-19 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College. Bethlehem delegates approved the proposal 90-14; Central Pennsylvania delegates voted 131-24.
Votes were announced simultaneously to each convention and again when delegates gathered for lunch and a joint service of Holy Eucharist. The decision is subject to the consent from a majority of standing committees and bishops diocesan.
Pending those approvals, the two will become the Episcopal Diocese of the Susquehanna on January 1, 2026. The new name refers to the Susquehanna River, which flows through both of the dioceses.
In a joint announcement, the dioceses said 2025 will become a year of transition, as the entities work to align systems and budgets and develop the Constitution and Canons of the new diocese, among other tasks. The dioceses plan to form a leadership team and working groups to oversee that work.
Formal discussion about a proposed merger has been underway since October 2022, when the conventions of both dioceses agreed to enter a period of “intentional exploration.” A 10-person discernment committee, composed of bishops, clergy, and laity of each diocese, has met since January 2023. The diocese also brought on the Rev. Jennifer Adams, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Holland, Michigan, as a consultant.
“During the last year, the work of the Reunification Discernment Committee was intentional and comprehensive, engaging with a large portion of the Diocese of Bethlehem to include a wide range of opinions and perspectives,” said the Rt. Rev. Kevin Nichols of Bethlehem. “I am grateful for everyone’s efforts towards this important discernment and am eager to begin the work of becoming one body as the Diocese of the Susquehanna.”
“I am delighted that our two dioceses have chosen this way forward to reunite and serve God’s mission together,” said the Rt. Rev. Audrey Scanlan of Central Pennsylvania. “This is bold and courageous work and we live in hope that with God, all things are possible! (Matt. 19:26) The next year for us—a Year of Transition—will invite us to deepen our relationships as we merge committees and ministries. It will be good and holy work that will secure the Episcopal presence in our part of Pennsylvania for generations to come.”
Both Nichols and Scanlan will continue to serve their respective dioceses through 2025. Following the merger, one bishop will be presented for election as bishop diocesan and the other for appointment as assistant bishop, according to the dioceses’ union agreement. Scanlan plans to retire in fall 2027.
“A reunified diocese would host its first search and election process on a timeline to be determined by the Bishop Diocesan and Standing Committee of the diocese. This model aligns with both Bishop Scanlan’s and Bishop Nichols’ hopes for this discernment and potential reunification process and the sense they each have of their own ministry and calling,” the agreement says.
The Diocese of Pennsylvania was formed in 1785 and encompassed the whole state. The diocese first split in 1866 with the formation of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania was carved out four years later in 1870. The next division came in 1905 when the eastern and western portions of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania resulted in the formation of the Diocese of Harrisburg, and in 1909, what was Central Pennsylvania adopted its new name of the Diocese of Bethlehem. The Diocese of Harrisburg would later reclaim the original name of Central Pennsylvania in 1971.
The move to reunify follows decades of decline in both dioceses. From 2013 to 2022, the average Sunday attendance (ASA) declined by 48.5 percent in the Diocese of Bethlehem and 46.3 percent in Central Pennsylvania. As of 2021, the two dioceses had a total 17,254 communicants.
While pledging has increased in the past five years by 31 percent in Bethlehem and 19 percent in Central Pennsylvania, endowments continue to sustain the majority of parishes, according to an informational video regarding the reunification.
An estimated 2026 budget for the combined diocese projects $3.67 million in total income against $3.64 million in total expenditures, for an estimated surplus of $30,000. Those estimates include $498,640 in expenditures for Bethlehem programs and $831,450 for Central Pennsylvania programs, including its diocesan school for ministry. The budget estimates are based on current expenditures, and don’t reflect the inevitable attrition and retirements among current staff.
Per the agreement, parishes would pay 11 percent on the first $200,000 of normal operating income and 13 percent on all amounts over $200,000, which is considered a compromise between the two dioceses’ current assessment approaches. Bethlehem has a 12 percent assessment with 3 percent optional “acceptance,” while Central Pennsylvania assesses 10 percent on the first $200,000 of operating income and 2 percent additional on income above that amount.
According to the union agreement, the Episcopal Diocese of the Susquehanna would be divided into four regions: Northwest (composed of 22 parishes), Northeast (27 parishes), Southwest (39 parishes), and Southeast (31 parishes). That model would allow the cathedrals and pro-cathedrals of each diocese to remain in place, resembling the structure adopted by the combined Diocese of Wisconsin.
Central Pennsylvania and Bethlehem are following in a well-established trend in the Episcopal Church. In recent years, a number of dioceses have reunified, merged, entered Episcopal partnerships, or are discerning such a move due to declining numbers, including Wisconsin’s three historic dioceses, Northwest Pennsylvania and Western New York, Eastern and Western Michigan, and Indianapolis and Northern Indiana.
Lauren Anderson-Cripps is a domestic correspondent for TLC.
