John Wadsworth Howe (born November 4, 1942) is an American Anglican bishop. He is a retired bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida is a diocese in Florida in Province IV of the Episcopal Church. It is bounded on the north by the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the dioceses of Sout ...

, serving from 1990 to 2012. He was consecrated as bishop coadjutor on April 15, 1989. On 16 July 2020, he announced that he was joining the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. ...

Early life and education

Howe was born on November 4, 1942, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, the son of John Wadsworth Howe and Shirley Anita Hanson. He studied at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1964. On September 1, 1962, he married Karen Louise Elvgren, and together had three children. He also graduated with a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1967. he was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

from

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, founded in 1854, is a seminaries, seminary of Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute ...

in 1989, from Sewanee: The University of the South in 1990 and from

Nashotah House Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries ...

in 1991. In 2011 he earned his PhD. from the Graduate Theological Foundation.

Ordained ministry

Howe was ordained deacon in 1967 and priest in 1968. He served as chaplain at

Loomis Chaffee School The Loomis Chaffee School (; LC or Loomis) is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, including postgraduate students, located in Windsor, Connecticut, seven miles north of Hart ...

Windsor, Connecticut Windsor is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of ...

, from 1967 to 1969 and then as chaplain at

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

, from 1969 till 1972. After that, he became associate rector of St Stephen's Church in

Sewickley, Pennsylvania Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 3,907 at the 2020 census. The Sewick ...

, while in 1976 he transferred to

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, to serve as rector of Truro Church, where he remained till 1989.

Bishop

Howe was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Central Florida in 1989 and was consecrated on April 15, 1989, at the Calvary Assembly worship center in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,795 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was foun ...

, by Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning. He succeeded as diocesan bishop on January 1, 1990. His episcopacy reflected his conservative and evangelical views. He was one of the bishops who opposed the ordination of

Gene Robinson Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected Coadjutor bishop, bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he se ...

as a bishop. He retired in 2012. On 16 July 2020, Howe announced that he was leaving the Episcopal Church to join the

, with his wife, a female deacon. He explained that one of the main reasons for him to change denominations had been the redefinition of the traditional understanding of marriage and the way in which Bishop William Love, of Albany, was being treated for opposing same-sex marriage in his diocese. He stated that he will continue serving as Senior Pastor of the multi-denominational Lake of the Woods Church, in Locust Grove,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, where he was serving for the previous five years. He will become a retired bishop of the

in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic.Former Central Florida Bishop Leaves TEC Joins ACNA, Virtue Online, 16 July 2020
/ref>

References

External links

Bishop John Howe retiring in his own time — on his own terms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, John W. 1942 births Living people Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America University of Connecticut alumni Yale Divinity School alumni Sewanee: The University of the South alumni Nashotah House alumni Clergy from Chicago 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States 21st-century Anglican bishops in the United States Episcopal bishops of Central Florida Anglican realignment people