Neil Gedney Lebhar (born 1950) is an American

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop. He was the first bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, a newly formed diocese of 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. ...

. He has been rector of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Early life and career

Lebhar was raised in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...

, the eldest son of a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. He graduated from the

Loomis 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 ...

, where, as a senior, he was converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

in 1967 through

FOCUS Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

under the ministry of future Episcopal bishop John W. Howe. Lebhar married his wife, Marcia, in 1971. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1972, served as field director for FOCUS, and received seminary degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...

. In 1979, Lebhar was appointed associate rector at Truro Church under John W. Howe. He served there until being called as rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Jacksonville, then a parish of the

Episcopal Diocese of Florida The Episcopal Diocese of Florida is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). It originally comprised the whole state of Florida, but is now bounded on the west by the Apalachicola River, on the north by the Georg ...

. Lebhar also served on the boards of

Church's Ministry Among Jewish People The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) (formerly the London Jews' Society and the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews) is an Anglican Missionary, missionary society founded in 1809. History The society began in the ...

and Shoresh, and as vice chairman of the 2000 Jacksonville Billy Graham Crusade.

Anglican realignment

In 2007, objecting to the consecration 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 ...

and the theological views of TEC, Lebhar and several other clergy and parishes left the Diocese of Florida and sought canonical affiliation with the

Church of Uganda The Church of Uganda (C/U) is a member province of the Anglican Communion. Currently, there are 37 dioceses that make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop. Each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, each headed by a senior priest k ...

. On March 25, 2008, Lebhar and 21 other clergy were deposed by Florida Bishop Samuel Howard. Lebhar was elected the first bishop of the newly formed Gulf Atlantic Diocese on August 29, 2009. He was consecrated on February 13, 2010, at Jacksonville's Holy Family Catholic Church by chief consecrator Robert Duncan. The co-consecrators were John Guernsey, John E. Miller III,

Martyn Minns Martyn Minns (born April 16, 1943) is an English-born American bishop, serving in the Anglican Church of Nigeria. He was the founding missionary bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), under the patronage of the Anglican ...

, and Joel Obetia, who had served as Lebhar's bishop in Uganda. Lebhar continues to serve in parish ministry in Jacksonville in addition to his episcopal duties, which he has said is a good model for the ministry of a bishop. In 2012, Lebhar received AMIA bishop John E. Miller III and the parishes under his care as a temporary "assisting bishop" in the Gulf Atlantic Diocese.

Notes

External links

Gulf Atlantic Diocese Bishop's Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebhar, Neil 1950 births Living people Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America People from Westport, Connecticut Clergy from Jacksonville, Florida Christians from Florida Loomis Chaffee School alumni Anglican realignment people