February 4, 2020

Dear People of God in the Peoria Deanery:

With thanksgiving for your fortitude and for God’s grace, I am writing to tell you that we have reached a settlement with the Diocese of Quincy in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in our efforts to recover some of the property, assets and records that were part of the former Episcopal Diocese of Quincy.

The congregations of St. James, Griggsville; St. James, Lewistown; the Episcopal Church of St. George, Macomb; and All Saints, Rock Island will directly benefit from the settlement. In addition, other funds recovered in the settlement will be held in the Bishop’s Funds for the benefit of the entire Peoria Deanery and will be administered by the bishop’s office with the assistance of the Congregations Commission.

The terms of the settlement are largely confidential, as is often the case when legal proceedings are concluded by agreement. However, my staff and I have communicated with the vestry or bishop’s committee at the congregations that are directly affected to share with them the settlement terms relevant to them and the specific ways in which its arrangements will foster their mission both now and in the future.

With this settlement, the Diocese of Chicago has just two remaining legal matters with congregations in the ACNA Diocese of Quincy. Those concern the property and assets of both Grace Episcopal Church in Galesburg and Christ Church in Moline, whose Episcopal congregation is now part of All Saints, Rock Island. We hope that these ongoing proceedings will also conclude by bringing us to a place of reconciliation and mutual respect in Christ.

I give thanks for your perseverance and courage through the past eleven years, and I am grateful that this settlement will benefit God’s mission in the Peoria Deanery for many years to come. Participating in your ministry has been one of the great joys of my time as bishop of Chicago, and I continue to rejoice at your commitment to our beloved Episcopal Church and the communities and people you serve.

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee
Bishop of Chicago