Pause for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for 2026
Dear Siblings in Christ,
Over the last five years, you have contributed generously to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Your generosity has funded ministries that have transformed lives and communities across our diocese—from providing scholarships for young people attending Camp Firebird to furthering the cause of racial reconciliation and justice. You have helped launch missional communities and lift up the ministries of those who have been most marginalized and neglected in our society.
Thank you. Your generosity and financial hospitality continue to impact the lives of those whom we are called to serve.
In this season of discerning a campaign to expand the mission and ministry of this diocese, I have decided to pause the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for 2026. This pause will allow us to listen more deeply for the stirrings of the Holy Spirit as we seek the wisdom of laity and clergy across the diocese.
This does not mean that there are not urgent needs within our communities. Immigrant communities across Missouri and our nation continue to live under a cloud of fear. Our siblings who are unhoused continue to have their dignity denied. I therefore encourage you to give generously to local feeding ministries and to support the work of Abide in Love and other ministries dedicated to serving those who are too often pushed to the margins.
Once again, I am grateful for the many ways we show up for one another and for those whose lives have been touched by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal in years past.
May God continues to work in, on, and through us in countless ways as we seek to serve Christ in one another.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson
Eleventh Bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
Download the offical letter HERE