Keith Ackerman

Keith Lynn Ackerman (born August 3, 1946 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, United States) is the current Bishop Vicar of the Diocese of Quincy of the Anglican Church in North America. He is a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy (based in Peoria, Illinois).^[1] Prior to becoming a bishop, he served as Rector of St. Mary's Church in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, as well as Rector of St. Mark's Church in Arlington, Texas.^[1]

Background

Ackerman was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania on August 3, 1946. On August 19, 1967 he married Joann Bevacqua. They have three children: Keith, Renée and Lynne Mary.^[1]

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Marymount College in Salina, Kansas in 1971, while working at the St. Francis Boys Home in nearby Ellsworth. He later received his Master of Divinity from Nashotah House seminary in 1974, and a Doctor of Divinity from the same institution in 1994.^[1]

Priesthood

Ackerman was ordained as a deacon in 1974 and to the priesthood the same year in Long Island, Kansas by Bishop William Davidson of the Diocese of Western Kansas. He served as a curate at the Church of the Transfiguration in Freeport, New York from 1974 to 1976, when he was called to be Rector of St. Mary's Church, Charleroi, Pennsylvania, in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.^[1]

As rector in Charleroi, Ackerman served as president of the Charleroi Clergy Association and founded St. Elizabeth Chapel in nearby Bentleyville. He was also a recipient in 1988 of the Bishop of Pittsburgh's award for extraordinary service to the church. Much of his ministry work was directed at assisting the unemployed and otherwise advancing the interests of local workers. He established five outreach ministries and a Christian counseling service for the unemployed, and also received the Ecumenical Award from Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania in 1984 for his mediation in a labor dispute between union members and management at a local steel-related business. He was active in diocesan life, serving as President of the Standing Committee and as Deputy to General Convention, and was also an active instructor, teaching in several institutions including Chichester Theological College in Chichester, England and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.^[1]

In 1989, Ackerman was called to be rector of St. Mark's Church in Arlington, Texas, in the Diocese of Fort Worth. While there, he served as president of the Ministerial Association and was presented the "Minister of the Year" award. He also served as a member of several diocesan committees, including President of the Standing Committee.^[1]

Election as bishop

Ackerman was elected as the eighth Bishop of Quincy on January 8, 1994, and was consecrated June 29, 1994, at St. Paul's Cathedral in the see city of Peoria, Illinois. He retired as Bishop of Quincy on November 1, 2008.^[1]

Post-retirement

Ackerman currently lives in Keller, Texas,^{[citation needed]} and is currently serving as President of Forward in Faith North America, conservative Anglo-Catholic movement operating in a number of provinces of the Anglican Communion. Forward in Faith is known for its opposition to the ordination of women as well as to liberal Anglican views of homosexuality. Ackerman's term of office is due to expire in 2012.^[2]

Ackerman resigned as superior-general of the American branch of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament in 2010: "I have recently been informed by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church that I am no longer a Bishop in the Episcopal Church, thus making me ineligible to be a member of or to serve as an officer of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America."^[3]

He joined the Anglican Church in North America, being currently Bishop Vicar at the Diocese of Quincy.^[4] Bishop Ackerman is also working part-time at City Square Ministries in Dallas as a pastoral counselor. He is interim vicar at St. Timothy's Anglo-Catholic Church in Fort Worth.

Writings

Ackerman has been a prolific writer, penning weekly columns for the Bentleyville Courier (1979–1985) and Benworth Times (1983–1985), a monthly column for the Arlington Daily News (1990–1994), and numerous articles for the The Harvest Plain (1994–present), the newspaper of the Diocese of Quincy. He has also written several books, including To God be the Glory, a book co-written with his wife Joann, which was published in 2001.^[1]

Published books

• Why We Do What We Do: A Manual on the Eucharist, 1992, Dovetracts Publications
• The Work of the People: A Guide to the Eucharist, 1993, DoveTracts Publications
• To God be the Glory: Growing Towards a Healthy Church (with Joann Ackerman), 2001, Dovetracts Publications

See also

• List of Succession of Bishops for the Episcopal Church, USA
• Episcopal Diocese of Quincy
• Diocese of Quincy (ACNA)
• Anglican realignment

References

External links

• Diocese of Quincy
• Bishop Ackerman's biography
• Forward in Faith North America
• Parish Press