Diocesan Revival Cancelled

Jan. 15, 2024

The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, announced today that the March 15 Diocesan Revival featuring Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has been cancelled.

“Like you, I am very disappointed to cancel this event,” Bishop Johnson said. “But this is the best decision for everyone – especially the Presiding Bishop, whose health is our top priority.”

The Most Rev. Michael Curry has hosted revivals throughout the country and around the world during his tenure as Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church. He was scheduled to bring his message of unselfish love to the Diocese of Missouri on March 15 for a Revival at The Factory in Chesterfield.

But the Presiding Bishop has undergone three surgeries in the last four months, most recently on January 6 to treat a reoccurrence of a subdural hematoma, or brain bleed, he experienced in December of 2023.

Bishop Curry has been released from the hospital and will continue his recovery at home under the supervision of his doctors, according to a Jan. 11 statement from the Office of Public Affairs. At age 70, Curry is wrapping up the final year of his nine-year term as presiding bishop.

Bishop Johnson said he is grateful to the many people throughout the Diocese of Missouri who have dedicated a great deal of work and prayer to organize the March 15 Revival. The Bishop says the revival team will be pivoting those plans to create a different diocesan gathering on March 16, called “I Love to Tell the Story: Healing in the Heartland.” This event will feature former U.S. Senator Jack Danforth, the Rev. Traci Blackmon, and the Rev. Naomi Tutu, daughter of the late Bishop Desmond Tutu. Plans for that event will be announced soon.