For Immediate Release: August 27, 2022
The Rev. Canon Christopher M. Klukas, Canon for Communications
The Gulf Atlantic Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America
cklukas@gulfatlanticdiocese.org

Tallahassee, FL (August 27, 2022) - Today at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, FL, friends and members of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America gathered to witness the consecration of the Rt. Rev. Alex Farmer as the second bishop of the Diocese.

Bishop Neil Lebhar, the first bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese remarked, “It is a tremendous joy to welcome Bishop Alex as the new diocesan bishop of this wonderful diocese.”

Archbishop Foley Beach presided as the chief consecrator and the preacher was the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, a Senior Bishop of the ACNA. His sermon text was Isaiah 61:1-11, reminding those assembled of the messianic calling of Jesus and our ongoing call as we follow him to “preach good news to the poor” and “the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (v. 1, ESV). He also charged Bp. Farmer to rely on the Holy Spirit remembering that “the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.”

Following his consecration, Bp. Alex addressed the congregation saying, “Let us go forth to do the work that Christ has called us to do, not only in the Church but in the world.”

Bp. Farmer was ordained in 2000 after serving an Episcopal church for three years as a youth minister. In 2002, he was called to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Gainesville, Florida, a declining church in need of revitalization. He and the members of St. Michael’s reorganized in 2006 to found Servants of Christ Anglican Church, now a thriving congregation, where he served as rector until just after his election. Bp. Farmer has also served for many years as the priest-in-charge of Camp Araminta, a week-long summer camp ministry of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese. His ministry over the years has focused on the cost of discipleship, the call to unity, and the essential need to be quiet before the Lord–empowered by the Holy Spirit. He has been married to his wife, Jody, for 31 years. They have three adult children and three grandchildren.

The Gulf Atlantic Diocese was founded in 2009 with 14 congregations. Today it has grown to more than 40 churches across Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Our mission is to proclaim the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ in every facet of our faith and life.