The Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter Beckwith died on Friday, October 4, 2019 at the age of 80.
As the third longest serving Bishop of the Diocese, he shepherded our communities through challenges both large and small. He believed in the value of full-time resident priests, and initiated The Springfield School of Ministry to address the rural and small town needs within the diocese. Bishop Beckwith emphasized faithful corporate worship and sought to maintain connection to the larger church. On the ecumenical level, this included nurturing an ecumenical connection with the ELCA.
Born in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1939, he attended Hillsdale College where he received a BA in 1961, having majored in Philosophy and Religion. Bishop Beckwith attended seminary at University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, earning his Master of Divinity in 1964. He also earned a Master of Sacred Theology from Nashotah House in 1974. In addition, he held several honorary degrees including a Doctor of Theology from Hillsdale College and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Nashotah House.
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Beckwith served as a Chaplain in the United States Naval Reserve from 1972-1999, and from 1996-1999 was the Deputy Chief of Chaplains for Total Force as Rear Admiral. He also served as Chaplain to Episcopal inmates at Southern Michigan State Prison, Jackson, the Marine Corps Reserve Association, The Illinois State Police, Hillsdale College, and was the National Chaplain for the Navy League of the United States.
To learn about his life in Bishop Beckwith’s own words, it is possible to read an oral history interview he granted to The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in 2009.
He had two children, Michael and Peter, with his wife, Melinda Jo.
The funeral will take place at Hillsdale College in Michigan. This post will be updated with funeral details when they become available.
I had the honor of meeting and chatting with RADM Beckwith as a sailor in the Naval Reserve and as part of my journey along the Anglican Way. Bravo Zulu Admiral! Fair Winds and Following seas, shipmate!
I met Bp Beckwith at the US Anglican Congress in 2004 in Atlanta GA. He was an Anglican Communion Network (ACN) bishop as Bishop of Springfield. We met again when he left TEC and joined the ACNA.. He served as an Assistant Bishop in the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes. Note the Vale had no mention of leaving TEC and joining the ACNA..
Some really good clergy pass through the military. It must give them a broader prospective. Bishop James Stewart from the old ACA was one.
Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy Bishops Derek Jones, Mark Nordstrom and old friend Mike Williams are excellent examples in the ACNA. All solid as a rock.
Back during my last couple years in TEC, which were spiritually difficult, Bp. Beckwith was kind enough to answer my several emails, and offer pastoral guidance that was not available in my own diocese. A truly good man and devout Christian. May he rest in peace.
I don’t see any update on this post about his funeral arrangements, so I’ll just add here that his funeral will take place at Christ Chapel of Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, on Friday, October 18 at 11:00 pm, with Bishop Ronald Jackson of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes presiding. The committal will take place immediately afterwards at Lake View Cemetery in Hillsdale. I speak as the local Anglican minister (Holy Trinity Parish in Hillsdale) and College Chaplain at Hillsdale College who has been organizing the service.