Quigg Lawrence Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific Prefix:The Right Reverend
R. Quigg Lawrence
Bishop Suffragan of the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope
Church:Anglican Church in North America
Diocese:PEARUSA (former missionary district of Anglican Church of Rwanda); Christ Our Hope (Anglican Church in North America)
Term:2013–present
Other Post:Rector, Church of the Holy Spirit
Consecration:4 February 2013
Consecrated By:Onesphore Rwaje
Birth Date:10 July 1959
Birth Place:Richmond, Virginia
Spouse:Annette Fleet Lawrence
Children:3
Alma Mater:Central Washington University
Virginia Theological Seminary
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Raymond Quigg Lawrence Jr. (born July 10, 1959) is an American bishop of the Anglican Church in North America. He was consecrated in 2013 as bishop suffragan in the Atlantic coast network of PEARUSA, which in 2016 became the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope. Since 1989, he has been rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Roanoke County, Virginia.

Early life and education

Lawrence was raised in Richmond, Virginia, the oldest of three children. His father, R. Quigg Lawrence Sr., was a Navy veteran and marketer who worked on the creative team that developed the Virginia Is for Lovers campaign.[1] The elder Lawrence was also a recording studio executive who employed a young Bruce Springsteen, and music promoter, and his son worked as security for acts like David Bowie.[2]

Lawrence attended Collegiate School in Richmond, graduating in 1977.[3] He spent three years at the University of Virginia, where he said he majored in "fraternity mayhem."[4] His ambitions to become a doctor frustrated by his partying and womanizing, he left UVA and spent part of 1979 and all of 1980 working as an EMT and paramedic in Richmond and at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. He came to Christian faith after a fellow surfer gave him a copy of John Stott's Basic Christianity.[5]

Lawrence has said that he received his call to ministry while working as a paramedic:

Lawrence finished his undergraduate degree in emergency medicine at Central Washington University, then enrolled in Virginia Theological Seminary, where he earned his M.Div. Lawrence also met Annette Fleet after completing seminary, and they married in 1986. They have three adult children and seven grandchildren. Lawrence later received a doctorate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Ordained ministry

After graduation, Lawrence was appointed as an associate pastor in Kilmarnock, Virginia. He was released from the job in 1988. In January 1989, he was named the first rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit (CHS), a church plant that had grown out of the Cursillo movement and had just been elevated from mission to parish status in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia.[6] The theologically conservative Lawrence frequently fought with liberalizing elements in the Episcopal Church. “Almost everything was a hill I would die on," Lawrence has said. CHS grew from 42 members to more than 1,400 and spawned multiple church plants in the Roanoke area.

In 1995, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit called the Terumah Foundation raised funds to purchase land and construct a 27,000-square-foot facility on Merriman Road in southwest Roanoke County. While CHS used the property, Terumah remained the owner. In 2000, early in the process of the Anglican realignment, Bishop Neff Powell deposed Lawrence and ejected CHS from the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia.[7] The arrangement with Terumah allowed CHS to leave the Episcopal Church without forfeiting the property it used to the diocese. In January 2000, CHS became the first U.S. church to join the Anglican Mission in America, and Lawrence's orders were recognized by the Anglican Church of Rwanda.

Episcopal ministry

Lawrence and CHS joined PEARUSA after its separation from AMIA in order to remain connected with the Anglican Church of Rwanda and the Anglican Church in North America. Lawrence was elected suffragan bishop for PEARUSA's Atlantic coast network, where he would assist Steve Breedlove with care for clergy in the region. He remained rector of CHS.[8]

The Most Rev. Onesphore Rwaje and the Most Rev. Robert Duncan consecrated Lawrence as a bishop on February 4, 2013, at CHS. In 2016, Lawrence and CHS transitioned from PEARUSA to the newly constituted Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope, ending the dual canonical residency in the ACNA and Rwanda.

After Todd Atkinson took a leave of absence and was later inhibited over charges of abuse of spiritual authority, Lawrence was in October 2021 appointed interim bishop for Via Apostolica. He remained bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Christ Our Hope and rector at CHS.[9]

Bluegrass

In 2021, Lawrence and several bluegrass music friends recorded a bluegrass compiliation album called Come Home.[10] Lawrence writes bluegrass album reviews for Bluegrass Today.

Israel

In October 2023, Bishop and Mrs. Lawrence were planning to lead a large group tour of Israel. They landed early on October 7th, the day the Hamas attack broke out. After 48 hours they were able to flee the country, traveling from Tel Aviv to Ethiopia to Ireland to Chicago to Virginia.[11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Quigg Lawrence . 12 October 2022 . Richmond Times-Dispatch . 15 April 2010.
  2. News: Dodson . Pamela . Quigg Lawrence: A spiritual journey . 12 October 2022 . Roanoke Times . 10 June 2008.
  3. Web site: The Evolution of Quigg Lawrence '77 . Collegiate School . 12 October 2022.
  4. Web site: Quigg Lawrence . Church of the Holy Spirit . 12 October 2022.
  5. News: Chittum . Matt . Once fiery Va. pastor is now an Anglican bishop . 12 October 2022 . Richmond Times-Dispatch . 11 February 2013.
  6. Web site: Our history is a record of God's faithfulness . Church of the Holy Spirit . 12 October 2022.
  7. Web site: Virtue . David . SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA: Bishop spins parish departure . Virtue Online . 12 October 2022.
  8. News: Roanoke Rector Quigg Lawrence Installed As Bishop . 12 October 2022 . Roanoke Star . 29 January 2013.
  9. Web site: The ACNA Appoints Interim Bishop . Via Apostolica . 12 October 2022.
  10. News: Gross . Andrew . Coming Home . 12 October 2022 . The Apostle . 31 August 2021.
  11. Web site: Casey . Dan . As bombs fell on Israel, 4 Roanokers make harrowing escape . The Roanoke Times . Lee Enterprises . 30 October 2023 . https://roanoke.com/news/local/quigg-lawrence-annette-lawrence-keith-martin-escape-from-israel-hamas-missles/article_6e2b019c-6875-11ee-b8c3-f34d539bc36f.html.