In addition to serving a crucial role in establishing the ACNA in its earliest days, the American Anglican Council has provided canonical guidance at every level of the Province, including oganizing and guiding the work of the ACNA Governance Task Force; advising bishops and dioceses in developing clear and orderly constitutions and canons; aiding parishes in shaping effective bylaws; guiding courts and parties through complex disciplinary cases; and serving both GAFCON and GSFA as needed in the continuing work of reforming the worldwide Communion.
Our current President, Bishop Phil Ashey, now serves as a crucial source of canonical wisdom in the College of Bishops, while the Director of Anglican Governance Ministries, The Rev. Cn. Andrew Rowell, offers canonical consulting to the province and its dioceses, bishops, clergy and laity.
As Chancellors (Anglican lawyers) of the Province, dioceses and local congregations, we share a special interest in the legal challenges facing the Church and its mission in today’s culture. We meet to discuss these challenges, share ideas, resources, and best practices and support and pray for each other. We gather annually at the Provincial meetings of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), and by video for continuing education, sharing of best practices, and fellowship. Our network is open to non-lawyers (e.g. Bishops, Canons to the Ordinary, and others) who share our interest in canon law and religious liberty.
The Rev. Cn. Andrew Rowell has a passion for preaching and teaching God’s Word, for sending the Church out into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, and for creating godly systems of governance to free the Church to do the work God has given her to do. In addition to his role with the AAC, Fr. Andrew serves as Chair of the Governance Task Force of the ACNA, Canon for Governance for the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, and rector of Christchurch, Montgomery, AL. He previously served as Associate Rector for Evangelism & Discipleship (2012-15) and Associate Rector for Youth & Families (2008-12) at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, Florida.
Andrew received his undergraduate degree from Duke University (1995, magna cum laude), his law degree from the University of Virginia (1999), and his Masters of Divinity from the Duke University Divinity School (2008, summa cum laude). In his prior professional life, he served as a homeless shelter manager, a speechwriter for the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, a clerk for the late Honorable Francis Allegra of the Court of Federal Claims, and a tax attorney at Hogan Lovells LLP in Washington, D.C.
Fr. Andrew is married to Miriam “Mimi” Suber Rowell, who is a Critical Care Registered Nurse currently serving as a nurse for First Choice Women’s Medical Center, encouraging families to choose life. Andrew and Mimi are blessed by their two sons, Stephen Ebenezer (Eben, born in 2015) and Ezekiel McConnell (Zeke, born in 2017).
