On Sunday, April 7 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buffalo, Bishop Sean Rowe preached at a service marking the beginning of his ministry as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Western New York and celebrating the retirement of Bishop Bill Franklin.

“It is only at the place of Transfiguration, when we agree to follow Jesus…where two dioceses in a part of the world that many people have written off will actually become the place that leads the church, that tries something new,” he said. “And we’re going to die along the way. And we’re going to fail along the way. But on the other side of that death is resurrection, is something new that God is calling us to become.”