The Mission Congregation Nuremberg celebrated its first service in May 2002 as a satellite congregation of the Church of the Ascension in Munich to serve the needs of English speaking Christians in the Nuremberg area. At the beginning we were guests of the Old Catholic congregation in the Hauskapelle in Rankestrasse. Since January 2004 we are guests of the Lutheran parish St. Jakob in the old city. According to German law we are part of the Church of the Ascension which is registered as an "Eingetragener Verein" (e.V.).

Fellowship after the service

The Mission Congregation Nuremberg is a mission under the jurisdiction of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, which comes under the umbrella of Province Two of the Episcopal Church U.S.A. The Convocation cannot truly be called a Diocese as the jurisdictional authority crosses national borders.

The Bishop responsible for the Convocation is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori. Her Suffragan Bishop, who is in charge of the Convocation, is the Right Reverend Pierre W. Whalon, whose office is housed at the Cathedral in Paris and whose responsibilities also include liaison with the Church of England Diocese of Europe and other ecumenical relations, in addition to the oversight of eight churches and several missions within the Convocation.

The Rt. Rev. Pierre W. Whalon with members of St. James the Less

There are eight Episcopal churches in the Convocation: Ascension, Munich; St. James, Florence; St. Paul's Within-the-Walls, Rome; Christ the King, Frankfurt; Emmanuel Church, Geneva; All Saints Church, Waterloo; St. Augustine of Canterbury, Wiesbaden; and the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Paris. Episcopal services are also available through the outreach ministries within the Convocation which include: Augsburg and Nuremberg from the Church of the Ascension, Munich; Karlsruhe from St. Augustine of Canterbury, Wiesbaden; and Clermont-Ferrand (Royat) from the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Paris.

It is of note that Europe is the only part of the world with overlapping jurisdictions of the Anglican Communion represented. The Right Reverend Geoffrey Rowell, along with his Suffragan Bishop, the Right Reverend David Hamid, oversee the Church of England Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, which comprises approximately 200 chaplaincies. Other Anglican Churches in Europe include the Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain under the leadership of the Right Reverend Carlos Lopez Lozano and the Lusitanian Church in Portugal led by the Right Reverend Fernando Soares.