The Bishop of Florida has announced to his diocese [PDF] that he will undergo neck surgery Sept. 15.

The surgery will “address the effects of an injury that began as a childhood gymnastics accident and was made worse by football injuries when I was a young man,” the Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard wrote.

The bishop added that he has spent years in treatment for pain and mobility issues.

“However, after much prayer, and consultation with a number of neurological and orthopedic surgeons, I have come to believe there is no alternative, and that now is the time,” he wrote.

The bishop and his wife, Marie, “have visited with a number of doctors in Florida and the Southeast. All of them agree that surgery cannot be delayed and that, to put it bluntly, even a relatively slight injury at this point could result in a much worse condition, or even paralysis.”

The Rt. Rev. Charles L. Keyser, assisting bishop since 2007, and the Rev. Canon Robert S. Griffiths will tend to the diocese in Howard’s absence.

Bishop Howard, who took office in 2004, will travel to San Francisco for the surgery, and he expects to stay there about a week.