September 20, 2023 

Dear Friends in Christ,

We are so pleased to share that we received 27 nominees for the ninth Bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of Rochester. We have been very impressed with each person’s talents and gifts. All of them have resonated with the diocesan profile and have felt a call to discern with us. This is cause for celebration so please celebrate with us! 

We are in the middle of the interview process. When we have completed all of the interviews, we will select 6-8 people for a discernment retreat that will take place in early November. We will present a slate of 3-5 candidates to the Standing Committee on November 13. Our work will be finished after we present the slate. The Transition Committee will then work to help the delegates and clergy get to know the candidates and facilitate the electing convention.

We appreciate your prayers as we continue our discernment. Please keep our Diocese and all of those who have applied and interviewed in your prayers as well. We want to close this update with the prayer we have been praying at the beginning of each of our interviews and we invite you to pray it with us.

O God our strength and source of love, we ask your presence here today as we seek your guidance in interviewing this candidate for bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester.  We seek a faithful and gifted bishop who will know us, love us and be among us, who will recognize our gifts and our diversity, but who is also willing to challenge and equip us for mission.  May we open our hearts and our spirits to hear Your will. We give you thanks for (name of candidate)___________, who has been willing to open their life for further discernment. We also offer prayers for their family and those in your church with whom they are currently serving.  We ask all of this through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

If you have any questions, please contact us at edorbishopsearch@gmail.com.

Blessings and peace,

The Discernment and Nominating Committee

A Prayer for the Election of a Bishop:

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for this Diocese that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Email the Discernment and Nominating Committee: edorbishopsearch@gmail.co
Visit our website: https://www.thedioceseofrochesterbishopsearch.org/

Continuing the Process

We, the Discernment and Nominating Committee have been hard at work. Recently, we felt that we should address the news about Bishop Singh. We sent the following letter to the people in the diocese.

Dear Diocesan Family,

The Discernment and Nomination Committee is hard at work creating a Diocesan Profile,  a Bishop’s Profile, a Nomination form and an application form.  The Diocesan Profile will include pictures and commentary from each church in the Diocese.  We are grateful for those of you who have contributed this information.

The members of the DNC have agreed that it is important to acknowledge the difficulties and allegations of our last Bishop in our profile.  We understand that there are different experiences of Bishop Singh in our diocese.  Our next Bishop will need to help us heal and bring us together so we can face our future challenges.

The Title IV process for Bishop Singh is happening in the Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan.  We trust the process and we pray for Nivedhan, Ekalaivan, Roja, and Prince in hopes that there can be some healing and reconciliation.  We pray for all the people in our diocese who have been hurt.  We continue to pray for guidance as we go about the work of discernment.

Our committee is moving slowly and deliberately through this process.  We are investigating the various ways of vetting candidates so that we can put forth a slate of excellent, healthy, leaders. We have published a timeline, but we are committed to finding the right people and that will take the time it takes.  We are all aware of the responsibility of finding and choosing the best possible people.  We know that we are not alone in the process and we trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit and feel the strength of your prayers.

If you have any particular concerns I would invite you to email us at EDORBishopsearch@gmail.com.