Just three days to go! We’re down to the wire. The deadline for applications for our eighth bishop diocesan is at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, June 27.
There’s a sense of charged anticipation — not from fear, but from how much this opportunity means to us. We’re invested, ready, and full of hope for what’s next.
What a long way we’ve come. There was the first organizing meeting back in November at St. Paul’s Commons, when a roomful of 19 strangers from all around the diocese started to morph from a committee into a community.
There were the listening sessions … our Holy Cow! survey … months of gathering information and writing a profile … developing an application form and questions for the candidates … publicizing the profile throughout the wider Church … reaching out to prospective candidates and seeking nominations … and now, waiting to see who feels a call to become our next bishop.
All of it wrapped in, grounded in, and bookended by prayer: for our diocese, for ourselves, and for the candidates, even before we know who they are.
Next week we will begin the holy task of reading the candidates’ application packets, discerning how well they match what we have said we are looking for, and thinking about who will move forward to the next phase, Zoom interviews.
As we start this work, we invite the diocese to join us in this prayer — not only this weekend, but through the next several months as we listen to what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
Loving God, we thank you for the faithful ministry of Bishop John H. Taylor and for the love and support of his family. As they prepare for retirement, bless them with your peace.
Guide us in the election of our new bishop, that they may lead with compassion, justice, and love. May we all honor the rich diversity of our diocese, spanning ten deaneries across six counties, and the sacred heritage of this land, originally stewarded by the Tongva, Chumash, and other Indigenous peoples.
In the face of challenges like racial injustice, economic disparity, and climate change, grant us wisdom and courage. May our new bishop inspire us to serve together, rooted in the Gospel’s call to love all people.
We lift up the ministry of all who are baptized in this diocese, whose faith sustains us. As we move forward, may we embrace the future with faith, knowing you are ever making a way in the wilderness. Through Christ, our Savior. Amen.