Members of the Search Committee at their meeting July 13 at St. Paul’s Commons. Thomas Diaz holds Ziggy, the committee’s mascot. Photo: Judy Stark
The Search Committee met July 13 to review the application packets of candidates for bishop and to determine who will move ahead in the process.
“It was prayerful, it was honest, it was caring,” said co-chair Thomas Diaz of All Saints, Pasadena. “This was first time we have met in person since our opening retreat last November. But through our dozens of Zoom meetings since then, the group has come together in an intimate, trusting way. We were able to speak our minds, share differing viewpoints, and come to consensus in a way that was truly holy work.”
The pool of candidates includes men and women from coast to coast and beyond U.S. borders, gay and straight, and of many ethnicities, with a wide range of backgrounds and experience. It reflects the diversity of The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Los Angeles, said Diaz and co-chair the Rev. KC Robertson of St. Matthew’s, Pacific Palisades.
The day was bookended in prayer, and the committee paused its discussion every hour on the hour for prayer. At the end of the day the committee prayed for each candidate by name and gave thanks for their willingness to participate in our search process for the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles.
The next step: Zoom interviews with all the candidates. Teams of three or four committee members will record Zoom interviews with the candidates so all committee members can see the candidates and hear what they have to say. (Packets of microwave popcorn were distributed so everyone has snacks available while they binge-watch.)
Committee members renewed the pledge of confidentiality that they signed at the opening retreat. The original document was destroyed Robertson’s home burned in the Palisades fire.
“We ask our diocese: Please respect that this is a confidential process,” she said. “We cannot tell you who is or was in the process, or what their status is, or how we discerned that someone should or should not move forward. If you ask, we will simply tell you that our charge from the Standing Committee is to present a slate of three to five candidates, and that is what we are moving toward.”
The Rev. Dr. Shane Scott-Hamblen, a member of the committee, prepared a booklet for the group, “Reluctant Saints: A Discernment Companion for Choosing a Bishop.” It offered brief biographies of six historical figures who “resisted leadership, fled from titles, or bore the cross of public ministry with trembling hearts,” he wrote. “They remind us that humility, not ambition, is the root of spiritual authority.”
The committee next meets in person Aug. 2 to determine which candidates will attend a three-day discernment retreat later in the month. The retreat will include presentations by the candidates, interviews with the committee, worship led by the candidates, a presentation about the budget, a briefing on the compensation package, and an interview with the diocesan chancellor.