The Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee will select a slate of candidates for the Bishop Coadjutor election at Diocesan Convention 2025
The search committee charged with identifying candidates for election as eighth bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles is at work and moving forward, leaders say.
Organized last fall by the diocesan Standing Committee, the search committee will identify a slate from which Diocesan Convention, scheduled to vote this November, will elect a successor to Bishop John Harvey Taylor, who has announced his retirement in 2026.
Work is on track although the recent wildfire disaster directly impacted both the committee’s co-chairs. The Rev. KC Robertson, an associate rector at St. Matthew’s in Pacific Palisades, lost her own home and is ministering to parishioners – some 75 percent of the congregation – who also have lost everything. Thomas Diaz, as director of connection and care at Pasadena’s All Saints Church, is bringing support to parishioners who lost a total of 72 homes in the Eaton Fire. His leadership helped shape the relief center at All Saints, which sheltered some 180 people the first night of the blaze.
“We know that out of the ashes of the wildfires, a stronger diocese will emerge,” the co-chairs said in a statement to The Episcopal News. “It’s inspiring to think how we are part of writing that new story and how the efforts of all the members of this committee will come together to present a strong slate of candidates.
Judy Stark, a lay leader in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, has assisted more than 25 Episcopal dioceses in the process of electing new bishops.
“We express our gratitude to every member of the committee, who all feel called to this work,” the co-chairs continued. “We offer special gratitude to our consultant, Judy Stark, who has been wonderfully pastoral to us in this extraordinary time and has kept the committee organized and on track.”
A veteran professional who has assisted more than 25 Episcopal dioceses in the process of electing new bishops, Stark – a lay leader in the Diocese of Southwest Florida – confirms that work is progressing.
“The Profile Subcommittee is in the information-gathering stage of its work,” Stark told The News. “They have studied profiles from other dioceses, analyzing what kind of information they offered to prospective candidates and how they told the stories of their dioceses. Now they are collecting information – facts and figures, history, culture, geography, the challenges and opportunities the next bishop will face.”
Stark said another subcommittee, “Application and Interview Design,” is “putting together the nomination/application form and developing questions to ask candidates in written form or in Zoom conversations.
“A third subcommittee is seeking locations for a multi-day retreat when semifinalists are brought to the diocese for deep conversations, interviews, presentations, and worship,” she said.
“Other subcommittees,” Stark added, “are planning listening sessions, developing strategies for reaching out to potential candidates or those who know them, making sure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are woven into every step of the process, keeping the committee on budget, communicating with the diocese, keeping the committee and eventual candidates in prayer, and developing ways to screen candidates and guide the full committee in discerning whom God calls to be the bishop coadjutor.”
The Rev. Dr. Kate Cress, president of the diocesan Standing Committee and rector of St. James’ in-the-City, Los Angeles.
The Rev. Dr. Kate Cress, president of the diocesan Standing Committee and rector of St. James’ in-the-City, Los Angeles, affirms the work underway. “I’m filled with confidence, given the quality of the search committee and the passion and diversity of our diocese, that the result will be amazing,” said Cress, adding, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to provide support to this exciting process.”