Updates on the search for the eighth bishop of Los Angeles were in focus at the April 10 regular meeting of Diocesan Council, held via Zoom.
The Rev. K.C. Robertson, co-chair of the Bishop Search Committee, said the listening sessions currently underway throughout the diocese to which all are invited (see related story here) are “part of ways to see where is the Holy Spirit in our diocese. Where do we feel ourselves called, [and] moving toward things we have learned, wonderments we have?” to inform preparation of a diocesan profile.
The January L.A. fires affected both development of the bishop search timeline, and diocesan finances, according to the financial report submitted in writing by Diocesan Treasurer Canon Andy Tomat.
“As soon as the fires hit, we immediately deferred sending assessment invoices to the impacted churches. This caused a shortfall in Mission Share Fund assessments to grow from $114,882 in January to $158,923 in February,” Tomat said in his report. “But we are so appreciative that all the affected congregations affirmed their full support of the Mission Share Fund and resumed making assessment payments in March so the overall shortfall should be much lower next report.”
Council also received good news: about a $400,000 increase in California state grant funding to IRIS, the Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Service; that the One Body & One Spirit annual appeal is again accepting applications for church projects; and that 100 percent of Neighborhood Youth Association students received multiple acceptances from colleges and universities.
Bishop search timeline
The bishop search timeline “has been adjusted in accordance with those of us who are impacted by the fires,” said Robertson, who co-chairs the Bishop Search Committee with Thomas Diaz, director of connection and care at All Saints, Pasadena, a parish also hard-hit by the Eaton Fire.“I give gratitude for the grace and flexibility of this committee. They have been patient.”
Robertson is an associate rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Pacific Palisades, where she and other clergy lost their homes, and a school building was heavily damaged by the fires. The parish is worshiping at St. Augustine by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, and the school has continued classes in alternate locations, according to an update on St. Matthew’s website.
Generally, the diocesan profile is expected to be completed, approved by the Standing Committee, and published in early June. The transitions committee will review and vet potential nominees throughout the summer, conducting interviews, checking references, and selecting semi-finalists, who “will be invited to join us for a few days as we prayerfully get to know one another and discern together if the Holy Spirit is calling them to be a part of our slate,” Robertson said.
The final slate of candidates is expected to be presented in early September. There will be a time allotted for potential candidates to petition for inclusion on the slate.
“We really feel that is an important part to offer, at least to have as an option,” Robertson said. “The goal is to have a slate where everybody says, yes, we see our bishop in this slate.” Any additional candidates would be vetted, with an expected late October date for a series of meet-and-greet gatherings across the diocese for the candidates, she said. The election will be held during the Nov. 7 – 8 planned 130th annual meeting of the diocese in Riverside, with a consecration date set for July 11, 2026.
Taylor – who turns 72, the church’s mandatory retirement age, in October 2026 – will begin working with the bishop-elect in May 2026.
In response to questions, Robertson said she believes some of the planned gatherings with candidates will be held via Zoom. A $200,000 budget has been allocated for the search process while a separate budget is being developed for the 2026 consecration and investiture of the next bishop. Nomination of candidates from the floor of convention will not be permitted, she said.
New diocesan housing body discussed; Appeal ministry grant applications resume
Taylor told council of initial conversations about a new interdisciplinary body to streamline development of available church real estate for affordable housing and sustainability. The new body would enable the Rev. Michael Bell, director of housing and business development for Episcopal Communities and Services, to tap what Taylor has called the wisdom of the collective on a day-to-day basis, helping churches leverage their property in innovative ways.
“It would be an interlocking group involving folks working on housing at the Standing Committee, the Corporation of the Diocese, the Real Estate Task Force, the Finance Office, and the bishop’s office … so when the new bishop comes, the structure will be in place,” Taylor said.
Not all projects will fit the pattern of the already completed Santa Angelina housing at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Placentia and Orchard View Gardens at St. Joseph’s, Buena Park, or St. Ambrose Church in Claremont, which is planning a 60-unit senior residential community. That pattern involves incorporating a long-term ground lease offering a reliable flow of revenue to the host church.
The diocesan One Body & One Spirit appeal is once again offering grants for ministry projects in churches, schools and affiliated institutions according to guidelines set by the Corporation of the Diocese, while continuing to assist with fire relief for impacted churches, Taylor said. The deadline for the next round of ministry grant applications is May 1.
Additionally, the finance office is working on a consultancy to enable support for parish and mission congregations so audits may be completed “in an expeditious and affordable way, but also in a way that makes sure the diocese gets the information it needs when it does its audits about the financial condition, particularly of its missions, but also of parishes,” Taylor said.
Financial report: IRIS’ exciting news; MSF contributions
Tomat reported the “exciting news” that IRIS, the diocesan immigration and refugee service, has received two new contracts through the California Department of Social Services for Ukranians and Afghans, increasing the resettlement agency’s total award amount by more than $400,000.
IRIS received an increase in expected funding from the State of California to partially replace federally funded refugee resettlement programs – $895,200 for the Afghan Newcomers Support Program (ANSP) and $880,000 for the Ukrainian Newcomers Support Program (UNSP), Tomat told the News.
IRIS also experienced a higher-than-budgeted 2024 reimbursement income of $736,671 because of delayed January payments, Tomat reported. Since the State Department has officially terminated the refugee admissions program, such reimbursements have ended, he said. Overall, the diocese continues to operate on a break-even basis.
Past-due MSF assessment payments through Feb. 28 were about $292,587, slightly higher than the same period in 2024, largely “because we held off billing those churches most affected by the fires,” Tomat reported.
Standing Committee:
The Standing Committee accepted the recommendations of the Corporation of the Diocese to approve rental lease agreements for St. Andrew’s Church in Irvine and St. Francis’, Simi Valley. The committee also approved memoranda of understanding regarding shared use of A Child’s Garden School with Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel and expansion of a school at St. Mark’s, Van Nuys, and a feasibility study regarding the sale of the All Saints, Pasadena, rectory, according to the Rev. Kate Cress, Standing Committee president.
Episcopal Church Women
President Christine Budzowski reported that the diocesan Episcopal Church Women supported the Neighborhood Youth Association, an enrichment program for young people, with a $1,000 scholarship and is seeking other opportunities to support diocesan ministries. The diocesan Daughters of the King’s annual Spring Assembly, “Practicing Hope and Resiliency in Tough Times,” will be held online May 3.
Additionally, the Province 8 ECW is planning a gathering, “Acknowledging the Sacred Ones,” Sept. 26-28, 2025, at Fort Hall, Idaho, that will focus on raising awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Bishop’s Commission on Climate Change: Climate Kitchen Webinar April 24
The Rev. Tim Hartley, reporting for the Bishop’s Commission on Climate Change, invited all in the diocese to a new webinar series called Climate Kitchen, from 5 to 6 p.m., Thursday, April 24, in honor of Earth Day. Registration is available here.
It is a welcoming space for conversation for congregations that are forming green teams, becoming cooling centers, planting native gardens, removing single use plastic, learning to compost, digitizing Sunday bulletins and trying to improve their carbon footprint, as an opportunity to share information, Hartley said.
Diocesan Convention; diocesan youth
Secretary of Convention Canon Steve Nishibayashi told Council members “it is never too early to think about running for elective offices. Not only do we elect a new bishop coadjutor, but we will also be electing deputies to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, to be held in Phoenix in 2027. That seems like a long way off, but those things have to take place in a timely fashion.”
Canon for Common Life Bob Williams reported that the Neighborhood Youth Association, a 119-year-old diocesan institution specializing in college placement of students from low-income families, has raised $62,000 for annual scholarship awards, with new donations welcome. “All 12 of this year’s seniors have received multiple acceptances from various colleges and universities,” said Williams. One student, “Jessica … applied to 31 schools, and has been accepted by Wellesley, Vassar, four UC schools, and wait–listed at five other distinguished institutions. It gives a sense of the wonderful work NYA and its students are doing.”
Missy Morain, diocesan missioner for Christian formation, children and youth, thanked all who responded to a survey “to help us build the database of who is engaged in ministries with young people at each congregation. We are wondering what the community, what the Diocese of Los Angeles wants, needs, and wishes for, in regards to ministries with young people and formation so that we know how best to support you.”
Diocesan Council meets next at 4 p.m., Thursday, May 8 via Zoom.