Discernment process
[Office of Public Affairs Press Release] The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop (JNCPB) met January 9-11 in Phoenix, Arizona, to discern which bishops to invite to join them for an in-person meeting in March. The committee will announce its slate of nominees in the weeks following that meeting.
The committee spent its time considering the list of bishops it formed following the committee’s call for nominations from May 15 to July 15. During that time, 111 Episcopalians submitted bishops’ names.
The committee invited those bishops to enter the discernment process. Those who agreed to join the process provided biographical information, references, and written and video responses to several questions. Small groups of committee members interviewed each bishop via Zoom this past fall while other groups talked with each bishop’s references. All committee members viewed recordings of the bishops’ interviews and reviewed what each team learned when consulting the references.
The Rev’d Maureen-Elizabeth Hagen, a deacon who chairs the nominations subcommittee, noted: “The committee is grateful to the bishops who have joined us in discernment. We look forward to continuing to listen to the Holy Spirit with them.”
During their time together at the Hilton Phoenix Airport, committee members kept events in the church and the world in their prayers. They prayed for Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s continued healing and for the people of Ecuador as violence wracked that country. Committee member The Rev’d Diego Chinguá of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Ecuador updated his colleagues on events in that country.
Dr Steve Nishibayashi, a canon in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles who co-chairs the committee, said, “As we continue to discern which bishops to nominate for election as the next presiding bishop, we are focused on the state of the church and the world.”
The Episcopal Church’s Canon I.2.1(d) charges the committee to present a slate of no fewer than three nominees. The JNCPB will announce the names of its nominees in early spring. Then there will be a set period during which any deputy to the 81st General Convention or bishop may indicate an intent to nominate other bishops from the floor at convention. The committee will vet any such nominees with the same process it used for its nominees (Canon I.2.1(d)). The names of any additional nominees will be announced in early June 2024.
The Most Rev’d Michael Curry’s nine-year term as presiding bishop concludes October 31, 2024.
The JNCPB will present all the nominees to both houses of General Convention on Friday, June 21. Formal nomination of candidates will follow on Tuesday, June 25. Bishops will elect the next presiding bishop during a sequestered session on Wednesday, June 26. The House of Deputies will then be asked to vote to confirm or not confirm the election by the House of Bishops.
The committee began working together in the fall of 2021. View the committee roster.
For more information, contact the committee at pb28@episcopalchurch.org.
Follow the committee on the following social media sites:
Facebook: facebook.com/PB28Nominations
Twitter: twitter.com/PB28Nominations, @PB28Nominations
Instagram: instagram.com/pb28nominatingcommittee