Our hope in putting together this profile is that we can share who we are and how we sense God is leading us at this time. We pray that we can be honest and transparent in our articulation, believing that discernment is best based on realities, rather than solely on aspirations. If we can be selfreflective and honest about who we are and you can be self-reflective and honest about who you are, then together we can discern God’s call.
Over Bishop Fisher’s tenure we have been grown into a diocese that is not afraid of things, that experiments, and that is creative and deeply committed to social justice. As we look to our future, we hope to build on these strengths, undergirding them with the adaptive and strategic thinking and skills that can lead us to continued success in our ministry.
Our diocese is both known as a place where the clergy are connected and collegial, and at the same time a place where many of our parishioners report feeling “distant” from other churches, disconnection between the corridors, and disconnection from the diocesan staff. Our churches each have their own personality, and we are bound together by the fact that every one of our churches is known in their local community for Jesus’ ministry of justice and mercy.
In this profile you will journey through our history with us, as we believe it is important to explore our past in order to understand our present and live into our future. We will share with you who we are today, sharing some of the ministries we are committed to as a diocese. Building on who we are today, we will move into our shared vision for the future, looking honestly at our strengths and weaknesses and listening to how the Spirit is leading us. And finally, we have done our best to articulate qualities and skills for the leader we are seeking, with open hearts and minds to how we are all being led.
This profile was put together by our Search Committee, which is made up of twelve people, six lay and six clergy, from across our diocese. We conducted more than 20 listening sessions with laypeople and clergy, and we heard from an additional 50 people through an online survey. We also ensured that there were sessions in both English and Spanish and that all of our materials were likewise presented bilingually. While the Listening Subcommittee sought input from all areas and
demographics of our diocese, we paid special attention to those who have been historically marginalized within these conversations in order to more clearly hear the voice of God through a diverse group of people.
Our prayer is that you join us in a process of discernment, prayerfully engaging with the words and stories we have gathered here, as we together discover who is called to be our 10th bishop.
With prayerful hope,
The Search Committee, on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts
Understanding Our Past
In 1929 Christ Church in Springfield became our diocesan cathedral. The diocese began increasing its missions and parishes, staying resilient while simultaneously adapting to the dynamic changes and tumultuous events that ensued in the 20th century, including World War I, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War.
In 1976, the General Convention approved the ordination of women to the priesthood. The Rev. Noreen Suriner was the first woman to be ordained in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts in March of 1977 at age 29. In February of 1978, the Rev. Susan Crampton was ordained as priest at Grace Church, Amherst, before becoming the first female rector called in our diocese, serving at St. John’s, Ashfield.
We have been graced by the leadership of many bishops throughout our history, which you can read about in detail online at this link: Our History. In more recent years, we remember the shift in the diocese when Bishop Robert Denig was elected in 1993 and there was excitement around taking the church in a more expansive and progressive direction. In particular, he wanted youth to participate in ministry, churches to be “safe,” and to increase the diocese’s Hispanic ministry. Bishop Denig’s episcopate was cut short due to his unexpected death from brain cancer in 1995.
In a diocese reeling from Bishop Denig’s sudden death and struggling from the lack of leadership during the unexpected transition, Bishop Gordon Scruton was elected from the floor of Diocesan Convention. Though there was a solid slate of candidates, the delegates felt moved to elect someone from within the diocese who was known and trusted to shepherd them through this difficult time.
Understanding Our Past
Bishop Scruton brought his faith and commitment to prayer to the office and led the diocese through a process of healing as well as greater administrative health. He was committed to implementing Safe Church practices in our diocese and bringing accountability and healing where there were abuses of power. During this time we also experienced fractures in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion over the topic of human sexuality. We worked our way through theological differences with hard work, dialogue, and prayer.
During this time there was a focus on parish renewal, and new canons were developed that were aimed at providing some structure in parish interventions. New churches were planted, such as Southwick Community Episcopal, and when continued ministry was no longer viable, such as for Camp Bement, Bishop Scruton helped lead through the endings of ministries.
As Bishop Scruton prepared to retire in 2012, members of our diocese were eager to begin addressing ways the church needed to change to meet our changing and shifting landscape; to address social justice issues; to be creative, resourceful, and try new things; to diversify the clergy; and to approach our work together as a team of clergy, laity, and bishop.
Bishop Douglas Fisher was welcomed as our 9th bishop in 2012 and has provided forward-looking and steady leadership to our diocese over his tenure. He has led us to open our hearts and our churches to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with [y]our God” (Micah 6:8). He has helped us embrace hope and justice, from one of his first acts as bishop in codifying the ability for clergy and churches to bless same-sex unions, to encouraging the starting and supporting of numerous ministries reaching out to those in need in our communities. With the direction of Bishop Fisher, we have planted and nurtured many seeds, developed ministries, and co-partnered with other denominations to live in love to address global, cultural, and societal issues we believe we are called to change by the Holy Spirit. You can learn more about Bishop Fisher’s ministry here.
In the last decade we have joined with the Episcopal Church as a whole to look at our history and particularly the strands where the church and the oppression of people are intertwined. Many of our congregations began participating in Sacred Ground circles when they were first created. During that time, the Beloved Community Commission was born out of our Social Justice Commission in order to guide the diocese in the work of racial justice, reconciliation, and repair.
Who We Are Today
We are blessed to follow Jesus’ mission of mercy, compassion, and hope in this beautiful part of the Commonwealth. Our diocese starts just west of the Boston suburbs and encompasses central and western Massachusetts as it stretches to the New York border. (To learn more about our region: livewesternmass.com) We are 50 congregations and community-based ministries serving God’s people in three corridors: Worcester County, the Pioneer Valley, and the Berkshires. Our diocese is further delineated through our five deaneries, with clericus groups within our deaneries that regularly gather for connection and collaboration, as does our Community of Deacons. We have a mixture of small, medium, and larger parishes, both rural and urban. Our churches are experiencing the same joys and challenges of churches across the denomination.
Who We Are Today
We could go on for pages about all our different parishes and the ministry they are doing. Instead, we are going to highlight a few...
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church - Historically Black Church
St. Peter’s in Springfield is a multiracial and multicultural congregation that worships in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. The community seeks to embody and witness to our shared belief in the dignity of all human beings through their rich outreach programs, including Girls’ Friendly Society, which organizes fundraising and outreach ministries such as Toiletries for Homeless; Mothers’ Union, who organize special events and activities that foster community, including their presence at the Annual Caribbean Festival each year; and the Bishop’s Charter of Daughters of the King, which comprises women from nearby parishes. These members have made vows of prayer, service, and evangelism, and carry out their vows with individual daily prayer, regular meetings, and service projects.
Ministerios Hispanos / Latino/Hispanic Ministries
Over the last decade our Ministerios Hispanos, or Latino/Hispanic ministries, have grown leaps and bounds. Our Misionero para Ministerios Latinos/Hispanos has led our diocese through the process of planting and strengthening three new communities, each being led by committed Latino clergy and lay leaders. Most recently, the former Misionero has been called to serve as the new Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, and the Misionero position will continue under new leadership. The Latino community in Worcester found a home at St. Mark’s and the community became one, St. Mark’s / San Marcos. This “marriage made in heaven”, as one parishioner put it, has brought a breath of fresh air and new energy to the community, allowing them to more thoroughly engage in outreach ministries in
the neighborhood. The Hispanic community at St. Paul’s in Holyoke has and continues to breathe new life into the parish and the Holyoke community and strengthen neighborhood connections. The parish has grown and added an additional Sunday evening Misa en Español and hosts a Hispanic Heritage festival each year that is beloved by the community.
Who We Are Today
Outdoor Worshipping Communities
Our diocese has a strong record of meeting the most vulnerable in our communities in a variety of outdoor worship services and gatherings. In our diocese there are four outdoor ministries that regularly gather, and others that our congregations engage with and support. Like traditional congregations, each one of these ministries has unique ways of being, while the core tenet remains: to be present and come alongside those who are experiencing homelessness or find themselves on the margins of society. These communities meet basic needs and provide vital companionship to many who lack other networks of support. Shared ecumenically, these ministries embody the very best of what it looks like when we honor the dignity of every human being and love our neighbors as One Body. Weekly embodiments of our churches’ public witness, they proclaim a theology of love, radical welcome, and grace that all passersby can hear.
Lutheran/ Episcopal Churches
Three of our churches are combined Lutheran/Episcopal Churches, and we are grateful for the growing mutuality between our denominations. We also regularly partner with the United Church of Christ (UCC) churches and Interfaith Councils in our communities. One such example is Christ Trinity, an Episcopal and Lutheran worshipping congregation in Sheffield, which partners with the local UCC church to offer an Appalachian Trail ministry. Their rector also serves as the Officer for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for our diocese.
Who We Are Today
Saints James and Andrew Greenfield
The Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew is located in Greenfield, MA. We are a faith community that strives to provide physical, intellectual, and spiritual nourishment to our members and to our surrounding community. Jesus is our model for a life of faith, compassion, hospitality, and service.
St. Stephen’s Westborough
St. Stephen’s is a loving, caring community currently in collaboration with a neighboring parish in the Diocese of Massachusetts. We have a strong outreach program, operate an onsite thrift shop, and are strong supporters of the local food pantry. Our liturgy is important to us and is reinforced by strong, inspiring clergy leadership, a faithful choir, and regular scripture study. We are slowly growing in Sunday attendance as we encourage others to “Walk with Christ and share the journey.”
St. Philip’s Easthampton
In the last three years, as a sign of post-Covid resilience, St. Philip’s, Easthampton, has broken through its history of simply surviving to enter into a capacity for “new life”. The challenge of this transition requires learning how to move beyond the habit of “surviving” to accept the invitation and responsibilities to “thrive.”
Christ Trinity Sheffield
Christ Trinity is a Lutherpalian congregation that takes the gospel, kindness, compassion, and service very seriously even while taking ourselves not so seriously at all. We plant “corners of kindness” in creative and often unexpected places. We laugh easily, embrace joy, and deeply care for one another and our neighbors.
Who We Are Today
Ministries of our Diocese
Commission on Ministry
The Commission on Ministry (COM) is made up of deacons, priests, and laity. They assist the bishop in determining present and future needs for ministry in the diocese and in enlisting and selecting persons for Holy Orders. COM interviews people who are feeling called to a specific ministry. Each member is assigned as a shepherd to a person as they make their way through the discernment process, offering prayer and encouragement and answering any questions that may arise. The COM also affirms lay ministries and offers resources for training purposes.
Loving the Questions Discernment Experience
Loving the Questions discernment experience is one of our primary tools for helping people in discernment, and is now being utilized by some of our neighboring dioceses. This is a community of contemplation and discernment that honors the Spirit’s unique call from God to each person. Each year new gatherings come together and learn to prayerfully listen to God in the presence of and through community, gain clarity about our unique calling and gifts, and identify support in terms of people and tools necessary for fulfilling our calling. For those discerning Holy Orders, an additional 4-5 meetings are held with the diocesan sponsored discernment group.
Community of Deacons
One of Bishop Fisher’s commitments was to grow the diaconal ministry in our diocese, and that has happened in powerful and beautiful ways. The Community of Deacons is a group of prayerful, Spiritled, hard-working people answering God’s call to a ministry of service. We now have 15 vocational deacons, including an archdeacon. Our deacons serve in a variety of ministries, such as: outdoor churches, mental health, suicide prevention, daily online reflections, Laundry Love, ministry to people without housing, refugee resettlement, drop-in centers for the housing-insecure, hospice chaplaincy, leading Spanish worship, feeding the hungry, LGBTQ+ youth, prison ministry, and more.
We have an annual “Deacon Crawl” Sunday where each deacon visits a different church than their usual one. Special attention is given to parishes that don’t have a deacon or who haven’t had a deacon in a long time. With the invitation of the priest, they preach or lead an adult formation session explaining the diaconate.
Who We Are Today
The Province I School for Deacons educates and forms deacons in New England. It is a robust twoyear program led by a priest and a deacon. Much of the study is online with professors who are experts in their field, with four in-person weekends each year. When asked what the best parts of the school are, students answered, “high-quality professors,” as well as the community connections that are formed, which last a lifetime.
Young Adult & Campus Ministry
Our diocese has an active and committed Young Adult Ministry Network. This ministry is a collaboration of young adults aged 18-40 and those who minister alongside them. Members gather regularly to build community through prayer, board games, day trips, and an annual Lenten retreat day.
All Saints’ in South Hadley sponsors an Episcopal Service Corps experience, the Lawrence House Service Corps. This faith-based residential internship program for young adults aged 21-31 is an intentional, progressive Christian community. Interns are assigned placements working with inner-city youth, addressing housing insecurity, ministering in an interfaith campus context, supporting immigrants seeking sanctuary, and more.
With approximately 30 colleges and universities within the diocese, there is a strong desire from many young Episcopalians and parishes to engage more fully in campus ministry. There are a few parishes engaging with neighboring schools, but there is not currently a focused effort at the diocesan level.
Who We Are Today
Human to Human
In response to the desire to address direct ministries of mercy on the ground, in 2019 we launched Human to Human as a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. This organization is committed to resourcing emerging frontline ministries within and beyond the walls of our churches. This organization supports a number of diocesan efforts, such as our prison chaplaincy program, Building Bridges, Laundry Love, Lydia’s Closet, and Marie’s Mission.
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention are growing concerns within our culture, and we have been working on ways for the church to be active in addressing these needs. Bishop Fisher appointed a short-term commission that gathered resources, spread awareness of mental health and substance abuse support, established liturgy to encourage mental health awareness, and laid the foundation for future work. Our diocese is also increasing the number of our clergy and lay people who are trained in mental health first aid and are committed to continuing in the work of wellbeing for all.
Music
Music is a major cornerstone for worship, community, and experiencing the Holy Spirit. Music takes on a diversity of forms in different parishes throughout our diocese, with everything from formal choirs accompanied by professional organists to pick-up ensembles of dedicated community musicians and even unaccompanied monastic and Taizé-style chants. A member of a parish choir in our diocese emphasized that music ministry has “given me some of the most important friendships and communities in my life, who have made me feel safe to be who I am; it has given me a focus for worship in these times of constant distraction and short attention spans; and it has unquestionably brought me closer to the Gospel and to God.”
Who We Are Today
Parish Ministries of Companionship & Mercy
Many of our parishes offer feeding ministries that address food insecurity and build community in their local contexts. Gideon’s Garden in Great Barrington is a youth-operated farm that has been growing fresh produce for food pantries since 2008. Parishes support those who are living outdoors through companioning ministries and donations of tents and sleeping bags, and the Church of the Reconciliation, Webster, offers shelter through a sober house. Parishes also partner with other agencies to support undocumented, refugee, and immigrant neighbors. Many of our parishes actively support transgender and gender-diverse individuals, and continue to support the LGBTQ+ community. To learn more about our many offerings at the local level, please see our Episcopal Asset Map
In 2014, Ashanti Mampong Diocese in Ghana became our companion diocese. Under the leadership of Bishop Fisher and the Rev. Betsy Fisher, our diocese developed a “Change the Babies” ministry to raise money for the Babies Home in Mampong, Ghana. As a parish, Grace Church, Amherst, is part of a companioning relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. Grace, along with St. James’ Church in Indian Head, Maryland, also supports St. Matthieu’s, a rural primary school in Bayonnais, Haiti.
Global Mission
Who We Are Today
We asked what words came to mind when people thought of our diocese.
Here is what we heard...
Our Shared Future
Strengths and Challenges
In our listening sessions and in our shared discernment as a Search Committee, we have been striving to listen with open hearts and minds to both our strengths and our challenges as we prepare for our next season together.
Strengths
Collegiality
We are a collegial diocese and, at the risk of sounding corny, we really like each other. We see this particularly among the clergy, who generally look forward to clergy days and retreats, finding solidarity and support with one another. This mutual care is experienced at a diocesan level as well, with the staff at the bishop’s office knowing and caring about the lives of the clergy and our congregations.
Diversity of Leadership
Bishop Fisher’s commitment to diversifying our diocese has helped us to grow in ways we couldn’t have imagined and has fostered a culture of collegiality where we know we’re in this together. During the last episcopate we witnessed and celebrated a noticeable increase in the diversity of our clergy. We have significantly more clergy who are women, as well as an increased number of LGBTQ+ clergy, compared to a decade ago.
Having a more diverse clergy opens the door to engaging with a larger variety of people in our communities. We continue to pay attention to ways that we can expand the diversity of people in our congregations and leading our churches as we long to reflect God’s beloved community.
Our clergy strive to be spiritually grounded and care for each other and are able to be vulnerable with each other. It is a treasure, and we are grateful for diocesan leadership that supports and nurtures this kind of mutuality and care.
Our Shared Future
Restructuring and Resourcing Local Parishes
We have also heard a desire for more grants and funding that can flow down into congregations and community-based ministries, as well as more intentional allocation of funds for parish outreach ministries. We particularly want to grow in our attentiveness to resourcing ministries and parishes that experience more systemic oppression than others and look for ways to bring greater equity and care to all our communities.
The Changing Church
In some listening sessions, ideas came up about possible radical restructuring of our diocesan offices (structure, function, location, etc.) to build more connected relationships with parishes and ministries.
While certainly not unique to Western Massachusetts, the reality looms large that many of our congregations are shrinking and we are struggling to find clergy, with more and more of our parishes having part-time positions for both clerical and lay staff. We celebrate the successful congregational mergers, and in our future we need to collectively come together to proactively and creatively discover how we might continue in our ministry in new ways and explore how we might reorganize and restructure our ministries to strengthen them. We also need to invest more energy in ongoing training, coaching, and support for our lay worship leaders and preachers, as they routinely take on more leadership in worship. There are many seeds planted, and our future bishop will need to be prepared to nurture and care for what comes next.
As part of coming to terms with our reality and looking to our future, we believe that a leader who will bring greater collaboration, strategic vision, the equipping of lay leaders, and the discovery what ministry is going to look like in the next decade will be necessary.
Our Shared Future
A Vision for the Future
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19
In a world shaped by polycrisis, God is calling us to wake up from survival mode and step into a new ontology of creating the world we long for together.
We believe in the good news of Jesus. We believe in the people who are seeking to follow the way of Jesus here in Western Massachusetts. We believe in a steadfast God who leads and provides for her church. What we believe we need going forward is to come together, under the leadership of our bishop, to clearly discern and name our challenges, gain clarity on our vision for the future, and then equip and resource ourselves in order to live it out.
The Diocese Going Forward
We need our next leader to be a Strategic Integrator
None of us know what the future holds; we live in an uncertain and tumultuous world. As such, we believe we need to find shared clarity on our mission and values, tighten up our processes and systems so they can withstand the shocks that are coming, and become better equipped to respond nimbly to the needs as they arise.
While we are acutely aware that making a firm/concrete 10-year strategic plan is not feasible in this current global context, we’re also convinced that to live in a reactive mode is profoundly unsustainable. To move forward in this next season in our diocese, we need a leader who is ready to help us make courageous decisions about who we are and how we use our resources. We need to be collectively committed to asking a different set of questions, such as: “What systems have we assumed will be there forever and ever? How might we be asked to do things in radical new ways? How can we draw on the rich foundation of our tradition, and live it out in the current context of today? What does it look like to be faithful in this generation?”
Our Shared Future
Time to Train and Support Lay Leaders
We see many of our smaller parishes realistically having part-time clergy, and therefore needing more training and support for our lay leaders. The same need is present in our parishes that are larger and growing, as clergy are overfunctioning and need to create more of a team model. In both cases, we need to discern what is realistic and “right-sized,” leading us to ask: What does an empowered and collaborative group of clergy and lay leaders look like? What does it mean to be sustainable in the long term?
Nourishing and Empowering Our Clergy to Be Adaptive, Resilient Leaders
As has been noted before, our clergy share in mutual collegiality and care. As we continue to discern what it means to be the church in this current context, our clergy need ways to continue to learn and grow together to meet this moment.
There is much for us to do at the local and diocesan levels. Our lay and clergy leaders, along with our new bishop, have important work to do that will need to be focused. We want our leaders to be passionately committed and equipped for ministry, while also being encouraged to embrace the Sabbath. Jesus modeled this for us again and again whenever he would go off for prayer, rest, and renewal. As we look to the future, we hope to avoid burnout by being intentional in our Sabbath practice and finding ways to collectively support one another in it. We can grow in our systems, coaching, and support for greater collaboration and training in order to continue to show up for our parishes, and we need greater support in systems for clergy to have consistent rest, renewal, nurture, and care.
We look forward to discovering how to right-size our ministry models in a way that is both financially sustainable for our parishes and humanly sustainable for our people.
The Leader We Are Seeking
We hope that in reading our profile so far, you have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit stirring as you wonder if this is a time and a place you are called to lead. While we know no one leader has every quality, we have tried to lift up qualities that we are particularly seeking so as to aid in our mutual discernment.
Our pastoral need is to have a strong and prophetic leader who will strategically equip and mobilize us for mission and ministry.
We seek a bold leader, unafraid to prayerfully lead us in discerning and living into a strategic vision, and helping us to let go of what is no longer serving and focus our resources into the essential ministry we have in front of us for the next decade. We will need a bishop who is willing to be courageous and make tough decisions for the future.
We seek a deeply faithful leader, grounded in their own belovedness as a child of God, and through whom that love flows out. We know you are human and we will share in our foibles together. We seek someone whose own love of our Loving God and God’s people is palpable and infectious. We hope for faithful flexibility, rooted in the traditions of the Church while receptive to the expanding liturgical needs of our parishes.
We seek a strategic and collaborative leader who can help us to collectively clarify what we are being called to do and then realign our diocesan resources and staffing to equip us all for the ministry ahead. With the right person at the helm, someone who has strong organizational skills and is wellbalanced in administration and social justice, we believe there is no limit to all we can be and do to further the way of love and justice and peace in our region.
We seek a kind and wise pastor. A pastor who will think creatively about how to ensure our clergy, who provide pastoral care for the lay leaders in their communities, also have a place to be the recipients of pastoral care. A pastor who will be present to all whom they encounter and lead both in word and deed to the dignity and care of all people.
How to Apply
Thank you for taking the time to read through our profile and begin getting to know us. If you felt the Holy Spirit tugging on your heart and stirring up your curiosity, we invite you to prayerfully consider applying. In doing so, you are saying “Yes” to walking with us during a season of discernment. We are praying for you, and we ask that you pray for us as we discover together.
Please submit the following items as part of the online application, by 11:59 p.m. on May 20, 2025
● The application
● Letter of Introduction
● Office of Transition Ministry Profile
● Resume (listing all employment)
● A link to a video sermon
● Example of a pastoral letter in response to a local or world event
● Contact information for three references
● A letter of reference from your ecclesiastical authority
● Links to any public social media accounts
● Responses to the following questions (no more than 500 words per essay question):
● A wise priest once said, “The best thing you can ever do for your ministry is have a life outside the Church.” Tell us about your support network and what is especially lifegiving in your life outside the Church. What does your daily prayer life look like? What sustains you in your relationship with God?
● In the bishop’s ordination vows the candidate is asked: “Will you boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of your people?” How do you interpret the Gospel? How are you living out this charge in your current life and ministry?
● Our pastoral need is to have a strong and prophetic leader who will strategically equip and mobilize us for mission and ministry. Describe a time that you equipped and mobilized people for a particular ministry.
● In your current ministry context, how are you collaborating with others to foster multicultural or multilingual ministry?
● Tell us why you feel persuaded to serve as Bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts during this particular time and season in our life together
How to Apply
Please note that the answers to these five essay questions will be published for the final slate of candidates.
Please write your responses in a Word or Google Document first and then paste them into the online application once you have finished all of the pieces. All application materials must be submitted on the Google Form by 11:59 p.m. on May 20, 2025. Questions? Contact us at wmabishopsearch@ gmail.com
Having explored our profile, if there is someone you feel might be called to serve as the next Bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, please send them this profile and application for selfnomination.
Timeline
Profile Released April 21, 2025
Nominations Close
May 20, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
Zoom Interviews May 21-June 12, 2025
Discernment Retreat September 11-14, 2025
Slate Announced; September 22, 2025
Petition Process Begins
Finalists Announced November 3, 2025 (tentative)
Slate + Petition
Diocesan Meet and Greet November 3-8, 2025 (tentative)
Electing Convention November 14-15, 2025
Consecration April 2026
The Search Committee offers their thanks for those who submitted and gave permission to print photos, especially The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, Christ Trinity-Sheffield, St. Phillip’sEasthampton, Ministerio Hispano, Jane Griesbach, Jason Blais, Caleb Ireland, and Vicki Ix. We also offer our thanks to the Diocese of Long Island, whose prayer for candidates was modified and adapted.
Prayer for the Candidates
Almighty God, giver of every good gift and source of all wisdom and understanding, open the minds and hearts of those who read this profile as we search for a new Bishop of Western Massachusetts.
We pray for those who offer themselves as candidates in this process, and that you will grant them wisdom and discernment. Be with them in this time of tenderness and exploration, and allow this season to bless their ministry.
Kindle within them a spirit of revelation and knowledge of your will, that they will feel drawn to care for all your people and equip us for our ministries through Jesus Christ our Lord.
