The Rev. Dr. Glenda Curry was elected bishop coadjutor on the second ballot on January 18, 2020, and assuming she receives the necessary consents from bishops and standing committees, she will become the XII Bishop of Alabama upon the retirement of the Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan at the end of 2020. Sloan has served as bishop diocesan since 2012, and before that as bishop suffragan since 2008.
Curry is scheduled to be consecrated a bishop on June 27, 2020, at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, which is also where the election was held. The chief consecrator will be another bishop named Curry, Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry (no known relation).
Glenda Curry, who will become the first woman to serve as a bishop in the Diocese of Alabama, currently serves as the rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Birmingham. She is a 2002 seminary graduate of University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and before ordination served as president of Troy State University in Montgomery, Alabama.
The other candidates for bishop were:
- The Rev. Evan D. Garner, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas;
- The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles, priest-in-charge at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Hurst, Texas; and
- The Rev. Aaron D. Raulerson, rector of the Church of the Epiphany, Guntersville, Alabama.
When a bishop is elected from outside the diocese, which is often the case, the candidate typically greets and thanks the convention via video linkup. Bishop-elect Curry’s church is less than five miles from the election site, and she was able to address the gathering in person.
“I’m overwhelmed and I’m humbled,” she said. “I know that we can do whatever God points us to do, with God’s help. And that’s what I’m going to count on, your help and God’s help.â€
Curry is married to Dr. William Curry, a medical professor at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, and they have two adult children.
Kirk Petersen began reporting news for TLC as a freelancer in 2016, and was Associate Editor from 2019 to 2024, focusing especially on matters of governance in the Episcopal Church.
