El Camino Real: Lucinda Beth Ashby was ordained and consecrated on Jan. 11 as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real, in a ceremony at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga, California. Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry was chief consecrator.
Ashby had been canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Idaho since 2011. She succeeds the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, who served as bishop since 2007. Gray-Reeves has been named managing director of the College for Bishops, a virtual college that provides formation and educational opportunities for bishops, from consecration through retirement.
Ashby is at center in the photo above, taken at the consecration. Gray-Reeves is at left, and at right is former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who consecrated Gray-Reeves in 2007.
Minnesota: The Episcopal Church in Minnesota has announced that three additional candidates have joined the slate by petition in the diocese’s search for the X Bishop of Minnesota. The three new candidates are:
- The Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer, rector, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Chicago, Illinois
- The Rev. Robert Two Bulls, vicar, All Saints Indian Mission, Minneapolis, Minnesota; missioner for the diocese’s Department of Indian Work and Multicultural Ministries
- The Rev. Erika von Haaren, vicar/COO, Saint Barnabas on the Desert, Scottsdale, Arizona.
They join the two candidates that were announced in December by the Search Committee:
- The Rev. Abbott Bailey, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of California.
- The Very Rev. Craig Loya, dean, Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska.
A special electing convention is planned for January 25, with consecration of the new bishop scheduled for June 6.
Chicago: The Diocese of Chicago has concluded the application process in its search for the XIII Bishop of Chicago, who will succeed the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Lee, who is retiring in August after serving since 2008. The Standing Committee expects to announce a slate of candidates in the spring, and the electing convention will be held June 20 at St. James Cathedral in Chicago. Consecration of the new bishop is expected in January 2021.
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.
