Montana: The Rt. Rev. Martha (Marty) Stebbins became the first female bishop in the 152-year history of the Episcopal Diocese of Montana and the 100th female bishop in the Anglican Communion when she was consecrated on Dec. 7 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Helena.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, who ordained Stebbins to the diaconate during his North Carolina episcopate, was the chief consecrator. Stebbins was formally seated at St. Peter’s Episcopal Cathedral the next day. She succeeds the IX Bishop of Montana, Charles Franklin Brookhart Jr., who retired in November 2018. The Standing Committee exercised authority over the diocese until Stebbins was consecrated.
Stebbins is both a priest and a scientist. She served St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Wilson, North Carolina, for more than nine years before being elected Bishop of Montana by a special convention on July 26 in Bozeman. Before receiving her divinity degree in 2005, she earned a doctorate in veterinary bacteriology from North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she has been an adjunct professor of veterinary medicine. She is married to Bob Gruidier.
Southern Virginia: Bishop-Elect Susan B. Haynes has received the required majority of consents from bishops and standing committees, and will be consecrated the XI Bishop of Southern Virginia on February 1, 2020. She was elected on September 21, 2019.
She succeeds the Rt. Rev. Herman Hollerith IV, who retired at the end of 2018. The Rt. Rev. James Magness, the retired suffragan bishop of the armed forces and federal ministries, has been serving as bishop pro tempore since Hollerith’s retirement.
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.
