Pittsburgh
The Rt. Rev. Dorsey W.M. McConnell announced on December 4 his intention to retire as the VIII Bishop of Pittsburgh. He set his retirement date as April 24, 2021, when the next bishop is scheduled to be consecrated.
In a letter to the diocese McConnell, who has served since 2012, noted that he is 66 years old. “We have built a beautiful vision together, and you will need a leader who will have the energy and stamina to carry it forward over the next several years,” he wrote.
McConnell has overseen a diocese that was torn asunder by the broader church’s conflict over human sexuality. In 2008, former Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert Duncan was deposed, or removed from ordained ministry, on charges of “abandoning the communion of the Episcopal Church.” He went on to be the first archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America.
Of the five dioceses where bishops led large portions of their flocks out of the Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh has perhaps made the most progress in reconciliation. In 2018, TLC reported: “The Episcopal diocese and nine congregations of the Anglican diocese announced on Feb. 28 “a distinctively Christian compromise resolution” in which the Anglican congregations will retain the ownership and use of their church buildings, while paying an annual assessment to the Episcopal diocese.”
Alabama
Two women and a man have been nominated as candidates to become the XII Bishop of Alabama:
- The Rev. Glenda Curry, rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama;
- The Rev. Evan D. Garner, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas; and
- The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles, priest-in-charge at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Hurst, Texas.
Election is scheduled for January 18, and consecration for June 27, 2020. The winning candidate will succeed the Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan, who was elected bishop suffragan in 2008 and bishop diocesan in 2011.
Minnesota
The Episcopal Church in Minnesota has announced two candidates for the position of X Bishop of Minnesota:
- The Rev. Canon Abbott Bailey, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of California; and
- The Very Rev. Craig Loya, dean of Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska.
Election is scheduled for January 25, and consecration for June 6, 2020. The successful candidate will succeed the Rt. Rev. Brian N. Prior, who has served as Bishop of Minnesota since 2010.
Taiwan
The Episcopal Diocese of Taiwan has received notification that Bishop-Elect Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang has received the required majority of consents from bishops diocesan and standing committees. He was elected on August 3, 2019, and will be consecrated as Bishop of Taiwan on February 22, 2020, succeeding the Rt. Rev. David J.H. Lai, who has served since 2001.
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.