By Kirk Petersen
Two dioceses have announced slates of candidates for bishop elections to be held in April.
The Diocese of Utah has announced three candidates to become the XII Bishop of Utah. They are:
- The Rev. Cn. Dr. Rob Droste, who has served as canon for congregational development and mission in the Diocese of New Jersey since 2014;
- The Rev. Phyllis A. Spiegel, rector of St. Anne Episcopal Church in West Chester, Ohio, since 2015; and
- The Rev. Canon Janet C. Waggoner, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of North Texas (formerly the Diocese of Fort Worth) since 2013.
An electing convention will be held April 30, and the successful candidate is scheduled to be consecrated as Bishop of Utah on September 17. The new bishop will succeed the Rt. Rev. Scott B. Hayashi, who has served since 2010.
The Diocese of Southwest Florida is electing a bishop coadjutor. Four candidates have been nominated:
- The Rev. Thomas P. Reeder, rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, since 2018;
- The Very Rev. Dr. Douglas F. Scharf, rector of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church & School in Tequesta, Florida, since 2017;
- The Rev. Timothy E. Schenck, rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Massachusetts, since 2009; and
- The Rev. Canon C. John Thompson-Quartey, canon for ministry development & congregational vitality in the Diocese of Atlanta since 2014.
An electing convention will be held April 2, and the successful candidate is scheduled to be consecrated bishop coadjutor on September 24. The coadjutor will work with the Rt. Rev. Dabney Smith, who has been the V Bishop of Southwest Florida since 2007, until Smith’s retirement, at which time the coadjutor automatically will become bishop diocesan. Smith, 68, has not announced a retirement date. He will reach the mandatory retirement age of 72 in December 2025.
Bishops Hayashi and Smith both serve on the 40-member Executive Council, essentially the board of directors of the Episcopal Church. Hayashi’s term expires in 2024, and Smith’s term expires at the end of the “2021” General Convention, scheduled for July 2022.
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.
