The Diocese of Eau Claire has announced four self-nominated people in the search for its sixth bishop. In May the diocese invited clergy to self-nominate for the half-time position, which will involve overseeing 21 mostly rural congregations in northwestern Wisconsin.
A 15-member discernment committee has conducted phone interviews, reviewed background checks, held two discernment retreats and organized walkabout meetings for the week of Oct. 7.
The nominees are:
- The Rev. Robert Burton Clarke, priest in charge at Holy Apostles Church, Oneida, Wisconsin
- The Rev. Richard Edwin Craig III, former rector of St. John the Baptist Church, Portage, Wisconsin
- The Rev. Arthur B. Hancock, priest in charge at St. Andrew’s Church, Ashland, Wisconsin, until December 2011
- The Rev. W. Jay Lambert, rector of St. James Church, Leesburg, Florida
Eau Claire’s fifth bishop, the Rt. Rev. Keith Whitmore, resigned in 2008 to become assistant bishop in the Diocese of Atlanta. The Rt. Rev. Edwin M. Leidel, Jr., has served as Eau Claire’s elected provisional bishop since August 2010. The diocesan convention will elect the new bishop Nov. 9.
Image: Christ Church Cathedral, Eau Claire
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
