The Diocese of Western Kansas has announced the election of the Rev. Mark Cowell as its sixth bishop on May 5.
Cowell is priest in charge of Holy Nativity, Kinsley, and vicar of Sts. Mary and Martha, Larned, KS. Cowell’s wife, Julie, is a district magistrate judge, and they are parents to three children: Gabriel, Cathleen, and Gryffin. The Cowell family has lived in Larned since 1996.
Cowell has served as a deputy to General Convention four times, and will lead the diocese’s deputation this summer.
The other two nominees were the Rev. Mary J. Korte, rector of St. Stephen’s, Wichita, and the Rev. Jonathan Singh, clinical manager of St. Leonard’s Hospice in York, England.
In his profile for the election, Cowell said he would continue serving both parishes if elected as bishop.
The diocese’s fifth bishop, the Rt. Rev. Michael P. Milliken, served in a dual role for three years. He stepped down as rector of Grace Church in Hutchinson at the end of 2014 to focus fully on his work as bishop.
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.
