The Diocese of Lexington has announced five nominees in the search for its seventh bishop:
- The Rev. Ronald Abrams, rector, St. James Parish, Wilmington, N.C. (Diocese of East Carolina)
- The Very Rev. Douglas Hahn, rector, St. Thomas Church, Columbus, Ga., and dean of the Chattahoochee Valley Convocation (Diocese of Atlanta)
- The Rt. Rev. Santosh Marray, bishop assisting, Diocese of East Carolina
- The Rev. LaRae Rutenbar, interim rector, St. Peter’s Church, Rome, Ga. (canonical residency in the Diocese of Western Michigan)
- The Rev. Nigel Taber-Hamilton, rector, St. Augustine’s-in-the-Woods, Freeland, Wash. (Diocese of Olympia)
The Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls, sixth Bishop of Lexington, became the chief operating officer of the Episcopal Church in September 2011. The election of his successor is scheduled for Aug. 18 at Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington.
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.
