The Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, former chief operating officer at the Episcopal Church Center, no longer works there. Bishop Sauls oversaw the staff of the church center from 2011 until he was placed on administrative leave during a misconduct investigation in December 2015.
The status of his employment had been uncertain since April 4, when Presiding Bishop Michael Curry announced that Sauls would no longer serve as COO. Whether Sauls would be assigned to another position or leave the staff was not clear until Wednesday. Neva Rae Fox, officer of public affairs, said via email that Sauls no longer works at the church center.
Sauls did not respond to requests for comment about of the four-month misconduct investigation, which found he had not violated any workplace policies. The independent report also found he was unaware of the behavior that led to the April firings of deputy chief operating officer Sam McDonald and director of public engagement Alex Baumgarten. The church has not said what behavior led to the firings.
In his role as chief operating officer of the Domestic & Foreign Missionary Society, Sauls oversaw the work of national staff assigned to such areas as communications, youth ministry, and congregational development. In an April 4 statement, Curry said Sauls would not continue as COO because of “the needs for staff leadership in light of my priorities for the direction of the church.”
Sauls came to his position after an 11-year term as Bishop of Lexington. Before he was ordained to the priesthood in 1989 he worked as a corporate lawyer, including a role in the legal department of Delta Air Lines.
G. Jeffrey MacDonald is an award-winning religion reporter, United Church of Christ pastor, church consultant and author of Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving without Full-Time Clergy (WJK Press, 2020). His website is gjeffreymacdonald.com.
