The Rev. Betsey Monnot, a parish priest and church consultant from Northern California, was elected as the X Bishop of Iowa at a special convention held on July 31 in Des Moines. Monnot, 54, was elected on the third ballot from a slate of three women candidates, and will be the first woman to serve as Iowa’s bishop since the diocese was founded in 1853.
“I am beyond excited to be your new bishop-elect! My heart is full. Thank you so much for your confidence in me. I look forward to our ministry together as we follow God’s call into the future that God dreams of for the Episcopal Church in Iowa,” Monnot said to members of the diocese in an address via Zoom shortly after being notified of her election.
Monnot is currently serving as priest in charge of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Rancho Cordova, California, and is also the director of Called to Abundant Life, a church consulting and leadership coaching organization. A graduate of Church Divinity School of the Pacific, she was ordained in the Diocese of El Camino Real, and more recently served for three years as the Diocese of Northern California’s missioner for leadership development and networking. She also served as co-rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Sacramento with her husband, the Rev. Michael Monnot. The Monnots have three sons.
Provided she receives the necessary consents from diocesan bishops and standing committees, Monnot will be consecrated on December 18 at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will be the chief consecrator. Monnot will succeed the Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, who has served as Iowa’s bishop since 2002.
The Rev. Mark Michael is editor-in-chief of The Living Church. An Episcopal priest, he has reported widely on global Anglicanism, and also writes about church history, liturgy, and pastoral ministry.
