The Diocese of San Diego needed only one ballot to elect the Rev. Canon Susan Brown Snook as its fifth bishop on Feb. 2.
Since 2017, Snook has served as canon for church growth and development in the Diocese of Oklahoma.
The electing convention met at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Poway.
Canon Snook was the sole nominee by the diocese’s Nominating Committee and Standing Committee. During the petition period, the diocese added two nominees: the Rev. Roy E. Hoffman, chaplain in residence at St. Peter’s, Del Mar, and senior chaplain at Naval Base San Diego; and the Rev. Michael S. Tinnon, interim rector of St. David’s, San Diego.
The diocese said that Snook won 71 votes among 128 lay delegates and 54 votes among 85 clergy.
“I am delighted at Susan’s election, and believe that the delegates to this convention have discerned her particular gifts to be best aligned with the direction in which the Diocese of San Diego is already moving,” said the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Assisting Bishop of San Diego, in a report by the diocese. “I give thanks for the election of Susan and pray that she will faithfully lead this diocese toward the fullness of God’s dream for many years to come.”
The Rt. Rev. Edward J. Konieczny, Bishop of Oklahoma, quickly offered his congratulations: “During Susan’s time in Oklahoma, she has furthered growth and transformation in our diocese in ways that I know will continue to bear fruit. Please keep Susan, her family, and the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego in your prayers as they embark on this transition and begin this new season of ministry.”
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.
