A Letter from Bishop McConnell
January 8, 2021
Dear friends in Christ,
This year is a year of hope. We look forward to the widespread distribution of effective vaccines that will lead to the end of the Covid pandemic. However, it is certain that mitigation practices must be in place for some months to come, which will further affect the process for the election of the ninth bishop of Pittsburgh.
We had hoped that critical events such as the discernment retreat for candidates and the final slate’s public visit to the diocese would be able to take place in-person. This seems highly unlikely if our current schedule is followed.
At the request of the Nominating Committee and with the consent of the Standing Committee, I have revised the date of the special convention for the election of the next bishop, from April 24 to June 26, 2021. The date for the consecration of my successor has changed accordingly, to November 13, with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry as the chief consecrator. I will retire, as originally planned, on September 11 and the Standing Committee will hold ecclesiastical authority until the new bishop is in place.
This year the Standing Committee has elected the Reverend Noah Evans, the rector of St. Paul’s, Mt. Lebanon, as its president. I have asked him, on the Standing Committee’s behalf, to provide you with further details on the revised schedule.
I am confident that this shift will give the people of the diocese, and the candidates themselves, the opportunity for a full discernment, with much more in-person engagement than would have been possible otherwise.
This comes with my grateful prayers and blessings.
Faithfully your bishop,
(The Right Reverend) Dorsey W.M. McConnell, D.D.
VIII Bishop of Pittsburgh
A Letter from the Standing Committee
January 8, 2021
Dear friends,
As Bishop McConnell stated, the Standing Committee has consented to his request to change the date for the election of the IX Bishop of Pittsburgh.
In doing so, we are hopeful as well that this will give our Nominating Committee the opportunity to meet with our excellent pool of potential candidates in person during their discernment process, and may allow us to have Public Candidate Visits take place in some form of in-person gatherings. The revised timetable is as follows:
- Announcement of slate and petition period begins – early May
- Tentative Public Candidate Visits – mid-June
- Election of the IX Bishop of Pittsburgh – Saturday, June 26
- Retirement of Bishop Dorsey McConnell – Saturday, September 11
- Consecration of the IX Bishop of Pittsburgh – Saturday, November 13
We are aware that this revised timetable results in a two-month period between the retirement of Bishop Dorsey and the consecration of our new bishop. Following the Canons of the Episcopal Church, the Standing Committee will serve as the Ecclesiastical Authority of the diocese during that short period of time; most likely our bishop-elect will also be in residence and work in the diocese for some or all of that period.
The Standing Committee continues to join with the Nominating Committee in their optimism about the quality of the potential candidates. Please join us in prayer for their work, for this period of transition for our diocese and in thanksgiving for Bishop Dorsey and Betsy McConnell’s ministry with us.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Peace,
The Rev. Noah H. Evans, President
Lisa Brown, Secretary
Kathy Baird
The Rev. Jonathon Jensen
Robert Johnston
The Rev. Dr. Moni McIntyre
The Rev. Annis Rogers
Steve Stagnitta
A Prayer for the Election of a Bishop
Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for this Diocese, and those who offer themselves as candidates, that we may receive a faithful pastor who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–Book of Common Prayer, P. 818