Search Updates

Candidates Announced
8/3/2010

Search and Nominations Committee chair Linda Robertson presented a report from the committee and its list of nominees to the Standing Committee on July 29, 2010, and the Standing Committee announced the official slate of candidates on August 3.  Information on the candidates is available here.  Nominations by petition will be accepted from August 9 to August 27.  Information and petition forms are available here.

Application and Nomination period closes
3/22/2010

The period for nominations and applications has now closed, and the Search Committee thanks all who submitted information. The committee is now engaged in prayerful discernment and will be talking with selected applicants.

Official Search Website Launched, Application Period Opens 2/18/2010

The official website for the Bishop Search was approved by the Standing Committee and launched on Thursday, February 18, 2010.  It is the primary publication of the Search and Nomination Committee and contains information about the diocese, reports on various surveys and listening sessions and instructions for applying or nominating someone.

The period in which applications and nominations will be accepted will be February 22 through March 22.  All supplemental materials must be with the committee by March 24.  This is a hard deadline.

This page will be updated as the search progresses with information of interest to both applicants and parishioners.

The Standing Committee as well as the Search and Nomination and Transition Committees held a retreat Nov. 14, 2009, at St. Paul’s in Lee’s Summit. The Very Rev. Ronald Clingenpeel, retired dean of Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis, acted as facilitator. The Rev. Russ Johnson, Standing Committee president, reports that members of the Search and Nomination Committee and the Transition Committee were given special responsibilities as the committees gathered for the first time. The names of committee members and their parishes are listed here.  Completing preparations for the Diocesan Convention was the primary task of the Standing Committee at its meeting on October 26. The prayer and the theological statement were approved for presentation, and members were selected to complete the Search/Nomination Committee and the Transition Committee. The membership of these committees will be announced at the convention.

Please check the final version of the Diocesan Convention Agenda for the times of the Standing Committee’s presentation and the forum on the search and transition processes.

Continuing their work on preparing the search and transition processes, the Standing Committee met on October 9, 2009 and addressed a number of tasks.

  • Confirmed that The Rev. Dr. Douglas Johnson will chair the Transition Committee and The Rev. Carol Sanford will be the Chaplain.
  • Examined several topics with Diocesan Chancellor Richard Wagstaff.
  • Refined information to be presented at deanery meetings.
  • Completed a draft of a prayer and reviewed a draft theological statement.

The Standing Committee is working on a presentation for the Diocesan Convention and also an open forum when interested individuals can meet with committee members. Check the updated convention agenda for more information about these events.

In a meeting on September 25, the Standing Committee continued its discussions and took the following actions.

  • Reviewed the financial resources of the diocese available for the search and transition processes with the Provost, Jon Yeager. Funds which have been set aside in each annual diocesan budget for the Episcopal search process, together with previously designated gifts, will be the basis for funding the search and transition processes.
  • Selected The Very Rev. Ronald H. Clingenpeel as the consultant.
  • Selected the chair of the Search and Nomination Committee (Linda Robertson, who is completing a second term on the Standing Committee), a potential chair of the Transition Committee, a potential chaplain, and the member of the Standing Committee who will serve as that committee’s treasurer for the process (Shirley Bolden).
  • Began planning an informational segment and a listening process to take place during the 2009 Diocesan Convention.
  • Planned information to be sent to deans for use at deanery meetings in October.
  • Determined that the Episcopal search process should be open and transparent to the Diocese. As part of this policy, the Standing Committee will be sending updates via the E-Spirit to keep everyone aware of the progress being made. We invite your ideas, suggestions, and prayers as we embark together on this process of discernment and call of a new Diocesan Bishop.

Bishop Barry Howe announced his retirement plans to the Standing Committee on September 18, 2009 and asked the Committee to assume its canonical responsibilities leading to the election and consecration of a new diocesan bishop. Committee members then shared their thoughts with Mary Howe and Bishop Howe.

The Right Reverend F. Clayton Matthews, from the Office of Pastoral Development, discussed with the Committee a variety of issues regarding the retirement of clergy and procedures leading to the election of a diocesan bishop. He outlined the work of the Standing Committee, the Search/Nominating Committee, and the Transition Committee which must take place over the next several months.

The Standing Committee adopted a timeline for the search and transition processes and took the following actions.

  • Agreed to the currently recommended practice of using both a Search/Nominating Committee and a Transition Committee.
  • Voted to use a consultant in the search and transition processes.
  • Discussed the desired qualities for committee chairs, committee members, and a chaplain for the committees.
  • Developed a process for forming the committees.
  • Selected November 14th for a retreat for the Standing, Search, and Transition Committees, together with the chaplain and the consultant.