The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri announces a slate of four candidates for our ninth bishop. The election will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2024. The next bishop will succeed The Right Reverend Diane M. Jardine Bruce, Bishop Provisional.

This announcement is being made simultaneously with an email to the diocese, a post on the diocesan website, a post on the search website, and posts to diocesan social media.

The candidates in alphabetical order are:

• The Reverend Jimmy Abbott, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church, Galveston, Texas
• The Very Reverend Amy Dafler Meaux, Dean and Rector, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Little Rock, Arkansas
• The Reverend Dr. Bradley Pace, Rector, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette, Indiana
• The Reverend Molly Payne-Hardin, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church, Watertown, New York

Biographical information, professional documents, written responses to a series of questions, and a video featuring short introductions from each of the candidates are posted HERE.

This announcement draws to a close a prayerful and collaborative process that began in November of 2023. The Bishop Search Committee was chaired by The Reverend Steven King, Rector of St. Paul’s Church, Kansas City. King commented, “The Bishop Seach Committee was grateful and honored to have received significant interest in discerning with us for the IX Bishop of West Missouri. The applicant pool from across the church was composed of a diverse set of priests, all engaged in inspiring ministry and mission. We are grateful for each of them. Since early April when the application period concluded, our committee has prayerfully engaged in the review of written materials, several rounds of online interviews, and, finally, an in-person retreat. This process has led us to this slate, which we are overjoyed to share with you. It has been our joy to get to know them, to pray and discern with them, and to imagine the future with them. We are thrilled for our diocese to now meet our candidates, too! We invite you to pray for them and for our diocese every day as we continue to follow the Holy Spirit together.”

The Standing Committee received and approved the proposed slate by unanimous vote. Mr. Eric Rhodes, President of the Standing Committee, said this: “Over the last nine months we have prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide us, as a diocese, to seek a shepherd who will lead us into our future. I believe our collective prayers have brought us to this moment and I ask your continued prayers as we embark on the next stage of our journey together – in joy and faith.”

The Standing Committee also announces nominations by petition may be filed from Noon CDT, Wednesday, July 31, 2024 through Noon CDT, Wednesday, August 7, 2024. Information on this process – by which candidates may be added to the slate upon successful completion of background checks and other requirements – is posted HERE.

The election will be held during the 135th Annual Convention of the Diocese of West Missouri on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City, Missouri. The Standing Committee will then request canonical consents of the majority of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church. Upon successful completion of the consent process, the next bishop will be ordained and consecrated on May 3, 2025, at a location yet to be determined. The officiant will be The Right Reverend Sean W. Rowe, Presiding Bishop-elect, who will be installed later this year.

As the work of the Search Committee comes to a close, the work of the Transition Committee is already well underway. Members of the diocese are invited to meet the candidates during “meet and greet” activities organized by the Transition Committee which will be held at locations across the diocese during the week of September 16, 2024. The full schedule of activities is posted HERE. These gatherings will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person.

The Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri was formed in 1889 when the 36th General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved the split of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. The diocese has 47 congregations along with many other ministries across the state.

For more information, please visit our website at www.diowestmo.org.