From the Standing Committee of The Diocese of West Missouri,

Dear Friends,

About a month ago, our bishop-search website went live, and we began receiving applications to serve on the three committees that will lead us as we search for, elect, and consecrate the ninth bishop of West Missouri. We thought you might like to know how the applications are coming.

So far, we’ve received 36 applications. Fifty-eight percent have come from lay members of the diocese; 28 percent have come from priests; and 14 percent have come from deacons. Geographically, 44 percent have come from the Northwest-Metro Deanery, 36 percent from the Southern Deanery, and 19 percent from the Central Deanery.

Thirty people have applied for the Bishop Search Committee as their first or second choice. This committee will lead a listening process to gather information about the diocese’s past, present, and future; create an online diocesan profile; evaluate nominees and applicants for bishop; and present a slate of three to five candidates for election.

Thirteen people have applied for the Transition Committee as their first or second choice. This group will introduce the candidates to the diocese and the diocese to the candidates, as well as coordinating the election of a bishop at the 2024 Diocesan Convention.

Nine people have applied for the Consecration Committee as their first or second choice. The Consecration Committee will help the bishop-elect and family relocate to West Missouri (as needed), work with the presiding bishop’s office to plan the consecration service, and plan the details and logistics of the consecration weekend.

Plenty of time remains for you to apply for any of these committees, or to serve as a paid secretary for the committees’ work. All applications are welcomed and encouraged! The deadline is Oct. 1. On the bishop-search website, you can find job descriptions and applications. In addition to considering how your own gifts might bless this process, please think and pray about people you believe would be good fits for the three committees’ work, and please encourage them to apply. It’s amazingly compelling when God speaks through someone we know as we’re discerning a call.

In other news, the Standing Committee has drafted a resolution for our upcoming Diocesan Convention setting the ground rules and procedures for the bishop’s election. We will authorize the election this November in preparation to elect a bishop at Diocesan Convention 2024.

The second week of October, the Standing Committee will announce the members of the Bishop Search Committee and the chairs of the other two committees, and we ask that you keep us in your prayers as we discern whom to raise up for service. We also ask you to join us in praying daily for our diocese and for those who will take part in the search: