Apr 18, 2016 - We are sad to hear this, yet, at the same time, we wish him Godspeed; he will have served us well and fai
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF EAST TENNESSEE
814 Episcopal School Way ▪ Knoxville, TN 37932 865-966-2110 ▪ http://DioET.org
The Rev. Peter Keese, President Standing Committee
Standing Committee: Sister Michael Julian Davidson The Rev. Taylor Dinsmore Ms. Elizabeth Jones The Rev. Jay Mills Ms. Andrea Odle, Clerk
April 18, 2016 Greetings, Sisters and Brothers of this wonderful Diocese, We have been blessed to have George as our Bishop for a season. As you know, he has decided that it is time for him to retire. We are sad to hear this, yet, at the same time, we wish him Godspeed; he will have served us well and faithfully for seven years by the time of his retirement. The purpose of this letter is to let you know of plans for the next year and a half. You may know that the Standing Committee is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the entire process: conducting a thoughtful search for a successor Bishop; seeing to the orderly transition, including the Ordination of the newly elected Bishop; and attending to all pertinent financial considerations. We have already begun to discuss the various steps we will need to take. Very soon, we will appoint a Search Committee, and contract with a trained consultant to assist us through this process. In due time, we will also appoint a Transition Committee. When the search Committee has identified its choices, we will announce the Nominees, and the Transition Committee will then be responsible for introducing them to the Diocese and for planning the Ordination and surrounding events. A preliminary time-line looks like this: April/May 2016, appointment of, and charge to, the Search Committee; (as soon as these Committees are formed, we will publicize the names of all the members). Late Spring 2017, the Standing Committee announces the nominees; Summer 2017, the Transition Committee introduces the nominees around the Diocese (the “walkabout”); August 2017, the Diocese meets in Convention to elect a Bishop; December 2017 or January 2018 (actual date determined by the Presiding Bishop) the Ordination/Consecration and Institution of the newly elected person. It will be a busy time for these committees. I’m sure you can expect to hear soon from the Search Committee: they will want your input as they develop a “profile” of this Diocese. We ask for your prayers for us, for this diocese, for the committees charged with this important work, for our bishop, and for those who will be discerning whether they may be called to this ministry. Cordially and praying God’s blessing, we are,
The Rev. Peter Keese, President of the Standing Committee; Ms. Andrea Odle, Clerk; the Rev. Jay Mills; Sister Michael Julian Davidson; the Rev. Taylor Dinsmore; Ms. Elizabeth Jones.
LOVE GOD. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. CHANGE THE WORLD.
