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Standing Committee invites all to take bishop search survey

April 5, 2022

Dear friends in Christ,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In our letter to the diocese last week, we said that we would soon be conducting an email survey of our diocese. As we wrote, our hope is to gain perspective on whether there is currently a sufficient level of trust within our diocese to proceed with the next chapter of the search for our next bishop.

We had thought we would launch the survey in Eastertide, but at the diocesan clergy gathering last week, we heard clergy loud and clear when they said they would like to see us move quickly to gather data on the diocese. We are launching the survey just before Holy Week, and we are very mindful that lay leaders and clergy will be focused on the Paschal Mystery over the next few days. For that reason, we will leave the survey open until Tuesday, April 26.

Here is the survey link: https://tinyurl.com/DSOsearchsurvey

Our hope is that rectors and priests-in-charge will share the survey link with their congregations. We want wide participation from our whole diocese. As you will see, the survey itself is quite brief. It should only take a few minutes.

When the survey closes, we will share results with the diocese. We are working to set up conversations during Eastertide to discuss with people in the diocese what we learn in the survey. Stay tuned for details. Once these conversations have concluded, the Standing Committee will be in a position to decide whether we must do further work prior to moving forward with the search, or whether we are ready to proceed with the next steps.

As a reminder, the search process typically takes 12-18 months once the search committee has been appointed. We will be able to share a more precise timeline in due course.

If you have questions, suggestions, or concerns, please write to StandingCommittee@DioSOhio.org.

As we head toward Holy Week, we invite you to take part in the services offered within your congregation. And let us all pray:

Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We wish you every blessing of this Lenten season. We are,

Yours faithfully,

Dr. James Allsop, vice-president
Dr. Elizabeth Barker
The Rev. Dr. Ellen Cook
Mr. Barry Feist
The Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, president
The Rev. David Kendall-Sperry, secretary

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Southern Ohio