The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Southern Ohio announces that the petition process for the election of the Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio will open on Thursday, June 29, 2023, and remain open through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 13, 2023. Through the petition process, a qualified person who is not included on the Nominating Committee’s slate can be placed on the final slate of nominees for bishop. There will be no nominations from the floor at the Special Convention to elect the new bishop; the petition process replaces that practice.
The Standing Committee welcomes those who have discerned a call to the ministry of bishop to submit their nominations through the petition process. Our commitment to diversity in the election process continues in the petition process: we value diversity in race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, marital or family status (including pregnancy or parenting responsibilities), sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disabilities or age. Any questions about the petition process should be emailed to Dr. James Allsop, President of the Standing Committee at standingcommittee@diosohio.org.
After the petition process closes on July 13 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, no further petition nominees will be considered. The Standing Committee will review materials, conduct background checks, schedule interviews and check references of those nominated by petition, applying the same criteria used by the Nominating Committee. As with all nominees, the Standing Committee will discern and make the final determination on whether the petition nominee will be included on the final slate of nominees for bishop. The petition nominees, if any, will be announced on or before August 10, once the due diligence has been completed.
Petition Process Instructions: Nominators
A petition process nominee must have one primary nominator, clergy or lay, who shall answer the following questions found on the nomination form.
- How long, and in what capacity, have you known this nominee?
- After your review of the profile, what gifts, talents, and skills does this nominee possess that qualify them to serve as the Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio?
- What concerns or issues, if any, might inhibit this person’s ability to faithfully serve as Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio?
In addition, each petition process nominee must have both:
- Six canonically resident clergy co-nominators.
- Six lay co-nominators who are delegates to the Diocese of Southern Ohio’s 2023 Annual Convention.
- The primary nominator shall be one of the six clergy nominators or one of the six lay nominators.
- No nominators shall be from the same parish or congregation.
- Clergy nominators must be assigned to or called by the parish/congregation they name on the nomination form, as certified by the Canon for Transitions or the Bishop.
- Clergy nominators must be eligible to vote at the Diocese of Southern Ohio’s 2023 Annual Convention.
- Lay nominators must be communicants in good standing of the parish/congregation they name on the nomination form, as certified by either the rector, clergy-in-charge or senior warden in the event that the congregation does not have an assigned clergyperson.
Petition Process Instructions: Nominees
Each nominee’s completed petition package must include:
- A cover letter describing what about the Diocese of Southern Ohio compels the nominee to enter into discernment with us.
- Nomination form, including consent from the nominee and a willingness to serve if elected. Download the form here.
- Resume or curriculum vitae
- Copy of current Office of Transition Ministry (OTM) portfolio
- Names and contact information (office phone, cell phone, and e-mail) for all bishops under whom the nominee has served.
- Names and contact information (office/home phone, cell phone, and e-mail) for references of at least three people with whom the nominee is currently serving (wardens, clergy, staff, organist, stewardship, or other program chairs), plus at least three clergy who are active clergy canonically resident in the nominee’s current diocese.
- Answers to the following questions used in the search process (each answer may not exceed 1000 words).
- How have you navigated a changing church in a changing world to enhance congregational vitality?
- Describe a situation in which you needed to create a sense of shared interests and community among individuals or groups who felt disconnected from one another. What is the role of the bishop in bringing a diocese together, and what gifts do you bring to the ministry of connection?
- What is your theology of money? Tell us a story of exercising your leadership to move an institution into a more Jesus-centered, mission-oriented relationship with money.
- In many ways, our region reflects the social inequalities (e.g. gender, education, health, housing, and race/ethnicity) that afflict our country as a whole. Please discuss ways in which you have had experience dealing with and supporting multicultural populations. What do you see as a bishop’s role in addressing and healing these disparities?
Qualifications Required of the Tenth Bishop of Southern Ohio
Qualifications have been set by the Standing Committee
- If the nominee is recovering from a substance use disorder or other addictive behavior, that nominee shall have had a minimum of five years of continuous sobriety and shall actively be working a program of recovery. Ten or more years of recovery is preferred.
- All nominees for bishop should be able to answer heartily, truthfully, and faithfully The Examination in the ordination service for bishops found in the Book of Common Prayer (pages 517-518).
- Nominees shall have been ordained priest for at least seven years at the time the nominations are announced.
- Nominees shall give evidence of active ministry with more than one focus (e.g., parish ministry, diocesan administration, participation in wider church initiatives)
- Nominees shall be priests or bishops in good standing in the Episcopal Church.
- Nominees must be willing to adhere to the Constitution & Canons of our church and relevant General Convention resolutions. Specifically, nominees must be willing to ensure that all people are included fully in the church and its sacramental life without regard to “race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, marital or family status (including pregnancy or child care plans), sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disabilities or age” (Canon I.17.5).
The completed petition package shall be sent by 11:59 pm EDT on Thursday, July 13, 2023, via e-mail in PDF format only to the president of the Standing Committee, Dr. James Allsop at standingcommittee@diosohio.org
