The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop has reviewed applications from the bishops who have entered the discernment process for the 2024 election of the 28th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church.

The work took place during the committee’s Sept. 6-9 meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.

The meeting followed the committee’s call for nominations from May 15 to July 15. During that time, 111 Episcopalians submitted bishops’ names.

The committee invited those bishops to enter the discernment process. Those who agreed provided biographical information, references, and written and video responses to several questions.

“We are thankful to all of the Episcopalians who suggested the names of bishops to us,” said Dr. Steve Nishibayashi, a canon in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, who co-chairs the committee with Alaska Bishop Mark Lattime.

Lattime added that “we are now combining these applications with our earlier work, including our survey last year and the interviews we conducted to learn about the job of being presiding bishop, and this part of the process is off to a good start.”

The Rev. Maureen-Elizabeth Hagen, a deacon who chairs the nominations subcommittee, noted, “Our initial review of the applications showed us that this House of Bishops offers remarkably strong and diverse leadership. All of the bishops who entered the process bring great gifts to lead our church in the coming years. We are grateful for their willingness to discern with us.”

The videos and written materials in the bishops’ applications helped the committee decide which candidates the members will interview virtually this fall. During their Jan. 9-11, 2024, meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, committee members will choose which bishops to invite to join them for a face-to-face meeting in March 2024. 

The committee is charged with nominating at least three bishops (Canon I.2.1(d)) to stand for election at the 81st General Convention, scheduled for June 23-28, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky. The committee plans to announce its slate of nominees in the spring of 2024.

Then there will be a set period during which any deputy to the 81st convention or bishop may indicate an intent to nominate other bishops from the floor at convention. The committee will vet any such nominees with the same process it used for its nominees (Canon I.2.1(d)). The names of any additional nominees will be announced in early June 2024.

The Most Rev. Michael Curry’s nine-year term as presiding bishop concludes Oct. 31, 2024. 

The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop asks the church to join it in prayer for the discernment and election process. It has offered the following prayer, which members hope Episcopalians will use in the Prayers of the People during worship, as well as in their personal devotions:

Almighty God, source of all wisdom and understanding: Look graciously on your church, and so guide the hearts and minds of those who will choose our next presiding bishop, that we may receive a faithful pastor who will care for all of your people, equip us for our ministries, and proclaim your word to us and to the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The committee asks also for prayers for those bishops who have entered the process.

The committee began working together in the fall of 2021. View the committee roster.

For more information, contact the committee at pb28@episcopalchurch.org.

Follow the committee on the following social media sites:

• Facebook: facebook.com/PB28Nominations
• Twitter: twitter.com/PB28Nominations, @PB28Nominations
• Instagram: instagram.com/pb28nominatingcommittee

See past press releases about the committee’s work.