Updates from the Bishop Search Committee

Brothers and Sisters of the Diocese of Olympia,

This is an exciting time for the Diocese of Olympia! Your wonderfully diverse, impassioned, and dedicated Search Committee continues to do our work. Be assured, this search process is spiritual in nature and grounded in prayer. We ultimately seek to discern God’s call to those candidates who will be led to discern, along with us, their calling into the role of head pastor, spiritual guide, and organized leader of the Diocese of Olympia. Our committee has been organized into six subcommittees to get all of our work completed. Those subcommittees include Communications, Discernment Retreat, Holy Conversations, Profile, and Interview. The Search Committee is fortunate to have the additional support of two experienced consultants, Anne Schmidt and Nathan Kirkpatrick of Saison Consulting, who will help guide us and share best practices throughout the process.

In order to perform our work successfully, we need your input on what you’d like to see in the next Bishop. We have engaged Holy Cow Consulting, an experienced data benchmarking organization. With their extensive experience in Episcopal bishop searches, they will support us in gathering and analyzing the input you provide via an online survey. Additional information will be forthcoming and posted on the Diocesan website regarding the open dates of the survey.

The work of the Bishop Search Committee is highly confidential. However, we plan to share as much information and be as transparent as possible. We will ensure absolute confidentiality for those candidates exploring a call to be our next Bishop. Updates will continue to be shared in the weekly Across the Diocese newsletter and on the Diocesan website. You can also refer to the search timeline posted on the website (https://olympiabishopsearch.ecww.org/timeline-and-process/).

Lastly, we appreciate your trust in us with this important work. Together, and with God’s guidance, we will identify our new bishop… the one who is called to build on the good work already accomplished in the Diocese of Olympia… the one who will move us into new realms of serving others in the name of Christ. Please continue to pray for the Search Committee and the people of our diocese. We also seek prayer for God’s guidance, mercy, and grace.

Blessings,
The Bishop Search Committee