We are electing the 8th Bishop of Alaska
Welcome to the Bishop Search website for the 8th Bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska. Members of Alaska's 48 Episcopal congregations share the Gospel of Our Lord from tiny subsistence villages to major metropolitan centers. The Diocese of Alaska covers the entire state of Alaska, a landmass of 586,412 square miles. Most of it is still untouched wilderness, a frontier filled with awesome beauty and inexpressible faith.
Almighty God, direct the Diocese of Alaska in our search for a new bishop. Guide the work of our search committees and grant them the ability to discern and communicate those qualities in a bishop that are most needed in our Diocese. Help us to treat the candidates who apply with love and understanding. Care for our Standing Committee as they assume responsibility for the Diocese and keep our hearts always open to direction of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name we pray. Amen
—Prayer from the Standing Committee to be used by congregations during search for 8th Bishop of the The Episcopal Diocese of Alaska
News and Updates
Search Committee News
In July, all but one member of the Search Committee gathered together to discern the remaining Bishop candidates to decide who would be asked to continue in the process with us. An entire weekend was spent praying and discerning together as brothers and sisters in Christ. We prayerfully discussed each candidate individually, providing time for each member to speak about each candidate and the information that had been submitted. Once a decision was made about a candidate, we prayed over that candidate and took a five-minute break. Other than a break for lunch, we continued this process for each of the candidates, well into the evening. By the end of July, all candidates were notified whether or not they were being asked to continue in the discernment process with us.
The next step for the committee is to meet again mid-August in Anchorage to hold telephone interviews with the remaining candidates.
In September, members of our committee will be making on-site visits to our final nominees to witness their ministry first-hand.
October will find our committee meeting one final time to prepare our presentation to the Standing Committee of our final candidate names. God willing, we are hoping to have our number down to three candidates.
So much to accomplish in such little time! In less than six months, we will be celebrating the election of the 8th Bishop of Alaska.
Keep us in prayer
Please continue to keep the Search and Transition Committees in your prayers as we move forward in our quest to call our next Bishop of Alaska.
