During his annual address to Diocesan Convention this weekend, Bishop John W. Howe announced that he would be ending his time as bishop of Central Florida in 2012 and called for the election of a coadjutor.
From the diocesan website:
“‘I want to come directly to the point,’ Bishop Howe told the group gathered at St. George Church and La Hacienda Recreation Center, The Villages, Florida. ‘The final episode of Star Trek, Next Generation was entitled ‘All Good Things…’ with the unmistakably hidden clause, ‘…must come to an end.’ I have come to the conclusion that we are nearing such a moment.’
Bishop Howe called for the election of his successor, the Fourth Bishop of Central Florida, in a Special Convention to be held Nov. 19 at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando.
‘These last two-plus decades of my life have been a roller coaster of joy and sorrow – but mostly joy – as we have seen God work in our midst in extraordinary ways,’ Bishop Howe said. ‘I came here after 13-and-a-half years in one of the truly great congregations in The Episcopal Church. And, as every Bishop will tell you, leaving your parish family behind is a very difficult thing to do.’
Bishop Howe stressed that, although the diocese will experience a change in leadership, the diocese should maintain the direction it has taken.”
Bishop Howe was one of the founders of the Communion Partner bishops and he has been known as voice from the more conservative theological wing of the Episcopal Church during his time as bishop.
Read the full address here.