The Diocese of Nevada has decided to suspend its bishop search process.
In a statement to the diocese on behalf of the Standing Committee from The Reverend Bonnie Polley, President of the Standing Committee, they cited a “limited applicant pool” and new “information” that called into question the deliberations of the Standing Committee as reasons for their decision;
“Our bishop search process this year was challenging in several respects. One is that there were an unprecedented number of bishop searches in process, resulting in a limited applicant pool. Another is that decisions had to be made under time constraints that did not allow the Standing Committee to engage in the depth of deliberation really needed.
Since announcing the slate of candidates, more information has been brought to our attention that calls our decisions into question. We have, after much soul searching, unanimously concluded that it is in the best interest of the Diocese to postpone the election of our 11th Bishop until next year following another search under more propitious circumstances.”
Their decision, they wrote, was not intended as a reflection on the Search Committee and did not preclude the current candidates from future consideration.
The diocese had announced a slate of three candidates back in August. The three original candidates were;
- The Rev. Canon Lance Ousley, Canon for Stewardship and Development, Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Olympia, WA and Priest-in-Charge and Head of School, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Kirkland, WA
- The Rev. Tara K. Soughers, Ph. D, Interim Priest, The Church of Our Savior, Somerset, MA
- The Reverend Kirk A. Woodliff, Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Sparks, NV
They also said this delay would not affect the planned retirement of the current bishop, The Rt Rev Dan Edwards. In the interim, a provisional bishop will be sought until successful completion of a new search process and subsequent election.