Word came yesterday from the Diocese of Olympia:
Bishop Greg Rickel learned today that Carl Knirk, Canon for Planned Giving/Stewardship and Evangelism, passed away this morning in his home in Seattle. No details about a memorial service or the cause of death are available at this time. More information about Carl, his life and ministry, and service details will be made available soon. Meanwhile, please keep Carl; his wife, Susan; their children, David and Christopher; and their whole family in your prayers.
“Let us give thanks for this joyful saint of God,” Bishop Rickel said, “who brightened our lives and led us in new and faithful ways in this church.”
In addition to serving Olympia’s Planned Giving & Stewardship program, Knirk was also involved with The Episcopal Network for Stewardship as both a member of the Board of Directors and a conference presenter.
(This, as Olympia saw the funeral yesterday of a former bishop, Rt. Rev. Robert Hume Cochrane.)
Also, Episcopal Relief & Development and the Diocese of Idaho are mourning the loss of The Rt. Rev. Harry Bainbridge III.
Bishop Bainbridge or “Bishop Harry,” as he was affectionately called by many Episcopal Relief & Development staff members, died on Thursday, May 27th, in Talbot Hospice Guest House in Easton, Maryland, at the age of 70. Since 2007, he had battled lung cancer and heart complications.
Bishop Bainbridge joined Episcopal Relief & Development’s Board of Directors in 2001, serving as Board Chair from 2003 – 2008. During his tenure, the organization grew from a small granting program of the Church to a large relief and development agency, serving the needs of over 2 million people annually.
He was elected Chair Emeritus by the Executive Committee of Episcopal Relief & Development’s Board of Directors in March 2010.
“Harry embodied Jesus’ love and compassion in his service to Episcopal Relief & Development,” said the Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill, Chair of Episcopal Relief & Development’s Board. “On behalf of our staff and board, I extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Kit, the entire Bainbridge family and his many friends and colleagues around the Church. May the Peace of Christ surround us during this time of grief.”
Bishop Bainbridge was the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Idaho. He served on the Standing Commission on Ministry Development of The Episcopal Church and as President of Province VIII. In his first six years of ordained ministry, he served three congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee. He then spent six years as assistant chaplain at the University of the South and as a teacher of religion at the Sewanee Academy.
Bishop Bainbridge returned to parish ministry in 1979, as the Rector of St. Thomas Church and Episcopal Chaplain of Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe. In February 1988, he became the Rector of Christ Church in Easton, Maryland, and remained with the congregation until May 1998, when he was elected the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho. He held a B.A., an M.Div. and a D.Min. from the University of the South.
Bishop Bainbridge is survived by his wife, Katherine (Kit) Turnbull Bainbridge, his mother, Grace Holt, and his two children, Harry Bainbridge IV and Elizabeth Bainbridge. He is also survived by three grandchildren.
“I am profoundly saddened by Bishop Harry’s death. He played a critical role in the life of this organization and served as a personal mentor and friend to me,” said Rob Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief & Development.
“Harry was a wonderful man whose love, humor, humility and numerous contributions will remain with all of us,” continued Radtke.