Diocese Invited to Attend Bishop Nominee Discernment Forums
Beloved People of the Diocese of West Texas,
The Standing Committee is so wonderfully pleased with the quality (and quantity) of questions that you as a diocese have submitted, and we look forward to presenting these to our nominees during the public Discernment Forums this weekend. Since our cup runneth over with all of these great questions, the nominees will answer different ones each night, and all three Discernment Forums will be broadcast live on the diocesan website, Vimeo account, and social media pages. Recordings will be available as well, by Monday, February 6.
This weekend, we will gather as a diocese to continue in our discernment toward the election of our next bishop. The Bishop Nominating Committee has grouped the questions you submitted into eight categories and distilled questions for each forum from those categories. Each night, the nominees will answer four questions submitted by the diocese and one “bonus” question that will allow them to clarify or add to anything they want our forums to know.
Each nominee will have advance knowledge of the questions being asked, and all of the questions submitted. By doing this, we hope to give our nominees the opportunity to hear the breadth and depth of the questions you have for them. These questions for our nominees truly are a fantastic representation of who we are as a diocese!
To recap - all three evenings will be live-streamed on the diocesan web-page, and we will ask different questions at each forum. We hope you will be able to join us in either Harlingen, Corpus Christi, or San Antonio (or all three!), and we hope live-streaming these events will make them accessible to more people.
Please continue to pray for Alex, David, and Ripp and their families as we enter into this next phase of our discernment together. I am so grateful for each and every one of you in this diocese. We on the Standing Committee and Bishop Nominating Committee look forward to taking these next steps together.
May God continue to bless you and the Diocese of West Texas.
Peace,
Ben+
The Rev. Dr. Ben Nelson
President of the Standing Committee
Discernment Forums
Three Discernment Forums will take place January 27 - 29, 2023 in Harlingen, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio. The forums will be open for anyone in the Diocese to attend as one of several ways to get to know the slate of nominees. All three will be accessible online via livestream and released as a recording afterwards.
Rio Grande Valley
January 27, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church
1417 E Austin Avenue
Harlingen, TX 78550
Coastal Bend
January 28, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd
700 S Upper Broadway
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
San Antonio
January 29, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
St. Thomas Episcopal Church & School
1416 N Loop 1604 E
San Antonio, TX 78232
Livestream
View all three forums live, at:
Meet the Nominees
- Click here to read the Meet the Nominees online.
- Click here to save the Meet the Nominees as a PDF.
Nominee Introduction Video
- Click here to view a ten-minute introduction video from the slate of nominees.
More Information
- Read prior communications from the Standing Committee
- View the Diocesan Profile online.
- Visit the Bishop Election web-page.
Timeline for Electing Next Diocesan Bishop
October 2022
Nomination Process closes; Nominating Committee conducts interviews of nominees and makes reference calls; background checks conducted
November 1, 2022
Nominating Committee invites selected nominees to Discernment Retreat
November 14-17, 2022
Discernment Retreat - Nominating Committee and Consultant on retreat with selected nominees
December 18, 2022
Final slate of nominees for Bishop Coadjutor published
January 27-29, 2023
Discernment Forums will take place at St. Alban's, Harlingen (1/27), in Corpus Christi (1/28), and at St. Thomas, San Antonio (1/29) with opportunity to attend at least one forum via livestream
February 18, 2023
Election of a Bishop Coadjutor at the conclusion of Diocesan Council in Corpus Christi
July 8, 2023
Consecration of the Bishop-Elect
A Prayer for the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas
Almighty God, giver of all good gifts, you have called us to a life-giving fellowship in the Diocese of West Texas: Encourage and build up in us the love of Christ Jesus that we might continue to strengthen the legacy of those who have tended and led this diocese with godly courage; look graciously upon us and on your whole Church; by your Spirit, guide the Standing Committee, the delegates, and the clergy who shall discern the one you call to be a bishop for our diocese; send us a faithful shepherd who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries. All this we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns now and forever. Amen.
Bishop Nominating Committee
The Standing Committee Members
President - the Rev. Dr. Ben Nelson, TMI Episcopal, San Antonio
Mrs. Nancy Beauchamp, Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi
The Rev. Scott Brown, TMI Episcopal, San Antonio
Dr. Liz Manning, Holy Spirit, Dripping Springs
Mr. Richard Mosty, St. Peter’s, Kerrville
The Rev. Matthew Wise, St. Mark’s, San Antonio
The Assisting Members
Mrs. Thurma Hilton, St. Richard’s, Round Rock
The Rev. Alex Holloway, St. Margaret’s, San Antonio
The Rev. John Inserra, St. Alban’s, Harlingen
Ms. Andrea Knight, Resurrection, Windcrest
The Rev. Karen Morris, Emmanuel, Lockhart
The Rev. Arnoldo Romero, St. James, Del Rio
