From the Bishop: New date for the Election of the Tenth Bishop of Iowa

January 12, 2021

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Standing Committee, in consultation with the Nominating Committee Chairs, have asked to revise the date of the special Convention for the election of the Tenth Bishop of Iowa. Their hope is to hold the final slate’s public visit to the diocese in person, and it is their understanding that the possibility of such a gathering and having candidates travel to Iowa from different parts of the country might not be likely within the original timeframe of mid-April.

Even with vaccines being rolled out, the period in which we will have to maintain mitigation practices including travel limitations appears to be with us for several more months; hence the impact on the timetable for our diocesan episcopal election process.

The decision is to push back the election three months and so, as is my canonical duty, I am calling for the Special Convention for electing the Tenth Bishop of Iowa to be held on Saturday, July 31st, moving it from May 1st. The Standing Committee will announce the location. The date of the consecration has changed accordingly from September 18th to December 18th, with the Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry as the chief consecrator.

Donna and I are grateful to the Standing Committee for their concern as to how this also affected our plans. As Donna and I have decided to spend the initial years of retirement based in Iowa, I am able to reconfigure my retirement date to December 18th.

Below is a letter from the Standing Committee with details regarding the revised timeline.

In the peace and love of Christ,

+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa

From the Standing Committee

As members of the Standing Committee, we want you to know that the Standing Committee has initiated the restructuring of the schedule for the election of the Tenth Bishop of Iowa. We discussed it with the chairs of the Search and Nominating Committee, as well as with the chair of the Transitions Committee. We informed the bishop of our intention to consider the possibility; and then, in consultation with our diocesan Search Consultant, Father Conrad Selnick, the members of the Standing Committee decided unanimously to advise and to urge Bishop Scarfe to seek a new date for the Consecration and to set a new date for the election. This he has done.

We came to this decision because we hope and expect that it will make it possible to provide opportunities for in-person face to face meetings with the finalists during a series of Meet and Greet events. We also know that other dioceses have chosen differently. But given the current timing of our election, it is reasonable to hope that this delay will in fact allow us to conduct in-person events sometime in early to mid-July, leading up to the election on July 31st.

We did not make this decision lightly. The process of episcopal elections is already a lengthy one, and we are prolonging it. But we are convinced that in the long run, the probability of allowing for the people of the diocese to meet and mingle with candidates, and indeed allowing the candidates to get an in-person view of the diocese and the state and people of Iowa, will lead to a more informed decision on all sides.

We anticipate that the announcement of the final slate will be moved to sometime around the end of May or early June, and that the petition process will begin at the point of that announcement. More information about that process will be on the website in the next week or so. We expect to welcome the candidates to Iowa sometime shortly after the 4th of July weekend.

Please continue to pray for the Search and Nominating Committee, and for the upcoming virtual Candidates’ Retreat. Pray for the Transitions Committee as they begin their planning for this exciting time. And please pray for all of those who have offered themselves to this process of discernment.

Thank you,

The Standing Committee, Diocese of Iowa
Karen Brooke
Aileen Chang-Matus
Ed Gillott
Kathleen Milligan +
Elizabeth Duff Popplewell +
Anne Williams +