Timeline

A Look at the Road Ahead in the Search for Our Ninth Bishop

With Bishop Mark’s announcement of his retirement, the Diocese of Alaska has begun the process of discerning and electing our ninth Bishop Diocesan.

This process will unfold over the next year and a half, and there will be many opportunities along the way for people throughout the diocese to participate. Some parts of the work will happen behind the scenes, while others will invite the whole diocese to listen, pray, share, gather, and ultimately elect our next bishop.

What follows is the big-picture roadmap. Within each of these stages are many smaller steps, decisions, conversations, and pieces of work that will move the process forward. As we move through the search together, we will continue to share more about each stage along the way. For now, here is a look at the road ahead.

September 2026 — Inviting the Search and Transition Committee

We are currently inviting clergy and lay members from across the Diocese of Alaska to consider applying to serve on the Search and Transition Committee. The Standing Committee will review those applications this fall and appoint a committee representing the breadth of communities, experiences, perspectives, and gifts found throughout our diocese.

October 3 & 10, 2026 — Diocesan Convention

Our Diocesan Convention will gather online over two weekends this year. The Standing Committee will have time during Convention to talk with the diocese about the bishop search, explain the process ahead, and answer questions.

Convention will also be asked to consider the canonical and election rules that will guide the election of our next bishop at the 2027 Diocesan Convention.

November–December 2026 — Forming the Committee

The Standing Committee will review applications and prayerfully discern the membership of the Search and Transition Committee. After confirming that those selected are able and willing to serve, we expect to announce the committee in early December.

The new committee will begin meeting in December, taking time to get to know one another, begin organizing their work, and prepare for the search ahead.

January 2027 — Preparing for the Work

The Search and Transition Committee will gather with our Search Consultant for a leadership retreat January 15–17. This will be an opportunity for the committee to come together as a team, learn more about the work entrusted to them, and prepare for the first major phase of the search: listening to the diocese.

Early 2027 — Listening to the Diocese

Following the leadership retreat, the committee will turn its attention to listening. We anticipate many opportunities for people across the diocese to participate, including in-person listening sessions in each of our four deaneries, online opportunities, and a diocesan survey.

What we hear will help us better understand who we are today, where we believe God may be calling us next, and the qualities and gifts we hope to find in our next bishop.

Spring 2027 — The Search Begins

Once the diocesan profile is complete, the application and nomination period for our next bishop will open.

Candidates will be invited into a process of conversation and discernment with the Search and Transition Committee. The committee will review applications, conduct interviews, learn more about candidates and their ministries, and prayerfully discern who may be called to serve as the ninth Bishop of Alaska.

Summer 2027 — Discernment and the Slate

The committee’s discernment will continue through the summer and include a discernment retreat with the candidates being seriously considered. This stage will give both the committee and the candidates an opportunity to explore more deeply the particular opportunities and realities of serving as Bishop of Alaska.

By early August, the Search and Transition Committee is expected to present its recommended slate to the Standing Committee. Following that, the slate will be announced to the diocese and the petition process will begin.

September 2027 — Meeting the Candidates

The final candidates will come to Alaska and travel throughout all four deaneries, including rural communities. This will give people across the diocese opportunities to meet and hear from the candidates—and give the candidates an opportunity to experience firsthand the remarkable size, diversity, communities, and ministries of the Diocese of Alaska.

These gatherings will be an important part of our shared discernment as we prepare to elect our next bishop.

October 2027 — Electing Our Ninth Bishop

We will gather in person for Diocesan Convention in October 2027, where the clergy and lay delegates of the Diocese of Alaska will elect our ninth Bishop Diocesan.

The election will be a significant moment—but it will not be the end of the transition.

Fall 2027–Winter 2028 — Preparing for a New Episcopate

Following the election, the transition work will continue. We will prepare to give thanks for Bishop Mark and his ministry among us as his time as our bishop draws to a close, welcome our bishop-elect, and prepare together for a new chapter in the life of the Diocese of Alaska.

February 26, 2028 — Ordination and Consecration

God willing and the people consenting, our ninth Bishop of Alaska will be ordained and consecrated on February 26, 2028.

There Will Be Many Ways to Participate

This process belongs to all of us. Throughout the search, we will need the voices, prayers, participation, and hospitality of people across the Diocese of Alaska.

There will be opportunities to share your hopes for our diocese through listening sessions and the diocesan survey, to meet and learn about the candidates, and to help welcome and host gatherings throughout our four deaneries. Some will participate by sharing their perspective, some by helping bring people together, and some by offering the kind of hospitality that makes these conversations possible.

As we move through each stage, we will share more about how congregations, deaneries, and individuals can be part of the work. There will be a place for each of us in this process.

For now, we hope this gives you a sense of the road ahead. We are grateful to be entering this time of discernment together and ask you to continue holding Bishop Mark, the Standing Committee, the Search and Transition Committee that will soon be formed, and the whole Diocese of Alaska in your prayers.

Timeline

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