Bishop Deon Johnson reflects on the election of Bishop Sean Rowe as the 28th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church:
The Episcopal Church has elected a new presiding bishop! The 81st General Convention selected the Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe as our 28th Presiding Bishop. He was elected by the House of Bishops on the first ballot and confirmed by the House of Deputies at the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Louisville, KY, on Wednesday, June 26.
Rowe is the Bishop of the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania and the Diocese of Western New York. At the age of 49, Rowe becomes the youngest person ever elected to this position. He will officially become Presiding Bishop Nov. 1 at a service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Presiding bishops serve a 9-year term as the leader of the worldwide Episcopal Church.
Rowe will succeed Michael Curry, who has served as Presiding Bishop since 2015. Curry is a beloved leader in the Church. “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God,” has become his calling card.
Presiding Bishop Curry introduced the Presiding Bishop-elect to an excited House of Deputies Wednesday afternoon. Rowe said our world is calling us ever-more deeply into the unknown. He said it’s time to reorient our churchwide resources and reform our structure.
“We know we cannot continue to lead The Episcopal Church in the same way,” Presiding Bishop-elect Rowe told the deputies.
At a press conference following his visit to the House of Deputies, Rowe said he knows change can be difficult, but feels confident about the future of the Church. “God’s got this,” Rowe said. “It’s going to be okay. God has us.”
Betty Bowersox from Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood is the co-chair of our Missouri deputation at GC81. She says the deputation recognizes that change is going to be the order of the day with the Presiding Bishop-elect. "Change can be scary and uncomfortable, but it can also be visionary and full of unrealized opportunity," Bowersox said. "TEC needs a dose of change and hopefully Bishop Rowe is the one to lead us through that!"
Bishop Curry said he is impressed with Rowe and his sense of organizational mechanics that will be important as we move forward. “That’s what the church needs at this time, at this moment, in this season.”
“It’s an honor to be elected today and to succeed Bishop Curry, who has brought such energy to this church and a focus on the Gospel that we’ve not seen in a generation, Rowe said. “I look forward to the opportunity to help usher the church into this new season of life. And we don’t know what it looks like, but we know God is in the middle of it.”
For more information on the election and Bishop Rowe’s background, please read the article from Episcopal News Service.