Dear Redeemer Family,
This past Saturday was an important day in the life and history of our church as the clergy and lay delegates from parishes in our Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (Virgina, D.C., Maryland, West VA, and Delaware) voted to elect The Rev. Chris Warner to be our next Bishop—effective February 18, 2023.
*Note: For further reading on the role of a Bishop in the Anglican Communion, see this helpful article.
As many of you will know, The Rt. Rev. John Guernsey currently serves as our Bishop and he is planning to retire in early 2023 after faithfully serving and leading us since 2011. Our Diocese has been through a year+ discernment process in search of our next Bishop and, after hundreds of hours of research, careful vetting, prayer, interviewing, and (on Saturday) voting, we are relieved and delighted that the process has concluded.
Pending the consent of the Anglican Church in North America’s College of Bishops in January, Bishop-Elect Warner will be consecrated at The Falls Church Anglican in Falls Church, VA on February 18, 2023.
Our future Bishop is currently serving as the Rector of the Church of the Holy Cross, Sullivan’s Island/Daniel Island, SC. Prior to his time as Rector, he was an Associate Rector at Church of the Holy Cross, Rector at St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center, and Curate at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, GA. He married Catherine in 1993, and they have three children (27, 24, and 23).
After the election, The Rev. Chris Warner addressed the delegates saying:
“I’m honored and humbled to have been selected to serve DOMA as bishop-elect. I’m aware that those of us who serve the Lord in vocational ministry must never believe we do so because we ‘qualify.’ We serve because the Lord calls. And those whom He calls, He then equips. This keeps us dependent upon the Lord and Jesus receives the glory he rightly deserves. I ask your prayers and I pledge my prayers for you. I’m truly excited to see what God will do as we serve together in the years to come.”
I hope you all will join me in thanking Bishop John Guernsey and his wife Meg when they visit us for the last time on Sunday, November 13, and in welcoming Bishop-Elect Chris Warner and his wife Catherine when they visit us in the spring of 2023.
In the Father’s love,
