Our Process

We charge our Search Committee with the following expectations:

• To listen carefully to the Holy Spirit expressed in your heart and in the voices of your sisters and brothers in Christ in the Diocese of Western New York regarding our call to God's mission.
• To discern prayerfully the spiritual gifts, personal qualities and leadership skills needed in the 11^th Bishop of Western New York to lead us in effectively pursuing that mission.
• To communicate the fruits of your discernment and procedures for receiving nominations through the election process website, www.wnybishopsearch.org.
• To present to the Standing Committee four nominees whom it considers qualified for the Episcopal Office on or before August 16, 2010 along with all written responses to questions, biographical information and photographs prepared for publication on wnybishopsearch.org
• To abstain from signing petitions for any candidates during the petition process.
• To abstain from expressing your personal opinions about the candidates, obviously favoring one candidate, or indicating for whom you intend to vote, if you are voting members of Convention, until after the Presentation of the Nominees is complete.

We charge our Transition Committee with the following expectations:

• To present the nominees to the diocese on November 6-9, 2010, within a climate of discernment that fairly communicates the strengths of each nominee without regard to the source of nomination.
• To plan an Electing Convention for November 20, 2010, that is grounded in the Holy Spirit.
• To prepare for the Ordination of the 11^th Bishop of Western New York in April 2011 in consultation with the Standing Committee and the Office of the Presiding Bishop.
• To assist and support our bishops and their families in their respective transitions.

We charge our Candidates and Nominees with the following expectations:

• To enter honestly into discernment with our diocese forsaking all personal ambition beyond submission to God's will.
• To abstain from visiting the Diocese to meet with individuals or groups except for the Presentation of the Nominees.

We charge our Diocese with the following expectations:

• To join us in creating through prayer a climate of discernment that has no time or attention for speculation, gossip, or the dynamics of worldly power.
• To abstain from holding or inviting nominees to meet-and-greet parties, receptions or other events.