A biweekly update from the Search and Nominating Committee
Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Diocese,
On Sundays, parishioners pray the Prayers of the People in which “. . .we remember Michael, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and Morris, Bishop of Louisiana . . . ”
The Right Rev. Morris K. Thompson, Jr. is the Eleventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, having been consecrated our bishop in 2009. He was born in 1955 and grew up in Mississippi. After college, Bishop Thompson served in the Marine Corps before becoming an Episcopal priest in 1991 and serving as rector of congregations in Kentucky and Mississippi. He is married to Rebecca and they have two grown children, Virginia and Trey.
The Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana must have many talents and “wear many hats”:
- First and foremost, our bishop is the spiritual leader of the clergy and the 17,000 Episcopalians in the diocese. Episcopal bishops can trace their roots to New Testament times and the definition of the title bishop roughly translated to “overseer” .The Anglican Communion today teaches that we can trace a direct line from these earliest overseers of the church to today’s bishops. The original overseers in the church were the Apostles chosen by Jesus, whom he called to follow him, to whom he taught his message, and whom he prepared for leadership.
- Like all modern bishops, our next bishop must also multi-task in the affairs of the diocese that we may take for granted. Today, the office of bishop carries with it a wide range of responsibilities, including defending the integrity of the faith, confirming and receiving new members into the church, ordaining and providing pastoral care for priests and deacons in their charge, providing community leadership, administering the business affairs of their dioceses, and participating in the affairs of the Anglican communion, both nationally and worldwide.
Your Search Committee will provide updates on the Bishop search process every two weeks until the selection process concludes.
Ms. Carolyn Douglas & the Reverend Jay Albert
Co-Chairs
Search & Nominating Committee