The Bishop Nominating Committee on Sept. 18, 2023, issued the following announcement of scheduled listening sessions to gather input from the people of the diocese to help guide the search process.
The Bishop Nominating Committee has scheduled a series of listening sessions to gather input from you, the people of our diocese, regarding our vision for our future and the qualities we seek in our new bishop. Feedback from these sessions will help to guide our search process and will be incorporated in the diocesan profile that we will share with the prospective nominees.
To maximize opportunities for participation, 15 sessions have been scheduled in churches in every region of the diocese, at varying times and days of the week, and for both the laity and clergy. Dedicated sessions have also been created for affinity groups to ensure that their voices are included, though members of such groups are invited to attend the other sessions as well. Five such sessions, including one in Spanish, are listed below with additional sessions to be scheduled for Diocesan Youth Council members and university chaplaincies. Lastly, two additional Zoom sessions have been created for those who cannot or prefer not to attend a session in person.
The current list of sessions is included below. In-person sessions will include light refreshments. Registration is not required but will be appreciated for planning purposes. Zoom link information is included below.
To register for a session, please go to the Bishop Search Listening Session Registration site.
For more information about the bishop search process for our diocese please visit www.diomass.org/bishop-search.
For more information about the listening sessions please contact the Nominating Committee at
co-chairs@mabishopsearch.org
Schedule of listening sessions (updated Oct. 2, 2023)
Clergy of Color | Sept. 21 | 5-6:30 p.m. | St. Peter's Church, Cambridge | All Regions |
Lay Session | Sept. 23 | 10-11:30 a.m. | Grace Church, New Bedford | Southern Region |
Lay Session | Sept. 23 | 10-11:30 a.m. | St. Stephen's Memorial Church, Lynn | Northern & Western Region |
Clergy Session | Sept. 26 | 5-6:30 p.m. | Emmanuel Church, Boston | Central Region |
Clergy Session | Sept. 27 | 3:30-5 p.m. | St. Mary's Church, Barnstable | Southern Region |
LGBTQ+ Clergy Session | Sept. 28 | 5-6:30 p.m. | St. Paul's Church, Malden | All Regions |
Sesión Laica en Español | Oct. 1 | 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. | Grace Church, Lawrence | Toda |
Lay Session | Oct. 2 | 6:30-8 p.m. | St. James's Church, Cambridge | Central Region |
Lay Session | Oct. 3 | 6:30-8 p.m. |
Zoom link here |
All Regions |
Clergy Session | Oct. 4 | 5-6:30 p.m. | St. Andrew's Church, Framingham | Northern & Western Region |
Diocesan Youth Council (this session added to schedule on Sept. 25) | Oct. 4 | 7-8 p.m. | Via Zoom | |
Lay People of Color | Oct. 5 | 6:30-8 p.m. | Trinity Church, Boston | All Regions |
Clergy Session | Oct. 7 | 10-11:30 a.m. |
Zoom link here |
All Regions |
Lay Session in English & Spanish/Sesión Laica en Español |
Oct. 10 | 6:30-8 p.m. | St. Peter's-San Pedro, Salem | Northern & Western Region |
Lay Session | Oct. 11 | 6:30-8 p.m. | Christ Church, Quincy | Southern Region |
LGBTQ+ Laity Session RESCHEDULED to Zoom |
Oct. 11 | 6:30-8 p.m. |
Zoom link here |
All Regions |
Lay Session | Oct. 14 | 1:30-3 p.m. | Christ Church, Needham | Central Region |
Sesión Laica en Español |
Oct. 15 | 1:45-3:15 p.m. | St. Luke's-San Lucas, Chelsea | Toda |