A Message from the Standing Committee
Dear Friends in Christ,
We who serve on the Standing Committee have received word from our Bishop Santosh Marray of his retirement as Bishop of Easton in 2026. We are grateful for his many years of service as our Diocesan Bishop. He will be missed as a faithful leader of our Diocese, having offered his many gifts of ministry to us throughout the Diocese of Easton. We look forward to celebrating and appreciating Bishop San’s ministry as our diocesan leader and chief pastor with him at the conclusion of his service.
Under the church canons, it falls to the Standing Committee to initiate the process to search for and nominate a successor to Bishop Marray. Before undertaking this process, the Standing Committee with the assistance of the Office of the Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe is asking the Diocese of Easton to undergo a discernment process to determine what our vision is for the future of our diocese and whether or not we have the capacity to continue to exist as a stand-alone diocese, or if we should consider alternatives such as merging or entering into some sort of partnership with a neighboring diocese.
We have been on this road before. Over ten years ago we engaged and completed a discernment process before calling the XI Bishop of Easton. In addition, our new Presiding Bishop is emphasizing the need for dioceses to use this opportunity of transition to take the time to discern the best way forward that provides the most effective capacity to carry out our mission – and Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe has pledged to provide resources to help us with this discernment at no cost to the diocese. The Standing Committee believes it is incumbent on the Diocese of Easton to undergo this discernment at this time and looks forward to the creation of a Discernment Committee to work with the Presiding Bishop’s office to engage the whole diocese in this discernment and to provide ways forward. It will be up to the Diocesan Convention to review the results of this discernment to determine what path our diocese will take. The Discernment Committee will meet soon and will communicate to the diocese its plan for diocesan-wide discernment.
Should this process extend beyond the term of Bishop Marray, the Standing Committee is prepared to work with the Presiding Bishop’s office to nominate a Provisional Bishop for a set time to help guide the Diocese of Easton in its chosen path.
We are blessed with gifted lay leaders and clergy throughout the diocese. We ask for your participation and prayers as we all take time to reflect, dream, imagine and discern the future of the Diocese of Easton, knowing we do so with the steadfast presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has promised to be with us always, to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).
Please pray for our Bishop, for our whole diocese, for the Standing Committee and for the Discernment Committee. You might use the prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, “For a Diocese”:
O God, by your grace you have called us in this Diocese to a goodly fellowship of faith. Bless our Bishop Santosh, and other clergy, and all our people. Grant that your Word may be truly preached and truly heard, your Sacraments faithfully administered and faithfully received. By your Spirit, fashion our lives according to the example of your Son, and grant that we may show the power of your love to all among whom we live; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
You will hear more from us as the process unfolds. Please do not hesitate to contact members of the Standing Committee if you have questions or concerns. We are,
Yours faithfully,
Dr. James Cockey, President
The Rev. Dr. Darcy Williams, Secretary
Ms. Diane Freestate
Ms. Linda Hurley
The Very Rev. David Michaud
The Rev. Steve Mosher