WELCOME, BISHOP SHAND!

Please join the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Easton in welcoming the Right Reverend James J. “Bud” Shand, 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Easton (resigned) as our Assisting Bishop during these early months of transition following Bishop Marray’s retirement. His brief biography can be found below.

Bishop Bud, as he is known to many of us, joins the diocese on a part-time basis (approximately 2.5 days per week) on November 1, 2025 to assist by providing pastoral support to all clergy and parishes in the diocese. In addition, he will be available to make parish visitations as scheduled through Lynn Anstatt, Administrative Assistant to the Bishop, at 410-822-1919, and to advise the Standing Committee and the Diocesan Council on certain matters as needed.

We are blessed to have Bishop “Bud” Shand rejoin the diocese as our Assisting Bishop for these next months, and grateful that he has already begun to fill his calendar with parish visitations and participation in diocesan events. Please welcome him warmly!

 Bishop Shand can be reached by email at bishopbud@dioceseofeaston.org, and by phone/text at 410-924-2586 or by calling Lynn at Bray House.

Yours in Christ,

The Standing Committee
The Rev. Dr. Darcy Williams, Dr. James Cockey, the Rev Charlotte Meyer, Ms. Linda Hurley, Ms. Debra Dragone, the Very Rev. Gregory Powell

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BIOGRAPHY

Bishop Shand retired as the Tenth Bishop of Easton in 2014 after an eleven-year episcopate. Ordained in 1972, he served as the rector of St. Mary Anne’s, North East from 1975 -1989, and then as rector of Christ Church, Kent Island from 1989 to 2002. Since resigning as bishop diocesan, he has continued in active ministry in the Episcopal Church, most recently as the Assisting Bishop in the Diocese of Virginia.

Bishop Shand served on the Board of Trustees of Virginia Theological Seminary from 2002 to 2017 and was Chairman from 2009-2017. He was also a six-time deputy to General Convention and served on the Convention’s Standing Committee for the Church in Small Communities.

As Assisting Bishop, Bishop Shand will report directly to the Standing Committee which becomes the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese upon Bishop Marray’s resignation in October. He will serve in a part-time capacity from November 2025 through May 2026 providing pastoral support to the clergy and parishes of the diocese, making parish visitations, and serving as an advisor to diocesan leadership during this time of transition.

Raised in Plainfield, N.J., Bishop Shand graduated from Canaan College in Canaan, N.H. with a Bachelor of Arts. He received his Master of Divinity degree from the Philadelphia Divinity School in 1972. He also holds a Master of Arts in Christian Education and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from VTS.

Bishop Shand and his wife, Lynne, have two adult children, Jonathan and Meghan, and two grandchildren.