Pittsburgh bishop to visit Somerset

From the Somerset PA paper-

Pittsburgh Bishop Robert H. Johnson of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh will visit Somerset this weekend to preach and preside at the reception of new members into the Episcopal Church.

The service will take place at 9 a.m. Sunday at St. Francis-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, 2081 Husband Road.

Members of several Somerset-area churches might recognize Johnson, not by name, but as a character in a widely read series of novels. He is the inspiration for the bishop depicted in the collections known as “The Mitford Years” and “The Father Tim Novels,” both written by Johnson’s long-time friend, author Jan Karon.

The books center on the life of an Episcopal priest and the mountain community he serves. Karon set her tales in the fictional village of Mitford, N.C. Before coming out of retirement to serve the Pittsburgh diocese, Johnson was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina.

This will be Johnson’s second trip to Somerset this year. On May 9, he and his wife, Julie, were present at the Episcopal Church Womens United Thank Offering Ingathering and annual meeting, which the women of St. Francis-in-the-Fields hosted.

St. Francis is one of 28 parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2009/08/28/news/local/news744.txt